More construction delays, including a nagging issue with the floor, are holding up the grand opening of the new location of Rocket Twenty-One at the Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, 2 Riverfront Drive (Maple Street and Washington Avenue), North Little Rock. Management says they’re likely to start a soft opening Friday, the most recent target date to get the place up and running, on the old floor, but the full opening has not yet been established. Also, they’re still doing some rewiring, which has held up installation of a working telephone and a number thereof. We’ll keep you posted.
Solfoodcatering and the Market Street Cinema, 1521 Merrill Drive, Little Rock, are teaming up for an unusual Valentine’s Day event: “D.A.M. Night Out” (the abbreviation is for “Dinner & A Movie”). The 7 p.m. Feb. 14 event will include a screening of the romantic 2001 movie Tortilla Soup (Hector Elizondo plays a Mexican-American master chef and father to three daughters who has lost his taste for food but not for life, according to the Internet Movie Database) and a seven-course “Veggietarian Dining Experience” inspired by the film, plus a raw fresh juice cocktail called, appropriately enough, Love Potion No. 9, courtesy of Garden Press.
The menu will include Ensalada de Nopalitos (nopales salad), Sopa de Tortilla (tortilla soup), Capirotada (Mexican bread pudding), Panchuos (Yucatan stuffed tortillas), Rellenos Tomates Cereza (stuffed cherry tomatoes), Platanos Fritos (fried plantains) and Puerco Espin Galletas (porcupine cookies). You must make reservations, and the caterer says there must be at least 30 bookings to make it happen. Tickets: $33 per person, $53 per couple, via tinyurl.com/loaomkj. Solfoodcatering, by the way, serves up veggie meals in various places around town on a regular basis, including Thursdays at the Regions Bank downtown. Visit solfoodcatering.com or the caterer’s Facebook page.
Speaking of downtown, Starbucks outlet has opened in the Marriott Little Rock, West Markham and Louisiana streets.
And the Boulevard Bread branch in the River Market’s Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., is changing its hours, effective Saturday: 7 a.m.-7 p.m. Monday-Thursday, and 7 a.m.-8 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Sunday. The phone number is (501) 374-1232.
And on National Pancake Day, March 4 (aka Shrove Tuesday), IHOP restaurants around the country will serve up free short stacks of buttermilk pancakes, 7 a.m.-10 p.m., in exchange for voluntary contributions to Children’s Miracle Network hospitals (including Arkansas Children’s Hospital in Little Rock), Shriners Hospitals for Children and local nonprofits. And starting Saturday, the 1,500 or so restaurants in the chain will sell “Miracle Balloons” for $1 and $5 each. Visit ihoppancakeday.com.
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 01/30/2014