The Riverfront Steakhouse, in the Wyndham Riverfront, 2 Riverfront Place, North Little Rock, recently instituted an 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday lunch buffet, each day with a different theme and price: Tuesday, Southern, $9.95; Wednesday, Italian, $8.95; Thursday, Mexican, $8.95; and Friday, catfish and ribs, $12.95. The phone number is (501) 375-7825; the website, riverfront-steakhouse.com.
You will recall we reported last week the opening of Two Sisters Cafe at 3110 E. Kiehl Ave., Sherwood. Maybe there’s only room for one restaurant on that block, because shortly thereafter we got word that nearby Just Like Mom’s, 3140 E. Kiehl Ave. Sherwood, had closed. The owners posted this note on the website, justlikemoms.us: “Just Like Mom’s has closed its doors. It has been our very great honor and pleasure to have served you good food and, we hope, a good time, for 14 years. We have made many loyal, loving friends over the years, and we will miss them. The owners, Duane and Brenda Matthews, extend their best wishes for happiness and good meals to all of those who entered their homey restaurant over the years. Here’s hoping all your meals are just like mom’s used to be.” The phone number, (501) 833-0402, has been disconnected.
Winemaker Anthony Bell of Napa Valley’s Bell Wines will be at a special ballroom tasting and wine cellar dinner Wednesday at the Capital Hotel, 111 W. Markham St., Little Rock. The ballroom tasting, 5-7 p.m., will feature canapes and signature wines; cost is $25 inclusive. The hotel has a waiting list for the sold-out,6:30 p.m., limited-seating, $150 inclusive wine cellar dinner, but you can still enjoy a special wine pairing menu in Ashley’s during regular dinner hours, $75 plus tax and gratuity; the menu includes choice of appetizer (chicken liver parfait with cornichons and baguette or yellow fin tuna tartare with avocado, accompanied by a nonvintage Bell Sparkling Brut); choice of entree (seared scallops with potato gnocchi, peas and sun-dried tomatoes with a 2010 Bell Chardonnay or braised short rib with spring vegetables with a 2010 Bell Cabernet Sauvignon); and choice of dessert (poached pear with warm chocolate cake and vanilla sauce or chocolate peanut butter “kitt katt” with spiced ice cream, accompanied by a nonvintage port). For more information, reservations or to get your name added to the waiting list for the wine cellar dinner, call (501) 370-7015 or email lingold@capitalhotel.com .
Eureka Springs-area restaurants will showcase special menus and wine pairings for the annual Eureka Springs Food & Wine Weekend, Nov. 7-10. Among the highlights:
The Cottage Inn Restaurant, 450 W. Van Buren St. (U.S. 62 West) will offer wine dinners 6-8 p.m. each evening, each with a different five-course meal paired with a selection of international wines. Details and reservations: (479) 253-5282.
In addition to its regular fish and lasagna specials, DeVito’s of Eureka Springs, 5 Center St., will offer Raimondo Winery wine flights and farmers market pasta.
Wine dinners at the Garden Bistro, 119 N. Main St., 7 p.m. Nov. 7, 5 and 7:30 p.m. Nov. 8-9, will feature six tapas style courses centering on local farm products, each paired with an appropriate wine. Reservations (recommended): Call (479) 981-0667or email ozarkrose@att.net.
Chef David Gilderson of the Grand Taverne Restaurant, 37 N. Main St., will offer special three-course dinners alongside his regular menu Nov. 7-9, or guests may choose from the regular menu as well.
Find an up-to-the-minute roundup at tinyurl.com/l8tzoma or via the Facebook page, tinyurl.com/l8ncgh3.
Arkansas Rice Depot has linked up with Eatiply, a national meal-for-meal food donation project, in its fight against hunger. The way Eatiply works: Restaurants that support Eatiply donate a meal on behalf of the dining customer at no additional cost to the diner. Arkansas Rice Depot (ricedepot.org), of course, supports food pantries and school backpack programs in all 75 Arkansas counties. Visit eatiply.com for a list of the 15 Arkansas restaurants that have so far donated more than 104,000meals.
The Southern Food & Beverage Museum in New Orleans is trying to raise money for a permanent exhibit on Arkansas’ food and beverage industry “and the traditions that have influenced our indigenous tastes,” according to a news release. It’ll be part of the planned “Gallery of the South: States of Taste,” 15,000 square feet dedicated to exhibits on the food and food ways of each Southern state. So here’s your chance to pitch in: A special fundraiser 6:30-9 p.m. Nov. 21 at the Capital Hotel. Contributors who shell out $125 will snack on special pairings of Arkansas fare with Presqu’ile wines. Call (501) 661-9911 or email morris.leslie@sbcglobal.net. For more information on the museum, visit southernfood.org.
Has a restaurant opened - or closed - near you in the last week or so? Does your favorite eatery have a new menu? Is there a new chef in charge? Drop us a line. Call (501) 399-3667 or (501) 378-3513, or send a note to Restaurants, Weekend Section, Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 121 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, Ark. 72201. Send email to: eharrison@arkansasonline.com
Weekend, Pages 38 on 10/31/2013