It's been a few months since I blogged here -- not that we haven't eaten out in Providence, it's just that I've been indolent about blogging our experiences.
But I wanted to share our recent experience back at Gracie's in the city. We joined our friends Richard and Pauline, who had just arrived from London. It was so good to see them again and of course we wanted to share one of the city's preeminent restaurants with them.
(OK, so Susie is the pastry chef there, that's true, I admit it. But it doesn't invalidate my point. Gracie's is great. Go see for yourself.)
The four of us arrived early on an overcast evening and were seated in a back booth. The hostess of Gracie's -- Schuyler -- greets everyone with a warm smile and a steady gaze. Lest you think she is a saccharine type one often finds working the front desk of supposedly upscale eateries, think again. There is nothing but sincerity in the grin you get when you walk in the door and shown to a table.
The evening passed in a flash. We all ordered the prixe fixe menu -- the boys got the crab and the girls the pasta for the main course (plat in Paris don't you know), paired nicely with a bottle of Saintsbury chardonnay. Service is one thing Gracie's prides itself on -- not fussy, not stiff, just there when you want them; not fawning over the table treating customers as if they were longlost relatives.
The food was delicious, competitively priced and with service unmatched in the city it's one of the solid bets in these trying times. (When aren't times trying though, eh?)
Thanks Richard and Pauline; may the gods send you on a safe journey through the deep south.
Ciao for now,
steve
