Seven Super Sushi Spots in the Rock.

Maybe it started out as a fad, but sushi in Little Rock’s here to stay. The usual suspects are around -- Kobe Steakhouse, Sekisui, those sort of places. We’re lucky to have sushi chefs stirring up take-home options at Whole Foods, Fresh Market and Kroger these days. But we’re also blessed with a decent number of locally owned and operated restaurants that serve up sushi. These (usually) rice screened and teak wooded entities all over our metropolis, and most of them have survived.

I’ve been collecting these for a little while, But I have to admit something. I used to just not care for sushi. Thought it was an overpriced waste of time. Sure, the creations were pretty, but weren’t these things just snacks? Then… I got pregnant. And suddenly sushi seemed to be the only thing I wanted. Of course, when you’re pregnant you can’t eat all sushi -- that whole eating raw food goes straight out the window. But I found plenty of other options -- rolls that included cooked shrimp, egg, vegetables and whatnot. And I fell in love with it. Those cravings didn’t go away after our daughter was born, so I set out to find all the local sushi places around town and figure out which ones I liked the best. In the end, there were seven -- seven places I have to recommend, each for their own little bit of goodness. Each of them has their own specialty to emphasize; in fairness, I present them here in alphabetical order.


Eastern Flames

One of the less well-known options around town, Eastern Flames is a quiet place to relax in an austere environment. The sushi chef operates in the center of the room, surrounded by cherry wood chairs and tables and unpadded booths.

Eastern Flames has one thing the other places I went lack -- the option of ordering half-rolls. I like this; gives you a chance to try several sort of rolls for less money.

This tempting little platter is the Spicy Tuna Roll Lunch Box ($9.95). It comes with all you see plus a salty miso soup and a light salad with that ginger-peanut dressing that often accompanies Japanese meals around these parts. The tuna, whitefish, salmon and shrimp were all delightfully fresh.

My dining companion and I enjoy those half-rolls a lot -- lunch-sized rolls that are four pieces instead of the normal six or eight. I rather enjoy the Spicy Crab Roll ($2.50) with its pile of Japa-mayo spiced crab on top, while my companion dug on the Salmon Roll ($2.25) pictured to the right. The half-rolls all run in the $2-3 range.

Lunch boxes aren't limited to sushi. This Chicken Katsu Lunch Box ($6.95) also comes with soup and salad, along with edamame and spring rolls. The fried rice with its bits of toasted sesame seeds and vegetables is a welcome difference from most of the other rice offerings at area restaurants. The Katsu itself and accompanying Hoisin sauce were a good combination, but chewy.

Then there’s sake. Eastern Flames offers a complete sake menu, from Geikkaikan on draft for $4 to $22 for a bottle of Sho Chiku Bai Nano organic. My companion's $10 bottle of Sho Chiku Bai Ginjo was 300ml of kick-back-and-relax with a fruity yet flowery flavor.

You may not have heard of Eastern Flames before, but that's okay -- it keeps the crowds small. Let the lesser informed head to the Japanese-esque sushi-and-teppanyaki chains.

Eastern Flames at 7710 Cantrell (north side of the road, across from McDonald's). Lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Dinner 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. (501) 227-7222.



Gina’s Chinese Kitchen and Sushi Bar

Unlike most of the other places on our sushi list, Gina’s isn’t a Japanese restaurant. That gives it the chance to be a bit more, to expand past the expected selection of maki, nigiri and sashimi and into even more.

The flavors at Gina’s surprise me. They have a lot of flavors I haven’t found at other area sushi bars. It’s a welcome touch. The restaurant manages to make a break with tradition and aim right at the taste buds of Central Arkansas patrons.

The restaurant’s menu is dotted with what appear to be traditional names, even among the sushi. Indeed, there’s a miso soup starter that‘s savory and pleasant -- though I prefer the mushroom soup and its deliciously dark depths.

The Crab Rangoon are legendary at Gina’s -- they’re not just folded differently, they’re served up extraordinarily hot with ice cold housemade duck sauce. The difference in textures, temperatures and tastes are an adventure.

But it’s in the sushi itself that flavors of the South truly peek through. Such as with the Hawaiian Roll, where the pineapple neither overwhelms nor disappears, serving as a very subtle relish to a light offering -- think how a light pineapple salad contrasts heavier dishes at a family reunion. The Tempura Shrimp roll is similar to other efforts elsewhere, but comes across more salty with that slap of Eel sauce. And the Crawfish roll? I’d swear someone’s hiding some crab boil in that kitchen. It hollers like a-ca-dee-an-na.

