We're sure this is what Paul McCartney would have done with this song if he had written it in the current time of social distancing:
"Stuck inside these four walls,
"Sent inside forever,
"Never seeing no-one ...
"Food on the run. Food on the run."
Herein, the latest edition of our Takeout Tastings, a quick whip-around survey of locally owned area restaurants and what they're putting out for takeout.
• ZAZA FINE SALAD + WOOD-OVEN PIZZA CO., 5600 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, (501) 661-9292 (ZAZA); zazapizzaandsalad.com; facebook.com/zazapizzaandsalad
WHAT WE GOT: 12th-anniversary pizza ($16.50). It's a limited-duration special that chef/partner Scott McGehee has branded as offering "all of my favorite things" — "a classic Italian pie, simple, heavy focus on unbelievably beautiful ingredients": San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, fresh garlic, caramelized onions, local marjoram, mozzarella, red pepper, shaved pecorino, Tuscan olive oil and cracked pepper. We inhaled the whole 10-12 inch pizza in about 15 minutes, even though, because ZaZa's Neapolitan-style pie cools quickly and doesn't travel as well as its American-style cousins, it wasn't still piping hot after the eight-minute trip from their front door to our table.
HOW IT WORKS: ZaZa is still taking walk-in orders, but the staff prefers if you call ahead and use its curbside pickup; delivery is available through third-party services. The menu still offers specialty salads, pizzas and gelato. All the employees are masked and the ones handling food are wearing gloves.
HOW IT'S GOING: While we were waiting on the patio for our walk-in order, a half-dozen cars pulled up, not counting the Bite Squad driver, for pickup orders. On a Sunday. They're also selling wine and beer to go, which seems to give business a boost, especially on a Sunday.
• THREE FOLD MOBILE, 1509 Rebsamen Park Road, Little Rock, (501) 500-2005; eat3foldmobile.com; facebook.com/eat3fold
WHAT WE GOT: Pork Panfried Dumplings ($12.89; chicken and vegetarian are also options), 10 dumplings with a soy-garlic dipping sauce, choice of four spice levels (Non-Spicy, Medium, Spicy and Poison). Our dumplings were firm but tasted a little "off" compared to what we're used to from the restaurant on Main Street.
HOW IT WORKS: The Three Fold folks bought a food truck and parked it on the cleared lot that used to be the site of an antiques store and will eventually be the location of their second enterprise. The new Riverdale restaurant and prep space will offer a range of charcuterie and pickles and be a different concept from their successful fresh noodle-bun-dumpling operation. The entire Three Fold menu is available, minus the beef noodle soup and the draft beer and wine. Call or visit the website to order, either from away or by driving to the site, parking along the perimeter and placing your order there; you'll be asked to describe your car by make, model and color. You remain in your car throughout the process and they'll bring you your food, car-hop fashion. Noncontact delivery is possible by having the staff set your order at the tented window counter.
HOW IT'S GOING: They've been gradually extending the evening hours, from 7 to 7:30 p.m. and now to 8, Monday through Saturday, so they seem to be doing good business for lunch and dinner.
• CHI'S ASIAN CAFE, 3421 Old Cantrell Road, Little Rock, (501) 916-9973; facebook.com/Chis-Asian-Café-103422431150655
WHAT WE GOT: The Orange Chicken lunch special ($9), which comes with rice, egg roll and choice of soup (hot and sour, wonton or egg drop)
HOW IT WORKS: Chi's Asian Cafe is one of two surviving Chi's branches (the original at West Markham and Shackleford is now a medical practice); the other is way out Chenal Parkway at, for folks living in downtown and Midtown, close to the far western edge of the earth. They're now taking orders for pickup and third-party delivery orders by phone — no walk-ins — and the last time we checked, payment only by credit card, no cash.
HOW IT'S GOING: The restaurant, which has, off an on, had a sushi bar, is serving sushi again, which, since sushi options in Riverdale have been thin on the ground since Shogun closed. The place has always done a tolerable lunch business and seems busy enough moving take-out orders.
