{"id":292,"date":"2010-03-14T12:00:55","date_gmt":"2010-03-14T18:00:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/?p=292"},"modified":"2010-07-29T14:59:34","modified_gmt":"2010-07-29T19:59:34","slug":"acadia-restaurant-a-hillcrest-staple-that-didnt-impress","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/general\/acadia-restaurant-a-hillcrest-staple-that-didnt-impress\/","title":{"rendered":"Acadia Restaurant – A Hillcrest Staple That Didn’t Impress"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com<\/h4>\n
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Acadia Logo<\/p><\/div>\n

My wife and I joined two of our great friends tonight at Acadia Restaurant<\/a> in the Hillcrest area of Little Rock.\u00a0 They have been open since 1999 and are open for Lunch on Monday through Friday and for Dinner on Monday through Saturday.\u00a0 They are closed on Sundays which is pretty typical for the non-chain restaurants as Sunday is a rather slow restaurant day around here.<\/p>\n

I called to make reservations earlier in the day but was told they do not accept reservations and that I shouldn\u2019t expect much a wait with my planned arrival of 7pm.\u00a0 We picked up our friends at 7pm and made it to the restaurant by about 7:15.\u00a0 I really like the outside vibe of the restaurant and it has a nice wooden walk-way leading upstairs to the entrance.\u00a0 It\u2019s on a hill so this part is necessary.\u00a0<\/p>\n

My first thought on opening the door was of dismay though as the host looked started to see someone show up.\u00a0 I was further concerned as we were led to our table as I only saw three other tables with patrons.\u00a0 Given Acadia has been around for eleven years I figured the lack of people was not due to the place being too new.\u00a0 I was pleased to see more people show up as the evening carried on though and before we left about 90% of the dining room was filled.\u00a0 It\u2019s not a large place by any means but it is nice to see them at near capacity which generally means they are doing something right after all this time.\u00a0 The decor is fine casual in nature with nice paintings and linens on the tables.\u00a0 It does not appear outdated nor very pretentious which I appreciate.<\/p>\n

We were promptly greeted by our waiter who was courteous and took our drink orders while we looked over the menus.\u00a0 Acadia\u2019s menu is what I would label as New American with items on the menu such as a Scallop Salad, Wild Alaskan Salmon with Red Onion Risotto, Blackened Beef Tenderloin with a Crawfish Compound Butter, and even a Smoked Gouda Mac and Cheese.\u00a0 The soup of the day was French Onion Soup.\u00a0 My wife and companions ordered the French Onion Soup ($5) while I ordered the Pan Seared Scallops with Mixed Field Greens ($11.75).\u00a0 While we waited on our appetizers our drinks came along with warm bread and chilled butter.\u00a0 The herbed bread rolls tasted nice although they did not appear to be freshly baked.<\/p>\n

The French Onion soup arrived along with my scallop salad and we dug in.\u00a0 This is the part where I am conflicted.\u00a0 I respect any small business owner and understand how hard it can be to survive in the restaurant business for eleven years.\u00a0 I wanted to enjoy my food and be excited about it.\u00a0 Unfortunately, as much as I wanted to like the appetizers, I did not like them.\u00a0 The French Onion soup needed salt and although they claimed it had Gruyere cheese on it, I couldn\u2019t find it on my wife\u2019s soup.\u00a0 It just didn\u2019t have enough flavor.\u00a0 My scallops were brown from being grilled but did not have a nice crust on them.\u00a0 They were\u00a0cold in the middle and undercooked.\u00a0 At $11.75\u00a0I expected a bit more in the scallop\u00a0salad as I only received three scallops.\u00a0 I had a generous portion of salad to go with the three scallops and some carrot sticks along with pickled ginger but the dressing was uneventful.\u00a0 One of my scallops was grainy\u00a0as well\u00a0and should have been washed more thoroughly.\u00a0 In the end, I didn\u2019t like any of the starters.<\/p>\n

When we ordered the starters (appetizers,) we also ordered our entrees.\u00a0 I ordered the Blackened Tenderloin with Crawfish Compound Butter ($31.75 for 8oz) , my wife ordered the special which was a 12oz Rib-eye with Blue Cheese Grits ($30?), one companion ordered the Seared Tuna with Ginger Risotto ($18.75), and the other the Duck Breast with Mushroom Bread Pudding ($21.75).\u00a0 The entrees arrived about ten minutes after our starters were taken away which put them right on time.\u00a0 By this time the restaurant had started to fill up which put it at around 8:15pm.\u00a0<\/p>\n

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Acadia from Outside<\/p><\/div>\n

Once again I find myself wishing the food was better than what I experienced.\u00a0 I knew immediately something was wrong with my steak as it was hard to cut.\u00a0 I ordered it Medium Rare and the side I cut into was definitely Well Done.\u00a0 I had to switch to my steak knife to saw through the side of it to distribute portions to my dinner party (we were sharing after all.)\u00a0 The crawfish brown butter had a nice flavor to it and my steak was seasoned well.\u00a0 I couldn\u2019t get past it being way overcooked.\u00a0 I cut through the middle of the steak thinking maybe just the outside was overdone and was met with a Medium Well doneness.\u00a0 It was still nowhere near Medium Rare.\u00a0 My steak came with Jack Cheese grits which did have a nice flavor to them and were seasoned perfectly.\u00a0\u00a0I was surprised that they offered a 4oz steak for $21.75 as I can\u2019t imagine how tiny it would have been.\u00a0 I\u2019m not a huge food eater any more but my 8oz steak was about the right size for a restaurant steak.\u00a0 A steak half it\u2019s size would have been about\u00a0five bites in size.<\/p>\n

