Providence RI Restaurants

[Chris Amirault]

Chris: after seeing your photo essay on Iggy's, I'm really craving some of those clamcakes, but my dance card for next weekend is already mighty full: Sandwich Hut, the Back Eddy, Modern Diner, Stanleyburgers, Original NY System, Al Forno OR Persimmon, Rue de L'Espoir. Not to to mention a stop for pizza strips to take back to Virginia. And if it's warm enough a Del's. What's a poor RI boy to do?? 

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Some of the Del's shops are serving, so that's good. Be warned that Chris Schlesinger sold the Back Eddy a while back, and the reports are that things are no longer what they were. Persimmon is great; the Rue is still a solid option.

[Chantilly Bob]

Chris: after seeing your photo essay on Iggy's, I'm really craving some of those clamcakes, but my dance card for next weekend is already mighty full: Sandwich Hut, the Back Eddy, Modern Diner, Stanleyburgers, Original NY System, Al Forno OR Persimmon, Rue de L'Espoir. Not to to mention a stop for pizza strips to take back to Virginia. And if it's warm enough a Del's. What's a poor RI boy to do?? 

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Some of the Del's shops are serving, so that's good. Be warned that Chris Schlesinger sold the Back Eddy a while back, and the reports are that things are no longer what they were. Persimmon is great; the Rue is still a solid option.

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Chris: I didn't make it to the Back Eddy until after Chris S sold it, so I don't have to deal with thoughts of "oh this is not as good as when Chris owned it." My frame of reference is post-Chris fried scallops, which were some of the sweetest "scollops" i've ever had in my life.

I left one stop off my list: Rufful's in Wayland Sq. Mike Rufful is a family friend -- my father ate breakfast at Rufful's several times a week for decades (his other regular breakfast haunt was Skipper's on Hope St.).

We'll go to Persimmon if George and Joanne won't be around at Al Forno. One of my brothers has known them since they first opened on Steeple St and he worked upstairs at Picture Group. He and his family even have visited G&J at their place in France, where they had lunch at the home of a neighor -- Patricia Wells!!

Oh one more thing: Iggy's Doughboys' Web site has a page of coupons. Since a 1/2 doz clamcakes is $2.95 and a dozen is $4.95, with a coupon for a buck off a dozen, they "force" you to get the dozen.

[ErinB]

Yes, just went to Lucky Garden today. It's really good. I'm practically a regular there now. Chris, maybe i've already asked you this, I can't remember, what are your favorite dishes at Lucky Garden?

I went to dinner at Chez Pascal a few nights ago. It was great. The service was excellent. The dining room is beautiful and I love the atmosphere. Their spring menu is out now, I had a tasting of lamb prepared four ways with some type of beans with ricotta and swiss chard. It was excellent. One of the preparations of lamb was a slow roasted shoulder .... it was amazing.

My companion got the steak they had on the menu, and we thought it was good, but not spectacular. We thought it was your pretty standard steak and potatoes on a menu. It was served with grilled endive which she thought didn't complement it that well.

For appetizers, we had a special of squab which was great, and an asparagus salad with watercress and hazelnuts which was amazing.

For dessert, I had one of the best desserts of my life, an upside down pear cake with bleu cheese, creme fraiche and a little bit of a caramel topping. The whole salty/sweet combinations of the flavors were perfectly balanced. I would go back just for that dessert alone.

Edited April 23, 2006 by ErinB (log)

[ErinB]

Regarding Brunch in Providence, IMHO, the best brunch in the whole city is at Nick's on Broadway. It's pretty small and there's usually a line, esp on Sunday, but it is great.

[gini]

Thank you for your recommendations. Our plane arrived at 8am in Providence, and we decided it was a bit too early for dim sum. We ended up at the Modern Diner in Pawtucket - excellent suggestion. D had the custard french toast which was crisp and sweet and I had the grilled polenta. Slighty cheesy and salty, my only complaint was that the homefries weren't particularly crisp.

