Right off the bat, for the sanity of this post, let’s consider everything west of 430 to be WLR.

Even with the recent closures of 1620 Savoy, Igibon, and Ponchito’s, one could make the argument that the food scene in this area of town is really starting to improve.

Anchoring things down out west are longtime residents like The Pantry, Arthur’s, and The Terrace.

Heck, you can always get a good lunch at Franke’s, Pho Thanh My, and Chi’s. Some of the better burgers in town are found at David’s and Big Orange. Need a good cup of coffee? Keep driving past Starbuck’s in favor of Guillermo’s. Local Lime has the best margarita in Little Rock. In the mood to crush some chicken wings? Lazy Pete’s is the place to go. Got a sweet tooth? Mickey’s still serves up my favorite cupcakes and at a very reasonable price. Even fine-dining is about to get a facelift, as folks can expect to see renovations to Table 28 in 2016.

My point is this … if you get past many of the larger chains infiltrating the area, WLR has developed a solid foundation of restaurants, at least over the past 4 years since I’ve lived here. What’s exciting to me are those newer, somewhat smaller places that have popped up over the past 4-5 months, restaurants like Flavor of India, Al Seraj, and most recently, Lulu’s Latin Rotisserie & Grill.

The $10 lunch buffet at Al Seraj, featuring items like hummus, baba ghanoush, chicken shawarma, and falafel is really worth checking out. And if you read the blog this week, you already know how I feel about Lulu’s. The steak, alone, is worth one Saturday night of your time. Flavor of India is a perfect spot to pop-in on a weeknight for some quick take out.

It’s this diversity in cuisines that truly has me excited about how much the WLR food scene has grown … and where it’s heading.