Around the Rock: Wine Dinner Time at Natchez and South on Main

My weekly views…
Dinner events, special engagements and charity functions are all over the place this time of year. I attended two of them this week—Natchez Turns 2 and the No Kid Hungry Wine Dinner at South on Main—and left both very happy. And that’s not the wine talking. Chef Alexis Jones and her talented crew celebrated Natchez’s 2nd birthday in style with a highly successful, four-course wine pairing meal that proved, once again, why this restaurant is now one of the very best we have in Little Rock. Courses of sweet potato fritters, Gulf amberjack and braised rabbit pappardelle were all cooked to perfection and led diners down a road that ended with another fantastic dessert (marzipan cake) from Chef Zara Abbasi.
The No Kid Hungry Wine Dinner at South on Main proved to be an insanely successful night as nearly $50K was raised during the evening, an amount that will go directly to programs helping keep Arkansas kids from going hungry. The food and wine throughout the evening were delicious, due to the wonderful creations of chefs Matt Bell, Jeffrey Owen, Felicia Suzanne, Travis McConnell and cake-making connoisseur Kelli Marks of Sweet Love. Alexia Elichiry of De Nux Distributors provided the wine for the evening, while Lee Edwards and David Burnette covered the cocktail reception beforehand. Hell, even Chef Alexis Jones was pouring wine for guests.
I posed this question on my social media … but is it possible that Boulevard Bread Company is underrated? Probably not, but Boulevard certainly no longer receives the coverage it deserves from food writers (me included) around town. I’ve come to the conclusion that there’s no such thing as a bad sandwich at the eatery. Don’t believe me? Try the caprese or the smoked salmon with cream cheese on a bialy … and report back.
How can you not love NLR’s Mugs Café? I enjoy how owner Michael Carpenter keeps things simple with a limited, yet well-executed menu and coffee that rivals any in the area. My healthy breakfast of an egg white omelet with roasted veggies ($6) hit the spot, as did the inviting atmosphere which is conducive for a writer to get work done.
And the news…
Waffle Wagon has some news they want you to know about.
It’s LADIES ONLY at One Eleven. Check out this list of wine novice classes running through December 20th.
Hey … please don’t forget about our Food Trucksgiving out in Bryant next Saturday, November 22nd from 4 p.m.-7 p.m. Beast, Hot Rod Wieners, Southern Salt, Waffle Wagon, Katamandu, Loblolly Creamery, Black Hound BBQ and The Southern Gourmasian will all be there!
In case you missed it yesterday, here’s our complete guide to ordering for Thanksgiving.