Nigiri is also fresh and lively. The chef I’ve encountered tends to pack a little looser than at other restaurants, and perhaps that dab of wasabi under the fish is a bit on the light side, but it’s fine by me.

Gina’s Chinese Kitchen and Sushi Bar Gina’s is way out west at 14524 Cantrell Road. It‘s open from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. everyday. (501) 868-7775.





Hanaroo

There’s something absolutely charming about tiny little Hanaroo, the little sushi bar that could just off Louisiana on Capitol Avenue downtown. The humble little place is within walking distance for a good number of downtowners -- but when I’ve had the opportunity to go by for lunch it’s been mostly empty. Crazy? Yeah, it is. Because the food is good.

Lunch boxes are ample. For instance, the B-10 Bento Box ($9.50). Of course, miso soup comes out first -- very brothy with well-saturated tofu and tiny slivers of onion for texture and taste.

The box itself is packed with variety -- a salad (which included tomatoes and cucumbers in addition to the standard lettuce) topped by a refreshing orange-ginger dressing. Nicely salted edamame. The Beef Tataki comes in a broth of its own (I'm used to seeing it in a dryer preparation), nicely peppery with a spicy kick about two seconds after a bite -- but that’s great to try alongside the unexpected dollop of horseradish potato salad paired with the box. The Double Punch roll I chose with the box was one of the best rolls I’ve had around here -- tempura shrimp and crab inside the roll, enhanced with the texture of "crunchies” generously scattered over the top. The sashimi with the box was firm, smooth and not the least bit fishy.

You'll find Hanaroo a couple doors down west off the corner of Capitol and Louisiana. Lunch runs 11 a.m.- 2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. There's also dinner available 5-9:30 p.m. Monday through Saturday. (501) 301-7900.



Igibon Japanese Food House

For an intelligent, adult place to have a sushi lunch, you really can’t beat Igibon. The wait staff is polite, the crowd tends to be the suit-and-power-tie crowd, and the menu is mature and creative.

Appetizer options include the picture-perfect Tako Sunomono ($4.95). This light combination of delicately sliced octopus and cucumber in vinegar sauce isn't just tasty and refreshing, it's also a conversation starter.

There’s a nice variety of options at lunch, including udon, sushi slates, and bento boxes. The Igibon Special bento box ($8.95) is a considerable amount of food -- including Beef Maki, Shrimp Tempura, Vegetable Tempura, sushi, fried or white rice, crab wonton, salad, and soup.

The Beef Maki ($4.95 on its own) is something I've never seen anywhere else -- ribeye steak sliced thin and rolled around scallions and carrots, covered in a soy-based sauce and sprinkled with sesame seeds. It's served warm, and it's different -- like tiny sushi-sized chunks of pot roast.

I also have to comment on the salad dressing -- though thin, it's a great combination of creamy and tart and goes well with the whole dinner. The broccoli floret tempura, however, is a bit wieldy in my opinion.

Sushi B ($6.95) is one of three sushi slates offered with soup for the lunchtime crowd. It includes California roll, tuna roll, cucumber roll, and a couple of pieces of a house roll with avocado and crab stick.

You'll find Igibon Japanese Food House at 11121 North Rodney Parham Suite A-13 (in the Market Place Shopping Center). (501) 217-8888. It's open Monday-Saturday 11:00 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. for lunch and 5-10:00 p.m. for dinner.


Mount Fuji

The granddaddy of all Arkansas sushi bars. Its more formal atmosphere is often clogged with businessmen, perhaps making deals as they crowd tables upstairs in the canopy section.

First dates and longtime lovers find the secluded booths a real treat.

There’s always someone sitting at the sushi bar, and there’s always something great on the menu.

The venerable Little Rock Japanese establishment has been serving up sushi, tempura, and sukiyaki since the mid-80s. Fuji's sushi is predictable only to the point of you know what you'll get when you order a Spider roll, a Razorback roll, or any of the many specialties on the menu. The fish is fresh, the rice is sticky, and the dishes are clean.

