Ready to take a trip down the rabbit hole? Nah, us either. Let's take the blue pill instead, where we can remain blissfully well-fed, even if the food is only a figment of our imaginations.
That's because this location has been recycled, re-appropriated for a new dining experience. The wood finishing, hand-drawn illustrations of herbs and spices, it's all still there, like some fairytale world frozen in time. Except now, the decoration appears to make more sense. The intimate dining area and the low-hanging crafted lamps, they all seem appropriate to a restaurant dedicated to local Southern food as opposed to Indian fusion. No offense to the late Cardamom & Curry! Fayetteville just wasn't ready for you yet...
On this Thursday afternoon, Harvey and Qi and Mike were three of just a handful of male diners. Predominantly (and we use that term loosely), the tables were filled with Southern women of a distinct retirement age. These women were dressed in a refined manner, they snickered and chatted and sipped their soups, and Faylunchin found themselves strangely drawn to the allure of this secret society. Is this what our mothers were doing when they weren't babying us at home? Perhaps Harvey posed it best, when he stated, "You know, I'd love to bring my Mum here." If you can convince an English Mum to travel across the Atlantic for a single lunch date, then you're doing something right. Let's get to those scores:
This is simple. Just take our score from Cardamom & Curry's (7/10), and add .5! If only because, this time, the atmosphere better matches the theme.
- HARVEY'S SCORE 7.5/10
- QI'S SCORE 7.5/10
- MIKE'S SCORE 7.5/10
And yes, this score goes for the bathrooms, too! SCORE 8.5/10
Mockingbird Kitchen boasts an eclectic menu with a Southern slant. The head chef has worked in such places as Tusk & Trotter, and Bordinos, which should clue you into the level of artistry that this restaurant sets to achieve.
And yes, hooray! There is a lunch menu, stylized with preferred appetizers and entrees, and of course desserts. Be choosy when you visit this place; because no single item is truly like another. For example...
Qi's Side
Our server recommended the Buffalo Cauliflower as our starter, explaining it's texture as similar to Buffalo Wings but without all that grease. In that, our server was indeed correct. As Asians, Qi and Mike have an announcement: Americans, you don't give cauliflower the respect its due! This is a wondrous veggie, which deserves to be placed on the same pedestal as carrots, and onions, and even kale (you hipsters!). Mockingbird Kitchen got it right, softly battering these mini-cauliflowers until they were tender, pairing wonderfully with the Bleu Cheese dressing. As Qi says, "As an entree, I'd always choose wings. But as a starter, I'd choose cauliflower."
SCORE 8.5/10
- Harvey chose the Catfish & Spicy Slaw Sandwich (Arkansas catfish, battered with blue corn tortilla chips, and topped with remoulade and spicy slaw). He stated: "it's good, but not great. Simply because the bun couldn't stand up to the filling". For dessert, Harvey indulged in the Lemon Merengue Cheesecake, boasting, "like if your Mum cooked it, if your Mum happens to be a really good chef." It was enough to bump his score up a notch. HARVEY'S SCORE 7/10
- Qi couldn't ignore the "Hot" Chicken Sandwich (Crystal Lake chicken thighs, breaded and served with remoulade on a crispy sesame seed bun). He appreciated the quotation marks around the word "Hot", because for him, a renowned champion of all things spicy, this adjective appealed more to the temperature than any real kick. He doused the nonexistent flames with a dessert of Mockingbird Pie (chocolate cream sprinkled with pecans, while also served in a pecan crust). Here, he feels the food found its mark. QI'S SCORE 8/10
- Mike neglected dessert, but this was mainly due to the tastefulness and plentitude of his entree, the Ropa Vieja (braised beef, served with grits, lemon preserves, and caper and olive red wine sauce). If there was ever such thing as a fancy KFC snack bowl, then surely this is it! Mike was pleasantly surprised at how well the flavors balanced, especially the lemon, grits, and beef, which became one part entree, one part dessert, and equal parts delicious. MIKE'S SCORE 8.5/10
*SIDENOTE*
We don't usually include soft drinks in our Food review, but Mockingbird Kitchen serves Jones Sodas with free refills. The three of us ordered numerous Berry Lemonades, and found ourselves giddy with unspent caffeine madness. Seriously, this stuff was blue as Smurf's blood, with twice the sugar content. Wowza! |
Some quick notes about Mockingbird Kitchen's service: It is polished, yet pleasantly laid-back. The business casual attire encourages you to feel comfortable without the pressure of exceedingly high expectations. We did mention the free refills of Jones Soda, right?! Our server was absolutely amazing at providing this sugar-frenzy at every empty glass, almost as efficient as if they'd hooked IV's to our arms. And everyone was exceptionally friendly, informative, and conversational despite a considerable lunch crowd. Our scores:
- Harvey begins in a bit of disarray. His score stood at a solid 7/10 for much of the meal, until a clear taboo was crossed, which for Harvey is equal to saying "good afternoon, mate," when it's clearly after 6pm. Of course, we're referring to the delivery of our receipts, which were just a bit early (right before Harvey and Qi were finished with dessert). With this, Harvey's score dropped to a 6/10. But then a Miracle! Mockingbird's chef visited our table, as she did to others, and made sure everything was to our liking. This bit of good fortune increased Harvey's score exponentially! HARVEY'S SCORE 7.5/10
- Qi was quite simple by comparison. The attire of servers he called "lax", but said so out of deference. And he gave one the highest accolades we've heard so far, calling our server "the best drink-refiller we've ever had." Damn. QI'S SCORE 7.5/10
- Mike agreed with Harvey on the class of Mockingbird's chef, as well as agreeing with Qi's assessment of the server's refilling capabilities. But he was more impressed with the server's verbal description of the menu. It was he who called the Buffalo Cauliflower a healthier alternative to buffalo wings, and indeed they were! Even more apt was his description of Mockingbird's house-made ketchup, which he assured Faylunchin was made from well-squashed tomatoes, that were never, by any means, squashed under anyone's feet. And ketchup that doesn't taste like feet is enough to keep Mike coming back for years! MIKE'S SCORE 8/10
There are so many places that we might take this celebrity score. We're looking for someone who typifies Southern gourmet cooking. Someone who, like the beautiful mothers that surrounded us at lunch, is comprised of an aged elegance. Someone who could just as well cook you a meatloaf, as criticize you for not calling her enough. To be brief, we're looking for a Southern Momma.
Well there is a one Arkansan woman, well-known for her beauty and motherly bearing. She played a mother to Will Ferrell and John C. Reilly in "Step Brothers". She later played mother to Elijah Wood in the show "Wilfred", though her performance was a bit unhinged. She's the woman that many men stumble upon in their Oedipus fantasies, the one to bring them a bowl of chicken noodle soup when they're bedridden, or to offer them a big hug when they've been bullied at work.
And she hails from our own Newport, Arkansas, a place known for producing former governor Mike Beebe, playing second home to the illustrious Walton Family, and not containing a "port" or anything "new" despite its name. Yes, yes, we're referring to...
An Englishman, a Chinese Man, and an Indian can't be completely sure. So we asked the help of our friend, Alex, who produced the following illustration of Mary. If she's surviving out there in the real world, we seriously hope she's kickin' some robot butt and looking good doing it!