[Chantilly Bob]

Thank you for your recommendations.  Our plane arrived at 8am in Providence, and we decided it was a bit too early for dim sum.  We ended up at the Modern Diner in Pawtucket - excellent suggestion.  D had the custard french toast which was crisp and sweet and I had the grilled polenta.  Slighty cheesy and salty, my only complaint was that the homefries weren't particularly crisp.

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Gini: thanks for the quick Modern Diner post. I will be going there Saturday for breakfast and I will make sure to request the homefries extra crispy!

[Chris Amirault]

Extra crispy? Fuggedaboudit. Trying to get good home fries around here is like trying to get people to pronounce closing "-r"s. Not gonna happen.

Yes, just went to Lucky Garden today.  It's really good.  I'm practically a regular there now.  Chris, maybe i've already asked you this, I can't remember, what are your favorite dishes at Lucky Garden?

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Oh, man: pork ton bor (pork belly), pea pod leaves, steamed scallop and tofu in black bean sauce, virtually every dim sum dish especially rice in lotus leaf, the egg custard tarts....

[Chris Amirault]

Oh one more thing: Iggy's Doughboys' Web site has a page of coupons. Since a 1/2 doz clamcakes is $2.95 and a dozen is $4.95, with a coupon for a buck off a dozen, they "force" you to get the dozen. 

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Yeah, well, since I drive and have to fit my belly under the steering wheel, I can't really go for the dozen!

[Chantilly Bob]

Extra crispy? Fuggedaboudit. Trying to get good home fries around here is like trying to get people to pronounce closing "-r"s. Not gonna happen.

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Chris: Now I really have to see what I can accomplish at the Modern Diner regarding the home fries. I go way back with Nick Demou, the proprietor, and his family.

If I get them properly crispy I promise to divulge the magic words.

[pennbrew]

Disappointing trip.

I'm just back from my 700 mile round-trip whirlwind through RI and CT. Thanks for the suggestions, however I was rather disappointed by the food I found. I don't know if my expectations were wrong, my taste was off, or I just had a run of bad luck.

I had lunch at Bob & Timmy's Grilled pizza in Providence. I wanted to try Al Forno but they don't open until 5pm. I then headed to Iggy's in Warwick for white chowder, clam cakes and a stuffie. Next stop was Johnny Ad's in CT for fried clams, then The Place for special roasted clams and shrimp, finally Jimmies in West Haven for a lobster roll.

The only things I'd rate as "good" were the chowder and the fried clams (and even a couple of those were mushy). Actually the lobster roll was also good (how could anything with that much butter be bad?); however the lobster tail meat was little, teeny, tiny whole tails---they looked like crawfish tails??? WTF?

Sigh. And I had been looking forward to the trip all week......

---Guy

Edited April 29, 2006 by pennbrew (log)

[Chris Amirault]

A few folks have been talking about Bolivian food over in the South America forum, and I just posted this review of Bolivian Restaurant on Chalkstone Ave in that topic.

[Chantilly Bob]

Here's my report on my recent visit to RI -- I'll just go in chronological order, so things will jump from the sublime to the ridiculous and back again.

After leaving the airport in my rented white Mustang (the better to blend in with Rhode Islanders, I figured), I drove over to Oakland Beach for my first stop at Iggy's. Hunger overcame discretion and I ordered a dozen clamcakes (using the Iggy's on-line coupon). They were made to order -- hot, clammy, and big. So, I am pleased to report that I didn't eat the whole dozen -- I left one in the bag. That was way, way too much food, of course, but I sallied forth, after one stop reaching

Sandwich Hut on North Main St, where I ordered my usual, a large Delux grinder (basically an Italian, but Sandwich Hut adds pepperoncini and coarsely chopped pickles). I've been getting the exact same sandwich there for 30 years. Ate just half, saving the rest for breakfast, because my next stop, a few hours later, was

The Back Eddy, over in beautiful Westport, Mass. (I highly recommend taking a camera - even a klutz like me was able to take amazing sunset photos.). I got the fried scallops and my friend got the fried clams. Both very generous portions of the freshest seafood, and the fries were really good too. Somehow ordered dessert -- a big bowl of homemade mango sorbet. Very refreshing. My friend got a chocolate cake thing that looked really good.

