Ronda’s Roadhouse Welcomes Barbecue-Lovers, Adventurous Eaters

Ronda Tester, owner of Ronda’s Roadhouse, works in the kitchen Feb. 19 as she prepares an order of food. Photo by Natalie Demaree for The Arkansas Traveler.

Originally published March 7, 2019 for The Arkansas Traveler.

Another restaurant is throwing its hat into the ring of the Fayetteville barbecue scene with innovative spins on classic barbecue dishes.

Ronda’s Roadhouse, a bright green building engulfed in the aroma of sweet, meaty barbecue, opened Jan. 23 on 15th Street. Ronda’s serves barbecue while keeping a small town, western feel in the midst of a bustling college town. Its quirky decorations and unique barbecue recipes are what sets it apart from other barbecue restaurants in the area.

Ronda Tester is the owner of Ronda’s Roadhouse and also manages White Star Tavern, a local pub. Ronda and her husband, Billy Tester, previously owned a barbecue food truck called White Star BBQ & Catering, before deciding on owning a restaurant without wheels. 

Billy Tester’s future plans for the restaurant include catering and adding more smoked items to the menu, such as smoked fried chicken, smoked pumpkin pie and smoked meatloaf, he said. 

“It’s not for people tryin’ to go on a low-fat diet,” Billy Tester said when referring to his barbecue.

The customer favorite at Ronda’s is the Roadhouse Pork Taco, Ronda Tester said. This taco consists of pulled pork, cheese, coleslaw, homemade salsa and a jalapeno-lime cream sauce. 

This was a new experience for me as I had never had a taco with coleslaw in it. The concept of a barbecue taco is innovative and new to me and perhaps an interesting option for those who enjoy experimenting with different flavors, but I am a strong believer that tacos should only use traditional ingredients, and I can’t say that these tacos changed my mind.

I also ordered Ronda’s sampler plate, which comes with three types of meat: ham, shredded chicken and pulled pork. My favorite part of the meal was the pulled pork, which was tender and tasty and went wonderfully with the savory barbecue sauce. The chicken was a little dry and had no flavor until I added their homemade barbecue sauce. 

The ham was just inconsistent. I got one piece that was great, juicy and sweet, but I got another piece that was moist and had an egg-like texture. It was soggy and fatty. Personally, I think ham and eggs go great together, but I don’t ever want my ham to have the same texture as my eggs. 

The sampler plate came with Texas toast, baked beans and coleslaw as sides. The baked beans were unique, with a tangy element that made them stand out among the sides. Ronda’s Roadhouse serves Texas toast in thick slices, which are warm and buttery, just as Texas toast should be. Finally, the coleslaw was sweet and tasty.

Overall, the barbecue was great along with the pulled pork, and I really enjoyed the Texas toast. The soggy ham and dry chicken were disappointing, and the rest of the sides weren’t anything special enough to keep me going back. 

I was not impressed by the service either. I found a table for myself when I walked in because I didn’t see anyone who worked there assumed it was a seat-yourself kind of place. 

After sitting by myself for a while without word from anyone working, I went to the bar to see if I could get some service. After speaking to the waitress, she came and took my order, apologizing because she didn’t realize I was there to eat. 

Ronda’s Roadhouse, I think, is tailored to an older generation of people. Because it is so out of the way from campus, I don’t think your average UA student would be found here. 

As of now, I probably wouldn’t go back just for the barbecue, but because the restaurant is still so new, I think there is a lot of potential left to make improvements with service and food consistency, and this will really bring the restaurant to the next level as a whole.

I do think it could be worth revisiting in the future as they continue to work out their kinks and solidify their menu items.