Fancy Pants Foodie

Foodie news, reviews and how-tos from Arkansas and beyond.

Argenta’s Upcoming Mugs Café Hopes to Become “Third Place”

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In the window of the former Allied Printing building in Argenta.

In the window of the former Allied Printing building in Argenta.

I’m currently grieving the fact that my husband and I have polished off a sample bag (okay, two bags) of some of the most extraordinary coffee we’ve ever had, and it may be a couple months before we get more of it.

The coffee was a promotional sample from the guys at Mugs Café, which will open this summer in the Argenta area of North Little Rock, giving the popular neighborhood its first true coffee shop hangout. Exactly how I got said sample is part of a bigger story. Hang with me.

Alas, my sample (like these pictured) is gone. Mugs Café will serve more, promise.

Alas, my sample (like these pictured) is gone. Mugs Café will serve more, promise.

A small group of quiet, (mostly) long-bearded dudes, led by proprietor Michael Carpenter, are gearing up the site at 515 Main Street, next door to Argenta Market in what had previously been the Allied Printing building, with the aim of becoming the neighborhood’s “Third Place.”

Third Place refers to the writings of sociologist Ray Oldenburg in his 1989 book The Great Good Place, who described the importance of neighborhood gathering spots that came only behind home and work in their frequency and length of visits.

Carpenter said he hopes the café will be “like Cheers, where everyone knows your name,” with customers both coming and going as well as hanging out in the way that Oldenburg described. “We’ll be able to stick our finger in the chest of the isolation most people feel and say no more, welcome, pull up a chair, eat, sip some coffee, tell us about yourself.”

Construction work has taken over the former Allied Printing space, updating it and making it restaurant-ready.

Construction work has taken over the former Allied Printing space, updating it and making it restaurant-ready.

The tentative menu listed on their website includes a pretty serious-sounding coffee collection, as well as pastries, sandwiches and desserts from basic to somewhat upscale. For breakfast, you will be able to build your own three-egg omelet or indulge in a breakfast bagel with fried egg, bacon and smoked gouda. Lunch offers a variety of salads, sandwiches and such, including cranberry turkey sliders or a chipotle chicken wrap. The proposed selection of gelato also caught my eye, including chocolate jalapeño and salty caramel flavors.

The coffee I sampled, named “Immaculate Percolation,” was honestly nothing short of astounding, and I’ve had a lot of coffee. When I asked Carpenter to describe it and its origins for me, he waxed on like a sommelier in a fine dining restaurant.

“The coffee beans are roasted by Bongo Java in Nashville,” Carpenter explained, “who imports high-quality, organic green coffee from small-scale farmer organizations to build long-term relationships and foster fair and equitable trading practices. Immaculate Percolation, the coffee you tried, is a dark-roasted bean that comes wrapped in generous amounts of natural dark chocolate and molasses flavors. The smoky aroma compliments a heavy, syrupy body and slightly dry finish.

“We will also serve a single origin, mild, light-bodied coffee from Guatemala that is both sweet and citrusy. And, of course, we’ll have an extremely complex and rich espresso whose flavors are as potent as they get, sweet and syrupy with a heavy body and notes of malt, berries and chocolate.”

Yeah, exactly what I was thinking. All I know is that it was amazing, and I’ll be first in line for more when the time comes.

If you haven’t guessed already, Carpenter isn’t exactly what you’d expect, in a number of ways. And this is what brings me to how I got the sample.

He’s a restaurateur, having experience with a similar coffee shop concept in Lebanon, Tenn. before moving to North Little Rock.

Oh, and he’s a minister, too.

In fact, Carpenter and his crew of bearded co-horts aren’t just businessmen, they are church leaders with the Southern Baptist Convention. The coffee shop will serve as a meeting place for The Church at Argenta on Sundays, which is currently meeting in homes in the area. My husband and I received samples at our church here in North Little Rock, which will be partnering with the “Argenta boys,” as we call them, in their endeavors.

Don’t freak out. Stay with me, here.

“People ask us if this is a coffee shop or a church, and the answer is yes,” joked Cliff Hutchison, who will serve as the church’s worship pastor.

If that’s not exactly your cup of coffee, though, don’t worry; they don’t plan on proselytizing to customers.

“We’re not gonna hand people their coffee yelling, ‘Jesus loves you!'” explained Hutchison. “The coffee shop will be a way for the church to make enough money to be self-sustaining and pay the staff.”

