The Pantry Czechs in with hearty bistro fare

LITTLE ROCK — Middle Europe's typically hearty fare, from the figurative Realm of the Wursts and Dumplings, has been pretty much a blank space on the dining-out map of central Arkansas.

Perhaps the hot, humid summers here discourage consumption of traditionally heavy dishes from a swath of Europe that encompasses roughly Germany, Austria, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Hungary, Switzerland and Poland. Another reason could be the paucity of a Middle European ethnic presence in the Little Rock area.

Into that void has stepped The Pantry, off to a promising start since opening last month at the Rodney Parham Road location formerly occupied by Gypsy's Bar & Grill and, before that, Alouette's.

Owner Tomas Bohm, who calls himself "a food evangelist," was born in the Czech spa town of Marianske Lazne (known to cinema buffs under its former German name from the 1961 film Last Year at Marienbad).

Coming to Arkansas in 1996 with extensive Czech culinary and hospitality training, Bohm first worked at Bavarian Inn, operated by distant relatives in Eureka Springs. He moved to Little Rock in 1998 and did stints at Izzy's, 1620 Restaurant and So Restaurant-Bar.

There's a good-value bent to The Pantry's bistro menu, which includes salads, burgers, panini, seafood and a New York strip steak. Only the steak ($24.75) and three other dishes are priced above $15.

But the restaurant's most intriguing fare (mostly made from scratch on the premises) has roots in Mitteleuropa - cheese spaetzle, potato pancakes, bratwursts, potato dumplings, red cabbage, goulash stew, sauerkraut, roasted pork shoulder and apple strudel.

Two Czech beers (Pilsner Urquell and Staropramen) are available by the bottle,along with one bottled German beer (dark Spaten Optimator) and two on draft (Warsteiner Pilsner and Spaten Oktoberfest). There are also beers from England, Ireland, The Netherlands and Belgium plus five U.S. craft brews.

No Middle European labels can be found among the dozen wines (starting at $21 by the bottle, $6.25 by the glass) listed on chalkboards in both main dining rooms. Bohm hopes to add a German Riesling to the list, which he is keeping short "because I'm so tired of eating at places where I have to sort through a book of 200 or 300 wines."

Patrons of the site's previous incarnations will find familiar decor touches, including the mirrored ceiling and crystal chandelier in the back room and the fleur-de-lis insignia dating to Alouette's era.New wall hangings of silhouetted birds and human torsos add a stylish touch. The previous small room at the front has been opened up as an outdoor patio. The bar area to the left of the entrance has been refurbished with the aim, according to Bohm, of "getting the bar crowd."

Two of The Pantry's servers are alumni of Gypsy's. Service is amiable if not entirely polished. The waitress for the second of our two dinners, almost young enough to be our granddaughter, twice called us "You guys." Hey, show a little respect for your elders.

The kitchen staff is new, headed by Bohm and Chef de Cuisine Titus Holly. Bohm chose The Pantry as the name, he says, because "the food we're cooking here is homey food, like you would get by going to your pantry. I want to keep that comfort zone for the locals." An ethnic Czech name, he thinks, "might have scared people off."

Figuring that there are numerous other chances to eat burgers and salads in Little Rock, Marcia and I concentrated during two recent dinnners on distinctive dishes with Czech and German roots, all winners to varying degrees. The only disappointment was the lackluster bread, which fell short in flavor and texture. As Marcia said, "Oh, for some crusty bread!"

Among first courses, the cheese spaetzle ($5.75) and the potato pancakes ($5.95) garnered top marks. The spaetzle, which Bohm describes as his Czech play on macaroni and cheese, managed a surprising complexity of tastes thanks to caramelized onions and bechamel sauce. The pancakes, made with shredded Yukon gold potatoes and pan-fried in canola oil, achieved a neat balance of crisp crust and moist interior.

The pate ($6.50) came as a novel presentation - four ounces of sauteed chicken liver in a candle jar with lid. Infusions of white wine and cognac helped round out its silken appeal, as did a garnish of cornichons. Also eye-catching and fresh-tasting was the house-cured salmon bruschetta ($6.75), perched on three rounds of lightly toasted bread.

Our main courses had a lot going for them.

Marcia's roasted pork shoulder ($11.95), flavorful if slightly dry in spots, was bolstered by succulent sides of braised red cabbage and Czech potato dumplings. The cabbage came as close to being ambrosial as that stolid vegetable can, while the steamed dumplings (made with Yukon gold potatoes and semolina flour) were commendably light. More sauce fordumpling mopping would have been welcome.

My Stock Pot ($14.50), creatively served in a casserole dish, bathed a pristinely fresh fillet of cod in fennel-accented tomato broth. The "crusty baguette" promised by the menu lacked any serious crust.

At a second dinner, my Pantry Pie (a best buy at $8.50) proved to be exemplary comfort food. Served in an oval casserole dish, this beef goulash was nestled under a generous endowment of top-notch mashed potatoes browned just right.

Marcia's three grilled bratwursts ($11), made in-house from beef eye of round and pork shoulder, benefited from subtle seasoning with mace, a spice extracted from the waxy red skin of nutmeg. The accompanying house-made sauerkraut spoke with a mellow caraway seed accent. The thinly sliced roasted potatoes were somewhat limp. Mustard was missing from the presentation, so we had to ask for it.

Our one dessert, a shared apple strudel ($7.75) based on a recipe of Bohm's Czech mother, was served with a dollop of vanilla ice cream. Restrained use of sugar kept the strudel refreshing rather than cloying. Like most of what we enjoyed at The Pantry, it belied the stereotypical notion that a meal of Middle European derivation is a stupefying inducement to a long nap.

The Pantry Address: 11401 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock Hours: 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Monday-Saturday (kitchen open until midnight) Cuisine: Bistro fare with Middle European accent Credit cards: V, MC, AE, D Alcoholic beverages: Full bar Reservations: No Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: Yes (501) 551-0483

Weekend, Pages 35, 42 on 05/07/2009