In the News

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">This means war!

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">An article Wednesday in The Wall Street Journal about Arkansas’ devotion to cheese dip caused long-simmering divisions between that state and Texas to turn hotter than a pot of Velveeta and Ro-Tel.

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Arkansans claim ownership of the gooey dip, tracing its roots in the state back to the 1930s. Texans are just as insistent that it is a Tex-Mex staple—and ought to be called queso.

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton of Arkansas fired a shot at the U.S. senators from Texas, Ted Cruz and John Cornyn. All three are Republicans.

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Mr. Cornyn responded one minute later. (He refrained from referring to Mr. Cotton’s participation in the annual Coon Supper, where the political elite of Arkansas eat raccoon with locals.)

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">In an interview with the Dallas Morning News, Mr. Cornyn said this about Mr. Cotton: “The idea that a guy from Arkansas would call it cheese dip just shows how much they don’t get it.”

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Josh Perry, who manages social media for Mr. Cruz, dimly assessed what he saw as the Journal’s false equivalence by even putting Arkansas and Texas in the same article about queso.

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Texas Monthly’s website blared a headline that shows what happens when you mess with Texas: “Queso Does Not Belong To You, Arkansas.”

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">The San Antonio Express-News wrote: “While Arkansans busy their mouths trying to tell the world they own cheese dip, Texans will be filling theirs with authentic queso.”

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">In an email to the Journal, one reader of Wednesday’s article wrote that queso has been a staple on Texas menus since the early 1900s. The reader included a recipe for “Quesadilla Mexicana—Mexican Rarebit” from a 1911 cookbook by Gebhardt Chili Powder Co. (“Use one pound of rich, mild cheese grated...”)

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Little Rock, Ark., food writer Kat Robinson, says Texas already has more than its fair share of famous foods. “Sure, queso is on menus in Texas, but it’s not part of the culture the same way it is here. It’s part of our very fabric,” she says.

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Duncan Baird, the Arkansas budget administrator, suggested giving cheese dip—not queso—official status.

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">After French Hill, a Republican congressman from Little Rock, tweeted back at Mr. Cornyn that Arkansas “does have the best queso,” Mr. Cornyn proposed settling the spat once and for all.

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">At 5:45 a.m. Friday, Mr. Cotton replied: “You’re on!”

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">Caroline Rabbitt, a spokeswoman for Mr. Cotton, said: “There are a lot of good types of cheese dip out there, but Senator Cotton believes strongly that Arkansas cheese dip is far superior to the ‘queso’ dip preferred by its neighbor to the south. And he’s confident his colleagues will affirm that fact in the coming weeks.”

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">She added: “We’ve been in touch with Senator Cornyn’s office about initial next steps and hoping to get something together for after the election.”

al; background-origin: initial; background-clip: initial; font-family: "Chronicle SSm", serif; line-height: 28px; word-wrap: break-word; color: rgb(51, 51, 51);">A spokesman for Mr. Cornyn, Drew Brandewie, said Friday afternoon: “Like peas in guacamole and bottled margarita mix, we look forward to putting this myth to bed and sharing what a century of tradition tastes like with our friends from Arkansas.”