Carpenter added, “When I’ve been a part of something like this before, we got everything from a guy yelling at us because he’s an atheist, to a lady just breaking into tears because she felt like she could talk with us about some things that she couldn’t share with anyone else. We’re simply going to be here for the community and just be who we are.”

Curious? Meet the Argenta boys yourself at an open house they’re holding on Thursday, April 4, starting at 4:30 p.m. Drop by after work and try some coffee and samples of upcoming menu items.

Mugs Café (formerly Allied Printing building)
515 Main St.
North Little Rock, AR
info@mugscafe.org
Twitter: @MugsCafeArgenta

Dogtown Coffee and Cookery to Close Doors

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Dogtown Coffee and Cookery announced today it will soon close its doors.

Dogtown Coffee and Cookery announced today it will soon close its doors. (Images from the restaurant’s Facebook page.)

Note: We contacted Dogtown to clarify; their last day of service will be on Sunday.

Despite rave reviews and a recent remodel, Dogtown Coffee and Cookery in North Little Rock announced today on their Facebook page that this Sunday will be their last day of business.

“Despite of all of our efforts to lower cost without decreasing quality, we are having to close our doors on Monday, March 4, 2013,” the post stated. “It has been a painstaking decision for the owners, management, and our staff to accept. We would like to thank all of our staff, past and present employees, for their loyalty and hard work to bring you great food, coffee, and service.”

Dogtown reopened after a brief closure

Waffle Melt sandwich from Dogtown Coffee and Cookery

Waffle Melt sandwich from Dogtown Coffee and Cookery

in May 2012 to update their cooking equipment and install a grease trap, allowing them to prepare a much broader range of sweet and savory (and often combined, such as chicken and waffles) concoctions. The restaurant soon became underground-famous for its upscale, old-school plates such as roast beef, fried chicken and catfish, as well as innovative soups, panini and other sandwiches. Often the chefs would get even more creative and offer something like duck and grits or a savory waffle sandwich.

The restaurant enjoyed high reviews on Yelp, TripAdvisor and Urbanspoon, as well as from local publications and reviewers.

Last spring, I wrote a report for culinary school about Dogtown’s former proprietor and chef Jason Godwin, intending to publish it here. (I’m publishing it now for posterity; see below.) But shortly afterward, Godwin departed the outfit to explore “a new chapter” of his life outside the food industry, according to a July 31, 2012 post on his personal Facebook wall. I never got the chance to meet the new chef, but from the look of things, quality of the food wasn’t the problem.

So, once again, small spots of awesome can’t make a buck, while the people of Arkansas vote Popeye’s the best fried chicken in town. Sigh.

Dogtown will be open regular hours this weekend, 6 a.m. to 3 p.m.

Dogtown Coffee and Cookery
6725 J.F.K. Boulevard
North Little Rock, AR 72116
(501) 833-3850

******************************

North Little Rock Native Jason Godwin Makes Good with
Dogtown Coffee & Cookery
May 2012

After years of study pursuing a career in international business, North Little Rock native Jason Godwin discovered his passion for cooking was worth coming home.

“I always thought I’d be in business,” Godwin said. “But since I was a kid, I wanted to open a restaurant. I thought it would be when I retired.”

Godwin’s formal education began with a degree in French at the University of Arkansas. This led him to Europe, where he studied international business in Scotland and France, working toward a masters’ degree in that field.

“In Scotland, I worked at one place called the Clyde Ramsey Cafe, which in a way was very much like Argenta Market but more rustic,” Godwin said. “They had organic vegetables, local cheese, and a cafe next door.

“They had this kind of set up with two chefs working side by side — which never works, by the way — one local Scot, and one from London. The British guy had a more worldly approach, grounded in how he handled things. The Scot was a fiery, wannabe Gordon Ramsey type, which was just covering his insecurities.”

Godwin marks this as one of his most memorable kitchen experiences.

His first restaurant job was of high pedigree as well, right here in Arkansas. While still in undergraduate school, Godwin worked one semester in Little Rock at Spaulé, under the renowned chef Paul Novicky.

“His bosses were the fathers of fine dining in Little Rock,” he said, including Paul Bash of the renowned 1980s marvel, Jacque and Suzanne. “That was my first taste of fine dining. I thought [Novicky] was the best chef, the way he carried himself and manipulated the food.”

In a few months, however, Godwin wilted under the high-pressure environment and vowed to never work in food again.

After earning his masters’ degree, he moved to southern California to pursue work in international business with Nestle, wanting to remain somehow connected to the food industry. He didn’t get the job.

