Category Archives: Food

Master Mix-Off celebrates historic cocktails to promote historic structures

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Master-Mix1-300x278Preserve Arkansas, the Historic Preservation Alliance of Arkansas, is hosting the First Annual Master Mix-Off tonight.  This will features some of Central Arkansas’s best bartenders engaging in a bartending competition.  It promises to be a rip-roaring good time celebrating prohibition-era mixology!!!

Eight of Central Arkansas’s best bartenders will mix for the masses with a prohibition-era drink, hoping to win the “People’s Choice” Award. Then our “best in the business” judges will judge a second round of mixing, where bartenders will serve an updated, modern version of their favorite prohibition-era drink.

Joann “Jojo” Sims of Cache Restaurant, the reigning Arkansas Times Best Server in Little Rock, will be the emcee.

Participating Bartenders are:

The “Best in the Business” Judges are:

DATE: Thursday, June 25, 2015
TIME: 5:30-7:30 pm
LOCATION: Albert Pike Memorial Temple, 712 Scott Street, Little Rock

Get Ready for Riverfest with “Flowing on the River” tonight

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RF Flow on River2015Riverfest, Inc. invites you to “Flowing on the River,” presented by TRG Foundation, a wine and craft beer tasting to be held Thursday, May 21st from 5:30 p.m. -7:30 p.m. in the River Market pavilions in downtown Little Rock.

Natural State Wines has selected an array of boutique wines and Arkansas Craft Distributors will provide an offering of outstanding craft beers for your tasting pleasure. Representatives will be available from the vineyards and breweries to discuss and educate attendees on their products. Local Little Rock area restaurants will provide hors d’oeuvres to accompany the array of wines & craft beers. Music will be provided by FreeVerse Duo. Proceeds from this event will be used to present Argenta Community Theater’s Summer Camp program “ACTing Up” to be held in July 2015 at Argenta Community Theater.

Restaurateurs

  • BAT Farms
  • Boston’s Restaurant & Sports Bar
  • Brenda Majors Catering
  • Cheers in the Heights
  • Samantha’s Tap Room
  • Dugan’s Pub and Stratton’s Market
  • JM Foods
  • Macaroni Grill
  • Newks Catering
  • The Garden Bistro
  • Texas Roadhouse
  • Las Palmas

Admission to the event is $25 per person in advance (or $30 at the door).  For more information on the event, please contact the Riverfest office at 501-255-3378.

3rd annual Summer Suppers schedule announced by QQA

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Curran HallThe Quapaw Quarter Association has announced their third annual Summer Suppers schedule.

Colors at Curran

Sunday June 14 – 5:00 PM; Curran Hall

Bring the family, meet Uncle Sam and visit Historic Curran Hall for a southern picnic to celebrate Flag Day. The Little Rock Visitor Foundation recently acquired the original 1859 square grand piano that belonged to the Woodruff family and sat in Curran Hall from the 1860s to the 1990s. Come take a look and listen to Arkansas music from the past 150 years.

MENU: BBQ, traditional summer side dishes, beer, and ice cream

HOSTS (Little Rock Visitor Foundation and Board of Directors): Aaron Ruby, Lauren Bridges, Joanne Hinson, Shannon Treece, Larry Carpenter, Brendan Monaghen, Jim Montgomery, Jim Rule, Barry Travis, Carolynn Coleman, Cherry Light, and Jason Campbell.

Limited to 100 people. Cost is $20 a person.

 

Sunset at the Fountainebleau

Saturday June 20 – 6:00 PM; Rogers House, 400 West 18th Street

Revisit Miami Beach in the 1950s with the glamour and fun of the tropics and the cuisine of Little Italy Complete with bocce ball on the lawn and a Bellini bar poolside. Cocktail hour music provided by Dino, Frank and Sammy.

 

MENU: An Italian Feast! Antipasto, salad, pasta, featuring homemade bread and sausage a la familia Dalla Rosa, finished off with a themed dessert bar. Gluten-free and vegan options available, so everyone can join the fun!

