Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’ UTOPIA RESTAURANT AND LOUNGE, a new American-style eatery, has opened at 521 Center St. The restaurant features a full bar, with a lounge area upstairs that will host musical acts and other events. Happy hour is from 3:30 p.m. to 7 p.m. weekdays. The menu features American faves, including salads, burgers, wings, baked tilapia, salmon, fried chicken, fish, and sandwiches, with more substantial entrees at dinner. Breakfast, which is planned to begin Feb. 25 (hours still to be determined), will include egg dishes, chicken and waffles and omelets. In addition, Utopia is planning “Soul Food Sundays” from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Sundays. The phone number for Utopia is 907-6688.
AMERICAN
ACADIA Unbelievable fixed-price, threecourse dinners on Mondays and Tuesday, but food is certainly worth full price. 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, CC. $$-$$$. 501-603-9630. D Mon.-Sat. BIG ORANGE: BURGERS SALADS SHAKES Gourmet burgers manufactured according to exacting specs and properly fried Kennebec potatoes are the big draws. 17809 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-1515. LD daily. BLACK ANGUS CAFE Charcoal-grilled burgers, hamburger steaks and steaks proper are the big draws. 10907 N. Rodney Parham. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-228-7800. LD Mon.-Sat. BOBBY’S CAFE Delicious burgers and tasty homemade deserts. 12230 MacArthur Drive. NLR. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-851-7888. BL Tue.-Fri., D Thu.-Fri. BOSCOS RESTAURANT & BREWERY CO. Along with the tried and true, like sandwiches, burgers and steaks, they have black bean and goat cheese tamales, open hearth pizza ovens and muffalettas. 500 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-907-1881. LD daily. BOSTON’S Ribs, gourmet pizza star at this restaurant/sports bar. 3201 Bankhead Dr. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-235-2000. LD daily. BOUDREAUX’S GRILL & BAR A homeyCajun joint with all sorts of shrimp and catfish. 9811 Maumelle Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-753-6860. L Sat., D Mon.-Sat. BOULEVARD BREAD CO. Fresh bread, fresh pastries, wide selection of cheeses, meats, side dishes; all superb. 1920 N. Grant St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-6635951. BLD Mon.-Sat. 400 President Clinton Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-3741232. BL Mon.-Sat. 4301 W. Markham St. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-526-6661. BL Mon.-Fri. 1417 Main St. Beer, Wine, All 34
FEBRUARY 21, 2013
ARKANSAS TIMES
MICHAEL ROBERTS
DINING CAPSULES
UNIQUE EATS: Scallions’ country club sandwich.
Tasty throwback Scallions does salads and sandwiches well.
W
hat is American cuisine? For most, American food is barbecue and hamburgers, hot dogs and fried chicken, and we can’t help but agree. But there’s another side to American food that we associate with the luncheons and social events of the mid-20th century, dishes like chicken salad with grapes on a lettuce leaf or finger sandwiches of albacore tuna with celery and pecans, all served with salad (fruit or green) or a small cup of soup. It’s the sort of lunch our grandmothers might have made for Bible study when LBJ was president; the sort of thing seen in old cookbooks that devoted entire chapters to sweet and savory gelatin dishes. It’s also the exact kind of throwback menu served at Scallions, which does this nostalgic food so well that eating lunch at the Heights cafe is like taking a comfortable trip through time. As a prime example of the oldschool nature of the Scallions menu, we offer up the Quiche Lorraine ($7.95),
Scallions
5110 Kavanaugh Blvd. 666-6468 scallions.org
QUICK BITE Unable to make it to Scallions’ lunchonly hours? Check out its website for pick-up and catering menus. HOURS 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday, 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. OTHER INFO All credit cards accepted. Beer and wine served.
a dish we always associate with Julia Child and old episodes of “The French Chef.” Scallions’ Lorraine has a lot more cheese in it than other quiches we’ve had, turning the egg-based dish from something we’ve always experienced as a rather dry custard into silken bites of creamy, smooth pie filled with gooey Swiss cheese and bacon in
a tender, flaky crust. On a recent visit, we paired the excellent quiche with a cup of crab bisque, which had some unfortunate separation issues with the cream and broth base but still pleased the palate with its rich crab flavor and ample bits of lump crab meat. To add a dose of freshness to our meal, we continued with the Sonora salad ($7.95), a mass of finely chopped green leaf lettuce, red cabbage, and shredded carrots topped with grilled chicken, pecans, blue cheese, and dried cranberries. In a town where most restaurants consider a pile of wilted iceberg to be a salad, this wonderful (and large) combination of sweet, savory and fresh impressed us. In addition, the salad greens and toppings were chopped to perfect fork size, insuring that each bite was representative of the salad as a whole — this may sound picky, but we’ve had all too many salads where the huge bits of lettuce caused embarrassment as we tried to politely get a fork-full into our mouths. From the sandwich side of the menu, we went with the Country Club ($7.95), a fun play on the classic open-faced Croque Monsieur that traded the classic bechamel sauce for something closer to good old Arkansas cheese dip, topped with diced tomatoes and olives. Underneath the cheese, a pile of delicious bacon and ham added some serious flavor, while the ribbon-rye base held everything up quite well. It’s a unique sandwich, one that we liked more and more with every bite. Our day to visit Scallions was wet and chilly, so we did not get to take advantage of the below-street-level patio, with its shaded tables and quiet atmosphere. We hope to make it back during better weather to do so. There’s nothing at all fancy about the place, which we found completely charming. Each person working spoke to our table at least once, coming by for a refill of a tea glass or just to ask how everything tasted. The cafe serves up the sort of middle class, middle America cuisine that is often shunned in this age of fusion cuisine and sleek hipster lounges, but for our money, it’s the sort of food that never goes out of style: It’s tasty, it’s filling, and when done with the sort of care that is apparent at Scallions, it’s an inexpensive way to experience a different side of American cuisine.