TRANSITIONS

Matthew Bell and his South on Main kitchen team have received a prestigious and coveted invitation to prepare and serve a meal, 7 p.m. Aug. 17 at the James Beard House, 167 W. 12th St. (between Sixth and Seventh avenues), in New York's Greenwich Village.

The menu for the "Southern Charm" dinner: hors d'oeuvres -- pork rinds, cornbread bites with pickle butter and okra, smoked trout belly on skillet bread and truffled beet carpaccio; entrees -- (for the table) biscuits with sorghum butter, jam and boiled peanuts; fried green tomatoes with truffled crab salad; beans and franks (boudin blanc with three-bean salad); Low Country boil (mussels, sea bass and soft-shell crab with tomato, fennel and grilled Leidenheimer Baking Co. French bread); grilled quail with creamed greens, roasted peanuts and grape jelly; pork maque choux (smoked pork loin with field peas, corn mash, and tomatoes); and for dessert, Bananas Foster pudding with South on Main wafers. Oh, and "a selection of fine wines." Cost, if you're looking to attend: $170 ($130 if you're a Beard House member). Call (212) 627-2308 or visit jamesbeard.org/events/southern-charm.

The restaurant is shouldering the cost of the food and beverages (except the wines, which will be donated) and Bell et al. will have to cover their own transportation and accommodations while in New York. So Rock City Eats is sponsoring a June 28 fundraiser dinner from 6 to 9 p.m. at South on Main, 1304 Main St., Little Rock. The meal, served family-meal-style, will feature smoked pork, chicken and salmon, a wide variety of sides, beer and wine. Tickets are $100, which include admission to a Beard House Dinner watch party at South on Main. Find a ticket link at RockCityEats.com.

Coming to the east side of the Market Place Shopping Center, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock:

• There's a Starbucks outlet pending at the shopping center's north end cap, visible from Rodney Parham. It'll be the second Starbucks along that stretch of road -- there's one farther east at 9401 N. Rodney Parham.

• Manager Zahil Hamirani says Flavor of India will be opening in the next couple of weeks toward the southern end of the strip, and that the menu, while featuring Indian dishes you'll recognize, will focus on food from South India, an area of cuisine that hasn't previously been available here. He notes that many of the dishes are vegan and gluten-free. Hours will be 11 a.m.-10 p.m. daily; the phone number will be (501) 224-4567. Two previous Indian restaurants, Kebab & Curry and Amruth, though in a different storefront (the one next door to Lilly's Dim Sum), have gone under in that strip center, which is literally within a stone's throw of the fairly popular Taj Mahal, 1520 Market St. There's also an Indian grocery store, Indian Grocers, in the mirror strip across the street.

Ristorante Capeo, 425 Main St. North Little Rock, started opening for lunch and serving Neapolitan-style pizza on Monday. The lunch menu also includes about a dozen reasonably priced pasta options. Lunch hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays, and will continue to be 5-10 p.m. Monday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 376-3463; check out the restaurant's Facebook page to see the lunch menu. The website, which as of deadline didn't yet list lunch details, is capeo.us.

Ira's Park Hill Grill, 3812 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, is now open for Sunday brunch, serving a range of breakfast-y options (quiche, eggs Benedict, artisan French toast, seasonal omelets) and lunch entrees (shrimp and grits, fettuccine Alfredo, Chicken Aurora, Curry Tofu) and one transitional dish (steak and eggs). Hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m.; otherwise the restaurant is open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Tuesday-Friday and 5-9 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday. You can find the brunch menu at the restaurant's Facebook page. The phone number is (501) 771-6900; the website is irasparkhillgrill.com.

Al Seraj Mediterranean Restaurant opened Saturday at 11400 N. Rodney Parham Road, Little Rock (next to Bedford Camera), formerly the home of Great Wraps Grill franchise outlet, which moved to the food court at Park Plaza, 6000 W. Markham St, Little Rock. The menu includes kebabs, hummus, baba ghanouj, falafel, gyros and baklava, among other Mediterranean and Middle Eastern favorites. Hours are 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Sunday; the phone number (501) 954-2026.

