CHEERS ON BROADWAY
   
West Capitol Avenue and Broadway, Little Rock, (501) 372-5494. Open 7 a.m.-2 :30 p.m. Monday-Friday.
   The restaurant, once affiliated with Cheers in the Heights, has long since left the fold and been independent. It has been some time since we last visited the place, where the U.S. Bank building meets the much taller Metropolitan National Bank building at Capitol Avenue and Broadway.
   The first thing we noticed was there wasn't a long line waiting to get in, as there used to be. If you didn't get there by about 11:20 a.m., you still had plenty of minutes to peruse the special board that still sits by the front door.
   That the number of customers is down, however, is amply reflected in that it was still possible to get an order of chicken and dumplings ($6.30), one of the perennial Friday specials, at 1 p.m. on a recent Friday. Used to be, if you didn't order the chicken and dumplings by about 11:45 a.m., you could count on not having any. The chicken and dumplings are still worth ordering, plenty of good-size chicken chunks with small, firm dumplings in a slightly gelatinous gravy dusted with paprika for color.
   We can't say the same about the special we had earlier in the week, the Southwest Club Wrap ($5.75), American and mozzarella cheese wrapped up with ham, turkey, bacon, lettuce, tomato and guacamole in a flour tortilla. We didn't mind it being bland, so much, because it comes with a pretty lively pico de gallo for dipping or ladling. But it was obviously prepared in advance and over-refrigerated to the point that we were munching ice crystals.
   The previously dependable Grilled Reuben ($6.50), corned beef, sauerkraut and Swiss on marbled rye, was all right but not what it had been; too much sauerkraut gave it a somewhat sharp tang.
   The broccoli cheese soup of the day ($2.10 cup, $2.70 bowl) was flavorful and cheesy and had plenty of broccoli but was just a shade gummy.
   -- Eric E. Harrison
   

DOWNTOWN DELI
   
Fourth and Center streets, Little Rock, (501) 372-3696, www. downtowndeli.com. Open 7 a.m.-3 p.m. Monday-Friday.
   Although there's practically nothing in this area that damnyankees would call a "deli," Downtown Deli comes closest, offering big, thick, deli-style signature sandwiches plus soups, wraps, a salad bar and more.
   Don't miss the Marsala French Onion Soup ($2.29 cup, $3.29 bowl), a light, surprisingly non-salty broth with perhaps a hint of marsala, chock-full of onions and broth-absorbing croutons and generously topped with a layer of melted Swiss.
   The Broadway ($6.49), "New York-style " hot pastrami and corned beef with Swiss and spicy brown mustard on toasted light rye, is one of the closest-to-deli items on the menu, and while no self-respecting New Yorker would accept the light rye (try finding real Jewish rye around here), the meat and cheese is piled generously high.
   Other inventively named items include the Knuckle Sandwich ($5.99), chicken breast and bacon topped with pepper jack cheese and tomato, and the Belly Buster ($5.99), roast beef au jus with sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms, provolone and mayo on a French roll. "Lighten Up" sandwiches include a Turkey Reuben ($5.29) and a vegetarian option -- Contrary Mary ($5.29), cucumbers, carrots, sprouts, avocado, Swiss, lettuce, tomato and ranch on toasted wheat.
   Sandwiches come with chips and a pickle spear. A Downtown Combo ($5.59), half a sandwich and soup or fruit, is a pretty good deal.
   The restaurant's only real drawback is ordering at the front counter, where, especially during the lunch rush, you become swept up in the crowd with little time or space to ponder the menu (hint: check it out in advance at the Web site).
   Once you've ordered, though, everything is easy.
   You get a number, sit in one of the two dining rooms. A food runner, sometimes even the manager, brings your order by in a relatively few minutes.
   -- Eric E. Harrison

This story was published Friday, November 03, 2006