Little Rock Dining

With my mom being in the hospital, I have been eating out in Little Rock more than Dallas lately. These comments are probably irrelevant to anyone who reads this blog, but I am writing them anyway.

Ferneau - Not impressed. And I wanted to be. We went here for Sunday brunch because I wanted a nice meal to soothe my frazzled spirit (yes, typical, I know). It was fine, but for $55 I want a better brunch - both food and service. The presentation was very nice on each dish though I don't know how that was accomplished. The kitchen was so dark! It is an open kitchen, which I like, but I don't know how they can see anything back there. It is on Kavanaugh in Hillcrest.

Leo's Greek Castle - Yum. The next Sunday we ate here. Granted we didn't have booze, which affected our tab $15 at Ferneau, but our meal at Leo's was just $13! And I enjoyed it more. Is there a tiny bit of dill in that hummus? Leo's is not at all stylish and has only about 10-12 tables, half of them outside. But the food is good and certainly was plenty for the price. Leo's is right down the street from Ferneau on Kavanaugh in Hillcrest.

Taziki's Greek Fare - This is a just-opened place on Cantrell across from Pavilion in the Park. It was edible, but far from special. Even the convenience of it being a stone's throw from Mom's apartment won't lead me to return. The chicken gyro didn't have gyro meat (which is good even though I don't want to know how it is made). It was just grilled chicken. The pita weren't soft enough. Do Ruffles potato chips go with a gyro? The hummus was okay. The people were very nice. I am spoiled by living near two fantastic Mediterranean places. It will probably do well in the area since it is decent and there are no quick casual dining places in the immediate vicinity. (There is nothing quick about Trio's!) Speaking of that vicinity, Little Rock folks will remember Splash in Pavilion in the Park. I really liked that place.

Salut! - Of course I saved the best for last. And I am not just saying this because it is my brother's restaurant, really. The beef short rib ravioli is so freaking good. It is an appetizer - a single large ravioli stuffed with the tender beef from a long-braised short rib. The pasta is al dente and is house made, of course. The jus makes it for me. I ask for bread to "sop it up". It is rich and savory. He really reduces the stock for intense flavor. (I did recently learn that he makes and uses lots of veal stock, which is upsetting. I am trying not to think about it.) I think Matthew's soups and sauces are his strong suits. The soup changes each day. I have enjoyed the parsnip and thyme soup and the tomato basil. Matthew actually didn't make the tomato basil, his assistant made it. It was great. I haven't eaten a lot of entrees, but must commend a new fall addition to the menu - Pig and Parsnips. The dish of pear and parsnip puree topped with a mound of slow-roasted pulled pork is fabulous. He has delicious looking chalk-board specials each day, but many of them involve shellfish, so I have not been able to enjoy them. A new dessert to try is the chocolate mousse cake with Oreo crust. Oh my. This isn't a light mousse. It is a dense, intense hunk o' chocolate. It screams for coffee!

Places on the go-to list

Really want to check out Soley! on Henderson and Hattie's in the Bishop Arts District. I have wanted to go to Bishop Arts District for a while, but never have done it.

I have a high school buddy coming into town next weekend who wants some soul food. He lives in Seattle now. Everyone I ask says to go to Sweet Georgia Brown in South Dallas. I will give a full report. Then we are going to the Cowboys v. Bengals game on October 5. Should be fun, though the Bengals have not lived up to expectations. Should be a butt-whippin'.

Last weekend I finally got to sit down to a nice dinner at my brother's restaurant. I need to write about it. It was very good, and the patio is really nice.

Newest Review of Salut!

My brother is a chef, and Salut! is his restaurant. (His name is spelled wrong.) This review came out today in Arkansas Business. The review is from the perspective of evaluating a place for a business lunch.

