Friday, February 3, 2012
Barbecue / Cheese Dip Renaud Brothers nod to Little Rock spots in Bon Appetit
Brent and Craig Renaud, the tireless filmmakers and founders of the Little Rock Film Festival, recently offered Bon Appetit readers a primer on non-touristy hot-spots to hit up here in Capital City.
Among their picks: Ashley's, White Water Tavern, Whole Hog Cafe and Diamond Bear Brewing Co. We've certainly no quibble with any of those, though some of were unfamiliar with Chicken Wang Cafe and will have to remedy that situation right quick.
Cheese dip, naturally, gets prominent mention. Their fave? Juanita's. I can go along with that, but I haven't had a lot of cheese dip I didn't like. To echo my dad's pearl of wisdom about barbecue, my favorite cheese dip is always my next cheese dip.
Posted by Robert Bell on | Permalink | Comments (0)
Vegetarian Vegetarians get plenty of cheese at Copper Grill
Copper Grill is exceptionally unexceptional, in my biased, vegetarian opinion. I’ve been eyeing Copper Grill for weeks. The blonde stone front makes me nostalgic for the West, for sunny soCal and the lodge-dotted peaks of snowy Utah. With menu offerings such as Not Your Mom’s Homemade Mac and Cheese Balls and Warm Goat Cheese Salad, I was jazzed for something extra-yummy-cozy. That blonde stone may have set the bar a little high.
Once inside, the ambiance and the food were disappointing — which isn’t to say that either were truly bad. The place was warmly lit but generically trendy, full of mod-ish fixtures and dark wood. I already knew the veg options were heavy on cheese, low on plant protein, but I guess I wasn’t prepared for the actuality of this matter. My server recommended the Portobello Flatbread with sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and goat cheese, drizzled with balsamic reduction. “Best vegetarian option on the menu,” he said.
Posted by Cheree Franco on | Permalink | Comments (2)
Thursday, February 2, 2012
Events Lee Richardson goes whole hog at Cochon 555 in Memphis
This is so tempting. On Saturday, the traveling competition and tasting event Cochon 555 comes to Memphis. The gist is simple: five chefs vie against one anther each using one pig, snout to tail. Ticketholders get to eat the creations and try five wines from small winemakers. Attendees and judges select the Prince or Princess of Porc and the winning chef advances to the national competition.
In Memphis, Lee Richardson of Ashley's is competing against Kelly English of Restaurant Iris (Memphis), Chris Hastings of Hot and Hot Fish Club (Birmingham Murrells Inlet, South Carolina), Kevin Nashan of Sidney Street Cafe (St. Louis), and Michael Hudman and Andrew Ticer of Andrew Michael Italian Kitchen (Memphis).
Tickets are $125 per person or $200 for VIP access.
On the jump, check out what Richardson's planning on doing with his pig.
Posted by Lindsey Millar on | Permalink | Comments (0)
Bakery Boulevard is making quark
- Natalie Elliott
- Quark with the fixin's
Every Wednesday and Sunday, Boulevard Bread Co.'s cheesemaker Blair Graves preps a new batch of quark — a creamy yogurt-like pan cheese. Boulevard sells the stuff in its fridge cases at all its locations, alongside the house-made yogurt, for $4.95 for six-ounces, and for an additional $2 you can have it outfitted for breakfasting with cinnamon apple chunks and some homemade granola.
Graves said quark was a cafe staple during her time on the west coast, and she decided to provide it to the Little Rock community as a unique yogurt substitute. But, despite the chemical similarities, as she explains, quark is actually more versatile than your average yogurt cup.
First of all, quark is rich and opaque. If you're a consumer of the whole-milk varieties of organic yogurt (especially Stonyfield Farms and Brown Cow brands), then you might be familiar with the concept of the "cream top": an inches-thick layer of extra-dense smooth curd that is so rich having more than two spoonfuls feels decadent. Quark has a consistency identical to this, except a sourish taste more reminiscent of creme fraiche or sour cream. For this reason, it can be flavored with honey or maple syrup and served as a sweet snack, or used in a savory capacity as a sour cream or even a cream cheese substitute. Graves said she recently used a dollop of quark to complement a potato soup. She also says that it's been a popular item among Boulevard's Eastern European customers who often use it as cream cheese replacement in cheesecake recipes.
