Pancetta is Italian bacon.
So you might expect the cuisine at Pancetta Regional Kitchen & Wine Bar (formerly Capriccio’s Italian Grill and Italian Steakhouse) in the Little Rock Marriott (formerly the Peabody Little Rock) to be primarily Italian.
While there is an emphasis on pasta and pizza and various marsala, parmesan and piccata dishes, there are plenty of other options on Pancetta’s lunch (burgers, salads and sandwiches) and dinner (steaks, seafood, even a vegetarian quinoa) menus. More changes are expected from Executive Chef Chris Stroup, formerly of the Renaissance St. Louis Airport by Marriott, in the near future.
So far, there’s no “pancetta” (and very little pork, period) on the lunch or dinner menus of the restaurant, where the logo features a classy, not cartoonish pig. Unless you count a $12 bacon cheeseburger or a $13 barbecue sandwich.
The warm, luxe look of the place - complete with grand entrance shaded chandeliers, comfortable upholstered seating, swirly carpet, room-dividing draperies and dim lighting - appears unchanged from the Capriccio days. It could be romantic, if you weren’t seated several feet across the table from your dinner companion (try the regular tables, not the half-banquettes on date night) and if that nearby baby wasn’t screaming. Remember, this is a full-service hotel restaurant catering to a variety of guests. It also handles room service and serves breakfast daily (brunch only on special occasions).
Expect “nice hotel” prices. Lunch options start at $8.95 for large salads and stop at $16.95 for Spaghetti Bolognese. At dinner, prices range from $14 for pizza up to $42 for a 12-ounce filet mignon, and sides are $7-$9 a la carte. Seafood - Chilean sea bass, salmon and lobster tail - is market-price.
There’s also a manifest markup on wines (averaging $8-$20 per glass; about $35 to $635 per bottle). A bottle of Santa Margherita Pinot Grigio that sells locally for $25 a bottle costs $75 at Pancetta. A glass is a whopping $19.
On a recent rainy Saturday evening, well-dressed wedding guests and conventioneers lingered in the now duck-free lobby, but there were few customers in the restaurant, which was quiet except for the unlikely strains of perky pop (from Hot Chelle Rae to No Doubt) piped in to the posh setting.
We started our meal with less-than-pleasant Ahi Tuna Poke ($15), a stack of sesame-studded raw tuna - too many disturbing chewy tendon bits for our taste - on dry, intensely bitter greenery with avocado. It was served with two puddles of what tasted like mostly mayonnaise and two artsy crisps.
We were charged for but never received the Lobster Shrimp Bisque ($7 small, $13 large). The apologetic server, who otherwise provided great service, had it removed from the bill.
The Cowboy Rib-eye ($42) was a big 20 ounces of juicy, buttery beef (well, and bone; it’s a bone-in steak), cooked to a rosy medium-rare as requested. Just plain, it had plenty of flavor without any of Pancetta’s toppings (blue jack cheese, caramelized onions, shrimp or Oscar, $5-$13 extra) or sauces (Bordelaise, Hollandaise, Bernaise, creamy horseradish, $2).
Sides like a large $8 seasalt baked potato, with all the trimmings, can be shared. The best we tried - maybe the best item on the menu - was the $8 sauteed mushrooms, featuring all mannerof appetizing fungi topped with parmesan cheese.
The Tagliolini Pescatore ($27), of plush and creamy pasta, was a bit busy, as one would imagine from the lengthy ingredients list - shrimp, crab, lobster, fresh fish, mussels, calamari, sweet pepper, capers, olives, tomato, wine lemon butter sauce - but it worked. We poked around for all the plump shrimp, lobster and calamari rings, while pushing the clams (the grittiness of one mollusk turned us off), calamari tentacles (not pretty unless fried) and salmon (the fresh fish that didn’t quite fit with the dish) to the side.
A shared dense slice of layered Chocolate Decadence Cake ($7), plated with whipped cream and berries, looked more special than it tasted, which was like chocolate cake at any chain - restaurant or hotel.
Over the course of two lunches, we sampled two starters - the Crispy Frito Misto ($9.95) and the Crab Cake ($11). The fried medley of shrimp and calamari (but no summer squash as the menu mentioned), served with marinara and a basil aioli, didn’t distinguish itself. Maybe it needed another minute in the fryer (then again, too light is probably preferred to too tire-like). But the crab cake, fresh and full of shellfish clumps instead of filler, was a delight.
The Fettuccine Alfredo ($12.95) that I ordered with chicken (a $5 addition; $8 for steak or shrimp ) was a gargantuan portion of pasta, garlicky cream sauce and chicken. It was an inconceivable amount of food (although the little takeout bags and plastic wear bundles are stylish) for lunch. The final price, $17.95, was also hard to swallow at midday.
Also large, at least for one person, are the thin-crust pizzas ($14-$14.75; the pizzas actually are priced a few cents more at lunch than at dinner). Immediately our attentive server asked if the Salsiccia, with pepperoni and sausage and a good amount of cheese, was too burned around the edges. Truthfully, it was, but making another would have taken too much time on a workday.
A friend who ordered the non pizza Bacon-wrapped Scallops ($11.95) with risotto and asparagus, a daily special, reported: “It didn’t appear as though it would fill one up, but it was quite satisfying. It was also quite decadent. The scallops were very rich.”
Another friend who tried the Grilled Chicken Breast Panini ($13.25) with roasted peppers, spinach, provolone and sun-dried tomato aioli on rosemary bread, said,“It was a bit dry and lacked some flavor.” However, she fancied the fries.
For now we see th e still-evolving Pancetta more as a place for tourists and executives on expense accounts and less as a dining destination for locals. Still, those stopping by just for a meal can take advantage of the hotel’s valet service for free (have the restaurant validate the ticket), though tips are appreciated.
Pancetta Regional Kitchen & Wine Bar
Address: Little Rock Mar
riott, 3 Statehouse Plaza,
Little Rock
Hours: 6:30 a.m.-2 p.m.,
5-10 p.m. daily
Cuisine: Breakfast, salads,
sandwiches, pasta, pizza,
steaks, seafood
Credit cards: AE, D, MC, V
Reservations: Yes
Alcoholic beverages: Full
bar
Wheelchair accessible: Yes
Carryout: Yes (and room
service)
(501) 906-4000
marriott.com/hotels/hotel-information/restaurant/litpb-little-rock-marriott
Weekend, Pages 31 on 06/06/2013