Rumbles: Ohia Poké Coming to Promenade, Sandy's Turns 40, Better Lives Through Pizza Pies

First poke came to downtown, then to the Heights neighborhood, and soon to Conway. That has to have left folks in West Little Rock feeling left out, but not for long. Ohia Poké owners Sonny Nguyen and Au Tran are opening a second location in the Promendade at Chenal. The new restaurant will be located across from the Nike store, just a few doors down from Local Lime. The team says it is looking to be open in just a couple of weeks. Ohia Poké sells entirely customizable poke bowls; there are no preset menu recipes to choose from. And this week, Ohia Poké has begun selling sushi burritos (or sushirritos) at its downtown spot, so I’m sure you can expect to see those out west as well. Ohia Poké and Poke Hula, the only two poke restaurants in Little Rock, will soon own a combined five locations in Central Arkansas, and with the poke craze still going, I would be there are still more to come.
Congratulations are in order for Sandy’s Homeplace Café. The 15th Street lunchtime buffet restaurant turned 40 years old yesterday, which is a remarkable achievement for any locally owned restaurant. Sandy’s has been a consistent favorite for the downtown lunch crowd, offering up two meat choices a day with some comfort food classic sides (though the place is usually busiest on chicken liver day). If you want to check out Sandy’s for yourself, it’s open for lunch only on weekdays from 10 a.m. until it closes up around 2 p.m.
Head to Raduno Brick Oven and Barroom tonight for dinner that will help make an impact for those with cystic fibrosis. Better Lives Through Pizza Pies starts tonight at 5 p.m. at Raduno and goes until the restaurant closes shop. This is the fourth year for the event to benefit the Arkansas chapter of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation. In addition to Raduno’s pizzas, the event will feature macarons from Cinnalightful and a special blackberry pale ale brewed by Buffalo Brewing Company at The Water Buffalo.
The summer’s biggest block party is coming up next week. Block on Rock is set for Saturday, July 28, to celebrate the fifth birthday of Stone’s Throw Brewing. The event features ten food trucks, including Loblolly Creamery, Slader’s Alaskan Dumplings and Adobo To Go. There will also be some special collaboration beers created alongside Flyway Brewing, Rebel Kettle and others. And of course, the Big Dam Horns and The Creek Rocks will be performing throughout the day and evening. In addition to celebrating Stone’s Throw’s birthday, Block on Rock helps to benefit Preserve Arkansas, which works to save and rehabilitate historic places in the state.
Ira’s Restaurant is the most recent restaurant opening in a summer full of them. We stopped by for dinner and a First Look, and ended up quite impressed by what we found.
Ever wonder what happened to your favorite chef? There’s a good chance they moved to Northwest Arkansas. We looked at eight former Little Rock food and drink professionals and where they ended up.

Share on facebook
Facebook

More Articles