LITTLE ROCK — Kent Berry's return to downtown brings back, to a smaller degree, the meat market he used to run there while offering an expanded over-the-counter breakfast and lunch service.
Berry's former establishment was out in the middle of the River Market's Ottenheimer Market Hall floor, toward the west end. It and all its traces have vanished; the new Kent's Downtown has taken over the one-time Shaka Smoke Lodge space and also its food niche, serving barbecue plate lunches and country breakfasts.
Berry has scaled back a bit from the original menu. The "top quality lunch specials created by Executive Chef Heinz Klein, 'Der German Arkansawyer,'" such as the rosemary pork loin, have pretty much disappeared. That leaves a choice of barbecue sandwiches and plates with a daily, cafeteria-like choice of side items.
Among the best bets for value as well as flavor is the Hickory Smoked Chicken Leg Quarter Plate ($4.95), a generously meaty and moist leg-and thigh combination with a choice of two side items (we liked the corn on the cob and candied yams enough to get stuck on them) and a soft dinner roll.
The sliced beef brisket ($5.50 regular sandwich, $6.95 jumbo sandwich, $6.95 and $7.95 platters) was a little on the fatty side but delicious, even better when slathered with Kent's tangy, somewhat vinegary, barbecue sauce.
Other options include chopped pork ($4.50 and $5.95 sandwiches, $5.95 and $7.50 plates), sliced turkey ($4.50, $5.95, $5.95 and $7.50), monster smoked turkey legs ($6.95) and meatloaf dinners ($6.95).
Early on, Herr Klein, German accent and all, was on the premises making from-scratch omelets for breakfast, though we haven't seen him lately. The huge omelet ($5.95) he fixed for us was superb, made with three eggs, Swiss cheese, bacon and sausage and diced green peppers. You can still get whoever's on duty in the morning to make you an omelet, pancakes and/or fried eggs to order.
Don't have time to have something made to order? The biscuits and gravy ($2.50), two firm biscuits over-generously topped with a peppery-spicy, plenty-of-sausage cream gravy, were delicious and filling.
Adding a fistful of crisp, meaty bacon was another $1.50 well spent.
Most of the breakfast and lunch options are on display in a glass-fronted case with prices marked; there's also a hard-tosee menu board above. Coffee and beverages are on the right of the cash register; with multiple customers trying to serve themselves, you may encounter a brief Keystone Kops re-enactment.
Kent's has kindly placed napkin dispensers on some of the nearby River Market tables, providing a valuable public service.
Kent's Downtown Address: Ottenheimer Market Hall, River Market, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock Hours: 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Saturday Cuisine: "Southern bar-b-que" lunch, country breakfast Credit cards: V, MC Alcoholic beverages: No Reservations: No Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: Yes (501) 375-1900
Weekend, Pages 36 on 08/27/2009