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Restaurants of yore, let us remember:
1. The Vegetable Garden in Hillcrest. A vegetarian power house, the food was divine & delicious. They had an honor system in place, you paid whatever for your meal. Natch, there were suggested prices, but they gave no bills & there was no cashier. Somehow, this worked! In the dining area, they had a section where you could eat at low tables, but you had to remove your shoes. Probably the most unique dining experience I've ever had in Little Rock. RIP.
2. Kuumba Cafe on Main Street. My introduction to plantains & ginger beer. It was owned & operated by the genteel Patrick Oliver. I played a show here once! (We were called High School Pusher and we were awful!) Unfortunately, you cannot rely on punks & hippies to sustain a business, no matter how genius the concept is. RIP. (I have photos of KC, if I find them, I'll post them!)
3. From The Garden on Izard Street. I wanted to try every single item on this vegan soulfood menu, but only made it up to chicken fried "steak". I always ALWAYS got the fried zucchini sticks. Mmmmm, those things. The same thing plagues great LR restaurants that plagues great LR bands, they disappear just as quickly as they appear. RIP.
4. Cafe D'Roma in Hillcrest. I can still hear C. Preston cat-calling & yelling things at me from the cook's window as I walked in the front door. Not only was the food great, you got a little ego-boost from the staff, who, incidentally were your friends. Too, and this is important, they had the best coffee in town. Fuck a Sufficient Grounds! RIP.
All of the progressive & innovative restaurateurs have skipped town, man! Their absence makes Whole Foods & their kind look like ingenious establishments. I would never wish owning a restaurant on anybody, but maybe we'll get lucky one day. And hopefully, they'll stay stay stay.
Current restaurants that are worth your dime:
1. Vino's, a good ol standby.
2. ZaZa's. They have perfect pizzas, salads & gelato. The downside is that it's in the Heights.
3. Boulevard Bread. I could eat artisan bread everyday. Great coffee. Environmentally responsible. The downside is that their locations are in the Heights AND the River Market.
4. Layla's. As KMHD says, "Got me on my knees, Layla's." On Rodney Parham, we recently introduced pals to this fine fine establishment.
5. Saigon Cuisine, the reigning pho provider in LR.
6. Mt. Fuji on Rodney Parham. Visit their food shop downstairs for Japanese essentials for the kitchen.
7. Waffle House on Cantrell or McCain. Classic.
8. Pierre's Pizza on JFK. A serious contender, I especially like their cheese sticks.
9. Las Delicias in Levy. You may want to brush up on your Espanol before visiting here. BEST. TACOS. IN. TOWN.
10. La Hacienda on Cantrell. You already know the food is good, so I'm going to push the punch, which I can drink until I'm sick. And, for a guaranteed Mexicoma, get their sopapillas. GUH.
...and many more.
In Memphis: Abyssinia
In Hot Springs: Rolando's
3 comments:
I have taken note of your favorite LR restaurants - can't wait to try them! Of those you listed, I've only been to La Hacienda (had some sort of seafood dish? I think? Huge portions, good flavors) and Mt. Fuji (again, I only went once but it was deliciously sublime. It's puts all the other half-assed "Japanese" restaurants in Arkansas to shame).
And sadly, I never tried any of the defunct ones. Vegan soulfood? That sounds amazing.
NW Arkansas is suffering from a real slump in restaurant offerings. Eureka Springs has better restaurants than F'ville, IMO. I'd rather just cook at home....
when i first came to town, brian "scottish brian" hirrel was, oddly enough, one of my first acquaintances. cuz he poured the beer where i went for beer, probably. i remember him telling me about the vegetable garden. specifically about going there to eat with fugazi. namedropper!
Let's fuel the Dischord jet and get outta town!
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