ANDINA CAFE
   
Ottenheimer Market Hall, River Market, 400 President Clinton Ave., Little Rock, (501) 376-2326. Open 7 a.m.-6 p.m. Monday-Wednesday, 7 a.m.-9 p.m. Thursday-Saturday, 7 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday.
   Andina Cafe seems to have gotten settled, sort of, after the long march from the east end of the Ottenheimer Market Hall to its new diggings at the west end of the hall.
   After vacating a cozy, self-enclosed space after 10 years, the coffee bar has wedged itself into a brick niche in what had once been a mostly open plaza space and set up shop, vending a slightly reduced range of sandwiches, salads, soups, pastry items and its trademark coffee drinks.
   The new space doesn't have a tenth of the charm of the old one (even that the old one had when it was new), although a couple of the hardwood tables and some chairs have traveled along to the new location and the management has come up with some innovative seating solutions.
   The Creamy Chicken Broccoli Soup ($3.25) was rich and surprisingly peppery. The Chicken Noodle Soup (same price) was redolent with herbs and spices, and had plenty of chicken and noodles, too.
   You can try one of Andina's chicken salad sandwiches ($5.49) -- the perky Mango Chicken Salad was pretty good, though perhaps a touch dry -- or you can build your own ($5.49), with choice of country white, honey wheat, spinach feta or "Ro-Tel" bread; turkey, ham, roast beef, "Dagwood" (all of the above, $6.49); and choice of dressings -- mayo, mustard, spicy mustard, honey mustard, ranch, wasabi aioli, mango chutney or fat-free Italian. Sandwiches come with chips and a pickle spear. Soup-and-sandwich and soupand-salad pairings are a bargain at $6.95.
   Andina still sells the housename coffee -- as a beverage in various forms and whole-beanin-the-bag. A cup of excellent hot chocolate, made with syrup and hot, steamed milk from the espresso machine, was only $1 with the meal -- can't beat that with a stick.
   -- Eric E. Harrison
   

PANTHER FAMILY
   STEAKHOUSE & MORE
   
3950 Arkansas 5, Cabot, (501) 605-1174. Open 5 a.m. to 9 p.m. seven days a week.
   The Panther Family Steakhouse & More now inhabits the former Huddle House section of the Exxon travel center on Arkansas 5, just off U.S. 67/167.
   The Breakfast Plates section offers 10 selections, including country-fried steak, hamburger steak, ball tip sirloin, ham, bacon, sausage, grilled chicken, vegetables or a breakfast burrito. All come with two eggs, hash browns and toast, and will cost you from $2.99 for the burrito to $7.99 for the sirloin.
   For less than $5, you can have an omelet or two eggs, hash browns and toast. They offer a few a la carte items like bacon and sausage ($2.39), extra eggs (two for $1.99), toast or a biscuit (99 cents), ham ($3.99) or two biscuits and gravy for $2.99, one for $1.99.
   Overall, our Panther Family Steakhouse experience was a pleasant one. The food seemed a little slow coming from the kitchen, considering the place was only about half full when we got there and we didn't order anything that required a very long cooking time. Luckily the coffee was good enough to distract me during the almost 30-minute wait.
   When the food arrived, I was happy to find that the eggs were over-medium, the bacon was crispy, and the biscuits and gravy were quite flavorful. I just couldn't figure out why my hash browns came to the table undercooked.
   If you're not in the mood for breakfast, the restaurant also serves steak, shrimp and chicken dinners, a variety of burgers and sandwiches, a few desserts and appetizers, and a section "Especially for Kids & Seniors."
   -- Rosemary Boggs
   PIERRE'S

PIZZA
   
4905 John F. Kennedy Blvd., North Little Rock, (501) 907-1929. Open 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Friday-Saturday.
   Located in a small strip center's corner, Pierre's occupies a petite space with a few tables and booths and a colorful mural of downtown on the wall. Diners can call for carryout or delivery (a $10 minimum order required) or order at the counter and have their food brought to them.
   Those wanting pizza can order from Pierre's menu of 11 specialty pizzas in sizes from an 8-inch small, to a 12-inch medium, to a 14-inch large, to a 16-inch extra large; prices start at $7.50 and stop at $18.95. Or diners can create their own with toppings that cost $1.50 each.
   We called in an order for two of Pierre's specialties, Pierre's Favorite ($8.95- $18.95) and Hawaiian Luau ($7.95- $13.95). If we had to compare the hand-tossed crust to a local competitor, we'd probably liken it to Iriana's -- mediumthick and substantial.
   Pierre's Favorite was spiritedly topped with plenty of our favorites: pepperoni, Canadian bacon, salami, beef, Italian sausage, mushrooms, big slices of tomato, mozzarella and long streamers of red and white onion (a member of our party's nonfavorites, black olives and green peppers, were left off as requested).
   The salty-sweet Hawaiian pizza featured a compatible combination of Canadian bacon, tomato sauce and not only canned pineapple but mandarin oranges.
   While the amount of salad (both $5.50) in the plastic takehome containers seemed small for the price, we were nevertheless satisfied with the Caesar of lettuce, croutons and parmesan and the garden salad of lettuce, mushrooms, carrots, tomatoes, cucumbers, artichoke hearts and parmesan. Pierre's menu also includes five sandwiches in half and whole sizes ($3.95- $5.95).
   -- Jennifer Christman
   

LUNCH AT THE LEGION
   
American Legion Post No. 1, 315 E. Capitol Ave., Little Rock, (501) 372-2608. Open 11 a.m.-2 p.m. weekdays.
   It's inexpensive, it's tasty, it's close to our offices and if it weren't, parking is free. What more could you ask?
   Lunch at the Legion, a new plate lunch service at the American Legion Post on East Capitol Avenue, isn't fancy, and for the moment it doesn't offer a lot of daily variety -- if you don't want today's entree, you'd better consider another lunch venue.
   But what it does offer is delicious, and at a decent price. The daily plate lunch is $6.50 if you want a full entree portion and three side vegetables, but only $3.75 for a slightly smaller entree portion and two side vegetables. (And after all, how much do you really need to eat for lunch?) Soft drinks are, comparatively speaking, a steal -- $1, and only 75 cents for tea, coffee or lemonade.
   Monday's entree, chicken strips, were simple but flavorful, lightly battered and lightly fried. For our two side vegetables we had a generous amount of kernel corn and salad, iceberg lettuce with slices of baby carrots and bits of baby broccoli and baby cauliflower, plus sliced-in-half grape tomatoes; we had ours with a decent house-made honey mustard dressing (other options come in bottles). Plus a dinner roll.
   On Wednesday, the entree was a huge square chicken chimichanga, fried just enough to make the corners crispy and the tortilla firm but not enough to make it greasy. Inside were lots of chicken and some onions in a fairly vivid white sauce. On top was a very good cheese sauce/dip, which also coated the side chips. We also got some pretty spicy refried beans, on the pasty side, and some surprisingly well-flavored Mexican rice in tomato sauce, plus a goodly lump of chicken potato casserole. Salsa and sour cream were complimentary.
   Service is cafeteria-style -- a helpful young woman loads up your plate or to-go container with whatever you desire, and a kind gentleman takes your money. Seating is at plentiful white-clothed tables in the Legion post's main hall (if there's a Legion meeting, the place is closed).
   -- Eric E. Harrison

This story was published Friday, January 05, 2007