We’ve got a lot of things to be thankful for here in Fayetteville; An excellent downtown area, the U of A and all it gives us and, of course, lots and lots of great pizza places. That’s right folks, as Mrs. Rightly says: we’re pizza-rich here in Fayetteville.
With the recent entrance of Gusano’s on the Fayetteville pizza scene, the number of great places to grab a pie has gone up once again. From Tim’s to Hogwild, U.S. Pizza to Cable Car, Jim’s Razorback to The Mellow Mushroom, Gusano’s and beyond, we’re awfully lucky to have such an assortment of great pizzerias in our neck of the woods. It doesn’t matter if you’re craving a delicious thin crust pizza or a thick, deep dish, Chicago-style pie, Fayetteville’s got what you need to whet your pizza-loving appetite… and thank God for that.
However, after going over all the great pizza places we have, I started thinking about what we’re lacking in the area and came up with a few things.
First off, I’m amazed that we don’t have one single Indian restaurant here in town. Not one. Now, I’m no big fan of Curry or Indian food in general, but I certainly know an awful lot of folks who are. There’s no doubt that if Fayetteville can sustain the amount of Thai restaurants we have(we’re also Thai-rich), we can definitely keep one Indian establishment up and running. So long as it’s good, that is.
We could also use more local, non-chain, bistro-type restaurants here in town. A place where you can go on a date and don’t really need to dress-up. A place where the food is good, the service is great and the food spectacular. Basically, more places like Hugo’s.
Breakfast places. Don’t get me wrong; places like Village Inn, Denny’s and IHOP are great to have. However, it’s nice to have a place to go where you can enjoy a nice long breakfast with your friends and family… and maybe enjoy a mimosa or a bloody mary while you’re at it. Common Grounds and Gaylords are great, but it seems like there’s always a wait. A similar alternative would be a welcome addition to the area.
Anyway, these are just a few places I wish we had in Fayetteville. If I had the money, the time and the energy, I’d love to open these places myself. Until then, I guess I’ll just have to cross my fingers and wait for some entrepreneurial soul to come along and make it happen.
What do you think Flyers, is there anything you wish we had here in the ‘ville?
I wish we had a Hugos in the North End or midtown. A bigger, not underground, but still served the same awesome Bleu Moon burger and Mandarin salad Hugos, with ample parking and a bar.
As for dining options… Hum….I’m pretty good other than that, I guess.
Our local fast-food fare is pretty awesome. Slim Chickens, Mr. Burger, etc. Can’t complain. I don’t miss the Indian either. Not a fan.
I wish we had an Indian food place, Pei Wei, and something like Sai Gon Cuisine (http://tinyurl.com/a5hpjc) in Little Rock.
M’lady and I have similarly noticed the overabundance of pizza purveyors (where is this Gusano’s?), but we both usually find the product lackluster. Even the Tim’s on the Square I got last night had bland crust and little sauce to speak of, despite their typically agreed-upon position at the top of the heap. What I’d like to see is a place with pies as good as the Mushroom’s a little bit closer to home. OPO building would be sweet.
I think we need more places like Little Bread Company, with a decent-length menu of good food and the kind of coffee shop vibe that invites hanging out.
I wish Little Bread Company would open a location on North College, mainly so it would be closer to my job.
Gusano is located in Wedington Plaza in the same spot as Picaso’s.
Add Emelia’s to the excellent breakfast list, at least on the weekends.
There’s supposed to be a Damgoode Pies coming in where Hoffbau used to be too fyi btw ftw omg.
I am sorry, but i have to agree with reed. There is an abundance of pie slingers in town, however, they are all really ‘just ok’. I have been very impressed with mellow shroom but have only eaten take-out as a result of the 45 minute wait that i have hit every time i walk in. I think we need a place that hits one of the pizza ‘extremes.’ A place that does either the ‘brick-fired’ oven thin crust pizza that you would find in an actual restaurant in italy or the super thick deep dish that you would find in chicago [both being my personal fav's] There is a place in little rock called zaza’s that is absolutely amazing. i walk in the place and forget that i am in the u.s.a. I am immediately in a european sidewalk cafe complete with a true modern interior design. On top of the great atmosphere they sport a real brick-fired oven flown in from italy that truely makes all the difference in pizza. I friekin love that place. So, dear zaza: please bring your location to fayetteville and i promise to support you for at least 3 days a week, or quite possibly more.
Tried Mellow Mushroom this weekend, and I just wasn’t impressed.
you should try Ye Olde King Pizza on 6th street heading towards Farmington across from the ozark mountain smokehouse. It’s the same pizza (same exact recipe actually) as the King Pizzas that populated Fayetteville thirty years ago but this time it’s the original owner’s son and wife. It’s small but everything is made from scratch and the service–and pie– have always been excellent in my experience