What’s cooking

The new Bubba and Garcia’s restaurant in Riverdale, owned by Ed David, has added daily lunch specials to its regular menu. David said he added the specials to give people more incentive to try some of the New Mexican specialties on the menu, such as the green chile stew and the fish tacos, while also sampling some of the Southern specialties. The specials range in price from $6.25 for Monday’s cup of tortilla soup, a chile relleno and one side, to $6.75 for Friday’s cup of Bubba’s Roadhouse Red chili with a fried bologna sandwich. Taco Tuesday mixes a cup of chicken tortilla soup with a chicken taco and fish taco. Wednesday’s special is chicken fried steak with two sides (we recommend the cabbage on the Southern side and calabacitas, spicy stewed squash and corn, on the New Mexican). We had Thursday’s special, a cup of Green Chile Stew with a pork (you can have chicken) tamale with red sauce and the calabacitas,.

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Also, “Fiesta Time” is from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. at B&G’s, with house margaritas $3.75, and discounts on house wine and on longnecks and draughts.

Bubba and Garcia’s is between the Faded Rose and Buffalo Grill on Rebsamen Park Road.

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If you’re wanting to talk food via the Internet, Peachtree Catering, run by Billy and Janie Ginocchio, has a website (www.peachtreecatering.net) and a food blog. The Arkansas Food Blog is a clearinghouse of all things food and wine, and the Ginocchios will share their expertise on cooking, food and wine pairing and entertaining ideas. They’ll answer reader-submitted questions, too. Recipes and professional cooking tips can also be found at the blog site, www.arkansasfoodandwine.com

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IZZY’S Tamales and pizza are what Izzy’s has become known for, and we sampled both on a recent visit. The menu brags on the brick oven that gives the pizza its charcoaled crust — we didn’t see any evidence of charcoal, but our margherita pizza ($10) had a fresh, garlicky flavor. The menu also mentioned the recent addition of goat cheese to the margherita, about which we say, keep it coming. Our companion ordered the beef tamale platter ($7.85), two large tamales served drenched in chili. She said they weren’t the best she’d ever had, but tasted fine. Izzy’s vast menu offers plenty of other choices too, from more than a half-dozen meal-sized salads to a “pork tender” with honey poupon sauce to a range of sandwiches and pasta dishes. And we were happy to see the limited wine list included chianti and pinots noir and grigio, not just the usual casual-restaurant cabernet, merlot and chardonnay. 5601 Ranch Drive. Beer and wine. CC $-$$. LD Mon.-Sat.

DON VICCI’S It’s a shame we don’t get by Don Vicci’s more often, because every time we eat there we’re always pleasantly surprised to remember how much we like their red sauce. Don Vicci’s does pasta like pizza places do pizza: choose your pasta and your sauce, then add up to four fillings — roasted garlic, sun-dried tomatoes, bell peppers, spinach, beef or sausage, chicken or meatballs, etc. ($5.95 base price, plus extra for a meat filling). We got marinara sauce over penne, with sun-dried tomatoes and broccoli — what can we say, we were feeling the need for something green that day. Don Vicci’s marinara is just the way we like it — not too dark, with recognizable chunks of tomato. And the portion size is just enough to fill you up without leaving half of it behind. If build-your-own isn’t your speed, the restaurant also has classic dishes like eggplant Parmesan, lasagna and manicotti, plus several meal-sized salads and a good list of sandwiches, including meatball and mozzarella. For dessert, there’s raspberry cheesecake, tiramisu and white chocolate raspberry creme brulee, among others. Someday we’ll branch out, but it’ll be awhile before we’re tired of that red sauce. 211 W. Capitol Ave., 372-3700. Full bar. CC $-$$ L Mon.-Fri., D Tue.-Sat.

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