Arkansas Times - November 28, 2013

ARKTIMES.COM / NOVEMBER 28, 2013 / NEWS + POLITICS + ENTERTAINMENT + FOOD

COOKING UP HOLIDAY CHEER

Loblolly’s Rachel Moore and other Little Rock bakers and chefs share their favorite recipes to ring in the season.

BY MICHAEL ROBERTS AND DANIEL WALKER

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

3

COMMENT

UA needs sunlight Any issue on which I find myself in complete agreement with Max Brantley justifies further comment. His recent column on the situation with the UA-Fayetteville administration (Nov. 14) was right on the money (no pun intended). The administration treats the university as its personal fiefdom. AD Jeff Long’s recent raise and bonus is the latest case in point. Chancellor Gearhart’s background is in fundraising, not administration or financial management. He is clearly not up to the task of effectively running a major university.

That the administration is under criminal investigation breaks this graduate’s heart. Before his termination, university bureaucrat Brad Choate (another former fundraiser), had a salary of approximately $350,000, which is offensive to tax- and tuition-paying parents. I can only imagine how many directors and assistant directors of diversity are on the payroll. Despite the best efforts of the Board of Trustees (some of whom I have the pleasure of knowing, and I think the world of them), the tradition of not rocking the boat is no longer sufficient to remove the rot from our flagship institution. Louis Brandeis said that sunlight is the best disinfectant, which still rings true. A good place to start would be for them to understand that while the FOI Act does not apply to the UA Foundation, it does apply to the university. You could remove half of the administration and, I swear, no one would notice. There needs to be a good housecleaning, starting at the top.

Michael Emerson Little Rock

Mount St. Mary debate continues The good Rev. Sam Seamans missed the point. The highly qualified and popular schoolteacher wasn’t fired because she spoke against or disagreed with the church, she was fired because of what she was!

The fact that a liberal organization might fire anyone under the same circumstances doesn’t change the Catholic school’s shameful action.

Neither is justified.

I don’t think many of us expect any sudden changes in the church’s medieval thinking.

The good news is that this excellent teacher now has a job at a more enlightened school. The real losers are the students she left behind.

E.S. Causbie Ash Flat Compliments go to Bishop Sam Seamans for his understanding of part of the 4

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

adulteress story used to show the hypocrisy of the Rev. Malone in the Nov. 14 letter section of the Arkansas Times. Then he erred when he inferred that the Rev. Malone had no other choice except to hurl stones of job loss at the teacher. He used a silly “Calling the pope Catholic” argument to show Malone had to brand her a sinner.

However, did Malone have to fire her?

The bishop’s awkward observation that the female teacher deserved to be stoned according to Catholic doctrine left the reader wondering which way the good bishop leaned. Both priests seem to need a pound of flesh. In that regard, he and

the Rev. Malone make fine bedfellows.

The bishop brought up the “Sin no more” quote as if one’s orientation is a sin. Orientation is not a sin. However, an oftenrepeated comment in Christian churches is that we are we all sinners. Moreover, what is sin? Does it not mean simply “missing the mark”? That was a wonderful thing Jesus said, “Sin no more” or, in other words “Try to be on target in the future.” It was a kind, gentle, non-condemning statement fitting for all of us.

Perhaps the bishop and the Rev. Malone could do with some target practice. Jesus has helpful advice in that regard.

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Namely, “Render unto Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and unto God, the things that are God’s.” Following the advice of Jesus would have prevented the confrontation between the law and the church that led to a teacher being dragged before the public and stoned (fired).

From another article in that same edition of the Arkansas Times, it sounded like the teacher was on target with both her students and the nuns who operate the school. Bishop Seamans, would you ever speak of women as “spitting out babies”?

Given that vile phrase, do you not consider the misogynous priest more of a problem than the orientation of the teacher?

It is possible that his ugly attitude toward women had more to do with the firing than her orientation.

Remember how long it took the church to agree that the earth was not the center of the universe. Science has shown conclusively that all the various orientations are natural occurrences and not disorders. It might surprise the reverends to know that there are at least eight orientations. Knowing that, the church leaders are remiss in their doctrine creation. Just think how many more people on which they could inflict hate. The Rev. Malone got it right when he said he was not the bedroom police. However, he convicted the teacher for a bedroom offense that Jesus never mentioned in the Gospels. He used the heavy hand of religion to override the law.

Did Jesus want priests to be bullies?

The teacher had just the splinter of bad publicity in her eye and the church with the log of pedophilia and other serious offenses in their eyes elected to fire her for what she had been doing for the past 14 years. In time, the homophobic teaching of the Catholic Church will change, and then they will have a lot of apologizing to do. The mind, like a parachute, works best when open. The strong wind of Pope Francis’s words, “Who am I to judge,” had no uplifting effect on Malone’s closed chute.

Had only the Rev. Malone understood his pope or followed the example of Jesus, the Mount would have a gifted teacher and a life lesson. Finally, I got the impression that Bishop Seamans was self-righteous as he indirectly told us how much better his church was than the Catholic Church.

I will spare you the scripture lesson for that mistake.

Richard Emmel Little Rock

Submit letters to the Editor, Arkansas Times, P.O. Box 34010, Little Rock, AR 72203. We also accept letters via e-mail.

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WORD S

Birth of the boos I can remember when fans didn’t boo at Razorback games, or at college games generally. That’s changed obviously, and it started me wondering about, among other things, where the word boo comes from.

As an expression of disapproval or contempt, it apparently showed up in baseball in the 1890s, when baseball was the number one sport. But explanations of the origin are rare and vague. One source suggests it may have come from the Spanish slang branca. That would be some coincidence. The Brooklyn Dodger pitcher Ralph Branca heard an explosion of boos when he threw a pitch that cost his team the pennant in 1951.

“A little digging turned up an address in the York Avenue mixed-used development.”

It’s mixed and it’s used, eh? Most neighborhoods are used for something, some for one purpose only — a residential neighborhood — some for more than one, as a dental office/tattoo parlor neighborhood.

Whatever, it’s a mixed-use neighborhood, not mixed-used.

“She swore like a trouper.”

In these permissive times, I suspect there’s not much difference between

the conversation of troupers and troopers. But for the record, the old saying was “swore like a trooper.”

DOUG A trouper is a memSMITH ber of an entertaindougsmith@arktimes.com ment group, such as an acting troupe. A trooper is a soldier, or (in the U.S.) a member of a state police unit. Troupers were known for carrying on with the show, no matter what. Troopers were the champions of swearing.

“That 1938 show, enjoying a reprisal this year on its 75th anniversary, was loaded with images that seemed to ‘float up from the depths of America’s collective unconscious.’ ” As one who has experienced reprisals, for some of these columns (Mike Tyson was particularly upset after I corrected his use of that and which), I can attest that reprisals are not usually enjoyable.

A reprisal is an act of retaliation. When Batman punches out the Joker, it’s a reprisal, and well-deserved, too. A reprise is a repetition of a performance, or role, or — in this case — exhibition, presumably because the original was deemed pleasing.

WEEK THAT WAS

It was a good week for…

UNMARRIED PARENTS. The Arkansas Supreme Court ruled that there is no “blanket ban” against unmarried cohabitation in childcustody cases, and that any restriction on visitation should be based on the circumstances of each particular case and the best interests of the children. The ban had been widely applied in Arkansas custody cases.

SPENDING ON HOLIDAY CHEER. The city of Conway spent $133,000 on what’s being billed as the state’s largest Christmas tree. It’s a 54-foot-tall faux evergreen.

The city used money from its hamburger tax on local restaurants and lodging.

BIG BROTHER. The Little Rock Police Department unveiled its camera surveillance system of public streets and buildings, a $500,000 effort that has installed 53 cameras encased in bullet-proof housing. The recorded footage will be kept for up to 10 days and, unless it’s part of a criminal investigation, kept footage will be available to the public under the state’s Freedom of Information Act.

It was a bad week for…

THE ARKANSAS RAZORBACKS. Mississippi State beat the Hogs in Arkansas for the first time in 113 years. Another first: Arkansas has lost eight consecutive games for the first time in team history. Only gluttons for punishment will spend three hours on Saturday watching the Hogs get run over by LSU. EQUALITY. The Human Rights Campaign released its annual Municipal Equality Index, which measures cities and towns on the basis of how inclusive their laws and policies are of LGBT people. The study looked at 291 municipalities across the country and rated them on a 100-point scale. Factors that went in to the score include “non-discrimination laws, equal employee benefits, relationship recognition, inclusive city services and leadership on matters of equality.” The average score was 57. Fayetteville came closest to that mark with a 46. Other Arkansas cities — Fort Smith (16), Little Rock (21) and North Little Rock (17) — ranked near the bottom nationally. www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

5

EDITORIAL

Arcane rules

ifty-two years ago, President John F. Kennedy and House Speaker Sam Rayburn overcame a small minority of obstructionists in Congress and changed the history of American politics.

In 1961, Democrats held 263 seats in the House. With only 174 Republicans with whom to contend, the president and Rayburn should have been able to push through whatever they pleased. But six of the 12-member House Rules Committee had effective veto power on all legislation. The committee of eight Democrats and four Republicans controlled the schedule of the U.S. House. When the committee’s two conservative Southern Democrats, Howard Smith of Virginia and William Colmer of Mississippi, banded together with the Republican members — as they did often, especially in the face of civil rights legislation — they could block proposals from reaching the House floor.

Kennedy and Rayburn’s solution was to add three new members to the committee, including two younger, more liberal Democrats who would assure the president’s domestic agenda could reach the floor. The ensuing fight has been described as the fiercest of the era.

Only by expending much political capital did Kennedy and Rayburn prevail. Their victory lost the South to Democrats for a generation and, several years later, helped usher in Lyndon Johnson’s Great Society.

Last week, the Senate made a similarly arcane change to procedure that could have just as sweeping of an effect on American politics — with progressivism and pain served in similar manner. Led

by Majority Leader Harry Reid and with the blessing of President Obama, most Senate Democrats (though not Mark Pryor) voted to deny the minority party the opportunity to block executive and judicial nominations (save the Supreme Court) with a filibuster, which requires a 60-vote supermajority to overcome. The next time the minority uses the filibuster on a significant piece of legislation or a Supreme Court nominee popular within the majority, bet on the procedure dying all together.

In reaction to the news, state Sen. Jason Rapert, the standard bearer for right-wing-nuttery in Arkansas, tweeted, “America, this is tyranny.” In fact, the move was a highly democratic corrective. The filibuster isn’t in the constitution. It wasn’t used until the mid-19th century and remained incredibly rare until the 1970s. Democrats and Republicans were each on the other side of near filibuster showdowns in 2003 and 2005 and many of them are on record supporting what they now oppose (John Boozman in 2005: “The American people are tired of obstructionism”).

Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell forced the hand of Democrats. Since he became Republican leader, filibusters have gone from a way for the minority to issue a protest in extreme situations to standard procedure. Almost 30 percent of all the cloture motions — cloture is the procedure to break a filibuster — filed in the last 100 years have come under McConnell’s watch.

The rule change will obviously come back and bite Democrats eventually, but in the meantime, the Obama administration may actually be able to get some things done. The EPA is in the process of issuing new rules to limit carbon emissions. Much of the administration’s financial reform package, Dodd-Frank, hasn’t yet been enacted. Both are sure to draw legal challenges and, like most all court cases involving the federal government, they’re likely to go the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals. Now that the filibuster has been curtailed, the president is expected to get three long-delayed nominees to the D.C. circuit confirmed, which will put the court in control of judges nominated by Democratic presidents.

Party polarization broke the practical uses of the filibuster. Without a change, Democrats wouldn’t have gotten anything out of the Senate. Moreover, Republicans likely would have ended the filibuster whenever they eventually took back the Senate majority and won the presidency. Why not act now?

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ARKANSAS TIMES

BRIAN CHILSON

F

EYE ON ARKANSAS

UPENDED, AGAIN: Arkansas lost its eighth straight football game Saturday in Little Rock. Mississippi State won 24-17.

Get rid of dry counties

O

n Election Day 2013, Arkansas, arguably still the most “dry” state in the country, took another tiny step towards alcohol friendliness with a vote within the Park Hill neighborhood of North Little Rock. In margins ranging from 80 to 89 percent of the vote, precincts in an archaic township got rid of an outdated law prohibiting alcohol sales. The vote occurred in a neighborhood anticipating the creation of a restaurant zone that will in turn further revitalize the residential area.

In the generation and a half after World War II, no issue except civil rights separated progressives and traditionalists in Arkansas as emphatically as did one’s stance on alcohol prohibition. Arkansas’s alcohol laws, cemented in 1935 with a small set of “wet” counties (mostly in urban areas and the Delta) and a larger set of “dry” counties, were under much debate over the course of this era, as progressives such as Gov. Winthrop Rockefeller worked to modernize the state’s liquor laws. Rockefeller was able to convince the state’s legislators in 1969 to allow liquor by the drink in wet counties and to create a small number of private clubs in dry counties. Coming of age in a “wet” family in a “dry” county during this period, I was deeply aware that we were differentiated from local religious conservatives by our unconcealed trips to The County Line.

State Sen. Lu Hardin sponsored legislation making it harder to alter the liquor status quo in 1993, with legislation requiring petition signatures of a number equal to 38 percent of voters in the previous governor’s election to place

the wet/dry question on a county’s ballot. (This contrasts with a comparable number equaling 6 percent of voters who have to be collected on petitions to JAY place a typical initiated act BARTH on a ballot in the state.) In recent election cycles, however, local groups have been able to achieve this artificially high signature hurdle to get county voters to consider whether to liberalize liquor laws. When proponents have gotten the question to the ballot, they have been successful. After years of inaction on alcohol, a relative flurry of counties have become “wet” over the last two election cycles (Boone and Clark in 2010 and Benton, Madison, and Sharp in 2012), in addition to the North Little Rock vote in 2013. Local committees operating under names such as “Keep the Money in Madison County” have effectively reframed the conversation about alcohol as one of dollars and cents rather than heaven and hell even in some of the most socially conservative counties in the state.

In addition to the passage of these countylevel alterations that have led to the issuance of liquor licenses, private club licenses have proliferated in dry counties as a result of 2003 legislation. This has further dampened historically dry portions of the state with towns like Jonesboro, Conway and Batesville transformed in terms of new entertainment and dining options.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

OPINION

Roger Bost: Children’s champion

A

less imposing man would be hard to find. Frail, short, bespectacled and bald at an early age, Roger Bost’s mortal frame was outfitted with a voice so thin and reedy that he could barely be heard above the muted whispers in the legislative hearing rooms where he often spoke 40 years ago.

But, boy, did he get heard. No one in Arkansas ever did as much to lift the welfare of children, and not just children but people of all ages who at some point have found themselves or loved ones outside the latitudes of first-rate health care or social services. That may include most of Arkansas.

Bost died last week at the age of 92.

The public prints gave a fair account of his achievements — the vast expansion of medical training, medical and social services for the disabled, poor and mentally ill, the development of the Arkansas Children’s Hospital and his great effort over the years to get doctors and nurses into Arkansas’s small towns.

But they weren’t as precise about how

this wisp of a man got all that done.

State Sen. Guy H. “Mutt” Jones of Conway, Dr. Bost’s nemesis until the ERNEST Senate expelled him, DUMAS seemed to know the secret. When Dr. Bost took over the sprawling human-services agencies in 1971 he told the Conway Children’s Colony that Jones would no longer control hiring there, making Jones an implacable enemy of Bost and the man who appointed him, Gov. Dale Bumpers.

Jones said of the puny little man that there was nothing much to him but backbone.

He was almost right. Bost’s widow and his soulmate from the time they were born a few days and doors apart at Clarksville said that Roger was a robust man when she married him and through college, medical school and the Navy in World War II. In 1953, while he was on the staff at the

Learning to love Layla

E

verywhere I go, people ask me less often about politics than about Layla.

For readers who missed my earlier column about the abandoned Charolais calf I adopted at birth, Layla’s early weeks consisted of one life-threatening crisis after another.

All big brown eyes and spindly legs, she was too weak to suckle. I learned to forcefeed her through a plastic tube. She struggled hard against the insult; I felt she had a will to survive.

Experienced cattlemen warned me that saving her was likely impossible, although several went to great lengths to help. At 2 weeks old, she suddenly went blind. Injections of the steroid dexamethasone restored her sight.

Raised among dogs, Layla appeared to think she was a basset hound, lying on the porch, peering in the window and mooing for her bottle. The two Great Pyrenees patiently let her nurse their ears. Centuries of breeding made them instinctively protect helpless calves.

For me, loving a baby cow was learned behavior.

Having failed to receive antibodies from her mother’s milk, Layla suffered repeated bacterial infections. I learned to take her temperature, treat her with anti-

biotics and dose her with Pepto-Bismol when her tender stomach rebelled. I pestered veterinarians and friends for GENE advice.

LYONS By mid-September, Layla was in constant pain. Was I clinging to her out of perverse vanity? Making her suffer for a heart-warming story?

One afternoon I found Layla lying twisted in agony. She could barely stand.

She refused her bottle. Outside, tropical storm Gustav swirled overhead; eight inches of rain fell that day.

I felt the end had come for my poor little girl. Had burial been possible, I might have put her down.

A true professional, my veterinarian admitted being at wit’s end. However, there was a vet in Damascus, Ark. who treated only cows. Perhaps Dr. Alvin Williams would have an idea.

Williams asked me to read him the ingredients on Layla’s bag of powdered replacement milk. When I came to “soy flour,” he said: “You can stop right there. She’s allergic to the soy. Her stomach’s too immature to digest vegetable protein. Basically, she’s starving.”

Oschner Clinic in New Orleans and teaching pediatrics at Tulane Medical School, he became deathly ill and had much of his stomach and small intestine removed, which left him no place to store food.

They moved back to Arkansas and he set up the first pediatric practice at Fort Smith.

He was the only doctor in town to not only treat black children but to have a single waiting room for whites and blacks. When a black mother brought a child that Bost said needed hospital care he called a Fort Smith hospital that he knew did not treat African Americans and asked it to admit the child, but the hospital refused. He appealed from one supervisor to another and finally called the chairman of the hospital board, who also refused. Bost told him he would live to see the end of that hateful policy.

He was shocked at the number and plight of disabled children and set out to bring them out of seclusion and give them dignity and a chance at life. He set up a school for mentally retarded and developmentally delayed children in the basement of a Methodist church and turned it into a system. Bost Inc. centers serve some 1,000 people in 34 counties.

Bost went to the superintendent of Fort Smith schools and urged him to educate disabled children in regular classrooms

and provide school programs for those who could not go to regular classes. The superintendent replied he was not going to subject his teachers and normal students to the distractions. So Bost got himself elected to the school board and its presidency and told the superintendent the schools’ policy was now to educate handicapped children.

When his friend Dale Bumpers was elected governor in 1970 — Bost had treated Bumpers’ children and had saved his daughter’s life — he became Bumpers’ chief policy adviser and head of the giant human services department created by Bumpers’ reorganization of government.

One of the first steps was a law, sponsored by the Fort Smith schools’ athletic director, Rep. Bill Stancil, to allow schools to take disabled students. In 1973, Bumpers pushed through a law driven by Bost and Education Commissioner Arch Ford requiring all Arkansas schools to educate disabled students, in regular classrooms wherever possible, and mandating the state to pay for it.

Since the passage of the Medicare and Medicaid act in 1965, Arkansas had taken advantage of none of the federal aid chances except nursing home assistance.

With Bost’s tenacity and Bumpers’ political magic, the legislators eventually went along

Williams advised me to buy raw, unpasteurized milk from a dairy farm. Layla’s pains abated overnight. Alas, something was still wrong. She’d clamber to her feet, drink her bottle, then lie down. She scarcely moved for days. I’d carry her from sun to shade, hoping she’d regain her strength.

She barely acknowledged the dogs, who’d lick her face and ears, then go about their business.

One Saturday, we loaded Layla up and drove 50 miles to Damascus. The diagnosis was bad. Layla’s heart and lungs were sound, but she’d suffered brain damage secondary to the infections. Strong enough to walk, she’d forgotten how.

A hearty, straightforward fellow like most cattlemen, Williams gave us hope.

He taught me to inject her with steroids and thiamine hydrochloride. Depending on the severity of the lesions, recovery might be possible. Basically, I’d have to rehab her like a stroke victim.

To make Layla walk, I had to drag her with a halter or shove her from behind. She needed to move her feet or fall on her face.

Her innate cow stubbornness made her resist. Soon, light pressure on her rump would make her step forward. My wife would hold Layla’s bottle just out of reach while I moved her feet. Trembling like a little old man, she had to concentrate very hard.

The first time I saw her get up and move on her own made me very emotional. Sur-

rounded by dogs, she’d select a spot on the lawn and graze lying down. Could she ever be a normal cow? Williams said progress would be gradual. Because most clients can’t devote much time to one sickly calf, the way that I could with Layla, the project fascinated him.

The dairy farm had a healthy Holstein with a single bad quarter on her udder — unsuitable for a milking machine, but fine for raising calves. Would I like to buy her?

Along with a neighbor who’d had a black Angus calf orphaned by a lighting strike, I did.

Now Layla had a proper family. The Holstein, Molly, immediately adopted the black Angus and the white Charolais as her own.

At first she seemed puzzled by Layla’s failure to shadow her like a normal calf. However, sweet, patient Molly adjusted. She would lie down by Layla, conscientiously grooming and teaching her the rudiments of Cow 101.

At 5 months, Layla still grazed lying down and remained confident that proper nourishment came from a bottle. I learned to milk her stepmother twice daily as she looked on, impatiently licking her lips.

For the time being, then, Layla had two mommies.

Alas, repeated infections eventually proved too much for Layla’s overwhelmed immune system. She died on Christmas Eve 2008, having accomplished her mission: teaching me to love her kind.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 13

www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

7

PEARLS ABOUT SWINE

Disastrous

Participants must be certified clean-shaven on December 7th, 2013 at the Root Café between, 8am and 3:30.pm.

ay give us this D

Those competing for the Lifetime Achievement category won’t need to shave, but they will still have to register.

C at e g o r i e s

D Our Daily Bear Fullest Beard Most Original Beard Best’Burns and ‘Stache Combo Lifetime Achievement

Prizes for winners!

(Last year’s winners got engraved flasks full of whiskey…)

Judging will be held during the South Main Mardi Gras celebration Saturday, March 1st, 2013 at Bernice Garden.

More Info: 501-414-0423 | theroot@therootcafe.com

arktimes.com/beard

8

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

J

able leadership to a cadre of young players. When Will Hines went down earlier this year, it robbed the BEAU Hogs of their most WILCOX promising cornerback prospect in some time, so injuries have exacerbated a known issue.

With the Hogs forced to go to Baton Rouge to square off against an LSU team that just put together its most complete showing of the year, this is the season that can’t end fast enough. The Little Rock crowd was paltry and indifferent Saturday, the coaches blew it almost as much as the players did, and we are now likely staring down a double-digit losing streak when you consider that the payoff for this massive writeoff is an opening date at Auburn at the end of August.

