MIDTOWN

Hillcrest

Hillcrest, one of the oldest neighborhoods in Little Rock, is loved for its leafy, laid back, walkable community feel. Parents assemble to walk their children to Pulaski Heights Elementary and Middle schools and later to socialize at block parties and on porches. The vibe is liberal; the architecture is eclectic; almost everyone has a dog or two.

The two-lane Kavanaugh Boulevard is the neighborhood’s shopping district, with a grocery store, restaurants, bars, beauty parlors, clothing and antique shops, a pharmacy, an art gallery and even a dog grooming business. Allsopp Park, which encompasses two wooded ravines, a creek and a playground and softball field in 150 acres, stretches from Kavanaugh in the south to Cantrell Road in the north.

Among Hillcrest’s oldest establishments is Mount St. Mary Academy, a Catholic girls’ school founded in 1851 and located in Hillcrest since 1908. Thanks to the neighborhood’s preserved housing stock — many of its homes are a century old — Hillcrest is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.

Fun Stuff To Do

For Shop and Sip, on the first Thursday of every month, Kavanaugh is packed with people as business offers refreshment and musicians play. October’s HarvestFest fills Kavanaugh street with vendors selling arts and crafts, food trucks, craft beer and live music. A dog show rewards lookalike pets and owners and competitive folk can enter the cornhole tournament. For Christmas, the neighborhood gathers on the Allsopp Park Promenade to enjoy hot chocolate, choral singing and the lighting of the Christmas tree.

Shop

It’s all on Kavanaugh: People shop The Box Turtle for jewelry by local artisans, unique clothing and gift items not sold anywhere else. Plus, a sweet shop dog greets its customers. Next door is Control Records, where vinyl lovers line up all the way down the street for new releases. Across the street is Gallery 26, showcasing the work of a number of Arkansas’s fine artists and artist-made jewelry. A few blocks down is E. Leigh’s, a trendy clothing store popular with young women. Dandelion Home and Garden features flowers and unique vintage planters filled with succulents as well as pillows, candles and prints. Further west on Kavanaugh is The Full Moon, an upscale gift shop with a bridal and baby registry.

EAT & DRINK

Mylo Coffee is the place for fresh-roasted coffee and housemade pastries — so good, you’ll need to go early before the hordes scarf up all the delectable kouign-amanns, palmiers, croissants, donuts and more. You don’t have to take your laptop in, but everyone else does. The Little Hillcrest Bakery on Van Buren Street offers a big breakfast menu with eggs, biscuits and sausage gravy, acai bowls and Bananas Foster pancakes. Leo’s Greek Castle on Kavanaugh serves delicious gyros, burgers and milkshakes along with wine and beer in its tiny indoor space and at tables outdoors. East on Kavanaugh is U.S. Pizza, which has patio dining and a full bar. Its Sunday brunch menu has the best-priced mimosa buckets in town. For a quick sandwich, H.A.M. (Hillcrest Artisan Meats)

Market butcher shop and deli sells organic fare. Newcomer Hill Station restaurant and bar serves dishes from an eclectic menu both indoors and out; its patio along the boulevard features a large-screen TV for sports fans.

Nestled inside an old home off Kavanaugh with a big wraparound porch is Ciao Baci, a great choice for tapas, main courses like duck confit and muffaletta salad, and cocktails.

Leafy and quaint Hillcrest also offers international cuisine. Find Czech and German food, flatbreads and house-made ricotta at The Pantry Crest, also in an old house off Kavanaugh. (Order a Negroni; the restaurant bottles its cocktail for a two-drink serving.) La Terraza Rum & Lounge offers Venezuelan cuisine and fancy cocktails; go for the paella.

So Restaurant is a contemporary bistro with French and Italian influences in a rustic, quiet, romantic setting. For Brazilian fare, check out Café Bossa Nova; for Japanese cuisine, Kemuri Sushi and Japanese Grill is a huge hit; for Mexican food, try El Mezcal.

On Markham Street, in the Stifft Station neighborhood on the eastern edge of Hillcrest, find Pizza D’Action (aka Pizza D) for pies and pool. The Oyster Bar offers upscale seafood and oysters in every configuration. Stone’s Throw Brewing Stifft Station Taproom has 20 beers and ciders on tap, live entertainment and trivia nights. The venerable White Water Tavern, a few blocks down the hill from Hillcrest on Seventh and Thayer streets, is a favorite watering hole with some of the best burgers in town and live music every day. n

The Heights

This area’s housing and shopping district mimic its elevated topography, with old money, big houses and upscale boutiques. The Country Club of Little Rock (built in 1902) spurred the first development in the area, when it was still the country, and the settled Heights was nicknamed the “Silk Stocking” neighborhood.

