Great Wraps

11400 N. Rodney Parham Rd. Suite B Little Rock, AR 72212 (501) 225-9727

Decor: When you first walk in the door, you are faced with the menu that takes up the whole wall. Then you travel down the food prep area and tell them what you want. The place is a giant bowl of yellow and red with huge art pictures of their food on the walls. Then there are the Great Wraps signs. Too many of them. Back off already, we’re already in here eating. You don’t have to advertise to us anymore. Luckily, there are a couple of TVs in there so you can watch other restaurants’ ads.

Cleanliness: It’s clean in there. It has held up well, probably because it’s not really a place that you take the kids. They keep it tidy and don’t let food trays pile up. Most of the people that eat there are conscientious enough to clean up after themselves.

Service: Pretty good service. Sometimes the employees seem a little out of it, but it can’t be too mentally challenging to make fancy burritos all day. We would daze off too. They go out of their way to make their customers happy. See the tips below.

Cost: It seems like it’s expensive for a wrap until you realize that it works out to about the same as a SuperSize meal at a fast food burger place.

Taste: The food is pretty good. The ingredients are fresh and there is not a lot of heavy sauce or condiments to cover up the flavors. If you are not used to something like this, it is a little odd tasting at first because it tastes so healthy. The fries are a little plain and drab when you get them. That’s why they have their spice bar (more like 4 little shakers) over in the corner. You can pick from such treasures as Loaded Baked Potato.

Tips:

• Be sure to use the spice bar if you get fries. We recommend sticking with the Original flavor. The others were not that good to us.
• I hope this doesn’t ruin it, but try to go near closing time. Last time we went, they gave out the last of their cookies so they wouldn’t have to throw them out.

Baskin-Robbins

10102 N Rodney Parham Rd. #A Little Rock, AR 72227 (501) 227-5656 

Decor: This place is right next door to Terri-Lynn’s, so it shares much the same decor. The building is showing its age, with some peeling paint and dingy walls. They do the best they can to create a bright and cheery place. It’s your typical Baskin-Robbins interior. As a bonus, there is a table outside so you can sit and watch the traffic go by on Rodney Parham.

Cleanliness: Just like the decor, they do the best they can. It’s not a dirty place at all, but the rundown building makes it feel like something needs to be cleaned. Hopefully, whoever owns the building will pony up the cash to renovate it someday.

Service: The employees do a great job. It can’t be easy for them dealing with lines that run out of the building and small herds of screaming brats all wanting Superman flavor. They manage to make the lines move fast, build your desserts nice and large, and still keep a smile for the next person.

Cost: Baskin-Robbins has always been one of the more expensive ice cream parlors.  That doesn’t seem to stop people from keeping the place packed.

Taste: Not bad. The ice cream is good, but you can get the same taste from ice cream at the grocery store. This place really shines at having lots of different flavors and switching them out often. The taste gets better when you get one of their big sundae concoctions. They use popular, name brand toppings.

Tips:

• If your wallet is light, you can get one of the large sundaes and share it. We recommend the Reese’s one.
• If you want a great tasting food experience, get a good lunch next door at Terri-Lynn’s and then stop by here for dessert.

Cheeburger Cheeburger

11525 Cantrell Rd Little Rock, AR 72212 (501) 490-2433 

Decor: Cheeburger Cheeburger is a new place that is going for that retro 50’s feel. It comes off as exactly that: a new place trying to get that retro 50’s feel. Maybe it would work better if they didn’t try to get the kids so much with balloons and stuff, although the car-shaped kid’s meal is kinda cool. Also, we don’t know why they decided to leave the “-se” out of cheese. Saying the name makes us feel like we’re trying to get a classroom of preschoolers to eat their lunch before nappy-time. The place is not big enough to hold everyone that goes there and you end up feeling crowded in your table. Of course, with so many people in such a little space, you can barely hear your dining companions.

Cleanliness:  They keep the tables clean, but the place is so crowded and crawling with kids that it looks like a hot, busy mess.

Service: They are slow to get to your table, slow to bring your drinks, and slow to make your food. There are just too many people in there for them to be efficient.  That said, they still manage to get your orders right and remember to bring things that you ask for, it just takes a while.

Cost: Expensive with a capital $. This place is located in the new shopping center that has Parisian and other upscale stores. It is priced for those who can afford to shop at places like that, even though they try to come off as an affordable diner.

Taste: We wanted to like the food real bad. The burgers are very big and look good. The fries are crisp and golden. Everything looks like it should be the best burger meal of your life. It won’t be, even though you get to build your own burger with ingredients of your choosing. Everything is rather plain and unoriginal. It doesn’t taste bad, it’s just not worth all of the hype that was going around when the place first opened.  Even the shakes have a problem: Ebony’s tasted great, but was a little too liquidy. Mike thought that the exception was the onion rings, which come in a pile the size of a football and taste like something Paula Deen would cook. In case you don’t know, Paula is the grandmotherly woman on the Food Network who puts a pound of butter into EVERY dish she makes. Those onion rings are the greasiest, nastiest onion rings ever, but they are addicting.