I had all the optimism in the world for the Bret Bielema philosophy and style, but the parts aren’t meshing at all. He and his staff have spent the past 11 months trying to impart aggression on a program where finesse had roosted, and it’s been, I guess, a fairly predictable disaster. I had the team pegged for seven wins based on the presumed logic that the stylistic change would actually equip these guys well for fourth quarter slugfests. Instead, they bowed out of some games way too early, and then died by their own hands far too many times in the final weeks when they ostensibly should have made strides. Collins’ coughup wasn’t his first error of the year nor was it the cause of the loss by any stretch, but it was so symbolic: Nobody is immune to self-destruction when the whole works spins violently off the rails.

I’m still supportive of Bielema and blindly optimistic that the offseason will heal a lot of wounds. We’ll get some standard-issue puffery about how the recruiting class is better than what the rankings might show. Some random kid will show out in the spring and never be heard from again. We’ll all spend the summer dreaming big, and the fall drinking bigger.

Pass the Tylenol.

BRIAN CHILSON

The Arkansas Times & the root Café proudly present Little Rock’s

ust end it already. (He writes, mournfully, as he did last November.)

Arkansas’s final, futile bid to avoid its first-ever blank slate in SEC play, and its worst overall season in eons, lacked urgency and passion. When Brandon Allen chunked a fourth-down ball right into Taveze Calhoun’s waiting arms in overtime, the Mississippi State Bulldogs left the state with a win for the first time inside these borders, possibly put a nail in the coffin that is War Memorial Stadium’s place as a part-time college football venue, and worst of all, likely damned Hog fans to the longest and saddest offseason in many moons.

Cause for optimism is so fleeting. Alex Collins had been the mature and steady beacon of hope all year long, and the freshman sat the first quarter alongside Jonathan Williams for a discipline issue. Then in the fourth quarter, with the Hogs trying to surge back into the lead, the surehanded Florida product got stripped of the ball on the very next play after what was indisputably Jim Chaney’s best play call in a season bereft of ingenuity, a 44-yard throwback toss to tight end Jeremy Sprinkle.

Yeah, it was also probably the best ball Brandon Allen threw all year, too.

Allen missed only a few throws Saturday, but again he proved that next year the most urgent need for this team in the spring is to find competency and accuracy from someone else. Give the kid due credit for soldiering through 10 starts as a redshirt sophomore with virtually no help on the outside, but he’s not mobile or instinctive enough to be a future solution.

He’ll be a reasonably adept backup if he can stomach serving that role behind his younger brother or possibly even incoming frosh Rafe Peavey.

Then there’s the defense, which was again picked apart by an ailing quarterback. Tyler Russell wasn’t completely sharp, and did get leveled a few times, but he made all the throws he had to make against cushion coverage. Eric Bennett, not two years removed from this column declaring him the unsung MVP of the 2011 squad’s defense, has been victimized all season and has not provided measur-

THE OBSERVER

-PRESENTS-

NOTES ON THE PASSING SCENE

The golden corner THE OBSERVER TRIES, as much as we are able, to be fully conscious in every moment of our life. It’s harder than you would imagine. We can’t tell you how many times we’ve crawled into bed at night and then realized there in the dark that we hadn’t stopped and considered one beautiful thing all day. Realizing that makes us sadder than anything else in life, so we try to avoid it if at all possible.

We were motoring down Second Street in Little Rock on Sunday when we found ourselves in the middle of a beautiful moment, right there on Second and Main. There’s a large Japanese gingko tree there, and overnight, it had dropped its yellow leaves in a bright, ankle-deep drift. Driving past on that dreary day, it looked like the sun fell from the sky and shattered on that corner.

We pulled the car over, and then the Observer and his spouse walked back a chilly half block and stood there in the cold, marveling at that golden carpet for a long while. At one point, we may have stooped, scooped up big armloads of sunshine and threw them into the air, just to see it fall. Luckily, there were few passersby to think us crazy.

Try as we might, The Observer hasn’t believed — really believed — in religion for some years now. But standing there on that corner, with the person we share a life with, looking at that scene which will be blown or swept away by tomorrow, we think what we do at those times when beauty brings us fully awake: Maybe there’s something in the universe that wants us to be happy.

A LITTLE MORE SUNSHINE came in over the transom on Monday. Two pieces, actually.

First was the word that Jason Baldwin, formerly of the West Memphis Three and now just another Joe living the dream in Seattle, Wash., is engaged to his longtime girlfriend, Holly Ballard, the lass who befriended him through letters and stood by him on the day he was released into this free world in August 2011.

A better happy ending we can’t imagine for Baldwin, whom The Observer went down to the prison to visit in January 2011,

months before the surprise word that he would go free. Sitting in jail then, after hellish years, Baldwin was still facing the real possibility that he might spend the rest of his life there. Yet, Baldwin turned out to be the most positive human being The Observer has ever talked to in our reporting career, bar none, full stop. He was a picture of Zen calm there under the great seal of Arkansas in a conference room, smiling and joking in his bleached white jumpsuit, so upbeat that we might have been sharing a beer at the corner bar instead of with several locked gates and an electrified fence between us and freedom.

In the midst of that interview — you can still find video of it on YouTube with a little searching — Baldwin said something that has stuck with us all these years. We’re staring at it right now, as a matter of fact: a quote that has been typed out on paper and taped to the side of our computer from that day to this, so we can see it every day before putting on our helmet and heading out to do battle with dragons or adjectives.

“Bad things happen all over the world,” Baldwin said, “and you can’t let bitterness or anger or regret make it worse.”

That quote, in a very real way — said where it was, by a man staring down the barrel of Life Without — changed The Observer’s life. Who are you to despair, we thought, when a man who was locked up at 16 for a crime he didn’t commit can say a sentence like that? We think it again every time we see that quote, and thus it pushes the wheel of The Observer’s fortune.

Baldwin’s got more advice like that in him, we know, which makes the second piece of good news he shared on Monday particularly sweet for us: He announced that he’s starting a Kickstarter.com fundraising campaign, attempting to raise $25,000 to live on for a year while he takes time off from everything to write a memoir that he promises will show readers how “hope saved my life.” Sounds like some good reading to me.

You can find the project on Kickstarter by visiting the site and searching for “Jason Baldwin,” and donations start at $1. Donate thirty-five bucks, and you’ll get an autographed copy of the book when it comes out.

CONCERT DATES & TIMES Sunday, December 1 @ 3 pm Monday, December 2 @ 7 pm Thursday, December 5 @ 7 pm All performances are free and open to the public.

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celebrate tHe Holiday season witH us!

Holiday open House Sunday, December 1 2 – 5 PM Join Us For The 2nd Annual Sweet Potato Pie Contest! Professionals and amateurs will vie for prizes and bragging rights in this award-winning competition.

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Free admission 501 W. 9th Street • Little Rock • 501.683.3593 • Mosaictemplarscenter.com www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

9

Arkansas Reporter

THE

IN S IDE R

Replica solitary cell Newly on display at Little Rock’s Philander Smith College is a replica solitary confinement cell, built by students as a way of helping visitors understand the realities of solitary confinement in Arkansas prisons. The cell, which is 9 feet high and a little smaller than an average parking space, was built by Philander Smith’s Social Justice League as part of a project called “Isolation Uncensored.” The public is invited to visit the replica cell and spend time inside.

According to the Social Justice League, around 1,800 such cells exist today in Arkansas state prisons. Solitary confinement — with inmates held for up to 23 hours a day, allowed out only to shower or for a short time alone in a small walled or fenced yard — is considered inhumane treatment by many inmate rights groups. Studies show that longterm segregation from human contact and socialization can lead to mental deterioration or insanity in inmates.

The cell was opened to the public on Nov. 21 as part of an event featuring a panel discussion on mass incarceration and a screening of the documentary, “Herman’s House,” about Herman Wallace, who spent 41 years CONTINUED ON PAGE 11

Eyes in the sky LRPD unveils ‘crime camera’ network, ACLU attorney sees encroaching ‘Big Brother.’

BY DAVID KOON

T

BRIAN CHILSON

he Little Rock Police Department unveiled a new $500,000 network of 53 surveillance cameras and an attendant monitoring station last Thursday, saying the cameras — which were installed between May and August — have already helped police catch criminals and reduce incidents in high-crime areas.

An attorney with ACLU of Arkansas, however, fears the cameras put Arkansans at risk of invasion of privacy and abuse.

The cameras, most of which are mounted on power poles at the height where TV cables are attached, can watch and record activity in real time, and feature a flashing blue light, prominent POLICE stickers, and a machined aluminum housing that officials said could survive a shotgun blast.

They are equipped with lenses that can zoom in tight enough to read the numbers on license plates. Officials said the cameras record 24 hours a day, seven days a week, with the recorded footage archived for up to 10 days under a temporary directive put in

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ARKANSAS TIMES

place while a more permanent directive for how to use the cameras and keep footage is being drafted. Under current policy, after 10 days, the footage is deleted, though the archive is really only limited by server space, a spokesman said.

Lt. Casey Clark with the LRPD said that 20 of the cameras are deployed in the River Market, where the department wanted a “bigger footprint” due to heavy pedestrian traffic. The rest are divided among the city’s patrol divisions. The cameras in other parts of the city, Clark said, are deployed in response to crime trends. Twenty of the cameras, Clark said, feature an audible warning that loudly repeats “Warning: This area is under video surveillance and is being monitored by the Little Rock Police Department” in both English and Spanish.

The monitoring station for the cameras is located in a small, TV-filled room at the LRPD’s Northwest Patrol Division substation at 10001 Kanis Road, near Baptist Hospital. During the unveiling for the press on Nov. 21,

screens inside the monitoring station showed the east ramp of the Big Dam Bridge, the pumps at a Shell gas station, and an apartment complex on Green Mountain Drive, among over a dozen other views. In the footage of the apartment complex, the windows of some of the apartments could be seen, though Clark said that all the cameras are placed on public property.

Clark demonstrated the zoom function on one of the cameras, showing how it could close in on a street sign a hundred yards from the camera so that letters on the sign could be read. He said the cameras have already helped solve at least 10 auto break-in cases.

In another case, Clark said, footage helped apprehend two suspects who dumped a body within view of one of the cameras. In the River Market, Clark said, auto break-ins and panhandling have decreased dramatically since the cameras were installed, adding that the placement of the cameras can “push” crime away from highcrime areas. If a crime is reported in the vicinity of one of the cameras, Clark said, live footage can be fed to a responding officer in real time.

The video shot by the cameras is subject to the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act, which means that as long as the footage is not part of an ongoing criminal investigation, it is a public record that can be requested CONTINUED ON PAGE 12

LISTEN UP

THE

BIG PICTURE

GUNNING FOR VOTES

How do you know it’s election season in Arkansas? By how the candidates dress. When they’re in camouflage and hoisting guns, assuring voters of their 2nd Amendment support, their manly embrace of cold dawns and long underwear, you know they’re ready to go in for the kill. Here on this page you’ve got your Sen. Mark Pryor from last year’s duck season, on the lookout for a flyby from Tom Cotton; state Rep. Nate Bell proving he’s no cowering Bostonian by holding up a slain bear by the ears; bow hunter Bruce Westerman illustrating he’s got the Fourth District by the horns; states-rights candidate Leslie Rutledge with the attorney general’s seat in her sights; and the sun rising over an armed gubernatorial candidate Asa Hutchinson. We couldn’t find a photograph yet of Hutchinson’s opponent, Mike Ross, in the deer woods, but did find one with him wearing pink beads, for the Race for the Cure. We expect to see him in waders soon.

Tune in to the Times’ “Week In Review” podcast each Friday.

Available on iTunes & arktimes.com

INSIDER, CONT. in solitary confinement at Louisiana’s notorious Angola Prison after the killing of a prison guard in 1972. Wallace was released on Oct. 1, 2013, suffering from liver cancer, and died three days later.

Ahmad Williams, president of Philander’s Social Justice League, helped assemble the cell with other members of the group. He said he believes solitary confinement fits the definition of cruel and unusual punishment and should be discontinued in prisons.

Williams said the idea for the replica cell was conceived by Philander’s Dr. Joseph L. Jones, director of the school’s Social Justice Initiative. Investigative journalist Mara Leveritt, who has reported on death row inmates held in solitary confinement, gave the group their first sketches of how the cells were laid out and designed, Williams said.

The Social Justice League hopes to use the “Isolation Uncensored” project to bring attention to the case of Tim Howard, an Arkansas death row inmate who was convicted of a double murder in 1999, but who many argue was wrongfully convicted. Howard was recently granted a new trial. Other goals of the project, Williams said, are to “expose the torture” of solitary confinement, and end the use of the death penalty in Arkansas. He said he hopes publicity surrounding the exhibit can bring about cooperation between groups who want to work toward those goals. “If we can come together on these different issues and all sit down at the table to work toward that,” Williams said, “we can make the coalition bigger and hopefully get more done.”

Repubs on the Radar French Hill, Tommy Moll and Rep. Bruce Westerman are “On the Radar” candidates of the National Republican Congressional Committee, the NRCC has announced. Hill is running in the Republican primary for 2nd District Congress, Moll and Westerman in the 4th District primary.

By being “On the Radar,” the NRCC explains, the candidates have taken the first step to becoming the “Young Guns” of the party with campaign organization and show “potential to achieve greater status in the program.” “Young Guns” can look forwards to campaign contributions from the national party.

Not yet achieving “On the Radar” status are Col. Conrad Reynolds and state Rep. Ann Clemmer, Hill’s opponents for the GOP primary position. www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

11

EYES IN THE SKY, CONT. From page 10

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

and obtained by anyone. For example, Clark agreed in response to a question, if a divorce attorney had reason to believe their client’s spouse had a tryst at the Big Dam Bridge, that footage would be available to the attorney if it hadn’t been longer than 10 days since the incident. Clark said that while he can’t promise the cameras are being monitored 24/7, they are being recorded 24/7.

Asked if 53 cameras are enough to cover the city, Clark said, “We could have 253 and it probably wouldn’t be enough. Every mini-mart you go in, every retail store has cameras. The biggest point we’re trying to do with the cameras is, we’re trying to gather more information to solve crimes.

That’s it. We want to deter crime, and we want to solve crime. So, really, I couldn’t give you a number. Wherever there’s a public area, wherever there’s a chance that some criminal act could occur, I think that’d be a great location for a camera.”

Holly Dickson, legal director for the ACLU of Arkansas, has concerns about the expansion of video surveillance in the city. She said that while the LRPD has revealed some of the camera locations, all of them aren’t known yet, which makes the ability to FOI footage from them essentially meaningless. She said that putting flashing lights, stickers and audible warnings on the cameras to make them

more visible is a good thing, along with the short, 10-day retention period, but she believes that police surveillance cameras in general invite overzealous policing that may invade the privacy of those who’ve committed no crime.

“Technology such as this turns police officers into supermen and women with powers of observation far beyond what can be seen by the naked eye,” Dickson said. “An operator may zoom in from long distances to read and record print on flyers distributed on sidewalks, titles of books people are reading, or identify the persons to whom we are talking.”

In addition to police concerns, Dickson said that, taken out of context, footage from the cameras might be used to embarrass a private citizen or political figure out innocently walking with someone other than his or her spouse. Police surveillance cameras, she said, are “another in a long line of examples of technology getting ahead of the law.”

Dickson said that rather than spending funds on cameras, Little Rock would do better to invest the money elsewhere, hiring officers and supporting efforts that engage the community.

“Police are supposed to act when they have an ‘individualized suspicion’ in this country,” Dickson said, “not cast out wide nets to collect vast amounts of information about citizens on the chance that they will catch wrongdoing.”

BARTH, CONT. From page 6 The current system of liquor laws forces Arkansans to unsafely travel great distances to obtain alcohol, creates a protectionism for those lucky enough to have a lucrative liquor license near a county line bordering a dry county, and imposes moral tenets from the past on hundreds of thousands of living Arkansans. These recent elections described above reflect that it’s time for a statewide vote to end the confusing array of alcohol prohibitions stymieing economic progress across the state, either through a petition campaign or by the legislature sending the issue to the people through a constitutional amendment.

The positive outcome for such a vote seems likely as economic and social libertarians now are in con-

sensus on the topic of alcohol, with younger voters throughout the state increasingly favoring liberalization of liquor laws. Unquestionably, churchtied groups such as the Arkansas Family Council would fight any loosening of the state’s liquor laws. However, other issues are now higher priorities for social conservative groups and all signs are that traditionalists are now simply outnumbered on the topic.

It’s time, for Arkansas is the last state in the union with a majority of its counties dry. As we move further into the 21st century, it’s time to get rid of a very clear vestige of the state’s emphatic traditionalism and bring this decidedly 20th century conflict to an end.

Max Brantley is on vacation.

DUMAS, CONT. From page 7 with all their requests for matching federal assistance except day-care programs.

Medical services, including drug coverage, were extended to the disabled and many others, including poor pregnant and nursing women; the state eventually quintupled the children’s colonies and spread them around the state; regional mental health centers were set up; and rehabilitation services were expanded. Medicaid services, state and federal, went from $10 million a year to $126 million, and federal aid for community programs for physically and mentally disabled Arkansans rose from $1 million to $25 million a year.

Bumpers took office with one idea, to get medical care into small towns like his hometown of Charleston. With Bost’s help, the medical school class was enlarged and scholarships were given for medical students who would agree to practice for a period in a small town. They whipped the Arkansas Medical Society and the state Medical Board (with one vote to spare) and won hospital and pharmacy privileges for osteopaths in the hope osteopaths would serve in small towns, as they did in Oklahoma and Texas.

After leaving the Capitol and rejoining UAMS, Bost carried through on their idea of establishing medical residencies in regional Arkansas hospitals to encourage new doctors to spread around the state.

The poor and disabled were not the only beneficiaries of Bost’s healing instincts. At an early cabinet meeting, Bost was talking to Bumpers’ new hotshot fiscal administrator, Richard Heath. What are you doing about that spot under your eye? Bost asked. Heath said the doctor told him to give it time to heal.

“You need to get another doctor,” Bost said. “That’s cancer and you need to tend to it today.” Surgery removed an eye and part of a cheek and Heath spent the rest of a sterling administrative career sporting a black eye patch.

Bill Clinton fell ill the night before he was scheduled to announce his first race for governor in 1978 and called Bost, whom he knew by reputation.

“I’m a pediatrician,” Bost protested. OK, Clinton replied, but he needed someone to heal him by morning. Dosed by Bost’s medicine, probably children’s aspirin, Clinton made the announcement. “Bill’s pediatrician,” Hillary Clinton called him.

Bost’s grandsons gave sterling eulogies at his memorial service. One of them concluded that, pound for pound, his granddad had done more for people than anyone in Arkansas history. The qualification might have been superfluous.

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www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

13

THE HOLIDAY TABLE, LADEN WITH SPECIALTIES OF LITTLE ROCK CHEFS AND BAKERS.

BY MICHAEL ROBERTS AND DANIEL WALKER

H

ere in Arkansas, the coming of autumn is almost a religious experience, given our hot summers. When the leaves start falling, the days grow shorter and the air gets that perfect note of crispness to it, minds turn to holidays, family — and food. There’s nothing quite like settling down to a great meal of comfort food on a chilly day, especially when it’s homemade. We wondered: What do local chefs and bakers cook for themselves this time of year? Here are their answers, which could inspire readers to fire up the stove and get cooking.

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ARKANSAS TIMES

No local restaurateur has quite the string of successes that Scott McGehee has enjoyed. From pizza at ZaZa to burgers at Big Orange to tacos at Local Lime, McGehee and his crew have managed to create top quality versions of everyday foods, and the results have been some of Little Rock’s most popular restaurants. McGehee shares this warming pasta sauce he learned during his time at Alice Waters’ famed Chez Panisse, and it’s enough to make us want to trade the Thanksgiving turkey for spaghetti. MR.

BRIAN CHILSON

WHERE YOUR MOUTH IS

Scott McGehee

Co-owner of Big Orange, ZaZa and Local Lime

BOLOGNESE SAUCE Olive oil 5 ounces pancetta, diced fine 1 large yellow onion, diced fine 2 ribs celery, diced fine 1 large carrot, diced fine Salt to taste 2 cloves garlic, chopped fine 1 pound chuck steak, cut into ¼-inch cubes 6 ounces lean pork shoulder, coarsely ground or chopped 1 cup dry white wine 2 bay leaves 2 sprigs thyme 2 cups beef stock 2 cups chicken stock 2 cups cream 4 tablespoons tomato paste 1/3 cup chopped parsley, for garnish Freshly grated Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, for garnish Pepper, for garnish Heat a wide, heavy-bottomed pan; pour in 2 tablespoons of olive oil and add the pancetta. Once the pancetta starts to brown add the onion, celery, carrot, garlic and a little salt. When the vegetables soften somewhat, remove them from the pan and set aside.

Put the pan back on the heat and pour in two more tablespoons of oil and when it is hot, add the beef, pork and a little more salt. Cook over medium heat for about 15 minutes until the meat starts to brown. Leave the meat in the pan and add the stock, cream, herbs and tomato paste.

Simmer gently for about one hour until the sauce has reduced by about half and the meat is tender. Add the vegetables back into the dish and simmer an additional five minutes. Pour the sauce over wide-cut handmade noodles or your favorite dry pasta. Garnish with a generous helping of Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese, parsley and freshly ground black pepper.

This sauce keeps for 5-7 days in the fridge, and often improves in flavor with age. Other variations use ground beef, prosciutto and wild or domestic mushrooms.

Jeff Owen

Ciao Baci

Jeff Owen’s work in the kitchen and what he puts on diners’ plates exemplifies professionalism in every way. Owen’s menus change seasonally, and he borrows flavors from all over the world — his current lineup touches on Thailand, New Orleans, Italy, Canada, Japan and Greece. Owen excels at transforming those heartwarming comfort foods into something uncommonly good.

Below, Owen offers a recipe perfectly suited for a chilly winter night — a hearty, rich dish that is bound to stick to your ribs. Make this dish for any of the guests you’re entertaining this holiday season, and you may have a difficult time getting anyone to leave. DW.

SHORT RIBS WITH ONION & OYSTER MUSHROOMS AND LEMON-PARSLEY GRITS 3 pounds beef short ribs, cut in half (3-inch blocks) 2-3 small yellow onions, sliced 1 pound oyster mushrooms, quartered kosher salt, fresh cracked pepper 5 sprigs thyme 1 sprig rosemary 2 bay leaves 3 tablespoons tomato sauce 1 tablespoon HP Sauce (may substitute A-1 sauce if necessary) red wine and beef stock Season beef ahead of time — about two hours before beginning prep — with salt and pepper. Brown the meat over medium heat in olive oil on all sides. Add tomato and HP Sauce, and continue to brown for around 15 minutes. Remove meat from pan, add to pan onions and mushrooms and saute for around 15 minutes. Add wine (just enough to deglaze) and stock and return ribs to pan. Stock should come about up about 2/3 the height of the ribs.

Cover and cook in oven at 300 degrees for three hours. Remove from oven and allow time to cool completely (overnight is best).