“Then I joined AmeriCorps, through the VISTA program, for one year,” he said. “I worked with Share Our Strength through their Operation Frontline (Now Cooking Matters) program, based at the Springdale, Arkansas foodbank. VISTA pays you just 20 percent above the poverty level, just enough to get by and know what it’s like. At the end, they give you some money toward your college loans.

“I worked with chefs and nutritionists, recruiting them to teach cooking classes. I decided, through that process, that I wanted to go to culinary school.”

Vince Pianalto, chef at the former La Maison de Tartes in Fayetteville, taught many of Godwin’s classes through Share Our Strength, becoming his inspiration to finally take the leap into a culinary career.

“I wanted to position myself differently, so I went with a baking and pastry degree,” said Godwin of his culinary education at California Culinary Academy. “While I was in San Francisco, I sold cheese at Whole Foods and worked at a couple restaurants.”

When he returned to Arkansas, he worked with Shane Henderson and Coby Smith at Simply the Best Catering in North Little Rock, eventually becoming sous under Henderson when Smith left, and after a brief stint as pastry sous at the Capital Hotel during their renovation, went back to the catering operation.

Upon Henderson’s departure to open Argenta Market, Godwin became chef for two years at Simply the Best.

“In April 2011, the folks at Java Roasting Co. brought me in, basically to give this place a soul,” he said. “We tried in the beginning with no construction, just to basically pimp out a coffee shop. It didn’t work for long; we needed more.”

Godwin eventually took over the establishment and rebranded it as Dogtown Coffee and Cookery, quickly gaining notoriety for his sandwiches and breakfast items. Then, a letter from the city put his wishes for a wider menu into overdrive.

“Early this year, we got a letter from the city of North Little Rock saying we were going to have to put in a grease trap,” he said. “When they built the place, they weren’t doing any cooking that required one, but it turns out maybe they should have anyway.

“We decided to get our money’s worth and totally renovate the kitchen, making us able to offer a much wider menu. We’re putting in fridge and freezer walk-ins outside, a Vent-A-Hood with an Ansul (fire protection) system, a range with a stove and flattop, a fryer, and more undercounter cooler prep space.”

Upon reopening, the restaurant will offer breakfast all day and expand its entrée selections for lunch and dinner. Godwin says he hopes the renovation, to be completed this spring, will create a comfortable, family-friendly destination in North Little Rock, one that feels like “sitting on the porch at home.”

“I want old people to come and say, ‘I remember food like this.’ And I want young folks to come in and say, ‘This is some cool-ass, old-school food.’”

Check the Pure Bean Office Cafe resources for more details.

North Little Rock’s Taste of the Town 2012

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Rickey Townsend of McAlisters Deli serves up a cup of the restaurant’s famous sweet tea.

Last Thursday, Dickey-Stephens Park stuffed itself and its guests with the best of North Little Rock’s restaurants at the 19th annual Taste of the Town food show, hosted by the city’s chamber of commerce.

This event usually acts as the calendar caboose to several more upscale food events of the season, such as Wildwood’s Wine and Food Festival. However, this event is far better attended and represents what most of us eat on a normal night out, showcasing the very best dishes from the mid-range caterers and restaurants of my fair city.

I can’t possibly review every single dish that was presented, due to both the sheer number of them and the fact that several were gluten-laden and thereby outside my gustatory abilities. But here are a few high and low points for your next excursion to Dogtown:

Argenta Market
I’ve had an interest in this neighborhood grocery/deli since before it opened in 2010, so I was glad to see them there. Recent and repeated changes in the chef position caused some worry in the foodie community about the quality of food coming out. My reaction to their three samples: hit and miss.

Argenta Market Assistant Kitchen Manager Greg Dooley helps guests with samples of their items.

Their artichoke and spinach dip was superb, with a nice acid artichoke bite, flavorful spinach and balanced, creamy base. I could go through a whole bowl of this with no problem. The smoked chicken salad was just meh, not anywhere near what I had tasted from a similar dish by Scallions a few nights earlier. The smoke came through okay, but the meat was a bit dry and underseasoned, needing a bit more of mayo or dressing of some sort, nuts, grapes or something. The complete miss was the roasted red pepper hummus, which is usually one of my favorite snacks. It was painfully bland and overpowered by the taste of tahini, possibly needing a splash of lemon or maybe just more salt. Knowing the history of the operation and how hard it is to prepare little cups of something that’s as good as in the restaurant, though, I’ll cut them a break and come back for more sometime. But I probably won’t order the hummus.