And speaking of Mediterranean restaurants, our report last week that Mediterranean restaurant chain Zoes Kitchen had bought land to build an outlet on Chenal Parkway, across from the Target store near the intersection with Markham Street, noted that the outlet would be the chain's first in Arkansas. That prompted a call from a sharp-eyed reader, directing our attention to Zoe's Eatery & Art, 2330 Malvern Ave. (corner of Malvern and Golf Links), Hot Springs, which, according to the website, zoeseatery.com, "is a fun little eatery that serves 'Snappy Little Lunches.'" No, it's not part of the chain. Yes, part of the menu at this Zoe's (note the different punctuation) is Greek and Mediterranean, but it also offers traditional American and French dishes, plus "coffee, comfort and cupcakes, comfort food with a healthy twist." Hours are 9 a.m.-4 p.m. Tuesday-Friday, 11 a.m.-3 p.m. Saturday. The phone number is (501) 321-2921.

And still speaking of Mediterranean restaurants, or sort of, Bill's Country Kitchen, which in December replaced Anatolia Mediterranean Restaurant in the Colonnade Shopping Center, 315 N. Bowman Road, Little Rock, has closed and the phone number, (501) 219-9090, has been disconnected.

Satchemo's Bar & Grill, 1900 W. Third St., Little Rock, will close its doors Saturday, according to a posting on its Facebook page. The phone number, at least for the next couple of days, is (501) 725-4657.

Rock Town Distillery, to mark its fifth anniversary, will release at 11 a.m. Saturday the limited edition Rock Town Fifth Anniversary Arkansas Straight Bourbon Whiskey, available for purchase only at the distillery, 1216 E. Sixth Street, Little Rock. Food trucks will be vending outside from 11 a.m.-6 p.m. There will also be free distillery tours at 1:30, 3 and 4:30 p.m., plus 2 and 4 p.m. tastings (four whiskeys paired with local cheese and meats, $10). Space is limited; call (501) 907-5244 for reservations. For more information, visit rocktowndistillery.com.

The Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas' Preservation Libations Master Mix-Off bartending competition will take place 5:30-7:30 p.m. June 25 at the Albert Pike Memorial Temple, 712 Scott St., Little Rock. The fundraiser celebrates Prohibition-era mixology; eight central Arkansas bartenders -- Sarah Harrington, Heights Taco & Tamale; Merrick Fagan, Trio's; Spencer Mahan, So; Michael Peace, 109 & Co.; Neil Pedrick, Ciao Baci; Ben Seay, Big Orange; Kevis Smith, Cache; and Luiggi Uzcategui, Afterthought Bistro & Bar -- will mix a Prohibition-era drink, hoping to win the "People's Choice" Award; judges will assess a second round of updated, modern versions. Tickets are $40, $5 off for Preserve Arkansas members and Bartenders Guild members. Visit showclix.com/event/PLMIX-OFF.

And tournament fishing organization FLW will hold a 30-team Bass & BBQ competition as part of the FLW Expo, in conjunction with the annual Forrest Wood Cup, Aug. 22-23 outside the Hot Springs Convention Center and Bank of the Ozarks Arena in Hot Springs. Fans making a $5 donation get five tickets to redeem for pulled pork and rib samples; all ticket buyers can vote toward the Fishermen's Favorite Award; total competition payout will be $10,000. The competition is sanctioned by the Kansas City Barbecue Society. There's no deadline to sign up, but once the 30 team slots are filled, they'll stop taking entries. KCBS-sanctioned teams should email FLW's Scott Ellison -- scott.ellison@flwfishing.com. Visit FLWFishing.com or the Facebook page, Facebook.com/FLWFishing.

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 06/18/2015

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