(This is where “the magic happens,” according to Owen; the time allows the flavors to marry, the meat to relax and the fat to rise to the top, allowing for easy removal.) Reheat in the oven uncovered for around one hour, turning several times, basting the ribs in the sauce. Allow for a bit of caramelization of the gravy as it bakes.

Owen likes to serve these with this basic grits recipe finished with butter, mascarpone, lemon zest, and fresh chopped parsley.

GRITS 2 cups milk 2 cups water 1 1/4 cup grits 4 tablespoons butter 4 tablespoons mascarpone cheese zest and juice from half a lemon handful of chopped parsley

DANIEL WALKER

Boil milk with water and season with salt and pepper. Whisk in grits and keep whisking until grits are cooked completely. Pull from heat, add butter and mascarpone, continue to whisk as butter and cheese melt, incorporating them completely. Add lemon juice and zest, finish with parsley.

www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

15

Brandon Brown

Tomas Bohm

The Pantry

The Pantry is known in Little Rock for its rustic and authentic flavors of Europe. Below, chef/owner Tomas Bohm provides us with a recipe for Czech fruit dumplings. He remembers it as one of the first recipes to really interest him in food, back when he was 4 years old. Bohm recalls watching his mother make the dumplings for the family; he would often assist. She would work the dough, cut and fill it, and young Tomas would roll the dumplings into their final shape. By the end of the baking session, Bohm remembers always being covered in flour. DW.

CZECH FRUIT DUMPLINGS 2 1/2 cups all-purpose flour 1 ounce unsalted butter 1 egg 1/3 cup whole milk 1/4 teaspoon salt 7 ounces cottage cheese Choice of fruit fillings, fresh or frozen (strawberries, raspberries, blueberries, red currants, blackberries and apricots all work well) Place flour and salt in large bowl and mix well. Set aside. Place cottage cheese, egg, and butter into a food processor and pulse until blended well. Next, add milk to the food processor and pulse until blended well. Pour the wet ingredients from the food processor into the dry ingredients bowl (with flour and salt mixture) and mix with a spatula until most of the flour is incorporated. Roll out the dough to ¼ inch thickness on a lightly floured surface. Cut into 3x3 inch squares and place fruit fillings in the center of the dough. Fold up the four corners of the square until they seal off the fruit filling, forming a dumpling about the size of a golf ball.

Place them in simmering water for 15-20 minutes until they are slightly firm. Eat them shortly after removing from the water. Serve with your choice of toppings: cottage cheese, yogurt, fruit compote, whipped cream or chocolate sauce.

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DANIEL WALKER

The signpost outside Hillcrest Artisan Meats — featuring a pig with a meat cleaver at its center — should tip you off to the awaiting selection of exemplary sausages, cured meats, and other charcuterie. But don’t discount owner Brandon Brown as simply a butcher. He can keep up in the kitchen with any other chef in town.

Brown offers us a recipe he’s adopted from one of his best friends — his mentor and boss for 15 years, Mike West. West was a successful chef and restaurateur in Oregon who passed away a few years ago. This recipe for braised sauerkraut is one that the Brown family uses often. This recipe, and many others used at H.A.M. today, is meaningful because it reminds Brandon of his former days in the kitchen with West and of the important role food plays in our fondest memories and most cherished relationships. DW.

BRAISED SAUERKRAUT 1/2 pound of bacon or pancetta, diced 1 large onion, julienned 2 large carrots, julienned 1 tablespoon garlic, sliced thin 1/8 cup juniper berries 2 cups Riesling 8 cups sauerkraut, drained and rinsed 2 cups chicken stock Cook the bacon (or pancetta) in a large Dutch oven until there is enough fat to saute the onions and carrots.

When the bacon is cooked and the onions are soft and beginning to color, add the garlic and juniper berries.

Cook for a few minutes then deglaze with the Riesling. Add the sauerkraut and stir, season with salt and pepper.

Cut parchment paper to fit and cover the pan, and place in a 300-degree oven for 45 minutes to an hour.

Brown likes to pair the dish with sausages or mixed grill plates. He will often serve braised sauerkraut with “Choucroute Garnie” — a dish made with a duck confit, Toulouse sausage and smoked pork loin.

DANIEL WALKER

DANIEL WALKER

Hillcrest Artisan Meats

CORNBREAD DRESSING 2 pans day-old cornbread, crumbled 1 loaf of country white bread, torn into small pieces 4 stalks celery, small diced 4 carrots, small diced 2 onions, small diced 2 cloves garlic 2 tablespoons chopped fresh thyme (oregano and sage, if you like) 4 ounces chopped chicken livers 6-7 ounces butter 6 eggs, beaten 6 roasted/braised chicken breasts, shredded 1 quart chicken stock 1 pint heavy cream In a large bowl combine cornbread and white bread. Saute onions, carrots, celery and garlic together in 2 to 3 ounces of butter until softened.

Add livers and thyme, cook liver until it is no longer pink, stir in 4 ounces of butter. Combine vegetable mixture with chicken, add to bread with one quart chicken stock and heavy cream. Season and add whipped eggs.

Reserve 1/2 cup of mixture for gravy. Spread the remaining mixture in buttered pans (9x13 works well), should be moist. Refrigerate overnight. Cook the dish covered in a 350-degree oven for 45 minutes, then uncover and let brown in oven 10-15 minutes.

CORNBREAD

DANIEL WALKER

2 cups yellow cornmeal 2 cups flour 1/2 cup sugar 2 eggs 4 ounces butter 1 1/2 cups buttermilk 1/2 cup flour 4 tablespoons baking powder 1 teaspoon baking soda 1 tablespoon kosher salt

Alexis Jones

Natchez

Chef Alexis Jones grew up outside of Jackson, Miss., and attended culinary school in Chicago, but found her way to Little Rock in 2011 when she was offered a position at Ashley’s under the direction of Chef Lee Richardson.

She opened her own restaurant, Natchez, just over a year ago downtown.

Jones is committed to using the freshest ingredients possible — not always an easy task when a good majority of your menu involves seafood and you live in the center of a landlocked state like Arkansas. She also plans and executes a new menu daily, a practice that also allows her to use primarily what’s in season, without having to rely too much on stockpiles of boxed, frozen or processed ingredients.

Raised in a home that was proud of its Southern traditions, she says much of her passion for cooking stems from a heritage studded with exceptional home cooks. Jones provides us with a recipe for cornbread dressing, a dish that finds its way on her family’s table every Thanksgiving and Christmas. DW.

Mix melted butter, buttermilk and eggs together. Add to dry mixture of cornmeal, flour, sugar, salt, baking soda and baking powder. Bake in 350 degree oven for 20-25 minutes or until golden on top.

GRAVY 1 small onion diced 4 ounces flour 4 ounces butter 2 ounces chopped chicken livers 1 quart chicken stock 2 boiled eggs, diced 1/2 cup cornbread dressing mixture (see above) 2 oz. heavy cream 1 tablespoon lemon juice kosher salt Cook onions in a small amount of oil or butter, add livers and flour. Cook until flour starts to turn golden, stir in chicken stock. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Add heavy cream, lemon, and season with kosher salt. Just before serving, add cornbread dressing mixture and boiled eggs and heat through.

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

17

CHARGRILLED BROCCOLI WITH CHILI & GARLIC 2 heads of broccoli (they’re in season, so check your local farmers market) 7 tablespoons olive oil 4 garlic cloves, thinly sliced 2 mild red chilies, thinly sliced coarse sea salt and black pepper toasted flaked almonds or very thin slices of lemon to garnish Bring a large pot of water to boil over high heat. It should be big enough to accommodate the broccoli easily. While waiting for the water, prepare the broccoli by separating it into florets. Throw in the broccoli and blanch for two minutes only. Quickly transfer the broccoli to a bowl of ice-cold water to stop the cooking at once. Drain in a colander and allow it to dry completely. In a mixing bowl, toss the broccoli with 3 tablespoons of the olive oil and a generous amount of salt and pepper.

Place a griddle over high heat until extremely hot. Depending on the size of your griddle, grill the broccoli in several batches — the florets shouldn’t be cramped. Turn them as they grill so they get char marks all over. Transfer to serving dish.

BRIAN CHILSON

While grilling the broccoli, place the rest of the oil in a small saucepan along with the sliced garlic and chilies. Cook over medium heat until the garlic is golden. (For even more “oomph,” try adding four chopped anchovy fillets to the oil when cooking the chili and garlic.) Drizzle the oil mixture over the hot broccoli and toss to coat. Garnish with almonds or lemon just before serving.

Stephanos and Monica Mylonas

Without the aid of a front door, a single table, or even a permanent address, Mylo Coffee Co. has won over the hearts of pastry and coffee fanatics across Central Arkansas. Customers often begin forming lines long before Mylo starts selling at their weekly farmers market appearances. Of course, the brickand-mortar version of Mylo Coffee Co. is currently in the works (hopefully arriving some time in early 2014), and you can surely expect the place to be buzzing when that time does arrive. If you’ve spent enough time talking with Stephanos and Monica Mylonas, the fine folks behind this operation, you soon realize that these are people passionate about their work. Their attention to detail, patience, and unwavering dedication to quality comes through in everything they create.

“In our family, cooking is the most fluent expression of love,” Monica explains. “It’s something we can do on a regular basis, and it’s infinitely replicable, allowing ever more family and friends into the fold.”

Here, they offer up a recipe for chargrilled broccoli with chili and garlic.

Broccoli, which they’ve lovingly branded the “scourge of the playground,” is not something you regularly see at the family feast. “Indeed, there’s not much worse than a pile of tiny waterlogged trees raining on your yeast roll parade,” said who? Fear not — with a little help from this simple preparation, you’re sure to have the whole table asking for seconds. Here, Stephanos and Monica are inspired by the “punchy and unmistakable umami of a good stir-fry.” And though they present the recipe with broccoli, the same recipe would work just as well for Brussels sprouts.

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

DANIEL WALKER

Mylo Coffee Co.

Matthew Bell

South on Main

Perhaps no chef in Little Rock better represents the city’s growing culinary chops than Matt Bell, who along with his wife, Amy, have brought fine dining to South Main Street.

Bell’s skill as a chef along with the cultural draw of Oxford American magazine programming have made SoMa a destination for food and music alike, and while the chef is known for creating an attractive main course, he’s also well aware of how important side dishes are, leading to these two vegetable recipes that would be at home on any table. MR.

1900 N. Grant, Little Rock, AR 501-663-8999 www.fantasticchinarestaurant.com

BROWN BUTTER SWEET POTATOES WITH LIME AND SEA SALT

Summer Teaching OppOrTuniTieS

2 large sweet potatoes 1/2 cup brown sugar 4 tablespoons butter 2 limes (zest reserved) Coarse sea salt 2 tablespoons olive oil

FRIED BRUSSELS SPROUTS WITH ONION JAM

Faculty applications, all disciplines, will be accepted through January 6.

Staff applications will be accepted through March 3.

For more information contact the AGS Office at 501-450-1279 or apply online at www.hendrix.edu/ags DANIEL WALKER

Roast sweet potatoes for one hour at 350 degrees. Cut open sweet potatoes and let cool until they stop steaming.

Scoop out sweet potatoes and mash with a fork. Heat a non-stick skillet over medium heat. Add the oil and sweet potatoes and begin to caramelize the sweet potatoes, stirring often. After five minutes add the butter and brown sugar and continue to stir. The idea is to caramelize the sweet potatoes and butter just to the point of almost scorched.

Constantly stir the potatoes, incorporating the caramelized bits. After about eight minutes remove from heat and stir in lime juice and sea salt to taste. Serve immediately topped with more sea salt and lime zest.

June 4 – July 19, 2014

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1 pound Brussels sprouts 3 tablespoons onion jam (recipe follows) 2 tablespoons butter 3 tablespoons oil Remove a tiny bit of the root end from the Brussels sprouts, pulling away any outer leaves that are damaged or falling off.

Quarter the sprouts through the root end and set aside, then proceed with jam.

ONION JAM 3 cups diced red onion 3 cups apple juice 1/2 cup cider vinegar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1/2 cup sugar zest of one orange 1 teaspoon lemon juice 2 tablespoons oil Sweat red onions in a pan with oil until translucent but not caramelized. Next add all other ingredients except lemon juice.

Simmer until liquid is reduced to just above the onions and the mixture is slightly sticky. Remove from heat and stir in the lemon juice. Set aside to cool. Store in refrigerator for up to one week. Heat a large saute pan over medium high heat. Add sprouts and cook, stirring often. You want to caramelize the sprouts on the outside while still leaving them slightly crisp. This should take about eight minutes. When the sprouts are ready remove from heat and stir in onion jam and butter. Serve immediately.

You’ll find gift items from around the world including a wide variety of Pan Am bags and accessories.

1510 South Main St., Little Rock Open Tuesday - Sunday 11 a.m. - 4 p.m.

501.916.9022 essepursemuseum.com www.arktimes.com

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BROWN SUGAR’S OLD SCHOOL CARAMEL ICING 2 1/2 cups sugar 1/2 cup unsalted butter (or 1 stick) 6 ounces evaporated milk 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 1/2 teaspoon imitation rum extract In a medium-sized saucepan over medium heat, mix butter, evaporated milk and two cups of the sugar. Heat and stir with wooden spoon until sugar dissolves.

Do not boil mixture.

BRIAN CHILSON

As soon as sugar dissolves, reduce heat to low. In a small pan or skillet on medium-low heat, melt the remaining 1/2 cup of sugar. Stir constantly with wooden spoon until liquid and brown in color.

Kristi Williams

Brown Sugar Bakery

Kristi Williams and Brown Sugar Bakery are known for their cakes — but every cake needs some icing, right? Enter this luscious, slow-cooked caramel icing that’s bound to make the kitchen smell as wonderful as it tastes. Williams gives some suggestions about what to put this icing on, but it’s going to be hard not to just eat it right off the spoon. MR.

Pour the browned sugar into the saucepan with milk, sugar, butter mixture and quickly stir to blend the ingredients. Stir continuously until the liquid reaches the soft-ball stage. It may be easier to determine the soft-ball stage with a candy thermometer (the caramel should be at 235 F), but if you don’t have a candy thermometer, you can test by dropping a small amount of caramel into water to see if it forms a soft ball. Note: It could take up to 30 minutes for the caramel to reach the soft-ball stage. Don’t turn up the heat because the caramel could burn and be ruined quickly. Just keep on stirrin’ until it’s thoroughly combined!

Remove from heat, and let cool slightly. Add the vanilla and imitation rum extracts. A yummy variation: add up to 1 teaspoon of Fleur de Sel to cooled caramel to create gourmet salted caramel! Pour on anything! Ice cream, cheesecake, doughnuts, cupcakes, and brownies are all great choices.

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

the overlap

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7th & Thayer ¡ Little Rock ¡ (501) 375-8400

THANKSGIVING NIGHT!

Swingin’ Utters  w/ The Burnt & Adam Faucett

FrIdAy, NoVember 29

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SATurdAy, NoVemeber 30 The Lowest Pair (Olympia, WA)

THurSdAy, december 3 William Blackart w/ The Filthy Kind

check out additional shows at

whitewatertavern.com

BRIAN CHILSON

8"$ NJO 4FF TUPSF GPS EFUBJMT

Velvet Kente w/ DJ set from Swift & Funke

Rachel Moore

Loblolly Creamery

Rachel Moore, the culinary genius behind delectable Loblolly Creamery ice cream, is also an accomplished vegan and gluten-free baker. So if there’s someone at your fall party this year that needs special dietary considerations, he or she can still indulge their sweet tooth with these excellent gluten-free cookies (which can become vegan with an egg substitute). And why not serve ice cream with them? MR.

SWEET & SIMPLE PEANUT BUTTER COOKIES 1 cup peanut butter 1/2 cup sugar 1/2 cup brown sugar 1 egg 1 teaspoon vanilla extract A pint of Loblolly Creamery ice cream (optional) Mix all ingredients until a smooth dough forms. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces. Roll each piece into a ball, and flatten each onto a parchment lined baking sheet either with your hand or a fork. Bake at 350 degrees for 8-10 minutes. Let cool for 5 minutes before removing from baking sheet. Then pile high on the counter, scoop a dollop of double vanilla ice cream on top or make ice cream sandwiches with Loblolly Creamery’s salted caramel ice cream. The more ice cream, the better.

www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

21

Arts Entertainment AND

GIVE A LITTLE CULTURE

Here’s the 2013 Arkansas Times holiday gift guide.

BY ROBERT BELL

W

ell, fellow consumers, it’s about that time of year again, isn’t it? Christmas will be here before you can say “conspicuous consumption.” It’s time to start thinking about appropriate gifts for friends, family members, sweethearts, co-workers, casual acquaintances and whoever else you need to reassure that you really care.

Here are a few Arkansas-centric gift ideas for you to consider. You can probably find most of this stuff with a bit of Googling, but try the locally-owned shops first (WordsWorth Books, Arkansas Record & CD Exchange, any of the fine local booze purveyors).

You’ll remember Little Rock author John Hornor Jacobs from the gothic blues horror novel “Southern Gods” and the post-zombie-apocalypse-themed “This Dark Earth.” Those volumes earned raves from the likes of Kirkus Book Reviews, Booklist, The Onion AV Club, Publishers Weekly and many more. Jacobs now has his sights set on conquering the youngadult market with a trilogy, of which “The Twelve-Fingered Boy” is the first installment. Boing Boing founder Cory Doctorow called the book “amazing … part Huck Finn, part X-Men. The scary stuff in this 22

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

book — and there’s some really scary stuff here — goes beyond the usual scares of kids’ horror, and is truly the stuff of nightmares.”

Sounds like a great stocking-stuffer for the burgeoning bookish black sheep in your family.

What better way to show your love for grandma than by giving her a copy of “Christs, Redeemers,” The Body’s latest misanthropic slab of bleak-beyondall-measure avant-garde metal? Arkansas natives Chip King and Lee Buford have been touring for the critically acclaimed record (they return to White Water Tavern in December) for several weeks, including opening slots for Neurosis and glowing reviews in the New York Times. Unless you were really on top of it, you already missed out on the white vinyl pressing.

But hopefully grandma won’t be too disappointed with the 180-gram 2xLP version on regular ol’ black wax. Or if she’s into compact discs, Thrill Jockey has it available “in 4 panel mini-LP style gatefold package with CD in a fully artworked inner sleeve.”

For the film buff in your fam, you could do a lot worse than “Mud” on Blu-Ray (or DVD for you late-adopters). Little Rock native Jeff Nichols’ third feature-length film was pretty much universally praised, with great performances from the cast, including newcomer Jacob Lofland and that unstoppable juggernaut of Oscar-worthy, capital-A Acting, Matthew McConaughey.

Finding just the right gift for the fan of both comics and civil rights history can be tricky, but this year you’re in luck: “March,”

by U.S. Rep. John Lewis, will be perfect. It’s the first of a trilogy of graphic novels that tell the story of the notable Georgia civil rights icon, and it’s illustrated by none other than award-winning artist and author Nate Powell, a native of Little Rock.

I imagine it’d be like swallow some. This stuff, on the other hand, is like drinking some delicious medicine that tastes like pine cones and licorice and burning. That probably doesn’t sound too appealing to some of y’all, but I promise it’s a complex and very tasty whiskey. Jim Murray’s Whisky Bible described it as “Superbly made. Clean, oily and very impressive.

Intrigued by the vaguest hint of sweet fresh shrimp on the nose.” I didn’t get any shrimp off of it, but my palate isn’t expert-level or anything. I recommend it with a splash of Little Rock tap water and an ice-filled glass of club soda. Mmmm.

It comes in a 375ml bottle at 125 proof or you can get a fifth at 110 proof. Go for the 125, but proceed with a respectful caution.

You could certainly be forgiven for wondering whether the world really needs another book about Johnny Cash (there are probably 50 or more out there, along with his two autobiographies). But from the early reviews, journalist Robert Hilburn’s recently published “Johnny Cash: The Life” might offer the most complete picture yet of The Man in Black.

Hilburn knew Cash for more than three decades. He was the only journalist at the Folsom Prison concert, and he draws on multiple interviews he conducted with the man and his friends and family, as well as personal correspondence the family trusted Hilburn enough to share with him.

This stuff has been out for a while, and while there are some newer offerings from Rock Town Distillery, I’ve got to recommend Arkansas Lightning for the discerning drinker in your family. It’s so much smoother than the only other Arkansas white lightning I’ve had, which came out of a mason jar that had one of those blue embossed label-maker labels on it that read “POPE COUNTY JUICE.” I’ve only had gasoline in my mouth a few times, and I managed to never swallow any. That stuff was what

Rock City Outfitters has given the world many fine, funny, smart-assed Arkansas-centric T-shirts. One of the company’s latest offerings might be one of its best, and is certainly a great gift idea for the cranky old hippie in your family: A “Beaker Street” T-shirt, commemorating the legendary KAAY radio show hosted for many years by the legendary Clyde Clifford. It’s described thusly on the RCO website: “If you belong to any generation after the Baby Boomer/hippie generation this shirt probably won’t resonate with you. For the Boomers however, this tee may cause you to fetch out your old moccasins, low-rise bell bottoms, and bong.” Hell, I wasn’t listening to “Beaker Street” in 1970 (I wasn’t even a gleam in anybody’s eye in 1970), but it’s a really cool-looking T-shirt that gives a nod to something really cool and unique and Arkansas.

ROCK CANDY Check out the Times’ A&E blog arktimes.com

Notice is hereby giveN by the Pulaski couNty board of electioN commissioNers that a sPecial electioN will be held iN the city of little rock PursuaNt to ordiNaNce 20,803 referred to the PeoPle of the city of little rock by the board of directors. voters iN the city of little rock shall decide the followiNg: robiNsoN auditorium imProvemeNt boNds

A&E NEWS SAD NEWS ON THE VENUE FRONT: Downtown Music Hall, the longtime home of many of the area’s metal, hardcore and hip-hop shows, will close as of Jan. 1.

Via the venue’s Facebook page, owner Samantha Allen said, “I could explain to you all the who, what, where and hows but that is too long and complicated of a situation. The thing that you all need to know is that I love you all and this has been the most amazing adventure of my life.”

She also said that she’ll be taking a break for a bit, then will get back to booking shows elsewhere. There will be a farewell series of shows from Dec. 17-21.

THE RED AND WOOD-PANELING 1991 JEEP WAGONEER driven by the character Skyler White on the recentlyconcluded AMC hit “Breaking Bad” has landed in Fayetteville, according to the Fayetteville Flyer. After the final episode of the AMC hit, props and vehicles from the show were auctioned off by a site called Screenbid.com.

A reporter for the Flyer claims to have compared the Vehicle Identification Numbers for the Jeep on the auction site and the one being serviced at Lewis Automotive Group on College Avenue in Fayetteville and found that they match. The Jeep sold for $11,250 to an online bidder back in September.

Sure, it ain’t Walter White’s puttycolored Pontiac Aztek, but a Wagoneer will probably do a lot better in Northwest Arkansas this winter.

