# Arkansas discovers fold cuisine **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [June 15, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049 "2013-06-15T05:11:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![David\_H\_Singanas](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/ac8455/32.png) [@David\_H\_Singanas](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/David_H_Singanas)\ **Post date:** [June 15, 2013, 5:11am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/1 "2013-06-15T05:11:47Z")
In Little Rock’s trendy Riverdale section, two entrepreneurs wanted to open a taco shop in an abandoned garage and gas station. This created a storm of opposition to everything from the number of parking spaces requested on a street corner, to the garage doors that slide open for fair-weather feeding, to the preferred name of “B & B Taco Garage.” However, when the operators changed the requested permit to read “Fold Botanas & Bar,” the proposal sailed thru city council chambers without a crosswind. (ARKANSAS DEMOCRAT & GAZETTE , 5-30-13] ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 10:11pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/2 "2013-06-17T22:11:42Z")
I guess I’ll break the ice. Huh? ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 10:17pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/3 "2013-06-17T22:17:18Z")
Apparently some folks decided to open up a taco place in an old commercial garage. They received opposition from people who didn’t want a place called B&B Taco Garage in the area. But when they changed the name to Fold Botanas & Bar the opposition disappeared. That’s pretty much the gist of it. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 10:20pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/4 "2013-06-17T22:20:45Z")
If the [Arkansas Times](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/EatArkansas/) didn’t report it, it didn’t happen. ---
**Author:** ![AncientHumanoid](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ancienthumanoid/32/278_2.png) [@AncientHumanoid](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/AncientHumanoid)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 10:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/5 "2013-06-17T22:51:27Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > If the [Arkansas Times](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/EatArkansas/) didn’t report it, it didn’t happen. Oooh! That fudge looks GOOD! 😛 \<----- licking my lips ---
**Author:** ![E.Thorp](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/898d66/32.png) [@E.Thorp](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/E.Thorp)\ **Post date:** [June 17, 2013, 11:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/6 "2013-06-17T23:34:50Z")
[This](http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2013/may/30/fold-cuisine-upscale-enticing-20130530/) appears to be the news article in question. Now I’m hungry. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 1:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/7 "2013-06-18T01:06:18Z")
> [@E.Thorp](#): > > [This](http://www.arkansasonline.com/news/2013/may/30/fold-cuisine-upscale-enticing-20130530/) appears to be the news article in question. > > Now I’m hungry. That is the Arkansas Democrat Gazette newspaper, not the Arkansas Times. Besides, Old Cantrell Road is full of folks who my Grandmother (May her memory be blessed) described as having more money than sense. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Skywatcher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/skywatcher/32/254_2.png) [@Skywatcher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Skywatcher)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:24am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/8 "2013-06-18T02:24:22Z")
> [@carnivorousplant](#): > > If the [Arkansas Times](http://www.arktimes.com/blogs/EatArkansas/) didn’t report it, it didn’t happen. > **[Loca Luna loses court challenge of parking plan for The Fold - Arkansas Times](https://arktimes.com/arkansas-blog/2013/05/22/loca-luna-loses-court-challenge-of-parking-plan-for-the-fold)** > > The Arkansas Court of Appeals today affirmed a circuit court ruling upholding a zoning variance given for The Fold, a new restaurant at 3501 Old Cantrell Road, just a few yards from Loca Luna. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:44am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/9 "2013-06-18T02:44:19Z")
> [@Lute Skywatcher](#): > > [http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/05/22/loca-luna-loses-court-challenge-of-parking-plan-for-the-fold](http://www.arktimes.com/ArkansasBlog/archives/2013/05/22/loca-luna-loses-court-challenge-of-parking-plan-for-the-fold) Then obviously, it happened. 🙂 From the link: Drake Mann, attorney for Loca Luna, said he had raised a question with the city, however, about whether the restaurant was actually providing only 10, rather than 12, slots on the site because of a change in building plans. Asshole. ---
**Author:** ![Tethered\_Kite](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/a5b964/32.png) [@Tethered\_Kite](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Tethered_Kite)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 2:52am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/10 "2013-06-18T02:52:55Z")
Whatsa matter with those people, anyway - being prejudiced against a perfectly good sammich? ---
**Author:** ![BigT](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/bigt/32/12044_2.png) [@BigT](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BigT)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 9:26am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/11 "2013-06-18T09:26:43Z")
I think we should try to come up with other fancy names for “lowbrow” cuisine, for use in an upscale restaurant model. Like “sausage covered in a thick bean soup” or something more concise. ---
**Author:** ![Ken001](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/43a26b/32.png) [@Ken001](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ken001)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 9:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/12 "2013-06-18T09:43:26Z")
You guys…um…in America…uh…you can’t open a taco stand? Really? Forgive me, I live in New Zealand, have slept in the Sonora Desert, and enjoyed chilie rellenos in Mexico and the USA. Did I miss something?? ---
