Selected restaurants

 Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STATON BREIDENTHAL 10/16/09 
 Shrimp Kung Pao at Lilly's Dim Sum for restaurant review.
Arkansas Democrat-Gazette/STATON BREIDENTHAL 10/16/09 Shrimp Kung Pao at Lilly's Dim Sum for restaurant review.

— Weekly theme listings reflect a range of dining

possibilities in central

Arkansas, across a spectrum of settings and

price ranges. To read recent restaurant reviews

in their entirety, visit

arkansasonline.com/ restaurants/

.

Asian

LILLY’S DIM SUM THEN SOME

11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock, (501) 716-2700 Owners Kathy Webb and Nancy Tesmer widen local dining horizons with commendable Pan-Asian food ranging from Pad Thai to Korean Bibim Bop with grilled steak to Japanese noodles sukiyaki-style.

Lunch, dinner daily. Beer, wine. Reservations (six or more people). Bargain-Moderate.

SAI GON CUISINE

6805 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, (501) 663-4000 The Vietnamese dishes outshine the menu’s Thai and Chinese items at this Cantrell Road restaurant, where top choices include noodle-filled soups to which meats can be added, like Pho and Bun Bo Hue.

Lunch, dinner Tue-Sun.

Beer, wine. Reservations.

Bargain.

THAI TASTE

1516 W. Main St., Jacksonville, (501) 985-1854 Central Arkansas’ last surviving Thai restaurant offers delicious dishes deftly seasoned to the customer’s taste in a homey storefront. Stick to the menu rather than the buffet.

Lunch Mon-Fri, dinner Mon-Sat. No alcohol.

Reservations. Bargainmoderate.

VANLANG

3600 S. University Ave., Little Rock, (501) 570-7700 The Vietnamese eatery draws a good many Asian customers, perhaps a testament to the authenticnature of its seafood dishes and other items, which come in formidable portions at low prices.

Lunch, dinner daily.

Beer, wine. Reservations. Bargain.

Brazilian

CAFE BOSSA NOVA

2701 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, (501) 614-6682 Diners who stereotype Brazilian cuisine by envisioning hefty chunks of grilled meat will have their eyes opened by owner-chef Rosalia Monroe’s varied menu, which is strong on chicken, seafood and vegetarian dishes.

Lunch, dinner Tue-Sat;

brunch Sun. Full bar.

Corkage fee. Reservations (five or more people).

Moderate.

GAUCHO’S GRILL

3 Rahling Circle, Little Rock, (501) 821-1814 The specialty of Jerry Barakat’s South American barbecue restaurant is the churrasco, various grilled meats that are broughttable-side for an all-youcan-eat sampling for $19.95.

Dinner daily, Lunch Sun-Fri. Full bar. Reservations for 10 or more. Moderateexpensive.

Weekend, Pages 42 on 04/28/2011

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