LITTLE ROCK — Union has gone through more transitions in 16 months than most establishments do in 16 years.
It opened as Union Tapas & Cocktails in late June 2009 in what had been a Lenny’s Sub Shop in a tiny shopping center (on the site of the late lamented Shug’s), where Old Cantrell meets Mart Street in Little Rock’s Riverdale.
It was open for dinner only, serving primarily tapas - small plates of hot or cold delicacies - that you order in multiples to make a full meal. They let folks smoke after 9 p.m., which meant nobody under 21 could enter at any hour. It eventually opened for lunch in late March and subsequently yielded to inevitability and went nonsmoking.
When Union closed in July “for the summer,” it was with a promise that it would reopen in the fall once they’d finished building an outdoor patio. It reopened last month, now as Union Bistro.
“Same chef, new owners and staff,” co-owner Scott Marks told us, “serving [a] full menu, including small plates, salads, sandwiches, entrees, desserts, full bar and wine list.” That new patio gives smoking patrons a place to smoke.
The decor basically hasn’t changed; the tables, about a dozen of them, are well spaced, but they’re no longer covered with white tablecloths. The large bar dominates your view, pretty much wherever you sit, even if you can’t see it directly.
There’s a nice little comfy sofa conversation pit near the patio door with a view of one of the couple of flat-screen TVs. The earth-tone walls feature bright artwork and a chalk board highlighting drink specials and the two happy hours (4-6 and 9-12). Filmy brown curtains allow the staff to further darken the place at twilight; cut-glass hurricane lamps slightly brighten the beveled-edge tabletops.
The sound system on our first visit appeared to be tuned to the Sirius “crooner” channel, with plenty of Sinatra (among others), in heavy ’50s and ’60s orchestrations - nice, but a little wearing after a while. We got some great blues on our second.
A number of the tapas from the old menu have survived, now branded as “Small Plates.” They include the Fresh Tuna Poke ($10), the Blue Corn Prawn Dog ($10) and the Pork and Ginger Pot Stickers ($6), six pork-filled, crisp-fried dumplings (we didn’t particularly taste ginger) on a rectangular plate that also bears a good-size bowl of ponzu, a Japanese soy-citrus-rice vinegar dipping sauce, and a smaller portion of sweet, not too spicy, chili sauce.
The Heirloom Tomato Stack survives as a $7 salad, a variation on caprese, with fresh mozzarella, sprouts and basil, an orange-ginger vinaigrette and not enough balsamic reduction. We’d have to say that as the cheese is the most interesting component, there’s room for improvement.
The Scottish Smoked Salmon with Brie and Green Apple Relish small plate ($7) desperately needed toast points or crackers, which it didn’t have, or something to accompany the over-firm brie, as an underpinning for the lox-like salmon or as a support for the tasty slaw-like relish.
Far more successful were the Chilean Black Mussels in a Bacon Herb White Wine Sauce small plate ($8), a dozen mussels amid semi-crispy bacon chunks that gave the sauce (and the mussels) a distinctly smoky flavor.
We’d definitely go back for the Chicken & Waffles With Orange-Pecan Butter and Maple Syrup small plate ($7), which we ordered because we just couldn’t get past the concept without trying it. The sweet butter and syrup combination enhanced the lightly battered and fried chicken strips and the just-chewy-enough waffle.
The other dish we just couldn’t get past without trying: Duck, Duck, Goose. We enjoyed it, but more for its gorgeous plate presentation (a Union strong suit across the board) than for its meal value - there just wasn’t enough food to justify its $24 cost: five tiny slices of pan-seared duck breast in a miserly, though delicious, drizzle of pear-and-port glaze over wild rice rife with almond slivers; a similarly tiny pile of legand-thigh-shred duck confit; and a small slab of roasted foie gras pate.
We liked the sweet potato crust and the punchy “Andouilee” cream sauce on top, and the roasted root vegetables (including some tasty, firm carrots and parsnips) beneath, much more than the rather muddy-tasting catfish in the middle of the Sweet Potato Crusted Catfish ($14).
We can, however, recommend two of the menu’s Italian specialties (shades of Marks’ days at the late lamented Bella Italia?).
The mild sausage in the Oven Roasted Italian Sausage With Fettucini ($14) was a little bland but fairly sturdy. The pasta was close to al dente and the house-made red sauce (Alfredo is also an option) was excellent.
Tops on our list: the Chicken Marsala With Baby Portabellas and angel hair pasta ($14). The chicken chunks were small enough to negotiate easily and still moist. The sauce was just strong enough without being winy or sharp, and it soaked nicely into the mushrooms. The side pasta came with a light grated-cheese crust that gave it a nice kick; there was just enough of it to soak up the leftover sauce.
We took a late-night flier on one of Union’s “Squished Sandwiches,” flattened in a sandwich press. The innards of the Montecristo ($7) - ham, turkey, Gruyere cheese and house-made mayo on wheat bread - were fine but pressing instead of deep-frying it, while undoubtedly “healthier,” removed the principal flavor reason for its existence. It also left little for the side blackberry preserves to cling to, which made it rather messy. We were glad we took our waitress’ suggestion to swap crisp and non-greasy onion rings for fries - a good deal taste-wise and a good bargain (no extra charge).
There was a hint of honey but again no discernible ginger in the Honey Ginger Creme “Brule” ($5), which came out cool with a nicely caramelized crust. We liked it better than Helen’s Banana Nut Bread With Butter Pecan Ice Cream and “Carmel” Sauce (also $5), which became less interesting with each bite of blah nut bread.
Service was excellent on both visits. On our second, our server, concerned that we were still wallowing in our several small plates, took our early-arriving entrees back to the kitchen to keep warm ’til we finished.
One unappealing difference in the new setup: By-the-glass wine prices have gone way up. You can still buy $4.50 house wine, but otherwise we didn’t see anything on the wine list for less than $8.50 (the dessert menu offers small glasses of two ports for $7). Yes, the higher prices theoretically raise profits, but they counter-productively discourage economy-minded diners from ordering wine.
Union Bistro Address: 3421 Old Cantrell Road, Little Rock Hours: 4 p.m.-1 a.m. Monday-Saturday; kitchen closes about a half-hour before the bar Cuisine: Eclectic Credit cards: V, MC, AE, D Alcoholic beverages: Full bar Reservations: Large parties Wheelchair accessible: Yes Carryout: Yes (501) 353-0360
Weekend, Pages 33 on 10/28/2010