The Sushi Special ($9.95), is a real lunch in a box, a pretty box at that. The special changes every day in its specifics -- but it always includes four pieces of fresh sushi, a special roll, your choice of another roll (California, Spicy Tuna, Spicy Crab, Grilled Salmon/Cream Cheese, Crunchy Shrimp, or Asparagus) and accoutrements. For example -- a particular day’s offerings included seaweed, a fish puff, a nice selection of sushi (tuna, conger eel, salmon, whitefish), four big pieces of a special roll that was similar to a California roll but with a mince of tuna and spice on top, and the ordered Spicy Crab roll.

The Shrimp Tempura lunch box ($7.95) includes three perfectly battered and fried shrimp, tempura-clad veggies (sweet potato, potato, zucchini), the delicious and salty tempura dip and rice, four pieces of Crab roll and a spring roll.

On Monday nights, Mount Fuji does a special where about a dozen of their more popular rolls are two for $10.95, and you can get appetizers buy one, get one half off. Here you can see four rolls -- a New Orleans roll, a King Crab roll, a Crunchy Shrimp roll, and a Volcano roll. While all four were tasty, the Volcano roll without a doubt was our favorite. The spicy shrimp, crab stick, avocado, rice, and seaweed are deftly formed, sliced, constructed into a pyramid and coated with a very spicy and robust Japanese mayo (which, if you don't care for that much, you can have on the side).

You’ll find Mount Fuji at 10301 N. Rodney Parham Road, in the Breckenridge Shopping Center. Lunch Mon-Sat 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Sunday noon-3 p.m. Dinner 5-10 p.m. seven days. (501) 227-6498.


Panda Garden

The only buffet on the list, Panda Garden at Shackleford Crostting Shopping Center has a lot going for it already, being a decently priced and well stocked Asian buffet. There’s a lot there -- a cold seafood bar, salad bar, dessert bar (complete with pie tower case), a bar that seems to be almost entirely composed of items that come with cheese, and a neat ice cream dispenser where you dial in the flavor you want to add.

All that's nice, but the part that really makes Panda Garden stand out is the sushi bar. That's right -- I said sushi bar. Sushi can be a scary proposition on any buffet -- there's no telling how long each piece or roll has sat out under questionable heat lamps or sneeze guards. But here, no worries. An actual sushi chef is behind the bar, ready and willing to take your suggestions and request. The daily "special roll" can be a bit of an interesting mixture, but there are also choices like Volcano Rolls, California Rolls, and other favorites like Spicy Crab, Philly, and Avocado.

And the price is more than reasonable. Lunch is $6.95 for the buffet (not including tax or drink) -- less than you'll pay for one of the "house rolls" at many of the other sushi joints in town -- and at those places you don't have items like fried wontons or General Tso's chicken to add to your plate.

We had friends that went one night late for the buffet. The sushi chef came out to the table and asked what they liked and made up a big platter for them, to make sure they had what they wanted before the line closed down. That’s awesome.

You'll find Panda Garden at Shackleford Crossing south of I-430... they also have a take-out menu, if you're interested. Dial (501) 224-8100. Open at 11 a.m. seven days a week.


Sushi Café

It’s one thing to make food delicious. It’s another to make it gorgeous. And sometimes the twain never meet. But they pair quite nicely at Sushi Café in the Heights. Presentation is just as much a part of the dining experience as the taste. It almost makes the prices on the menu seem perfect.

That’s not to say that you wouldn’t pay twice as much for items such as the Out of this World Jellyfish Salad ($7) at an upscale restaurant in a bigger city. As delicate and beautiful as the plate is, it’s matched by a well-created mass of salty jellyfish within a savory ring of seaweed. It’s actually a very, very good starter.

Then there's the nigiri, which is prime and perhaps the best packed in town. You'll find a lot of specialty nigiri at Sushi Cafe, like this gorgeous and buttery Toro.

As are the Mini Harumaki Rolls ($7), savory crab-filled spring rolls with a nice kick of spice to them, served up with two sauces (a Japanese “mayo” and a sweet wasabi sauce). These aren’t cabbage-strapped rolls that contain slivers of crab, but meaty columns of sweetness that you want to horde for yourself.

The sushi, by the way, also ranks top notch. The Rock ‘n’ Roll is a better than average version, but the Cowboy Roll ($12) topped it by far with its savory vs. sweet range, a California Roll stuffed with mango and then topped by New York Strip steak.

Of course, there’s far more to offer at Sushi Café, such as burgers and gyros and crab cakes and Pad Thai and fish ‘n’ chips and… actually, trying to figure out what to eat at Sushi Café is one of the two problems I encountered there -- the other being the tightness of the little restaurant. It is a bit cramped, especially for the crowds it can draw.