IT’S TIME AGAIN FOR THE ARKANSAS TIMES MUSICIANS SHOWCASE. We wanna hear what you’ve got, bands of Arkansas. If you’re based in the Natural State and you’ve got at least 20 minutes of original material, you are eligible to enter the competition. Twenty bands will be selected for the showcase, which will start in late January. Once a week for five weeks, four bands will square off for a panel of judges at Stickyz. The winner of each semi-final round will advance to the finals, which will be at Revolution.

Find a link to enter at arktimes. com/showcase14. If you’ve got any questions or concerns, email lindseymillar@arktimes.com.

an issue of bonds of the city of little rock, arkansas in one or more series in the maximum aggregate principal amount of $73,500,000 for the purpose of financing all or a portion of the costs of renovations and additions to, and furnishings and equipment for, robinson auditorium. the bonds will be payable from and secured by a pledge of the collections of the existing 2% tax levied by the city upon the gross receipts from motels, hotels, restaurants, cafes, cafeterias and all other establishments engaged in the business of selling prepared food for consumption on the premises of such establishment. the proceeds of the bonds will also be used to provide a debt service reserve and pay costs of issuing the bonds. o for o against Polls will be open from 7:30 am to 7:30 pm on December 10, 2013 at the Following Locations: Pct

Name of facility

address

city

58 63 64 65 66 67 68 69 70 71 72 73 74 75 76 77 78 79 80 81 82 83 84 85 86 87 88 89 90 91 92 93 94 95 96 97 98 99 100 101 102 103 104 105 106 107 108 109 110 111 112 113 114 115 116 117 118 119 120 121 122 123 124 125 128 129 130 134 135

Winfield UMC Martindale Baptist Church Trinity Presbyterian Church St Michael’s Episcopal Church Grace Church Temple B’nai Israel Chenal Valley Baptist Church Little Rock First Baptist Church Pleasant Valley Church of Christ Pulaski Academy Pleasant Valley Church of Christ Parkway Place Baptist Church Pulaski Academy Immanuel Baptist Church Parkway Place Baptist Church The Church at Rock Creek The Church at Rock Creek Henderson UMC Henderson UMC Little Rock Fire Station #18 Mabelvale UMC Heart’s Journey Church Iglesia Bautista Nueva W.W. Williams NW Patrol Div Bess Chisum Stephens Comm Faith UMC St James UMC Unitarian Universalist Ch of LR Second Presbyterian Church Cammack Village City Hall St Paul UMC First Christian Church First Church of the Nazarene Grace Presbyterian First Church of the Nazarene Faith Lutheran Church W.W. Williams NW Patrol Div St Luke UMC Western Hills UMC Western Hills UMC Meadowcliff Elementary St Theresa’s Catholic Church Temple of Restoration Southside Church of Christ LR Fire Station #10 LR Fire Station #10 Woodlawn Baptist Church Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Ch Woodlawn Baptist Church Pulaski Heights UMC Pulaski Heights Presbyterian Ch West Side Baptist Church Arkansas Arts Center Franklin Elementary School Greater Christ Temple Pent Bullock Temple Church Dunbar Recreation Center Greater Archview Baptist Ch Little Rock Adult Education Ctr Geyer Springs UMC Cooperative Extension Service Southwest Comm Church Metropolitan Career Center Baseline Elementary School St John Vision Center Fire Station #4 College Station Comm Center Nathaniel Hill Comm Complex Pilgrim Rest Baptist Church

20100 Cantrell Rd 18900 Colonel Glenn Rd 4501 Rahling Rd 12415 Cantrell Rd 12900 Cantrell Rd 3700 N Rodney Parham 1800 Rahling Rd 62 Pleasant Valley Dr 10900 Rodney Parham 12301 Hinson Rd 10900 Rodney Parham 300 Parkway Pl 12301 Hinson Rd 501 N Shackleford Rd 300 Parkway Pl 11500 W 36th 11500 W 36th 13000 W Baseline 13000 W Baseline 11500 Mabelvale West 10500 Woodman St 9621 Tall Timber Blvd 9400 Col. Glenn Rd 10001 Kanis Rd 1200 S Cleveland 9820 W Markham 321 Pleasant Valley Dr 1818 Reservoir Rd 600 Pleasant Valley Dr 2710 N McKinley 2223 Durwood Rd 1500 N Mississippi 1200 N Mississippi 9301 Rodney Parham 1200 N Mississippi 7525 W Markham 10001 Kanis Rd 6401 W 32nd St 4601 Western Hills Av 4601 Western Hills Ave 25 Sheraton Dr 6219 Baseline Rd 10610 Chicot Rd 9300 Geyer Springs 5220 Kavanaugh Blvd 5220 Kavanaugh Blvd 5520 Woodlawn 4401 Woodlawn Dr 5520 Woodlawn Dr 4823 Woodlawn Dr 4401 Woodlawn Dr 2715 W 7th St 501 E 9th St 1701 S Harrison St 1200 Lewis St 1513 Park St 1001 W 16th St 1720 W 23rd St 4800 W 26th St 5500 Geyer Springs Rd 2901 W Roosevelt Rd 7400 Lancaster Rd 7701 Scott Hamilton 3623 Baseline Rd 2701 S Main St 7500 Lindsey Rd 4801 Frazier Pike 2500 E 6th St 3801 Springer Blvd

Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Mabelvale Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock Little Rock College Sta Little Rock Little Rock

EARLY VOTING Main Site early Voting Pulaski County Regional Building 501 W. Markham Little Rock, AR HourS and dateS: Tuesday, December 3rd – Monday, December 9th 8:00 a.m. to 5:00 p.m.

No Weekend Early Voting

ABSENTEE BALLOTS Election Officials will begin opening, canvassing, and counting Absentee Ballots at 2:00 p.m. on Election Day, December 10th at the following location: Pulaski County Regional Building 501 West Markham little Rock, arkansas 72201 Information regarding absentee ballots, voter registration, or your voting location can be located on the Circuit/County Clerk’s website or contact their office at 340-8336.

ADDITIONAL ELECTION INFORMATION Election Results will begin posting on the Election Commission’s website after 7:30 p.m. on Election Day, until all results are in. election reSourceS: Election Commission www.votepulaski.net Circuit/County Clerk www.pulaskiclerk.com Voter regiStration deadlineS for election: november 11th: New Registrants and Out of State Registrants december 6th: Transfer Voter Registration from another county within the State

election notice ProVided By tHe PulaSKi county election coMMiSSion

www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

23

THE TO-DO

LIST

BY ROBERT BELL

THURSDAY 11/28

SWINGIN’ UTTERS

9 p.m. White Water Tavern.

So it’s Thanksgiving. Maybe you’re already tired of being around your annoying family members. Or maybe you’re alone, wishing you had some annoying family members around to get tired of. Either way, here’s a great excuse to get out of the house and be social and also take in some punk rock. San Francisco’s Swingin’ Utters are back at White Water Tavern, this time for a Turkey Day throwdown. The Utters were one of the catchiest, best punk bands of the ’90s. They took a hiatus for a few years and returned in 2011 with “Here, Under Protest.” The band’s newest album, this year’s “Poorly Formed,” is, understandably, a bit more varied than the street-punk anthems of “The Streets of San Francisco” and “A Juvenile Product of the Working Class,” records that came out 18 and 17 years ago, respectively. There’s nervy, jagged punk (“In a Video”), a little bit of country and banjo (“I’m a Little Bit Country”), rootsy numbers with violin, accordion and acoustic guitars in the mix (“Greener Grass”), jangly guitars (“A Walk With the Postman,” “Brains”) and even a sweet-sounding love tune (“Sevita Sing”). Also on this bill: Little Rock punk stalwarts The Burnt.

PUNXGIVING DAY: The Swingin’ Utters play at White Water Tavern Thursday.

FRIDAY 11/29

FRIDAY 11/29

WAR(M) CHIEF

(HED) P.E.

’Tis the season for benefit concerts. It’s around this time of year that several local bands and venues give back to the community. This week sees the second annual War(m) Chief coat drive, benefitting The One Inc., a volunteer-run charity whose mission is “to identify and meet needs of our homeless and/or impoverished neighbors that are not currently being met.” It’s been uncomfortably cold outside as of late.

Now just imagine how cold it must be for someone who doesn’t have anywhere to go. So go open up your closet or get up into the attic and gather up those old coats you don’t wear anymore, or maybe that tent you used once or that older but still serviceable sleeping bag and bring it to this show. You’ll get in for free to see War Chief and headliners The London Souls, and you’ll also help replenish the stockpile of warm items dispersed to homeless folks via The Van.

It’s time once more for a round of Learn About a Band by Watching One of that Band’s Most Popular Videos on YouTube with the Sound Turned Off. This time the band is So-Cal heavy rap-rockers (hed) P.E. and the video is for their song “Renegade” (4.07 million views). OK, we start with a punker dude drinking at a park. He looks like he should be at a Casualties or Civil Disobedience show in 1995. He’s getting sloshed and appears to be frustrated (you can tell because he smashes his bottle).

He takes off skating down the street, does an ollie off of a sidewalk and then we’re watching the band play in a parking lot.

Singer Jared Gomes is walking down a street toward the camera and he is singing and moving his hands around. Punker dude is also walking down a street and he starts harassing people. He knocks a newspaper out of this one guy’s hands. Then he

9 p.m. Stickyz. $6 or a donation.

24

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

Revolution. 8:30 p.m. $12 adv., $15 day of.

SATURDAY 11/30 messes with another guy, grabbing him and pushing him against a wall. Not a good idea, punker dude! Because then another dude comes up behind him and tosses him into a pile of cardboard boxes. The band is playing the whole time. Punker dude gets up, shakes it off and takes off walking again.

He has an interesting style of walking that involves a lot of wild gesticulations and arm movements and sneering. He sneers at people while doing his unique walk. Then the video is over. I think what we learned about (hed) P.E. from this video is that the band has some sympathy for outcasts who feel frustrated by the confines of social and cultural mores and thus lash out with violence.

But there is also a more nuanced message to the video: You are free to do your sneering/strutting thing all you want, but if you grab someone and push them against a wall, another guy might come up behind you and throw you into a pile of boxes. Also performing at this all-ages show will be Righteous Vendetta and At War’s End.

ZOOGMA

9 p.m. Revolution. $10 adv., $12 day of.

Electro/jam outfit Zoogma are no strangers to the shores of Arkansas’s clubs, having played Revolution’s Zodiac series as well as at Wakarusa. The fourpiece is currently on tour promoting its second album, “Anthems 4 Androids.”

Zoogma definitely isn’t beholden to any one style of music, mixing together just about any type of music that gets people moving (techno, drum ’n’ bass, various newer strains of EDM) with some surprising types that usually don’t (prog, in particular). On “Anthems 4 Androids,” there’s definitely a party vibe, particularly on the disco-informed “Mirage,” which mixes things up from the standard 4/4 thumping with some off-kilter rhythmic touches. This show will be a great warm-up for you folks who are planning to go see DJs from Mars. Also on the bill at this 18-and-older show: Modern Measure.

IN BRIEF

THURSDAY 11/28 SATURDAY 11/30

DJS FROM MARS

Late. Discovery. $10-$15.

ITALO DISCO: DJs from Mars perform at Discovery Saturday.

Word on the street is that this right here will be one of the bigger electronic dance music shows of the year. DJs from Mars aren’t actually from Mars; the two hail from Turin, Italy, and they’ve quickly become popular on the strength of their mashups. But unlike certain other notable mashup makers, they don’t follow the mode of splicing together disparate and highly familiar tracks into a pop Frankenstein (“Dude, it’s Dolly Parton and Peter Frampton mixed together! And it totally works, bro!”). Rather, these guys mash up currently popular EDM tracks to keep things bumping along nicely all night.

If you need some jazzy neo-soul to soundtrack your holiday, check out the Thanksgiving Music Celebration at 4 Corners, with Rodney Block and The Real Music Lovers featuring Bijoux and Sean West, 9 p.m., $10 early admission.

FRIDAY 11/29 Jeff Coleman and The Feeders bring the rollicking rock ’n’ roll to The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. Vino’s has lined up an evening of hip-hop presented by Good Vibes, with Vile Pack, JVY, Frequency THC, MXMXC, Ty and Youngin’ 10X, 9 p.m., $7. The Main Thing’s holiday chuckle-fest continues with “A Fertle Holiday” at The Joint, Friday and Saturday, 8 p.m., $20. Market Street Cinema screens “Luminous Journey.”

Producers and directors Anne and Tim Perry will attend the screening, with a discussion and Q&A to follow, 7 p.m., $6-$8.

SATURDAY 11/30 The Promenade at Chenal will host a Christmas celebration starting around noon, with music, an appearance from old St. Nick and a tree-lighting at 6 p.m.

Interstate Buffalo keeps the late-night chooglin’ at Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5. Strangely Familiar (formerly Rip Van Shizzle) plays at Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m., free. Over at 521 Southern Cafe, you can check out the album release show from Theme Musiq a.k.a.

Blaze Beatz, also featuring Climaxx, Duke Stigall, Gadah, Doe Boi, Fiyah Burnz and Asylum, 9 p.m., $5 early admission, $10 later. White Water Tavern hosts banjo-pluckin’ duo The Lowest Pair, 9:30 p.m., $5. Cregeen’s Irish Pub hosts the cow-punk/rockabilly stylings of The P-47s, 8 p.m. The Stiff Necked Fools are back in town for a show at Stickyz, 9:30 p.m., $5. The Big Dam Horns headline at Cajun’s Wharf, with Big Stack Acoustic handling the happy hour sounds, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m.

SUNDAY 12/1

LEOPOLD AND HIS FICTION

8 p.m. Stickyz. Free.

Here we have Leopold and His Fiction, a garage rock band from Austin, Texas.

These guys aren’t your typical bash-awayat-two-chords-and-scream style outfit.

They mix in some skilled playing and actual singing along with the screaming and bashing. You know, real musical-type sounds. According to the band’s bio, they “absorbed pieces of the Motown catalog along with the protopunk resonance of Iggy’s Stooges and molded them into a personal version of the rock ’n’ roll dream.”

This isn’t really related to the music, but I must point out that Leopold himself (actual name: Daniel James) looks quite a bit like the love child of Freddie Mercury and Jake Gyllenhaal. Bonus: This 18-andolder show is free! Is there a better way to spend your Sunday evening? Perhaps, but probably not.

FREE LEOPOLD: Leopold and His Fiction play a free show at Stickyz Sunday.

WEDNESDAY 12/4

ROD BRYAN & OILFLOWER

9 p.m. Stickyz. $5.

For your Wednesday entertainment needs, I’d recommend this here performance from singer/songwriter/political gadfly Rod Bryan his current outfit Oilflower. Bryan has been on what can only be described as a goddamn tear recently, with a relentless stream of releases on his Bandcamp page (18 or so since May).

His most recent offering is a fine collection called “An Avalanche of You.” It’s got this duet with him and Megan Michelle called “Former Lover.” It’s one of those country style smart-assed back-and-forth numbers in the spirit of “Jackson,” only a lot meaner. It’s full of sick burns like: “And I’ll find 20 of you before you find another of me / In that time how low do you think you’ll

be?” And then there’s “It’s Alright Ma, I’m Only Reeding,” which finds Bryan toasting over a reggae track. And it’s just … I don’t know, it sounds like some very hilarious word salad peppered with one-liners that only Little Rock folks would get. You should probably just go listen to it now. Also performing at this 18-and-older shindig: Crash Culture with Megan Michelle.

SUNDAY 12/1 The Mosaic Templars Cultural Center hosts a Holiday Open House featuring the “Say it Ain’t Say’s” Sweet Potato Pie Baking Contest, 2 p.m.

TUESDAY 12/3 It’s time for the 15th Annual “A Night at the Rep,” which includes a silent auction, heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks and a performance of the Rep’s musical “Because of Winn Dixie” at 7 p.m. It’s all at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 5 p.m., $40. www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

25

AFTER DARK All events are in the Greater Little Rock area unless otherwise noted. To place an event in the Arkansas Times calendar, please e-mail the listing and all pertinent information, including date, time, location, price and contact information, to calendar@arktimes.com.

THURSDAY, NOV. 28

MUSIC

Swingin’ Utters, The Burnt. White Water Tavern, 9 p.m. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

Thanksgiving Music Celebration. With Rodney Block and The Real Music Lovers with Bijoux and Sean West. IV Corners, 9 p.m., $10 early admission. 824 W Capitol Ave.

FRIDAY, NOV. 29

MUSIC

Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. Dance night, with DJs, drink specials and bar menu, until 2 a.m.

1620 Savoy, 10 p.m. 1620 Market St. 501-2211620. www.1620savoy.com.

Ed Burks. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, Nov. 29-30, 7 p.m. 500 President Clinton Ave. 501324-2999. www.sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Friday night at Sway. Sway, 9 p.m. 412 Louisiana.

501-907-2582.

Good Vibes presents: Vile Pack, JVY, Frequency THC, MXMXC, Ty, Youngin’ 10X. Vino’s, 9 p.m., $7. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www.vinosbrewpub.com.

(HED) p.e., Righteous Vendetta, At War’s End. All-ages. Revolution, 8:30 p.m., $12 adv., $15 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

Jeff Coleman and The Feeders. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $7. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd.

501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Katmandu (headliner), Angelyn Jolly (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-375-5351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. War(m) Chief. Bring a new or gently used coat to donate to The Van. All-ages, with headliners The London Souls. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, $6 or coat donation. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

“YOLO.” Featuring four DJs and beach volleyball, 18-and-older. Flying DD, $5. 4601 S. University.

501-773-9990. flyingdd.com.

COMEDY

Billy Wayne Davis. The Loony Bin, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road.

501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

The Main Thing: “A Fertle Holiday.” The Joint, 8 p.m., $20. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-3720205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

DANCE

Salsa Night. Begins with a one-hour salsa lesson.

Juanita’s, 9 p.m., $8. 614 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-1228. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

Fantastic Friday. Literary and music event, refreshments included. For reservations, call 479-968-2452 or email artscenter@centurytel. net. River Valley Arts Center, Every third Friday, 26

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

BROADWAY BEAST: Disney’s hit musical “Beauty and the Beast” comes to Robinson Center Music Hall Tuesday at 7:30 p.m., Wednesday at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. and again on Thursday, Dec. 5, at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $38-$75.

7 p.m., $10 suggested donation. 1001 E. B St., Russellville. 479-968-2452. www.arvartscenter.org.

LGBTQ/SGL Youth and Young Adult Group.

Diverse Youth for Social Change is a group for LGBTQ/SGL and straight ally youth and young adults age 14 to 23. For more information, call 244-9690 or search “DYSC” on Facebook. 800 Scott St., 6:30 p.m. 800 Scott St. Main Street Food Truck Fridays. Capitol and Main, 11 a.m.-1 p.m. Main Street.

FILM

“Luminous Journey.” Producers and directors Anne and Tim Perry will attend the screening, with discussion and Q&A to follow. Market Street Cinema, 7 p.m., $6-$8. 1521 Merrill Drive. 501312-8900. www.marketstreetcinema.net.

SATURDAY, NOV. 30

MUSIC

Big Dam Horns (headliner), Big Stack Acoustic (happy hour). Cajun’s Wharf, 5:30 and 9 p.m., $5 after 8:30 p.m. 2400 Cantrell Road. 501-3755351. www.cajunswharf.com.

Club Nights at 1620 Savoy. See Nov. 29.

DJs from Mars. Discovery Nightclub, 9 p.m.-5 a.m. 1021 Jessie Road. 501-664-4784. www. latenightdisco.com.

Ed Burks. Sonny Williams’ Steak Room, 7 p.m.

500 President Clinton Ave. 501-324-2999. www. sonnywilliamssteakroom.com.

Interstate Buffalo. Midtown Billiards, 12:30 a.m., $5. 1316 Main St. 501-372-9990. midtownar.com.

John David. The Afterthought, 9 p.m., $10. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www.khalilspub.com.

Karaoke. Casa Mexicana, 7 p.m. 6929 JFK Blvd., NLR. 501-835-7876.

Karaoke with Kevin & Cara. All-ages, on the restaurant side. Revolution, 9 p.m.-12:45 a.m., free. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom.com.

K.I.S.S. Saturdays. Featuring DJ Silky Slim. Dress code enforced. Sway, 10 p.m. 412 Louisiana.

501-492-9802.

The Lowest Pair. White Water Tavern, 9:30 p.m., $5. 2500 W. 7th St. 501-375-8400. www.whitewatertavern.com.

The P-47s. Cregeen’s Irish Pub, 8 p.m. 301 Main St., NLR. 501-376-7468. www.cregeens.com.

Pickin’ Porch. Bring your instrument. All ages welcome. Faulkner County Library, 9:30 a.m. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501-327-7482. www.fcl.org.

Shari Bales Band. West End Smokehouse and Tavern, 10 p.m., $5. 215 N. Shackleford. 501-2247665. www.westendsmokehouse.net.

Singer/Songwriters Showcase. Parrot Beach Cafe, 2-7 p.m., free. 9611 MacArthur Drive, NLR. 771-2994.

Stiff Necked Fools. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9:30 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-3727707. www.stickyz.com.

Strangely Familiar. Thirst n’ Howl, 8:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www. thirst-n-howl.com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 9 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG. Theme Musiq a.k.a. Blaze Beatz (album release), Climaxx, Duke Stigall, Gadah, Doe Boi, Fiyah Burnz and Asylum. 521 Southern Cafe, 9 p.m., $5 early admission, $10 later. 521 Center St. 501-413-2182.

Zoogma, Modern Measure. 18-and-older.

Revolution, 9 p.m., $10 adv., $12 day of. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501-823-0090. revroom. com.

COMEDY

Billy Wayne Davis. The Loony Bin, 7:30 and 10 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road.

501-228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

The Main Thing: “A Fertle Holiday.” The Joint, 8 p.m., $20. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-3720205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

DANCE

Little Rock West Coast Dance Club. Dance lessons. Singles welcome. Ernie Biggs, 7 p.m., $2. 307 Clinton Ave. 501-247-5240. www. arstreetswing.com.

EVENTS

Argenta Farmers Market. Argenta, 7 a.m.-12 p.m. Main Street, NLR. Christmas Celebration. Celebration with music, Santa appearance and tree-lighting at 6 p.m.

The Promenade at Chenal, 12 p.m. 17711 Chenal Parkway. 501-821-5552. chenalshopping.com.

Falun Gong meditation. Allsopp Park, 9 a.m., free. Cantrell & Cedar Hill Roads.

Hillcrest Farmers Market. Pulaski Heights Baptist Church, 7 a.m.-2 p.m. 2200 Kavanaugh Blvd.

Historic Neighborhoods Tour. Bike tour of historic neighborhoods includes bike, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 9 a.m., $8-$28. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001.

Pork & Bourbon Tour. Bike tour includes bicycle, guide, helmets and maps. Bobby’s Bike Hike, 11:30 a.m., $35-$45. 400 President Clinton Ave. 501-613-7001.

