Thai cuisine south of the Arkansas River has been pretty thin upon the ground until quite recently. Used to be you'd have to journey north of Sherwood (Chang's Thai & Asian) and to Jacksonville (Thai Taste) to get full-service Thai food. Then the kBird food truck opened in a brick-and-mortar space in Little Rock's Hillcrest a few months ago. And now Zangna Thai Cuisine has opened in the Shackleford Crossings Shopping Center, 2604 S. Shackleford Road, Little Rock.
It's a family owned business, not a chain. Owner Tammy Kanjanakaset, who runs the establishment with her sister, recently moved to Little Rock from California, and promises that the dishes are authentic and made with fresh ingredients. The menu offers "standards" -- chicken satay, lahb salad, Tom Yum Goong soup, Pahd Thai, etc. -- plus some specialties (including Pahd Kra Pow BBQ Duck, "Maple Leaf Farms-raised duck with onions, bell peppers, sweet basil, asparagus and homemade chili paste"; and Pahd Kra Pow Seafood, in a red curry sauce with basil and fried bell peppers). Hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 4:30-9 p.m. daily. The phone number is (501) 227-7785; check out the full menu at tinyurl.com/prf9vou.
Arkansas Business has reported that Lee Richardson, who has been more or less at liberty since leaving the Capital Hotel in June 2012, "is taking his talents (in some form) to Cache" (pronounced "cash," not "cash-AY"), 425 President Clinton Ave. at River Market Avenue, Little Rock.
Rush Harding III, CEO of Crews & Associates, and his son, Payne, own the operation (as part of an overarching company called RH Cuisine), which has reportedly been a financial success but for which the critical reaction has been mixed (a review in this paper in January 2014 described it as, "without cavil or question, Little Rock's classiest place to dine," but noted that "at that [high] price point, and considering the high level of competition for folks' restaurant dollars, good food and decent service just isn't enough. We really wanted and needed Cache to blow us away. It didn't.")
The restaurant's first executive chef, Matthew Cooper, left the restaurant at the end of 2014, leaving Payne Harding, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America with a somewhat limited restaurant resume (an externship at Le Cirque and apprenticeships at two other New York restaurants, and a brief stint as one of a troika of chefs at Little Rock's 1620 Savoy), in exclusive charge of the kitchen.
Richardson did not respond to an email query for comment by Tuesday morning's deadline; Jacquelyn Compton Pittman, chief operations officer at RH Cuisine, sent us this statement Tuesday morning: "Chef Payne Harding and Chef Lee Richardson have worked together at Cache on a recent collaboration dinner that was donated by Linda and Rush Harding as a live auction item for the Easter Seals Arkansan of the Year event that took place May 1, 2015. Future collaborations are in the works."
Cache's phone number is (501) 850-0265; the website: cachelittlerock.com.
The long-awaited brunch at Kemuri -- Sushi, Seafood, Robata, 2601 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, debuts Sunday. The menu, which you can see on the website (kemurirestaurant.com), features Asian-fusion takes on popular brunch items, including Green Tea Pancakes with fresh berries and ginger honey Chantilly cream, eggs Benedict (poached egg and Yuzu wasabi hollandaise atop thick-cut Petit Jean bacon, smoked salmon or soft-shell crab) and "eggs done your way" (with Kurobuta sausage, sweet potato hash and miso butter toast). The phone number is (501) 660-4100.
And speaking of brunch, brother-sister duo Lacy Galligan and Ray Pynes II have bought the rights to a Little Rock-area franchise for Another Broken Egg Cafe, a Destin, Fla.-based breakfast, brunch and lunch chain/franchise operation, and are aggressively scouting Midtown and west Little Rock locations with an eye toward opening the first of two locations in spring/summer 2016. A second location is set to follow by the end of 2016. Galligan and Pynes currently operate franchise outlets in Shreveport, where they live with their families, and Orange Beach, Ala. The menu (anotherbrokenegg.com) includes biscuit beignets; blackberry grits; fried green tomatoes with a jumbo lump crab cake; Baked Brie Delight; buttermilk and sweet potato pancakes; cinnamon-roll and thick-sliced Hawaiian French toast; fancy omelets and skillet scrambles; signature Benedicts; burgers and sandwiches; and a selection of "Specialty Brunches." An egg-white "Skinny Omelette," "Simply Salmon" and a "Gluten Friendly Jumbo Pancake" are on "The Healthy Side." It will also have a full-service bar.
Skinny J's opened on schedule July 30 at 314 Main St., in North Little Rock's Argenta Arts District, a third branch for a mini-chain with restaurants in Jonesboro and Paragould. The kitchen was actively putting out food on a soft-opening basis in time for the July 27 concert by the Eagles at nearby Verizon Arena. Kitchen hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Thursday-Saturday; the bar stays open until 11 p.m. Saturdays to accommodate 8-11 p.m. music performances. Check out the menu at skinnyjs.com. The phone (501) 916-2645; check out the Facebook page, facebook.com/SkinnyJsArgenta.
DownHome Restaurant & Catering has opened at 9219 Stagecoach Road, Little Rock, the former home of Grampa's Catfish House (which moved to 5311 Arkansas 5, Bryant). In addition to a regular menu of lunch platters, burgers, sandwiches and served-any-time breakfasts, daily lunch specials include chicken spaghetti on Monday, hamburger steak on Tuesday, fried chicken on Wednesday, chicken fried steak on Thursday and catfish on Friday. Hours are 6 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Thursday and Saturday, 6 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday. The restaurant phone number is (501) 821-3344; visit downhomecatering.net.
The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation -- Arkansas chapter will hold its "Taste of the Finest" fundraiser, 6-9:30 p.m. Aug. 20 at the Metroplex, 10800 Colonel Glenn Road, Little Rock. Participating food providers include All Aboard, BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse, Cache, Crowne Plaza's Cafe 201, Ciao Baci, Copeland's, Cotham's (in Scott), Flying Saucer, Loblolly Creamery, RH Cuisine, RSVP Catering, Santo Coyote, Southern Gourmasian and Star of India; craft breweries Lost Forty and Stone's Throw are providing beer. The event will also feature a celebration of the 2015 Class of 30 Finest Young Professionals, a silent auction and a concert by Tragickly White. Tickets are $75; proceeds go to the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's research program and patient services. Call (501) 371-0233 or visit arkansas.cff.org/tasteofthefinest.
And Sept. 12 is the target opening date for dinner at Little Rock's first Del Frisco's Grille in the Promenade at Chenal, 17000 block of Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, with Sunday brunch debuting the next day and lunch debuting the day after that. To that end, the restaurant is hiring up to 120 servers, bartenders, food runners, host/hostesses, bussers, dishwashers, butcher and line, prep and broiler cooks. The restaurant group promises good compensation packages and benefits. Apply online at jobs.dfrg.com or stop by the hiring office at 17711 Chenal Parkway, Suite C121, Little Rock, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday through Friday, 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. Saturday. Regional Manager Arthur Mooradian says the hours will be 11 a.m-10 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11-11 Friday-Saturday; the bar stays open an hour later. Del Frisco's Grille, you will remember, is the second-level, "upscale casual" brand of the Southlake, Texas-based Del Frisco's Restaurant Group; its senior cousin is Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steak House. Check out the menu and other details at delfriscosgrille.com.
Emily Van Zandt contributed to this column.
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, P.O. Box 2221, Little Rock, Ark. 72203. Send email to:
eharrison@arkansasonline.com
Weekend on 08/06/2015