We forget about our institutions. Take them for granted. Get caught up
in the hustle and bustle of the new, or the latest twist on some old
standard. It comes with the territory of restaurant reviewing.

But institutions need reappraisal. And, in that spirit, after several
recent visits to The Faded Rose, we’re happy to say that Little Rock’s
standard-bearer for Cajun cooking since 1982 is the same as it ever was —
reliably solid.

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Which means, after some time away, we were excited to see that not much
had changed. The floors at the Rebsamen location still feel like
they’re cleaned
with fryer grease. A short, crunchy loaf of Leidenheimer French bread
still fills the bread basked, and serves well for sopping up another New
Orleans’ standard, the garlic vinaigrette soaked salad ($3.95 for a
small, $5.25 for a large). Even with all kinds of newcomers in the
market, The Rose remains a contender for best Crescent City classics in
town.

More than anything else, the mere mention of Rose’s thin fish ($8.75 for
a regular portion, $11.75 for the large, which might better be
described as “heaping”) gets us salivating like Pavlov’s dog. We remain
convinced — always will be probably — that no one in Arkansas does fried
catfish better than the Georgetown One-Stop in White County. But Faded
Rose’s thin fish deserves its own special subcategory. Pounded flat into
wide, long pieces, lightly breaded and fried to a delicate crisp, it’s
heaven. Especially when used as a scoop for a neighbor’s gumbo ($4.95
small bowl, $6.25 large) or crawfish etouffee ($13.75).

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The former’s dark roux envelops andouille sausage, okra and shrimp; the
latter’s savory roux is a touch thin for our liking, but otherwise tasty
and filled with plenty of crawfish tails.

That crunchy Leidenheimer French loaf is most famous for its role in the
po-boy, a sandwich Faded Rose fully embraces. There are 13 options on
the menu, including a fried potato po-boy ($4.50), a meatloaf po-boy
($6.50) and “The Peacemaker” ($16.90), a 16- to 18-inch loaf filled with
a dozen oysters, remoulade, slaw, pickles and mayonnaise. It’s the
sandwich, according to the menu, that New Orleans’ husbands brought home
to placate their angry wives. We’ve never been so anxious for a fight
at home.

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With so many appealing options, we usually rationalize that two are
better than any one and go with the half and half ($8.25) — half fried
oyster, half fried shrimp. Dressed with slightly spicy Creole mayo,
lettuce, tomato and pickles and filled with plenty of crispy oysters and
shrimp, it never disappoints.

On recent visits, our servers were solicitous, almost too much so. One
waiter offered a running play-by-play, breathlessly, about his plans to
attend to our table. “I’m going to get you some more bread after I get
drinks from a table up front, who’ve been waiting for a while, and fill
them up, then I’m going to check on your entrees, which should be ready
any minute.” He also inadvertently splashed droplets onto a companion’s
face when he brought water, which was a great excuse to point and laugh
at said companion. But we’ll take overbearing over slacking any day. We
never had to wait long for food or drink, and left happy.

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The Faded Rose
1619 Rebsamen Park Road
663-9734

400 N. Bowman Road
224-3377

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Quick bite
It’s not just the po-boy offerings that overwhelm. The entire
menu is dizzyingly expansive. There’s steak just about any way you like
it; a bunch of burgers, including the ragin’ Cajun burger, topped with
jalapeno pepper gravy; and all sorts of other creole specialties —
several kinds of meuniere, shrimp creole, blackened redfish. Mmmmm,
we’re already ready to reassess.

Hours
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
Friday to Saturday.

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Other info
Full bar. Credit cards accepted.

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