RESTAURANT REVIEW: Terrace in Little Rock still has it after all these years

I remember a meal I had at the Terrace about 25 years ago, right after I'd returned to Arkansas after a 14-month stint in Phoenix, a period in my life when -- thanks to $39 America West Airline fares -- I spent an awful lot of weekends knocking around Los Angeles with some foodie friends.

What I remember about the Terrace is that a comparable dining experience would cost twice as much in Los Angeles or Phoenix. I remember an oddly specific instance when I told those L.A.-based foodie friends that Laconda Veneta -- a West Hollywood Italian place that has been around for 30 years and might have been my favorite L.A. restaurant (definitely worth a visit if you find yourself between the Beverly Hills Four Seasons and Cedars-Sinai Hospital) -- had absolutely nothing on the Terrace.

Not because the cuisines were so similar -- although Laconda Veneta, at least when I used to go there, did tend to slip into eastern Mediterranean aromas and spices -- but because of the upscale but comfortable atmosphere and the delicacy of the dishes. The Terrace was a coastal cultural center-league restaurant at lower prices. And it anticipated a number of similarly positioned spots, including Brave New Restaurant and the late great Spaule.

So you might think I've been a Terrace regular all these years. (It seems like most people who even occasionally write about dining out in this city are. Which is one of the reasons I'm coming off the bench to review it.)

But that's not how things work -- at least not with us. Turns out there are a great many restaurants out there and only so many occasions, and once the Terrace moved to what is pretty far west Little Rock (we venture beyond University Avenue, but only with a purpose) it slipped out of our rotation. Which we regret, because the food and service has never disappointed, and my wife, Karen, remembers the days in the '80s when half the staff of the Arkansas Gazette would pile into the former Breckenridge Village location for bring-your-own-wine, all-you-could-eat (for less than $10) "Greek-a-ramas."

I can only imagine what sort of bacchanalian exploits occurred. You have to keep an eye on those copy editors.

Anyway, the Terrace has been around since 1982, and it has gone through a few locations and incarnations since Jerry Barakat, along with his then wife Terry, first opened its doors. Barakat, a Palestinian from Jerusalem, opted to present the restaurant as "Greek" at least in part because he felt a Palestinian restaurant mightn't be well-received in a country where so many of us are geographically impaired. U.S. relations with Iran were strained at the time, and some of us have difficulty distinguishing one Middle Easterner from another. Besides, tabbouleh, baba ganoush, gyros, falafels and hummus were common dishes to the area -- and at the time Greek to most Arkansans.

And the Terrace flourished, in no small part thanks to conviviality of the Barakats.

Time moves on, Jerry and Terry divorce, the Terrace becomes the Terrace on the Green, then becomes the Terrace Mediterranean Kitchen. Eventually it settles into the northeast corner of the Cypress Plaza office building located where Rodney Parham meets Green Mountain Drive and Hinson Road, which to those familiar with the eccentricities of Little Rock planning might be more conveniently described as the intersection of Rodney Parham and Rodney Parham. It's not hard to find if you know where it is.

It has also undergone some management changes, as some years ago Terry took over the day-to-day operations of the Terrace along with the couple's daughters Sandy and Susi. They all were also pursuing other careers, so eventually Sandy's husband, Michael Mitcham, a Spaule veteran, took the restaurant in hand. Whew. The upshot is that the Terrace has changed a lot over the past 36 years, but the DNA is essentially the same.

And the quality of our recent experiences was as impressive as that evening 25 years ago.

The restaurant is small but airy, a glass box hemmed in green flora, with light floors and a bar that, while not terribly extensive or deep, has everything one needs. (The wine list is manageable, with some good bargains available -- our pick is the Plungerhead Lodi Zinfandel for $7 a glass, though you can't go wrong with a good Aussie Cab Sav like the $8 Greg Norman.) The feel is upscale and neighborhoody, and there's a sense that most of the clientele is well-known to management and to one another, though interlopers aren't made to feel like undocumented guests.

We made reservations, which we recommend whenever planning something other than an impromptu feed, and the restaurant took them, which they sometimes don't.

Though the lighting is appropriately subdued, it is an all-around bright vibey place, though not tuned -- as some restaurants are -- to produce a shimmering din. You can hear your dinner companion, while it takes some effort to hear the conversation at a neighboring table even after the crowd has thinned out during a languorous late lunch.

The menu is what you might expect from a multicultural Mediterranean place that claims inspiration from Spanish, Greek, French and Italian traditions -- fish and pasta, some chicken, some veal and a couple of outliers -- an excellent, spicy Creole-inspired shrimp pirogue ($20.95) and a Jamaican jerk shrimp dish (that we're saving for our next off-the-clock visit because while it sounded like it was in our sweet spot didn't seem typical of this eclectic restaurant's offerings).

While we can claim a long history with the Terrace, we understand that a lot of the old standbys are still in place; a selection of hummus dips and a baba ganoush made with roasted eggplant.

After kicking things off with the very fresh hummus trio -- a spread of the classic stuff, along with a kalamata olive and a spicy roasted red bell pepper variety ($8.50), I found their moussaka ($14.95, made with ground sirloin rather than lamb) especially well-tempered and tasty -- less a hearty comfort dish than a balanced casserole revealing distinct layers of flavor. One is tempted to call it a thoughtful dish, and the obvious care that went into its preparation speaks well for the restaurant as a whole. Moussaka is not necessarily a subtle thing; that the Terrace delivers one worth writing home about suggests the rest of its lineup has been similarly vetted.

One of the pleasant surprises is a generous list of salad options -- eight are available at lunch. I enjoyed the Athenian version ($8.95), comprised of Romaine, tomato, cucumber, red onion, kalamata olives, boiled eggs, feta and (yes!) anchovies, but I probably would have enjoyed it just as much had I not opted for the extra grilled chicken ($2.50).

We probed and couldn't find a real weak spot, although professional ethics require we note a couple of quibbles:

Restaurant desserts are invariably disappointing, and, as in most places, you'd probably be better off enjoying another glass of wine or an after-dinner drink than succumbing to the come-ons of the admittedly superior waitstaff. That said, both of the menu's creme brulees have excellent reputations, and the cheesecake ($6.50) is tasty if a little heavy for early afternoon.

And to quote my lunch companion, while his lunchtime shrimp linguine ($9.95) "was very good, with a spicy, creamy sauce that didn't overpower the dish -- at least for one who enjoys a gently delivered kick," and "the shrimp portion was ample and tender, and the noodles were just right ... a spoon for the pasta, to accompany the fork, would have been helpful."

So there, Terrace. Clean up your act.

And if you're thinking of moving again, think Hillcrest.

Weekend on 01/25/2018