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Tonti Press is a micropress originating in Little Rock, Arkansas. The budding new enterprise publishes niche books on fascinating subjects in full-color splendor.

Titles available now:

The Great Arkansas Pie Book: Recipes for The Natural State's Famous Dish From Our Favorite Restaurants, Bakeries and Home Cooks
Kat Robinson
Hardcover: May 9. 2023
Paperback: September 12, 2023

There's no more Arkansas dish than pie. From early days of savory pies of wild game to our love of a sweet end to everyday meals, pie has been part of our culinary landscape for centuries.

In her 12th book, author and food historian Kat Robinson takes a deep dive into the wide span of pie recipes from our historic and current restaurants, home cooks, and hundreds of church and community cookbooks to create a curated collection of classic pies complete with tested recipes, stories, and full-color photography.

With more than 200 recipes, The Great Arkansas Pie Book covers the spectrum of dough-borne delights both sweet and savory, with nods to the common and the unusual. This is the cookbook for true pie lovers who want an authentic slice of The Natural State.

Arkansas Cookery: Retro Recipes from The Natural State
Kat Robinson
Paperback: December 7, 2021

Church and community cookbooks are a great southern tradition. The venerable collections of recipes gathered and shared grow into treasured possessions handed down through families, the go-to for instructions on how to make favorite dishes for every occasion.

Author and food historian Kat Robinson has collected hundreds of Arkansas cookbooks from all over the state and across the decades in an effort to preserve beloved family dishes representing what we once ate in The Natural State. This collection of delicacies has been gathered, curated and redacted from these culinary keepsakes. 

Each of the recipes within this volume was recreated and photographed at the magnificent Culinary Suite at The Writer's Colony at Dairy Hollow in Eureka Springs.

From three bean salad to squash fritters, Tallerine to green rice, sweet potato casserole to Coca-Cola cake, you'll find 100 mid-century delights within in full-color splendor.



Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats
Kat Robinson
Hardcover:
Paperback: November 2, 2021

The Oxford English Dictionary defines a dairy bar as "A snack bar that sells ice cream and other refreshments." Here in Arkansas, it describes a whole selection of restaurants we love. What makes a dairy bar different from other food establishments? It's a location that serves ice cream - and sustenance other than ice cream, like burgers, or hot dogs. It serves these delights from a window at a permanent establishment.

Most of Arkansas's dairy bars have long roots into the past, some having been in existence 50 years or more. There are a few younger joints here and there. All of them fit into the category of classic eateries.

Come travel with Arkansas food historian Kat Robinson to every corner of Arkansas, to seek out delectable dishes and the stories behind the folks that make them, on this fantastic culinary itinerary of Arkansas dairy bars.

Venture into every corner of the state with this handy guide that takes you to each and every mom-and-pop shop, local favorites that stand at the heart of their communities, beloved destinations where generations return again and again to enjoy nostalgic fare that's absolutely unbeatable. Use the handy edge guide to explore eight regions of The Natural State. Read the history behind these places, and enjoy more than 350 photos and illustrations that will have you hankering for a culinary roadtrip.

Companion book to the 2021 documentary Arkansas Dairy Bars: Neat Eats and Cool Treats, available online through Arkansas PBS.


A Bite of Arkansas: A Cookbook of Natural State Delights
Kat Robinson
Hardcover: December 15, 2020
Paperback: January 26, 2021

If we are what we eat, Kat Robinson is made of Arkansas cuisine. The food historian, travel writer and TV host has spent a lifetime within The Natural State's borders, from toddlerhood to teenage years to adult traveler and explorer. 

Now the author of Arkansas Food: The A to Z of Eating in The Natural State sits down with memories, recollections and ingredients to craft the dishes of her life. Enjoy this volume of dishes from every era of Robinson's life, from country breakfasts to humble desserts, wild game to metropolitan appetizers, stews, casseroles and so many pies. More than 140 recipes are contained within.

Dig into Arkansas favorites such as beans and cornbread, fried chicken, catfish dinners and pot roast. This gorgeously photographed collection of authentic, made and shared culinary items are beautifully paired with stories from this Arkansas woman's life, an insight into the dishes that inspired her to document and share a rich and diverse food history of an entire state.

This full-color tome was created top to bottom by the author, who made each dish (with the exception of the jams and jellies, made by her partner, Grav Weldon), redacted the recipes from memory to create easy-to-follow instructions for each item, photographed every creation, wrote the entire text, did all the layout, and set everything in order to send to print. Outside of the printing itself, Robinson created this entire cookbook from scratch.


43 Tables: An Internet Community Cooks During Quarantine
Kat Robinson, editor
Paperback: October 27, 2020

When businesses and restaurants closed down in response to the COVID-19 pandemic in March 2020, many people returned to their kitchens to provide meals for their families. The endless social media photos of perfectly presented dishes from hot eateries was replaced with home kitchen experiments and experiences.


This collection of recipes comes from the internet community of Kat Robinson, an Arkansas-based food historian and travel author. With no restaurants to share or travel experiences to obtain, Robinson was inspired by the efforts of her friends in creating dishes on their own. 

