Ever wonder what other foodies are thinking? Me too. Special thanks to Chef Ken Dempsey from E’s Bistro for his answers!

1. How many years have you lived in Little Rock? Born and raised here. I’ve lived a couple of other places but Little Rock always called me back. Woo Pig!!

2. What’s the best dessert you’ve eaten in a Little Rock restaurant? I really don’t order dessert very often. I experiment with sweets in my kitchen constantly, but if there is one place I go to satiate a sweet tooth it’s Scoop Dog in NLR. I love the chocolate brownie concrete with caramel. Absolutely the best cold treat I’ve ever had!

3. Are you high maintenance when it comes to ordering at a restaurant? Not at all. There are very few foods I don’t like or won’t try. I really like to taste the meal the way the chef envisioned it. I do send stuff back if it’s way off. It embarrasses my wife, but I would much rather someone send one of my dishes back and get it the way they wanted it rather than them leave unhappy and possibly not return. It’s the only way I know where I stand as a chef.

4. What are a few of your guilty food pleasure items? This is the scariest question but I’ll put it out there… pure junk. Totino’s frozen pizza, jalapeno Pringles, Little Debbie (all of them), frozen burritos, Cheetos… you name it. I am not ashamed!!! The best is when all of the above is in one meal!

5. What is your most memorable Little Rock dining experience? November 15, 2011 at Copper Grill. We had confetti dip, I had a steak and my wife had a horseradish encrusted grouper. It was a great meal because I proposed to my wife by a giant fake snowman in the River Market later that night. Perfect!

6. What is your favorite dish to cook at home? My favorite is to smoke meats so I would have to say 5 ½ hour rib day. Baby backs, caramelized onion and smoked gouda mac & cheese, and cowboy bbq baked beans.

Didn’t have a picture of Ken’s ribs, but these will do!

7. You have to put together a 3-course meal (app, entree, and dessert) from three different Little Rock restaurants. What would be your choices to create this perfect meal? Easy… Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish for the appetizer, osso bucco from Ristorante Capeo for the entrée, chocolate brownie concrete with caramel from Scoop Dog for the dessert.

8. If you could jump in a plane this very second…where would you go and what would you eat? I would take a jet to Italy and eat my way across the whole country… my wife said she was going to New Orleans so I guess I would be going by myself!

9. What is your favorite hole-in-the-wall restaurant in North Little Rock? My favorite hole-in-the-wall had a fire not long ago. Frostop was my favorite Monday-off spot to eat a burger. Fresh root beer in a frosty mug and a one pound Big Daddy Burger (took 20 minutes to cook but worth it). The last time I talked to the owner he was planning to re-open in another location maybe next year. As long as Frostop is still a possibility, that’s gotta be my favorite.

10. When is the last time you’ve been to a farmers market and what did you get? I am at work a lot during these but this summer I got the chance to go to Argenta Farmers Market a few times to get veggies for the restaurant. I got a lot of tomatoes, squash, zucchini, and sweet potatoes. I also go to BJ’s where they sell local produce.