SUNDAY, DEC. 1

MUSIC

Irish Traditional Music Session. Hibernia Irish Tavern, first and third Sunday of every month, 2:30 p.m.; Dec. 29, 2:30 p.m. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-246-4340. www.hiberniairishtavern.com.

Karaoke with DJ Sara. Hardrider Bar & Grill, 7 p.m., free. 6613 John Harden Drive, Cabot.

501-982-1939 .

Leopold and His Fiction. 18-and-older. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 8 p.m., free. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz.com.

Reggae Sundays with First Impressions.

Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 7:30 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www. stickyz.com.

EVENTS

14th Annual Taste of the Holidays. Mid-America Science Museum, 4 p.m., $65 adv., $75 day of.

500 Mid-America Blvd., Hot Springs. 501-7673461, ext. 18. www.midamericamuseum.org.

Bernice Garden Farmers Market. The Bernice Garden, 10 a.m.-2 p.m. 1401 S. Main St. www. thebernicegarden.org.

Holiday Open House. Featuring the “Say it Ain’t Say’s” Sweet Potato Pie Baking Contest. Mosaic Templars Cultural Center, 2 p.m. 501 W. 9th St. 501-376-4602. www.mosaictemplarscenter.com.

“Live from the Back Room.” Spoken word event.

Vino’s, 7 p.m. 923 W. 7th St. 501-375-8466. www. vinosbrewpub.com.

Living Affected Corp. Luncheon. Philander Smith College, 1 p.m., free. 900 W. Daisy L. Gatson Bates Drive.

MONDAY, DEC. 2

MUSIC

The Conway Woman’s Chorus. Faulkner County Library, 7 p.m., free. 1900 Tyler St., Conway. 501327-7482. www.fcl.org.

EVENTS

Ali Velshi. Presentation from the host of Al Jazeera America’s “Real Money with Ali Velshi.”

Clinton School of Public Service, 6 p.m., free.

1200 President Clinton Ave. 501-683-5239. www. clintonschool.uasys.edu.

“Sleigh Bells at The Sheid.” Includes screening of “The Polar Express,” refreshments, visits with Santa Claus and more. Arkansas State University at Mountain Home, 6 p.m., free. 1600 S. College Ave., Mountain Home.

TUESDAY, DEC. 3

MUSIC

Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock, first Tuesday, Wednesday of every month. 120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. Karaoke Night. Cornerstone Pub & Grill, 8 p.m. 314 Main St., NLR. 501-374-1782. cstonepub.com.

Karaoke Tuesday. Prost, 8 p.m., free. 322 President Clinton Blvd. 501-244-9550.

Lucious Spiller Band. Copeland’s Restaurant of Little Rock, 6-9 p.m. 2602 S. Shackleford Road. 501-312-1616. www.copelandsrestaurantlittlerock.com.

Music Jam hosted by Elliott Griffen and Joseph Fuller. The Joint, 8-11 p.m., free. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501-372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

Ricky David Tripp. Rocket Twenty One, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www.ferneaurestaurant.com.

Thirst ‘n Howl Blues Jam. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-379-8189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

Tuesday Jam Session with Carl Mouton. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Wind Ensemble and Symphonic Band.

“Performing Passage” by Scott Lindroth; “Concert Etude no. 49”; “Hill Song no. 2” by Grainger; “Angels in the Architecture” by Frank Ticheli; and “Purple Pageant March”

by Karl King. University of Central Arkansas, 7:30 p.m. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway. www. uca.edu.

DANCE

“Latin Night.” Revolution, 7:30 p.m., $5 regular, $7 under 21. 300 President Clinton Ave. 501823-0090. www.littlerocksalsa.com.

EVENTS

15th annual “A Night at the Rep.” Silent auction, with heavy hors d’oeuvres and drinks and performance of “Because of Winn Dixie” at 7 p.m. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, 5 p.m., $40.

601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org.

Tales from the South. Authors tell true stories; schedule available on website. Dinner served 5-6:30 p.m., show at 7 p.m. Call for reservations.

Starving Artist Cafe, 5 p.m. 411 N. Main St., NLR. 501-372-7976. www.starvingartistcafe.net.

Trivia Bowl. Flying Saucer, 8:30 p.m. 323 President Clinton Ave. 501-372-8032. www.beerknurd.com/ stores/littlerock.

SPORTS

UALR Men’s Trojans vs. UA Fort Smith. Jack Stephens Center, UALR, 7 p.m., $5-$38. 2801 S. University Ave.

WEDNESDAY, DEC. 4

MUSIC

Acoustic Open Mic. The Afterthought, 8 p.m., free. 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-663-1196. www.afterthoughtbar.com.

Gil Franklin & Friends. Holiday Inn, North Little Rock. 120 W. Pershing Blvd., NLR. Karaoke at Khalil’s. Khalil’s Pub, 7 p.m. 110 S. Shackleford Road. 501-224-0224. www. khalilspub.com.

Mark Currey. South on Main, 7:30 p.m. 1304 Main St. 501-244-9660. https://www.facebook. com/SouthonMainLR. Open Mic Nite with Deuce. Thirst n’ Howl, 7:30 p.m., free. 14710 Cantrell Road. 501-3798189. www.thirst-n-howl.com.

Ricky David Tripp. Rocket Twenty One, 5:30 p.m. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. 501-603-9208. www.ferneaurestaurant.com.

Rod Bryan & Oilflower, Crash Culture with Megan Michelle. 18-and-older. Stickyz Rock ‘n’ Roll Chicken Shack, 9 p.m., $5. 107 Commerce St. 501-372-7707. www.stickyz. com.

Ted Ludwig Trio. Capital Bar and Grill, 7:30 p.m., free. 111 Markham St. 501-374-7474. www.capitalhotel.com/CBG.

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COMEDY

The Joint Venture. Improv comedy group. The Joint, 8 p.m., $5. 301 Main St. No. 102, NLR. 501372-0205. thejointinlittlerock.com.

Standup Open Mic Night. Hosted by local come­di­ans of the com­edy col­lec­tive Come­di­ ans of NWA. UARK Bowl, 9 p.m., free. 644 W. Dickson St., Fayetteville. 479-301-2030. uarkbowl.com.

Tim Statum. The Loony Bin, Dec. 4-5, 7:30 p.m., $7-$10. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501228-5555. www.loonybincomedy.com.

DANCE

Little Rock Bop Club. Beginning dance lessons for ages 10 and older. Singles welcome. Bess Chisum Stephens Community Center, 7 p.m., $4 for members, $7 for guests. 12th & Cleveland streets. 501-350-4712. www.littlerockbopclub.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 30

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

HALFOFFARKANSAS.COM C CO OU UR RT TE ES SY Y O OF F

t two-and-a-half hours, “The Hunger Games: Catching Fire” has ample time to wander in and out of several versions of itself. There’s the first 45 minutes or so, a deadly dull stretch of dreary plodding that amplifies the most boring parts of the first film. The next 45 minutes or so is a slightly more engaging stretch when we learn that interesting things are actually going to happen in the movie: more Hunger Games — a cross between “Survivor” and the Junior Olympics, in which kids from various parts of a dystopian America are pitted against one another in the wilderness, to the death, on TV. Then the Hunger Games themselves take place, and they’re another round of dreary plodding, just with action, almost at random. Almost nothing about this movie makes a shred of sense. What’s worse, it lacks the self-awareness to realize that a story about revolutionary politics that relies on rolling banks of poison fog and gang-battles against ferocious mandrills risks devolving into a stale, muddled pudding of a movie. “Catching Fire” is that stale pudding.

The games propelled the first film, but with winner Katniss Everdeen (Jennifer Lawrence, the best thing in either movie) now a celebrity and a reluctant revolutionary icon, her perceived influence moves the action now. Her popularity stemmed from her willingness to die along with her friend Peeta (Josh Hutcherson) rather than for one to kill the other; this somehow has galvanized opposition to the tyrannical reign of President Snow (Donald Sutherland), so now he wants Katniss to shill for the regime or to die, if not both.

Her charade requires public love-bird affections between Katniss and Peeta, which doesn’t bother him as much as it does her, since she’s sweet on a rugged lad named Gale (Liam Hemsworth) whose

great bone structure, alas, doesn’t also support a personality. Amazingly Philip Seymour Hoffman has a prominent part, as the new game master, also without evincing much of a character.

Director Francis Lawrence (“Constantine,” “I Am Legend”) was advertised as a dark upgrade over “Hunger Games” director Gary Ross (“Big,” “Seabiscuit”) — perhaps, the thinking may have gone, mirroring the success of the Harry Potter franchise swapping out Chris Columbus for Alfonso Cuaron after two movies. But the source material, Suzanne Collins’ bestselling young adult novels, proves too campy to infuse with much heft. The totalitarian regime never comes across quite right, projected as a nightmare future held together with the sugar-stickiness of a reality TV event that slaughters people. It feels ditzy and feeble.

Maybe the American experiment is in fact heading to such gilded doldrums. If television is indeed a culprit, or at least an accomplice, the Hunger Games series wouldn’t be the first to make that prediction. What we’re missing, though, is a sense either of high-concept science-fiction B-movie fun or a grittier depiction of the inner workings of this revolt that Katniss is inadvertently headlining. If people are just mad as hell and not going to take it anymore, how does a woman with virtually no political will catalyze them?

That Katniss unconsciously foments a revolt says something about the zeitgeist of “Hunger Games” devotees. “Twilight” fans want hot, dangerous boyfriends; Harry Potter fans fantasize about magical powers; “Star Wars” fans would love to save the galaxy. The fantasy “Catching Fire” sells is far less glamorous: Stay alive long enough, and the masses will idolize you for convictions you didn’t even realize you held. At last, slacktivism has found its “Star Trek.”

AFTER DARK, CONT.

EVENTS

Political Animals Club: U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor.

The Little Rock Club, 7 a.m., $20 (includes breakfast). 400 W. Capitol, 30th Floor.

POETRY

Wednesday Night Poetry. 21-and-older show.

Maxine’s, 7 p.m., free. 700 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-321-0909. maxineslive.com/shows. html.

BOOKS

Legacies & Lunch: Ruth D. Shepherd. The author will discuss her book “The Company We Keep: 50 Years of Arkansans Creating Just Communities.” Main Library, 12 p.m., free. 100 S. Rock St. www.cals.lib.ar.us.

THIS WEEK IN THEATER

Auditions for “Rabbit Hole.” Performance dates will be Jan. 16-18. Lantern Theatre, Mon., Dec. 2, 7 p.m. 1021 Van Ronkle, Conway. 501733-6220. www.conwayarts.org/index.html.

“Because of Winn Dixie.” World premiere of new musical based on the novel by Kate DiCamillo about a young girl and a dog she finds at a Winn Dixie supermarket. Arkansas Repertory Theatre, through Dec. 29: Wed.Sun., 7 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m., $47-$57. 601 Main St. 501-378-0405. www.therep.org.

“The Best Christmas Pageant Ever.” Special Thanksgiving performance of the Community Theatre’s production. Trinity Episcopal Cathedral, Thu., Nov. 28, 7:30 p.m., $12. 310 W. 17th St. Thanksgiving weekend performance. Call 501-609-2533 for more information. Arlington Hotel, Nov. 29-30. 239 Central Ave., Hot Springs. 501-623-7771.

Disney’s “Beauty and the Beast.” Touring production of the hit Broadway musical. Robinson Center Music Hall, Tue., Dec. 3, 7:30 p.m.; Wed., Dec. 4, 1 and 7:30 p.m.; Thu., Dec. 5, 7:30 p.m., $38-$75. Markham and Broadway. www.littlerockmeetings.com/conv-centers/robinson.

Festival of One Act Plays. University of Central Arkansas, Snow Fine Arts Center Recital Hall, Dec. 3-5, 7:30 p.m., free. 201 Donaghey Ave., Conway.

“The Little Engine That Thought It Could.”

Presented by Arkansas Arts Center Children’s Theatre. Arkansas Arts Center, through Dec. 22: Fri., 7 p.m.; Sat., 2 and 4 p.m.; Sun., 2 p.m.

501 E. 9th St. 501-372-4000. www.arkarts.com.

“Run For Your Wife.” Cab driver John Smith is mugged one day and is taken home by a helpful policeman, who takes him to the wrong home. It seems Smith has two homes and two wives, and according to his carefully laid out schedule he is supposed to be with wife No. 2. Murry’s Dinner Playhouse, through Dec. 29: Tue.-Sat., 6 p.m.; Sun., 11 a.m. and 5:30 p.m., $15-$35. 6323 Col. Glenn Road. 501-562-3131. murrysdinnerplayhouse.com.

GALLERIES, MUSEUMS

NEW EXHIBITIONS, EVENTS

New events, exhibits in bold-faced type.

CLAY GUILD SALE: Ceramics by University of Arkansas at Little Rock students, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Dec. 2-4, Fine Arts Building, UALR; starting at 4 p.m. Dec. 5, Afterthought Bistro and Bar, 2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. Sales go toward student travel to National Council on Education for the Ceramic Arts Conference in Milwaukee, Wis. HEARNE FINE ART, 1001 Wright Ave.: “Evolution,” exhibit celebrating the gallery’s 25th

anniversary, with work by Lawrence Finney, Mario Robinson, Kevin Cole, Adger Cowans, Samella Lewis, Paul Goodnight and others, through Feb. 2, receptions 1:30 p.m. and 5-8 p.m. Dec. 13, 2nd Friday Art Night, talk by gallery director Garbo Hearne 2 p.m. Dec. 15. 372-6822.

MOSAIC TEMPLARS CULTURAL CENTER, 501 W. 9th St.: “Say It Ain’t Say’s Sweet Potato Pie Baking Contest,” at the museum’s holiday open house 2-5 p.m. Dec. 1; permanent exhibits on the state’s African-American business and culture. Tue.-Sat. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. 683-3593.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK: “The Abstraction of Toys,” MA thesis show of paintings by Dan Thornhill, Dec. 2-20, reception 5-7 p.m. Dec. 6.

FAYETTEVILLE THE DEPOT, 548 W. Dickson St.: “Ephemeral Shrines,” photographs of sculptural headpieces

by Lakey Goff Sanford taken by Dero Sanford, Dec. 2-29, opening reception 7-9 p.m. Dec. 5, First Thursday. 501-951-4151.

JONESBORO ARKANSAS STATE UNIVERSITY: “Fall 2013 Senior Exhibition,” work by Anthony Griego, JoAnna Jarosz and Michale Riggs, Dec. 5-14, Bradbury Gallery, reception 5-6:30 p.m. Dec. 5. Noon-5 p.m. Tue.-Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 870972-3471.

ROGERS ROGERS HISTORICAL MUSEUM, 322 S. Second St.: “An Old World Christmas,” guided tours in decorated historic house, Dec. 1-Jan. 4; “Art from the Earth: A Pottery Exhibit,” prehistoric, historic and contemporary ceramics, through Feb. 22. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 479- 621-1154.

CONTINUING EXHIBITS

ARKANSAS ARTS CENTER, MacArthur Park: “Mark Rothko in the 1940s: The Decisive Decade,” Winthrop Rockefeller Gallery, through Feb. 9; “Face to Face: Artists’ Self-Portraits from the Collection of Jackye and Curtis Finch Jr.,” Townsend Wolfe Gallery, through Feb. 9; “Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge,” Jeannette Rockefeller Gallery, through Feb. 9; “50 Works / 50 Weeks / 50 Years,” Alice Pratt Brown Atrium, through December; 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Tue.-Fri., 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat., 11 a.m.-5 p.m. Sun. 372-4000.

ART GROUP GALLERY, Pleasant Ridge Town Center: “Holiday Art Sale,” work by Ron Almond, Matt Coburn, Louise Harris, Ned Perme, Ann Presley, Vickie Hendrix-Siebenmorgen and Holly Tilley. 10 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-6 p.m.

Sun. 690-2193.

BUTLER CENTER GALLERIES, Arkansas Studies Institute, 401 President Clinton Ave.: “Reflections in Pastel,” through Feb. 22, main gallery; “Native Arkansas,” early Arkansas through the writings of early explorers and Native American artifacts, including Mississippian period, Caddoan and Carden Bottoms objects, Concordia Hall, through Feb. 22; the photography of Barney Sellers, Loft Gallery, through Dec. 28. 9 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon.Sat. 320-5700.

CANTRELL GALLERY, 8206 Cantrell Road: “Bill Lewis Retrospective, 1932-2012,” watercolors and oil paintings, through Dec. 31. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 224-1335.

CHRIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH, 509 Scott St.: Paintings from the Arkansas League of Artists and Local Colour.

CHROMA GALLERY, 5707 Kavanaugh Blvd.:

Mount Magazine State Park

Mount Nebo State Park

My park, your park, our parks.

Lake Catherine State Park

The State Parks of Arkansas belong to all of us. They’re here for us to reconnect to the beauty of nature, enjoy shared experiences with family or friends, and make memories to last a lifetime. Choose your favorite season and visit ArkansasStateParks.com to plan an unforgettable getaway in one of your state parks.

A r k a n s a s S t a t e Pa r k s . c o m

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

AFTER DARK, CONT. Work by Robert Reep and other Arkansas artists. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-3 p.m.

Sat. 664-0880.

COX CREATIVE CENTER, 120 River Market Ave.: “Equinox,” works by artists published in UALR’s journal of literature and art. 918-3093.

THE EDGE, 301B President Clinton Ave.: Paintings by Avila (Fernando Gomez), Eric Freeman, James Hayes, Jerry Colburn, St. Joseph Thomason and Stephen Drive. 992-1099.

ELLEN GOLDEN ANTIQUES, 5701 Kavanaugh Blvd.: Paintings by Barry Thomas and Arden Boyce. 664-7746.

GALLERY 221 & ART STUDIOS 221, Pyramid Place: Paintings by Mary Ann Stafford and others. 801-0211.

GALLERY 26, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd.: 19th annual “Holiday Show and Sale,” work by more than 50 artists in all media, through Jan. 11. 664-8996.

GINO HOLLANDER GALLERY, 2nd and Center: Paintings and works on paper by Gino Hollander. 801-0211.

GREG THOMPSON FINE ART, 429 Main St., NLR: “Monkey Business and Other Strange Sights — An Exhibition of Works by Donald Roller Wilson,” through November. 664-2787.

GOOD WEATHER GALLERY, 4400 Edgemere, NLR: “Plaza,” installation by Lauren Cherry and Max Springer. www.goodweathergallery.com LAMAN LIBRARY, 2801 Orange St.: “Recovery: The World Trade Center Recovery Operation,” 65 photographs and 56 recovered artifacts from the 911 attack, from the New York State Museum, through Dec. 1. 9 a.m.-9 p.m. Mon.Thu., 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Sat. 758-1720.

L&L BECK ART GALLERY, 5705 Kavanaugh Blvd.: “Still Life,” paintings by Louis Beck, through November. 660-4006.

M2 GALLERY, Pleasant Ridge Town Center:

Mother-daughter exhibit of found-art sculpture

by Anita Davis and works on paper honoring Ghana artist El Anatsui by Betsy Davis, through December. 225-6257 or 944-7155.

PAINT BOX GALLERY, 705 Main St., NLR: Jewelry by Damon Chatterton, tree sculptures

by P.J. Bryant, fused glass by Ali Stinespring.

374-2848.

THEA FOUNDATION, 401 Main St., NLR: 3799512.

UNIVERSITY OF ARKANSAS AT LITTLE ROCK, 2801 S. University Ave.: Senior exhibitions by Justin Puska, Tyler Bean, Bertha Ramos and Keesha Bass, Gallery III, through Dec. 11. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-1 p.m. Sat., 2-5 p.m. Sun. 569-3182.

BENTONVILLE CRYSTAL BRIDGES MUSEUM OF AMERICAN ART, One Museum Way: “The Artists’ Eye,” Georgia O’Keeffe and Alfred Stieglitz collection, including works by O’Keeffe, Stieglitz, Arthur Dove, John Marin and others, shared collection with Fisk University, through Feb. 3; “This Land: Picturing a Changing America in the 1930s and 1940s,” 44 paintings, prints and photographs with digital audio tour featuring musical selections by Fayetteville Roots Festival director Bryan Hembree, through Jan. 6; permanent collection of American masterworks spanning four centuries. 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Mon., Thu.; 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Wed., Fri.; 10 a.m.-6 p.m.

Sat.-Sun. 479-418-5700.

CONWAY UNIVERSITY OF CENTRAL ARKANSAS: “BA/ BFA Senior Exhibition,” Baum Gallery, through Dec. 5. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Fri., 10 a.m.-7 p.m.

Thu., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 501-450-5793.

FAYETTEVILLE BOTTLE ROCKET GALLERY, 1495 Finger Road: “Makeshift Theatre,” photographs by Logan Rollins. 479-466-7406.

THE DEPOT, 548 W. Dickson St.: “Beneath the Surface,” photographs by John Rankine, through Nov. 30. 501-951-4151.

HOT SPRINGS BLUE MOON GALLERY, 718 Central Ave.: “A la France et de retour,” photographs by David Rackley. 501-318-2787.

FINE ARTS CENTER OF HOT SPRINGS, 626 Central Ave.: Artwork inspired by Kenji Muyazama’s poem “Be Not Defeated by the Rain” by artists from Hanamaki, Japan, through Dec. 14. 501-624-0489.

JUSTUS FINE ART, 827 Central Ave.: Work by Rene Hein, Dolores Justus, Emily Wood and others. 10 a.m.-5 p.m. Wed.-Sat. 501-321-2335.

ONGOING MUSEUM EXHIBITS

ARKANSAS INLAND MARITIME MUSEUM, North Little Rock: 371-8320.

ARKANSAS SPORTS HALL OF FAME MUSEUM, Verizon Arena, NLR: 10 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Mon.-Sat. 663-4328.

CENTRAL HIGH SCHOOL MUSEUM VISITOR CENTER, Bates and Park: Exhibits on the 1957 desegregation of Central and the civil rights movement. 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. daily. 374-1957.

CLINTON PRESIDENTIAL CENTER, 1200 President Clinton Ave.: “Oscar de la Renta: American Icon,” designs worn by Laura Bush, Jessica Chastain, Hillary Clinton, Chelsea Clinton and others, and other couture pieces, through Dec. 1. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. $7 adults; $5 college students, seniors, retired military; $3 ages 6-17. 370-8000.

ESSE, 1510 S. Main St.: “What’s Inside: A Century of Women and Handbags (19001999),” purses from the collection of Anita Davis, 11 a.m.-4 p.m. Tue.-Sun., $10-$8. 9169022.

HISTORIC ARKANSAS MUSEUM, 200 E. Third St.: “Figurations: works by Stephen Cefalo and Sandra Sell,” through Dec. 8; “Heeding the Call: The Firefighter Collection of Johnny Reep,” through Jan. 5; “Jason A. Smith: Stills”; “Arkansas Made,” ongoing. 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9351.

MacARTHUR MUSEUM OF ARKANSAS M I L I TA R Y H I S T O R Y , M a c A r t h u r Park: “American Posters of World War I”; permanent exhibits. 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-4 p.m. Sun. 376-4602.