Luis Atilano of Las Palmas displays the restaurant’s fajita nachos.

Las Palmas
Ah, Las Palmas. The very mention of the name sends my 10-year-old into a spinning frenzy of taco-love. And yes, their versions of Americanized Mexican are my favorite among the long-standing local restaurant families in town. More recently, Las Palmas has started serving a small sampling of truly Mexican fare (usually only listed on a marker board), such as sopes and tacos de lengua.

At the Taste of the Town, they went a little more Ameri-Mex with fajita nachos from their dinner menu, which features “Beef, chicken or mixed fajita meat with grilled bell peppers, onions, tomatoes, beans and cheese sauce served over chips.”

The nachos were delicious, thanks in no small part to their semi-famous cheese dip (the yellow kind this time, although the restaurant is more well-known for their white version), as well as perfectly-cooked beef and flavorful veggies that still had some body to them. The only problem was being a bit water-logged by moisture from said meat and veggies, which watered down the cheese dip a bit in the bottom of the container. Again, this is likely a result of having to plate 600 samples, so I’ll spare the judgement for now. In fact, I may order this next time I come in rather than my usual “Combination #1.”

Note: Las Palmas is closing their JFK Boulevard location due to low traffic. My favorite server at JFK, Luis Atilano (pictured), will now have to let me practice my limited Spanish on him at McCain.

Verizon Arena
Although I didn’t eat the wares from Verizon Arena’s foodservice team, I had to give them a shoutout. North Little Rock Taste of the Town is the only food event (that I attend, anyway) where I regularly see these chefs, and it’s too bad, because they’re masterful. Who would have thought that an arena would have chefs on the level of some of our area’s upscale restaurants?

The Verizon staff offered tiny BBQ spuds and a summer ambrosia with grilled pancake. Every single sample was perfectly coiffed and worthy of any food show. The potatoes showed how they could take something very simple and make it upscale, and the dessert was, well, just showing off. Unfortunately, Bedford hasn’t sponsored me yet with a nice camera (hint hint), and my iPhone didn’t capture the dishes in the funky light. You’ll have to take my word for it.

If you have the opportunity to host an event at Verizon and utilize this staff, do so.

The carnitas taco from Santo Coyote.

Santo Coyote
On the more mid-upscale end of North Little Rock Mexican is Santo Coyote. Yes, it’s a large chain, but so were many of the vendors at the event. I hesitated to list two from the same genre, but Coyote’s offerings were superb and worthy of mention.

They offered a plate of two small traditional Mexican tacos, carnitas and chorizo, served on smallish soft corn tortillas. (If you order tacos at any legitimate taco truck, this is the style you’re going to get, rather than the Americanized crunchy kind.) Guests could also try sample cups of Santo Coyote’s well-known house-made guacamole and their cheese dip.

Adorned simply with just a bit of lettuce and fresh onion, the tacos were something to behold. What truly guilded them was the two kinds of salsa, the “Salsa Morita” (acidic and sweet) and “Salsa Picosa” (hot and spicy). The latter made my eyes water, but the fresh, vibrant flavors throughout were worth it.

As usual, if I got something wrong, forgive me and let me know. All my notes from events like this tend to swarm!

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Kitchy Kitchen Antique Shopping

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I really, really wanted this bowl, but I really, really don’t need another one!

My hubby and I have always had this thing for junk shops, antique stores and estate sales.

Since kids have come along, our budget and willingness to drag them along have not been as forthcoming. But, occasionally, we’ll venture out and take a gander at the very latest in the fairly old. This weekend, we did, in search of a desk for my work area in the kitchen.

Of course, I tend to gravitate toward kitchen stuff. Old bowls are my favorite. Next in line are clunky, rough wooden tables and gaudily-colored relics of our culture’s culinary past.

We found plenty of this and more at our recent trip to Galaxy Furniture in the Argenta area of North Little Rock on Main Street. (I always wondered why they don’t change the name…it certainly doesn’t convey the funky awesomeness found inside.)

We didn’t find the desk I was looking for, except for one tiny beauty that was already sold. But we enjoyed all the foodie fabulosity of times past. Check them out!

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Social Media Resurrects Cult Favorite Mall Restaurant, Mr. Dunderbak’s

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Social media can, indeed, do mighty things.

