MarketPlace Grill a bright spark

We can't think of a better place to be this frosty fall than near a roaring fireplace.

Or skillet of flambe cheese dip.

The latter -- the Grilled Queso and Chips, featuring "Flaming Yucatan Peninsula Cheese Dip" and tortilla chips ($7.99) -- is a specialty starter at MarketPlace Grill. The Arkansas mini-chain, with outlets in Conway, Fayetteville and Springdale, recently opened a new west Little Rock location in the former Johnny Carino's spot. (If they changed much in the main dining room with an open kitchen, we didn't notice).

The plush cheese dip, plated with a pool of salsa in the center and sprinkled with an unexpected pop of nutmeg (and other spices a worker on the phone wouldn't divulge), would have been pleasing, though maybe not as cool -- well, as warm -- without the pyrotechnics.

MarketPlace states its mission on its website: "We are committed to preparing your meals with the freshest ingredients and serving them to you by professional and well-equipped staff." And while it has a generic chain look and safe feel, MarketPlace has a professional staff and a way of making common American fare a bit special.

Whatever you're in the mood for -- salads, pizza, burgers, pasta, chicken, steaks, seafood, sides, desserts, selections marked "skinny" -- MarketPlace probably has it on its busy menu, and will serve it in plentiful portions and at fairly reasonable prices (dinner, $7.99 for BBQ Chicken Pizza to $24.99 for an 8-ounce filet; lunch, $6.49 for a Caesar's Chicken Salad to $12.99 for three Cilantro Lime Shrimp Tacos).

And if you can't decide what you're in the mood for, the restaurant has an answer for that too: MarketPlace Combinations.

Choose carefully, however, or you'll end up with an incompatible combination ($15.99 for two entrees, $17.99 for three, served with two sides) of glorified mac and cheese, Asian shrimp, creamed spinach and green beans, as I did for my first MarketPlace meal.

Yes, I actually ordered the All American Pasta (pasta spirals with cheese and bacon) and the spicy, saucy Boom Boom Shrimp (MarketPlace's answer to Bonefish Grill's Bang Bang Shrimp) with sides of creamy Parmesan Spinach and bacon-y Sweet Green Beans. While all of the items were tasty and attractively presented, they didn't go together. My fault, not theirs.

Meanwhile my dining companion kept things simple, ordering a Cajun Ribeye ($24.99), a robust 12-ounce steak coated in zippy seasoning and further accented with Cajun butter. Steaks are served with a dinner salad (decent mix of greens, cheese, cucumbers, croutons, tomato, red onion and plenty of bacon), a baked potato and a plate of hot, buttery bread.

Figuring I had already eaten an abnormal fusion of food, a dessert named Chocolate Mess (!) couldn't hurt, right? We split the ice cream dessert ($8.29; mini version available for $6.29), rightly described as "The Biggest & Messiest Chocolate Sundae You Have Ever Eaten." Not only was there plenty of chocolate inside the glass with vanilla ice cream and whipped cream and nuts, it cascaded down the outside of the glass, forming a sweet swamp on its saucer.

We returned for lunch, where the abbreviated menu features smaller portions (and, in some cases, less expensive versions) of similar entrees.

While no starter could probably top MarketPlace's cheese dip, its Jalapeno Cheese Fritters ($5.99) -- fun, fiery fried balls of diced jalapenos and cheddar and Monterey Jack cheeses, served with a creamy herb dipping sauce -- were a close second.

The Ciabatta Club ($10.49 with one side item) was a meaty deck of ham, turkey, bacon with cheddar and Jack cheese, tomato, lettuce and honey mustard, but it seemed pricey for a basic cold sandwich. What was not basic: the side helping of creamy Corn and Garlic Cheddar Cheese Grits topped with pickled jalapeno slices. It was a nice change from regular fries.

My lunch date went with the dinner-size pepperoni pizza ($8.49, $1 more than the lunch size), and plenty of the generously topped, crackery thin-crusted, wood-fired pizza went home in a box. The cherry-flavored Coke he ordered, thinking it was something special when the waiter (who was nice, but nervous, training on his first day) mentioned it, was just a cherry-flavored Coke that cost $3.29.

Beyond soda, the restaurant serves flavored iced teas and lemonade, as well as beer and wine.

Weekend on 11/27/2014