RESTAURANT REVIEW: Trusty Trio's still top-notch

There are a few restaurants in this area that have been so dependable and so consistent over a period of years that they tend to fall off our radar, which, given the total number of places serving food around here, is a tribute and a tragedy.

Trio's, in Pavilion in the Park, where the Heights turns into northwest Little Rock, is one of those places. Owner-chef Capi Peck and partner Brent Peterson even note it in their official website "bio," describing it as "an award-winning restaurant known for innovation and consistency."

With the restaurant now turning 30, Peck and Peterson recently gave the place a face-lift, brightening it up through the use of lighter colors and some spiffy artwork on the walls, brighter colors on accent points (the rear wall and the bar are now painted a vivid, bright blue) and wide comfortable chairs, four per composite-topped table, three upholstered with a Latin American-like pattern and one in orange vinyl. There is also plenty of fair-weather patio seating.

There's an easy-listening soundtrack at dinner. Be aware that dinnertime closing time is a fluid figure depending on the flow of business; on a recent early weekday, we just slipped in under the wire at 8:40 p.m. and there was some discussion over whether the kitchen could handle that late a table. (It could. And by the way, if you are the last table of the evening, tip your waiter a little extra; there's a pretty good chance he or she could have gone home early if you hadn't showed up.)

There's also a Latin American influence on the lunch, brunch and dinner menus. Peck has spent a lot of time south of the border over the past few years, originally for her unfortunately short-lived second restaurant, Capi's, but many of those recipes have found homes at Trio's.

For example, the Huevos Motulenos ($11) for Sunday brunch, a dish Peck found in the Yucatan Peninsula -- two fried eggs over corn tortillas topped with black beans, tomatillo salsa, green peas (!), feta cheese and red salsa fresca, framed by fried bananas. This was a dish we approached gingerly, but after a couple of test bites it disappeared in a hurry. The peas, rather than conflicting with the black beans, gave the dish an extra dimension in flavor and texture.

The brunch menu veers from southern North America to the deep South with the excellent, off-menu special Chicken & Biscuits ($9), three chunks of chicken breast fried in a zippy batter, served with red-eye gravy over a somewhat fluffy split biscuit. It comes with a side of fruit (a melon medley with a few token grapes).

Trio's Queso Fundido ($8) is delicious if a bit rich, and slightly unusual -- it's basically a cheese dip rather than a skillet dish (no discernible flour), just melted Jack and goat cheeses with a roasted poblano chile and honey swirl, served in a small iron dish with a metal bowl of fresh corn chips rather than tortillas.

If you're looking for something a little more conventional, go for Trio's semi-legendary Best Hot Crab Dip! ($8.25, serves two), Dungeness crab meat, artichoke hearts, spinach and lots of cheese, served with crostini. We didn't try it this go-round, but we've always also admired the Spicy Spinach Dip & Pita Chips ($6.75).

Trio's menu changes regularly -- actually, pretty much monthly, with a range of come-and-go specials. We somehow missed, to our great regret, the recently departed San Francisco Cioppino ($26), but we were glad to discover the Arkansas Lamb Ragout ($27), "Arkansas grass-fed lamb raised by our friends at India Blue Farm ... slow braised in our rich cabernet demi-glace with espresso, vanilla bean, shiitake mushrooms and herbs served over mascarpone polenta" -- not, as we thought when it got to the table, mashed potatoes, but of a similar consistency -- "with grilled asparagus and baby carrots." The lamb was pulled rather than sliced, very much like beef stew; a bit fatty -- well, it is lamb -- but richly delicious, and we couldn't get enough of it, polishing it off to the last shred, even though we had to leave some of the polenta and the grilled vegetables behind.

The menu also has four dinner mainstays you'll always find, and we were glad to renew our acquaintance with the Shrimp Enchiladas ($15.50), large, plump, firm shrimp with Monterey Jack cheese in a flour tortilla topped with jalapeno-spiked cream and chipotle pepper sauces, with sides of black beans and jalapeno rice. If you're craving enchiladas and are allergic to, or just don't like, shrimp, go for the pair of Chicken Enchiladas ($14.50), also with Monterey Jack cheese but in this case with mild green chiles, topped with a tangy tomatillo-cilantro sauce.

The two other mainstays: Voodoo Pasta ($17.50), which has been a menu favorite for three decades, and a more recent arrival, Thai Style Shrimp Curry ($17). And Peck always has a fine spread when it comes to desserts.

Service ranged from good to very good over lunch and brunch visits; as the last table in the joint for dinner, we pretty much got our waitress' full attention.

Weekend on 03/03/2016