 

HOSTS: Jilly Judy and Mark Brown, Karen Form, Harry and Robin Loucks, Michelle and Rick Harper, Sandy Griffith, Stuart and Hillis Schild, Laura and Ed Sergeant, Marcella and Marvin Dalla Rosa, Karol Zoeller, and David and Alex Robinson

 

Limited to 100 people. Cost is $75 a person.

 

 

 

Third Annual Welcome to the Gayborhood

Saturday June 27 – 6:30 PM; Sam Scull House 2300 State Street

 

Come to a relaxing evening in a speakeasy atmosphere at this 1914 Craftsman style home. Enjoy heavy hors d’oeuvres from Trio’s and a dessert bar by Chef Ted. Libations this year are presented in consultation with noted mixologist Spencer Janson and include a Moscow Mule bar, white sangria (vastly improved recipe), give and really good tonic, iced tea and bourbon and possible more! There will be non-alcoholic alternatives, also. Gay people have always been a large part of historic preservation. Meet several of them and learn something about gay history. Casual dress because of the heat, but no heels please! Enjoy the food and drink. Guests are encouraged to tour the entire house and enjoy the vast art collection.

 

HOSTS: Ted Holder and Joe van den Heuvel

 

Limited to 35 people. Cost is $75 a person.

 

Stone’s Throw Brewing Beer Dinner

Wednesday, July 29 – 6:30pm; Southern Gourmasian, 219 West Capitol

 

Spend the evening at Southern Gourmaisian’s new downtown brick and mortar location for dinner pairing unique dishes from the king of the Little Rock food truck scene with beers and ciders brewed by Stone’s Throw Brewing. Chefs Justin Patterson and Pat Beaird will prepare five courses of Asian-Southern fusion cuisine to pair with six different artisanal brews. Chefs and brewery representatives will be on hand to talk about each pairing and chat over dinner.

 

HOSTS: Stone’s Throw Brewing, Southern Gourmasian, Ashli Ahrens and Kelley Bass, Shana and Soloman Graves, Gabe Holmstrom, John Herzog, Kathy McCarroll, Jarrod Johnson, and Rhea Roberts

 

Limited to 50 people. Cost is $50 a person.

  

Hognado! at The Joint in Argenta

Friday August 7 – 6:30 PM; Crush Wine Bar, 318 Main & The Joint, 301 Main, NLR

 

Begin your evening enjoying historic Argenta with appetizers and libations at Crush Wine Bar before heading to The Joint for an 8 p.m. show. HOGNADO! Is The Main Thing’s first disaster comedy, about a super-sized storm system that cuts the Natural State a new one! See how Arkansans adapt and survive when a giant tornado swoops up the last remaining wild hogs in the Ozarks and hurls them at Little Rock at 180 miles per hour.

 

HOSTS: Greg Nabholz, John Gaudin and Corky Patton, and Cheddy Wigginton

 

Limited to 25 people. Cost is $40 a person.

Shorts and Features everywhere in Day 3 of 2015 Little Rock Film Festival

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LRFF2015 longThe 2015 Little Rock Film Festival kicks into high gear today.  At 10am at the Ron Robinson Theatre there is an LRFFYOUTH! Screening of the film “Three Wishes Once Choice” and “Flowers in Concrete.”

Tired Moonlight will be shown at 11:15 at the Ron Robinson Theater. At 1pm, at the Butler Center, the documentary Holbrook/Twain: An American Odyssey looks at Hal Holbrook’s sixty year career of portraying Mark Twain. Also at 1, the film I Am the People will be shown at the Ron Robinson Theater.

At 3pm the Made in Arkansas Shorts (Block 2) will be shown at The Joint .  The films being shown are “MatchMaker” by Robin Sparks, “Hush” by Kenn Woodard, “Dim the Lights” by Dwight Chalmers, “The Pop N’ Lock” by Jadon Barnes, “Rapture Us” by Levi Agee, “The Ask” by Edmund Lowry and “Contact” by Alexander Jeffery.