Sushi Café is open 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Monday through Friday for lunch and 5 p.m. til late for dinner every day. And there’s a Saturday brunch that lines up things like eggs and sausage with Sashimi Breakfast. Go figure. Find it at 5823 Kavanaugh in the Heights. (501) 663-9888.

How Green Is My Love?

Ideas for a different sort of Valentine

Is your kind of girl the sort that would look at those dozen red roses and bemoan the fact that the flowers were raised with chemicals and will soon be dead? The sort that prefers a weekend saving the planet to a weekend of selfish exuberance? You’re in luck. Here are some ideas for places to go to choose that perfect gift for the ecologically friendly lover in your life.

Pick up a gift at The Green Corner Store on South Main in Little Rock. Lots of neat items that have been recycled, repurposed or created from local materials. Something cute: Sushi Jewelry, made from felt to resemble the popular Japanese-style snack food. Also, Flip-Off Jewelry, made from the “flip off” caps from insulin bottles kept out of landfills. Enjoy the double entendre. TheGreenCornerStore.com.

If you have a little money to spare and want to give your sweetheart something that’s truly original, try a unique item from Miller’s Mud Mill Pottery in Dumas. Gail Miller’s pieces have drawn the interest of thousands who seek out her unique and colorful creations. Her wheel-turned bowls, trays, cheeseboards and coffee mugs aren’t just useful, they’re works of art. Check out the website, MillersMudMill.com.

Or how about fine art? Local artists need your support. Eureka Thyme specializes in art and products that are all eco-friendly and made locally. From soy candles made in Arkansas to original photography by Randal Thompson and Dale Johnson to the whimsical Boston terrier paintings by Betty Johnson, you’ll find something you love for that someone you adore. EurekaThyme.com.

Does your darling dig the spa? Delve into natural body and skin products and more at Maumelle’s It’s All Green And More store. The business is working to bring eco-friendly, recycled and fair-trade items to the local market at a reasonable price. Whether its Wild Carrot Soap, Hemp Exfoliation Pads or Wild Weed Balm, you’ll find plenty to give your green dream mate -- including eco-friendly packaging to contain your purchases. Check out the website, ItsAllGreenAndMore.com.

Does your love enjoy the fine scent of a good candle? Save on the paraffin and go for the soy with Belle Candles. These double-scented creations out of Marion come in one standard size -- a 24 ounce candle that smells just as strong or sweet at its last burning as its first. Popular scents include Litsea & Basil, Brandied Pears, Pecan Pie and Green Tea -- and for the more whimsical, Monkey Farts, a blend of flavors including pineapple, banana, orange, coconut rum, green apple and vanilla. An Arkansas-made product you’ll enjoy sharing. Find them at The Green Cornerstore or The Historic Arkansas Museum downtown, or learn more by visiting their website, BelleCandles.com.


Other Ideas For Your Earth-Friendly Sweetheart
A personalized water bottle gift set. Buy two with your lover’s name emblazoned on the side -- so he’ll always have one that’s clean and ready to go.

A subscription to the Basket-A-Month program from the Certified Arkansas Farmers Market. Give the one you adore the gift of fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy for three months or more -- really a gift that keeps on giving.

A shake-charge flashlight. These little flashlights only require a good shake to provide light -- hence, no batteries to send to the landfill.

An under-the-sink compost bin. Perfect for the apartment-bound or for that person in your life who’s too busy to take vegetation out every day, the charcoal-filtered bin allows one to create compost without smelling up the kitchen.

Bamboo pajamas. Utterly renewable material that’s surprisingly soft, light, and comfortable. A good reason to wear pajamas to bed.

Solar powered cell phone charger. Whether you camp or just want a way to keep your phone charged without worrying about electricity, this little panel eliminates the excuse “I would have called, but my cell phone was dead.”

Help the animals. Make a donation to the Little Rock Zoo Conservation Fund in the name of the one you love to monkey around with. Consider a Zoo membership, while you’re at it.

Sultry & Hep, SpeakEasy’s Vibe Transcends.

SpeakEasy is trying very hard to please two different crowds. It has a real chance as long as it sticks to good food and good music, and as long as both stay as sophisticated as its patrons.