As tree-lined Kavanaugh Boulevard ascends the hill to the Heights, it maintains its role as Midtown’s main shopping artery; like Hillcrest, the Heights is a walkable neighborhood with busy restaurants, a first-class bakery and deli, an independent bookstore, and gift and fine clothing stores.

SEE & DO

Hit the links indoors at Heights Golf, which offers two virtual TrackMan courses. Folks can drive, chip and putt with real clubs against 10-foot-tall, 12-foot-wide screens accurately simulating such courses as Pebble Beach and Royal St. Andrews, all while enjoying a beer. You never lose your balls or get hit by lightning.

When October’s cool weather comes around, it’s time for Chili Fights in the Heights, a heated competition that brings chefs and chili lovers in droves to the neighborhood. The event benefits the Arkansas Food Bank. Book lovers should look for author appearances and Wine & Words events at WordsWorth Books. Drive around to tour the neighborhood’s homes, from post-war bungalows and new mansions to the older, stately homes along Edgehill’s pink-paved road.

Shop

Children’s, men’s and women’s clothes stores; kitchenware; furniture; camping gear; pet supplies; bird feeders; grocery stores: With stores on and just off Kavanaugh, the Heights offers a veritable shoppalooza.

If it’s clothing you’re after, the neighborhood has too many to list, but here are a few established venues: The Toggery has dressed the children of the Heights since 1948 and has expanded into toys and books. Mr. Wicks (“The Gentleman’s Shop”) opened just two years later, a mainstay for both the buttoned down and sportier shoppers. Kristin Chase stands out for its upscale but dressed-down look for women. Women’s high-end classic styles by J.McLaughlin are found at the eponymously-named store; more modern looks are found at Beige. Tulips describes its offerings, which include contemporary clothes for all occasions, as “feminine, ladylike”; Steamroller Blues has a sexier side.

Domestic Domestic sells more than casual men’s coats: Games, books, chairs, knives and more items with masculine appeal are sold. Men and women who love the outdoors can get fitted at Ozark Outdoor Supply, which carries hiking, climbing and camping gear, including shoes. Next door, Doggy Daddy has what your pup wants.

Find pots and pans, jams and salsas, Himalayan salt and French dishcloths at Eggshells Kitchen Co.; find Arkansas’s PK Grill and the other things you need to keep your home running at Fuller’s Hardware Store.

On The Border

Sports fans know their way around the southern border of the Heights/Hillcrest neighborhood, because that’s where War Memorial Stadium is, home to high school and college football games and Little Rock

Rangers soccer contests. War Memorial Stadium is in War Memorial Park, a 117-acre expanse of green that also includes hiking trails, a children’s playground and fishing lake, and the Little Rock Zoo.

For recreational shopping (the sport of dropping into numerous restaurants and clothing stores), score at the MidTown Shopping Center at the corner of Markham and University and the Park Plaza Mall shopping center west of University. n

EAT & DRINK

Little Rock natives John and Mary Olive Stephens are bringing classic Italian dining to the Heights with their new restaurant George’s. That’s a first, though Italian fare in the form of pizza is to be found at U.S. Pizza, ZaZa Fine Salad & Wood Oven Pizza and the Pizzeria.

Enjoy a latte and a scone on the deck of Boulevard Bread Co., but that’s just a start: fresh baguettes, focaccia, sourdough bread and pan breads; cheeses, sandwiches, salads and soups; cakes, cookies, quiches, coffee and cooking supplies; locally grown vegetables and haute dinners to go — enough?

Find more of the neighborhood’s nod to international nosh at Heights Taco and Tamale Co., Fantastic China, Lulu’s Seafood Kitchen and Sushi Café. Burge’s claim to fame is based on its fried catfish and smoked turkey salad; at Cheers, with its cozy outdoor fireplace and indoor bistro, diners find a good selection of wine to go with American fare, from burgers to grilled salmon.

The line out the door at LePops is a testament to the delicious, homemade ice and cream popsicles here. n