VIDEO: New Food Items at the 2016 Greek Food Fest in Little Rock.

Check out the new items you'll find at the Annunciation Greek Orthodox Church during the 32nd Annual Greek Food Fest in Little Rock, May 20-22nd.

Soul Shine: David Family Kitchen in Little Rock.

A family run operation serves up soul food on the south side of downtown Little Rock. Kat and Grav check out David Family Kitchen.

Little Rock has recently undergone a restaurant renaissance – with the introduction of the local foods movement and a bevy of new eateries making their mark across the Heights, Hillcrest, the River Market and the South Main District. But there’s a longstanding family operation that’s worth checking out – especially if you like good home cooking and soul food.

David Family Kitchen looks a little odd from the outside. Housed in an old white building on south Broadway decked with the line “with God, all things are possible,” it doesn’t look like much. There’s a tag on the door admonishing certain diners to not let their pants sag.

Still, the scents that welcome you even before the door is opened will convince you that this is where you’re eating today, no matter how hungry you might or might not be.

Forget curtains or tablecloths – here it’s a cafeteria-style bar to the right, old tables to the left and… well, what does the rest of it matter, because there’s a mature lady manning the stove and vittles galore under the heat lamps. Oh golly, it’s lunchtime.

David Family Kitchen was opened in 1998 by Stoy and Pearl David, who saw a need for more good eats in a neighborhood vacated by most chains. The place is open every weekday for breakfast and lunch, and every Sunday for brunch. Don’t come between 10 a.m. and 11 a.m. – it’s reset time, when the eggs and biscuits are put away and the oxtails and pork chops are put out.

I picked up my first recommendation on the case about five years ago, specifically on the need to go get some greens. What I did find when I got there stunned me – the fattest, largest chicken legs I had encountered at a commercial operation in Little Rock, tender and juicy and clad in a fine light and crispy crust. They were paired with yams almost impossibly sweet and syrupy and big fat fluffy rolls for sopping. Those legs have to be the best soul food chicken in Little Rock, in my humble opinion.


Oh, but there are other things. The fall-apart marrow-filled oxtails are to die for. Meatloaf is just like your mother’s if she’s a good home cook. Smothered pork chops are big and sloppy and I have seen people suck the bone. And chicken and dumplings would be a sin if they weren’t so holy.

So head south of I-630 on Broadway and look for that white building on the left. Consider breakfast – croquettes sit alongside chicken and waffles and all sorts of breakfast classics there – and be sure to wipe your mouth. Good stuff.

You'll find David Family Kitchen at 2301 Broadway in Little Rock. For more information, call (501) 371-0141. The restaurant is open 6:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. and 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday through Friday, and 11 a.m.-4 p.m. on Sunday.

Something different for lunch at Cafe Bossa Nova.

Brazillian cuisine is a far cry from the gravy and biscuits and skillet-frying of Southern culture. It has its own comforts, though, and Cafe Bossa Nova serves them up nicely.

Trying Out Bravo Cucina Italiana.

I rarely go to a restaurant on its opening weekend; there are usually far too many kinks to be worked out.  But with the press attention for Bravo Cucina Italiana, I decided to go ahead and give it a shot.

Another Thin Slice at Iriana's Pizza in Little Rock.

I've been thinking about my favorite pizzas lately, and got to the thin crust and wondered, which should I share? Well, of course, it must be Iriana's.

For those not familiar with the place, it’s in a storefront across from the Chamber of Commerce, next to The Hop. Inside, the space is all blacks, whites and grays accented by red lampshades and the red straw cups that adorn each table. It’s also a damn fine place to grab lunch.

The menu is simple… a short list of pizza toppings (just 13), a short list of sandwiches, a couple of salads, some breadstick options. Simple is good, though, especially when you’re dining solo or going dutch. You can order the small salad or the large one, the half sandwich or the whole. Nice options for this tight pocketbook economy.

Salads ($2.49 small, $4.29 large) come with Italian or Ranch dressing, that’s it -- and they’re served up with a single bulky twisted breadstick. The average pizza place uses the same dough for both pizza and breadsticks; if they’re doing that here I’m not getting it, because the breadsticks are thick, yeasty things, a bit chewy and probably meant more for dipping in sauce or wiping down with butter. That being said, they’re not typical and that’s a fine thing.

But you’re not looking for me to talk about a breadstick. You clicked through because you’re curious what I think about Iriana’s pizza. Okay. Fair enough.