I dropped by on a Friday afternoon to check out the scene and grab some lunch. I was shocked to find myself the only customer in the place - but that could be attributed to the bitter, bitter cold outside. On my waiter’s suggestion, I went for the Shrimp Scampi ($11 at lunch, $16 for dinner). I was rather pleased with the dish. Served up with fantastically well-seasoned black eyed peas and typical kernel corn, the large shrimp were delivered perched upon three slices of crusty toasted bread. One bite and I was in love. The delicious balance of mushrooms, white wine and the tiniest amount of red onion won me over immediately. Serving the shrimp up on toast rather than in a buttery bath allowed the shrimp to breathe and not become chewy, and the “sop” factor of the toast was well appreciated.

Went back with my dining companion for dinner on a Saturday night. The mood was relaxed, with just a few customers at the bar and another couple across the way at a table. Our waitress gave us recommendations and brought us beverages on a short turnaround while we enjoyed the atmosphere.

SpeakEasy has the feel of a good high-end nightclub; it reminds me a whole lot of one of our favorite New Orleans hotspots, the cabaret at Le Chat Noir. The room is dark but with plenty of comfortable seating, including a couple of rather large red couches in the corner. The neat and original bar is embossed with vinyl and LP covers, and capped at the end with a live piano. There are live musical acts on Friday and Saturday nights ranging from classic rock to R&B and soul, and the wait staff is casual but kind. It lacks some things you might expect with a more established business, but that may just be a matter of maturity. After all, that takes time, which SpeakEasy just hasn’t had yet.

On the recommendation of our waitress, we tried the Crab Fondue ($8) and utterly could not find fault. I’ve had the seafood and cheese sort of fondue so many other places have attempted, but SpeakEasy has it so dead-on, it’s almost worth never ordering it again anywhere else. The unassuming bowl of hot dip and platter of baguette fingers held within the very essence of sweet lump crab meat, a delicious Parmesan-and-other-melty-delights cheese blend, and a talented dance going with the buttery-salty-crunchy heft of the baguette pieces. We were thankful when our waitress came to retrieve the dish; I was mere moments from committing an etiquette faux-pas and absorbing the last of the dip clinging to the sides of the bowl with my fingers.

We were quite entertained by the musical selections while waiting for our dinners. French love songs and Doris Day are smattered aurally between layers of Delta blues and R&B dotted trance. The tunes were apparently called up via Yahoo Music to fill the time before the evening performance began. We found the mix eclectic and charming.

Our dinners arrived; I’d asked for the chef to surprise me with whatever he considered to be his best, and was surprised to receive the Chicken Skewers ($7), hunks of grilled chicken and pineapple with a bit of jerk seasoning. They were delicious but absent the cherries mentioned on the menus.

My dining companion was quite pleased with the offering of the Filet Mignon ($19), a gorgonzola sauced and stuffed round of meat that fell apart on touch with the fork. The sauce, while thin, was a nice salty balance to the steak. The day’s vegetable, asparagus, was delicious, and I even thought the starch of the day (red beans and rice) was a nice hearty accompaniment.

We were doing pretty well, but couldn’t turn down dessert once it came. And here’s where we found the true idea of where SpeakEasy is at. I ordered the Pecan Bourbon Pie, while my companion went for the Orange Chocolate Bundt Cake. Now, when I get pie at a restaurant, it usually comes with whipped cream or ice cream or some sort of garnish. This pie was… frankly, flat. But with one taste all was forgiven. The house-made salty crust was so well matched with the sweetness of the darkly scandalous Karo-bourbon filling and the solid bite of the pecans, I couldn’t help but feel both guilty and happy.

My companion’s dessert, though, proved this is indeed a grown-up establishment. The humble slice of cake held within its moist and delicate morsels layer after layer of flavor, some chocolate, some orange and something dark and secret, perhaps a coffee liqueur or Frangelico. It was something that remained a true mystery, one I’d like to investigate further.

The restaurant does sport a small but mighty wine list, with most by-the-glass offerings sliding under the $10 mark. While the kitchen closes at 10 p.m., the bar remains open until the wee hours, and during our visit remained cluttered with casual drinkers and conversation.

SpeakEasy has that sort of an air to it, as if it’s set to be a stage for some great accidental performance ahead. It’ll be interesting to see how that story unfolds.

You’ll find SpeakEasy at 412 Louisiana in downtown Little Rock, open for lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. On Friday and Saturday it’s open from 4 p.m. to 1 a.m., with dinner service from six to ten. And Sunday’s you can visit from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m. For more information, call (501) 374-2008.