Next morning, after finishing my Sandwich Hut grinder, I went over to the Modern Diner in Pawtucket, where I negotiated the impressive lineup of breakfast entrees on the wall and zeroed in on the custard french toast. In a rare twist, this LOOKS even better than it sounds -- art on a plate, really -- and TASTES even better than it looks. Unfortunately, I will have to test the kitchen's ability to make crispy home fries on my next visit. Modern has very good coffee too.

After that I killed some time before meeting my brothers for lunch at Rufful's in Wayland Sq. The place was jumping -- despite the competition from several hipper spots nearby Rufful's still packs 'em in. I could barely eat anything but forced in an egg salad sandwich. My brothers got triple decker sandwiches that came with classic krinkle kut fries. Rufful's is a place for kindler, gentler food.

We then made a quick stop at Garrison Confections on Hope St. This is a very classy chocolate shop, but they have things like chocolate-covered Oreos for the little ones too. I got a box of 15 chocolates that I picked myself, mostly fruit fillings. So far we've tried a couple and they are VERY fruity, which I like. I may be placing some on-line orders with these guys.

Then after a short break we made the pilgrimage to the legendary Stanley's in Central Falls. Finally got to try a Stanleyburger: a thin patty with pickles and grilled onions. Really good. Also tried the onion rings (not a huge portion, but crisp and nearly grease-free) and the Quebec-style fries (close to poutine, but with shredded mozz instead of cheese curds; bland comfort food). In what struck us as questionable move, Stanley's ,we were told, will be opening a branch in downtown Providence that will be open till the wee hours -- competing directly with Haven Brothers, in other words. In terms of quality Stanley's can certainly hold up but will enough people desert the Brothers to make the move pay off?

A few hours after that it was time for the big splurge of the weekend: Al Forno's. No evidence of any downhill slide. Just about everything we tried -- caesar salad, bruschetta, margherita pizza, tagliatelle (outstanding), spicy clam roast, turkey sausages with spaetzle and red cabbage, rhubarb meringue tart, and ultimate cookie finale -- was great. Our only quibble was that the dishes came out too fast, even after we tried to slow things down.

Despite that feast, the night couldn't end without a visit to Original New York Systems on Smith St for some weiners. The neighborhood is definitely sketchy at night, but my nephew who lives in NYC had to have his first weiner. Plus we had told him how they are made "up the arm," so he had to see that. As we watched the counterman do his thing I said, "See Ellis, he's an expert, he had to go to weiner school to learn that," and the guy said, "Foah yeahs!"

They still charge just $1.16 per weiner, which is a very good price.

Next morning after taking care of some family business we headed to Rue De L'Espoir for brunch. Very solid as usual. The baked goods, bacon, and coffee are particularly noteworthy.

Then on the way to the airport I stopped at DeFusco's Bakery on Park Ave in Cranston for some pizza strips and spinach pies. Hard to resist eating them all on the plane, but I managed. The pizza strips are now 75 cents each or 2 for $1.29, a far cry from the 8 cents I remember paying as a kid, but they still taste just as good.

And thus ended another successful weekend of eating in RI and nearby Mass.

[ErinB]

Thanks for the great post. That's a lot of food you ate! I'm impressed.

[Chantilly Bob]

Thanks for the great post.  That's a lot of food you ate!  I'm impressed.

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Thanks -- the 11 clamcakes at Iggy's were definitely over the top. Otherwise I think I paced myself reasonably well. By the time we got to the Rue I was more than happy to get the yogurt bowl with fresh fruit and granola, with a grilled muffin on the side and a glass of OJ.

If people have questions about any particular places please ask!

[Chris Amirault]

Another mediocre experience at Red Stripe: out of that house red I like so much, burned toasts for the charcuterie plate, and our go-to dish -- the frissee salad -- wasn't frissee and had lousy lardons.

[ErinB]

Chris, i can't believe you even went there. :razz: Don't you know, there's supposed to be an egullet boycott of that place.

[Chris Amirault]

But I want so for it to be good! I'm going to Chez Pascal for the first time this weekend, so perhaps I can have a new go-to bistro....