Largely (or maybe entirely) thanks to a group page on Facebook titled, “Mr. Dunderbak’s in McCain Mall — bring it back!!!!“, the German-themed cult favorite will soon return to McCain Mall in North Little Rock, bringing back its long-missed bratwursts, sausages and soft pretzels with toppings.

Builders are scheduled to start construction this week, with an estimated opening date of mid-September.

In 2009, an anonymous fan started the Facebook page, which now has over 1,500 fans. Former owner, Richard Davidson of Hot Springs Village, said he knew nothing about the group at first, and at the time had no interest in reopening the restaurant, which he owned from 1973 until he sold it in 1990. The restaurant closed in 2000.

“I was throughly relaxed playing golf,” Richardson said. “I had no intention of going back into the restaurant business. But it really raised an eyebrow when [the Facebook group] first started bubbling.”

He said that his daughter caught wind of the group and encouraged him to consider it. “She was like a barking dog getting me to do it. ‘Why don’t you set that up again?’ she asked. ‘We’ll step into it when you retire.’ Again,” he added, laughing.

Richardson said the restaurant will include much of its former menu, including the aforementioned sausages, brats and pretzels. There will also be a better accounting and software system to keep track of everything (you can learn more here). The deli counter will offer sandwiches such as Italian and club, and meatball subs. Gyros and Slovakian items will be available as well. Grocery items, such as jarred, imported items and candies, will not make a re-appearance at the new restaurant, but thanks to the addition of commercial refrigeration equipment he will be able to introduce new ice cream flavors.

New additions will include a coffee bar and lounge in the back area of the restaurant, where guests may also enjoy a selection of beer and wine, pending the liquor license he applied for this week.

The most remarkable change at Mr. Dunderbak’s will be the addition of a vegan/vegetarian line. Richardson said that his daughter, who used to help at the original store while she was in junior high and high school, was a big influence in adding this to the menu.

“The line is called ‘Der Vegetarier,’ or ‘vegetarian’ in German,” he said. “Our vegan products will include such things as link sausages in Italian, Mexican chipotle, apple sage and frankfurter, and roasts made of vegetarian grain meat in lentil sage, wild mushroom and smoked tomato flavors, which can be sliced into savory deli sandwiches.”

He added that Silvek’s bakery in Little Rock is doing some specialty baking for them, including buns specially made for vegan customers.

Mr. Dunderbak’s soft pretzels alone are gaining a nostalgic response from many members of the Facebook group. Brandy Wallace Everett said, “Awesome! looking forward to the deluxe pretzel with cheese, pickles and sausage!!!” Several members have posted photos of their own home-made versions of the pretzels.

Richardson said that all the old favorite toppings will be there, such as the spreadable port wine or champagne cheeses, chopped pickles and sausage slices.

He said the pretzels, while not house-made, will be brought in frozen from a high-quality provider and baked fresh daily, as in the past.

When asked who started the Facebook group, Richardson said he didn’t know, but he suspects a management employee at McCain Mall.

The group’s first post, on March 25, 2009, was by North Little Rock resident Scott Kaufman: “I still remember going there.. even when I was a kid in the 70s. That was a unique place for the mall. I sometimes think it is still there as I wallk that way…only to be disappointed.”

Richardson said that, while the events leading up to reopening were unexpected, he’s not surprised at the excitement and nostalgia people feel toward his old establishment.

“It was a fun food place to go,” he said. “It will be quite a bit bigger, not elbow-to-elbow like it used to be, although some folks liked that about it. I think it will be pleasantly accepted when we take the barrier down.”

Ed’s note: You heard about this first, in February, here. That is, if you follow me on Twitter.

UPDATE: Scott Kaufman of North Little Rock did indeed start the group, he said in an interview on Wednesday.

“I have an interest in urban businesses,” he said. “I was thinking about McCain Mall and where it was years ago, when people used to come from all around. There were things that made it unique, such as Mr. Dunderbak’s. There’s nothing like that today.”

“I really missed it personally, too,” added Kaufman, who now works for UALR in administration. “I used to work in a little kiosk in the mall in the early 90s, and it was the perfect place to get a quick lunch. It was a great meeting place, too, for business.”

Kaufman said he started the group one Sunday night on a whim, and within days the group had over 300 fans.

“Obviously a lot of other people were into it, too,” he said. “And now it’s actually a little bit scary — I have this vision of [Richardson] putting his whole retirement into this. But I think we’ve got a good fan base to get him started.”

