Taco Beer Burrito opens today in time for Cinco de Mayo, next door to Blue Canoe Brewing Co. in the former Brown Sugar Bakeshop space, 419 E. Third St., Little Rock. Arkansas Online reports the taproom/Mexican restaurant will incorporate Blue Canoe's beers into the tacos and burritos, according to co-owner Ida Cowan: "It's kind of like street trucks but indoors," she said of the food selection. "Our meat is going to be chuck roast, beef and chicken, and that's slow cooked for six to eight hours in our beers." The menu, which includes gluten-free and vegetarian options, will offer three tacos, four burritos, four salsas, a yellow cheese dip and two desserts, plus four kinds of margaritas on tap. Hours will be the same as the brewery: 4-9 p.m. Wednesday-Thursday, 4-10 p.m. Friday, 1-10 p.m. Saturday and 1-8 p.m. Sunday, with eventual plans to open for lunch. Call (501) 246-5315 or visit the Blue Canoe Facebook page.
And speaking of Brown Sugar Bakeshop, after a very brief stint at the Food Truck Stop @ 801, it recently opened a pop-up location at 1701 S. University Ave., Little Rock. The food truck is part of the tentative lineup for this week's Food Truck Friday, 10:45 a.m.-1:30 p.m. where Capitol Avenue meets Main Street in downtown Little Rock, that also includes Blackhound BBQ, Bragg's Big Bites, The Clean Eatery, Katmandu Momo and Southern Salt. (Only one food truck, Southern Gourmasian, showed up last Friday to brave the heavy rains.) Keep track and up to date via the Facebook page, facebook.com/mainstreetfoodtruckfestival.
Jerky's Spicy Chicken and More, 521 Center St., Little Rock, has gone through more travails before and after it opened than any three restaurants we can think of. On April 27, a fire in their smoker forced not only the closure of that restaurant but of next-door neighbor EJ's Eats and Drinks. Jerky's owner John Walker Jr. said restaurant staff members noticed the fire, which was contained within the smoker, at about 10:30 a.m. because of a ventilation problem with the smoker, which had been in use for about 20 minutes; it set off the sprinkler systems in both establishments, both of which reopened in fairly short order.
Elsewhere downtown, the Chick-fil-A outlet in the Simmons Tower, West Capitol Avenue and Broadway, Little Rock, has closed; an April 22 Facebook page (facebook.com/cfadowntownlr/?fref=nf) posting tells patrons, "Please stay posted to hear about the opening of a new location in downtown."
KABZ-FM, 103.7, "The Buzz," will hold its 12th annual Buzz-B-Q at 11 a.m. Saturday at the Downtown Riverside RV Park, 250 S. Locust St., North Little Rock. More than 90 barbecue teams are expected to cook pork, chicken and/or ribs, vying for best barbecue in the South honors, in "Pro" and "Average Joe" divisions. As many as 40 teams will also be looking to win the 2016 BBQ Sauce competition. Top finisher in the "Pro" division in each category will take home $1,000. Sponsor is Doublebee's Convenience Stores. Tickets are $10 (buy one in advance at a Doublebee's location, get one free). Call (501) 661-1037 or visit buzzbq.com.
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A sharp-eyed colleague has spotted a Tropical Smoothie Cafe under construction at 1510 Rebsamen Park Road, Little Rock, next to the former site of Cordell's and formerly the site of a coin-operated car wash.
Andres' Coffee Shop -- Honduran Style, which started out on John F. Kennedy Boulevard in North Little Rock's Park Hill before moving to McCain Mall, 3929 McCain Blvd., closed "temporarily" in January and announced the same on its Facebook page, but there are no visible signs that it will actually reopen, aside from the phone number, (501) 758-6317, sending calls to a voice-mail box instead of returning a disconnect notice. A mall spokesman confirms that, "Yes, the coffee shop is closed," and "the space is not yet occupied by a new tenant."