**Author:** ![Ferret\_Herder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/e47774/32.png) [@Ferret\_Herder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Ferret_Herder)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 10:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/13 "2013-06-18T10:21:39Z")
That article discusses the apparent reaction in one “trendy” part of Little Rock, Arkansas, not the entirety of the US. Chicago, for instance, features a restaurant/food truck duo called The Tamale Spaceship, featuring servers dressed in luchador (Mexican masked wrestler) costumes. I’m pretty sure that would give the naysayers in this particular story fits of apoplexy. ---
**Author:** ![carnivorousplant](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/carnivorousplant/32/3563_2.png) [@carnivorousplant](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/carnivorousplant)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 11:18am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/14 "2013-06-18T11:18:39Z")
There was a food truck selling curry out of someone’s backyard in the Hillcrest neighborhood. These wealthy folks are afraid that people of my social standing will eat at the establishment in the news and get salsa on their BMWs. 🙂 ---
**Author:** ![Hypno-Toad](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/b2d939/32.png) [@Hypno-Toad](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hypno-Toad)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 12:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/15 "2013-06-18T12:33:39Z")
To me it’s a sign of good food to see guys from outdoor work crews eating at a tex-mex place. Hey, I like fancy stuff too, but give me some solid, proletarian comfort food any day. ---
**Author:** ![Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/o/a9a28c/32.png) [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Oslo_Ostragoth)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/16 "2013-06-18T17:01:40Z")
> [@Odesio](#): > > Apparently some folks decided to open up a taco place in an old commercial garage. They received opposition from people who didn’t want a place called B&B Taco Garage in the area. But when they changed the name to Fold Botanas & Bar the opposition disappeared. That’s pretty much the gist of it. Yeah, I got that. What I don’t get is what, if anything, “Fold Botanas” means with regard to food service. Is that the point? They made up some meaningless crap and whooshed the powers that be? ---
**Author:** ![Drunky\_Smurf](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/drunky_smurf/32/449_2.png) [@Drunky\_Smurf](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Drunky_Smurf)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 5:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/17 "2013-06-18T17:16:29Z")
> [@Ken001](#): > > You guys..um…in America…uh..you can’t open a taco stand? Really? Correct. No one in America can open a taco stand. Ever. Even in another country. It’s in the latter part of the first amendment. ---
**Author:** ![Odesio](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/odesio/32/20003_2.png) [@Odesio](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Odesio)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 7:50pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/18 "2013-06-18T19:50:38Z")
> [@Oslo\_Ostragoth](#): > > Yeah, I got that. What I don’t get is what, if anything, “Fold Botanas” means with regard to food service. > > Is that the point? They made up some meaningless crap and whooshed the powers that be? That’s what it looks like to me. At first I thought it was just snobbery over having a taco stand in that area of town. But what I’m starting to think is that the restaurant business is far more petty than I ever thought and some of the surrounding businesses just didn’t want the competition in business and parking spaces that this place would bring. So they, or perhaps one business, fought very hard to prevent the Taco place from opening. So the owners of the taco place just decided to change the name on whatever permits they have to turn into the city and it sailed under the noses of those who wanted to prevent them from opening. Little Rock does have plenty of Mexican restaurants, including a few taco places, and of course, we also have the taco trucks because food from trucks is trendy for some reason. This kerfuffle over the Taco Garage has nothing to do with the type of food being served. ---
**Author:** ![Folacin](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/folacin/32/3195_2.png) [@Folacin](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Folacin)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 8:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/19 "2013-06-18T20:00:32Z")
So, now that they have their permits, I assume they could change the name of the business? Or at least the name on the sign outside the business? I can’t see where that would require new permits (assuming they keep the sign the same size). ---
**Author:** ![Smapti](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/smapti/32/17938_2.png) [@Smapti](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Smapti)\ **Post date:** [June 18, 2013, 8:33pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049/20 "2013-06-18T20:33:00Z")
> [@BigT](#): > > I think we should try to come up with other fancy names for “lowbrow” cuisine, for use in an upscale restaurant model. Like “sausage covered in a thick bean soup” or something more concise. “Charbroiled beef patty on a baked roll, with tomato reduction glaze, barrel-aged cucumber, and salted whey slices” “Hand-shaved beef steak, served on a baguette with sautéed onions and house cheese spread” “Coarsely-ground legumes and fruit compote on skinless white loaf” “Aged _salsiccia Napoletana piccante_ on flatbread with _sugo pomarolo_ and shredded _formaggia Italiano_ blend” “Vanilla ponge cake, served _tempura_-style and stuffed with a sweet crème fondant” [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/arkansas-discovers-fold-cuisine/661049.md?page=2)