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Mexican Restaurant Association (MERA) National Conference

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Chef Ulysses Mora shows Tuesday morning's first pan of paella.

In case you hadn’t heard, North Little Rock was the epicenter of a Mexican culinary throwdown this week.

Our great city (I can say that because I moved back into NLR city limits Wednesday) hosted the Mexican Restaurant Association’s (MERA) national conference. Demonstrations, management discussions and vendor displays took place at the Wyndham Riverfront. The convention also included Monday’s community night at Dickey-Stephens Park (link is to Kat Robinson’s coverage on Eat Arkansas) and a banquet for conference attendees on Tuesday night at Pulaski Technical College, hosted by the Arkansas Culinary School.

Did I mention I moved this week?

Because of a long list of unavoidable circumstances, we pretty much packed and moved our entire house the first half of this week. So, the only event I made it to was part of the conference itself on Tuesday morning. I’m still kicking myself for missing the community and banquet events — especially since there’s a rumor that Guy Fieri was at the former. (Can anyone confirm that, with photos?)

But I did sign up some time ago for the Tuesday morning task of assisting Chef Ulysses Mora, a delightful, handsome chef and accomplished artist from the Orlando area. We were to make paella, a Spanish rice dish that would be demonstrated alongside another chef’s authentic Mexican dish. It was a friendly “versus” setup, commemorating Mexico’s 200th anniversary of independence from Spain.

While the morning conference activities began, Chef Mora prepared two huge dishes of paella, in traditional pans so large that one took up the entire flattop cooking surface. While he made the first one, I ran around finding things for him, running other things to the walk-in, and basically absorbing the craziness of the busy kitchen.

As Chef Mora transferred the first dish of paella to a hotel pan for sampling during his demonstration, he started the second pan that would be for display. (And, of course, kitchen-worker eatery. Bonus!) He let me sweat the onions and prep some of the other ingredients: Uncle Ben’s parboiled rice (really), mussels, tilapia (he said he prefers mahi-mahi), crab legs, and the most amazing chorizo sausage I have ever had. He said it was flown in from Spain for $17 per pound.

If any readers went to the other events, especially if you have photos, please leave me a comment!

Argenta Strawberry Foodie Fest

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My family and I just returned from the Argenta Strawberry Foodie Fest, and we were, shall we say, blown away. Almost literally.

Patrons become participants as they halt progress of a blowing-away tent.

In the very left-hand side of that photo, you’ll see my husband’s feet as he scurries from the dining tables to grab poles. He was right next to the one pole that actually broke, and somehow managed to grab the tent before it fell on my two-year-old son in the stroller next to him. Good times.

Well, maybe I’m making that more dramatic than it was, but it was an interesting interruption to an otherwise awesome foodie event. The Argenta Strawberry Foodie Fest is the spring version of what we enjoyed in October as the Fall Foodie Fest. Some of the best restaurants in central Arkansas were in attendance, serving their succulent variations on the famed springtime berry theme.

My portion of Ristorante Capeo's strawberry cannelloni. No, you can't have any.

I missed the excitement at the tent because I had gone to purchase my chosen entrée, a savory strawberry pasta dish by Ristorante Capeo. The cannelloni pasta was flavored with strawberry purée and filled with a cream cheese and chicken filling, with just a touch of sweetness. It was topped with a savory berry sauce and fresh berries. Different, but amazing.

Another outstanding dish came from Donnie Ferneau (of his namesake restaurant, Ferneau): a strawberry jalapeño BBQ pork taco with creamy black bean slaw. The hubs had this, and I had a generous bite or two to ensure quality control. Just enough kick to be interesting, but not too spicy; berries (I’m assuming in purée form in the sauce) rounded the flavor without too much sweetness. Also amazing and worth an attempted replication sometime. (Donnie, care to share the recipe?)

Other highlights included a lovely bubbly strawberry tea (although I could have done without the tapioca) by Simply the Best Catering, strawberries with mascarpone cheese and balsamic vinegar over ladyfingers by Starving Artist Café, strawberry fried pies by Lindsey’s BBQ, and a strawberry spinach salad by the Capital Hotel. The mascarpone dish won the event’s “Best Dessert” award, and the spinach salad won “Best Entrée.”

Food purchases were fairly reasonable, each item ranging from 3 to 7 tickets, purchased at the event for $1 each. Some plate dinners were more, but still well within range of a more elaborate lunch out.

