Home-grown goodness

Four Corners Kitchen is a farm-to-table restaurant with local and regional products featured on a seasonal menu.

Owner and chef Wesley Douglas enlisted local contractors with the restaurant's renovations, including Joe Moore of Moore Woodworks, who built and designed the bar. He is also partnered with Ease Arts in Fayetteville to produce the clay plates used at the restaurant.

"They are working on making all of my bowls as well," Douglas said.

The clean and elemental design of the restaurant is a marvel from the location's previous eatery. Guests who look beyond the quaint exterior of Oak Plaza on Garland Avenue will experience a blend of High South cuisine and homegrown flavors.

The menu is shaped around seasonal ingredients, and chef Douglas hopes to incorporate more local ingredients in the near future.

The menu currently features Arkansas-raised beef and rabbit, Crystal Lakes chicken, White River Creamery chevre and feta, Onyx coffee, Old World Imports olive oil and balsamic vinegar, Ozark Natural Bread rolls and a variety of locally grown produce.

Many ingredients served at Four Corners are also prepared in-house. In fact, there aren't many items that aren't prepared in the Four Corners' kitchen.

The familiar staples commonly made in-house in from-scratch kitchens, such as salad dressings, include buttermilk herb, BBQ balsamic and aged-white balsamic vinaigrette. Four Corners takes it a step further with tomato paste for house-made ketchup, as well as other house-made condiments, such as mustard and mayonnaise.

The pickled vegetables served with sandwiches are made in-house with seasonal selections. These are also offered as a snack item and served with the charcuterie plate.

The restaurant really commits to in-house preparation with fresh, hand-made pasta dishes priced from $8-$12. There is a daily flavor, such as the beet pasta recently served with a rabbit ragu, garlic, herbs, White River feta and concasse tomatoes. Concasse is the culinary term for peeled, seeded and roughly chopped, vine-ripe tomatoes.

The daily pasta also makes a showing in the baked Mac and Cheese dish, blended with Mornay sauce and topped with toasted bread crumbs. Mornay is a term many mac-n-cheese fans covet, as it is described as a creamy, rich and cheesy sauce.

A house-made ravioli featured on the spring menu is stuffed with oxtail and cheese, smothered in a sausage and pepper ragu and topped with shaved parmesan cheese for $12.

The burger, however, made with humanely-raised Arkansas beef has proven to be the champion plate so far. The seven-ounce patty is grilled over an open flame and served on an Ozark Natural Bread bun. The house burger has White River goat cheese, house-made oregano mayonnaise, crispy-fried shallots and locally grown arugula on a brioche bun for $9. A standard burger is served on an onion roll with American cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and mayonnaise for $9.

Additional sandwiches include a tempura-battered catfish sandwich for $8 and a red-eye, barbecue-glazed, braised pork shoulder sandwich for $8.

The burgers and sandwiches are served with a pickled assortment of vegetables and chips, although hand-cut French fries can be added for $1.25.

An homage to the previous restaurant in that suite is a "Hog's Breath" baked potato which offers a choice of four toppings for $5.50. Toppings include bacon, butter, sour cream, cheese, tomato, chives, beer chili, oyster mushrooms and carmelized onions.

The same menu offered during lunch is provided during dinner, plus the addition of entrees during the evening.

Following the uncomplicated, yet exquisite, method of the rest of the menu, entrees offered include one vegetarian, one beef, one poultry, one fish and one "Daily Grind" plate.

Four Corners Kitchen is open Tuesday through Saturday. Dinner is served 5:30-9:30 p.m. Reservations are welcome, as well as walk-in customers and take-out service.

More information is available by calling (479) 301-2801 or on Facebook.

NAN Dining Guide Cover on 05/29/2015