A Delicious Cannoli at Pastiche.

From The Watery Gourmet

It's well-priced, too.

QUICKVIEW: Providence Prime- +++ / $$$$

Having eaten at P-Prime on a few occasions, I was surprised to find it completely changed on my most recent visit. Granted, I hadn't been in nearly two years, but still, it was traumatizing.

The new layout is about six months old and does away with the space-consuming booths and replaces them with a large bench that runs the length of the dining area's eastern wall. The boooooOOOOOOOooooth closest to the window has been replaced with a cured meats counter that includes appetizers and bar foods that are fifty(!) percent off, 5-7pm daily. You have to sit at the bar for the bar foods, but still, great deal for those getting off of work, which is undoubtedly their intention.

The dining area is still very nice. Very well lit, with decent table dress. I love the wood tones and leather. It makes it very... metro/masculine, if that's possible. Service is friendly and knowledgeable about the meats. They still have a presentation of meats available for the discerning tongue.

The wine list is good and decently-priced. Not a drop of Opus One in sight, finally. They have a new Prix Fixe menu up for offer which, for $30, is a good deal. Not mind-blowing, but good. The salumi menu of cured meats is an interesting addition, and will likely dig into it on some later visit. The appetizer of warm artichoke and spinach fondue ($9.95) wasn't. By wasn't, I mean it wasn't a fondue. It was a dip. And a pricey one at that. It was good, and the spinach and artichokes went well, as they would be expected to, but the toasted flat bread was too soft. It was heated on a grill just long enough to get some sear marks on it. This added a nice, smokey grill flavor and smell, but they were too soft to add some contrast in texture. If they had just called it what it was, I think I would not have been as disappointed, but I expected fondue, not dip.

The entree of Steak and Crab ($33) was as I would expect from my previous visits; It's some of the best steak in Providence. Considering it was a filet, it was incredibly flavorful. The crab was perfectly-cooked, with just the right amount of salt. I got some bernaise sauce for the steak which was a relatively thin and very mild sauce. I generally like my bernaise to punch me in the face a bit with tarragon, but it was still well-prepared. If you like mild bernaise, you'll love it.

For a side, we were all about the sweet potato & pancetta hash ($5.50). The sweet potato was a bit crispy and still very firm. With oh-so-sweet caramelized sugars covering each delicious bit. The pancetta added a nice, salty undertone, and it went very well with the savory flavors of the steak, crab, and sauce.

After all that food, dessert wasn't much of an option, so we passed. I was as happy with Prime as I expected to be. The fondue was a letdown, but everything else more than measured up. I've been before, I went this time, and I will certainly be back. Providence Prime is my favorite steak house.

Providence Prime: +++
Price range: Appetizers- $4-$14 Entrees- $15-$41

http://www.providenceoysterbar.com/providenceprime/primewelcome.htm


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Hours
Monday through Thursday 5:00pm to 10:00pm Bar open to 1:00am
Friday & Saturday 5:00pm to 11:00pm Bar open to 2:00am

Congrats to Gracie's

I'm not sure when it published, but I just noticed that Gracie's has been given a stellar 16/20 review on Gayot.com. That's pretty big. The only other two restaurants in Rhode Island to have gotten the same review are Al Forno and The Castle Hill Inn. I think Gracie's is very deserving of the accolades and I wish them many years of success.

Gracie's Review (Gayot.com)

Savor Providence

This past Saturday was the Savor Providence promotion, organized by Trinity Rep and participated in by 26 of Providence's restaurants. Do you think the heavy rain all day kept me away? I think not! We only had two booklets between four people, so instead of ten places we tried five.

The booklets were $35 dollars each, and each booklet had 10 tickets. You can use said tickets for food at any of the locations and use as many tickets for as many servings at any one location you want.

I used this math as my baseline to determine if I was getting my money's worth. Now, the whole point of savor Providence is similar to Restaurant Week. Restaurants use the day as a promotional loss-leader to drum up interest. As such, I should be expecting MORE than $3.50 worth of food with each serving. If I didn't get that, and instead merely got $3.50 worth I won't lodge that against the business. I at least got my money's worth.

First stop!

Aspire: What a disappointment. The menu printout, while providing information on all of the other participants, Aspire's said "see restaurant." I can understand why. If they had known the cheap-ass crap Aspire was going to sell, they wouldn't have let them join.

You know how I used the $3.50 metric as a baseline? Maybe larger numbers would make more sense, if you got ten of these...


Or ten of these...


Would you feel that you had gotten $35 worth of food? It was a complete wash out. I assumed when grabbing the food from the buffet-like table, which was lorded over by some food-Nazi to make sure people didn't make off with a second helping of $0.25 food, that we got one of each with each ticket. Nope. We got one. One skewer or one pot sticker. And it wasn't even a pot sticker. It never saw a pot to which it could stick. It was deep-fried.

The presentation was shite. Simply thrown onto a dish with some green onions chopped up. Plates were shoveled out to a central table and you simply grabbed what you wanted. Service was non-existent. The food was adequate. The sesame chicken skewer was exactly that, and the pot sticker was overly salty, but otherwise alright. Still, for $3.50, a complete rip-off. If they hope to garner new business with this, they'll be sorely disappointed.

Onward!

ENO and Farmstead: We went in and skipped them. The place was laid out attractively, and service was good, the wine being served was also very good, or so I heard, but we could see that amount of wine being served was small, and you didn't exactly get a bucket of cheese. We didn't really think it worth it. And after Aspire, we were more leery of using out tickets. Still, reports say the wine and cheese were good.


Onward!

10 Prime Steak & Sushi: This place was what I was expecting. We got formal service and some waters. They used the opportunity to give us menus and see if they could make a full sale. The dishes were well-presented. It was obvious that, oh, I dunno', they gave a shit.