Even with the undue excitement, I left satisfied with great food and a nice outing with the family, endcapped by a quick stroll through the adjacent Certified Arkansas Farmers Market. If the Argenta community continues with the Foodie Fest concept — and I hope they do — this event will continue to grow and become a destination for food lovers each season.

Let’s just hope that next time, they get some sturdier, weighted tents!

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Grand Opening (Finally) at Argenta Market

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Note: Sorry for the delay getting this posted. Originally written on Thursday, April 15. Had a bit of a technical problem. But here ’tis…

Yup, it’s true…I set myself up for an April Fool’s joke of my own.

In my earlier preview of Argenta Market, the long-awaited neighborhood grocery in the trendy downtown area of North Little Rock, I reported the opening to be slated for April 1. “No fooling,” I said.

But proprietors Shane Henderson and Jody Hardin would rather get it right, a little later, than stick to an arbitrary date. And get it right they did.

This morning, a crowd of about 100 pressed against the grocery’s outer walls as government dignitaries and folks from the Argenta Downtown Council and the Argenta Community Development Corporation congratulated each other and opened the market to the public. After a quick ribbon cutting, the crowd practically swarmed to enter.

An hour later, as I sit at the market’s laptop-friendly lunch bar against the window-glass front wall, the room is still buzzing. Several of the newly indoctrinated patrons are staying for lunch, freshly prepared by Chef Shane Henderson and dished out at the deli counter, salad bar or to-go pick up area. And 20 to 30 folks, some of whom have wandered in after the opening, are still buzzing about the store.

Several patrons are just downright giddy at the selections, today including some Hardin Farms strawberries that were still sucking minerals out of the dirt yesterday. I was pretty giddy myself when I looked in the super-cool Coke cooler (which, I’m told, was the first of its design in Arkansas) and found — get this — Mexican Cokes. You know, the ones with real sugar instead of corn syrup.

That alone, my friends, is reason enough to get over here.

There are still a few kinks in the system: many items not yet in the PLU system, and (yipes) no bottle opener for the aforementioned Mexican Cokes. But these things are expected with a new store, especially one as home-grown and locally-operated as Argenta Market.

But what is good — aisles of Arkansas-grown (and otherwise, as necessary by climate) fruits, veggies, meats and more — far outweighs the store’s first-day growing pains. I plan to whip up a nice pasta dish with the fresh goodies I pick up today, and come back later in the week for fresh meats for the week’s menu.

Hope to see you here!

(And a big boo-hiss to Jamie Walden, who has already ousted me as the Foursquare Mayor of Argenta Market. It’s on, Jamie, it’s on!)

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Long-Awaited Argenta Market Prepares to Open Doors April 1

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UPDATE: Chef Shane has nudged the opening date to April 15. And he really, really means it this time. April Fools to whoever came by on the 1st, I guess.

Walking in the back door of the long-awaited Argenta Market a little over a week ago, I couldn’t help but think of E.T.

You know, the movie…in the 80s…never mind. If you’re under 30, Google it.

The entire 7,000-square-foot space was partitioned with giant sheets of plastic wrap, much like the foreign creature’s host house in the movie. Workers busily scraped and sanded walls, creating a dreamy haze of sheetrock dust.

Store Proprietor and Chef Shane Henderson

But this dream is no science fiction for proprietor and chef Shane Henderson, who has scheduled the store, a mix of local and mass-produced groceries as well as site-made culinary creations, to finally open on April 1. No fooling.

“People were wondering if we’d ever actually open,” Henderson said of numerous delays in opening the market. “I think we ended up with a better store with the delays than if we’d opened one year ago as planned. I think we’d be closed by now if that had happened.

Henderson cites lessons learned from months of research and changes in focus, as well as the demise of similar shops in the metro area.

One critical decision, Henderson said, was that to include recognizable, mass-produced grocery brands as well as local ones.

“A lot of people were really shocked at (our decision),” Henderson said. “But we had to look at it from a market survival perspective; we’ll be serving the folks who live right around here as a local grocery as well as people looking for the specialty items.”

Jody Hardin, executive director of the Certified Arkansas Farmers Market program, has stepped out of the day-to-day limelight in regards to the Market, although he remains a partner and connection-maker between the store and Arkansas farmers.

Possibly the smartest move made by Henderson and Hardin was to hire Neal Augustine of Benton, a 30+-year veteran grocery manager, to serve as manager of the market.

Store Manager Neal Augustine and Henderson

“I started as a kid, as a bag boy to make some money, and just worked my way up,” said Augustine of his career in grocery management. He has served as manager for Harvest Foods until its demise; before that, he worked for Kroger for 20 years and Winn Dixie for 12 years.

