Transitions
By Eric E. Harrison (Contact)
LITTLE ROCK — The Circle, 318 Main St., North Little Rock, will close on or about Oct. 1 and move across the river to the River Market’s Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock. The menu will change a bit so it won’t compete directly with other River Market food vendors, including a shift in sandwiches and possibly the elimination of soups, but adding more and different hot dog and bratwurst options. Hours will be pretty much those of the River Market - lunch into early to midafternoon. The telephone number should remain the same: (501) 244-9599.
Nearby, Rumba on the Corner, part of the Rumba/Revolution complex at 300 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, will open for lunch daily starting Monday.
Hours will now be 11 a.m.-10 p.m.
Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-11 p.m.
Friday-Saturday and noon-9 p.m.
Sunday, with brunch replacing lunch on Saturday and Sunday.
The telephone number is (501) 823-0090.
Amruth, the new Indian restaurant that took over from Kebab & Curry in the Market Place Shopping Center, 11121 N. Rodney Parham Road, is now open.
Hours are 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Monday-Thursday, 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m.
Friday-Sunday, 5-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday and 5-10 Friday-Saturday, with a Friday-Sunday lunch buffet. The telephone number is (501) 224-4567.
Paul’s Restaurant, 3700 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, is in transition again.
There’s a for-lease sign in the window and (501) 753-8833 is no longer a working phone number.
The Afterthought, Kavanaugh Boulevard and Beechwood Street, Little Rock, the nightclub adjunct of next-door Vieux Carre, will host a wine tasting with Peter Schulz, owner and winemaker at Turkey Flat Vineyards in the Barossa Valley of Australia, at 5:30 p.m. Monday. Participants will taste Turkey Flat Rose, “The Turk” Red Blend, Grenache and a Pedro Ximenez Sherry. Vieux Carre Chef David Bennett will provide munchies. Cost is $10 per person; reservations aren’t required but they are recommended. Call (501) 663-1196 and they’ll put you on the list.
The change of seasons also brings a change in the menu at nearby Acadia, 3000 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock. Among the new “first courses” for fall: Pan-Fried Crawfish Cakes with horseradish slaw and a spicy red pepper coulis and Pan-SearedBlack Pepper Crusted Scallops served on a charred peach-ginger puree with a curried orzo pasta salad; among the new entrees: house-smoked semi-boneless quail with a mango-bourbon glaze and Creole potato salad, sauteed shrimp with chorizo and New Zealand green-shell mussels with orzo and a spicy tomato saffron broth; and Braised Beef Short Ribs with a saffron risotto and a brown sauce reduction. The telephone number is (501) 603-9630. You can see the whole thing at the Web site, acadiahillcrest.com.
Applebee’s restaurants in Oklahoma and Arkansas that belong to the Apple Gold Group can help the restaurants raise money for the Central Oklahoma, Tulsa and Arkansas affiliates of Susan G. Komen for the Cure during National Breast Cancer Awareness Month. Through Oct. 12, diners can donate a minimum of $1, whereupon they have their names placed upon a paper Komen Running Ribbon that will hang prominently in the restaurant; they can also create an “In Memory Of” special Komen Running Ribbon. The goal is $40,000.
And in a similar partnership, Chili’s Grill & Bar outlets around the country are marking National Childhood Cancer Awareness Month through Sept. 30 with their fifth annual Create-A-Pepper to Fight Childhood Cancer campaign in conjunction with St. Jude Children’s Research Hospital in Memphis.
Guests at participating restaurants can make donations to the hospital “and receive a Create-A-Pepper chili pepper coloring sheet designed for display at restaurants during the month.” And on Sept. 29, Chili’s will donate 100 percent of its profits from participating restaurant sales to St. Jude. You can alsomake a donation online as well as obtain more information at the Web site, www.createape pper.com.
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 e-mail to: eharrison@arkansasonline.com
This article was published Friday, September 19, 2008.
Weekend, Pages 69 on 09/19/2008
