Curb your hunger
Getting takeout dishes from LR-area eateries is easy, tasty.
Hundreds of eateries in the Little Rock metro area, thousands statewide and millions nationwide now are pretty much pinning their hopes of surviving on takeout, drive-thru and delivery business. Some are adapting better than others. Some have closed outright.
While we’ve been working at home for the past couple of weeks, we’ve been popping out to a handful of places, grabbing-and-going an item from each. As is our standard practice with restaurant reviews, we paid upfront for all meals, and we tipped generously, something we encourage everyone to emulate.
Hours at all of these places are subject to rapid change, which is why we aren’t listing them. And at least one restaurant we were going to cover here, Loca Luna, announced earlier this week it was closing. So check via the phone number, website and/or Facebook page before ordering, especially if it involves physically heading out for picking up.
■ MORNINGSIDE BAGELS, 10848 Maumelle Blvd., North Little Rock, (501) 753-6960; morningsidebagels.com; facebook.com/MorningSide-Bagels
What we got: Lox (smoked salmon) and cream cheese with capers (normally it also comes with tomato and red onion, but we’re purists) on an everything bagel (topped with poppy seeds, sesame seeds, onion, garlic and salt), $8.80, with a medium togo cup of coffee. (Plus three bagels, sliced, which enabled three more at-home breakfasts last week.)
How it works: We placed our order at the counter; they’re taking orders by phone and at the drive-thru window; on average, uncomplicated orders take about five minutes to put together.
How it’s going: Like many places with an established clientele and a to-go window,
Morningside has stayed busy; March 24 they actually ran out of bagels. They’re maintaining their high standards with what appears to be a couple fewer employees.
■ CIAO, 405 W. Seventh St., Little Rock, (501) 372-0238; ciaoitalianrestaurant.com; facebook.com/Ciao-ItalianRestaurant-102950556439287
What we got: Linguini with clam sauce, $11.99. Ciao does clam sauce three ways: red, white and natural, our preference — clam juice, parsley and maybe a little garlic. This was just as good as it has always been, and a huge portion besides; it comes with two of Ciao’s house-made rolls and a couple of pats of butter.
How it works: We placed our order at the cash register; they’re also taking pickup orders by phone. Add a bottle of wine to any order for $10.
How it’s going: We were the only customers for a recent late-lunch purchase.
■ THE PIZZERIA, 4910 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock, (501) 551-1388; pizzeriasantalucia.com; facebook.com/ pizzeriasantaluciaLR
What we got: Italian sausage pizza, $16, topped with San Marzano tomato sauce, extra virgin olive oil, sweet peppers, Italian sausage, fresh mozzarella and oregano.
How it works: As late as last week they were still taking walk-in orders, but they’d prefer it if you called in or ordered online for curbside pickup or free delivery. The brick pizza oven the owners floated over from Naples takes about five minutes to bake a thin-crust pizza. Beer and wine to-go is also available.
How it’s going: They recently added lunch hours — now open noon-9 p.m., according to the banner draped across the curbside pickup station. ■ RADUNO BRICK OVEN & BARROOM, 1318 Main St., Little Rock, (501) 374-7476; radunolr.
com; facebook.com/radunoAR
What we got: The Salsiccia pizza, $17, topped with a pomodoro sauce , a housemade fennel sausage, peppadew peppers, mozzarella, Parmesan and fresh herbs.
How it works: As of last week, they were still taking walk-in orders but they offer curbside delivery and BiteSquad delivery for phonein orders. Raduno’s Neapolitan-style pizzas come in only one size, 12 inches, so if you’re feeding a family you might need to order more than one or something else off the menu. Our pizza took about eight minutes to come out of the oven. They’re selling wine and beer to go.
How it’s going: The place wasn’t busy early in a recent dinner cycle. They’re also offering DIY pizza kits.
■ FLYING FISH, in the River Market, 511 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, (501) 375-3474; flyingfishinthe.net; facebook. com/pages/The-Flying-FishRestaurant/199512523458530
What we got: Fried shrimp basket (six shrimp), with fries and three hush puppies, $12.50. The shrimp are covered in a tasty, ever-so-slightly spicy cornmeal batter; they and the hush puppies are well drained and not in the least greasy. The fries were crisp on the outside, even after the few minutes’ trip home, and soft on the inside. The restaurant supplies generous amounts of ketchup and their house-made cocktail sauce in small foam cups. How it works: They are taking walk-up orders through its garage-door-style front window. Otherwise, they’re offering curbside pickup. They’re offering halfoff wine and beer and “lime margaritas” to go, according
to the hand-written cardboard sign.
How it’s going: The place was moderately busy late in a recent lunch cycle, with a half-dozen customers waiting for their food to come out of the kitchen. The manager was manning the cash register and the phone and ducking constantly between the front and the kitchen, so we weren’t surprised that we had to wait a few minutes to order.
■ JIMMY’S SERIOUS SANDWICHES, 5116 W. Markham St., Little Rock, (501) 666-3354; jimmysserioussandwiches.com; tinyurl.com/r2b4svn
What we got: The Garden, $9.05, with Swiss, Cheddar and Provolone cheeses, mushrooms, sunflower seeds and a spinach pate on pumpernickel. It was originally known as the Garden of Eatin’ when it won owner-chef Jimmy Weisman a national sandwich competition in 1979 and we’ve been eatin’ it just that long, in every restaurant Weisman has operated. (This one has lasted the longest.) It’s one of nearly a dozen sandwiches, some of which we’ve tried and enjoyed but haven’t ordered in forever, and a few new ones we’ll get around to trying someday.
How it works: They’re still taking walk-in orders as of last week, but they’d prefer you call your order in for pickup. There’s a to-go window but it’s poorly placed too close to the front door, which endangers customers, so they’re not using it.
How it’s going: Jimmy’s has survived for decades on a combination of customers and catering. They seem to be holding their own.
■ TRIO’S, 8201 Cantrell Road, Little Rock, (501) 221-3330; triosrestaurant.com; facebook. com/TriosLR
What we got: Shrimp Enchiladas, $13.25, shrimp and Monterey Jack cheese wrapped in a flour tortilla topped with jalapeno-spiked cream and chipotle pepper sauces, served with black
beans and jalapeno rice.
How it works: Trio’s has probably the most sophisticated and easy-to-operate online ordering system we’ve encountered, and they want you to use it; they’ll also take phone-in orders for pickup and delivery. The goal is to keep the actual presence of customers out of the restaurant, so the set-up involves pulling into a parking space in front of the restaurant in the Pavilion in the Park shopping center and call to let them know you’re there. A gloved server brings your order to you; if you’re looking for no-contact pickup, you can pop your trunk. They’ve started no-contact delivery as well, $5-$10 depending on location.
How it’s going: Having a long-term, dedicated clientele certainly helps. The parking lot was a busy place with cars pulling in, parking and pulling out early on a recent weekend evening.