Don't be intimidated by the tartness — after all, plain, unsweetened yogurt itself is pretty tangy. Because the $4.95 portion is a bit large for one sitting, I used the remaining quark in a smoothie (just like I would yogurt) and it provided a thicker, smoother consistency — more like a hearty milkshake — definitely a delicious change of pace from the way yogurt too easily thins out and liquefies.
Posted by Natalie Elliott on | Permalink | Comments (1)
Burgers Burger joint of the week: Feltner's Whatta-Burger, revisited
- Kat Robinson
- BETTER: Feltner's Whatta-Burger has reclaimed some of its spark.
I’ve received a good deal of flack from folks irritated that I dare say anyone’s better than the Russellville mainstay — whether it’s CJ’s Butcher Boy Burgers across the interstate, Feltner Brothers in Fayetteville or anyone else. I got called on not putting Whatta-Burger in my 50 Best Arkansas Burgers I Ate in 2011; frankly, I am not 100 percent certain I even ate at the location all of last year, thanks to all the other burgers I consumed.
But I still like the place, and on my most recent visit to the area I decided that I needed to go back again and give the burger another try. Or, more succinctly, I wanted an orange shake.
Posted by Kat Robinson on | Permalink | Comments (1)
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Coming soon / Closing soon / Vegetarian Curry in a Hurry to move to Amruth Location
So that dining update I wrote on Amruth about a week ago? Instantly obsolete. According to Sahil Hameerani, owner of Curry in a Hurry, he walked into Amruth two days ago and offered to buy the place. He had no idea if the owners, Ramesh and Sudha Veluvolu, had even considered selling. Lucky for Hameerani, they were willing to consider quickly. "Mr. Veluvolu said it was becoming too much work for his wife to do everything, all the cooking," said Hameerani.
For several weeks, Hameerani had been scouting a new location for Curry in a Hurry, which he opened in November as an offshoot to a convenience store on North Little Rock's Pike Avenue. "It wasn't the kind of location someone could go on a date," he said. Hameerani had concerns about Pike Avenue from the beginning. He had chosen the locale because extended family owned the convenience store, but he'd tried to shield diners from what he considered a seedy neighborhood by pushing take out and offering private dining with thick curtains.
Currently, Hameerani is renovating Amruth, which is closed for lunch but still open as Amruth (with the Amruth menu) for dinner, from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. Hameerani's father, who cooked for Curry in a Hurry, is running the kitchen alongside Sudha Veluvolu — a situation that may be temporary or permanent. According to Hameerani, the sale happened so quickly that he hasn't had time to work out details. He knows he wants to retain Curry in a Hurry's name and use Curry in a Hurry's menu as a base. "But we want to expand on the menu, because we have a much bigger kitchen and a bigger dining space," he said. He plans to feature plenty of ghee-free, vegan options on his expanded menu.
Hameerani also wants to change the Amruth dining room —"New paint, new tables, new everything," he said. "Maybe something in light purple or orange, Indian colors." He'd like to keep up the take out element of the business, while offering a lunch buffet and evening fine dining. His goal is to have the old Amruth operating as the new Curry in a Hurry by February 15. Hours will be 11 a.m. - 3 p.m. lunch, and 5 p.m. -10 p.m. dinner, seven days a week.
Posted by Cheree Franco on | Permalink | Comments (2)
Tuesday, January 31, 2012
Coming soon / Food Trucks New Food Truck: Clyde and Kiddo's BBQ
As long as he can remember, Karle Johnson's dad has barbecued. "We have barbecue on the Fourth of July, on our birthdays, on New Years," he said. His dad, Randy Johnson, has spent the past 25 years perfecting sauces passed down from his own father. Now the Little Rock-based father/son duo are taking what Karle has coined "Arkansas style" barbecue on the road.
On February 6, Clyde and Kiddo's BBQ & More food truck will open at 12605 Alexander Road, and they'll post their daily location on facebook. All food will be made to order in the mobile kitchen. In addition to spicy and tangy barbecue, Clyde and Kiddo's will serve burgers, hot dogs, chili, salads and vegetable-based soups.
Karle, 25, describes "Arkansas style" as borrowing from Memphis flavorings. "It's pork based, slow hickory smoked, with a thin, tomato-based sauce," he said.
A veteran from the kitchens of Purple Cow and The House, Karle spent a lot of time surfing in south Texas before considering a professional future in food. He studied history and journalism at Texas A&M and UALR, respectively. "I wasn't sure what I wanted to do. But once I moved back to Arkansas and started working at Purple Cow, I decided all I really wanted to do was cook," he said. He worked his way from soda jerk to cook at the Purple Cow. With the encouragement of Tony Gold, director of Pulaski Tech Culinary School, and his boss, Karle enrolled at Pulaski Tech.