Iriana’s is to me what I think of when I think of a typical Arkansas cracker-crust pizza. The particular type of pizza is thin but can hold its own. I mean to say, you can pick it up and eat it without it becoming droopy or falling apart. It’s a pizza meant to be eaten with the hands, not the fork.

The restaurant’s known for its “sweep the floor” pie, a combination of pepperoni, Canadian bacon, sausage, peppers, onions, mushrooms and olives. You can get a 12” pie or a 16” pie, but if you’re not looking to share or take it back to the office with you at lunch, you can indulge in a slice instead. A plain cheese slice is $1.89; pepperoni or mushroom are $2.19 each and a Sweep the Floor slice will come up $2.59. It’s a decent deal, considering the size of slice we’re talking about -- I’m guessing it’s a sixth or eighth of a large pizza, a big flat slice that’s bigger than the plate, quite probably eight inches long and wide at the top.

I usually go for mushroom, because I like mushrooms and I like the way Iriana’s does mushrooms, fresh and thinly sliced to go along with the pie itself. The slice is somewhere around a third of an inch thick at best, and when you pick it up it stays together. The sauce is smooth and a little salty; the cheese is a little sharp, and the crust is firm and crunchy.

There are no desserts at Iriana’s -- you can go down the street to the River Market to go assuage your sweet tooth -- but there is beer. The restaurant’s open 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday through Saturday and closed on Sunday. They do offer limited delivery. (501) 374-3656. Check out the website.

Cuppa Cuppa Burnin' Love at the Satellite Cafe.

This restaurant has closed.

I've been doing a little early morning research as of late... after a reader suggested that I don't get out and do breakfast enough.  Well, dear readers, I hope to fix that this week with a selection of blogs on several Central Arkansas breakfast locations.

I have lamented the fact that the chains seem to be winning at breakfast, simply because of the sheer number of available drive-thru windows for morning commuters.  Sitting down to enjoy the first meal of the day?  Well I hope to help you out.

Arkansas Flavor at Capital Bar and Grill.

That, my friends, is a bowl of fried black-eyed peas... which are complimentary to diners at the Capital Bar & Grill in the Capital Hotel.

I've been asked quite a bit lately... what are fried black-eyed peas?  How are they made?  WHY fried black-eyed peas?  Hey, let me tell you what... it's better than peanuts in a bar.  Those little crunchy morsels are addictive.  And they go great with a little iced tea.

I have been remiss in talking about CBG... though I've sent many Twitter followers that way.   I mean, we're talking a classy establishment, one of those places that lists whole dollar amounts on the menu rather than dickering with cents, a place in the evening where you fully expect to see hep singles mingling in their fancy clothes.  However, get to talking lunch, and you have a spot where you can really entertain an out-of-towner.  After all, what's more intriguing to a non-Arkansaywer than a fried black-eyed pea?

Oh, well, maybe a homemade Moon Pie.You see, CBG's chefs have taken what's quintessentially Arkansas fare and raised it to a high-falutin' level.  But they've done it in a way where most folks can still afford to enjoy it.

Take, for example, pimento cheese.  Yes, I have a soft spot for the delicacy, and I am starting to think it (along with cheese dip, pie, and jelly) is one of those foods Arkansas could be known for.  Alongside all the other epicurean delights on the menu... the simple dish of pimento cheese, served with homemade soda crackers.  It's got a nice smoky flavor to it, more than just a mix of mayo and cheese and pimentos, it has this hint of royalty to it.  Very fine.

CBG does some great dinner options like steak and mahi-mahi and such, but for lunch you're missing out if you don't try the $8 weekly blue plate specials -- think home food with an elegant touch.

However, you'll do fine on the sandwiches, especially that Little Rock classic called the Sloppy Roast Beef ($9).  In New Orleans it might be referred to as debris with gravy; here, it's a very wet fork-worthy sandwich of note, served up on crusty bread with some of those fantastic Parmesan Fries I like so much.  A winner.

But it's in the dessert arena where you really feel the gentle amusement of the chefs.  I mean, seriously, root beer floats and Moon Pies?  But when you're talking about a float made from local brewery Diamond Bear's Diamond Rock root beer and homemade vanilla ice cream... or a Moon Pie confection created from housemade marshmallow.... you're talking about a grand reinterpretation of classics.  Don't worry, if you really want to try something challenging check out the bacon ice cream when they have it.  Desserts, by the way, run you $4.

Capital Bar & Grill, as I mentioned, is in the Capital Hotel downtown.  They have free valet parking, which rocks when you're trying to get in and out and don't want to deal with parking yourself.  For more information, call (501) 374-7474 or check out the website.