Preserve Arkansas and Stone's Throw Brewing, East Ninth and Rock streets, Little Rock, are teaming up, 4-9 p.m. Tuesdays in May, for "Hops and Hope," marking May as Arkansas Heritage Month and National Preservation Month. The brewery will donate $1 per pint to help historic preservation efforts around the state and Preserve Arkansas will put on a program. Call (501) 908-1816 or (501) 372-4747.
The Hot Springs Sentinel-Record reported last week the demolition of the former Purity Bar-B-Que Restaurant and Lounge, 1000 Malvern Ave., Hot Springs. The landmark establishment, which Bill Beck, the former union president of General Cable Co., opened in 1973 after he left the company, operated as a bar for 12 years before Beck decided to go into the barbecue business in 1985. Beck died July 13, 2007; his daughters, Rhonda Daniels, Michelle Sandage and Ashley Thompson, kept the business going until closing in 2012. Mike Scott, the Spa City's chief building official, said the roof structure had begun to collapse.
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Here's our short list of Mother's Day meals and specials, not including all the places that are normally open for Sunday brunch and expecting mothers by the scores and hundreds. (And if you don't make a reservation, you'll be honoring mom through some fast-food drive-in window.)
• At the Capital Hotel, 111 W. Markham St., Little Rock, a Mother-Daughter Tea in One Eleven at the Capital, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Saturday, featuring classic tea service with "hand-crafted finger sandwiches and scones with Devonshire cream" and a selection of gourmet teas. Cost is $35 plus tax, $45 if you add a glass of champagne. And on Sunday, the hotel will offer a choice, 11 a.m.-3 p.m., of a special Mother's Day Buffet on the Mezzanine ($55 plus tax and gratuity, $25 for "youths" 6-11, free for kids 5 and younger) and Mother's Day in One Eleven, a more formal three-course, sit-down menu designed by Chef Joel Antunes ($65 plus tax and gratuity, $25 for youngsters 6-11, free for kids 5 and younger. For reservations, call (501) 370-7068 or visit capitalhotel.com/site/index.php?id=51, where you can also find menus and additional details.
• The Wyndham Riverfront Hotel, 2 Riverfront Plaza, North Little Rock, will serve brunch, 10:30 a.m.-2 p.m., with a carving station (steamship round of beef, au jus or with horseradish cream sauce), entrees (Chicken Roulade, bacon-wrapped pork loin, citrus tilapia), waffle and omelet station, soups, salads, vegetables and fruit, for $24.95, $21.95 for senior citizens, $13.95 children 5-11 and free for kids younger than 5 with a paying adult. Call (501) 907-4826 for reservations.
• Mimi's Cafe, 11725 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, will offer, starting at 11 a.m. Sunday, a three-course, prix-fixe ($16.99) menu, plus a free-for-moms French Herb Heart-Shaped Palmier pastry in every bread basket and a take-home muffin square. And on May 29, which is Mother's Day (Fete des Meres) in France, they'll offer moms, regardless of nationality, a free entree with purchase of an entree and two beverages. The phone number is (501) 221-3883.
• The Empress of Little Rock Bed and Breakfast, 2120 Louisiana St., in Little Rock's historic Quapaw Quarter, will host a Downton Abbey-style Grand High Tea at 3 p.m. Sunday, with tea sandwiches and sweetmeats with cloth napkins, silver service and even finger bowls. Cost is $45 plus tax. Call (501) 374-7966 or visit theempress.com.
• The Castle on Stagecoach, 6601 Stagecoach Road, Little Rock, will move up its May Champagne Sunday Brunch Experience, usually every third Sunday, to Mother's Day, with 10 a.m.-1:30 p.m. seating times. Cost for the all-you-can-eat buffet (check out the full menu on the Facebook page) is $75 (plus 18 percent tax and gratuity, including champagne and mimosas if you're 21 or older), half price for kids 13-17 and free for kids 12 and younger. Six horse-drawn carriages will take brunchers on a tour of the more than 100-acre estate, and the event marks the debut of "our Rare White Peacocks." Reservations are required; call (501) 960-0658.
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 05/05/2016