When his father retired from the hospital industry, he and Karle began to kick aound the food truck idea. "If you look at the industry, it's going in the direction of mobile kitchens," Karla said. "With the economy and all, we didn't want to be there tapping our thumbs, waiting for customers to come to us. Now if we don't have customers, we'll just drive to a place where we do have customers."
For Karle, barbecue was a no-brainer. "Everyone has their comfort foods. For us, barbecue is about family. It's something my dad and I like to do together."
Posted by Cheree Franco on | Permalink | Comments (0)
Monday, January 30, 2012
Read this Second issue of Arkansauce out
The second issue of Arkansauce: The Journal of Arkansas Foodways is now available for download, in PDF form. The annual journal is a production of the Special Collections Department of the University of Arkansas Libraries.
Nathania Sawyer, of the Butler Center, guest edits and rounds up a compelling group of contributions. There are pieces on old-line hamburger chains, spudnuts, poke salad and a really handy map of Arkansas Food Festivals. I haven't had a chance to read it all yet, but here are a couple of highlights after a quick scan.
From Judge Morris Arnold's survey of colonial fare in Arkansas:
Gru or sagamite seems to have been an- other favorite of Indians and hunters alike. This was a boiled corn mush seasoned with bears’ oil or buffalo tallow, often cooked with turkey or duck. Gru, Father du Poisson re- veals, was frequently used as a bread substitute: “A spoonful of gru and a mouthful of meat go together.” Most people would not have had ham and beef, of course, as VallieÌ€re did, but meat of other kinds was usually plentiful, since the woods and prairies were alive with deer, bears, and buf- falo. Buffalo ribs (“plats cotes”) were a favorite colonial Arkansas dish, especially those of a fat buffalo cow, a delicacy that gave Vache Grasse (fat cow) Prairie in northwest Arkansas its name. And the skies were thick, in season, with pheasants and ducks.
From an interview by Tim Nutt with Miss Fluffy Rice 1975 (Nutt's aunt):
TN: Before entering the state competition, you were crowned Poinsett County Miss Fluffy Rice. What was involved in the local contest?BS: There was a local contest held at Weiner High School and then the county competition in Harrisburg. There were three contestants. We cooked our rice dish, and I had to give a speech about what role rice had played in my life.
TN: Describe your winning dish. How did you choose it?
BS: The recipe for the rice salad dish came from Nadine Bartholomew, a dear friend of my family. It included rice, eggs, pickles, onions, celery, pimento, and a special dressing mixture. I believe I tweaked it a little in terms of the dressing. The judges apparently liked it.
Posted by Lindsey Millar on | Permalink | Comments (0)
Food Trucks Food truck 'court' opens Wednesday on University Ave.
UPDATE:
Here is a full listing of the charter members for University Market:
Hot Dog Mike
Homegrown
Taqueria Samantha
Haygood Bar-b-que
Red River Catering
The Food Truck
Christians Take Out Too
Peace Hog Mobile Cafe
Papa's Burgers and Dogs
University Market is a project initiated by Mosaic Church, which is in the process of purchasing the old K-Mart on the corner of University and Col. Glenn, according to Jennifer Harrison, a church member who is helping organize the food truck space. Hours, initially, won't be steady. Each vendor can use the parking lot whenever it chooses, according to Harrison. Some of the owners of the trucks have day jobs and will only park in evening hours. Others will do the opposite. By March, Harrison said she hoped more trucks would join the rotation and hours would become consistent.
Mosaic plans to turn the former Kmart into a community center open to all comers, according to Harrison. The University Market is an extension of that mission, she said. "We want to offer gourmet food at affordable prices and food that's multi-ethnic, like Mosaic."
Harrison said current city zoning laws don't allow large signage or outdoor seating for food trucks, but she is hoping to get an exception from the city.
Harrison's husband is Jon Harrison, the former Caterpillar executive who recently quit Caterpillar to volunteer full time for Mosaic.
EARLIER:
Who knew? When I was in San Francisco last week, one of the wish-we-had sights I saw was a plaza near the civic center with a regular lineup of food trucks that serve weekday lunch.