This little dish of steak on house-made potato chips was both inventive and delicious. The crisp potato chip went very well with the perfectly cooked, rare steak slices.


The California roll was just that, but it was well-made with fresh crab. And, importantly, they gave us three bits. A buck-seventeen per bit, not a bad price.


Onward!

Bravo Brasserie: Bravo brought it on home with the best deal of the day. The service was just as good as 10 Prime, although I think they missed an opportunity to try and up-sell us on a full lunch.


The steak toast Bearnaise was a treat. Two pieces of crisp French bread toast, with a piece of steak and a scoop of Bearnaise slathered über alles. The steak was tender, but a bit overdone. It was still very flavorful. The thick and flavorful Bearnaise was an excellent complement. If a restaurant offered four of these for $6.99, that would be a good deal.


The pizza was a similar story. Very well-made. The dough was crisp outside, chewy inside. The topping was stretchy and moist, with flavorful mounds of spinach, roasted red peppers, and herbs. A good deal for $3.50.


Onward!

Trinity Brew House: Again, everywhere had better service than Aspire, and this place was no exception. We were sat promptly and they used the chance to try and up-sell us on a full lunch, very good. The choices were a brownie sundae, an 8oz glass of beer, or lobster mac 'n cheese. I opted for the lobster mac (net, lobster has antennae, but don't you grab it!) and no one opted for the beer. After Bravo, the otherwise good offerings paled a bit. Trinity also suffered from its status as an overly loud sausage-fest. It was 12:30pm and there was already a cadre of loud men clamoring around the bar, yelling at each other and the television. It's barely noon! What do you think you are, German?


Considering the plebeian nature of M&C, I expected more for $3.50. But it was very well-presented, with a strong lobster flavor. Quite a few big chunks of lobster. So I guess it was a good deal. Even the small salad with balsamic vinegar was good.


The brownie sundae was good. The ice cream was nice and creamy, and the brownie was warm and dense. Chocolate flavor was good, obviously not a mix. It was worth right about $3.50, I think.

Onward!

Cav: I've never been subtle with my love of Cav, and the day did nothing to dim my enthusiasm. They offered a goat cheese croquette (a small fried cheese ball) drizzled and a generous glass of wine. Unfortunately...


It wasn't very good. It's bouquet was incredibly fruity, but none of that made it to the palate. It was about as dry as I'd expect a Merlot, but very flat and bland. None of the silky body I'd expect from a good Merlot, instead my tongue was greeted with a wateriness. As an overall complement, the wine was serviceable, but it was overpowered by the fantastic goat cheese. But what Cav lacked in quality, they made up for in quantity.


The glasses were filled very high (the photo is after a few minutes of sipping). In many restaurants, this alone would be worth more than $3.50. If the wine had been better, I'd have called it in competition for the best deal of the day. But really, it didn't matter. It was all about the cheese. We had four tickets, but they brought us out a fifth ball to finish the display.


I love Cav's goat cheese croquettes. Delicately fried so they're not at all greasy. Like M&M's, they melt in your mouth and not in your hand. The chunky goat cheese is creamy, rich, savory and perfectly mated with the sweetness of the balsamic vinegar. A perfect way to end the day.

Onwaa...uh. Oh. We're out of tickets.

Yep. This was it for us. We had run out of tickets and stayed at Cav for brunch. The french toast was a bit too sweet. It really needed something savory to counter to 100% maple syrup. But that's neither here nor there. The day was a success. The rainfall did nothing to dampen our spirits. The winner on our tour was definitely Bravo. Bravo to Bravo for giving us our money's worth combined with good service and atmosphere. Second goes to 10 Prime, which also combined good value with service. Cav would come up higher if only the wine had been better, but as it stands it must do battle with Trinity Rep for third place. Aspire was definitely the turkey of the evening. Every place we went, we chatted with other event-goers, and we heard the same story: Aspire sucked, Temple was great. Unfortunately, we didn't get a chance to try Temple, though it would have been nice. Frankly, I'm happy with what I got. There's no question that I'll return next year.

QUICKVIEW: Tortilla Flats- ++ / $$

Tortilla Flats, as this Projo article covers, is under new management. A Providence standby for over three decades, the place had apparently been slowly but surely falling into unimportance. A haunt for locals and Chinese Brown students who have never seen a taco in their lives. It's nice to see a storied restaurant rise again instead of fading away (a la The Red Rooster), and while I commend the effort to return T-Flats to some level of local significance, they're not quite there, yet. That's not to say there isn't something of value there, but maybe not as much as the owners hope.

The Design:

The exterior of the restaurant is marked by a large, instantly-identifiable sign of a rather-depressed looking man (Apparently a drawing of John Steinbeck), smoking a cigarette. It's unique, and certainly achieved its goal of making me curious about the business. Other than that, it's pretty nondescript. The inside is quaint and has acceptable amounts of charm. Old wood, and a generally aged appearance inside are all pleasant. Three large windows, one on Hope Street and two on Olney, provide some much-needed light into an otherwise dark interior.

The booths in which we were seated were an orthopedic nightmare. We had to sit bolt upright, and the hard wood, lacking any contours, put our butts to sleep. I liked the aged feeling of the booth and table, and the small seats gave it a cozy feeling, but it didn't overcome how uncomfortable it all was. There are other seats available, with chairs and other such elite constructions, and I recommend asking for those unless the size of your party prevents it.

