ZaZa: great salads and the chance to watch pizza-making

Arkansas Business, June 2, 2008

ON ENTERING THE NEW ZaZa Fine Salad & Wood-Oven Pizza Co., we nearly stumbled into the gelato line, which has the tendency to blend into the salad line.

However, we certainly won't argue with the point-of-sale--paying before you eat--which cuts about 10 minutes off order time. Our party of three was in and out in under an hour.

The pizza--well, one of them--arrived about eight to 10 minutes after we ordered, but the second one arrived quite a bit later. We suspect our order was entered incorrectly because the runner who brought the first pizza casually informed us that our second Atomica pizza would be out in a minute. (We hadn't ordered a second Atomica, just the one. And we told him so.)

Of the two pizzas we ordered, the Italian sausage stole the show. The Atomica, a mix of capers, Sicilian anchovies, mozzarella and parmesan cheeses, wasn't as appetizing, but we're not big anchovy fans. And in ZaZa's defense, the menu clearly states that the Atomica has anchovies. The diner who ordered it tried to convince us he is barely literate, but we're not buying it.

Each of us tried a pre-designed salads. The ZaZa house salad ($Z25) is a mixture of baby field greens, baby spinach, arugula, strawberries, blueberries, candied pecans and goat cheese with oil and balsamic vinegar.

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Another sampled the Baja shrimp salad ($8.75)--romaine, wood-oven-roasted shrimp, mandarin oranges, grapefruit, avocado and tortilla strips tossed with a chipotle vinaigrette.

The Asian salad ($8.25) of baby field greens, romaine lettuce, chicken tenders, shaved carrots, sugar snap peas, mandarin oranges, red cabbage, cilantro, green onion and wonton crisps with Asian ginger dressing, thoroughly impressed the diner who ordered it. He called it the best salad he has had in "a long, long time."

Other than the pre-designed salads, ZaZa offers a "build your own" salad that starts at $4.75. Meats are $1 to $3 and other toppings are $0.50 each.

The service was cordial and helpful at Little Rock restaurateur Scott McGehee's latest venture. In fact, the server emerged from behind the salad counter to ask if we'd been to ZaZa before and offer some helpful hints.

The wood-burning oven, which towers behind the pizza prep bar, allows patrons to watch the pizza bake next to the smoldering embers. All our diners agreed it was a nice touch. The rest of the decor seemed to have a sort of California energy.

ZaZa doesn't have any large tables so it's probably not a great place for a business lunch with more than a few diners. Of course, two tables could be moved together, but table size isn't the only deterrent. The neon green-and-orange color scheme has a more lighthearted and fun feel that may not be conducive to a serious meeting with a distinguished client.

The whole experience was pleasing and we'll probably go back, but mostly for the salads.

ZaZa

Fine Salad & Wood-Oven Pizza Co.

5600 Kavanaugh Blvd., Little Rock 72207

(501) 661-9292

***

Cuisine: Traditional Napoli pizza

Dress Code: None

Noise Level: Moderate

Price Range: $4.75-$38.50

Credit Cards: All major

Reservations: None

Receipts: N/A; opened May 19

2007 Receipts: N/A, opened May 19

**** = Outstanding
 *** = Good
  ** = Fair
   * = Poor