Guess what? Little Rock has a food truck fair in the works. A "food truck court" set to open this week at what's being styled the University Market at 4Corners. That's the intersection of University Avenue and Col. Glenn. According to the Facebook page map, it will set up on the southeast corner of the intersection (by the old Cinema 150). Subsequent posts on the Facebook page indicate the trucks will be on the former Kmart parking lot on the southwest corner of the intersection.
Hot Dog Mike says the "soft opening" is scheduled for 11 a.m. Wednesday. Mike is one of nine vendors listed on the Facebook page. I'm pleased to note that one of them is Taqueria Samantha, my go-to burrito choice that's a staple on Geyer Springs Road.
Posted by Max Brantley on | Permalink | Comments (6)
Friday, January 27, 2012
Changes Dinner in Dogtown, now to music
- Biscuits and gravy a la Dogtown
Dogtown Coffee and Cookery, a comfort-food (plus gourmet soup) eatery at 6725 JFK Blvd., will start serving dinner Thursday through Saturday next week and will have music from Bluesboy Jag on Friday nights, owner/chef Jason Godwin says.
The menu at Dogtown includes plate lunches, specials on Mondays and Thursdays, sandwiches and soups, like today's truffle, leek and potato with bacon crumbles on top. Specials include things like pulled pork tacos, pastas, etc. On the dessert list: muffins, cookies, scones, funnel cakes and homemade ice cream. There's no booze. "We're in the trifecta of churches," barrista Michael Hale explained. I've eaten lunch there and can vouch for it. Delicious.
Godwin was chef at Simply the Best Catering before opening Dogtown in July.
Posted by Leslie Newell Peacock on | Permalink | Comments (1)
Thursday, January 26, 2012
Burgers Burger joint of the week: Dugan's Pub
- Kat Robinson
- JUICY: Dugan's Pub's Swiss Mushroom Burger needs to be eaten upside down.
And I’m going to go back… because the place has a great feel to it, a nice roaring fireplace to warm up by, and a burger that soaks into your soul.
Posted by Kat Robinson on | Permalink | Comments (1)
Wednesday, January 25, 2012
Reviews / Vegetarian Hey vegans! Freedom of choice at Amruth
- Cheree Franco
- Chili Paneer at Amruth
Amruth is in a west Little Rock strip mall, and the décor is dark and uninspired. Don’t be dissuaded. In fact, if you’re vegan you should be particularly optimistic. The menu is massive, and there are over a dozen options that contain absolutely no animal products of any feather, spot or stripe. (Obviously, avoid the words “paneer” or “with cream sauce.”) According to Amruth’s owner, Ramesh Veluvolu, this is because his wife does the cooking and many Indians are “strict vegetarians,” including his parents. What it means for you, dear vegan, is freedom of choice!
We’ve been to Amruth twice. The first time, we split Vegetable Kuma (described on the menu as “mixed veggies in a blend of creamy sauce and spices”). We mistakenly asked Mr. Veluvolu to “make it the way you would have it yourself.” We’d like to tell you what was in the Kuma, but we can’t. Our eyes teared, blurring the food beyond recognition. Taste? What taste? Our little ‘buds were too seared to taste for hours.
Our second trip was much more successful. We started with the trio of complementary chutneys (very fresh), as well as the Chili Panner[sic] and Spinach Naan.
A moment for Amruth’s breads: they don’t disappoint, and the stuffed breads are actually all you’d need for a snack-of-a-meal. Last time we had the Garlic Naan. It was standard—garlicky, doughy, warm. But it seemed dependable, you know? This visit, the Spinach Naan—a true treat. It was layered and fluffy, with a faint oily glaze. The spinach was bright, and it tasted like spinach. Overall: subtle flavor, comforting texture, filling but not heavy.
The Chili Paneer is cubed and lightly fried cheese, sautéed with green chilis, onions and soy sauce. The cheese had a firm, satisfying texture, and there was a clean cilantro kick. We also liked the crunch and sweetness of the onions. This app could be deceiving, though. Both the heat and the flavor developed slowly. We thought it was all about the way it felt in our mouths, but be prepared for a spicy aftershock.
Posted by Cheree Franco on | Permalink | Comments (10)
Tuesday, January 24, 2012
Caffeinated Morning Wake-Up: Guillermo's Gourmet Grounds
- Kat Robinson
- BOTTOMLESS: I drink way too many of these at Guillermo's.
