TRANSITIONS

Opened recently under our radar: Mr. Cheng’s Authentic Chinese Cooking, 4629 McCain Blvd., North Little Rock, in the space previously occupied by Lemongrass. It isn’t, as we originally heard rumored,

Mr. Chen’s, but it is a sibling of sorts of the Mr. Chen’s Authentic

Chinese Cooking in the Village Shopping Center, Asher and University avenues, in Little Rock. It’s not enclosed, as that one is, inside an Asian grocery store, but it has the same menu and recipes (the chef-owner is operating on a separate franchise; there are also Mr. Chen restaurant-grocery combinations in Birmingham, Ala., and Jackson, Miss.). Hours are 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Sunday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9:30 p.m. Friday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 955-9988; the website, through which you can place online orders to go, is mrchengslittlerock.com.

Meanwhile, Mr. Cheng’s across-McCain-Boulevard neighbor, Super King Buffet, 4000 Springhill Plaza Court, has closed and its phone number, (501) 945-4802, has been disconnected.

And speaking of Asian cuisine, Thai food truck kBird has opened its brick-and-mortar restaurant at 600 N. Tyler St. in Little Rock’s Hillcrest. Hours, according to kBird’s Facebook page, are 10:30 a.m.-6:30 p.m. Monday-Friday. The phone number is (501) 352-3549. One Eleven at the Capital, in the Capital Hotel, 111 W. Markham St., Little Rock, has started serving Saturday lunch “for the holidays” (it remains to be seen whether it’ll continue after the Dec. 20 cutoff date), 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. The menu will follow the same format as the

weekday one. The phone number is (501) 370-7011.

We somehow missed the advent last year of Bistro Catering & Gourmet Take Away, 5200 Arkansas 5 N., Suite 6, Bryant. The chef, Bonner Cameron, previously of Ya Ya’s Euro Bistro, runs the place with partner Crystal Dear. Hours are 11 a.m.2 p.m. Thursday-Saturday for lunch; 4-8 p.m. Tuesday-Saturday for dinner. The phone number is (501) 213-0179; the website, bistrocateringar.com.

A little further southwest, Bryan and Melanie DeBusk have a target opening date of mid-January for their Wild Hare

Cafe and Bakery, 716 Clinton St., Arkadelphia (the building most recently housed a mattress store). Bryan DeBusk says the couple spent a little over a month in Seattle and Portland, Ore., in summer 2013 “visiting restaurants and enjoying the culture,” and are looking to incorporate that area’s focus on fresh local ingredients (“where possible”) and craft beers. Hours (tentatively) will be 6 a.m.-11 p.m. Monday-Saturday. The phone number is (501) 350-1103; the website, still under construction, is wildharecafe. com; in the meanwhile, you can find more details at tinyurl. com/ljqzgld.

Larry’s Pizza of Cabot, 2797 Southfork Drive, is now open 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Mondays (matching, mostly, the rest-ofthe-week hours: 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Tuesday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Friday-Saturday, 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Sunday). And it has partnered with Chef Shuttle (chefshuttle. for deliveries to Cabot, Austin and Jacksonville. The restaurant phone number is (501) 843-7992.

And speaking of pizza,

Piro Brick Oven Pizza & Barroom

partner Jason Neidhardt says

construction is complete on the restaurant, at 1318 S. Main St., Little Rock (its neighbors on that block include South on Main and Midtown Billiards), and it’s now headed for an early January soft opening, with a full opening to the public sometime in mid-January. We’ve been keeping an eye on the Facebook page, facebook.com/ piropizzalr, and will keep you posted.

1620 Savoy, 1620 Market St., Little Rock, is offering Christmas meals that customers may pick up or have delivered to their homes — appetizers, salads, vegetables and desserts, plus the turkey (smoked, fried or baked) — and they’ll even prepare it in your cookware. Dinner for six is the minimum order. They’ll deliver until 6 p.m. Christmas Eve, until 10 a.m. Christmas Day. They’re also offering in-home catering. Call chef Timothy Morton or Charles Daniels at (501) 2211620.

Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas will hold another Preservation Libations get-together at 5 p.m. Friday at the historic Gans House, 1010 W. Third St., Little Rock, with snacks and beverages (including beers from beverage sponsor Stone’s Throw Brewing). Admission is free; make a donation to get something from the bar. Call (501) 372-4757 or visit PreserveArkansas.org or Facebook.com/PreserveAR.

Mary Twedt, who has been hosting Arkansas Cooks at noon Saturdays since Oct. 5, 2002, on public radio station KUAR-FM, 89.1, says her last show will air Jan. 10. “This has been a labor of love and great time in my life. I look forward to what comes next for Arkansas Cooks, and I will keep you posted on arkansascooks.com and my Arkansas Cooks Facebook page,” she said in a release to fans and media. Station General Manager Ben Fry says the station has been planning some program changes that will take effect in January, “which included moving Arkansas Cooks to a new time. Mary chose this as a good opportunity to bring the show to an end. We are not planning to replace the program at this time but would invite any proposals someone might have.”

... Our crack website staff last month compiled and released the list of Little Rock’s top-grossing restaurants through September, based on Little Rock restaurant sales figures submitted as part of payment of the city’s 2 percent Advertising & Promotion tax on all prepared food and nonalcoholic beverage sales. And yes, nine of the 10 are chain or franchise outlets (the 10th is the company that services the airport). 10. Copeland’s of New Orleans, 2602 S. Shackleford Road, $2,518,342

9. The Flying Fish, 511 President Clinton Ave., $2,568,744

8. Chuy’s, 16001 Chenal Parkway, $2,859,116

7. Chick-fil-A, 11525 Cantrell Road, $2,868,652

6. Texas Roadhouse, 2620 S. Shackleford Road, $3,025,450

5. Chick-fil-A, 12500 W. Markham St., $3,070,434

4. Olive Garden, 10715 N. Rodney Parham Road, $3,124,200

3. Cheddars Casual Cafe, 400 S. University Ave., $3,228,176

2. Host International (Bill and Hillary Clinton National Airport food sales), 1 Airport Road, $3,249,548

1. Chick-fil-A, 6201 W. Markham St. (across from Park Plaza mall), $3,462,133

The list of the top-selling, non-chain restaurants for the third quarter appeared the next day. (Small print: “Excluding all chains and any restaurant with multiple locations, hospitals, private clubs and universities and colleges that sell prepare foods, based on Little Rock restaurant sales figures submitted as part of payment of the city’s 2 percent advertising and promotion tax on all prepared food and nonalcoholic beverage sales.”)

10. Trio’s Restaurant, 8201 Cantrell Road, $1,033,908

9. Sushi Cafe, 5823 Kavanaugh Blvd., $1,034,382

8. Sonny Williams Steak Room, 500 President Clinton Ave., $1,088,761 500

7. Tokyo House, 11 Shackleford Drive, $1,129,351

6. The Faded Rose, 1519 Rebsamen Park Road, $1,253,344

5. Izzy’s, 601 Ranch Drive, $1,395,332

4. Cache Restaurant, 425 President Clinton Ave., $1,395,332

3. Arthur’s Prime Steakhouse/

Oceans at Arthur’s, 27 Rahling Circle, $1,508,016,

2. Cajun’s Wharf, 2400 Cantrell Road, $1,673,146

1. Local Lime, 17815 Chenal Parkway, $1,745,120 Has a restaurant opened — or closed — near you in the last week or so? Does your favorite eatery have a new menu? Is there a new chef in charge? Drop us a line. Call (501) 399-3667 or (501) 378-3513, or send a note to Restaurants,Weekend Section,Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, P.O.Box 2221,Little Rock,Ark.72203. Send email to: