Thoughts from my recent food adventures around Little Rock…

So Much Potential
Samantha’s Tap Room & Wood Grill has several wonderful attributes going for it, like a cool, hip atmosphere that rivals any in town, a prime location in the heart of downtown, fantastic service, and an extremely impressive beer and wine selection. But when it comes to food, my two experiences have been quite average. I haven’t eaten anything bad, mind you, but outside of the shishito peppers (which the restaurant was out of on my most recent visit), nothing has blown me away. That’s a shame because Samantha’s isn’t far off from being a real destination restaurant, a place to take out-of-towners as a true showcase of what our town has to offer.

Rosalinda Does it Right
Rosalinda is the best restaurant in NLR. There, I said it. Deal with it. I’m just thankful we even have a Honduran restaurant in the area worth a damn, much less one that’s churning out some of the best food of any cuisine. I recently ordered the Plato Rosalinda, a plate filled with beef steak, sweet roasted plantain, avocado, and a rice and bean mixture that could rival any. Our tablemates ordered #53, which as far as I could tell was a fried chicken covered in a pile of cabbage slaw and mustard-based sauce. It was a gigantic plate of food … definitely best shared between two people. The cheese pupusas were also their usual bad-ass selves. If you haven’t been to Rosalinda (new location), please go try it out and let me know what you think.

Checking Out the New Flyway Brewing
Go figure…we got ourselves yet another really good local beer company. Flyway Brewing is no stranger to beer aficionados, as their stuff has been on a few restaurant taps around town, but the general public is just now learning about the area’s latest microbrewery, located across the river in NLR’s Argenta District. Listen, I’m not great at describing beers, but I do know a good one when I drink it, and Flyway has several excellent beers available at the new tasting room. One beer I was particularly fond of was the Free Range Brown Ale.

Sidney and Son Bread Company
It was pretty cold last Saturday morning, but I hadn’t been to the Hillcrest Farmers market in a few weeks, so I wasn’t about to let a little chilly weather hold me back. Glad I went. One of my purchases came at the Sidney and Son Bread Company’s booth, where, for $7.50, I purchased a loaf of 7-grain French braid (two white/two wheat braided together). I baked it in the oven with a few pats of butter at 350 degrees for 15 minutes and the exterior came out perfectly crispy. People…this is fantastic bread!

Tercos is Where It’s At
If you’re looking for a great tasting wine at a reasonable cost, might I suggest the Tercos Malbec (red) and Torrontes (white) from De Nux Distributors, which is carried at Colonial (and most retailers around Little Rock). Each bottle of this Argentinian wine is in the $12-$14 range, making it perfect to buy in larger quantities for say, a small party. I think you’ll also find each wine will appeal to a great number of folks.