The Food:

Out first were a duo of appetizers. The coconut shrimp ($9.95) were well-made. The shrimp were very large, tender, flavorful, and the coconut crust was crispy, sweet, and well-done. A pretty good price for seven, large shrimp, as well. The amaretto dipping sauce was very sweet and a good compliment. The chili con queso ($6.95) was also a pleasant surprise. It had a lot of kick to it, and a fiery, oily consistency to it, had a pile of chopped jalapenos on top, and was served in a giant, friend tortilla bowl. It was an inventive take; spicy, cheesy, and paired well with some decently thick tortilla chips. It was the highlight of the night.

The entrees were disappointing. A traditional combo with a taco and burrito ($7.99) tasted like it was made from a kit. The corn tortilla was alright, but the filling was only a couple notches above Taco Bell. It was bland, the ground beef had no weight to it and very few spices. The vegetables were fresh and crisp, but couldn't counter the underwhelming blandness of the ground beef. Similar story with the burrito. The rice was ever worse. It tasted like it was made from a microwave-and-eat readymade packet from Stop & Shop. The rice was heavy and starchy, and bland, bland, bland. The refried beans were beans, but they were a bit watery.

The El Dorado chicken ($12.99) was better. The chicken was tender and well-cooked. A good piece with little fat. The lime flavor was pretty subdued when I would have liked it dancing all over. The pile of cheddar-jack cheese on top was good, but I would have liked a little kick, or maybe some queso blanco sprinkled on top. Something to mix it up a bit. The again sub-standard rice didn't help. Something to add some textural contrast would have been much appreciated. As it stands, it was good but totally standard fare. Good, but I could get this stuff anywhere, including the tex-mex menu down at TGI Fridays.

Conclusion:

We didn't opt for dessert, although I must admit a couple of them looked good. I had just lost my desire to really try much else after the entrees were so underwhelming. The appetizers were well-priced and executed as well as I think one could expect. I especially liked the chili con kweh-so. But after that, everything just took the wind out of the sails. I feel pretty confident that, if I was driving by, I'd stop in for that chili again, but everything else was just so bland, I have no desire to go back. Especially when places like El Tapatio are no more than fifteen minutes away.

Tortilla Flats: ++
Price Range For Two: $20-$50
Noise Level: Moderate
Child Friendly: Yes (Until the kitchen closes)
Parking: Streetside

http://www.tortillaflatsri.com/


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355 Hope St
Providence, RI 02906
401-751-6777

Hours
Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 1:00am
Friday & Saturday 11:30am to 2:00am
Sunday 1:00pm to 1:00am
Kitchen open until 10:00pm weekdays, 11:00pm weekends

QUICKVIEW: Restaurant Oak- ++ / $$

I remember the first time I drove down Hope street, when not specifically lost, but still trying to find I95. I spotted Restaurant Oak, or Nero's Oak, or Nero's Restaurant Oak, depending on which sign you choose to read. It was certainly a metropolitan restaurant. Trendy lighting, sidewalk tables, a "happenin'" atmosphere. How the hell did I not know about this place? That was years ago. Oak has persisted, as has my curiosity, which finally got the better of me a few nights ago.

Torn between Chez Pascal and trying someplace new, I decided that [nothing x ventured] / (nothing x gained) = a null set... or something. I worked it out on a napkin and it made sense. The ambiance was very nice. Oak's color scheme is almost entirely a burgundy red combined with brown and a smattering of yellow. The fall color scheme works well, but seemed a bit odd during the summer. Large wooden oak leaf shapes pepper the design and add serious character. The tables were well-dressed, even though they had butcher's paper on top. The lighting was romantic yet not too dark.

The dinner bread was good. It was more like a cheesy garlic bread, or perhaps cold pizza, with a whipped garlic butter on the side. The bruschetta appetizer was odd. Four good-sized pieces of toasted baguette, piled high with... beans. Alright. Not a traditional choice, but I'll give anything a chance. And it was good. Nothing special, but good. It also had a weird effect on me. The pasty, enveloping, super-savory flavor of the beans overpowered the entire experience. It just tasted like beans with bread, with the slightest hint of the pancetta hidden within. Again, it was actually decent, but my palate tired of the flavor very quickly. It tasted like simple comfort food. Very simple comfort food. My partner nailed it when she said it "tasted like chicken pot pie."

A similar situation with the entrees. The trio of crabcakes was a one-shot flavor. It had aioli, which added some kick to it, but it was still just a crabcake. By about halfway through the second cake, my mouth began to grow tired. There was nothing to stand out. No zing of a fruit, or sweetness of balsamic, or crispness of a vegetable. The minor addition of lemon juice squeezed from a very small wedge helped a little, but the side dish of (very good) sweet potato fries did nothing for the cause. The entire plate gelled into a blurry melange of flavor with little character. Crab cakes are generally an appetizer for a reason, there's just not enough there to make an entire entree.

The pork medallions, again, told a similar tale to our tongues. You'd think that pork, with mushrooms, glaze, and pan fried apples would have some zing, but no. Nothing. Again, comfort food. It was good, I can't get on it for that, but it was just so dull. Not bland. I don't think bland is the right word, just dull. There was nothing that became the centerpiece of the flavor. It was a totally acceptable pile of well-cooked food. The pork was tender and better cooked than from many restaurants. The apples were fresh. The plate was presented decently well. It was just so unremarkable it's almost remarkable.

The desserts were a bit of a letdown, but I'm getting used to that. So few places have really great desserts. You'll find the usual suspects of carrot cake, tiramisu, and lemon meringue pie, but that's pretty much it.