MUSEUM OF DISCOVERY, 500 President Clinton Ave.: “Robots and Us,” interactive exhibit on robotics, through Jan. 26; “Wiggle Worms,” science program for pre-K children 10 a.m.-10:30 a.m. every Tue., 9 a.m.-5 p.m.

Tue.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun., $10 ages 13 and older, $8 ages 1-12, free to members and children under 1. 396-7050.

OLD STATE HOUSE MUSEUM, 300 W. Markham: “Lights! Camera! Arkansas!”, the state’s ties to Hollywood, including costumes, scripts, film footage, photographs and more, through March 1, 2015; “Things You Need to Hear: Memories of Growing up in Arkansas from 1890 to 1980,” oral histories about community, family, work, school and leisure, through March 2014. 9 a.m.-5 p.m. Mon.-Sat., 1-5 p.m. Sun. 324-9685.

WITT STEPHENS JR. CENTRAL ARKANSAS NATURE CENTER, Riverfront Park: Exhibits on wildlife and the state Game and Fish Commission.

www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

31

ART NOTES

SHOP ‘N’ SIP First thursday each month shop ’til 8pm and enjoy dining in one of the many area restaurants.

HILLCREST SHOPPING & DINING

Join us for Christmas cheer.. and Shopping, too!

4523 WoodlaWn (Historic Hillcrest) 501.666.3600

Santa’s coming to Arkansas!

RHEA DRUG

2801 KAVANAUGH • LITTLE ROCK • 663-4131

2616 Kavanaugh • 661-1167 M-F 10-6, SAT 10-5

ARKANSAS TIMES

Experience Rothko, and color; then look into the faces of artists.

T

Teacher Gifts • Hostess Gifts Secret Santa Gift Exchange

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

Three to see at the AAC

BY LESLIE NEWELL PEACOCK

Knock These Off Your List at Shop & Sip!

32

‘NO. 18’: A Rothko “multiform” at the Arkansas Arts Center.

he Rothko exhibit at the Arkansas Arts Center will renew your faith, if it had been lagging, that non-representational art can provoke a deep visceral response. Go sit in the final room of the exhibit, in the Winthrop Rockefeller Gallery, and be quiet with the work and be convinced that Rothko’s application and placement of color were not random or decorative gestures, but nearly narrative expressions of emotion.

“Mark Rothko in the 1940s: The Decisive Decade” illustrates Rothko’s evolution in the 1940s from his myth-referencing paintings to the color blocks he is so celebrated for today. All the work is wonderful to look at and, like a good story, mind-expanding. His greatest talent — the way he layers paint and creates unnamable colors with glazes brushed and streaked and dripped on the canvas — and his predilection for dividing the picture plane into top, bottom and middle are always

there, from the Rousseau-meetsGaugin-like “Untitled (Man and Two Women in a Pastoral Setting)” (c. 1940) to his mythical figure arrangements to the color fields of “No. 8” (1949).

Rothko was cerebral, and thanks to The Rep’s production of “Red,” a oneact play about Rothko’s commission to create paintings for the Four Seasons restaurant, we know a little bit about his thinking in some of these paintings — the Apollonian (death)/Dionysian (revelry) conflict for one, his use of red for another. (If you missed the play, and want to go beyond Rothko’s art to Rothko’s mind, you can pick up the exhibit’s eponymously titled catalog, which by the way has an introduction by Arkansas Arts Center Director Todd Herman.) It’s a great read, in fact, with a little history on Rothko’s contemporaries. But you don’t have to recognize references to the kabbalah or understand art theory to be swept away by the work.

ART NOTES, CONT. A painting I stared at for quite a bit is “No. 18” (1946), a Rothko “multiform,” one of his first non-representational works that he made before landing on the squares and rectangles of intense color that made him immortal. Watery crimson shapes float against a brownish backdrop that is framed in white shapes that suggest a vertical rectangle. This is a smashing painting, and a smarter writer could better articulate why. It isn’t a painting to glance at and walk by; it has structure and color and movement and cannot easily be divined all at once.

The show also brings to the Arts Center works by Rothko’s contemporaries Clyfford Still, Mark Tobey and others. It runs through Feb. 9 and tickets, at $8 for adults and less for students, are cheap.

Also at the Arts Center: The wonderful “Face to Face: Artists’ Self-Portraits from the Collection of Jackye and Curtis Finch.” This is a huge show that will take a lot of time to see, so if you want to see it the same day as Rothko, plan to spend some time at the Arts Center.

The Finch collection of self-portraits includes works on paper by early 20th century artists (Moses Soyer, Raphael Soyer, etc.), later 20th century artists (George Tooker, Jack Levine, Alex Katz, Al Leslie, Arnold Bittleman, James Valerio, Milton Avery), contemporary artists whose acquaintance you’ll be glad to make (Monique Passicot, Melissa Cooke, Nicola Hicks, Lawrence Finney) and Arkansas artists (Kevin Kresse, George Dombek, Daniel Sprick, Aj Smith, Jim Johnson, Kendall Stallings, Warren Criswell, Thom Hall).

Some of the portraits Curtis Finch commissioned. All are presented in pairs (Hence the “Face to Face” title) so that, for example, the partial and fine-lined portraits of Amnon David Ar are paired with Wade Reynold’s and the distorted tremendous work by Melissa Cooke is hung next to Ian Ingram’s oversized Easter Island head. There is something about portraits that make us want to look, and this is a fine exhibition that will make you want to go home, look in the mirror and sketch what you see there.

“Portraiture Now: Drawing on the Edge,” from the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery, is a fine fit, featuring astounding work by Mequitta Ahuja, Mary Borgman, Adam Chapman, Ben Duram, Till Freiwald and Rob Matthews. Like the Rothko show, the portrait shows also run through Feb. 9.

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➥ Show your support for local merchants by participating in SMALL BUSINESS SATURDAY on Nov. 30. It’s a day dedicated to supporting small businesses across the country. Founded by American Express in 2010, this day is celebrated every year on the Saturday after Thanksgiving. As an added bonus, American Express cardholders shopping at a qualifying small business can earn a one-time $10 statement credit for spending $10 or more in a single, in-store transaction that day. All you have to do is register an eligible American Express card. For more information, visit https://www.americanexpress.com/us/small-business/ Shop-Small/. ➥ Reindeer won’t be the only four-legged friends accompanying Santa this holiday season as the

FRIENDS OF THE ANIMAL VILLAGE AND THE OXFORD AMERICAN MAGAZINE host

the first annual Santa Paws Cocktail Party at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 7 at the Oxford American, located at 1300 S. Main St. Santa Paws promises to be an unforgettable evening complete with holiday drinks and hors d’oeuvres, entertainment and the opportunity for guests to have their photos taken with Santa and furry friends from the Village, the city’s animal shelter. Thanks to the evening’s sponsors, 100 percent of proceeds from ticket sales will benefit the animals of the Little Rock Animal Village. Tickets are $30 a person and can be purchased online at www.friendsoftheanimalvillage. org. ➥ VESTA’S announced a while back that it’s discontinuing its bedding department to focus on other types of merchandise, and now all of their bedding is marked down 50 percent. All throw pillows are marked down, too. ➥ There will be a new vintage store on South Main in the future:

MOXY MODERN MERCANTILE has been posting renova-

look for your copy january 3 For info contact Phyllis Britton at 501.375.2985 or phyllis@arktimes.com

tion pictures on its Facebook page.

They’ll be located at 1419 S. Main St., and we’ll keep you informed about details as they become available. ➥ Need some wonderful fall fragrances? Check out Arkansas’ own

ADAIR YA VERY FINE CANDLES & GIFTS, available at RHEA DRUG in Hillcrest. www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

33

Dining WHAT’S COOKIN’

EATERS OF THE WORLD! It’s time to instruct your fellow chowhounds on where the best grub in Arkansas is by by participating in the Arkansas Times’ Readers Choice Awards 2014. To vote, go to arktimes.com/readerschoice14, log in (easier than choosing from a TexMex menu, we promise) and list your favorite restaurants on our online ballot.

Want to know more? Email us at readerschoice@arktimes.com. And, hey: We’re looking for food writing talent. Show off your culinary reportorial skills in the ballot’s comments section.

DINING CAPSULES

LITTLE ROCK/ N. LITTLE ROCK

AMERICAN

ACADIA A jewel of a restaurant in Hillcrest.

Unbelievable fixed-price, three-course dinners on Mondays and Tuesdays, but food is certainly worth full price. 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, CC. $$-$$$. 501-603-9630. D Mon.-Sat. THE AFTERTHOUGHT CAFE A pleasant spot in Hillcrest with specialty salads, steak and seafood. The soup of the day is a good bet.

At lunch, the menu includes an all-vegetable sandwich and a half-pound cheeseburger.

2721 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-663-1196. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat., BR Sun. BIG ORANGE: BURGERS SALADS SHAKES Gourmet burgers manufactured according to exacting specs (humanely raised beef!) and properly fried Kennebec potatoes are the big draws. Shakes and floats are indulgences for all ages. Adults will find a huge bar including craft beers and esoteric wine. 17809 Chenal Parkway.

Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-1515. LD daily.

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NOVEMBER 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

Juanita’s

614 President Clinton Ave. 372-1228 juanitas.com

QUICK BITE Arkansas is addicted to cheese dip.

It’s everywhere. One of our own founded a world-championship cheese dip competition. If you want examples of fine cheese dip, try Juanita’s two classics — yellow and white, very different but very good.

Menu includes a variety of combination entree choices — enchiladas, tacos, flautas, shrimp burritos and such — plus creative salads and other dishes. And of course the “Blue Mesa” cheese dip.

BRIAN CHILSON

IN TRIBUTE TO SWEET POTATO PIE KING ROBERT “SAY” MCINTOSH and because everyone loves a good sweet potato pie, the Mosaic Templars Cultural Center at Ninth and Broadway once more showcases some of the best and rewards the cooks as well with its “Say It Ain’t Say’s” sweet potato pie contest on Sunday, Dec. 1. Say himself will be there to watch as pie maven and author Kat Robinson, Power 92 radio host Broadway Joe Booker, Fox 16 anchor Donna Terrell and AY food writer Pamela Smith do the judging.

The judging, in professional, amateur and people’s choice categories, runs 2 p.m. to 5 p.m. in conjunction with the museum’s holiday open house. Say is also known as Little Rock’s first Black Santa, and in that spirit pie contestants contributed toys as part of their entry fee.

POPULAR: Taco Callejeros from Juanita’s.

Don’t forget about Juanita’s Tex-Mex standard bearer still serves up good grub.

W

hat area Mexican food fans long have taken for granted in terms of variety, price and quality took root when Juanita’s opened at 1300 S. Main St. in 1986. And 27 years later, what was unique to our market then now is the norm — cheese dip both white and yellow, fajitas, high-quality tamales, quesadillas, flautas, fish tacos, massive burritos and a broad selection of top-shelf tequilas. Those of us who grew up on Saltillo plates at the old Browning’s and combo dinners at Mexico Chiquito knew none of that … until Juanita’s.

After a quarter-century in its original location, Juanita’s relocated in summer 2011 to the River Market District on the eastern end of the main President Clinton Avenue drag, by the Clinton Center store. There were some culinary hiccups late in the Main Street days and early at the “new” Juanita’s, but several recent meals there offer clear proof Juanita’s is back in the game.

One important step in getting things right, we’re told, was hiring a new chef from On the Border a little more than a

year ago. He changed the menu, standardized some processes and kicked up the quality of Juanita’s dishes in terms of taste and presentation. Not that On the Border is the be-all, end-all of TexMex dining, but it’s solid as a rock, as is Juanita’s today.

Those of us who live and work downtown roll our eyes when we hear pronouncements that there’s no parking downtown. Au contraire, West Little Rockers, and that incorrect perception has cost Juanita’s business. Know this: between on-street, deck and surface lot parking, downtown has plenty of room for motorists who don’t mind walking a block or two. With the recent installation of paid parking along President Clinton and side streets, the spots turn over more rapidly, and one of our Juanita’s dining companions on a recent weekday got a spot right outside the restaurant’s door.

Everyone in our party of seven finished lunch equal parts impressed and full. We started with salsa (bright and fresh) and both cheese dips ($5.49 each).

The yellow is our favorite in town, rich

HOURS Dining room: 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Tuesday through Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m.

Friday and Saturday. (Will reopen on Mondays in the spring.)

OTHER INFO Cards accepted, full bar.

and flavorful, studded with tomato and pepper chunks. The white is the classic from the old Blue Mesa, a beforeits-time west Little Rock eatery where Mark Abernathy — the original culinary force at Juanita’s (and now Loca Luna and Red Door) — introduced white cheese dip to Little Rock. It’s as good as ever, also full-bodied with cilantro the primary herb component. The chunky guacamole ($5.99) is basic as good guac should be — avocado, onion, cilantro, lime juice and a dose of spices.

All it lacked was adequate salt, easily remedied.

Our entrees: • Classic cheese enchiladas with chili ($7.99), as good as any, with rice (not quite cooked enough) and choice of three styles of beans — black, brown or refried.

• Mexican ribs ($10.99 for a sevenrib half rack; $17.99 for a full rack) — tender with a nice, slightly sweet rub.

These, we’re told, will depart the main menu in 2014 and only appear as an occasional special.

• Double stack quesadilla ($9.99), a whopper with a double portion of grilled chicken, veggies, cheese and caramelized onions in a massive flour tortilla. This hearty eater could get down only three of the four wedges.

• Taco Callejeros (street tacos: three for $9.99). There are five meat choices;

BRIAN CHILSON

Information in our restaurant capsules reflects the opinions of the newspaper staff and its reviewers. The newspaper accepts no advertising or other considerations in exchange for reviews, which are conducted anonymously. We invite the opinions of readers who think we are in error.

MMM, BACON: Juanita’s bacon-wrapped shrimp.

our friend opted for spicy chorizo on white corn tortillas and grilled with jack cheese, diced onions and cilantro — the simple style so popular at food trucks.

These were one of the meal’s highlights and among the menu’s most popular items, we’re told.

• Bacon-wrapped shrimp ($12.99): six grilled shrimp stuffed with a jalapeno slice, wrapped in bacon and grilled, then topped with Monterey Jack.

Unlike many renditions of this dish, the shrimp were tasty and still tender.

• Veggie fajitas ($11.99): our vegetarian friend was thrilled with the tasty caramelized grilled vegetable medley that included red and yellow bell peppers, portabellas, red onion, squash and zucchini, and he had plenty of leftovers.

• Hot tamale plate ($7.99) — two smallish but very flavorful tamales (not housemade but excellent), smothered in chili and topped with melted cheese and onions.

When we’re trying to eat a little lighter, we go for the tortilla soup ($3.99 for a not-so-small small portion; $4.99 for large). It’s not the huge production number like some places but not priced like it either. And it’s seriously good — rich chicken broth, onion, many tender chunks of white meat, rice, corn, peppers, cilantro, tortilla strips and shards of jack that invariably melt nicely.

And don’t forget that while the restaurant is dishing up good Tex-Mex downstairs Juanita’s has a large entertainment space upstairs. Third Eye Blind is playing Saturday night (Nov. 30). Tickets are $45, but might be sold out by now. There’s salsa dancing every Friday night and other pretty big-name shows most months. Check the calendar at juanitas.com/calendar.

BELLY UP

B Breakfast L Lunch D Dinner $ Inexpensive (under $8/person) $$ Moderate ($8-$20/person) $$$ Expensive (over $20/person) CC Accepts credit cards

BLACK ANGUS CAFE Charcoal-grilled burgers, hamburger steaks and steaks proper are the big draws at this local institution. 10907 N. Rodney Parham. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-228-7800.

LD Mon.-Sat. BOBBY’S CAFE Delicious, humungo burgers and tasty homemade deserts at this Levy diner.

12230 MacArthur Drive. NLR. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-851-7888. BL Tue.-Fri., D Thu.-Fri. BOSCOS RESTAURANT & BREWERY CO. This River Market brewery does food well, too. Along with the tried and true, like sandwiches, burgers, steaks and big salads, they have entrees like 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 located at the Holiday Inn by the airport. 3201 Bankhead Dr. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-235-2000. LD daily.

BOUDREAUX’S GRILL & BAR A homey, seatyourself Cajun joint in Maumelle that serves up all sorts of variations of shrimp and catfish. With particularly tasty red beans and rice, jambalaya and bread pudding. 9811 Maumelle Blvd.

NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-753-6860. L Sat., D Mon.-Sat. BOULEVARD BREAD CO. Fresh bread, fresh pastries, wide selection of cheeses, meats, side dishes; all superb. 1920 N. Grant St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-663-5951. BLD Mon.-Sat. 400 President Clinton Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$.

501-374-1232. BL Mon.-Sat. 4301 W. Markham St. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-526-6661. BL Mon.-Fri. 1417 Main St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-375-5100. BL Mon.-Sat. BREWSTERS 2 CAFE & LOUNGE Down-home done right. Check out the yams, mac-andcheese, greens, purple-hull peas, cornbread, wings, catfish and all the rest. 2725 S. Arch St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-301-7728. LD Mon.-Sat.

Check out the Times’ food blog, Eat Arkansas arktimes.com

BUTCHER SHOP The cook-your-own-steak option has been downplayed, and several menu additions complement the calling card: large, fabulous cuts of prime beef, cooked to perfection. 10825 Hermitage Road. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-312-2748. D daily.

CAJUN’S WHARF The venerable seafood restaurant serves up great gumbo and oysters Bienville, and options such as fine steaks for the non-seafood eater. In the citified bar, you’ll find nightly entertainment, too. 2400 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-375-5351.

D Mon.-Sat. CAPERS It’s never been better, with as good a wine list as any in the area, and a menu that covers a lot of ground — seafood, steaks, pasta — and does it all well. 14502 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-868-7600. LD Mon.-Sat. COMMUNITY BAKERY This sunny downtown bakery is the place to linger over a latte, bagels and the New York Times. But a lunchtime dash for sandwiches is OK, too, though it’s often packed. 1200 S. Main St. No alcohol, CC. $-$$.

501-375-7105. BLD daily. 270 S. Shackleford.

No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-1656. BLD Mon.-Sat. BL Sun. COPELAND’S RESTAURANT OF LITTLE ROCK The full service restaurant chain started by the founder of Popeye’s delivers the same good biscuits, the same dependable frying and a New Orleans vibe in piped music and decor.

You can eat red beans and rice for a price in the single digits or pay near $40 for a choice slab of ribeye, with crab, shrimp and fish in between. 2602 S. Shackleford Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-312-1616. LD daily.

COPPER GRILL Comfort food, burgers and more sophisticated fare at this River Marketarea hotspot. 300 E. Third St. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-375-3333. LD Mon.-Sat. CRUSH WINE BAR An unpretentious downtown bar/lounge with an appealing and erudite wine list. With tasty tapas, but no menu for full

RiverMarket.info

meals. 318 Main St. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$.

501-374-9463. D Tue.-Sat. DAVE’S PLACE A popular downtown soupand-sandwich stop at lunch draws a large and diverse crowd for the Friday night dinner, which varies in theme, home cooking being the most popular. Owner Dave Williams does all the cooking and his son, Dave also, plays saxophone and fronts the band that plays most Friday nights. 201 Center St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-3283. L Mon.-Fri., D Fri. DAVID FAMILY KITCHEN Call it soul food or call it down-home country cooking. Just be sure to call us for breakfast or lunch when you go. Neckbones, ribs, sturdy cornbread, salmon croquettes, mustard greens and the like. Desserts are exceptionally good. 2301 Broadway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-3710141. BL Mon.-Fri., L Sun. DELICIOUS TEMPTATIONS Decadent breakfast and light lunch items that can be ordered in full or half orders to please any appetite or palate, with a great variety of salads and soups as well. Don’t miss the bourbon pecan pie — it’s a winner. 11220 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-225-6893. BL daily.

DIZZY’S GYPSY BISTRO Interesting bistro fare, served in massive portions at this River Market favorite. 200 River Market Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-375-3500. LD Tue.-Sat. THE FADED ROSE The Cajun-inspired menu seldom disappoints. Steaks and soaked salads are legendary. 1619 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-9734. LD daily.

FLYING SAUCER A popular River Market hangout thanks to its almost 200 beers (including 75 on tap) and more than decent bar food. It’s now non-smoking, so families are welcome. 323 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-372-8032. LD daily.

FOX AND HOUND Sports bar that serves pub food. 2800 Lakewood Village. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-753-8300. LD daily.

FRANKE’S CAFETERIA Plate lunch spot strong on salads and vegetables, and perfect fried chicken on Sundays. Arkansas’ oldest continually operating restaurant. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-2254487. LD Mon.-Fri. 400 W. Capitol Ave. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-372-1919. L Mon.-Fri. FRONTIER DINER The traditional all-American roadside diner, complete with a nice selection of man-friendly breakfasts and lunch specials.

The half-pound burger is a two-hander for the average working Joe. 10424 Interstate 30. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-565-6414. BL Mon.-Sat. FROSTOP A ‘50s-style drive-in has been resurrected, with big and juicy burgers and great irregularly cut fries. Superb service, too. 4131 JFK Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-758-4535. BLD daily.

GADWALL’S GRILL & PIZZA Once two separate restaurants, a fire forced the grill into the pizza joint. Now, under one roof, there’s mouthwatering burgers and specialty sandwiches, plus zesty pizzas with cracker-thin crust and plenty of toppings. 12 North Hills Shopping Center. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-8341840. LD daily.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 37 www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

35

READERS CHOICE AWARDS 2014

Overall New Italian Chinese Japanese Mexican “Fun” Indian Other Ethnic Food Truck Vegetarian/Vegan Bakery Barbecue Breakfast Brunch Catfish Fried Chicken Deli/Gourmet to go Hamburger Pizza

Arkansas Times once again presents its Readers’ Choice restaurant poll. Yes, it’s time to cast votes in the state’s longest-running annual assessment of the best places to eat in Arkansas.

Go to arktimes.com/readerschoice14 to vote for your favorite restaurants in all categories in the Little Rock area and throughout the rest of the state. Users can only vote once.

One rule to keep in mind: If you don’t specify the location of restaurants with multiple locations, your vote will not be counted.

Votes must be cast by Jan. 10, 2014.

Seafood Buffet Steak Desserts Coffee Home Cooking Place for Kids Romantic Gluten Free Business Lunch Yogurt Wine List Server Chef

ONLINE VOTING ONLY

www.arktimes.com/readerschoice14

LITTLE ROCK

REST OF STATE

BEST RESTAURANTS IN THE AREAS AROUND

Benton/Bryant ________________________________ Conway________________________________________ Eureka Springs ________________________________ Hot Springs ____________________________________

Fayetteville/Springdale/Rogers/Bentonville _________________________________________________________

30 NOVEMBER 9, 2011 ARKANSAS TIMES

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. IZZY’S Wholesome, all-American food prepared with care, if rarely far from the middle of the culinary road. With full vegan and gluten-free menus. 5601 Ranch Drive. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-868-4311. LD Mon.-Sat. J & S CAFETERIA Home-cooking, with daily specials. Also offers burgers from the grill or a salad bar. 601 S Gaines St. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-378-2206. L Mon.-Fri. MARKHAM STREET GRILL AND PUB The menu has something for everyone, including mahi-mahi and wings. Try the burgers, which are juicy, big and fine. 11321 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-224-2010. LD daily, BR Sun. MCBRIDE’S CAFE AND BAKERY Owners Chet and Vicki McBride have been serving up delicious breakfast and lunch specials based on their family recipes for two decades in this popular eatery at Baptist Health’s Little Rock campus. The desserts and barbecue sandwiches are not to be missed. 9501 Lile Drive. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-340-3833. BL Mon.-Fri. MOOYAH BURGERS Kid-friendly, fast-casual restaurant with beef, veggie and turkey burgers, a burger bar and shakes. 14810 Cantrell Road, Suite 190. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-8681091.

