Brunch at Nick's on Broadway

Some things never change it seems, and in the case of brunch at Nick's on Broadway that's an incredibly wonderful thing.

A week ago today we returned to Nick's for the first time since our return from Paris. We thought we'd beat the crowd and get there right at 8am when the doors opened but when we turned the corner we found ourselves waiting in line. Yes, indeed, some things never change.

But the line moved quickly -- and while waiting we struck up a conversation with a fascinating young man, also, coincidentally, named Nick. Before long we were seated at the counter, sipping coffee waiting for our food.

As always, the food and service was worth the wait: Susie got one of Derek's great sandwiches and I opted for the "special plus," which consisted of home fries, wheat toast, two poached eggs and their homemade sausage. Deeeelicious!

Nick's on Broadway - March 14 2013

Even though it's been less than three weeks, Susie and I and two friends headed over to Nick's the other evening after a stop at Bin 312 for their weekly Thursday wine tasting. Even though it was early in the evening, not long after we sat down the place filled up with friends, couples and everything in between to enjoy warm conversation, great food and pleasant service. And so we did.

A litte amuse buche of pureed beet soup with local creram cheese:

The four of us shared the charcuterie plate as an app. Consisting of a variety of house-made pates, head cheeses, a rilette and condiments it was a thoroughly grand way to kick off a delicious evening:

Andrea had the roasted Narragansett Bay oysters:

Susie had local herb-roasted potatoes with bacon and pea greens (she also had the salad of baby greens lettuces):

I had the Baffoni Farm chicken on a bed of roasted potatoes and pea greens:

And for dessert we had a light sampling of a Spice Cake Truffle and Fruit:

Nick's on Broadway

Chef-owner Derek Wagner is one of the reasons Providence has become such a well-known food destination. His attention to detail, commitment to using to local resources, drive for culinary creativity, dedication to customer service and wonderful food packed with scrumptious flavors keeps us coming back again and again.

Nick's is only four blocks from our house and we often go there for Sunday brunch -- if you go, get there well before 8:30 am unless you want to wait a half or so because it's always jam packed. 

But the other evening my wife and I joined two friends there for dinner, something we had not had at Nick's for far too long. We started with a sparkling wine from the Loire and the evening just got better and better.

Roasted oysters and potato-parsnip gnocchi in a lamb ragout for starters followed by winter root vegetable soup and salad for one, more gnocchi for a second, salad and a side of roasted potatoes for a third and I had the pork shoulder on a bean cassoulet. Everyone agreed the food was truly delightful, loads of flavors, gorgeous colors and just the right portions.  All washed down with a bottle of Jermann chardonnay from Friuli.

Winter root vegetable soup

Potato-parsnip gnocchi with lamb ragout

Pork shoulder over bean cassoulet

salad

Although reasonably priced by Providence standards, Nick's is one of the pricier restaurants on the west side. Still,  we all agreed its a good value and we have now set our sights on returning more often.

Nick's on Broadway for Brunch

Comfort food for brunch -- and it's only four blocks away. . .

Breakfast at Nick's on Broadway - A+ again!

It's been some months since we walked the four short blocks over to Nick's on Broadway for brunch -- this time we were early and had breakfast.

We waited all of 60 seconds for two stools at the counter overseeing the cook line. As always, the service was friendly and the food delicious. we started off with a cocktail special (OK it was 9am but we were celebrating Dad's 102 birthday) of limoncello, prosecco and vermouth. Delicious!

Susie had the black beans with scrambled eggs, salsa and tortillas,

and I had an omelet with Swiss cheese and caramelized onions, with a side of chicken sausage.

If you have never been to Nick's go; if you haven't been in a while, go soon. It's always worth a wait. And this time, one of those rare times to be sure, we didn't have to wait at all.

Nick's on Broadway

Sunday morning -- the place is packed (as usual) and the wait is more than a half hour (as usual). but it's only a three block walk from our home and the food is terrific so we stand in line and enjoy the loudness (sort of), the smells (assuredly) and the people watching.