Tips:

• If you just want a quick bite, you can grab a shake at the front counter and skip the whole waiter thing.
• Don’t go there if you have a headache. It is packed with kids and you will not have a good time.

Schlotzsky’s

11815 Mara Lynn Dr. Little Rock, AR 72211 (501) 224-4119

Decor: This place has two dining areas, with the ordering counter between them. Both areas have TVs in them, but the sound is off and there is old easy listening music playing.

Cleanliness: The place is clean. In fact, when we went in, one of the workers was mopping the floor. They usually keep it neat and tidy.

Service: The worker was friendly and eager to take our order. Our sandwiches were made very fast.

Cost: This place is insanely expensive. We have gone there a few times and it has never been under $20 for two sandwiches and drinks.

Taste: This is why we keep coming back. They have this yummy sourdough bread that makes you eat a much larger sandwich than you should. They have pizzas and many sandwich varieties, but we like the Original and Turkey Original the best.

Tips

• They have wheat bread and wraps for those who are watching their diet.
• Make sure you have good brakes on your car. This place is surrounded by the Little Rock Himalayas.
• Bring a jacket as well because they keep it cold in there.

McDonald’s

7200 W 12th St. Little Rock, AR 72205

Decor: It’s the other half of a gas station. Not a good gas station either. This is a nasty, dirty, ghetto gas station. You can buy shoes and burned CDs from some guys trunk outside, that’s how ghetto this place is.

Cleanliness: None. They don’t clean this place. The gas station side mops their floor once in a while, but the McD’s side is filthy. Overflowing trash cans, a dirty table, and spilled drinks on the floor are so much a part of this place, they should probably go under the Decor section.

Service: This part right here is the whole inspiration for this website. We decided that nobody else should have to go through what we’ve been through at this place, so we started this website. If it helps just one person, it will all be worth it. This place has the worst service in the entire food industry. First, the line is always out the door. Not because it’s good, but because it’s the only place within walking distance and most people who eat here don’t own cars. Now, the line is long because the illiterate morons behind the counter don’t have pictures on their registers so they can identify which buttons to push. It wouldn’t matter anyway, because they are all so high on drugs that they won’t get your order right no matter what. There is always one item missing after your twenty minute wait. Why is that wait so long, you say? Well, on top of not being able to find the buttons on the register, the cashier is guaranteed to stop what he or she is doing to answer their cell phone and make a drug deal or yell at the baby momma/daddy. You won’t even get to listen in because the manager is yelling over all the rest of the noise threatening them to work harder in an effort to seem like he’s not as ghetto as they are. On the way home, you will notice that your drink is an inch below the top of the cup, your fries only fill half the box, and your 6th nugget is the size of a nickel.

Cost: Typical McDonald’s, but it’s sad when a place makes a dollar hamburger seem not worth the price.

Taste: The same as other McDonald’s, but the burgers are smashed more, the fries are less salty, the drinks are flat, and the gas fumes outside will change the flavor of everything you eat for two days. This assumes that you can get past the fact that there is a cemetery next door. Creepy.

Tips:

• Just don’t go here. This place should be reported to the Health Board.
• If you must eat here, it’s cheaper to buy your drinks from the gas station side if you get a fountain drink.

Firehouse Subs

12312 Chenal Pkwy., Ste. 40 Little Rock, AR 72211 (501) 228-5553

Decor: This place is a three year old boy’s dream come true. It is full of firefighter equipment and decorations. There are firehats on the wall next to a gigantic painting. Each Firehouse Subs location in town has its own custom painting of firehouse life in Little Rock.

Cleaniness: The only thing dirty about this place is the bottles of hot sauce that are sitting out for customers to use. Other than that, the Chief runs a clean place.

Service: When you open the door, someone always yells, “Welcome to Firehouse!” The lines move pretty fast even when they are swamped. Your order takes a few minutes, but not long enough to make you upset. If they start taking too long, you can always start on your chips. You get your own drinks, so you can refill as much as you want.

Cost: This is one of the more expensive sub shops in town. You can count on them being consistently good though.

Taste: Mike loves subs. Mike reallllllly LOVES subs. Mike likes Firehouse the best in Little Rock and the only place that comes close is Lenny’s. Ebony thinks it’s good too. The first thing that makes these subs special is that they are steamed. This makes the sub moist and tender without getting mushy. The second thing is the Firehouse sauce. This is another one of those things that Mike would eat with a spoon if he could get away with it.

Tips:

• They have wheat bread now, so it’s not as bad for your diet.
• Skip those crusty hot sauce bottles and go for the Firehouse sauce. Yes, Mike wrote this tip.
• Tell them you want it “Fully Involved” if you want everything on it.

Popeye’s

3208 S. University Ave. Little Rock, AR 72204 (501) 562-8110 

Decor: A smaller Popeye’s location, it has the typical Popeye’s look, but seems more crowded. It could be bright and cheery inside if the ads on the windows didn’t cut off most of the light from outside.

