Food Review: Milano’s in Maumelle (take out)

I love Milano’s. It’s the only place in Maumelle you can get a large variety of authentic Italian dishes, where there’s something for everyone. The owners are extremely nice and welcoming as well.

I got dinner for two, to go, since we were in a rush and didn’t feel like getting dressed nicely in order to eat out. The first thing I noticed when ordering online was how this is one of the few places around central AR that hasn’t sky-rocketed their prices these last couple years. I can get delicious pasta dishes for the same price or cheaper than Olive Garden currently offers- and way better!

When I arrived to pick up the order, I noticed the interior has been renovated and it looks amazing! It looks so nice and much fancier than it did in the past. At that moment, I wished we had opted to eat there instead of at home. Next time!

I was very happy to see there were fresh, hot bread rolls with our meals (two per meal), as well as the included side salad with choice of dressing. We opted to try the house vinaigrette. It was tomato based, and was delicious- especially when you dip the bread in it.

For our meals, I got the Veal Florentine ($19.95). I have only had perfect veal from Montana, but have chased that high ever since. Sadly, everywhere I’ve tried veal here in Arkansas, it is flavorless and tough. Unfortunately, the same story was told here. I should have gotten Chicken Florentine instead. Besides the veal, I loved the pasta with spinach and mushrooms. However, I did have to add salt and pepper to really taste the dish.

My husband got the Chicken Milano’s ($16.95), which was both our favorites for the night. The sundried tomatoes added a great flavor, without being overpowering, to the tender chicken and mushrooms and pink sauce. We loved it!

There was more than enough food! We ate until we couldn’t anymore for dinner and finished our large amount of leftovers for lunch the next day. I really feel like we got our money’s worth here, which always makes me like a place a lot more.

Overall, Milano’s is fantastic! I can’t wait to go back and enjoy a sit down meal and try one of their delicious desserts that called my name from the dessert fridge at the front when I went in to pick up the food. Let me know what your favorite dish is so I can try something new next time!

Food Review: Big Bad Breakfast

Big Bad Breakfast is a new brunch/ breakfast chain found in many other states that finally made its way here to Arkansas. It is in the same building at David’s Burgers at the Markham and Bowman intersection. There’s a great menu here, so let’s check it out!

ENVIRONMENT

I went with five friends to Big Bad Breakfast at 12:15 on a Saturday. The wait was supposed to be 45 minutes, but it was only 30. The restaurant is a decent size, nothing too big or tiny. There’s a bar, plenty of regular tables, tall tables, and booths. The decor is modern and has a lot of “Cathead” decor. It was nice, but pretty noisy.

MENU

Their menu can be found at their site. I love this menu! It has so many great options to choose from. You can start with one of five cocktails, all featuring Cathead vodka, or some house-blended Big Bad Cold Brews, or fresh squeezed juices. (They have oat and almond milk for a dairy-free option with your coffee). The food has everything from traditional breakfast plates, to eggs benedicts, biscuit sandwiches, omelets, shrimp and grits, french toast, pancakes, waffles, salads, or even granola or oatmeal. Yes, there is also a children’s menu. The most unique dishes to me were the Fried Oyster Scramble and the Fried Oyster Caesar salad. We don’t get a lot of friend oyster dishes here in Little Rock! They also have red eye gravy and tomato gravy.

FOOD/DRINK

Vietnamese Big Bad Cold Brew: $4.75 and a large Fresh Squeezed Grapefruit Juice: $5.50

All of our table got waters, with great “Sonic” ice, I may add! My Vietnamese cold brew was delicious, with just the right amount of sweetened condensed milk so it didn’t taste too sweet. My friend’s large grapefruit juice was tasty, but a little smaller than expected for a large. I never saw a small juice come out of the kitchen to compare.

The Jack Benny: $13

Description: Crispy fried hash cake, two poached eggs, sliced ham, wilted spinach, hollandaise, ham powder, and one side.

I LOVE an eggs benedict. I also love a great hash. This was the perfect breakfast for me! The crispy hash brown cake was crisp on the outside and soft inside, and not too greasy. The eggs were perfectly poached. There was plenty of seared ham and just a little spinach. The hollandaise was very good. I just mixed it all up and it made a very large breakfast. (The plates are huge, making the food look smaller than it was.)

I got to choose one side and after seeing others with these massive biscuits, I had to get one. It was the best biscuit I have had around here. They add ground pepper, which is a nice touch. The buttery crust and flavorful middle made a wonderful biscuit. I hardly needed butter. Get. The. Biscuit.

OVERALL

The service was new, but good! We had a lot of questions that our waitress took the time to check for us. Need examples? We wanted to know if there was dairy in the red eye gravy- there is none except for extra butter they add at the end, and they can leave that out.

The menu has something for everyone- vegetarians, pescatarians, gluten-free, dairy-free. All of the food my table got looked great, was BIG, and very tasty! I will definitely be back the next time I want to treat myself to a big, bad breakfast.