Upscale Southern Eatery Salut! Tops Charts in Service, Food (Business Lunch)
By Arkansas Business Staff - 9/15/2008
Salut! at Prospect Place
1501 N. University Ave., Suite 160, Little Rock
(501) 660-4200
Cuisine: Southern Contemporary
Dress Code: None
Noise Level: Moderate
Price Range: $3-$10
Credit Cards: All major
Reservations: Same day
Receipts: May-June $73,383
3.5 waiters
Salut! at Prospect Place, a fine fledgling restaurant tucked away in the squat black office building at the corner of University Avenue and Cantrell Road, offers a refreshing, contemporary cuisine with a Southern, and slightly Cajun, flair that can likely be traced to Executive Chef and Partner Matthew Radcliff's New Orleans roots.
Though owners Chris Tanner of Cheers in the Heights and Dave Bisceglia of Dave & Ray's Downtown Diner wanted to spell the name Salute, which is still how it's pronounced, they dropped the "e" to prevent confusion with the name of a nearby liquor store.
Our waiter, a genuinely courteous server added to the restaurant's elegant, but not pretentious, atmosphere.
We began with a cup of the Three Cheese Dip ($4), a tasty, but not earth-shattering, version of the common snack. Our other appetizer, the Short Rib Ravioli ($6.50) in a wild mushroom jus followed soon after. The dish was savory, but not our favorite.
The Low Country Shrimp & Grits entrée ($9.50), a bowl of grilled shrimp, asparagus and parmesan grits in a tasso - a type of smoked ham - cream sauce, was unexpectedly elegant and absolutely delicious. We never thought we'd see a gracefully prepared entrée of grits.
One diner feasted on the Slow Braised Beef Short Rib ($8.50), which came atop a mound of potato medallions and drenched in a mushroom jus. The promise of dessert may have been the only thing that kept the frenzied business journalist from eating the bone because the dish was so tasty.
Another of our party had the Seared Salmon Special ($10), which arrived on a bed of orzo pasta and asparagus and was graced with a rich roasted white corn sauce. The diner, and those of us who swiped a bite when he wasn't looking, thinks the dish should earn a permanent spot on the menu. (Don't do that if you're on a date. Or make sure you don't get caught.)
One diner ordered, and was bested by, the Beef Brisket Sandwich ($7). The peppered beef, white cheddar, basil mayo, lettuce and tomato made for a scrumptious stack of goodness.
The homemade banana puddin' ($5) and bourbon ice cream with caramelized pears ($6), topped the charts. So to Salut!, we lift our glasses.

Random Notes

Bogle Phantom - Wow. What a nose! Chocolate with something sweeter... caramel? overripe or candied cherries? The main taste I get is cloves. Really different.

Grimaldi's Pizza - yummy. I have never gotten fresh ricotta on a pizza before. It was absolutely delish with kalamatas and sundried tomatoes. Without the kalamatas, it would have been downright sweet. Pizza should never have thick crust.

Sexto - A six grape Spanish wine. Highest percentage is Garnacha at 33%. There are some grapes I have never heard of in this one. Decant or give it some time to open up in the glass. My last sip was very different from my first. Only $15 at Veritas and available there by the glass right now, though their btg offerings change frequently.

BYOB Dallas

As a public service, I am providing links to all of the lists of BYOB restaurants in Dallas that I know about. My dear friend CE has compiled a list also. I will add it when I can find it.
People who really like wine and saving money need to know these things!!

http://www.localwineevents.com/Dallas-FW-Wine/BYOB-restaurants.html

http://www.gaylistdaily.com/dallas/entries/you_can_take_it_with_you/

http://www.slowfooddallas.com/Local_Picks.html#SECTION_IV:_GOOD_TO_KNOW

Also check out all of the above websites - good stuff throughout!

YTAC Benefit - Milestone Culinary Arts Center

Thursday night CB and I went to a Young Texans Against Cancer benefit at the Milestone Culinary Arts Center on McKinney. MCAC is a really nice place to have an event for the right crowd. The benefit included tastings and cooking demonstrations from area chefs. Also featured were Osborne Solaz wines from Spain. CB really enjoyed the Solaz Blanco Viura. The only wine I tried was the Solaz Shiraz/Temparanillo. It was fairly soft and quite tasty. I have had a few opportunities lately to try Temparanillo blends and have liked them. I think I will explore this grape further as white wine season fades into red wine season. (At this moment, the edge of Hurricane Ike is making it stay in your house and sleep season here in Dallas.)
CB is not a cook. It just isn't her thing. So I drug her to only one cooking demonstration, that of Chef Julia Lopez of Alo'. Alo' is owned by the same couple who own La Duni. In addition to being the chef at Alo', Lopez oversees the group's new restaurant development. A La Duni will be opening in North Park Center in November, just in time for the holiday madness. Lopez made a Peruvian Tuna Ceviche with apples and tomatillos that was fabulous. I often don't get to eat ceviche because I am allergic to shellfish. But this ceviche was shellfish-free. CB is not a very adventurous eater but she tried it and liked it too. Lopez kindly provided the recipe. Alo' is definitely on the go-to list now.
Perhaps my favorite dish was by Chef Juan A. Rosado of The Crescent Club. He prepared plantain chorizo meatballs with toasted cumin cilantro aioli and citrus microgreens. Yum. The presentation was lovely. I did not get to go to the demo for this one, but hope to track down the recipe.
There also were offerings from Chefs at Cafe' Madrid, Loft 610 and The MCAC as well as pastries from La Duni.
I hope YTAC made a lot of money!