It's a problematic decision for me, since everything was good. Nothing was bad. But on the same token, nothing stood out. Nothing impressed me. If I had nowhere else to go, Oak would be a damn fine place to eat. But since I have choices, I have little motivation to go back. If you do decide to eat here, you'll be satisfied, just as I was, but perhaps a bit bored.

http://www.restaurantoak.com/


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959 Hope St
Providence, RI 02903
401-273-7275

Hours
Brunch
Saturday & Sunday 9:00am to 2:00pm
Lunch
Wednesday through Friday 11:30am to 2:00pm
Dinner
Sunday through Thursday 5:00pm to 9:30pm
Friday & Saturday 5:00pm to Whenever

QUICKVIEW: Aspire- +++ / $$

Aspire replaces the once famous pillar of Providence's dining scene, L'epicureo. I was never fond of L'epicureo, or at least I never was at its newer, hotel location. The interior was tacky, the food preparation was dodgy, and the prices were pretty high.

I had minor expectations for Aspire, seeing as well-branded restaurants attached to hotels are usually pretty good. My expectations were, happily, met. I only had lunch, but my meal was more than enough to bring me back. We didn't get any appetizers, opting to move straight on to entrees. In the lineup was the house hamburger, a marghertia pizza, and serving of chicken, Gorgonzola, and walnut ravioli.

The pizza was good. Well-prepared and crispy, with fresh and flavorful toppings, it was also something of a bargain. It was very large, and only cost $10. It could easily feed two people. My only gripe is the lack of kick to it. The sauce was kind of bland and herbs and spices seemed to be a bit MIA. Still, it was a very tasty pizza for only ten bucks. Bertucci's, a chain, would probably charge nearly twice as much for a similar pizza. The burger suffered similar criticisms. They call it the A Burger, and what's basically a house take on the hamburger should have something special. Something unique. It was just that, though, a burger. A BIG burger, though. 10 ounces of hamburger is quite a lot. Still, I would have liked to see some special cheese, or their house blend of seven herbs and spices mixed into the meat. As it stands, it was good. Nine dollars for a gigantic burger is, again, an excellent price. It was juicy, well-cooked, and presented nicely.

Where they hit a home run was the ravioli. It was an excellent dance of sweet and savory flavors, bathed in a delicious cream sauce. The crunchiness of the walnuts, the sweetness of the cranberries, and the creaminess and smokey bite of the sauce and Gorgonzola balanced perfectly. I was also very happy with the portion. It was a little small, I would have liked maybe one more ravioli for the price, but that's kind of nit-picking.

Aspire: +++
Price: $$ (lunch)

http://www.aspirerestaurant.com/


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311 Westminster Street
Providence, RI 02903
401-521-3333 (Reservations accepted)

Hours
Breakfast
Monday through Saturday 7:00am to 10:30am
Sunday & holidays 7:00am to 10:00am
Lunch
Monday through Saturday 11:30am to 3:00pm
Sunday Brunch 10:00am to 2:00pm
Dinner
Monday through Thursday 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Friday & Saturday 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Sunday 3:00pm to 9:00pm
.

Latte Art Watch

Well what do you know...


I just got latte art at CofEx. I also discovered that a medium latte is really freaking huge. It's about 10:30pm and I'm wired beyond belief.

It wasn't the best latte I've had at CofEx. It was somewhat bitter with a brightness I don't usually find in their espresso roast. I like CofEx's roast because it's a very deep, mellow flavor, and this was under-par. I don't blame the barista, though. Her form was good. I suspect the beans were roasted more than usual in the batch they were using. The barista didn't free-pour and there were some noticeably large bubbles in the foam, as you can tell from the photo.

Still, it's touches like this that confirm why I go to CofEx whenever I can. This was a bad drink for them and it's still better than the bar, Starbucks, and better than or as good as other, well-respected cafes. Bravo.

QUICKVIEW: Red Stripe- +++ / $$

Everytime I hear the word "Red Stripe" all I can think of is those bizarre ads where some Jamaican guy appears after some strange scene and yells "Hooray beer!" Red Stripe seems to have no problem with this association because a large poster with said Jamaican guy graces the entrances of the dining area.

Conceived as a cheaper alternative to Mill's Tavern (with both places owned by, of all things, Job Lot), Red Stripe manages to maintain some of the upmarket air of its more expensive brother. I thought the interior struck a good balance between a casual TGI-Friday's sort of ambiance, with nicely arranged dinner settings with tablecloths. The warm sourdough bread had a very strong flavor to it and was served with super-soft whipped butter. Very nice. They also left a large carafe of water on a small tray at the table so you could pour your own. That was a nice touch I wish more restaurants would employ.

I got the crab cakes for an appetizer and was impressed. They were crispy on both sides, and filled with very large chunks of good crab meat. As far as herbs and spices go, they were pretty middle of the road. Not spicy, but not mild. I enjoyed the healthy serving of aioli, but the sprouts weren't the best companion. I would have preferred something with more substance and crunch to it to counterbalance the softness of the cake.

For entrees my partner and I got the Red Stripe burger and Croque Madame. The CroMad is a Croque Monsieur with an egg over easy on top, bathed in a strong bernaise sauce and mustard. Kind of like a very large egg benedict. The ham was fresh and tender, no complaints. The bernaise and mustard went very well together. A rich, savory, not-too-strong flavor went very well with the sweetness of the ham, and the smokey Swiss-ness of the gruyere. The burger was a bit more whelming. It was HUGE, but nothing special. It was just a standard burger. They didn't add any special herbs or spices, but they also didn't mess up. And when they say fries, they means FRIES. I have never seen a pile of french fries so big. If you watched Super Size Me and agreed with Morgan Spurlock's assessment that the super-sized fries are overdoing it, you'll puke just looking at this mountain. At least the fries are very good. They are very thin and crispy, and flavorful. I've always preferred thinner, crispier fries to large steak-style. Considering the 1/8th scale Mount Fuji of fries, the burger is well-priced. Frankly, I'd prefer fewer fries and a lower price.

