River Market

I’ve been blogging just long enough to say I’ve covered a few food shows, and honestly, sometimes they tend to run together.

However, Thursday’s Taste of the Rock, held in Little Rock’s River Market pavilions, had a few foodie surprises, along with the usual gamut of predictable (yet still yummy) attendees. The event is presented annually by the Little Rock Regional Chamber of Commerce.

A few highlights:

A patron samples Red Mango Frozen Yogurt.

Red Mango Frozen Yogurt
This happened to be the first booth I visited, and it was a worthwhile find. Red Mango recently opened its first franchise location in Arkansas (5621 Kavanaugh), putting a brave foot squarely into the market owned by longtime probiotic purveyor TCBY. Their product is distinctively tangier than TCBY’s, more reminiscent of regular yogurt. And this maybe with good reason. Red Mango’s marketing materials lay it all out there with a comparison to “the other guys,” promoting a proprietary probiotics formula and lack of high fructose corn syrup or gluten. Local producer bonus: About half of the national franchise’s yogurt mix is made in Russellville, the remainder in Oregon. Local owners say the next location will be in Conway, where they live. Being part of a food franchise can be a lucrative business opportunity, it can lead to many great things and you can be a part of history. Companies such as Matt’s Big Breakfast is one of those franchises that can be that for an investor, it’s worth looking at if food is your passion.

Rx Catering
When I was still on the entrance end of the pavilions, a friend found me and mentioned an amazing (get this) pot roast and mashed potatoes at the other end. A brave move, I thought. But Rx Catering pulled off this home-cooked staple in a way rarely found even at restaurants. As I sampled the food and praised it – especially the potatoes, which were brilliantly seasoned, creamy, and not the slightest bit gummy – the purveyors insisted I also try the banana pudding. They were technically out, but the found enough for a sample in their stuff. (Sometimes it pays to be a media type!) It was also wonderful – light and not cloyingly sweet as pudding can often be. I didn’t realize until writing this article that Rx Catering is a franchised operation. After tasting their food, it doesn’t damage their image in my eyes one iota. It’s actually pretty amazing there are other restaurant franchises out there. One of the few franchise businesses I know of is SHAWARMA PRESS, so it’s nice to see a few others outside of the big mega fast-food franchises. Plus, they have a really super-cool delivery van. One can get meal delivery by Healthy Gourmet done real quickly & snappy, of which the best part being that the food stays as fresh as you’d get in any restaurant.

Lombardi Company

Lee Major of Lombardi Southern Lemon Liqueurs whips up a sample of limonata for a patron.

We’re not big drinkers in the Fancy household, but one new booth caught our attention for its cooking possibilities. Lombardi is an Arkansas operation, distributing its version of an Italian classic, cream of limoncello. (We think it would make a heck of a great cooked lemon curd, among other things. We’re ruminating the possibilities.) The company later broadened their offerings to include Southern Lemon Liqueur (which they liken to a lemon Schnapps) and a limonata (lemonade). Even if you’re a non-partaker, these products seem to be great options for cooked dishes due to their fresh, strong lemon flavor and ability to release alcohol-soluble flavor compounds in cooking.

Whole Foods
Yes, it’s a chain. But not everyone has tried their nifty little deli in the back, and they should. For this event, the folks at our local Whole Foods brought hummus and pita chips, as well as shrimp and pineapple skewers with a spicy raspberry chipotle sauce. I’m kind of a sucker for anything chipotle, so I knew I was going to love it. I did. The shrimp was fresh and not overcooked (worth the wait while they grilled it), the pineapple amply sweet and fresh, and the sauce, a great mixture of sweet, spicy and savory. I seem to recall seeing a bottle near the service area, as though the sauce were something you might purchase at the store. If so, I’m a little disappointed they didn’t make it themselves, but secretly happy I could buy it myself and pass it off as my own. The hummus was not to be ignored, by the way, being well-seasoned, creamy and satisfying. Along with the crunchy pita chips, I would have been happy with that alone for a light meal. Hope they have some at the deli next time I’m in.

