Club Level, 315 Main St., Little Rock, closed Saturday night, and Sunday morning owner Brad McCray started installing Brewski's Pub & Grub, a sports bar with a target opening of the first week of October. A sign with the new logo (which resembles the one belonging to the popular bar in the TV show Cheers) is already on display high on the building's wall facing south on Main Street, and on a banner hanging above the door saying it's "coming soon." Initially it'll open at 3 p.m. with plans to open for lunch after the first of the year. The menu will feature upscale pub fare at custom-made rustic dining tables. They're apparently keeping the same phone number: (501) 372-1515.
Arkansas Online's Kally Patz reports McCray saying that although it reaffirmed his decision, he'd already planned to make the change before an Aug. 26 after-hours incident in which one patron shot another after a fender-bender in the parking lot catty-cornered from the club.
Brewski's adds one more establishment to a block that is already busy with eateries and soon to be even busier: it joins on the west side, Bruno's Little Italy, Soul Fish and Samantha's Wood-Fired Grill & Tap Room, and shares the east side with, in coming months, chef Ira Mittelman's upscale Ira's and a new downtown branch of west Little Rock Asian-fusion restaurant A.W. Lin's. Before Club Level took it over in 2013, the space had housed Porter's Jazz Cafe and the Jamaican-theme Montego Cafe.
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Three Fold Noodles and Dumpling Co. will close its current location, 215 Center St., Little Rock, where it has been vending authentic Chinese noodles, dumplings and buns, since December 2014, at the close of its normal business day, 8 p.m. Sept. 22, and will reopen for business at 7 a.m. Sept. 25 in its new space, 615 Main St., Little Rock. And yes, that means they'll be serving breakfast, with three types of baozi, a steamed, yeast-based bun similar to the one they serve for lunch, with pork, scrambled egg or sweet red bean paste fillings. The expanded kitchen space will allow Three Fold to add table service (while maintaining cafeteria-style ordering), which will allow the kitchen to wok dishes to order and serve them hot (instead of servers scooping pre-made stuff out of a steam table). The new location will seat about 120 inside and another 16 on the patio; they'll also have a pick-up window. Hours are 7-10:30 a.m. for breakfast, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. for lunch/dinner, Monday-Saturday. The phone will remain (501) 372-1739.
Though the place still looked by Tuesday's deadline like a great deal of work remained to be done, today is still set as opening day for Kamikaito by Kiyen's, Sixth and Main streets, North Little Rock. Owner-chef Kiyen Kim has rebuilt the interior of the space, most recently occupied by Good Food by Ferneau, with hand-crafted woodwork, lighting fixtures and glass decor pieces. Though we still haven't seen the menu, Kiyen says it will be very similar to the one he offers at Kiyen's Seafood Steak and Sushi, 17200 Chenal Parkway, Little Rock, including sushi, hibachi dishes (prepared in a glass-fronted area visible from every table in the place) and Asian-fusion entrees; just inside the front door he has a frozen yogurt-ice cream bar and a grab-and-go kiosk. Hours will likely be 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-midnight Friday-Saturday, and Sunday brunch. We also still haven't been able to come up with a phone number.
Platinum BBQ has opened in the River Market Ottenheimer Market Hall, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, in the northeast corner kiosk most recently occupied by Sweet Soul. The breakfast menu includes breakfast sandwiches, biscuits and gravy, scrambled eggs, bacon, ham, sausage, grits, Southern-style potatoes, pancakes, waffles and French toast. Lunch sandwiches include brisket, pulled pork, smoked chicken, Cajun sausage, smoked turkey and ham clubs, chicken and steak subs and the Platinum Beef Sandwich, plus plates (with two sides), three- and six-bone ribs and a selection of grab-and-go items. Hours are 7 a.m.-3 p.m. The phone number is (501) 246-9722.
One of our eagle-eyed correspondents alerted us after last week's report on Paxton's Pizza's new Bryant location, 5920 Arkansas 5, that it's not an additional outlet -- Paxton's closed its store at 13420 Otter Creek Parkway, Little Rock, a couple of months ago and moved it to Bryant. The phone number, however, remains the same: (501) 455-4242.
