Return visit sweet at Chuy's

When Chuy's first arrived in central Arkansas at its west Little Rock location at 16001 Chenal Parkway two years ago, we were wowed.

This time around on an initial visit to the new North Little Rock locale, 5105 Warden Road, not so much. But a second visit to the Austin, Texas-based Tex-Mex chain restored our faith.

Shortly after the North Little Rock Chuy's March grand opening, the place was packed and its interior looked familiarly fun and festive -- with punches of beachy pale pink paint on the walls, splashes of electric turquoise on the smaller dip containers, patterned floor tiles, bright artwork on the walls, light-adorned artificial palm trees and glistening chandeliers.

And there were some service-related kinks that needed ironing out. That first visit, made about a week and a half after the restaurant opened for business, was bumpy.

We arrived for an early dinner, slipping in a little ahead of the crush of the evening crowd. Our waiter was cordial and friendly (chatting our son up about their mutual interest in gaming), if not as up to speed on the menu as we would have liked. He told us a frozen house margarita was $9 but we later discovered it listed on the drink menu for $6.25 ; it actually cost $4.50 since we'd arrived during happy hour (4 to 7 p.m. Mondays through Fridays).

Other hiccups included delivering my husband's Chile Rellenos filled with ground sirloin and ranchero sauce ($9.99) instead of the one he'd ordered -- Shrimp & Cheese with Deluxe Tomatillo sauce ($10.39).

Once corrected, my husband's Chile Rellenos, fresh fire-roasted Anaheim peppers battered, fried and drizzled with sour cream, were tasty and also came with a choice of Mexican rice or green chile rice and refried or charro beans. For his rice, he chose Mexican.

We'd both selected charro beans but instead were both served refried ones instead. They were good, just not what we'd ordered.

My dish, the Chicka-Chicka Boom-Boom ($10.79), which I remembered as being outstanding at an earlier visit to the Little Rock location, didn't measure up to my memories of it. The enchiladas, filled with roasted chicken and cheese enchiladas topped with Boom-Boom sauce (a popular condiment at Chuy's that features roasted New Mexican green chiles, tomatillo, green onions, cilantro and lime juice), were unremarkable this time around. However, the zesty flavor of the side dishes of refried beans and green chile rice had just the right amount of kick.

Our 10-year-old son, who ordered the pair of roasted chicken enchiladas ($9.79) with Mexican rice and refried beans and had leftovers at home the next day, discovered a medium-size chicken bone in his one of his enchiladas. One of my husband's relleno chili peppers had a tough section to it.

As for dessert, we gave a thumbs-up to a flan ($5.04) we shared. It was firm and flavorful with the perfect amount of sweetness.

My husband and I had a much better experience on our second visit. Our server, also fairly young, was friendly, personable, knowledgeable and efficient.

I ordered the Elvis Green Chile Fried Chicken ($9.99). The tender chicken breast, breaded with Lay's Potato Chips, deep-fried and smothered in Green Chile Sauce and cheddar cheese, is served with green chile rice and refried beans. But since I'd earlier had those beans (in error), I substituted them with the slightly spicy, smoke-flavored and soup-like charro beans, which were served in a small bowl and very flavorful. When my meal arrived, Elvis was in the building! The size of the chicken breast was king-size with a superstar flavor to match.

Meanwhile, my husband chose the Baja Tacos ($9.99), freshly made flour tortillas with lightly battered fried fish (shrimp is another option). He chose the fish and found his dish, accented with cilantro, red cabbage and creamy jalapeno dressing, offering an abundance of zest.

Other offerings at Chuy's include oversize "Big as Yo Face" Burritos ($8.59-$10.69), a variety of salads ranging from Taco ($9.29) to Mexi-Cobb ($9.79), tortilla soup ($4.59 for small and $7.29 for large) and several house specialties such as the Chuychanga ($10.39).

There's also a wide array of 10 signature homemade sauces available, ranging from mild to hot and hotter.

Kids' choices include a pair of grilled cheese tortillas, a cheeseburger, a mini bean and cheese burrito, chicken nuggets, mini crispy tacos with beef and cheese, and a cheese enchilada.

In additional to a variety of domestic and premium beers, wine, and mixed drinks, Chuy's also offers weekday Happy Hour specials including the earlier mentioned house margarita, as well as specials on its House Texas Martinis for $8.25, a variety of domestic beers for $3 each and a "fully loaded nacho car" featuring free queso, taco meat, chips and salsa.

For dessert on our second visit to the North Little Rock locale, we chose to share an order of the Tres Leches ($7.03), a generous portion of cake soaked in three types of milk -- evaporated, condensed, and heavy cream -- (so generous we had to box half of it up to tote home for later) of sweet deliciousness.

Our experience there the second time around restored much of the initial fondness we'd initially felt for the popular Tex-Mex chain and left us once again sweet on Chuy's.

Weekend on 04/16/2015