What’s Cooking
A sign on the door says that Rolando’s will be coming soon in the former Faded Rose location on Central Avenue in Hot Springs, across from the Arlington Resort and Hotel. Ed David, who owns the two Faded Roses in Little Rock, closed the Hot Springs branch in late December. His company isn’t affiliated with Rolando’s.
Speaking of Hot Springs, McClard’s Bar-B-Q, often named in polls as the best barbecue restaurant in the state, recently was named one of the Top 10 favorites in Arkansas in Travelocity’s 2005 “Local Secrets, Big Finds” Internet guidebook poll taken of its 30,000 members. The poll was posted at www.travelocity.com on March 14. Travelocity’s editors said in a press release that the poll is dedicated “to sending you straight to the heart of your destination, revealing those hidden gems across the country that are often overlooked by tourists but are the very places where the locals often go.” McClard’s is on Highway 70 west of downtown.
Passing through Conway recently, we noted that Lolita’s Tex-Mex, which had been located in Maumelle until last summer, is open downtown at 915 Front St. The phone number is 501-513-4100. The hours are 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday and 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Sunday. Lolita’s is closed Mondays. Also, because of Faulkner County’s dry status, there are no more margaritas.
Capsule reviews
CHINA KING BUFFET If a packed Sunday lunch crowd tells you anything, then this place is aptly named. This all-you-can-eat buffet caters to all tastes. The kids can have their chicken nuggets, mac and cheese, potato wedges and corn on the cob. Adults can try fried chicken, duck, crab legs, shrimp, oysters and sushi. And, of course, about a dozen or so Chinese entrees and all the fixins. Also available, a large fruit and salad selection. For the adventuresome, choose your own mixture of meat, veggies and sauces and they will cook it up for you on the Mongolian grill, at no extra charge. Top it all off with something from the dessert bar. With seating for over 200, the crowd did not seem to overwhelm the wait staff on drink refills. But it did cause some waiting for more clean soup bowls from the kitchen. 9210 Rodney Parham Road, 223-0888, LD 7 Days $-$$ CC Beer and wine.
KIBB’S BARBECUE NO. 1 One of the best pork barbecue sandwiches you’ll ever have is here in this little eatery at Second and Buerkle streets. The sauce is of sweet, hot variety, and the sandwiches are sloppy-generous. We also had an order of fries; made from scratch, they took awhile, but good food takes time, and who’s hurrying in Stuttgart? Sweet tea by the bucket, homemade potato salad, homemade sweet potato pie — what more could you want? A beer, you say? You can get one. Ribs and catfish, too. We’ve never been to Kibb’s No. 2 (which has a different owner) on Park Avenue on the east side of town, but based on our experience, we’re betting you can’t top No. 1. 436 W. Second St., 870-673-4261. LD Mon.-Sat. $$. Beer.

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