Eat Arkansas

Mitch is the schizzle, fo' nizzle. He makes a mean basil-lemon drop martini and always has a laid-back attitude and a big ol' smile on his face.

Ferneau's service is unbeatable. They know exactly what they're doing. What's the first thing you gaze upon when you enter the doors? Why, a lovely young hostess, of course. Usually blonde.

Beautiful, friendly young women greeting you at the door never hurt a thing- and I think it's a damn smart strategy. If I owned a restaurant, I'd hire the hottest, most qualified women I could find to host my guests, no doubt.

Not to mention the killer food, wicked drinks, super friendly and able service that sets it apart from most restaurants.

No- all restaurants.

Awesome! I didn't nominate Mitch because, well, I've never been to Ferneau (*prepares for an all out assault from Joel & Jen*), but he's a really cool cat. Good to see him in the series!

PS - drop me an email if/when you plan to go to the Flying Burrito to talk to Annie (the bannanie).. I'll be sure to join you. :-)

Assault?

That's funny.

It's just a good restaurant. Good god.

Joel?

*sigh* Sometimes (most times) sarcasm doesn't come across well on teh intarwebs.

Alls I'm saying is sometimes (particularly recently) your enthusiasm and praise for the place seems a little over the top and like everything else is dirt compared to it. I'm all for exhaulting the good attributes of a place you dearly enjoy, but when that results in condescening everywhere else.. well, it gets old.

*shrug* Just my 2¢

PS - I was just expectiing encouragement from the both of you to try them sometime... hence why I said what I said in the first place.

Oh. Yes. Sarcasm. I get it.

I didn't think encouragement to check out Ferneau was necessary. It's sort of *implied* in our over-the-top-it-gets-old enthusiasm for yes, the best restaurant in Little Rock.

And by the way, though I've never sat at the bar or met Annie at the Flying Burrito, I eat the shit out of some food there. It's one of my very favorite indulgences.

You know you should go eat there, Gracie. I laughed when I read that.

I have not eaten at Flying BUrrito in quite some time, and I may have to make it by there sometime soon. I have not done a lot of eating out the past few months, so I feel disconnected from my roots.

Y'know, I got my point across and didn't feel the need to say anything else until this thought hit me -

Jen, your comments lately seem to have gotten a bit on the snarky side. What gives? **DISCLOSURE** Not a personal attack, just genuinely curious.

Snarky. Excellent word. I'm afraid nothing gives, Gracie. I think it's just like you said earlier: sarcasm doesn't come across well all the time online.

And I really do like the Burrito in Flight. Nachos with EVERYTHING on them. Esp. anything spicy spicy hot.

And if you ever get out to Ferneau- and I'm sure Joel will have more input than me; I'm typically a wine drinker only- you HAVE to try the basil lemon drop martini. It's so basil-ey. I almost said "delish," but that word has forever been ruined by Rachel Ray and her newest line of (?) pet food.

I've have to remember that. Martinis aren't usually my thing, but my curiousity is peaked.

See, I normally go to the Burrito to imbibe, but I used to frequent the Big Juan - tall can & a burrito for something like 7 or 8 bucks.

To marry the martini & burrito comments - there's a guy I've become friends with due to our both frequenting the place, his name is Eric and he's always getting Annie to make interesting new martinis. Like, a garden veggie martini with cilantro & a little pico at the bottom. Also, I haven't tried them yet, but Annie had some liquors steeping, some with rose, lavender, hibiscus, etc. Mmmmm, I'm getting thirsty!

PS - Rachel Ray dog food, blech!

Clarification - blech at anything Rachel Ray :-)

Gracie

"Rose, lavender, hibiscus, etc. "

"Garden veggie martini with cilantro"

Wow. That sounds (1) very delicious and (2) very innovative. I would definitely be all over that. I'll have to check Annie out sometime and say that she comes highly recommended on the Eat AR Blog.

I kid you not, I read the Rachel Ray thing in the news a couple of days ago and I could and simultaneously COULD NOT believe it. I mean, okay- I was into her show before she sold her soul to Oprah and the very sound of her nasal passages (voice) started to cause my blood pressure to raise at an alarming rate.

Dog food? Really? SOMEONE PLEASE PUT AN END TO IT. Isn't seeing her "EVOO" in Kroger punishment enough???

I can't even look at her anymore. Blech doesn't begin to cover it.

I must've gone to the Bizarro-Ferneau.

Average at best.

Lew, I really have to ask if Donnie had a goatee for your visit.

Average at best? I would not use that to describe Ferneau, Baci, Lulav, or even Acadia (which underwhelmed me last time I went), and Brave New (overrated imo).

What was lacking?

I had to literally point out the bottle behind the bar for my initial drink order and our server recommended a wine because she "liked the name." Unacceptable for the wad I'm dropping in "Little Rock's best restaurant."

Regarding the food...Well, perhaps 'average' is too strong a term, then.

My experience there was on par with the places you mention- I've had better (and worse) meals at the places you list.

I just didn't experience anything that justifies the fanaticism Ferneau enjoys.

Lew,

You are spot on. Definitely unacceptable. I am really surprised about the bottle pointing problem.

I hope you can give it another try in a while. I am going back through my list of places that did not fare well for me last year and giving them another whirl right now.

Knowing me, I probably will. My ire will recede and there will be an evening at some point where we want to go out but have no idea where. One of us will say, "Hey, let's try Ferneau again. So-and-so went last week and said it was real good."

The last few times I ate at Acadia, we named it "Salt Lick". I haven't been there in several years, but I hear that they've toned down the salt since. Now, don't get me wrong, I love salt, but jeez!

Unfortunately, being single I seldom eat at any of the high end restaurants here. But, if I'm gonna drop $50+ for a meal, I want to be dazzled.

Pollen, that sounds about right. It has been a good year or so since I last tried Acadia. They do have a great wine list, but the food seemed to struggle to keep up when I was there. It is about time to get back and give it a whirl.

Being single, and not paid to review them, does make it hard to justify the time and money in some of the restaurants.

Looking a the menu I can see why my wife wants me to take her there. Looking at the menu also tells me why I won't go. It is all fru fru food.

About the only things that interested me were the Hummus and the Beef Satay.

Of course, being a super taster makes going out to eat difficult at best and my poor wife has learned to live with it...sometimes.

Fru fru? Rack of lamb? Steak and mashed potatoes? Roasted Pork Loin? Grilled Salmon? These are fru fru to your mind? A bit surprised.

Being a super taster, that will be an issue of its own and I hope that you find enough stuff to enjoy when you do head in that direction.