Mason's Deli & Grill in the River Market's Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, is dropping the "Deli" and changing its name to Mason's Grill. Co-owner Omar Kassees says, due to the increase in burger sales (a bit of a surprise considering the recent opening of David's Burgers in the market hall), they have expanded their burger line and dropped most of their deli sandwiches (bye-bye, Reuben). The offerings include a Certified Angus Beef-brand burger, turkey and veggie burgers and, new to the menu, a lamb burger. Kassees says they'll also continue to offer grilled items, such as brats and sausages, and though you won't see it on the menu, you can still walk up and request their Philly cheesesteak sandwich. The phone number remains (501) 376-3354.
Southern Gourmasian, 219 W. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, has started serving Saturday brunch. The bill of fare includes chicken and waffles "featuring our Korean fried chicken, a buttermilk waffle and sorghum," plus Eggs Benedict, shrimp and grits and homemade biscuits with Korean chile gravy, plus the restaurant's entire regular menu. Saturday hours are 10 a.m.-9 p.m.; for the rest of the week, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday. The phone number is (501) 313-5645; the website: thesoutherngourmasian.com.
In case you missed it last week, Terry's Finer Foods, 5018 Kavanaugh Blvd., a fixture for seven decades in Little Rock's Pulaski Heights neighborhood, closed Friday. Owner Lex Golden cited financial difficulties -- he was an officer with Acme Holding Co. and its subsidiary bank, Allied Bank of Mulberry, which was closed last year by federal regulators. He has sold the 8,000-square-foot space to Eric Herget, who was planning to reopen it this week as Heights Corner Market while retaining the store's four employees. "We'll be expanding the product lines, the meat department, the seafood department," Herget told our Business reporter David Smith. "We'll have prepared meals. You can come in and eat the prepared meals, pick them up or have them delivered to your home." The on-again, off-again restaurant division of the store, known as the Restaurant at Terry's and, in its most recent incarnation, the Sidecar at Terry's, closed at the end of January.
Damgoode Pies has expanded its delivery area, which covered most of Little Rock north of Interstate 630, to include a substantial portion of west Little Rock, out Arkansas 10 to Taylor Loop Road on the north; to Bowman, Napa Valley, Hinson and Taylor Loop roads to the west and to an area just south of Kanis Road; and into the Argenta district of North Little Rock. Call (501) 664-2239 or visit dgpies.com to order or for more details.
Green Leaf Grill Express, 401 S. Spring St., Little Rock, is now open for breakfast, 7:30-9:30 a.m. weekdays, offering a daily hot breakfast (scrambled eggs, bacon, sausage, biscuits and gravy) and a variety of breakfast breads and pastries. The phone number for the express location and its sibling, Green Leaf Grill at 601 S. Gaines St., is (501) 378-2521.
Gandolfo's New York Deli, headquartered, not in New York, but in Lawrenceville, Ga., is set to open its first Arkansas location, with a target opening date of early May, apparently going into the former Boneheads Grill in the Promenade at Chenal, 17801 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock. The website, gandolfosdeli.com, lists a Little Rock location as "coming soon," and you can get an idea there of what the menu will feature -- mostly sandwiches with Big Apple-related names, including Rockefeller Reuben, King of Queens, Carnegie Hall, Godzilla and I Love New York (the latter, corned beef, pastrami, Swiss cheese and spicy mustard or Russian dressing on rye).
The target date for the reopening of La Hacienda, 3024 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, most recently reported as coming the end of February, has how shifted to at least six weeks hence. Work has been going on seven days a week on the restaurant, which closed at Christmas for what was originally supposed to be renovations. The place is being rebuilt from the ground up, with an expanded footprint and what appears to be a second floor, and beginning to resemble the "hacienda" look of the original in Hot Springs.
Target opening date is May 1 for the first Arkansas outlet of Tampa, Fla.-based franchise-chain Burger 21 in the shopping center at 12319 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, where its neighbors include a Staples store and Bed Bath & Beyond. Meanwhile, keep an eye on the website (burger21.com/locations/littlerock).
Jones Bar-B-Q Diner in Marianna, Lassis Inn in Little Rock and Rhoda's Famous Hot Tamales in Lake Village comprise the first class of inductees into the Arkansas Food Hall of Fame. A 12-member committee of "foodies" and food professionals also chose the Continental Cuisine partnership (Paul Bash, Ed Moore, Louis Petit and Denis Seyer) as Proprietor of the Year and the Cave City Watermelon Festival as the hall's inaugural top Food-Themed Event. Grotto Wood Fired Grill and Wine Cave in Eureka Springs was the winner of the 2017 People's Choice award. The Department of Arkansas Heritage handed out the honors Tuesday night at Ron Robinson Theater in Little Rock's River Market District. The department announced the development of the Food Hall of Fame in September to recognize Arkansas' restaurants, proprietors and food-theme events. Members of the public submitted more than 300 nominations.
The University of Arkansas-Pulaski Tech's Community and Continuing Education program is offering a class on sparkling wines, 6-8 p.m. March 28 in the Wine Classroom, Pulaski Technical College Culinary Arts and Hospitality Management Institute, 13000 Interstate 30, Little Rock. Faculty member and Democrat-Gazette wine columnist Lorri Hambuchen will cover terminology (including the meaning of "blanc de noirs" and "blanc de blancs"), why champagne is so much more expensive than prosecco and how vintage differs from nonvintage. You must be at least 21 to register and attend. Cost is $65 and you must sign up in advance -- visit lifelong.pulaskitech.edu, call (501) 907-6670 or email jstewart@pulaskitech.edu.
Has a restaurant opened -- or closed -- near you in the last week or so? Does your favorite eatery have a new menu? Is there a new chef in charge? Drop us a line. Call (501) 399-3667 or (501) 378-3513, or send a note to Restaurants, Weekend Section, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203. Send email to:
eharrison@arkansasonline.com
Weekend on 03/02/2017