Trece and Ari's revisited

Tonight I made my third visit to Ari's Wine Bistro following my second dinner at Trece. I enjoyed both very much. Trece has the best guacamole ever made. Really. I usually don't have any interest in guacamole. At Trece, they make the guac at your table. I know that table-made guac is a gimmick used as far down the totem pole of dining as On the Border. But at Trece it is fabulous. They adjust the heat to your taste and it is fresh and chunky and yummy. I did not get the tortilla soup, but a few folks at our table of eight did. It looked wonderful. The soup was nicely presented. A bowl of "solids" was placed in front of the diner then a tomato-chicken broth was poured over the top. I chose the vegetarian chile relleno. It was a yummy blob with goat cheese, pecans and other stuff in a tender pepper on a tomato based sauce. It was comfort food for sure, yet not too heavy. The service this time at Trece was better than my prior visit. My mind was changed about this place. I also like the wine list at Trece. There is a good selection of varietals. They also have lots of froufy drinks - blueberry mojitos and such. Froufy drinks aren't my thing. As I have said here before - beer, wine and Crown Royal.
After dinner, we walked across the street to Ari's Wine Bistro. They had a good band on the terrace that drew us in. The handsome man who I presume to be the owner gave us a brief lesson on white Burgundy. He is such a nice guy. The other ladies had a bottle of said Burgundy. I had a glass of Trocadero NV Brut which was dry and nice. Not amazing, but definitely nice for $22 a bottle at the restaurant.
The remaining four ladies were in for shenanigans tonight if they can find any. I retired to the house and am soon to be in bed. Hasta luego.

NFL Week 1 (Just shut up already!)

The sports talking heads need some perspective. Tom Brady did not die. He was not paralyzed like the remarkable Kevin Everett was last year was in Week 1. Brady tore his ACL and will have season-ending surgery. It sucks for him. But it happens to players all over the league every year. Knee problems end many football careers, including the careers of those who have not made as much money as Tom Brady, won MVP, won Super Bowl rings, etc. (or shacked up with Gisselle) He may well be an "ambassador for the league". He can still be that representative. Brady's knee injury is not the end of the world, or of this NFL season, or even of the Patriots season. A fan hates to see any player get hurt, but it happens. Shut up about it.

Brett Favre retired. Lots of people retire and change their minds and don't get to craft the details of their return to work. Just let everybody play football and shut up about it.

The Cowboys look good. Former Razorback and first-round draft pick Felix Jones scored a TD on his first NFL regular season carry. Woo Pig! Poor Darren McFadden's Raiders looked terrible. I hope Jamarcus Russell and Run DMC can put something together and turn the season into something positive for the Raider Nation.

Lest you thing I am slacking on writing about food and wine, I put careful consideration into what to eat while watching the Monday Night Football double header last night. I opted to cook and made some flatbread pizzas. I got enough ingredients to make some pasta to eat this week too. I like this flatbread call Tandoori Naan. It is available at Whole Foods. It is so yummy heated and plain, but also makes a great pizza base. I used mozzarella, zucchini, yellow squash, spinach, feta, tomato-based sauce and chicken Italian sausage. Yum. All of that stuff minus the cheese also went into the pasta, plus artichoke hearts. I didn't like the wine I drank. It was a fume' blanc that does not merit discussion.

Labor Day

A day of rest. I have been back and forth to Little Rock three times in the past two and a half weeks. It's hard to believe Mom has been in the hospital that long. It already has become the norm. Yuck. I can't even imagine what it is like to be confined to a bed for that long - and I have about 1/8 the energy my mother has.

But back to the day of rest part. Rest from our labors. Some will understand this, some won't - cooking is rest to me. It is relaxing. I like coming up with an idea, going to the grocery store and picking out ingredients and creating a meal. I inevitably forget something or come up with a better idea after I have returned from the grocery. That is annoying. But overall I love the process. Today I cut a chicken in half and made a paste with olive oil and some chicken rub I recently purchased (see Grapevine Wine Trail entry below). I burnt the heck out of it. (Is "burned" or "burnt" proper?) So much potential squandered, but I salvaged dinner with careful carving. The inside was not overdone. Better luck next time. For once I tried not to stand over the grill. I tried to put the meat on the fire and walk away for the time frame suggested by Ina Garten. Never again! I really need a new grill. That would help. And I need to put a temperature gauge in my grill. You know, do things the way they are supposed to be done instead of winging it. I really am a person who gets it all together then forgets where she put it. If I ever get completely organized... look out world!

I grilled just about everything - potatoes for a side, nectarines for dessert. The potato dish has real potential. I have always wanted to enter a recipe into a contest. I think with some work, this one could be contest worthy. I can't tell you more about it now, because you might try to steal it. :) We had a bottle of Famega Vinho Verde. Maybe not the absolute ideal pairing, but it was fine. The grilled nectarine halves were yummy with low fat frozen vanilla yogurt. I just halved some firm nectarines, brushed the cut side with molasses, and grilled.

If you have never had Vinho Verde, try it while the weather is still hot. (In Texas, you should be good through October!) It's definitely a summertime wine. I don't like the Famega as well as the Gazela Vinho Verde - yum, yum. Both are super cheap (less than $8!). It is just barely effervescent and is really good with white fish or just to sip on a hot day. It is from Portugal. I have seen Gazela at World Market this year. You can find various brands at Central Market and Whole Foods. (It should be great with any seafood, but I can't eat shellfish, so cannot speak to that pairing.)

Anthony loved dinner, and we had a lovely evening. I do love to cook for people.