The Plaza Restaurant Gets Five Stars (Business Lunch)

Elegance starts at the front door of The Plaza Restaurant and continues all the way to the dessert tray. Even the bathrooms at this trendy Village on the Creeks rendezvous are cleaner and classier than a number of establishment’s we’ve seen.

There’s raspberry-scented hand lotion in the ladies restroom, for crying out loud.

This is the place in Rogers where nearly anyone could impress a boss, date or even a mother-in-law.

We loved the feeling of seclusion created by the eatery’s clandestine courtyard entrance and the view from our window seats of water features and foliage. We thought we’d found a little hideaway until the pre-noon rush filled up with dark suits and sales talk – definitely the Northwest Arkansas Business Journal crowd.

Our duo started with the olive tapenade appetizer ($6), a treat filled with sweet olives and a salty feta that’s perfectly paired with rosemary focaccia bread for scooping. We imagined that an Absolut martini would have been perfect with this combination, but duty called.

Our most discriminating diner had the seafood Newburg vol-au-vent ($10), a beautiful sampling of shrimp and crab served in a creamy Newburg sauce over a puff pastry. His humming noises and smile meant our resident seafood snob was impressed.

The female reviewer, herself a Miss Manners disciple and aficionado of white tablecloth eateries, ordered the special of the day. The tempura-battered salmon ($11) was two large pieces of fish served with sweet and sour sauce, rice pilaf and steamed veggies.

Even though the fish was fried, she said, “the salmon still tasted light, and the vegetables crunched just right.”

The house recommends its filet mignon ($27) at night, a choice 8-ounce cut served with burgundy mushroom sauce. A favorite on the new spring menu, we’re told, will be the roast lamb tenderloin medallions, served with red wine and fresh mint reduction.

Desserts price from $5-$8, and we couldn’t let the strawberries Romanov pass without a try. The fresh strawberries come with Romanov sauce that’s made from sweetened yogurt, sour cream, brown and white sugar and an orange liqueur. Creme bruleé, in the hazelnut and chocolate or Bailey’s and chocolate variety, is another good bet.

The service was smart, the decor was pleasant, and the bill didn’t bowl us over. We don’t go out on a limb very often, but we’ll say it like this: If Frank Sinatra were reincarnated and called us for a lunch date, we’d take him to The Plaza.