As published in the January 2010 edition of Emerald City of the South.

Revisiting Facci's.

We all have one, at least one restaurant that we go to not just for the food or the ambiance but for the memories evoked at that location. I’m blessed with several, and Facci’s Italian Ristorante is one. Fortunately, it’s the good food that keeps me coming back just as much as the memories.

I’ve written about the place before… back when I first started blogging about all the cool places I had been. Facci’s used to be the place my husband and I would stop for lunch or dinner when we were in Hot Springs back in our courting years. It’s where we chose to have our first post-nuptual meal together. And… as my friends have jokingly pointed out to me… then the place burned down. You can read all about it over at my Tie Dye Travels review from November 2007.

Thing is, this past year I’ve started this practice on my Facebook fan page, where I reference an Arkansas restaurant each weekday where readers can go find a good meal. And I get to Facci’s, and I look at the entry, and frankly I’m embarrassed. No, it has nothing to do with the food; I still recommend it to everyone who’s heading to Oaklawn or going down for Garvan Woodland Gardens.

It’s because the photos are terrible.

Let’s face it -- when I started Tie Dye Travels I was just a writer with a camera, not a very good camera at that. I snapped shots with no training or experience and just threw them up on the blog. But with time and patience has come a better understanding of how to convey a good dish through photography.

Finding myself in Hot Springs for the opening day of Oaklawn Racing Park, I just had to drop in and do it all over again. And that’s where this really gets funny to me. Because that little blog entry, that two year old posting combining the story of my favorite little Italian gem in Spa City and some truly deplorable shots that resembled those taken by visitors to Scotland out on Loch Ness… was posted ever so proudly in the foyer.

So that’s how I found myself at one of the dark little tables crowded inside the comfortable little house on Central Avenue, scanning the menu and chuckling, trying not to grin too big. Of course, the menu drew back my attention. I almost went for the $3.99 all-you-can-eat spaghetti, but with much running around Oaklawn still to be done, I didn’t want to drag. I ordered mostaccioli and my dining companion chose a sandwich.

We giggled over the menu, its frank descriptions entertaining. Things like “Cheap red wine: It’s red.” Yeah, that sort of thing.

I’d ordered the #2 lunch special -- soup or salad, mostaccioli and tea or coffee for $6.50. I had three choices for soup: Italian wedding, minestrone or cream of mushroom. Well, I just had to give the cream of mushroom a try, since it was housemade. Glad I did. The thick masala-like soup was creamy, but not in that congealed canned soup sort of way. Big hunks of mushroom littered the bowl, and the soup mated perfectly with fresh hot garlic bread.

The bread? Ah, yeah. I went ahead and ordered Foccacia Bread ($1.75) to go along with our lunch. I’m used to foccacia being thick spongy bread with some sort of cheese in it. At Facci’s, it’s a light six inch round, somewhere between a flatbread and a dinner roll, airy and a little salty. It and the garlic bread were served up together with a plate of olive oil and balsamic vinaigrette for dipping, a perfect sweet and tart combination.

My dining companion chose a sandwich for lunch, the Italian Beef ($5.50). Out comes this big hunk of crusty bread stuffed with beef and white cheese, with a steaming bowl of au jus on the side. The sandwich bread was crunchy on the outside and studded with sesame seeds, the interior was soft and steamy, and the au jus was definitely housemade, very savory but not too salty. It was served up with French fries and ketchup, as are all lunch sandwiches.

My mostaccioli came out on a big platter, big tubes of pasta covered in mozzarella cheese and then the thick red sauce and finally a baseball sized meatball on top. The red sauce at Facci’s is very tomato-y, somewhere between a thick relish and a paste in consistency and the sort of clear tomato flavor you only get from homemade. The oregano is evident, but other spices hide behind the tomato like toddlers behind their mother’s skirts, playful yet bashful. The mozzarella is generous and binds the noodles together quite well. A lunch plateful tends to be about twice as much as I need; our hostess made the kind offer to box up half to take home, which I graciously accepted.

A good lunch, indeed, the sort of thing to stick to your ribs when the weather is cold, the sort of food that’ll get you through an afternoon at the races. I’ve already said a lot about the place. It’s that sort of place. I haven’t even delved into the delightful cannoli or my favorite dish on the menu, the Veal Scallopini. Well, I guess I’ll be making another blog entry eventually.