We eventually get two seats at the counter -- our preference in fact -- give our order to the pleasant young woman standing across the counter from us and apparently oblivious to the chaos behind her, and commence to fuel ourselves up for the rest of the day.

Susie orders a half-order of French toast, one egg and crispy bacon. I get the bacon n' cheese (cheddar) omelet, wheat toast and a half order of pancakes. Look, you go to Nick's ya gotta splurge -- no half way there when it comes to food, no sirreee.

Delicious as always. The wait is nothing compared to the great food at the other end.

Loïe Fuller in Providence

The wine flights at Gracie's on Wednesday evening has become, for us at any rate, a great way to break the week up, and occasionally we will grab a bite to eat somewhere afterwards.

So it was this last Wednesday. when we finally walked across the street from our condo and ate . After tasting three wines at Gracie's, along with a chef's pairing to match, we went home, parked the car and then just walked a few meters cross Westminster and . . . Voila! There we were at Loïe Fuller, a small but cozy restaurant with an incredible art nouveau style that would make any Paris bistro green (or brown) with envy. If you must know Loïe Fuller, pronouced Louie or Loh-ahy or whatever makes you feel comfortable, is named after an American dancer who lived, loved and died of breast cancer in 1928 in Paris. (Her ashes were placed in niche no. 5382 in the Columbarium at Pere Lachaise.)

Anyway, there's been plenty of press about this place recently, in the Providence Phoenix and Rhode Island Monthly to name just two, and all of it good. Plus, everybody we've spoken with also gave it high marks as well so what could go wrong?

More than we bargained for, I'm afraid.

The ambiance is incredible to be sure -- and frankly it's worth the trip just to ogle the art nouveau decor and fantastic paintings on the walls. The numerous mirrored murals also give the dining room a greater sense of space and don't forget to look up -- the ceiling and central light is not to be missed either.

The servers, all women dressed in casually elegant black, were friendly, courteous and attentive; and the service prompt.

But two things marred the evening for us.

The food first. I ordered the steak frites and while the meat was a bit overcooked, it was tender, flavorful and the dipping sauce quite tasty. The frites were equally delicious and the portion substantial. Susie ordered a cheese-pistachio ravioli in balsamic vinegar. The dish came out with a large number of ravioli swimming in several tablespoons of oily balsamic vinegar. As if that wasn't off-putting enough, the ravioli filling was overly cheesy with a greasy texture and not terribly enjoyable. (We both agreed on these points.)

I flagged the hostess down -- not our server -- and described our concern with the ravioli. She was pleasant enough but informed us "that's the way it always comes out." I'm not sure if we were supposed to say, "Oh, well in that case I'll go ahead and eat it even though I find it quite unpleasant." Anyway, the server came by and asked if there was something else Susan would like. She thought for a moment and then ordered a simple side of the sauteed green beans. What could go wrong?

Now for anyone who goes to the grocery store around Providence, you know that the green beans are, well let's just say, far from being optimal for eating. Anyway, that's pretty much what we thought about the second dish. The preparation was quite good we observed but the beans were lacking in flavor and seemed rather tough. When our server came by to ask about the beans we of course had to break the news to her.

By this time an interesting dynamic had taken hold of the staff. When we first entered the restaurant we were upbeat and, I thought, had some very friendly banter going with the wait staff. By this time, however, they were still pleasant to be sure, but seemed aloof, distant and perfunctory.

Nevertheless, as we neared the end of the meal we agreed that aside from this evening's food hiccups -- and hey, it can happen to the best of restaurants -- we would come back.

Until we got the bill that is.

The server came by and explained that the "owner only charged you half price for the ravioli and we're sorry it didn't work out." She then hurried off.

Half-price?! In our opinion, we shouldn't have been charged for the ravioli at all. Stranger still, they took the ravioli away and said "do you want something else?" and subsequently charged us for that as well! We should have been informed that we were going to be charged for the original dish.

We concluded that even though it's right across the street from our home, we'd rather walk to Nick's on Broadway or drive to Broadway Bistro or MuMu's on Atwell's Ave. There are simply too many other places "hungry" for our dining dollar.

I don't think we'll be going back to Loïe Fuller anytime soon.