Augustine lit up while listing some of Argenta Market’s upcoming features: seven aisles of basic and upscale nonperishable grocery items, with a notable focus on local, sustainable foods; several varieties of specialty and local cheeses and milk; standard, import and local beers, such as Diamond Bear; frozen foods including Yarnell’s ice cream, Amy’s Organics items, store-made products and exotic meats; bulk bins featuring local coffee, grains and rice, including basmati and jasmine.

“The meats will definitely be the coolest thing for the home cook,” Henderson added. “And we’ll have more specialty items to play with, ingredients you can’t get at Walmart or Kroger.”

The market will also provide Henderson the opportunity to get back in the kitchen as a chef, a passion which has been delayed as construction made the site’s kitchen unusable. He plans to offer up to a dozen specialty sandwiches on the deli menu, at least four ready-to-eat items and house-made artisan breads, plus improvisations based on what is fresh that week. He may even get into producing charcuterie (house-made sausage) each week, as well as being able to connect customers’ requests with Arkansas vendors whenever possible.

“The good thing about being our size,” he explained, “is that when people have special requests we can serve their needs. In the future, we’ll even offer online ordering. If you want goat in two weeks, we’ll be able to handle that for you.”

The market will have a full-service deli using Arkansas-based Petit Jean meats, a 6-foot salad bar featuring locally-grown products and seating with a great community view for 24, including Arkansas-roasted RoZark Hills cappuccino and coffee for purchase and free Wi-Fi provided by Urban Wireless.

Henderson, who is also an instructor at Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School, said he hopes culinary students will come in and look around “just to learn what all is out there.”

“For example, in my kitchen, I use at least five different kinds of salt,” he said. “There are so many different things you can do with it to create different tastes and textures.”

Argenta Market sits, at 6th and Main, in the very center of the Argenta Community Development Corporation‘s plans for the growing, trendy segment of downtown North Little Rock.

“They have plans for this area to be a walking residential and retail community, and geographically, we are right in the middle of it,” Henderson said. “It wasn’t planned that way, but it’s a happy accident.”

Argenta Market
6th and Main Streets (521 Main St.)
North Little Rock, AR
(501) 379-9980
www.argentamarket.com

Foodie Event: Taste of the Town, North Little Rock

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We’re still recovering from all the eating, schmoozing and more eating we’ve done in the past few days. On Thursday, the same day I tasted the final dishes of Arkansas Iron Chef, hubs and I also attended the 16th annual Taste of the Town event in North Little Rock at the Alltel, er, Verizon Arena. It is put on by the North Little Rock Chamber of Commerce.

While not entirely the same caliber of fancy food I’d been eating at Iron Chef, this was still pretty darn fun. There were 27 booths of various NLR (and some Little Rock — cheaters!) eateries, from fast-foodish pizza (we’re looking at you, Little Caesars) to the foodie-worthy excellence of Cantina Laredo.

I must give a shout-out to my friends at the Pulaski Technical College Arkansas Culinary School, who had a team of pastry students dishing out some killer dessert bites. I NEED the recipe for those caramels.

And there was Hooters. Um, yeah. You gotta admit they have good wings, though. (And thighs, and breasts….)

It was so crowded, it felt like cattle being herded in spurts and flows at the height of the event. It was also a little awkward getting your little tasting plate and trying to find somewhere to perch long enough to eat it. There were tables, as well as the arena’s perching spots, but not really quite enough. But that’s OK, just a testament to the success of the event and its promoters, methinks.

Tips for next year, if anyone in charge reads and cares: Next year, smaller samples. I know this is up to the vendor, but recommend small bites. More tables, the stand-up-and-schmooze kind. Easier access to water, a critical element for a “tasting” event. Maybe get Mountain Valley to provide those cute little half-size bottles, or at least the NLR Water Department; I saw their bottles at Iron Chef. And put the whole thing on the arena floor instead of the upper concourse. Food events are exploding (as did this one), and you’ll continue to get more peeps than you think.

Mmmm….Peeps.

I digress.

In spite of all my bellyaching, don’t misunderstand; this is a great event. The tickets were $15 each, which isn’t too bad for a fun night out grazing. All the food was great, as I didn’t find a single thing I didn’t like. Plus, it was fun meeting some of the owners and managers from these restaurants and talking foodie with them.

Plan on going next year, K?

Photos!