For dessert we ordered a slice of chocolate espresso cheesecake and the melting heart molten chocolate cake. We were pleased with both. The cheesecake had a subtle espresso flavor that didn't overpower the rest of the cake. It was mildly sweet with a deliciously thick crust that required a satisfying amount of pressure to break through. The chocolate layer on top was good, and the whole, chocolate-dipped raspberry on top was a nice touch. It wasn't anything amazing, but most places nowadays phone in dessert, with such default options as "chocolate cake," and "brownie sundae." This wasn't groundbreaking, but it was a least a nice spin. The Lily's Melting Heart was disappointing insofar as it wasn't molten chocolate cake. The key word is molten, and that kinda' leads you to believe there will be something, I dunno', molten? But no. It was basically two pieces of heart-shaped chocolate torte. Again, it was good, and I'm glad there was some inventive spin. The raspberry sorbet was a bit on the icy side, but had overall good texture, excellent flavor, and went very well with the warm torte.

Taken as a whole, I think Red Stripe succeeds. I enjoyed my meal, my dessert, and the ambiance of the dining area. The menu has a number of items I would enjoy, and as such, it's a pretty good bet that I'll be back.

Red Stripe: +++
Price Range: $$

http://www.redstriperestaurants.com/


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465 Angell Street
Providence, RI 02906
401-437-6950


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91 Point Judith Road
Narragansett, RI 02882
401-792-3200

Hours
Monday through Saturday
Lunch 11:30AM to 3:00PM
Late Lunch 3:00PM to 5:00PM
Dinner 5:00PM to 10:00PM

Sunday
Brunch 10:00AM to 3:00PM
Late Lunch 3:00PM to 4:00PM
Dinner 4:00PM to 10:00PM

Bar open late nightly

A Quickview Triple Play

Oot and aboot in Providence, my soul needed some chicken soup of the caffeinated kind. I've been dying to try Tazza cafe on Westminster for a long time, and I threw in a couple of others into the adventure.

Brooklyn Coffee & Tea House

Situated on one of the loveliest stretches of Douglas Avenue in Providence, BC&T would be a good place to hide from that mugger. The exterior is a an absolutely (I'm being serious on this one) gorgeous turn-'o-the-century building. It was built in 1873 to serve as a grocery store for the local Irish population. I know this because it has a plaque on the side of the building explaining as such.

The aging wooden and brick front, red door, and aged yellow wood trim around the windows is old-world charm embodied. It's a really beautiful building because it's that kind of charm that architects, today, so desperately try to capture and only end up appearing either modern and retro-chic or just plain kitschy. The area around the back is equally gorgeous, with old trees, overgrown plants, and a loose-stone walkway.

Sadly, the cafe is not a standard cafe that you can visit at any time. It's become, as the owner describes it, a destination cafe. They have movie and music nights and show local productions and bands. If you are interested, stop by or call and ask for information. It's something I'll be making a trip to. I can't officially give this place a rating since I didn't get a chance to try any food.

Brooklyn Coffee & Tea House- N/A

http://www.brooklyncoffeeteahouse.com/


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209 Douglas Ave
Providence, RI 02908
401-575-2284

Tazza Cafe

On the Tazza website, they have a picture of latte art. I was both hopeful and cautious because they have a photo of latte art on the wall at Blue State Coffee which no one at the actual cafe can do. I was disappointed.

Not specifically with the gestalt of the cafe, but just the latte. I got no latte art and the milk was only adequately foamed. The espresso was of good quality. It was very dark, on par with Starbucks in the darkness department, which was initially a disappointment. As I proceeded through the drink, though, some complexity came out. A faint nuttiness combined with a bit of an acidic snap. So, in the end, the drink became acceptable. Nothing special, though. I think I was especially disappointed because my barista oozed style. He looked like a porn star from the 1970's. That's a compliment.

The interior of the cafe is very chic. The exterior is beautifully lit, and the inside is dominated by the large windows that make up the street-side walls. A large stage dominates one corner and the overall layout seems like it would make a pleasant place to listen to a band. The menu is extensive with a wide selection of dinner items, which are competitively priced, desserts are good-sounding if standard fare, and the breakfast/brunch selection sounds tasty.

I like the surroundings, the walkability of the neighboring shops, and Westminster in general. But therein lies one of the biggest problems. If you don't live nearby or take the bus, you're at the mercy of street parking or the expensive lots. Parking makes Tazza a restauranta non grata, for me. If the coffee was better or the food was more inventive, it might overcome what I see as a significant knock, but it's not, so it doesn't.

I'm giving it two marks, even though it probably deserves something in-between two and three. I think it's a worthy destination if and only if you have easy transport to and from, or you treat it as a night-time bar/club and go for dinner, drinks and music (for which Tazza is very good). Otherwise, there are many more easily accessible locations with similar food and coffee that are better options.

Tazza: ++

http://www.tazzacaffe.com/


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250 Westminster St
Providence, RI 02903
401-421-3300

Johannson's Cafe

As a cafe that exists more for the convenience of shoppers at the Cardi's/Rhode Island Design Center than for its own sake, I wasn't expecting much from Johannson's. They more than lived up to none of my expectations.

First off, it's very nice inside. The cafe counter is situated right as you enter the building, bathed in natural light from the large windows, with a giant fountain trickling away next to the attractive wrought-iron tables and chairs. They certainly give a good first impression. Once you get to the counter, it's not bad, either. They have a wide variety of cookies and baked goods, and a decent selection of drinks. It's when you order that things get dicey.