“One, Two” World Shorts Block will also screen at 3pm.  It features “Biscayne World,” “one hitta quitta,” “Boxeadora,” “Day One,” “Hunter’s Fall,” and “Bookin’.”  It will be shown in the Bill and Margaret Clark Room on the 3rd floor of the River Market.

The Chinese Mayor will be screened at 3:30 in the Ron Robinson Theater. Also at 3:30, How to Dance in Ohio will be shown at the Butler Center.

At 4:45, the panel “Made in Arkansas: Can I Make a Living Doing This?” will take place in the Filmmakers Lounge.  Local working Filmmakers Bryan Stafford, Daniel Campbell, Brent Bailey, and UCA Professor Bruce Hutchinson discuss the current professional environment for filmmaking in the state of Arkansas. The panelists will share their secrets for making a living in the Industry without moving to the coasts. From producing your own work, to freelancing for the advertising community, to getting work on Hollywood productions in the surrounding states, this panel will help get you on your way to a career in film production right here at home.

At 5:30, Drunk Stoned Brilliant Dead will be shown at the Clinton School.  This film looks at three Harvard graduates who started the first national humor magazine for adults, launching the careers of some of Hollywood’s most legendary talent. Also at 5:30, Krisha will be shown in the Butler Center.  And at 5:30 as well, “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 1 will be shown.  It includes “Loser” by Andrew Lisle, “Forsaken” by Krisha Mason, “Monotony Broken” by J. C. Cocker, “Stranger Than Paradise” by Johnnie Brannon, “Rites” by Cody Harris, and “The Dealer’s Tale” by Justin Nickels.  These will be shown at the Albert Pike Memorial Temple.

Another round of “Made in Arkansas” Shorts will also be shown at 5:30.  Block 3 consists of “Undefeated” by Nathan Willis, “Little Brother” by Eric White, “Spoonin’ the Devil” by Michael Carpenter, “Meredith” by Scott Eggleston, and “The Town Where Nobody Lives” by Al Topich.  It will be shown at the Ron Robinson Theater.  Another “Made in Arkansas” film, this time the feature length The Grace of Jack will be shown at The Joint at 5:30.

Finally, the last 5:30 slot goes to “Quirks” World Shorts.  It features “The Department of Signs and Magical Intervention,” “Woman of the World,” “reConception,” “Happy Hour,” “Miss Famous,” “Love in the Time of March Madness,” and “Jake Plays First Base.”  This will be shown at the Bill and Margaret Clark Room on the third floor of the River Market.

At 8:00pm:

  • Uncertain – Ron Robinson Theater
  • King Jack – Butler Center
  • Made in Arkansas The Phone in the Attic – The Joint
  • “Made in Arkansas” Shorts Block 4 – Albert Pike Memorial Temple
    • “The Tricycle”-David Bogard, “What Was Lost”-Romello Williams, “Overgrown”-Bruce Hutchinson, “Pyro”-Cole Borgstadt, and “The Space Station”-Michael Sutterfield
  • “Explore” World Shorts Block – Bill and Margaret Clark Room
    • “Swimming in Your Skin Again,” “Beach Week,” “The Many Sad Fates of Mr. Toledano,” “Displacements,” “Pequeño bloque de cemento con pelo alborotado conteniendo el mar” and “When I Write.”

At 10pm, the “Made in Arkansas” Blow Out at South on Main.  The party will feature food from the kitchen of executive chef Matthew Bell and feature cocktails from Mixologist David Burnette. Music performed by Isaac Alexander and band. This party is open to following pass holders: Sponsor, Filmmaker, Press, Gold, Silver, and Student.

The 2015 Little Rock Film Festival kicks off tonight

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LRFF2015posterThe 9th annual Little Rock Film Festival gets underway tonight!

At 7:30, the film King Jack will be shown in the Ron Robinson Theater.

Jack is a scrappy fifteen year-old kid stuck in a run-down small town. Trapped in a violent feud with a cruel older bully and facing another bout of summer school, Jack’s got all the problems he can handle. So when Jack’s aunt falls ill and his runty younger cousin must stay with him for the weekend the last thing Jack wants to do is look after him. Unfortunately no one really cares what Jack wants. Set over a hazy summer weekend, King Jack is a tough and tender coming of age story about friendship and finding happiness in tough surroundings.