OLD MILL BREAD AND FLOUR CO. CAFE The popular take-out bakery has an eat-in restaurant and friendly operators. It’s self-service, simple and good with sandwiches built with a changing lineup of the bakery’s 40 different breads, along with soups, salads and cookies.

12111 W. Markham St. #366. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-228-4677. BL Mon.-Sat. BR Sun. RED DOOR Fresh seafood, steaks, chops and sandwiches from restaurateur Mark Abernathy.

Smart wine list. 3701 Old Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-666-8482. BL Tue.-Fri. D daily. BR Sat. RENO’S ARGENTA CAFE Sandwiches, gyros and gourmet pizzas by day and music and drinks by night in downtown Argenta. 312 N. Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-3762900.

RIVERFRONT STEAKHOUSE Steaks are the draw here — nice cuts heavily salted and peppered, cooked quickly and accurately to your specifications, finished with butter and served sizzling hot. 2 Riverfront Place. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-375-7825. D Mon.-Sat. ROBERT’S SPORTS BAR & GRILL If you’re looking for a burger, you won’t find it here.

This establishment specializes in fried chicken dinners, served with their own special trimmings. 7212 Geyer Springs Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-568-2566. D Mon.-Sat. ROCKET TWENTY ONE Great seafood, among other things, is served at the Ice House Revival in Hillcrest. With a late night menu. 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$$-$$$$.

501-603-9208. L Mon.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat. ROUTE 66 DINER Kid-friendly ‘50s diner with a menu of classics, including chicken and waffles.

7710 Cantrell Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-223-3366. BLD Mon.-Sat. RUDY’S OYSTER BAR Good boiled shrimp and oysters on the half shell. Quesadillas and chili cheese dip are tasty and ultra-hearty. 2695 Pike Ave. NLR. Full bar, All CC. 501-771-0808.

LD Mon.-Sat. SHARKS FISH & CHICKEN This Southwest Little Rock restaurant specializes in seafood, frog legs and catfish, all served with the traditional fixings. 8824 Geyer Springs Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-565-0300. LD daily.

SO RESTAURANT BAR Call it a French brasserie with a sleek, but not fussy American finish.

The wine selection is broad and choice. Free valet parking. Use it and save yourself a head-

ache. 3610 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-663-1464. LD Mon.-Sat., D Sun. STARLITE DINER Breakfast stars here. 250 E. Military Road. NLR. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-353-0465. BL daily. D Thu.-Fri. STICKYZ ROCK ‘N’ ROLL CHICKEN SHACK Fingers any way you can imagine, plus sandwiches and burgers, and a fun setting for music and happy hour gatherings. 107 Commerce St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-372-7707. LD Mon-Sun. TOWN PUMP A dependable burger, good wings, great fries, other bar food, plate lunches, full bar. 1321 Rebsamen Park Road. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-663-9802. L Mon.-Sat. D daily.

TRIO’S Fresh, creative and satisfying lunches; even better at night, when the chefs take flight. Best array of fresh desserts in town. 8201 Cantrell Road Suite 100. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-221-3330. LD Mon.-Sat., BR Sun. WILLY D’S DUELING PIANO BAR Willy D’s serves up a decent dinner of pastas and salads as a lead-in to its nightly sing-along piano show.

Go when you’re in a good mood. 322 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-244-9550.

D Tue.-Sat. W.T. BUBBA’S COUNTRY TAVERN Sloppy Joes, a fried bologna sandwich, a nacho bar and burgers and such feature on the menu of this bubba-themed River Market bar. 500 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$.

501-244-2528. D Tue.-Sat. YANCEY’S CAFETERIA Soul food served with a Southern attitude. 1523 Martin Luther King Ave. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-372-9292. LD Tue.-Sat. YOUR MAMA’S GOOD FOOD Offering simple and satisfying cafeteria food, with burgers and more hot off the grill, plate lunches and pies.

215 Center St. No alcohol, All CC. $. 501-3721811. BL Mon.-Fri. ZACK’S PLACE Expertly prepared home cooking and huge, smoky burgers. 1400 S. University Ave. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-6646444. LD Mon.-Sat. ZIN URBAN WINE & BEER BAR It’s cosmopolitan yet comfortable, a relaxed place to enjoy fine wines and beers while noshing on superb meats, cheeses and amazing goat cheesestuffed figs. 300 River Market Ave. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-246-4876. D daily.

MT. FUJI JAPANESE RESTAURANT The dean of Little Rock sushi bars offers a fabulous lunch special and great Monday night deals. 10301 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-227-6498. LD daily. 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road. 501-227-6498.

OSAKA JAPANESE RESTAURANT Veteran operator of several local Asian buffets has brought fine-dining Japanese dishes and a wellstocked sushi bar to way-out-west Little Rock, near Chenal off Highway 10. 5501 Ranch Dr. $$-$$$. 501-868-3688. LD Sun.-Thu., D Fri.-Sat. SAIGON CUISINE Traditional Vietnamese with Thai and Chinese selections. Be sure to try the authentic pho soups and spring rolls. 14524 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-8687770. LD daily.

SKY MODERN JAPANESE Excellent, ambitious menu filled with sushi and other Japanese fare and Continental-style dishes. 11525 Cantrell Road, Suite 917. Full bar, All CC. $$$-$$$$.

501-224-4300. LD daily.

SUSHI CAFE Impressive, upscale sushi menu with other delectable house specialties like tuna tataki, fried soft shell crab, Kobe beef and, believe it or not, the Tokyo cowboy burger.

5823 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-663-9888. L Mon.-Sat. D daily.

BARBECUE

CHATZ CAFE Try the slow-smoked, meaty ribs.

8801 Colonel Glenn Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-562-4949. LD Mon.-Sat. CORKY’S RIBS & BBQ The pulled pork is extremely tender and juicy, and the sauce is sweet and tangy without a hint of heat. Maybe the best dry ribs in the area. 12005 Westhaven Drive. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-954-7427.

LD daily. 2947 Lakewood Village Drive. NLR.

Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-753-3737. LD daily, B Sat.-Sun. PIT STOP BAR AND GRILL A working-man’s bar and grill, with barbecue, burgers, breakfast and bologna sandwiches, plus live music on Friday and Saturday nights. 5506 Baseline Road. Full bar, No CC. $$. 501-562-9635. BLD daily.

WHITE PIG INN Go for the sliced rather than chopped meats at this working-class barbecue cafe. Side orders — from fries to potato salad to beans and slaw — are superb, as are the fried pies. 5231 E. Broadway. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$.

501-945-5551. LD Mon.-Fri., L Sat. WHOLE HOG CAFE The pulled pork shoulder is a classic, the back ribs are worthy of their many blue ribbons, and there’s a six-pack of sauces for all tastes. A real find is the beef brisket, cooked the way Texans like it. 516 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-664-5025.

LD Mon.-Sat. 12111 W. Markham. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-907-6124. LD daily 150 E. Oak St. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-513-0600.

LD Mon.-Sat., L Sun. 5107 Warden Road. NLR. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-753-9227.

EUROPEAN / ETHNIC

ALADDIN KABAB Persian and Mexican cuisines sound like an odd pairing, but they work fairly well together here. Particularly if you’re ordering something that features charred meat, like a kabab or gyros. 9112 N Rodney Parham Road.

No alcohol, All CC. 501-219-8787. LD daily.

CAFE BOSSA NOVA A South American approach to sandwiches, salads and desserts, all quite good, as well as an array of refreshing South American teas and coffees. 2701 Kavanaugh Blvd. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-614-6682. LD Tue.-Sat., BR Sun. CONTINUED ON PAGE 45

Capture the Spirit

of New Orleans

ASIAN

A. W. LIN’S ASIAN CUISINE Traditional Chinese dishes, several Thai dishes and a variety of sushi rolls. 17000 Chenal Pkwy. 501-821-5398. LD daily.

CHI’S CHINESE CUISINE No longer owned by Chi’s founder Lulu Chi, this Chinese mainstay still offers a broad menu that spans the Chinese provinces and offers a few twists on the usual local offerings. 5110 W. Markham St. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-604-7777. LD Mon.-Sat. CRAZY HIBACHI GRILL The folks that own Chi’s and Sekisui offer their best in a three-inone: tapanaki cooking, sushi bar and sit-down dining with a Mongolian grill. 2907 Lakewood Village. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-8129888. LD daily.

FANTASTIC CHINA The food is delicious, the presentation beautiful, the menu distinctive, the service perfect, the decor bright. 1900 N. Grant St. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-663-8999. LD daily.

GENGHIS GRILL This chain restaurant takes the Mongolian grill idea to its inevitable, Subwaystyle conclusion. 12318 Chenal Parkway. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-223-2695. LD daily.

LILLY’S DIMSUM THEN SOME Innovative dishes inspired by Asian cuisine, utilizing local and fresh ingredients. 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-716-2700.

LD Tue.-Sun.

Shackleford Crossing • Shackleford & I-430 501-312-1616

www.copelandsrestaurantlittlerock.com

www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 28, 2013

37

Hey, do this!

DEC 7

DecemBER FUN!

Verizon Arena welcomes

Jimmy Buffett live

in concert. Doors open at 7 p.m. The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $48.50-$159 and available online at www.ticketmaster. com or by phone at 800-745-3000.

DEC 1

DEC 1, 2, 5

DEC 4-29

DEC 6-8

concert at Trinity United Methodist Church at 1101 N. Mississippi in Little Rock.

Admission is free. For show times, visit www.rivercitymenschorus.com.

at the Arkansas Repertory Theatre. It’s a new musical based on the heartwarming and award-winning novel by Kate DiCamillo about a young girl and a dog she finds at a Winn Dixie supermarket. For show times and tickets, visit www.therep.org.

Convention Center in Governor’s Hall IV. The holiday extravaganza will feature fine arts and crafts by over 100 artists. Show hours are 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Friday, 8 a.m.-6 p.m. on Saturday and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday. Admission is $5 at the door. Free admission on Saturday morning from 8-10 a.m.

River City Men’s Chorus presents its holiday

Mosaic Templars Cultural Center hosts its holiday open house from 2-5 p.m. Get into the Christmas spirit with holiday music, decorations, cookies and more. Visit www.mosaictemplarscenter.com for more info.

DEC 7

Calling all nurses and nursing students: the Nurses Expo takes place at the Metroplex Event Center at 10800 Colonel Glenn Rd. from 9 a.m.3 p.m. Recruiters are hiring. Admission is free. For more info, call Suzanne at 501-221-9986, ext. 101. n Join the fun at the 2nd annual SHAVE OFF from 8 a.m. until 3:30 p.m. at the Root Cafe to prepare participants for The Root-Beard Growing Contest. Watch participants be officially clean shaved and mark your calendar for March 1st for South Main Mardi Gras celebration and the official judging for the Best Beard. It’s some crazy fun! Sponsored by Arkansas Times

DEC 13

The Historic Arkansas Museum celebrates everyone’s favorite holiday drink at the 9th annual Nog-Off, a friendly competition that crowns the best egg nog in town. The event will take place from 5-8 p.m. and coincides with downtown Little Rock’s 2nd Friday Art Night.

DEC 13-15

Ballet Arkansas presents

The Nutcracker

with the Arkansas Symphony Orchestra at Robinson Center Music Hall. This is a holiday tradition that’s not to be missed. Tickets are $20$52 and available online at www.balletarkansas.org.

DEC 20

DEC 20-22

The Arkansas Symphony Orchestra presents Holiday Fantasy at Robinson Center Music Hall.

Enjoy Christmas songs and singalongs. Performance times are 7:30 p.m. on Friday, 8 p.m. on Saturday and 3 p.m. on Sunday. For tickets, visit www.arkansassymphony.org.

THRU DEC 31

Don’t miss Run for Your Wife at Murry’s Dinner Playhouse. It’s a hilarious assortment of mistaken identities and makes for a great holiday show. For show times and ticket prices, visit www.murrysdp.com.

38

november 28, 2013

Food, Music, Entertainment and everything else that’s

ARKANSAS TIMES

The TransSiberian Orchestra

returns to Verizon Arena for its encore and final performance of The Lost Christmas Eve, a rock holiday tradition for a new generation.

One of the world’s biggest arena rock acts, TSO celebrates 15 years of touring.

The show starts at 8 p.m. Tickets are $44.50-$90.50 and available online at www.ticketmaster. com or by phone at 800-745-3000.

Because of Winn Dixie opens

DEC 7, 14, 21

Santa stops by the

Clinton Presidential Center’s Great Hall from 10 a.m.-2 p.m.

Visits with Santa are free to all ages. Regular admission applies when touring the Library.

•DEC 8

The Old State House hosts its annual holiday open house from 1-4:30 p.m. Festivities include Christmas card making and caroling. Admission is free. Call 501-324-9685 for more info. n Historic Arkansas Museum’s Christmas Frolic takes place from 1-4 p.m. and includes live music, crafts, carols, hot cider, ginger cake and old-fashioned fun. n The Capital Hotel hosts The Nutcracker Tea at 2 p.m. Tickets are $25. The Nutcracker package is $125 and includes the tea, admission to The Nutcracker performance of your choice plus a backstage pass.

Purchase tickets at www.balletarkansas.org.

DEC 14

Ten Thousand Villages hosts a fundraiser for Care Cap Connections, a nonprofit providing handmade caps to cancer patients. The store is open from 10 a.m.-6 p.m. and will donate 15% of sales to the organization.

The 35 th annual Arkansas Craft Guild’s Christmas Showcase will be held at the Statehouse

The Nutcracker Tea

BARBARA GRAVES INTIMATE FASHIONS Breckenridge Village Rodney Parham Road Little Rock 501.227.5537

Trina, Barbara and Elsa

Great gifts and stocking stuffers under $20, come check out our entire selection.

STUFFED ANIMALS – $20

Stuffed animals that shake and laugh and make other amusing noises. You’ll cry because you’re laughing so hard!

HOLIDAY SHOP TALK

T

he biggest, busiest shopping season is upon us, so now is the time to start thinking about who’s been naughty and nice. Coming up with the perfect gift for everyone on the

ever-growing list can stress out even the merriest of shoppers. To keep everyone’s holiday shopping spirit in check, DOROTHY’S RUBY RED SLIPPERS – $14.99

These make for glam house slippers.

Perfect with PJ’s or around the house.

local shop owners are here to help. They’ve shared their picks for what’s popular this holiday season.

MINIMERGENCY KIT – $18

This kit contains 17 essentials (bandage, double sided tape, breath freshener, mending kit, dental floss, clear nail polish, emery board, hair spray, stain remover, nail polish remover pad, earring backs, safety pin) — all in a tidy zippered case.

wordsworth.com

HOLIDAY SHOP TALK CHAINWHEEL 10300 N. Rodney Parham Rd. 501. 224-7651 chainwheel.com facebook.com/ChainwheelAR

Pat Barron

CALL 224-7651

I-430 @ RODNEY PARHAM

www.chainwheel.com

STRIDER BALANCE BIKE – $114.99

Teach kids to ride a bike earlier.

Balance or “push” bikes help children as young as 18 months learn without the distractions and complications of pedals or training wheels.

SALSA MUKLUK 3 – $1849.99

Ride with FAT-itude! Sand, snow, roots or rocks are no problem for this can-do fat-tired off-road vehicle. Combine a fat bike with some basic bags for your next adventure — BIKE CAMPING!

HEIFER INTERNATIONAL This holiday season give a gift of chicks or a Heifer from “The Most Important Gift Catalog in the World®” and provide the tools families need to end hunger and poverty.

“There is no better gift to give than one that keeps on giving to help others, and that’s a Heifer gift.”

Our Shop at Heifer Village is brimming with Earth- and artisan-friendly gifts for the holidays, and you can even buy a goat or two while you’re here. All purchases benefit Heifer’s work to end hunger and poverty. Or, give a gift from “The Most Important Gift Catalog in the World®” at www.heifer.org/arktimes

Monday – Saturday 9 a.m. – 5 p.m.

1 World Avenue, Little Rock (Behind the Clinton Library)

shop.heifer.org

40

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

— Shannon Boshears, Heifer International’s director of community and public affairs

HEIFER – $500

CHICKS – $20

Chickens require little space and can thrive on readily available scraps; this allows families to make money from the birds without spending much. And since a good hen can lay up to 200 eggs a year, your gift of chicks provides a steady source of nutrition and income.

There are so many wonderful reasons to give a Heifer and training in its care this holiday season. It will provide the daily milk to nurse a malnourished child back to health. It will provide income from milk sales that parents can use for food, clothes, school and medicine.

One Heifer can impacted an entire community. Pass on a Gift of offspring.

HOLIDAY SHOP TALK ARKANSAS CRAFT GUILD 104 E. Main St., Mountain View 870.269.4120 arkansascraftguild.org

Becki Dahlstedt, Volunteer Showcase Coordinator

DAHLSTEDT BOWL

David and Becki Dahlstedt create unique functional and decorative stoneware pottery in their studio in Mountain View, Arkansas. The Dahlstedts will be exhibiting their work at tHE Arkansas Craft Guild’s 35th Annual Christmas Showcase at the Statehouse Convention Center, Dec. 6-8.

STAINED GLASS

Whimsical stained glass by Christy Marchand will add a colorful accent to any room. Christy will be selling her delightful art glass at the Annual Christmas Showcase.

HAND-TURNED WOODEN BOWLS

Hand turned wooden bowls by Hot Springs artist Gene Sparling are fashioned out of a variety of woods with unusual forms resulting from his unique techniques. Gene will offer a great selection of his wood art products at the Christmas Showcase.

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

41

HOLIDAY SHOP TALK COLONIAL WINE AND SPIRITS

We have gifts for your mother, father, sister, brother, spouse, daughter, son, uncle, aunt, niece, nepheW, in-laWs, grandparents, you, your best friends, sorta-friends, boss, employees, co-Workers, teachers, housekeeper, secret santa & everyone else on your list!

Look for the Colonial Gift Guide in the Dec. 5 and Dec. 12 issues of the Arkansas Times!

11200 W. Markham St. 501.223.3120 colonialwineshop.com facebook.com/ColonialWines Your holiday wine and spirits headquarters!

Clark Trim, owner

2616 Kavanaugh Blvd. · Little Rock 501.661.1167 · shopboxturtle.com

Find Something for Everyone on Your List!

CARDENAL MENDONZA, JEREZ, SPAIN

For Brandy lovers, this is truly a best kept secret. It’s aged 15 – 17 years, layers upon layers of complex aromas and flavors just continue to unfold. I like to say it’s good enough to eat with a spoon.

BELLE GLOSS CLARK & TELEPHONE 2012 SANTA MARIA VALLEY PINOT NOIR

I often describe Pinot Noir as the most food friendly wine…. period. This one delivers rich lush flavors of raspberry, blackberry, plum, cranberry, and spice. This is a wine that will make any meal just a notch better.

View our Holiday Gift Guide at ozarkoutdoor.com or on facebook.

BELLE GLOSS 2012 PINOT NOIR BLANC

Open Sundays 1:00-5:00 pm for the holidays 5514 Kavanaugh • Little Rock 501-664-4832 42

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

This wine has the same characteristics of Pinot Noir, just a little lighter in body and it’s dry! That makes it great chilled and served with a wide variety of foods from fruit salads to roast pork, chicken, and ham.

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

Ozark Outdoor - Holiday AR Times 2.125”x5.5”

ROEDERER ESTATEBRUT 2003 L’ERMITAGE

Made by the same house that makes the famed Roederer Cristal, but in California, this wine is a special treat. This wine is perfect with any foods you would normally choose a chardonnay with, but my favorite is fresh shellfish, especially fresh cold water oysters served on the shell with vinaigrette.

HOLIDAY SHOP TALK m e n ’ S

c lot h i n g

OZARK OUTDOOR SUPPLY 5514 Kavanaugh Blvd.

501.664.4832 ozarkoutdoor.com facebook.com/OzarkOutdoor

MIO ALPHA – $199.00 The world’s first performancelevel strapless continuous heart rate sport watch.

THE PAINTED PIG 5622 R St. 501.280.0553 paintedpigstudio.com facebook.com/ThePaintedPig

PAINT YOUR OWN POTTERY

The Painted Pig offers Paint Your Own Pottery so you can make your own special gifts this year! Hands and feet grow so fast, so preserve them on pottery while you can! Pottery prices range from $2-60, with most items around $20-30. To get your gifts by Christmas Eve, make sure to get in by Dec. 7 if you want our artists to paint it for you, or Dec. 14 if you want to do all the painting yourself.

Sizes S-M-L

$59 560 0 R StReet · the heightS britsturks.com

Breckenridge Village 501-227-5537

WORDSWORTH BOOKS & CO 5920 R St. 501.663.9198 wordsworthar.com facebook.com/wordsworthbooks

BOOKENDS

WordsWorth offers an exquisite collection of bookends, the ideal gift to add a flourish to any book lover’s library. In addition to handsomely wrought figurines, WordsWorth carries bookends with a more natural feel, made from polished minerals, stone and wood. Elegant and Sturdy, they are the perfect complement to any bookshelf.

BRITS & TURKS 5600 R Street britsturks.com facebook.com/britsturks

SCOTCH & SODA SCARVES – $45-55

What is sexier than a man in a nice scarf? Find these gorgeous Scotch & Soda scarves in a variety of colors plus many other gift ideas for the men in your life at Brits & Turks in the Heights. www.arktimes.com

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

43

HOLIDAY SHOP TALK KYLE-ROCHELLE JEWELERS Harold Murchison, owner W 6th St, Little Rock, AR 72201 (501) 375-3335 kylerochellejewelers.com

SHOP LOCAL

Walk-ins Welcome!

Christmas DeaDlines Glass & Custom Painting - Dec 7 Paint Your Own Pottery & Custom Silver - Dec 14

Ancora Designs 14K Gold Two Tone Diamond (7dia 2.0 CTW) Bridal Set

Pottery • Glass • silver • Mosaics

Monday-Saturday 10-6pm, Sunday 1-5pm 5622 R Street · Little Rock · 501.280.0553 Paintedpigstudio.com

Yanni B 14K White Gold Diamond (96 dia .91 CTW) and Blue Sapphire (4.92 CTW) Fashion Ring

ESSE PURSE MUSEUM STORE 1510 S. Main St. 501.916.9022 essepursemuseum.com

Kyle-Rochelle Jewelers

We’re giving away a pair of diamond stud earrings for the holiday season.