Hans Oliver has been teasing me for months now about reserving my seat at Guillermo’s Gourmet Grounds. I started coming to G3 sporadically in 2010, and over the past eight or nine months I have become a regular. It’s a good spot to groove and write for hours on end.
Of course, I wouldn’t have been there in the first place had it not been for the coffee.
Posted by Kat Robinson on | Permalink | Comments (1)
Monday, January 23, 2012
Pizza New ownership at Pizza D'Action
Longtime Pizza D'Action employees Gary Hoschouer and Chuck Beets have purchased the storied dive bar and pizza joint from longtime owner Orville Davis.
Hoschouer, who along with Beets has worked at Pizza D off and on for about 18 years, said to expect small menu changes and some interior updates, but no radical changes. Two specific upgrades coming soon: outlets at tables to allow laptop users to work more easily and a repaired and remodeled front entrance, which has been covered with plywood since mid-December after a driver smashed through the building and then drove away. Once the latter happens, hopefully in time for the Super Bowl Hoschouer said, look for a party to celebrate the ownership change and the "grand reopening."
The restaurant/bar's new Facebook Page is the place for daily meal and drink specials and music listings. Look for concerts at Pizza D once or twice a week, Hoschoeur said.
UPDATE: Still smoking.
Posted by Lindsey Millar on | Permalink | Comments (17)
Thursday, January 19, 2012
The Greatest Catfish in the World rises from the muck in Georgetown
The other day, I was surfing around online (okay, I might have been Googling my name to see who's been talking smack about me), when I ran across a post on Rex Nelson's Southern Fried Blog about the destruction of the Georgetown One Stop during the Biblical-grade flooding on the White River last spring.
My heart sank. As you well know if you know me, or if you've read Arkansas Times food reviews for any length of time, I gush over the fried catfish at Georgetown One Stop — a former gas station on the banks of the White River which I was turned on to by my friend and White County native Lindsey Millar — every chance I get. Not to get too grandiose, but I consider the fish there to be a gift from a kind and loving Creator, who wants good things for all mankind. There simply is no better fish in the state in my estimation, and the thought that all that might have been wiped off the planet by a deluge was a thought too great to bear.
Just before resolving to commit ritual seppuku with my knife and fork, I gave the One Stop a call. Imagine my relief when owner JoAnn Taylor picked up the phone, and confirmed the place is open for business once again.
Taylor said that water has gotten close to the door of the One Stop before, but never this high. During the spring floods last year, she said, the White River surged over its banks and drowned the restaurant and most of the town three and a half feet deep. The water then proceeded to sit there for three weeks, floating the refrigerator, ruining the stove, the heater, the air conditioner and all the other appliances. When the river finally withdrew, Taylor said, the floor was covered in a layer of muck and thousands of nightcrawlers.
"I wasn't going to reopen," she said. "I just thought it was one of those things that was kind of disastrous."
Then a funny thing happened. As if drawn by the miraculous, life-affirming power of fried catfish — in a scene I imagine as a fatter, more french-fry-scented version of the ending of "Field of Dreams" — local diners who love the One Stop came out of the woodwork to help rebuild it. "The people in town and some of the churches in Searcy just came down and started knocking out the walls," Taylor said, "getting the bleach out and saving everything — rebuilding things. They just did it voluntarily... I think they wanted it to stay so they could come down and eat fish."
After a slew of donations and four months of demolition and rebuilding work, the One Stop re-opened last summer. Taylor said they've been so busy since then that they haven't had a chance to repaint the concrete floors. A bucket of high-dollar epoxy coating donated by the local Sherwin-Williams outlet still sits in the back, waiting for business to slow down enough for them to have time to do something with it.
For my part, I hope those damn floors never do get painted.
GEORGETOWN ONE STOP
209 N Main St
Georgetown
Phone: (501) 742-3781
Hours: Thu-Sat 10 am - 8 pm (Note: call ahead. If fisherman aren't fishing the White River, the One Stop will be closed)
Posted by David Koon on | Permalink | Comments (3)
Event Calendar
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Re: Vegetarians get plenty of cheese at Copper Grill
"Animal protein, particularly cow milk protein, binds with all the healing antioxidants and renders them…
- on February 3, 2012
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Re: Vegetarians get plenty of cheese at Copper Grill
There is one caveat to vegetarian instead of vegan food. Animal protein, particularly cow milk…
- on February 3, 2012
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Re: Boulevard is making quark
Can anyone give me a sense of the calories/fat/etc. of a typical serving?
- on February 2, 2012
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