The Steak 'n Shake chain stuck its toe, so to speak, back into the central Arkansas market this week by opening a food truck between the Donaghey Student Center and the Student Union at the University of Arkansas at Little Rock, 2801 S. University Ave., Little Rock. It'll offer a limited assortment of signature "steakburgers" and milkshakes, 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 10 a.m.-3 p.m. Friday. A 24/7 former Steak 'n Shake on Warden Road behind McCain Mall in the early 2000s was replaced by an El Porton Mexican restaurant in March 2006. The chain has outlets in Russellville, Fayetteville and Rogers, with one slated for Jonesboro.
A call to the listed phone number, (501) 358-6998 for John Daly's Steakhouse, 912 Front St., Conway, which worked fine last week -- a manager told us they were expecting to open Monday -- on Tuesday, when we called again to check the traps, returned a recording that it has been changed or disconnected. Hmmm. Theoretically, the restaurant will be open 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. daily for lunch and 4:30 p.m. "until" for dinner Monday-Saturday.
Sadly, the race is over for Little Rock chef Donnie Ferneau Jr. and his Southern Frenchie food-truck team -- his wife, Meaghan, and sous chef Amanda Ivy. They were eliminated on Sunday's Episode 4 of the Food Network's The Great Food Truck Race, set in Nashville, Tenn. They didn't win either of the two challenges -- to make a dish inspired by the city's famous hot chicken but without chicken, and a promotion competition. In the course of competing for a $50,000 top prize to fund a "dream" food truck business, they had successfully prepared beignets in New Orleans; red snapper in Pensacola, Fla.; and pecan dishes in Tuscaloosa, Ala.
The Arkansas Literary Festival will host two wine tasting events at Hillcrest Hall, 1501 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock: Vintage Lit I, 7-8 p.m. Tuesday and Vintage Lit II, 7-8 p.m. Oct. 24. Certified experts from O'Looney's Wine & Liquor will introduce four wines each session that circle a central theme and explore winemaking styles, food pairing options and how history shaped the way we imbibe. Get tickets, $25 per session, at arkansasliteraryfestival.org; proceeds benefit the Literary Festival, April 26-29. For more information, call (501) 918-3098 or email [email protected].
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Oct. 31 is the deadline to make nominations, via ArkFoodHOF.com, for the Department of Arkansas Heritage's second Arkansas Food Hall of Fame class, recognizing the state's legendary restaurants, proprietors and food-theme events. There are five categories:
• Arkansas Food Hall of Fame recognizes long-standing Arkansas restaurants "that have become legendary attractions."
• Proprietor of the Year honors a chef, cook and/or restaurant owner "who has made significant achievements in the food industry."
• Food-Themed Event.
• People's Choice, which goes to the restaurant or food truck that receives the most votes.
• Gone But Not Forgotten, honoring the collective culinary legacy of an influential restaurant that has ceased operation.
A 13-member committee will select finalists in each category; a specialized group within the committee chooses the winners. A special ceremony will take place in the spring.
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And author and Food Network star Alton Brown is asking fans in each of the 28 cities where his "Alton Brown Live: Eat Your Science" tour stops -- 7 p.m. Nov. 18 at Little Rock's Robinson Center Performance Hall -- to nominate coffee houses, breakfast joints, lunch providers and spots for late-night munchies via his website (altonbrownlive.com), Facebook page (facebook.com/altonbrown) and Twitter (@altonbrown, use the hashtag #ABRoadEatsLIT). "Everyone loves telling out-of-towners where to eat. Typically we choose one coffee joint, one breakfast (or doughnut) stop and a lunch stop," says Brown via a news release from Celebrity Attractions, which is promoting the Little Rock show. "Then after the show, we'll hit a late-night place." (Dinners are usually reserved for cities where the tour has a day off.) Brown tabulates the votes each day and makes his picks from the submissions. "I do not eat a single bite of food that doesn't come from the hashtag." After his visit, Alton posts photos or videos and write-ups on his social media platforms. Tickets to his show, by the way, are $42.50-$125; call (501) 244-8800 or visit ticketmaster.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 email to:
Weekend on 09/14/2017