They don't have whole milk. Only skim. They use a fully automatic machine that burps up a bubbly stream of espresso and milk into a cup. They do use a local roaster, which is nice. Specifically, they use Ocean Coffee Roasters, based in Newport. Sadly, though, that does nothing to help the coffee. The latte I got is in the running for the worst steamed milk I've gotten. Again, it looked like someone steamed it by blowing through a straw. Definitely on par with the disaster that was Felicia's Coffee. I took a sip and was pleasantly surprised. It didn't seem half-bad. It was very dark, but had some complexity to it. At least the brewing mechanism is alright, I thought.

Sadly, though, that impression didn't last. As the drink cooled down, the burnt, overly-dark aspects of the coffee came out. It became watery, bitter, with burnt notes denoting a grinder that's worn. I dumped the rest out in the parking lot. The baked goods were a similar story. The brownie tasted like it was made at Stop & Shop, which I suspect it was. The cannoli was adequate, and the puff pastry was filled with what tasted like Cool Whip. If you're feening for espresso in the area, trust me, make the 10-minute trip to the Emerald Square and go to Starbucks or Border's Books. You can also get a good bottomless cup of coffee down a bit into Pawtucket at Lumana's Cafe & Gourmet. Just do anything to avoid Johannson's.

Johannson's Cafe: +


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999 Newport Ave
South Attleboro, MA. 02703
508-915-5600

QUICKVIEW: Caffe Dolce Vita- ++ / $$

I was on the hunt for some take-out and came across Caffe Dolce Vita while perusing a virtual Providence in Google Earth. They had a pretty web-site and a simple, yet tasty-sounding menu. Also, I was hungry and my long-term mate, the ever-flexible person that she is, wanted tortellini... and only tortellini. Federal Hill seemed like a good place to go for pasta. I had heard that a few Italians live there. Who knew?

In my short sojourn at the restaurant, the interior struck me as nice and well-lit. Not exactly oozing character, but even if it was austere, it was nice. A little romance injected compliments of some red lighting, a nicely presented bar, and large mirrors made the room seem larger and a bit more dynamic than it really is. One thing about which I was really disappointed was the total lack of a fountain. Even a small, ornamental one they bought at Sam's Club. The fountain scene is the single most famous scene in the movie that is their namesake. What were they thinking? I want a half-naked woman in a fountain, damnit!

The menu is simple, with lots of sandwiches, pastas, and some standard, but still attractive, desserts. For an appetizer, the crab cakes were inhaled. I liked the them a lot. They were pretty light on the crab, and the deep frying they went through was a bit dense, but they made up for it by being wedged full of more ingredients than is commonly seen. Corn, chopped peppers, and herbs saved them from being heavy and uninspired. They included lots of tartar sauce, and $8.95 for two of them is a fair price.

For entrees, we ordered the Eggplant Parmigiana, Tortellini Al Alfredo, and Fusilli Alla Vodka. All three were very good. The tortellini was firm with an excellent filling, not surprising since it was most likely Venda Ravioli. The alfredo sauce was cheesy and flavorful, if not a bit on the watery side. The eggplant parmigiana was exactly that. The fusilli was good and thoroughly covered in a well-made vodka sauce. It was light on the pancetta, which is something I really wasn't expecting with a $14 price. The desserts were what I expected, good. The peanut butter pie was disturbingly rich, and the cannelloni was good, but short on the chocolate chips.

In fact, everything was good. The interior, the menu, the quality, it was all good. Everything was as I would expect from a place that seems to aiming towards being a good, everyday Italian restaurant. Everything except the price. For example, the fusilli. It was good pasta, but just that, pasta. It was a pile of fusilli, covered in a pile of sauce, for $14.

That's my only complaint. The price seemed disconnected from the experience. If this was a family restaurant, operating in some hole in the wall, where all the locals go, the prices would be downright absurd. In that same Italian hole in the wall, the plate of pasta I got would cost me less than $10. The (small) slice of peanut butter pie was $8.95. Round that puppy up to a full $9 and you can buy two whole desserts and a coffee at many other places. Combined with dynamite neighbors, such as Pastiche, Scialo Bros. Bakery, and Pane e Vino, Dolce Vita simply can't compete.

Otherwise, like I said, everything was good, which is pretty good. And if I have the hankering for pasta at 12:30am, there aren't many places that I know for a fact are open. All things considered then, there's a decent chance that I may, again, find myself living the sweet life... I'll just have to pay for it.

Caffe Dolce Vita: ++
Appetizers: $3.50-$12.95
Entrees: $7.95-$19.95
All the prices are for their dinner menu. A lunch menu is available at reduced prices.

http://www.caffedolcevita.com/


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59 De Pasquale Ave
Providence, RI 02903
401-331-8240

Hours
Sunday through Thursday 8:00am to 1:00am
Friday & Saturday 8:00am to 2:00am

QUICKVIEW: Siena- +++ / $$$

Well it took me forever and a day, but I finally got a chance to try Siena. One of the higher-rated restaurants on Gayot.com, my interest has been piqued for over a year, and with the new location in East Greenwich, I couldn't make excuses any longer. By new location, I mean the building that used to proudly house India's third, and apparently least-popular, location. I was terribly crushed when India went under about two years ago. The Indian Club down the street also said namastay not too long after, only to be replaced by a very un-ethnic steakhouse.

Siena isn't the disappointment I felt with the Indian Club's loss. I liked it. Not as much as I liked India, but I liked it. The interior is very nice. A bit slapdash in its design direction, but interesting, dynamic, and warm with many of the same fundamental aspects of the old Indian interior. I was a big fan of the lighting for the first five minutes of our meal, until they turned them down to "romantic" levels. And as with so many restaurants, romantic means I had a hard time seeing things. Luckily for us, we were situated by this giant, illuminated thingie in the wall. It, thankfully, made seeing and taking photographs a more-than-fruitless endeavor.

