RESTAURANT REVIEW: Ira's in downtown Little Rock has serious potential

On Little Rock's Main Street, the new man is Mittelman.

But while Ira Mittelman's Ira's Restaurant is new to downtown, he's not new to the metro area's dining scene. The chef for more than two decades previously owned Ira's Park Hill Grill in North Little Rock in the space that's now North Bar in the Lakehill Shopping Center.

Now Ira's, rubbing elbows with neighbors Bruno's and Samantha's, is the latest to join the emerging culinary corridor. For now, street parking is the way to go, though they're working on valet.

The New American restaurant, which has a bar on one side, has a sophisticated feel with a mostly neutral color palette, save for a bold red accent wall. Seating is at four-top dark wood tables in comfortable brown upholstered chairs. Track lighting spotlights artwork of drinks like vino, prosecco and a black cat martini -- then there's artwork of the big cat, Ira himself on the back wall.

Open since July, Ira's finally announced late Monday afternoon via Facebook that their weekday "Lunch is live." Though we couldn't make a midday meal in time for this review, we can say the menu of salads, sandwiches and entrees, ranging from $9 to $17, features several choices that are on the dinner menu.

We made two dinner visits to Ira's. One was at 7 p.m. on a Saturday, and we were glad we had made a reservation; most of the tables were in use, and a large party filled a good portion of the shotgun-shape dining room. On a rainy Wednesday, hardly anyone was in the restaurant when we got there about 6:30 p.m. "Do you have a reservation?" a gentleman who greeted us asked dryly, then laughed. But after we were seated by the hostess -- all the way in the very back of the empty room by the kitchen (we were tempted to ask for a different table but refrained, and it ended up being fine) -- we noticed quite a few diners come in.

Our first visit, we shared two appetizers, the Poblano Cheesecake ($10) and the Gravlax ($12). The soft cheesecake wedge of roasted peppers, chipotle and three cheese melted in our mouths, while a lively topping of mango salsa added flavor contrast and visual flair. It was perhaps our favorite part of the meal.

The picture-perfect gravlax featured a puffy, mild corn cake artfully topped with a house-cured salmon, red onion, capers, tobiko caviar, a lemon wedge and a dollop of sour cream or creme fraiche. Still, the salmon was a bit strong for our liking.

We each ordered a salad. My Main Street ($8) had mixed greens, tomato, fried black-eyed peas, kalamata olives, goat cheese crumbles and a sun-dried vinaigrette that there could have been more of; once I picked out the good stuff, I was no longer interested in the remaining dry greens. Likewise, his Southern Caesar ($10), which instead of croutons featured fried black-eyed peas, had Romaine, grated cheese, a giant cheese crisp and too little of Ira's Caesar dressing.

When I ordered the tuna ($30), I allowed our charming server to talk me into ordering the sushi-grade tuna with a rare center, when I probably would have preferred medium-rare. Then again, I'm not sure that would have improved the dish, as pretty as the stacked entree was. Overly salty on the outside, the tuna was gristly and chewy in places and was topped with an overpowering wasabi cream. The salty spinach and dissonant ginger-infused red rice below it and the crispy noodles on top of it did not help. I left most of it on the plate.

My date was not impressed with the pork chop ($23), served atop mashed potatoes and decorated with a few roasted asparagus spears. Though thick, a lot of the chop was quite fatty, and the meat itself didn't have that much flavor, even though it was topped with a mango habanero barbecue sauce and mango salsa.

Dessert ended things on a better note. We found the puckery Key lime pie ($8) with a buttery graham crust and whipped cream pleasing, even if the petite slice looked even smaller served on a larger plate. The homemade chocolate ice cream ($8) didn't sound like much, but what arrived was essentially a scrumptious, chilly, upscale s'more -- a square of rich, homemade chocolate ice cream topped with a charred marshmallow topping and surrounded by sweet graham crumbles.

Our total before tip was $123, and that's without alcohol. While we enjoyed some of our food, the relaxing atmosphere and good service, we couldn't help but think the meal wasn't that memorable.

Our second trip, I ordered a drink from Ira's inventive cocktail menu that has everything from a Bacon Old Fashioned ($9) with bourbon, bacon, maple and bitters, to the Amoxicillin ($10) with mezcal, lemon, honey, ginger and activated charcoal that comes with a disclaimer ("Activated charcoal absorbs other substances. Do not order if you have recently taken any medication"). I went with the more tame but still refreshing Flor Del Diablo ($8.50) of tequila, hibiscus, lime and ginger. Ira's also offers an interesting wine list and serves beer -- several imported selections, mostly from Belgium, as well as draft beer from local Flyway Brewery.

Ira's Asian-inspired Mushroom Spring Rolls ($9) appetizer -- two crisp rolls filled with savory shiitake mushrooms and served with a salty dipping sauce -- was a definite hit, rivaling the Poblano Cheesecake as best starter. Other appetizer choices ($9-$16) that we didn't get around to trying: oysters, Gulf shrimp, Brussels sprouts, Buffalo cauliflower and a summer tomato plate.

When we couldn't decide if we wanted a salad, our delightful server suggested that we could split one to be served on separate plates. We shared the Grilled Peach ($10), a lovely and summery salad of baby spinach, blue cheese crumbles, candied pecans and not nearly enough of a supposed peach-ginger vinaigrette.

My rib-eye ($38), described as a "Tasmanian all-natural grass-fed prime ribeye thick cut with grilled shiitake relish," was a big, beautiful cut of beef served on mashed potatoes with asparagus. But the steak was more medium than the requested medium-rare, and there was little seasoning with the predominant flavor being char.

He ordered the Cioppino ($28), a stew of shrimp, clams, crab and mild whitefish in a tomato fennel broth. He was pleased with the bounty of shellfish; he only wished there was more than one piece of buttery grilled bread to soak up the remaining sauce.

Ira's other dinner entree choices ($14-$47) include duck, salmon, shrimp and grits, stuffed chicken, meatloaf, catfish, curry, pesto, linguine with clam sauce, a filet and spaghetti with meat sauce.

Our second meal was better and slightly less expensive ($104 before tip). While surrounded by competent competitors, this new restaurant offers a change of pace and serious potential.

Welcome to the block, Ira's.

Weekend on 08/16/2018