If there’s one thing we will never stop getting excited about, it’s food. This shared interest is why we love Steve Shuler and his work on LittleRockFoodcast.com. His recent list of the top 10 dishes he enjoyed from local restaurants in February has our stomachs growling. If you need us, we’ll be at one of these places. Here’s a peak at his list.
Italian Stallion at Hot Rod Wieners
Believe it or not, there was a brief moment in February that wasn’t wrecked by snow, sleet or other wintry unpleasantries. It just happened to coincide with the first Westover Wednesday event of 2015, and you could sense among chefs and customers how glad everybody was to get back to trucking. My personal favorite dish served at Westover was this delicious pizza-hot dog hybrid known as the Italian Stallion. Justin and Andrea Wilson create their own meaty, spicy marinara sauce for this dog, and the heat and brightness balance wonderfully. Pepperoni, provolone and basil all accompany an all-beef Arkansas frank, and the Arkansas Fresh hot dog bun serves as the perfect vessel for the dish. All of this will set you back five bucks, a pittance when you consider the quality and mass of this hot dog. Don’t let the potential messiness deter you. Grab a wad of extra napkins and settle in to enjoy what I believe is one of the best hot dogs Little Rock has to offer.
Honey Chipotle Burrito at Baja Grill
It’s the mark of a truly great restaurant owner that customers can notice an improvement in quality with every visit. Such is the case with Baja Grill, which has been better than I remembered each time I’ve eaten there since its grand opening. Craig and Melissa Roe have settled in nicely at their new Heights location and are churning out top-notch West Coast food. This burrito might be the best thing I’ve eaten at Baja. The Roes do pork extremely well; no fewer than four of their dishes boast a perfectly slow-roasted shredded shoulder that plays well with a wide range of accompaniments. This dish pairs the pork with a mellow, smoky honey chipotle sauce that brings just enough heat to keep the sweetness from taking over. Rice, beans and caramelized onions fill out the burrito, and a layer of Baja’s delicious cheese dip keeps the stronger flavors in line. It will be hard to order something besides this dish next time. Then again, the way the Roes keep improving things, they might just find a way to one-up themselves again.
Sriracha Pork Sandwich at The Southern Gourmasian
Finally, after nearly half a year of hard work, the team at The Southern Gourmasian is ready to open its new restaurant. The new location at 219 W. Capitol is open for lunch today, and, based solely on their food truck’s awesome record, it’s a destination you should seek out as soon as possible. I say that, because this month I finally finished trying everything on the truck menu, and I might have saved the best for last.
How do you improve upon Sriracha? Justin Patterson has found the best way I’ve ever tasted: by turning it into a Buffalo sauce. Just as Frank’s Red Hot is transformed using vinegar and butter, Patterson uses butter and lime juice to create his own special Sriracha “wing sauce.” It’s an inspired move that instantly makes sense while letting you taste a familiar ingredient in a brand new way. Of course, there’s more to this sandwich than a brilliant sauce, like one of the best smoked pork shoulders Little Rock has to offer. This pork serves as the foundation for other Southern Gourmasian delights (as you’ll soon see), but I really loved its classic use here. It’s the pork sandwich you grew up with done better than you can remember, in a way that you aren’t likely to forget.
To see the remaining favorites on Shuler’s list, check out his post here.