The bread was a good selection. All three types were dense and chewy and bursting with flavor. And unlike every other Italian restaurant on the seven seas, they gave us real, honest-to-God, butter. No fancy oils, or rubs, or spices. Just butter. The gods be praised. For an appetizer, we ordered up a margherita pizza. I was whelmed with the pizza. The dough was very good. Crispy, chewy, and very satisfying. It was thicker and held up to the toppings better than Al Forno's grilled pizza. The sauce was good. I like my margherita pizzas with a light, sweet sauce and this was right in line. The rest of the pizza was bland, though. No real variety to the cheese, with no herbs or spices on top. Just cheese, sauce, with a smattering of what appeared to be basil. Simple, austere? Maybe. I want more complexity to even my simple pizzas. I prefer Al Forno or Feast or Famine.

Entrees out, first taste from the Gnocchi di Patate. The handmade gnocchi were excellent. Huge(!), soft, and well cooked. The sauce was rather bland. Considering it was a pesto base, I expected more punch to it. Instead all I got was a good dish. All of the cheeses come together well, and give the dish a heavy, creamy body. The yellow tomatoes add some much-needed flavor. Still, it was a dish that was the exact sum of its parts. No standout flavors to drive the dish, and the ingredients used do not add up to a standout flavor. Overall, good but not great.

Our second entree was the Garganelli con Tartufo. This was very good. It was, as with the gnocchi, creamy and cheesy. Mascarpone cheese and cream sauce has a subtle sweetness to it and the pasta was cooked perfectly. The healthy helping of prosciutto di parma chunks really makes the dish and gives a savory, salty flavor and dense texture to counter the soft creaminess of the pasta and cheese. Topped with parmigiano, this was very good pasta. Nothing amazing, but very good pasta, with good ingredients, prepared well. I'd say it was a solid deal for $17 and would likely get it again. For a side, we ordered the Risotto Bianco. It was risotto, so there's not much to say. Rich, creamy, and well-prepared with the slightest bit of firmness to the rice.

Desserts were, as I'm finding so frequently these days, disappointing. We ordered the Scripelle con Gelato. It was like fair food. Two small doughboys with a scoop of overly-icy vanilla gelato on top and a small cup of Nutella. While it's more inventive than many restaurants, what about fruit gelato, or sherbet to add a snappy tartness to the chocolate and cinnamon sugar? Maybe apples? Well, aside from subjective critques of their choice of ingredients, the gelato wasn't very good. The vanilla flavor was too subdued for my tastes and it was icy. A pint of Roba!Dolce vanilla from the supermarket freezer is vastly superior to the gelato I got.

In the end, I think Siena is quite good. I liked the menu (except for the heavy emphasis on veal), the wine list was decent, the atmosphere is very good, and the food is all well-prepared. I have some reservations about the things I got, but aside from the gelato, nothing got anywhere near being bad. I will undoubtedly be going back.

Siena: +++
Appetizers: $4-$13
Entrees: $12-$29

http://www.sienari.com/


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5600 Post Road
East Greenwich, RI 02818
401-885-8850

Hours
Tuesday through Thursday 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Friday 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Saturday 4:30pm to 11:00pm
Sunday 3:00pm to 9:00pm

QUICKVIEW: Pot Au Feu Bistro- +++ / $$$

One of Providence's old guards, Pot Au Feu is famous for being one of the only two places at which Julia Child would eat, the other being Al Forno.

She always said she liked Pot Au Feu because she couldn't find a traditional French bistro up in Boston. Obviously, there was tons of French cuisine, but the bistro is a unique experience. It's not intended to be fancy, nor is it intended to be terribly expensive. The bistro is like a nice, French version of TGI Fridays.

Pot Au Feu's bistro fits the bill, even though it's on the pricey side. The atmosphere is cozy, warm, romantically lit, and pretty loud when it gets packed. Part of the kitchen is on full display so you can stare at the chef and make him feel uncomfortable. An entire wall is lined with opened bottles of wines dating back to the 1970's. White Christmas lights are scattered throughout, and the complex mix of textures, colors, and lights creates a very dynamic and pleasing dining area.

For appetizers, we got the onion soup which was, I guess expectedly, some of the better soups I've had. Loads of cheese, a large crouton, and ultra-soft and sweet onions that were cooked long enough. A mild beef flavor, the soup was primarily onion. Even though I like my soup with more body and heartiness in flavor, the lighter broth was excellent. The lobster bisque was creamy, with a deep lobster flavor, but I like it when restaurants serve their bisque with a smattering of something in the center, be it crackers or bread, to mix up the textures. The salads were salads.

For dinner, we had the stuffed chicken, with cranberries, croissant, and peaches, which was delectable. It was tender, sweet, and perfectly prepared. The Coquilles St. Jacques was, again, perfectly prepared. Scallops weren't the biggest, but they were very tender and flavorful. The Tournedos Bearnaise were perfectly cooked, leaning towards the rare side of medium rare, AS THEY SHOULD, with a mild, too mild in my opinion, Bearnaise sauce. The Crepes Du Jour had chicken, tomato, and bordelaise sauce. Very well prepared, but the filling was missing something. It needed a binder of some sort, like a mild cheese.

For desserts, the vanilla mousse with caramelized pecans was too mild. It was exceptionally light and airy, very well made, but the vanilla flavor was light bordering on non-existent. Also, the pecans were too gummy to really offset the creamy texture of the mousse. If they had included granola, or replaced the pecans with almonds, I think it would have worked better. The creme brulee was excellent. It was easily some of the best in Rhode Island. It differentiated itself by being served warm. Most creme... cremes brulee?... are served with the custard chilled except for the freshly brulled sugar on top. This was less solidified, creamier, and warm. It went well with the rich vanilla flavor. The pot of chocolate was utterly decadent. The chocolate flavor was so strong and so dark it was a little overpowering. It bordered on a savory dessert. I liked it a lot. Super-dark chocolate goes well with sour-sweet fruit, and I think a raspberry reduction or coulis would have gone well. Still, it was rich, dark, and oh so good.