You’ll find Facci’s Italian Ristorante across the street from Oaklawn at 2900 Central Avenue. Their website seems to have passed the way of the dodo, but you can reach them at (501) 623-9049. They’re open 11am to 9pm Monday through Thursday and until ten on Fridays and Saturdays, closed on Sunday. And you can have a good laugh at my expense over that bad photography in the window. That’s all me. I claim it.

Grillin' Up Good Eatin'.

So, you want Greek food. In Conway. Well, you can get what you’re looking for at Blackwood’s Gyros and Grill. But you’d be missing out on a lot of you didn’t pay attention to all the neat stuff the restaurant has to offer.

It’s not a new place -- in fact, I believe it’s been in business about 20 years now. It’s just relatively new to me. My mom and I found the place while driving around one day in May 2009. It looked promising, so we walked on in. Our waitress greeted us with a smile, quick drink service and a lot of suggestions.

We scanned the menu and went for a couple of sandwiches. We decided to try out the spicy Feta dip ($1.95) that was served up with celery sticks. The dip was also a good match for the potato chips, a spicy mix of Cajun seasoning and Feta cheese you can also get as a spread on your sandwich .

Mom went for the signature Blackwood sandwich ($5.45), a Reuben with extras. The corned beef on rye also sported Swiss cheese, grilled onions and tomatoes, and a specialty sauce. You know my thing about Reubens -- I like them, and I’ve discovered a Reuben sandwich listed on more than 90 percent of Arkansas menus, no joke. And I have to tell you -- though I love Reubens, this one was far better. And in case you were asking -- yes, there’s a true Reuben on the menu, too.

I went for the Louisiana Rex ($7.29), a hunk of chicken breast cooked in Cajun spices and served up on a French bread roll with shredded Cheddar cheese and tomatoes with a hefty dash of mayo. Tasty, but not especially hot, which was fine with me.

We decided to share dessert -- and enjoyed Fried Ice Cream ($3.50) -- a deep fried pita topped with a cornflake-dipped and deep-fried ball of vanilla ice cream drizzled with chocolate sauce and strawberries. Oh, man, it was good. I’m glad we only ordered the one, because it was rich. But oh so good.

So, of course we have to go back. And we did. She ordered up a salad and the Roy Allen ($6.49), an Italian sausage link sautéed up with peppers and onions in marinara sauce and topped with marinara on a French sourdough roll. The sandwich was so spicy Mom broke out in a sweat -- spicy, indeed. The salad was pretty decent, too.

Well, you know me. So many people ask me about where to find the best burger… and yes, one of these days I’ll do a post on the best burgers in the state. I’m sure Blackwood’s will qualify. See, there was this mention of the Giant Jerry Double D Burger ($10)… which was just listed as being a two patty giant burger. We order it -- but our waitress, perhaps surprised that anyone would order the monstrosity, put us in for a Giant Jerry D Burger ($6.89), which in itself is still a rather large burger. I didn’t recognize at first that this was a smaller burger… a 12 ounce burger served up on a French roll is pretty big in itself.

Our cook, though, came out and asked us if we really had ordered the Double D. And he whipped it up again, 24 ounces of burger (two long patties), a kitchen sink of condiments and two types of cheese and burger veggies that still managed to seem light compared to the sheer amount of meat on the bun. The only problem with that sort of burger is there’s no really good way to get it into your mouth. It took a lot of smushing, mashing, squeezing, and flattening to get it to oral-consumption size. In the end, I used a fork and didn’t even get halfway through. Thank goodness for little brothers who like burgers… he got our take-home box.

I’d gone for the onion ring upgrade -- a good choice, since the batter and onion were of excellent quality and cooked to a fantastic crisp. Chips come with all sandwiches, French fries are 75 cents extra and onion rings will run you $1.40 as a side.

So, dessert again. Of course we had to try something different. So we ordered up the Choc-Oliver Delight ($3.50), a seven or eight inch square hunk of moist chocolate cake topped with chocolate sauce and Cool Whip (not frosting) and Skor candy bar crumbles. It was good, it was an excellent but not overly sweet balance of cake and cream, and it was too much for the two of us to finish.

Blackwood’s Gyros and Grill is open from 10:30am to 9pm Monday through Saturday. It’s closed Sunday. You’ll find it at 803 Harkrider in Conway -- right by the bank and about a block away from Old Chicago Pizza and Doe’s Eat Place. Give it a try. Phone number is (501) 329-3924. Sorry, no website.