King Jack won the Audience Award at the 2015 Tribeca Film Festival. Director Felix Thompson, and the break-out young star Charlie Plummer will be in attendance.  LRFF Programmer Levi Agee will moderate.

Following the film, Little Rock Film Festival Presenting Sponsor Cache Restaurant and Bar will be hosting the opening night party.   Music Provided by Rodney Block & The Real Music Lovers. This event is open to the following pass holders: Sponsor, Filmmaker, Press, Gold and Silver.

May 2nd Friday Art Night features a collaboration between Historic Arkansas Museum and Arkansas Arts Council

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It is once again time for 2nd Friday Art Night!  One of the highlights this month is a collaboration between Historic Arkansas Museum and the Arkansas Arts Council.

The Arkansas Arts Council curated exhibition, (Everyday) Interpretations: Cindy Arsaga, Joe Morzuch, and Adam Posnak, opens in the Trinity Gallery  for  Arkansas Artists and the Year of Arkansas Beer continues  with Apple Blossom Brewing Company.

 

Cindy Arsaga, Joe Morzuch, and Adam Posnak work  in three distinctly different media. Each artist derives inspiration  from everyday experience.
  •  Arsaga, who lives in Fayetteville, uses photography to  capture  images of daily experience and employs a  process of layering encaustic (hot wax) pigment on  her photographs.
  •  Morzuch, who lives in Bono, captures beauty in the  most mundane objects to create dancing color and  light with oil paint on canvas.
  •  Posnak, who lives in West Fork, makes terracotta pottery,  the decoration of which reflects an interest in various  traditional systems of belief, particularly those of  West Africa and the African Diaspora.

For the “Year of Arkansas Beer” this month HAM is featuring Apple Blossom Brewing Company.  

  • Hazy Morning Coffee Stout made with Arsaga’s Coffee – This beer was gently aged on thirty pounds of an Arabica blend roasted by Arsaga’s Coffee Roasters in Fayetteville. Strong notes of coffee in the nose with hints of floral and citrus from the use of American hops. Medium bodied beer  with medium notes of oats and malted barley, and a dominant flavor of coffee.
  •  Armstrong APA – ABBC’s flagship ale features caramel, dried fruit, and nut malt notes with heavy  American citrus hops. Their favorite  blend of India Pale Ale and Strong  American Pale Ale styles.

 

There will be live music by David Bise, Sam Ellis & Drew Morse of The Cons of Formant.

It all takes place from 5pm to 8pm at Historic Arkansas Museum.

Historic Arkansas Museum and the Arkansas Arts Council are agencies of the Department of Arkansas Heritage.

Wild Wines tonight at the Little Rock Zoo

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6_yaya_11713_wild_winesJoin us for an event like no other at the wildest venue around – the Little Rock Zoo!

Wild Wines, sponsored by Wright, Lindsey & Jennings, is a culinary and wine experience featuring dozens of hand selected wines from O’Looney’s Wine & Liquor paired with food from more than 50 of central Arkansas’s greatest restaurants. There’s so much food and so much wine that many guests find it hard to get to every station! Five live entertainment areas keep guests moving through the night and animal friends are around each corner to greet guests along the way. Live DJ’s Poolboy and Tre’ Day will spin the after party in the Zoo’s main entry plaza.

A Reserve Room in Cafe Africa kicks-off the event at 6:00 p.m. with more exclusive wines and food prepared fresh by Cache. It’s a party like no other that you won’t want to miss! Mark your calendar now!

Each ticket comes with a souvenir glass and plate.
Must be 21 or older to attend. Please bring ID.
Online tickets will be available now through Saturday, May 2nd, at 3:00 p.m. A limited number of tickets will be available at the door. Wild Wines sells-out every year and the Zoo strongly encourages guests to buy tickets in advance to guarantee admission.