• COTIJA'S MEXICAN GRILL, 406 Louisiana St., Little Rock, (501) 244-0733; cotijaslr.com; facebook.com/Cotijas-Mexican-Grill-178107615538610
WHAT WE GOT: Chilaquiles ($7.49), and other Huevos al Gusto options include Rancheros, Mexicana and al Chorizo. We'd probably ask them to hold the onions if we ordered the dish again, but it was tasty and filling. Lunch items come with rice, which at Cotija's actually has flavor, and the dry refried beans that are a hallmark of La Hacienda, run by the same family of which this is a branch. Plus a generous bag of chips with salsa — Cotija's offers a tangy red and a sharper tomatillo-based green in little plastic cups.
HOW IT WORKS: The full menu remains available for takeout. You can place a walk-in order but phone-ins are preferred. As is usual at Mexican restaurants, time between when you order and the food coming out of the kitchen is minimal; our food was ready when we got there.
HOW IT'S GOING: Cotija's, which remained open during La Hacienda's temporary closure, has been struggling a bit because most downtown workers, whose custom has been its lifeblood, aren't working or are working from home. But there was a string of walk-up customers waiting to order last week when we were picking up our food.
• KOBE JAPANESE STEAKHOUSE, 11401 Financial Centre Parkway, Little Rock, (501) 225-5999; kobelr.com; facebook.com/kobelr
WHAT WE GOT: Salmon Teriyaki ($19.95); AR Roll, shrimp, cream cheese, "crab" and avocado, fried with an orange "mayonnaise" ($8.95). The salmon didn't look like much, divided into two portions to fit the foam takeout container, but it was delicious; Kobe's teriyaki sauce has a good balance between sweet and tangy. If they ask if you want it to come with fried rice, say yes. It's not as much fun as if the tall-toqued teppanyaki chef tossed it in front you on the hibachi grill, but it's pretty good. The sushi roll was large and filling.
HOW IT WORKS: You can still place a walk-in order, because somebody did while we were picking up our phone-in order. Most of the employees, and all of them actually handling food, were wearing masks and gloves. The restaurant now offers free delivery (minimum of $25 before tax) within a 5-mile radius.
HOW IT'S GOING: A restaurant that's usually buzzing with hibachi-table customers seemed a little forlorn without them, but it seems to be doing a decent takeout business.
• TERRACE MEDITERRANEAN KITCHEN, 2200 N. Rodney Parham Road at Hinson Road, Little Rock, (501) 217-9393; theterracelittlerock.com; facebook.com/theterracelr
WHAT WE GOT: Frenchy Hummus ($9.50), topped with seasoned ground sirloin, pine nuts, red onions and toasted almonds, except that we get ours with gyros meat instead of ground beef, which gives it a little extra kick. We've been eating at the Terrace, in one incarnation or another, for nearly 40 years, and we'd put its version of hummus —a dip made from chickpeas (aka garbanzos), tahini (a sesame-seed paste), lemon juice and garlic, up against anybody's for taste and texture. With a good-size portion of pita bread to dip with, there's enough in the polystyrene clamshell to make a good-size meal.
HOW IT WORKS: Call in your order (find the menu on the website), describe your car, and pick it up and pay at curbside — call to confirm your arrival if they don't notice you've pulled up. Our order was ready within 15 minutes.
HOW IT'S GOING: We were the only ones picking up food early in the dinner cycle, but we're told that the restaurant has expanded its hours to include Sunday dinner, something it has never done in its current location.
• TABLE 28, in the Burgundy Hotel, 1501 Merrill Drive, Little Rock, (501) 224-2828; table28lr.com; facebook.com/Table28
WHAT WE GOT: Seared Duck Breast ($22), topped with an Ozark blueberry mostarda, with duck-fat potato wedges and greens.
HOW IT WORKS: Find the menu on the website, place your order by phone; a masked-and-gloved gentleman at a stand at the hotel entrance takes your payment (note that as of last week, there was no setup for adding a gratuity to the credit card slip, so come prepared with a little cash) and brings out the order, neatly arranged and artfully packed into a handled paper bag.
HOW IT'S GOING: Table 28 had been closed for several weeks and reopened only a few days back, so any idea of how they're doing is anecdotal, but there have been plenty of expressions of joy from customers and even competitors on the Facebook page.
Weekend on 04/30/2020