I loved eating lunch on the patio (even with the flies)

Saturday, August 13, 2011

Can I say how fabulous this find was today? Good lord, Kara and I went back and forth on finding a "great" Little Rock restaurant like we did last year on our way to an overnight girls weekend.  We were in the car on Urbanspoon and so forth trying to find a good place.  Because we knew we were going to have pizza for dinner, we didn't want pizza for lunch, so we went to Loca Luna, a favorite of Kara's from her days in Little Rock.  It was closed for lunch and the owner sent us next door to an unknown place that we all quickly left from.  We ended up at this fabulous find from Ashley Boeckmann King's recommendation.  The place was packed when we got there and packed when we left.  They are known for the ZaZa salad, that I had, and the wood oven pizzas that I can report is great and thin like I like it.  Once I ordered, Kara suggested that we all split salads and pizzas, which is a great idea since the ZaZa salad was HUGE and features romaine lettuce, candied pecans, blueberries, strawberries and your choice of light or heavy EVOO and Balsamic vinegar (I substituted for the pecans for tomatoes).  The salad was divine and I loved having some college age boys make that salad, they loved "catering" to each guest.  I loved that he asked me if I wanted that salad dressing light, heck yes, is what I think I said.  I loved that salad and I did share with fabulous Ashley, who arrived just after us.  Jessica also showed up late getting the Sirloin Salad and she loved it, as she is a gluten free patron.

One of Kara's favorite things in all the land is Gelato.  ZaZa's had 15 different flavors of Gelato.  I went to calorie king on the phone and figured out that one cup has 120 calories and 3 grams of fat.  Once I announced that we all got up and had a dish of it.  My Butterfinger and cookies and cream was divine.

We all loved ZaZa's and loved the ride over to Jessica's fabulous mother's condo on Lake Hamilton.  It was a Saturday afternoon of laughs, wine and good late night talk, what else could you ask for?  A shout out goes to Jessica's parents, the Bass' from Arkadelphia...they rock for giving us a night away to talk, shop and everything else inbetween.  No gossip of course.

During research for ZaZa's I found this on the website:

Co-owned by chefs John Beachboard and Scott McGehee, ZAZA is a salad lover's dream come true. Choose from one of 10 menu salads or mix your own creation from a long list of imported cheeses, roasted meats and toppings. Add a Napoli-style wood-fired pizza, and you've got a feast. For dessert or just for fun, you must try one of the many flavors of house-made gelato.  

Fresh Ideas,
Fresh Ingredients

Whether it’s taking advantage of seasonally-available ingredients or exploring a new pizza, salad, soup or gelato concept, ZAZA brings something new to the table every week!

ZaZa's rocked.  I loved the feel of ordering that dang salad like I WANTED with light dressing.  It was divine and I hope to be back.  You'll love it too!

ZaZa's, 5600 Kavenaugh Blvd, Little Rock, 501-661-9292   www.zazapizzaandsalad.com

The Inn at Carnall Hall, Fayetteville



Carnall Hall, the view from the parking lot, it's beautiful!

The lobby



Stella, Whit and Chloe after the wedding

The front of Carnall Hall, it faces the campus in front of Old Main

We all rode bikes to the Farmer's Market on the Fayetteville
Square then on the bike lane from downtown to the mall

Oh lord, at the market had a UofA entomology
booth, they loved, loved looking at the bugs

The Sckull Creek trail

This is near the mall, right on the UofA cross country track

Sunday, August 7, 2011

We had a great time over the weekend in Fayetteville at Kara's sisters wedding.  We stayed at the Inn at Carnall Hall located right on campus.  We've stayed there several times before but never during the summer.  There were multiple weddings all weekend long.  When we checked in there was a wedding leaving and a wedding about to happen.  It was hot as hell when we got there because the A/C was out and it was at least 105 outside so you can imagine how those brides felt in their 500 pound wedding dresses, hair and makeup.  Luckily, the room A/C worked beautifully.  Kara had texted me on the way that if you have your Arkansas Alumni Association membership card, you would get the room for $120 instead of $199 for a king.  I didn't have it on me but when we checked in the fabulous Raymond said if I had the number he'd get us the discount.  It worked out beautifully.

Jackie's grandmother stayed at Carnal Hall when it was a girls dormitory in the fall of 1941.  Here is history that I copied from their website:

Built as the first young women’s dormitory on the University of Arkansas campus, Ella Carnall Hall was completed in 1906. The building was named after a distinguished Associate Professor of English and Modern languages from 1881-1884, Miss Ella Howison Carnall, and dedicated to her memory to honor both excellence as a student and success as a role model for women.  One of six buildings funded by the Arkansas Legislature in 1905, Ella Carnall Hall was the most costly, and featured a fusion of styles with its combination of Colonial Revival detail and Victorian architectural design.  It also was strategically placed on the extreme Northeast corner of the Campus to comply with strict separation of the sexes on college campus that was standard until the late 20th century.  Ella Carnall Hall was a women’s dormitory through 1967 and then was home to the Phi Gamma Delta Fraternity house until 1977. It joined the National Register for Historic Places in December 1982, and in 1991 was no longer used for academic purposes when the restoration of Old Main created more space for academics.  In the late 1990’s Carnall Hall had become a candidate for demolition but it took on a new life in 2001 when the Board of Trustees approved to turn the structure into a historic hotel and restaurant at a cost of $6.9 million. James Lambeth was the lead architect.


On Saturday of our stay, Martin, Kara, Jackie, Chloe, Whit and I rode our bikes from Carnall Hall to the square for the Farmer's Market then on down the trail to the mall and back.  It was great but a little long for Whit and Chloe (about 9 miles round trip) in the heat but we made it.

Be sure to make the Inn at Carnall Hall on your list of boutique, historical hotels when you're in Fayetteville.  It's wonderful and I can report the complimentary continental breakfast was wonderful featuring muffins, breads, cereal, fruit and yogurt.  It was divine. 

The Inn at Carnall Hall, 425 Arkansas, Fayetteville, Ark., 479-582-0499 Check out this great website: http://www.innatcarnallhall.com/