Around the Rock: An Evening at Arthur's Steakhouse

My food views…
Major kudos to chef Brian Kearns and his team over at Arthur’s Steakhouse for hosting our 4-course, wine cellar dinner last night. Service was attentive, yet not overbearing, while the food, both excellent in taste and adequately portioned, came out in a timely manner throughout the evening. In short, this wasn’t Arthur’s first rodeo in hosting a larger group, and their dedication to executing a wonderful evening certainly showed. Our menu included: passed sushi rolls, gumbo z’herbs (first course), grilled shrimp with roasted chanterelle mushrooms and Tanner Farms sweet corn (second course), pan roasted duck breast with celery root and potato puree and peach chutney (third course) and a goat cheese panna cotta with figs, sauternes and local honey (fourth course). Chef’s creative inclusion of greens in the gumbo and his ability to churn out a perfectly cooked (and seasoned) duck breast proved to be the highlights of the meal. Many thanks to everyone at Arthur’s for a wonderful evening.
Color me slightly unimpressed with ZAZA’s September Salad of the Month … the curry chicken salad, which included mixed greens and spinach with cashews, grapes and creamy Dijon dressing. As always, the restaurant wasn’t stingy with ingredients, but in some respects, this detracted from the overall taste of the salad. An abundance of cashews and grapes somewhat overpowered the other ingredients. Was it a bad salad? Certainly not. But it wasn’t my favorite ZAZA’s salad, nor would I order it again.
And the news…
Big Orange Midtown’s Four Roses Whiskey Dinner is set for Tuesday, October 7th at 7:30 p.m. I’ve attended a couple of these dinners from this restaurant group and can personally vouch for them. Always a good time … and plenty of fantastic food and drink. Seating is limited, so if you’re interested, I’d recommend acting fast on purchasing tickets.
South on Main pastry chef Matthew Lowman will be at Eggshells Kitchen Co. on Monday, September 22nd, showing attendees of his cooking class how to make peanut butter cookies and his insanely delicious take on a Butterfingers candy bar. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased here. Don’t miss out.
The Fayetteville Ale Trail, the state’s first craft beer tasting adventure featuring all seven Northwest Arkansas breweries, turned 1! The trail includes Apple Blossom Brewing Company, Core Brewing and Distilling Co., Fossil Cove Brewing Co., Ozark Beer Company, Saddlebock Brewery, Tanglewood Branch Beer Co. and West Mountain Brewing Co.
The new Taziki’s at McCain Mall in NLR is set to open on September 23rd. Hours of operation will be Monday-Saturday (11 a.m.-9 p.m.) and Sunday (11 a.m.-8 p.m.)
Speaking of NLR, the Whole Hog Café in Dogtown will start carrying The Pie Hole pies starting this weekend. Lauren Harrison, owner and operator of The Pie Hole, has made quite an impression in a short period of time, due in large part to her fantastic product.
Little Rocktoberfest 2014 is Saturday, September 27th (6 p.m.) at War Memorial Stadium.
Finally, it’s never too early to start planning for the holidays. The 11th Annual Christmas in the Quarter will be on December 2nd from 2 p.m.-5 p.m. Click here for more details.