(Two diamonds, approx. ½ carat each for one carat total weight)

Come in to sign up for your ChanCe to win!

Drawing winner on Friday, Dec. 20th (No need to be present to win on the day of drawing)

Harold MurcHison owner/designer

523 South Louisiana, Suite M100 – Little Rock, AR 72201 501-375-3335 – M-F 9am–5pm – www.kylerochellejewlers.com facebook.com/kylerochellejewelers.com 44

NOVEMBER 14, 2013

ADVERTISING SUPPLEMENT TO ARKANSAS TIMES

XOBRUNO BAG – $245

From jewelry, scarves and novelties to bags in all shapes, sizes and prices, you’ll find plenty to make holiday shopping special at ESSE, like this convertible unisex canvas and leather bag from xobruno, $245. Handmade in Portland, Ore., this bag will please anyone on your list.

BOX TURTLE 2616 Kavanaugh Blvd.

501.661.1167 shopboxturtle.com facebook.com/shopboxturtle

VINTAGE NATIVITY – $12.50

There’s no need to run all over town looking for the perfect gift. Simply head to Box Turtle to find unique gifts for everyone on your list. Start your holiday shopping with this vintage Nativity for $12.50. It is sure to get everyone on your gift exchange lists in the holiday spirit and you won’t hurt your pocketbook doing so.

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. DUGAN’S PUB Serves up Irish fare like fish and chips and corned beef and cabbage alongside classic bar food. The chicken fingers and burgers stand out. Irish breakfast all day. 401 E. 3rd St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-244-0542.

LD daily.

GEORGIA’S GYROS Good gyros, Greek salads and fragrant grilled pita bread highlight a large Mediterranean food selection, plus burgers and the like. 2933 Lakewood Village Drive.

NLR. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-753-5090. LD Mon.-Sat. HIBERNIA IRISH TAVERN This traditional Irish pub has its own traditional Irish cook from, where else, Ireland. Broad beverage menu, Irish and Southern food favorites and a crowd that likes to sing. 9700 N. Rodney Parham Road.

Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-246-4340. D Mon.-Fri., BR, L, D Sat.-Sun. LAYLA’S GYROS AND PIZZERIA Delicious Mediterranean fare — gyros, falafel, shawarma, kabobs, hummus and babaganush — that has a devoted following. All meat is slaughtered according to Islamic dietary law. 9501 N Rodney Parham Road. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-227-7272. LD daily (close 5 p.m. on Sun.).

TAJ MAHAL The third Indian restaurant in a onemile span of West Little Rock, Taj Mahal offers upscale versions of traditional dishes and an extensive menu. Dishes range on the spicy side.

1520 Market Street. Beer, All CC. $$$. 501-8814796. LD daily.

TAZIKI’S GREEK FARE Fast casual chain that offers gyros, grilled meats and veggies, hummus and pimento cheese. 8200 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-227-8291.

LD daily.

THE TERRACE MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN A broad selection of Mediterranean delights

that include a very affordable collection of starters, salads, sandwiches, burgers, chicken and fish at lunch and a more upscale dining experience with top-notch table service at dinner. 2200 Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-217-9393. LD Mon.-Fri., D Sat. YA YA’S EURO BISTRO The first eatery to open in the Promenade at Chenal is a date-night affair, translating comfort food into beautiful cuisine.

Best bet is lunch, where you can explore the menu through soup, salad or half a sandwich.

17711 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-821-1144. LD daily, BR Sun.

ITALIAN

BRAVO! CUCINA ITALIANA This upscale Italian chain offers delicious and sometimes inventive dishes. 17815 Chenal Pkwy. Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-821-2485. LD daily. BR Sun. BRUNO’S ITALIAN BISTRO Traditional Italian antipastos, appetizers, entrees and desserts.

Extensive menu. 315 N. Bowman Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-225-5000. L,D Mon.-Sat. GRAFFITI’S The casually chic and ever-popular Italian-flavored bistro avoids the rut with daily specials and careful menu tinkering. 7811 Cantrell Road. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-2249079. D Mon.-Sat. JIM’S RAZORBACK PIZZA Great pizza served up in a family-friendly, sports-themed environment. Special Saturday and Sunday brunch served from 10 a.m.-2 p.m16101 Cantrell Road.

Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-868-3250. LD daily.

OLD CHICAGO PASTA & PIZZA This national chain offers lots of pizzas, pastas and beer. 4305 Warden Road. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-812-6262. LD daily. 1010 Main St. Conway.

Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-329-6262. LD daily.

PIZZA CAFE Thin, crunchy pizza with just a dab of tomato sauce but plenty of chunks of stuff, topped with gooey cheese. Draft beer is appealing on the open-air deck — frosty and generous. 1517 Rebsamen Park Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-664-6133. LD daily 14710 Cantrell Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-868-2600. LD daily.

PIZZA D’ACTION Some of the best pizza in town, a marriage of thin, crispy crust with a hefty ingredient load. Also, good appetizers and salads, pasta, sandwiches and killer plate lunches. 2919 W. Markham St. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-666-5403. LD daily.

THE PIZZA JOINT Cracker-thin crusts with a tempting variety of traditional or nontraditional toppings. Just off Cantrell Road. 6100 Stones Road. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-868-9108.

D daily.

RISTORANTE CAPEO Authentic cooking from the boot of Italy is the draw at this cozy, brickwalled restaurant on North Little Rock’s Main Street. Familiar pasta dishes will comfort most diners, but let the chef, who works in an open kitchen, entertain you with some more exotic stuff, too, like crispy veal sweetbreads. They make their own mozzarella fresh daily. 425 Main St. NLR. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-376-3463.

D Mon.-Sat. ROCKY’S PUB Rocking sandwiches an Arkie used to have to head way northeast to find and a fine selection of homemade Italian entrees, including as fine a lasagna as there is. 6909 JFK Blvd. NLR. Beer, Wine. $$. 501-833-1077. LD Mon.-Sat. SHOTGUN DAN’S PIZZA Hearty pizza and sandwiches with a decent salad bar. Multiple locations, at 4020 E. Broadway, NLR, 945-0606; 4203 E. Kiehl Ave., Sherwood, 835-0606, and

10923 W. Markham St. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-2249519. LD Mon.-Sat., D Sun. VINO’S Great rock ‘n’ roll club also is a fantastic pizzeria with huge calzones and always improving home-brewed beers. 923 W. 7th St. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-375-8466. LD daily.

ZAZA Here’s where you get wood-fired pizza with gorgeous blistered crusts and a light topping of choice and tempting ingredients, great gelato in a multitude of flavors, call-yourown ingredient salads and other treats. 5600 Kavanaugh Blvd. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-661-9292. LD daily. 1050 Ellis Ave. Conway.

Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-336-9292. LD daily.

LATINO

BLUE COAST BURRITO You will become a lover of fish tacos here, but there are plenty of other fresh coastal Mex choices served up fastfood cafeteria style in cool surroundings. Don’t miss the Baja fruit tea. 14810 Cantrell Road.

Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-868-3770. LD Mon.-Sat, L Sun. 4613 E. McCain Blvd. NLR. Beer, All CC. $-$$. 501-945-8033. LD Mon.-Sat., L Sun. CANTINA LAREDO This is gourmet Mexican food, a step up from what you’d expect from a real cantina, from the modern minimal decor to the well-prepared entrees. We can vouch for the enchilada Veracruz and the carne asada y huevos, both with tasty sauces and high quality ingredients perfectly cooked. 207 N. University.

Full bar, All CC. $$$. 501-280-0407. LD daily, BR Sun. CHUY’S Good Tex-Mex. We’re especially fond of the enchiladas, and always appreciate restaurants that make their own tortillas. 16001 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-821-2489.

LD daily.

CONTINUED ON PAGE 47

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ARkANSAS TIMES FLIPSIDE

monika@arktimes.com

It’s happening right now on ArkAnsAs Blog www.arktimes.com www.arktimes.com November 2013 45 45 www.arktimes.com NOVEMBER 28, 28, 2013

Notice from the Circuit Court of Lonoke County, Arkansas IF YOU PURCHASED OR LEASED A NEW OR USED MOTOR VEHICLE FROM SUPERIOR DODGE CHRYSLER JEEP, SUPERIOR CHEVROLET, SUPERIOR HYUNDAI OR SUPERIOR NISSAN (“SUPERIOR”) BETWEEN APRIL 1, 2007, AND DECEMBER 31, 2011, A CLASS ACTION SETTLEMENT COULD AFFECT YOUR RIGHTS A proposed settlement has been reached in a class action lawsuit alleging that Superior charged fees for preparing legal documents thereby engaging in the unauthorized practice of law. The settlement will provide benefits for claims of customers who purchased or leased a new or used motor vehicle from Superior. If you qualify, you may submit a Claim Form to get benefits, or you can exclude yourself from the settlement, or you can object to it. The Circuit Court of Lonoke County, Arkansas, authorized this Notice. The Court will have a hearing on February 5, 2014, at 9:00 a.m., to decide whether to approve the settlement. Any request to be excluded from the settlement, or any objection to the settlement, must be received by January 8, 2014. The following is a summary of the settlement. You can get more information, including a detailed notice, at www.superiorclassactionar.com.

WHO’S INCLUDED The Settlement Class consists of all persons who purchased or leased a new or used motor vehicle from Superior Hyundai, Superior Dodge, Superior Chevrolet or Superior Nissan dealerships in Conway, Arkansas, between April 1, 2007, and December 31, 2011.

WHAT’S THIS ABOUT Ms. Means claims that Superior was engaged in the unauthorized practice of law in violation of the Arkansas Deceptive Trade Practices Act in charging a fee described as a document preparation fee, documentary fee, doc fee or document fee in the documents used to sell or lease a motor vehicle.

Superior contends that it was not engaged in the practice of law when it assisted its customers in completing documents that were required to be signed before the sale or lease of a vehicle could be finalized.

Based on the information available to both sides, and the risks involved in a trial, both sides have concluded that the proposed settlement is fair, reasonable, and adequate, and that it serves the best interests of all parties involved.

WHAT DOES THE SETTLEMENT PROVIDE? The Settlement, if finally approved by the Court, provides the following compensation to those Settlement Class Members who submit an Approved Claim as described in Paragraph 5 below: (a) Persons who purchased or leased a new or used motor vehicle from Superior Dodge in Conway, Arkansas, between April 1, 2007, and December 31, 2011, will receive a cash refund in the amount of sixty-five dollars ($65.00) and Superior Automotive Parts and Service Vouchers valued at fifty dollars ($50.00). (b) Persons who purchased or leased a new or used motor vehicle from Superior Hyundai in Conway, Arkansas, between April 1, 2007, and December 31, 2011, and/or Superior Chevrolet in Conway, Arkansas, between April 1, 2007, and March 31, 2008, will receive a cash refund in the amount of forty dollars ($40.00) and Superior Automotive Parts and Service Vouchers valued at sixty dollars ($60.00). (c) Persons who purchased or leased a new or used motor vehicle from Superior Nissan in Conway, Arkansas, between April 1, 2007, and July 31, 2011, will receive a cash refund in the amount of twenty-five dollars ($25.00) and Superior Automotive Parts and Service Vouchers valued at thirty dollars ($30.00). (d)

Persons who purchased or leased a new or used motor vehicle from Superior Chevrolet in Conway, Arkansas, between April 1, 2008, and December 31, 2011, and/or Superior Nissan in Conway, Ar-

kansas, between August 1, 2011, and December 31, 2011, will receive a cash refund in the amount of five dollars ($5.00) and Superior Automotive Parts and Service Vouchers valued at fifteen dollars ($15.00).

NOTE: If you are a member of the class, and you do not file a claim, an objection or a request for exclusion as explained in Paragraph 6 below, you will not be entitled to receive any benefits for the claims that are the subject of this Action but will be bound by the Settlement.

WHAT ARE MY LEGAL RIGHTS AND OPTIONS? Submit A Claim Form

You can obtain a detailed notice and claim form at www.superiorclassactionar.com. To qualify for a payment or other relief, you must send in a claim form. A claim form must be submitted

by April 5, 2014.

Exclude Yourself

Get no payment or other relief. You may exclude yourself from the class by submitting a written exclusion request addressed to First Class, Inc./J12347Means, 5410 W. Roosevelt Rd., Ste. 222, Chicago, IL 60644-1479, by January 8, 2014. You may exclude yourself from the Settlement Class, which means you will not participate in any of the financial benefits from the Settlement, will not be bound by the releases made or judgment entered in connection with the Settlement, and will not be permitted to object to any part of the Settlement. The detailed notice at the website provides more information about how to exclude yourself.

Object

Write to the Court about why you don’t like the settlement. The Court will hold a hearing in this case (Ann Means v. United Investment Solutions, Inc. d/b/a Superior Dodge Chrysler Jeep, et al., Lonoke County Circuit Court, Case No. 43CV12-157-3) on February 5, 2014, at 9:00 a.m., to consider approving the settlement and the request by the lawyers representing Settlement Class Members for attorneys’ fees and costs and incentive awards for the Class Representative. Unless you request to be excluded from the class, you may appear at the hearing to object to the settlement and the applications for attorneys’ fees and costs and incentive awards. To do so, you must file a written notice of objection to include your full name and address, a statement of your reasons for objecting, copies of any documents you rely upon for such objection, whether you intend to appear at the Final Approval Hearing, and whether you are represented by separate legal counsel. You must file this notice with the Circuit Clerk of Lonoke County, P.O. Box 219, Lonoke, AR 72086-0219, with copies to the Honorable Sandy Huckabee, 301 N. Center St., Ste. 101, Lonoke, AR 72086-2892, to Superior’s Counsel David M. Donovan, Watts, Donovan & Tilley, P.A., 200 River Market Ave., Ste. 200, Little Rock, AR 72201-1769, and to Class Counsel, whose names and addresses are listed below, by no later than January 8, 2014.

Do Nothing

Get no payment or other relief. Give up rights regarding fees sought in this action.

The proposed class is being represented by lawyers who have been appointed by the Court. As part of the settlement, class counsel will request an award of attorneys’ fees and costs of up to $283,000.00 as compensation for representing the class and to reimburse incurred costs. In addition, the Class Representative will ask the Court to award up to $5,000.00 in recognition of her service to the class. These requests are not opposed by Superior and will be decided by the Court at the Final Approval Hearing. Superior has agreed to pay any such awards approved by the Court. Payment of attorneys’ fees and costs and incentive awards is separate from, and in addition to, the payment of benefits to Class Members.

You may obtain more information about the settlement, including the settlement agreement and the Court’s orders, by visiting www.superiorclassactionar.com, or by contacting counsel for the class, who are: H. Gregory Campbell Campbell Law Firm, P.A. 212 Center St., Ste. 700 Little Rock, AR 72201-2450 Please do not contact Superior or the Court 46 November 28, 2013

ARKANSAS TIMES

Tony Wilcox Wilcox & Lacy, P.A. 600 S. Main St. Jonesboro, AR 72401-2825

Chris Averitt Scholtens & Averitt, P.A. 113 E. Jackson St. Jonesboro, AR 72401-3107

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Come Join Us A progressive, all-inclusive community of faith where all are welcome.

Services: Sundays at 9am and 6pm

st. niCholas’ episCopal ChUrCh 4001 Club Manor Dr • Maumelle (behind Kroger) www.stnicholasmaumelle.com

DINING CAPSULES, CONT. JUANITA’S Menu includes a variety of combination entree choices — enchiladas, tacos, flautas, shrimp burritos and such — plus creative salads and other dishes. And of course the “Blue Mesa” cheese dip. 614 President Clinton Ave. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$. 501-3721228. LD Mon.-Sat. LA SALSA MEXICAN & PERUVIAN CUISINE Mexican and Peruvian dishes, beer and margaritas. 3824 John F. Kennedy Blvd. NLR. Full bar, All CC. 501-753-1101. LD daily.

LOCAL LIME Tasty gourmet Mex from the folks who brought you Big Orange and ZaZa. 17815 Chenal Parkway. Full bar, All CC. $$-$$$.

501-448-2226. LD daily.

ROSALINDA RESTAURANT HONDURENO A Honduran cafe that specializes in pollo con frito tajada (fried chicken and fried plaintains).

With breakfast, too. 3700 JFK Blvd. NLR. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$. 501-771-5559. LD daily.

SENOR TEQUILA Typical cheap Mexican dishes with great service. Good margaritas.

10300 N. Rodney Parham Road. Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-224-5505. LD daily. 9847 Maumelle Blvd. NLR. 501-758-4432; 14524 Cantrell Road.

Full bar, All CC. $$. 501-868-7642. LD daily.

TACO MEXICO Tacos have to be ordered at least two at a time, but that’s not an impediment. These are some of the best and some of the cheapest tacos in Little Rock. 7101 Colonel Glenn Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. 501-4167002. LD Wed.-Sun. TACOS GUANAJUATO Pork, beef, adobado, chicharron and cabeza tacos and tortas at this mobile truck. 6920 Geyer Springs Road. No alcohol, No CC. $. LD Wed.-Mon. TAQUERIA EL PALENQUE Solid authentic Mexican food. Try the al pastor burrito. 9501 N. Rodney Parham Road. Beer, CC. $-$$. 501-3120045. Serving LD Tue.-Sun. TAQUERIA THALIA Try this taco truck on the weekends, when the special could be anything from posole to menudo to shrimp cocktail.

4500 Baseline Road. No alcohol, No CC. $.

501-563-3679. LD Wed.-Mon.

AROUND ARKANSAS

BENTON

DAN’S I-30 DINER Home cooking and blue plate specials are the best things to choose at this Benton diner. Check out the daily special board for a meat-and-two-veg lunch — and if chicken stuffing’s on the menu, GET IT. 17018 Interstate 30. Benton. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-778-4116. BL Tue.-Sat. LA VALENTINA There are touches of authenticity on La Valentina’s “real Mexican” menu, including specialties like palmadas meat pies, but otherwise you’ll find tacos, burritos, chimichangas and the like here. 1217 Ferguson Drive. Benton. Full bar, All CC. $-$$. 501-7761113. LD daily.

SULLIVAN’S DINER Tasty chicken fried steak and other home cookin’ standards paired with well-executed Thai dishes. 520 Lillian St. Benton. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-778-4630.

BLD Mon.-Sat., BL Sun.

CONWAY

DOMOYAKI Hibachi grill and sushi bar near the interstate. Now serving bubble tea. 505 E. Dave Ward Drive. Conway. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$. 501-764-0074. L Mon.-Fri., D Mon.-Sat. EL CHARRITO Decent spread of Mexican items.

502 Oak St. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$.

501-450-6460. LD Mon.-Sun. GUSANO’S They make the tomatoey Chicagostyle deep-dish pizza the way it’s done in the Windy City. It takes a little longer to come out of the oven, but it’s worth the wait. 2915 Dave Ward Drive. Conway. Full bar, All CC. $$.

501-329-1100. LD daily.

JADE CHINA Traditional Chinese fare, some with a surprising application of ham. 559 Harkrider. Conway. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$.

501-329-5121. LD Mon.-Sat. LAS PALMAS IV “Authentic” Mexican chain

with a massive menu of choices. 786 Elsinger Boulevard. Conway. Full bar, All CC. $$.

501-329-5010. LD Mon-Sat. SHORTY’S` Burgers, dogs and shake joint. 1101 Harkrider. Conway. No alcohol, No CC. $-$$.

501-329-9213. LD Mon.-Sat. STOBY’S Great homemade cheese dip and big, sloppy Stoby sandwiches with umpteen choices of meats, cheeses and breads. 805 Donaghey. Conway. No alcohol, All CC. $$.

501-327-5447. BLD Mon.-Sat. 405 W. Parkway.

Russellville. No alcohol, All CC. $$. 501-9683816. BLD Mon.-Sat. STROMBOLI’S Locally owned purveyor of NY style pizzas and strombolis. 605 Salem Rd., Suite 9. Conway. Beer, Wine, All CC. $$.

501-327-3700. LD daily.

U.S. PIZZA CO. CONWAY Part of the U.S. Pizza Co. chain. 710 Front Street. Conway.

Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-450-9700. LD Mon.-Sun.

FAYETTEVILLE

36 CLUB Diverse menu — more than 80 items — of good food, ranging from grilled shrimp salad to spicy tandoori chicken, in a lively setting. Next door, sister restaurant Bistro V, offers a quieter atmosphere. 300 W. Dickson St. Fayetteville. Full bar, CC. 479-442-9682. L Tue.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat. AQ CHICKEN HOUSE Great chicken — fried, grilled and rotisserie — at great prices. 1925 North College Ave. Fayetteville. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 479-443-7555. LD daily. 1206 N. Thompson St. Springdale. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 479-443-7555. LD. BORDINOS Exquisite Italian food, great wines and great service in a boisterous setting. Now serving Nova Scotia mussels. 310 W. Dickson St. Fayetteville. Full bar, All CC. 479-527-6795.

D. GRUB’S BAR AND GRILLE A commendable menu that includes pub fare and vegetarian both is full of tasty offerings. The Hippie

Sandwich and the Santa Fe burger come to mind. But what’s really great about Grub’s is the fact that kids under 12 (with their parents) eat free, and there’s no stale smoke to fill their little lungs, thanks to good ventilation. 220 N. West Ave. Fayetteville. Full bar, All CC. 479-973-4782. LD.

HOT SPRINGS

BELLE ARTI RISTORANTE Ambitious menu of lavish delights in a film-noir setting; excellent desserts. 719 Central Ave. Hot Springs. Full bar, All CC. 501-624-7474. LD. DON JUAN’S Mex-style enchiladas, runny white cheese dip, great guacamole and great service in strip-mall locale. 1311 Albert Pike Road No. A. Hot Springs. No alcohol, All CC. 501-321-0766. LD. FACCI’S This longtime favorite of the Oaklawn crowd offers an all-you-can-eat spaghetti lunch, lots of sandwiches and pasta and extraordinary Italian dishes for dinner. 2900 Central Ave. Hot Springs. Beer, Wine, All CC. $-$$. 501-623-9049.

LD Wed. only.

FISHERMAN’S WHARF Reminiscent of a coastal seafood joint, complete with large menu and fish nets adorning the wall.

Boisterous, family style place. 5101 Central Ave. Hot Springs. Full bar, All CC. 501-525-7437. LD. MCCLARD’S Considered by many to be the best barbecue in Arkansas — ribs, pork, beef and great tamales, too. 505 Albert Pike. Hot Springs. Beer, No CC. 501-624-9586. LD. NOM NOMS MEXICAN GRILL-N-CHILL More than 50 flavors of delicious ice cream, with many exotic options (Avocado Cream, Tamarind Sorbet). Plus, excellent fresh and authentic Mexican fare. 3371 Central Ave. Hot Springs. No alcohol, All CC. $-$$. 501-6238588.

ROCKY’S CORNER Knock-out pizza at ahopping eatery across the street from Oaklawn Park. 2600 Central Ave. Hot Springs. Beer, All CC. 501-624-0199. LD. www.arktimes.com November 2013 47 47 www.arktimes.com NOVEMBER 28, 28, 2013