I tried the special my wife ordered, the 12oz Rib-eye with Blue Cheese Grits and it had a nice flavor to it.\u00a0 I really liked the Blue Cheese Grits as I love a good Blue Cheese.\u00a0 The Rib-eye was overcooked at Medium Well considering she ordered it Medium Rare.\u00a0 It has a brown demi-glace reduction over the top which tasted good but could have used more salt.\u00a0 I was also reminded of the steak sauces of the 1990s when trying it and felt that it was a bit outdated.\u00a0 All in all it wasn\u2019t bad but not something I would crave to order again.<\/p>\n

Next up I tried my friend\u2019s Duck Breast with Mushroom Bread Pudding.\u00a0 The duck was cooked well and didn\u2019t have too much fat on it which is always a concern.\u00a0\u00a0Most places leave more fat on duck than I personally like but Acadia has this part down right.\u00a0 The only problem was that I was met with an overwhelming rush of saltiness.\u00a0 It was as if I was biting into a salt block.\u00a0 I tried to taste the duck and focus on the texture of the bite but couldn\u2019t get past the salt.\u00a0 I next tried the mushroom bread pudding that came with the duck and it tasted good.\u00a0 It\u00a0did look like it had been sitting in a walk-in for a day or more though and wasn\u2019t the most appealing thing\u00a0I have ever seen.<\/p>\n

For the last entree I tried\u00a0the entree of the Seared Tuna and Ginger Risotto.\u00a0 Once again I was wanting to enjoy the bite but it didn\u2019t pan out for me.\u00a0 The tuna was extremely fishy tasting which is an immediate red flag.\u00a0 I cook seared tuna at home for my family and it never has an overwhelming fishy taste.\u00a0 This tells me they served a less-than-fresh piece of tuna which then led me to be concerned about the rest of the food quality.\u00a0 The tuna filet was nice in size and the risotto had a nice texture and flavor to it.\u00a0 The fish was overcooked and not very tender as a result.\u00a0 In the end I couldn\u2019t get past the fishy taste of the filet and was put off by it.<\/p>\n

After a few more drinks for most of\u00a0the group we ordered from the dessert menu.\u00a0 They offered a couple of creme brulees, a bread\u00a0pudding, and a New York cheesecake.\u00a0 The dessert items were not inspiring but I adore bread pudding and ordered it.\u00a0\u00a0I also like chocolate creme brulee but after eating the one served at\u00a0Terrace on the Greens<\/a> I just can\u2019t order it anywhere else.\u00a0 Theirs is just too good.\u00a0 My wife shared in my dessert while my companions ordered the chocolate creme brulee to share.<\/p>\n

The desserts came out quickly and the chocolate creme brulee tasted very good.\u00a0 It had a nice crust and was cool in the middle but not too cold.\u00a0 It had a good chocolate flavor and was better than many brulees I have had.\u00a0 It was\u00a0not as good as the Terrace\u2019s, but it was good.\u00a0 My Pecan Bread Pudding did not have a Rum Sauce but did have a nice flavor.\u00a0 I was served the corner piece of what looked like an older tray of bread pudding and it was scalding hot on the top but somewhat cold on the bottom.\u00a0 Given the uneven temperature I would guess it was microwaved.\u00a0 This is blasphemy in the food world as far as I\u2019m concerned so I hope I\u2019m wrong.\u00a0\u00a0I liked the front edge of the pudding that\u00a0wasn\u2019t too crusty\u00a0and\u00a0enjoyed the caramel sauce dotted around the plate.<\/p>\n

We ended the meal at around 9:15 after some coffee and after-dinner chatter.\u00a0 My wife and friend\u2019s wife were yawning a bit by this time given the busy work week so we decided to depart.\u00a0 It was nice to see the place almost full on our departure and I really do hope the owners stay in business.\u00a0 The food came out on time and the wait staff was very attentive with taking our orders, bringing out bread on a frequent basis, and refilling our drinks right away.\u00a0 The quality of the food is what suffered though.\u00a0 I don\u2019t know if the chef is bored or maybe there isn\u2019t one (just a line cook there maybe?)\u00a0 After eleven years there is no way to know and I haven\u2019t met with the owners personally to find out either.\u00a0 I would like to get to know them and find out their passion for food and operating the Acadia someday.\u00a0 I\u2019ve always believed food should be about the people who prepare it.<\/p>\n

When I first read\u00a0of the Acadia after finding it linked from the Little Rock Chamber of Commerce website<\/a>, I was excited about trying the place out.\u00a0 The menu wasn\u2019t super exciting but looked better than most.\u00a0 In the end I was disappointed and it pains me to say so.\u00a0 I guess it\u2019s something I will have to get used to though as I\u2019m not about to say something tastes good when it doesn\u2019t.\u00a0 The potential is there but unless they inject some serious passion into the place I don\u2019t see how they can stay open another eleven years.\u00a0 I\u00a0will probably give them another try this summer when it\u2019s possible to sit on the nice looking outdoor deck.\u00a0 Most people do say to give places at least two tries before writing them off.\u00a0 That seems fair to me so we\u2019ll see how it goes the next time I write about them.\u00a0 Until then, good luck in your own food adventures and let us know what you find out!<\/p>\n

\"Acadia<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0By Todd Barron @ FoodieCuisine.com My wife and I joined two of our great friends tonight at Acadia Restaurant in the Hillcrest area of Little Rock.\u00a0 They have been open since 1999 and are open for Lunch on Monday through Friday and for Dinner on Monday through Saturday.\u00a0 They are closed on Sundays which is […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[5,205],"tags":[71,60,72,73],"class_list":["post-292","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-general","category-reviews","tag-acadia","tag-little-rock","tag-restaurant","tag-review"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=292"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":618,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/292\/revisions\/618"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=292"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=292"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/foodiecuisine.com\/wordpress\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=292"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}