LITTLE ROCK — A little more than two years ago, Darla Huie broke the hearts of Bentonites by loading up most of the contents of her restaurant, Dizzy’s Grill & Bistro (the first restaurant in dry Saline County to get a liquor permit, by way), and about 90 percent of her employees into a caravan of vehicles and moving up Interstate 30 to Little Rock’s River Market District.
She reopened as Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro in what had been Mike Selig’s Vermillion at what was then 200 Commerce St., now River Market Avenue.
Huie kept the restaurant structure basically the same, with walls dividing the bar area and the open dining room, which she decorated in a whimsical, if not outright quirky fashion with perhaps a slight Nawlins accent.
Seating is at tables with glass topping vividly colored tablecloths. The walls are lined with original and reproduced artworks (one corner has a sort of bullfight theme); from the ceiling hang three colored all-glass chandeliers and various wine-bottle trees. The soundtrack during one late-evening dinner visit featured classic rock; early on another evening, it was a nerve-gnawing torrent of kiddie pop.
Huie’s menu, which she pretty much kept intact from Benton, is also quite quirky, a mix of Southern, Cajun and European full of dishes named for people,some recognizable (Gabrielle Garcia Marquez’s Black Bean Soup, $12.99) but others must represent some sort of inside joke or knowledge.
Offerings range alphabetically from Adam Carter’s Sicilian Dip ($8.99, an Italian roast beef sandwich with melted mozzarella, sauteed mushrooms and an Alfredo dipping sauce) to Zilphia’s Persian Lime Salad ($10.99, $8.99 half order, grilled turkey breast, tomato, cucumber, onion, buffalo mozzarella and lime on a bed of romaine).
Despite Dizzy’s slightly dizzying atmosphere, it’s a nice place to sit and enjoy a meal or beverage of any alcohol content, or none (and with the weather warming, there’s a nice shielded patio for outdoor dining and/or sipping). Prices are high but portions are correspondingly large.
We enjoyed our visits to Dizzy’s. Everything tastes fresh, everything is prepared pretty much from scratch and a lot of care has gone into the preparation. And the menu descriptions are very promising.
But our opinion hasn’t changed from the first time we visited two years ago: What showed up on our plates just didn’t quite fulfill that promise.
One thing that did: Dizzy’s delicious award-winning La Petite Roche Cheese Dip. The $8.99 price seemed very steepfor cheese dip until we saw it come out: a huge bowl quite full of a slightly soupy dip made with three cheeses and laden with pico de gallo, salsa, sour cream and scallions, served with a generous basket of fresh, crispy tri-colored corn chips. Stir vigorously before dipping.
Alas, we didn’t get to enjoy very much of it because early in the evening there were very few other diners and the kitchen, in a burst of efficiency, quickly tossed out our side salads (mixed greens, tomatoes, purple onions, three shredded cheeses and croutons) in record time. And our entrees came out right behind ’em.
Dizzy’s uses a lot of black truffles in some surprising places, including a tangy vinaigrette dressing and atop one of its half-pound Bodacious Burgers (Blue Cheese and Black Truffle, $9.99).
We can also recommend Marie’s Sherried Mushroom Soup ($6.99 cup, $7.99 bowl), our “cup” the size of most restaurant’s bowls, a rich, creamy soup full of mouthfilling mushroom slices and accented with a large dollop ofsour cream and scallions.
Dizzy’s 17 pasta offerings occupy a whole menu page, kind of a surprise for a non-Italian restaurant. At the simpler end of the spectrum, the Cheese Ravioli ($12.99, $8.99 half order) comes stuffed with ricotta, parmesan and scallions; the tomato basil was a tasty, if not very exciting, choice (marinara, Alfredo, pesto and four-cheese were the other options).
Annette’s Great Summer Caper ($15.99) plays on the surprisingly plentiful capers that come with sliced, grilled white-meat chicken, grated parmesan, scallions, spinach, onion, garlic and tomatoes on a bed of capellini. The chicken wasn’t as plentiful as the capers and arrived all on one side of the plate. The sauce, though flavorful, was exceedingly soupy and left us wishing we had a side bowl into which to drain it.
The 14-Ounce Prime Rib ($29) would not seem to qualify as a bargain in anybody’s book, but when you consider the thickness of the slab of roasted beef that arrived on our plate, and that the priceincludes a side “Big Bawdy” baked potato (the Status Quo, $7.99 a la carte, topped with butter, bacon, sour cream, scallions, cheddar and mozzarella - one cheese on one side of the tater and the other on the other), it’s not that pricey.
The beef arrived just about medium rare, the way we ordered it (prime rib medium and above is a waste of good meat), lightly glazed with minced garlic that clashed a little bit with the mushroomsherry sauce (which more than closely resembled the sherried mushroom soup).
Dizzy’s has a small but very well chosen wine list (and the young woman who chose it is on the floor and more than willing to help choose between, say, the list’s two moscatos). On the whole, the over-quick arrival of our food aside, service was good to excellent.
One other issue at Dizzy’s - it’s small, but one that might bother some patrons: It may be part of the restaurant’s casual image, but you’re paying white-tablecloth prices for paper napkins and cheap silverware.
Dizzy’s Gypsy Bistro
Address: 200 River Market
Ave.
Hours: 11 a.m.-9 p.m.Tues
day-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10
p.m. Friday-Saturday
Cuisine: Eclectic, if not
downright quirky
Credit cards: V, MC, AE, D
Alcoholic beverages: Full
bar
Reservations: Large par
ties
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Carryout: Yes
(501) 375-3500
dizzysgypsybistro.net
Weekend, Pages 27 on 03/22/2012