After much procrastination, I'm glad I finally made it to one of Rhode Island's gems. I wish I had gone sooner and will definitely go back.

Sorry for the lack of photos. The dining area was dark and my poor little camera just couldn't handle the low light.

Also, this review applies ONLY to the bistro, not the Salon.

Pot Au Feu: +++
Price range for two: $35-$75

http://www.potaufeuri.com/


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Hours
Bistro Lunch:
Monday through Friday 11:30am to 2:00pm
Bistro Dinner:
Monday through Thursday 5:30pm to 9:00pm
Friday & Saturday 5:30 to 10:00pm

REVIEW: Blue State Coffee- ***1/2 / $$$

Liberal? Conservative? Anarchist? Sexually frustrated? Who cares? Blue State Coffee may have a political agenda, but the superb coffee, atmosphere, and baristi deliver a winning experience that certainly gets my vote.

Open for less than a year, Blue State Coffee charges headlong into an ever increasing crowd of cafes eager to provide Rhode Islanders with their daily caffeine. While quantity is quickly entering the stratosphere, quality... not so much. The number of cafes was going up, and thus you'd expect competition to increase quality. Sadly, it seemed that that tenet of capitalism wasn't taking hold. Owners persisted in thinking that to operate a cafe, one required nothing more than an espresso machine, cups, and some tables.

I'm sorry, but if that's all you've got, don't bother. Go home and come up with something else, because the cafe business is definitely not for you. So many a time do I go into a cafe only to be served a latte that wouldn't pass for acceptable at a Starbucks, and that's exactly the point. Starbucks IS the bar. It is average. It's never bad, but it never truly excels. If you cannot be better than average, than you have no reason to exist. There are Starbuckses...es...'s... Stars-buck everywhere. You have to provide something that they don't.

That's what I get at CofEx, what I don't get at Felicia's, and what Blue State gives in spades.

Blue State's owners have obviously gone whole-hog. The interior is well-finished, large, airy, and plenty of seating and free wi-fi. I liked the edgier, more modern look to the design, as opposed to the wooden, earthy feel of CofEx and many other traditionally designed cafes. Some parts of interior are a bit bare, and the hard interior results in harsh acoustics. Escaping outside is always an option, with the nice, but unshielded from the skies, al fresco area raised from the street. If I was to pick a favorite design, it's still Coffee Exchange or Caffe Bon Ami, but this is certainly pleasant. Blue State has an ace up its sleeves, though: a different personality. Whereas other cafes are content with being just that, Blue State wants to be a vehicle of righteous change/indignation.

Their whole shtick is that they represent the blue (democratic) states as opposed to the red (republican) states. The inside is packed with political books, CD's, shirts, and those tireless warriors of the political battlefield, bumper stickers. They push a variety of liberal points, but thankfully they don't let this intrude on the business of making great coffee. They let it supplement the atmosphere and provide a sense of interaction with the customer. You can vote with small wooden chips as to which charity you want donations to go. You can monitor the progress on an update board situated just above the sugars and creams and look at the vote containers fill with chips. Blue State also advertises, more strongly than any cafe I can think of, their use of fair trade, organic, shade-grown coffee. You certainly can't accuse them of not practicing what they preach. As opposed to the comically hypocritical Cuban Revolution. But as I said, this never intrudes on the business. If you disagree, it doesn't matter, because Blue State is still first and foremost a cafe.

And I liked it because of that. I liked BS... hehe... because it's very much a cafe. It doesn't try to be some restaurant-lite. It's primary purpose is the coffee and some drinks and goodies to go along with the coffee. The selection of goodies is sourced from a variety of local producers, including Seven Stars, but the selection remains pretty thin. They also have an assortment of hand-made waist-enhancers hand-made by locals. These can get pricey, though, with some small cakes hitting $7. These are what push BS from a two-$ to a three-$. Good, for sure, but still expensive, and way too lean for the morning routine. A panoply of juices, waters, and bottled drinks round out the small display and are the exact same drinks and juices you find at every other cafe.

Still, they're just the supporting cast. The real star is a coffee. Unlike so many cafes, BS flies high instead of falling on its face. Given to me was one of the best lattes I've ever had. Again, New Harvest takes some credit -it seems that everyone is using them at this point- but the pull was perfect, the texture of the milk was perfect, and the temperature was also the closest to perfect I've encountered in a cafe, 157 degrees. It didn't have latte art per se, but it was an attractive swirl pattern that made the drink especially attractive. In the world of espresso, the stuff I had was a dead-match for the drinks I regularly get at CofEx. Simply excellent.

So why not four stars, like CofEx? Because CofEx is more than just a cafe. It's a roaster, a supply house, an experience, and let's the belt buckles fly with a wider selection of bagels, cakes, and cookies. Still, even though Blue State is just a cafe, it's a cafe that produces some of the best espresso in the state, and is also more within walking distance of the area of Providence where shit actually happens. For all this, Blue State is well above average, touches brilliance with its drinks, and is one of your best bets for the morning buzz.

Blue State Cafe: ***1/2
Price range for two: $6-$10

http://www.bluestatecoffee.com/


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300 Thayer St
Providence, RI 02906
1-877-626-BLUE (cute)

Hours
Monday through Friday 7:00am to 11:00pm
Saturday & Sunday 8:00am 11:00pm