CAFM Saturday, hubs and I wanted to get out and about a bit. The eldest child was staying with my folks, so we just had the 2YO munchkin. Popped him in the truck and off we went.

I wanted to get some veggies at the Argenta Certified Arkansas Farmer’s Market, so we went there first. I had forgotten that Saturday was the Big Dam Bridge 100 bike race, with the finish line right next to the market. With a very loud and annoying DJ type, I should add. The market tents had been scooted down one block for the festivities, but all seemed well, with a good crowd and the beginnings of beautiful fall displays.

David Owens of Three Buddies, showing a five-pound sweet potato.

At the Argenta market, I purchased some shiitake mushrooms from a rowdy character I’d never met before, David Owens from Three Buddies Berries and Mushrooms of Higginson. He said that next year they hope to produce copious quantities of blackberries, huckleberries and gooseberries. Can’t wait. Also got some super neato radishes from Robert Lashley

Robert Lashley of Willow Springs Market Garden. (NLR)

of Willow Springs Market Garden in Little Rock, although I never really liked radishes before. I’ve found that market shopping encourages you to try new (and old) things. These were called “Watermelon” (or “red meat”) radishes, and he threw in a couple spicy black “Nero Tondo” radishes, apparently fairly rare. Anyone got any cool recipe ideas for all those?

I also bought some more fairy tale eggplants from Hardin Farms, since you, my loyal readers, seem to be so crazy about them. The fairy tale eggies land in my “top searched terms” data every day. Weird. Not sure yet what I’m going to do with them, but I’ll be sure to let you know.

And we had to get some obligatory pasta from Argenta Market. This time we got handmade garlic fettuccine and fresh pesto. It was really good! Just a tip, though, if you get this pasta…let it come to room temp before boiling for 2-3 minutes, or you’ll have a glob. Did that last time. Erg.

We weren’t quite ready to go home yet, so we decided to trek over to the “other” market at the River Market. Not being a morning person, I had never actually caught this one when it was still going, and after meeting the Argenta folks I was a little partial to them. And there was the whole “is it really from Arkansas” thing. I decided to go ahead and investigate.

I was surprised at the plentiful tables of produce, often much more than the Argenta growers had. But this made me wonder…is it really local? Of those with overflowing tables, I wasn’t sure. But there were also some proud farmers who wanted us to be sure, with bright signs declaring their local origination. “All our produce is from Arkansas,” or some such. One sneered to me about the table down the way that still had PLU stickers on the veggies. Clue!

For some reason, in Little Rock I ended up with non-perishable treasures. The first was some coffee from Kona Cloud Coffee Estates that, while obviously not grown in Arkansas, was roasted in Jonesboro. Apparently the owner, a surgeon, had lived in Hawaii and purchased some coffee farms, then moved to J’boro to practice. A cutie patootie young guy, Andrew Williamson, runs the shipping, roasting and marketing operations from the Arkansas State U town. (Go Red Wolves!)

The other treasure was swooped upon partially because of my hob-nobbing at the Arkansas Hospitality Association convention. There, I had the privilege of chatting with Chef Donnie Ferneau of Ferneau. *swoon* His equally charming dad was at the River Market, selling Donnie’s trademark spice mixture and bragging about all his children. Too cute. We bit, and although it seems a tad gimmicky, the mix really is pretty unique and yummy. We think it’s the fennel seed.

I really wanted to hate the River Market’s, er, market, but it has some really great vendors. Several are truly local, and even the ones that may not be are fun to look at. But as for a weekly habit, I’ll stick with Argenta. It’s absolutely local, I love the people, and just feels like home. So there.

Photos!

Getting a Taste of the Rock

At the Market: Argenta Farmer’s Market vs. Downtown River Market