CITY GUIDES | ARKANSAS
At MJ Pizzeria, Chef Miles James Turns Wood Fired Pies Into an Obsession
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By Rebecca Thompson | Jan. 27, 2026
MJ Pizzeria is chef Miles James doing what he does best: taking something familiar and tightening every screw until it tastes deliberate. The menu is built around Neapolitan-leaning thin crust pizzas fired in a wood oven, and it reads like a kitchen that preps for flavor, not just speed.
Start with the tarte flambé pizza—crème fraîche, Arkansas bacon, sweet onions, chives—because it tells the truth about the place in one bite. The loaded meat pizza is the other thesis statement, stacking pepperoni, house-cured Italian sausage, Arkansas bacon, pork-and-beef meatball, and Arkansas ham on MJ red sauce and whole milk mozzarella.
When the table wants heat, the spicy chicken pizza brings oven-roasted chicken, buffalo sauce, pickled jalapeños, blue cheese, and local basil, which is a smart combination when the crust has real char. James also frames the restaurant as more than pizza, with house-made pastas, salads built around local greens, and a bar program that leans on an extensive by-the-glass wine list, local craft beer, and cocktails that are meant to be ordered, not ignored.
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