Allsopp & Chapple Restaurant + Bar — Restaurant in Little Rock

So today was my birthday and I decided I wanted some proper food. We've been to every foodie restaurant within a days walk so we thought we'd try this new establishment from chef Ira Mittelman. We loved the food at his old place so visiting his new digs was a no brainer.

Entering Ira's I was impressed with the general feel of the restaurant. The seating, two person tables that are the right size, the generous space between those tables, the bar and the lighting let you know this isn't another typical boring Arkansas beloved chain restaurant. We were seated quickly by a smiling hostess at a wall table. We quickly noticed the a/c, or perhaps the snow maker, blows down the wall so my wife had to move across the table to be more comfortable. I think I saw a tiny ant with skis running moguls down the goose pimpled arm of the lady at the table next to us. Personally, I didn't find the climate system objectionable but if you're trying to do things exactly right perhaps a remedy for this should be on the list.

Our waitress, "J," stopped by and took our drink order. The drink menu offered a few different and imaginative cocktails, beer and wine. We both ordered the "Jet Pilot" because I fly jets and therefore had no other choice and she saw rum so was sold with that . A nice big ice sphere, a strong yet smooth drink and a pretty glass make this one a winner.

We ordered the poblano cheesecake and Brussels sprouts appetizers. The poblano cheesecake is like nothing I've had before. It's like a thick layer of spicy poblano cream cheese goodness on top of an almost crispy cornbread crust. That would be amazing but chef has the audacity to add this cooling mango salsa to the top. If I had invented this it would be exactly the same. Unfortunately we never got our Brussels sprouts. We didn't ask about them because we figured they would show up a few minutes later as they did for our next table neighbors. Alas they didn't so we just got to imagine how good they were by watching other people savor them.

I had the pork chop and my much better three quarters had the duck. We both thought her duck was perfect. It had nice accompaniments and the corn pancake it was served on was brilliant. Often we find duck undercooked for some reason. Thankfully the chef tonight knew how to properly cook the quack. My double cut pork chop was brilliant. Oddly, "J" asked me how I'd like it cooked. I replied that I'd like the chef to cook it properly and that is exactly what they did. I'd worry about asking this question as there is only one right way to cook this wonderful slice of pig and that is not the way most people would order it. The beautiful buttery mashed potatoes and sugar snap peas cooked, or not cooked, to that perfect snap both deserve attention as excellent additions to the plate. There was also a warm sour cabbage slaw that my palate couldn't decide if it wanted or not. The Arkansas pork was brilliant without it but, and I feel bad about adding a "condiment" to the meat, was perhaps even better with it.

For dessert I had the cheesecake and 3/4+ had the creamsicle creme brûlée. At this point I was out of jet pilot so I enjoyed a flyway brewing blueberry wheat with my blueberry cheesecake goodness. Although I was on the verge of popping I did the deed and finished them both. The creme brûlée expert critic loved it and gave her thumbs up as she downed her custardy goodness.

I hate to end like this but here goes. After "J" took away our dessert plates it was over twenty minutes before she returned, and without our check. She disappeared. We were not impressed. She was super pleasant for the entire meal but for some reason when we were ready to pay was nowhere to be found. This is a training issue and I'm sure hiccups like this will be fixed.

We loved our meal, we understand this is a brand new restaurant and things will happen, we are very thankful to have another place in Little Rock to get proper food and we will...

The photos are actually courtesy of a very accomodating valet who ran back (literally) to my car to retrieve the phone that I left in the console. I tipped her for the special trip and thanked her profusely while she caught her breath. Without her, there would be no photos for the review. The valet parking is free, so you may tip them generously. We had a 7:30 reservation and were seated promptly in what looked like a fairly busy dining room. The waitstaff who greeted us as Samantha, was bubbly, smiling, accommodating, and must be one of the instructors in the master’s class of serving, if there is such a thing. She was on point for the entire service, had perfect timing, and was patient and gracious while my dining partner flip flopped on her decision of entree. There was no thinking for me; the Duck Confit was on my radar when I looked at the menu online. We started with a crabcake. My crabcake baseline for excellence is the standard set by Pappas Seafood Company in Maryland. One of my peers was indignant one night when I sent her a photo of myself cooking crabcakes in my own kitchen and told me that I didn’t know what the hell I was doing, so she sent me several crabcakes and crab soup from Pappas, and the standard was established. The crabcakes at A&C were delicate and must have been carefully plated because they, like very good crabcakes are supposed to be, are comprised mostly of jumbo lump crab which does not bind well without a lot of fillers. These contained capers, which were a twist to me but worked very with the the other ingredients. I would definitely recommend. I had the duck, the breast cooked medium rare which was delicious. It came paired with a leg quarter, which was the best one could do with a dark section of fowl. Good flavor but just a bit dry. Wild rice, and green beans were the vegetables and were season perfectly. Someone in the kitchen is definitely tasting ithe product as they cook it. I’m not one to turn down the offer of a sampling my table mate’s selection and tonight was certainly no different. The lamb shank was falling off the bone as it is supposed to, and it was incredibly tender. It was plated with stoneground grits that an avowed hater of grits would even love. Half house salads worked their way into the mix at some point, and a salad is a salad, but the lemon vinaigrette was tangy and delicious and really brightened up the meal. The grand finale was an irresistible bread pudding with berries, served with a bowl of ice cream. I tried to temper my enthusiasm for devouring my “half” of the plate without being an obvious glutton, but I’m not sure that I succeeded. This was our first trip to A&C inspired by a generous coworker of my wife’s who gave her a gift card. They immediately climbed into our rotation of a dozen or so favorites that we patronize for fine dining. A&C is a very good example of how Little Rock has become a regional destination for foodies. If you have friends from out of town, you would be doing them a favor to visit one of the Little Rocks newest culinary destinations, and if you are passing through, Allsopp and Chapple should be on your list for future dining...

So, I went here on a recommendation and thought "sure, we'll give it a shot." I'll start with the food. We started with the lobster & scallops risotto my wife and I had the seabass. I ordered the lobster mac-n-chees for the table. And my wife brought a family member. Who had the pork chop. The lobster was over seasoned which made the lobster very salty in taste. My seabass wasn't too bad. The edges were a little rubbery. But still good. Was not comped on either lobster but was given a discount (small) on the lobster and scallop risotto. Order a glass of Porto tawny and the glass was smudgy like smudges around the rim of the glass where it's a noticeable fog so it appeared that the glass wasn't cleaned. My server who said everything was good, seemed very polite, friendly, not overbearing which was fine. I still left the tip but these are things that when you go out to a restaurant you want your server to kind of know what's happening tonight. What are the people saying. This is not right or that is not right so I'm really relying on the host for valid information. So that takes care of the food and the service. Now the atmosphere, the atmosphere. If you've never been there, it's okay. It's not overcrowded. It's not an intimate spot that you can really go to, so you're kind of in close proximity of other people, but it's not loud. It's not elbow to elbow either so it's one of those places where there's enough space really just for your table and that's it. Would I go there again? I'm not sure if I would or not. Would I recommend it? I can't say that I would not recommend it but I can't say that I would. It's something that you'll have to try...