It’s been a long time coming, but the beloved former dive restaurant Rocky’s makes its return tomorrow. Rocky’s on Country Club will hold its grand opening Thursday from 11 a.m. until 2 p.m. for lunch and 4 p.m. to 9 p.m. for dinner. It’s a small menu to start, but the famous Philly cheesesteak is back tomorrow. Fried ravioli, lasagna, spaghetti and meatballs, chicken carbonara, and a meatball sandwich are a few of the other options for the rest of this week. Rocky’s just got its liquor license approved today, so it will be selling beer and wine tomorrow. Rocky’s was once a dive bar in North Little Rock that gained acclaim for its Philly cheesesteak sandwiches before closing in 2013. Owner Joel Dunlap brought back his cheesesteaks last year out of the ARKitchen commercial kitchen in Little Rock. The new location is in Sherwood at 117 Country Club Rd.
Labor Day is Monday, and there aren’t too many better places to get your weekend started than at The Rail Yard in the East Village neighborhood. The restaurant is hosting its first Labor Day Food Truck Party event all day long Saturday. Of course, the local Count Porkula and A Little Crepesy will be there, as will the Tacos Godoy and Nach’Yo Nachos food trucks. There is also a ton of live music planned, headlined by DadBod (yes, that’s a band) and Buh Jones. The last time The Rail Yard hosted a food truck party, it was a huge success, with hundreds of people showing up and several trucks selling out. The party starts at 11 a.m. Saturday and goes until the doors close at 10 p.m.
And for those of you looking to do some cooking at home this Labor Day weekend, consider getting your desserts from Honey Pies. The West Little Rock bakery will be open for its normal business hours over the weekend and Labor Day, so stop in and pick up something out of the case. Even better: order now online and pick it up the day you need it! Honey Pies is baking up some of its most popular pies for this weekend, including the excellent possum, fudge brownie and peanut butter pies. Here’s the link to place your order.
And if you’re looking for some fun activities to do after Labor Day weekend, Eggshells Kitchen Company in the Heights has several classes to start September that should be a lot of fun. It starts Tuesday with Low Ivy Catering’s Amanda Ivy teaching about hosting events focused around food. Wednesday is a special seafood gumbo class with Rick Rogers, formerly of Rick’s Beignets food truck. Then on Sept. 9, Chef Ivy is back with a hands-on class on pasta making. And finally, Matt and Amy Bell of South on Main are at Eggshells on Sept. 10 for a fun class on vegetarian cooking. These classes are always entertaining and insightful, and there’s always a meal on top of that! Head to Eggshells’ website to sign up for any of the upcoming kitchen classes.
We finally know what’s coming to the former Gusano’s location in downtown Little Rock. Check out our preview of The Library Kitchen + Lounge, which should be opening later this year.
And the country has gone bonkers lately over chicken sandwiches, so we thought it was high time to share the best local versions of the lunchtime staple that can be found in Little Rock (spoiler alert: they all beat those fast food sandwiches).
RIP Damgoode Pies
November 20, 2023