Cleanliness: Bring your gloves because this place is sticky. We aren’t sure if they ever wipe the place down. The floors usually have a stain from dried up drinks.

Service: Abysmal. The people clearly don’t want to work there and it shows. Every time we go there,  they give us cold chicken and hard biscuits. One time, they tried to give us a box of spicy chicken and it was cold to the touch. We complained and the guy argued with us saying that it was just cooked. We told him to put his hand on the bottom of the box. He admitted it was cold and told us that we could wait 10 minutes for some mild. He clearly wanted us to just take our cold chicken and leave, but we joined the other 3 people waiting for fresh chicken. It ended up being hot, but we aren’t too crazy about their mild chicken.

Cost:  Expensive. The crappy service and bad food make it not worth it. They offer a 10% discount with your UALR card, but it seems to get revoked pretty much on a whim. They always have some excuse for not honoring it.

Taste: If you like cold chicken, this place is for you. This place is a disgrace to the Popeye’s name, especially after experiencing what Popeye’s should be like.

Tips:

• Drive the extra 5 minutes to the Markham location. It is worth the extra hassle.
• Don’t use the drive through. You need to be in there watching their every move.
• Be sure you have good tires if you want to go in the back way. The pavement has 6″ deep potholes that are 2 feet across. No joke.

Coldstone Creamery

12800 Chenal Parkway Little Rock, AR 72211 (501) 225-7000

Decor: Coldstone is set up to look like a little coffee shop. They have the ice cream bar at the back and a few tables scattered around the front. There are two doors, one an entrance and the other an exit. To most people, the entrance is on the right and the exit is on the left. The problem is, you make your order on the left side of the bar and pay on the right. This ends up causing a traffic jam in the middle sometimes. Two of the walls are covered with menus describing the different desserts they make.

Cleanliness: There is never any clutter around, but they are very busy and don’t have time to wipe the tables. The trash is usually full, which is too bad because it is next to the tables.

Service: Get everything you want the first time. Once they hand you that cone and take your money, they are on to the next person and you cease to exist. This is bad because it is always packed and you pretty much have to cause a scene or get back in line if you forgot a spoon or something. On the plus side, you get to watch them pound the living bajinkeys out of your ice cream, which is the whole point of going to Coldstone, right?

Cost: Expensive for ice cream.

Taste: Mike thinks it’s good. He likes a lot of the flavor combinations, especially Germanchokolatekake. Ebony doesn’t like it that much. She likes Shake’s much better because it’s richer and less crowded.

Tips:

• Bring a drink. They don’t have a water fountain and drinks are expensive.
• They have non-fat and low calorie desserts available.

Captain D’s

6301 Colonel Glenn Road Little Rock, AR 72204 (501) 568-6244

Decor: Looks like a rundown pier inside. It matches up perfectly with the rundown neighborhood outside. The nautical theme is made more authentic by the seagulls circling the trash in the Kroger’s parking lot across the street. BTW, why are there seagulls in Arkansas?

Cleanliness: NONE! The last time we ate there, we found shredded plastic fried up in our fish and fries. Oh yeah, Ebony also discovered bugs in her drink. The floors were sticky, the tables were dirty and the tartar sauce matched the cook’s yellow teeth. It also worries us that they are right next door to an animal hospital.

Service: Horrible! When we returned the plastic food, we had to stand in line. There were five people “working” in there. One was frying up plastic fillets, one was yelling into her cellphone,two were sitting, while the manager was running the cash register and shouting at everyone else. We finally got our money back 15 minutes later.

Cost: It’s pretty cheap if you get the basic fish dinner. It starts adding up with the larger and specialty meals.

Taste: The fries aren’t salty, the fish isn’t bad, but it’s great if you like to eat plastic. Other Captain D’s have much better tasting food.
Tips:

• Don’t bother coming here. There is one in North Little Rock if you are craving it that bad.

Shake’s Frozen Custard

12011 Westhaven Dr. Little Rock, AR 72211 (501) 224-0150

Decor: Or should that be Da Car? Because that’s where you’ll be eating at this old-fashioned drive-in eatery. This time, the decor is whatever you are driving.

Cleanliness: It depends on how clean your car is. If you walk up to the window, you will see a clean interior. You also get to watch the machines stirring up your Concrete. Yes, the building is clean, but sometimes you have to wonder how clean the workers’ bloodstreams are. They seem to be the same crowd that hung out behind the bleachers in high school creating that funny-smelling smoke cloud.

Service: Their speech may be a little slow, but they make your dessert fast enough. Don’t be fooled by the building that looks like a Sonic. The only ways to get your order are the walk-up window and the twin drive throughs.

Cost: It’s a little expensive, but very much worth it. They have mini treats for those on a tight budget.

Taste: This should be illegal, it’s so sinfully good. It changes your life, just like the first time you tasted chocolate.

Tips:

• Make sure your AC works in the summer and your heater works in the winter.
• Bring something to drink. There’s no water fountain, unless you want to sneak a sip from their garden hose.
• If you don’t want to eat around a bunch of people, try driving around to the left side where the exit is.