[Chris Amirault]

Chez Pascal was great all around: fantastic cheese plate from Farmstead, fantastic charcuterie plate, fantastic green garlic soup, and fantastic desserts (chocolate three ways, custard three ways). Reasonable and interesting wine list, too. We were not thrilled with the scallops, but, boy, it was a swell meal.

[ErinB]

Had dinner at Blaze on Hope St the other night. I was actually surprised by how good it was. The menu is very eclectic, with an american focus but adding in elements of international cuisine. For example, I had a boneless pork chop with a coconut raita and a red pepper hash with some a tamarind bbq sauce. It was very good. The menu is very heavy on meat, and my dining partner got a tederloin steak that was excellent.

Also, the prices are pretty reasonable, $18.95 for the steak and $16.95 for the pork.

The dessert menu was interesting enough, with a number of cakes and other dessert items, I opted for a "blueberry trifle cake" which was not very much like a trifle and more like a cake. I was dissapointed in it, my partner got a chocolate bread pudding that was really good but with a small portion.

They also have a pretty good selection of wines, I had a Louis Latour pinot noir that they have by the glass that was excellent.

I would definitely go back, but probably skip desserts next time, it's a great neighborhood restaurant.

Edited June 11, 2006 by ErinB (log)

[OwnReward]

I had dinner at Gracie's recently and was very impressed...the best was a Valhrona Molten chocolate cake with candied kumquats and mandarin oranges...probably one of the best chocolate desserts I've ever had...the entrees were excellent as well...lamb loin roasted with an olive & almond crust, a fois gras appetizer (I am at peace with my place in the food chain) and a pureed onion soup that was perfection...

Chris: I have to ask: what is your picture ? I can't figure it out...

KV

[Chris Amirault]

Interesting -- I've gotten mixed reviews from folks who've eaten at Blaze and the new Gracie's. (And it's green mold on my peperone!)

[Chris Amirault]

Went back to Minh Hai, a Vietnamese restaurant on Park Ave in Cranston. It's not one of those pan-Asian places a la Apsara, Galaxy, etc. etc. in town. Rather, they focus entirely on Vietnamese food (though, of course, they do have bubble tea; mine was fantastic). I've reported on their great pho here.

My eight-year-old and I ordered goi cuon, the fresh spring rolls with shrimp, which were excellent, though the peanut sauce was a bit too salty for my taste. Lulu got the Com with chicken, which was marinated grilled chicken with lemon grass and their "special rice" (cooked with chicken stock), and that was solid. I got the stuffed squid, muc don thit; they had clearly been frozen prior to cooking and were off texturally but the flavors were excellent.

The highlight was the dau hu xao ca tim, tofu with eggplant and onions in a spicy plum sauce. This was absolutely fantastic in every way, and bodes well for future visits.

[ErinB]

Had a light dinner at Paragon (Thayer St) the other night. Normally, I don't venture there, but I have a friend who works at the bar, so I thought I would give it a try. We stuck to the tapas/appetizer type menu and it was pretty decent. Scallops with bacon in a wine sauce, shrimp with feta, tomatoes and crostini (although the bread they served was horrible), lamb (which was a little more well done than I like).

It was a monday night so it was empty .... The food overall was good, if you're looking for that kind of meal and you're on Thayer st, I would go, but I wouldn't go out my way to go there.

Oh, and the desserts were average, and the portion sizes were too big. (I know, strange.)

[Tom G]

I'm hoping to go to Waterfire next Saturday in Providence...and would like to dine someplace great...where i can park once and not have to re-park (i.e. dine close enough to the river to be able to walk to Waterfire)...

Any suggestions?

[Chris Amirault]

Sure thing. If you want something upscale/expensive, try New Rivers, Neath's, XO Steakhouse, Gracie's, Mills Tavern, or Al Forno; if you want something less expensive but still pretty good, try Parkside, 3 Steeple Street, or Pakarang. Much less expensive but great if you like a younger crowd and basic, good food is the Red Fez.

If I were choosing but not paying, I'd go to New Rivers or Al Forno -- or I'd try the new Gracie's, which is getting good reviews. If I were paying, we'd have a grilled cheese and a Boddington's or a Big House Red at Red Fez.