This collection of more than 80 recipes from 43 friends covers the spectrum, from easy to assemble to complex creations, everything from high-end delights to recipes from the deep woods, complete with photographs from many of the cook contributors.


102 More Things to Eat in Arkansas Before You Die
Kat Robinson
November 26, 2019

Hit the road and savor the flavors of Arkansas! Native guide and food expert Kat Robinson has diligently covered the entire state, logging hundreds of thousands of miles and visiting thousands of restaurants to determine the tastiest and most unique dishes Arkansas has to offer. With this second volume, plan your culinary expedition through the Delta, the Ozarks, Lower Arkansas, the Ouachitas and the heart of the state. Let full color photographs of extraordinary plates encourage you to buckle up for culinary adventure. Enjoy the best The Natural State has to bring to the table, all in this handy travel book!

Robinson, the host of the Emmy-nominated documentary Make Room For Pie on the Arkansas Educational Television Network and the author of Arkansas Food: The A to Z of Eating in The Natural State and 101 Things to Eat in Arkansas Before You Die, answers with this book the question often asked: where are the quintessential places to dine around Arkansas? Her lush, on location photography showcases the dishes and delights in store for hungry travelers looking for the perfect epicurean trail to follow. From white cloth formal to dairy bar booths and five-napkin barbecue joints, she covers the full scope of the state's restaurant scene with an eye towards native flavors, foods and traditions.

101 Things to Eat in Arkansas Before You Die
Kat Robinson
August 22, 2019

Hit the road and savor the flavors of Arkansas! Native guide and food expert Kat Robinson has diligently covered the entire state, logging hundreds of thousands of miles and visiting thousands of restaurants to determine the tastiest and most unique dishes Arkansas has to offer. With this volume, plan your culinary expedition through the Delta, the Ozarks, Lower Arkansas, the Ouachitas and the heart of the state. Let full color photographs of extraordinary plates encourage you to buckle up for culinary adventure. Enjoy the best The Natural State has to bring to the table, all in this handy travel book!

Robinson, the host of the Emmy-nominated documentary Make Room For Pie on the Arkansas Educational Television Network and the author of Arkansas Food: The A to Z of Eating in The Natural State, answers with this book the question often asked: where are the quintessential places to dine around Arkansas? Her lush, on location photography showcases the dishes and delights in store for hungry travelers looking for the perfect epicurean trail to follow. From white cloth formal to dairy bar booths and five-napkin barbecue joints, she covers the full scope of the state's restaurant scene with an eye towards native flavors, foods and traditions.



Arkansas Food: The A to Z of Eating in The Natural State
Kat Robinson
Paperback December 20, 2018
Hardcover January 22, 2019

What is Arkansas food? Kat Robinson has intensely studied the cuisine of the region for more than a decade. Arkansas Food: The A to Z of Eating in The Natural State is the culmination of that research, laid out in a handy glossary including everything from apple butter to zucchini bread.

Diving past the triumverate of Arkansas's most sensational foods of cheese dip, fried pickles and chocolate gravy, Robinson delves into the nooks and crannies of every corner of the state. Discover the state's famed garden bounty of PurpleHull peas, watermelon, peaches, apples, butter beans, Esau sweet corn, yellow and cushaw squash and Bradley County Pink tomatoes. Celebrate Arkansas food brands with broad appeal, such as Cavender's Greek Seasoning, Grapette soda, Mountain Valley Water and Petit Jean smoked meats. Taste flavors from legendary restaurants, including Wayne Shadden's barbecue sauce. Coy's Steak House salad dressing, Cotham's Mercantile's fried green tomatoes, and the Venesian Inn's Italian salad. Learn about hunting duck and deer, why fried chicken and spaghetti are served together in the Ozarks, how to tell the difference between the two types of buffalo and how to pronounce the word "crappie."

With more than 130 Arkansas recipes, 450 full color photographs and over 300 topics, you'll be sure to crave what The Natural State brings to the table.



Another Slice of Arkansas Pie: A Guide to the Best Restaurants, Bakeries, Truck Stops and Food Trucks for Delectable Bites in The Natural State
Kat Robinson
Paperback March 28, 2018

Arkansas loves pie. Across The Natural State, from Lake Village to Gentry, Piggott to Texarkana and all points in-between, great pie can be found. Kat Robinson takes to Arkansas's highways, byways and pieways to share locations that offer the tasty dessert, from the loftiest of fine dining restaurants to the humblest of cafes, including bakeries and panaderias, antique malls, farmer's markets, food trucks, truck stops, and pie-related events.

This handy travel guide includes listings for more than 475 establishments that offer pie in Arkansas. A wide array of pies can be found within this vetted collection, alongside gorgeous full-color photography. Enjoy delectable tales of many of the eateries that offer these pastries, and stories of the unique individuals who bring them to the table. Follow pie trails through each region, or make up a pie recipe from one of these great eateries on your own, and discover why The Natural State can also be called The Pie State.

Includes 33 pie recipes and more than 400 color photographs.





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