Bayberry Garden in Providence, Rhode Island

The Bayberry Garden offers pitchers of Mimosas for brunch (choice of juice) and they leave the bottle at the table along with carafes of juice. Very nice.

Dyer Street entrance

 

the Caesar consisted of grilled Romaine wedges with a healthy layer of cheese

shakshuka was incredible

Batavia, New York, Brantford, Ontario, Providence and Warren, Rhode Island

OK, so on a recent pair of trips out to New England from the Midwest and back I can safely say:

1. Batavia, New York: Skip the Applebees; it's way too loud with watered-down drinks, mediocre food and sketchy service.
2. Providence, RI: Nami's on Atwell's Avenue is still a great place for terrific Chinese food.
3. Warren, RI: Metacom Kitchen has a pretty mean burger and a great wine list. Oh, and their fish is superb.
4. Brantford, Ontario, Canada: Gus and Guido's is just OK. Touted as a "Greek Italian Food Experience," it was a bit on the noisy side and the wines were lame but the food was not bad. The service was very friendly, though.

Enoteca Umberto on Federal Hill

There are lots of Italian-themed restaurants on Atwell's Avenue but Enoteca Umberto is the only one that can claim to be authentic and regional.

Husband-wife team Lia and Umberto make you feel as if you're sitting in their dining room, just off the kitchen, and you've just dropped over for dinner after the evening passagiata. The food they prepare and the wines they serve are all from southern Italy -- and in true southern Italian style eating is all about being together, sharing a lust for flavor and life, with gusto.

Go with no expectations and don't think traditional menu or seating arrangements; the place is small to be sure (you have to walk through the kitchen to get to the bathroom) but go and just enjoy what they offer you.

the kitchen is small but Lia seemed at ease and unruffled by all the commotion in the dining room

La Collina antipasti -- formaggi e salumi

Al Forno in Providence, Dante's Kitchen in East Greenwich, Boat House in Tiverton and Sofra in Cambridge

One of the longtime stalwarts in Providence, Al Forno is upscale with a wonderful menu and decent wine list.

zucchini blossoms

pan-seared sea bass

Caesar Salad

A much more casual place, Dante's Kitchen in East Greenwich has real potential: imaginative menu, a cool space, good service, but the food was a mixed bag and the very small space was way too loud.

Susie had the fried green tomato BLT with hand-cut fries, which was tasty.

I had pulled pork hash with poached eggs and a grilled buttermilk biscuit (homemade of course. The BLT with hand-cut fresh fries was spot on but the hash was basically shredded pork on top of a handful of small, diced fried potatoes. Hmmmm. And then the eggs were small with very little yolk (an odd thing I thought).

The Boat House in Tiverton serves up fairly standard fare in a gorgeous location overlooking Narragansett Bay. I had the tuna salad (flavorless) with their own handmade chips (tasteless and oily). Susie had the Jens & Marie veggie burger, which was also bland. Not an exciting meal to be sure but it was a gorgeous day to sip a glass of Rose by the water.

Then there is Sofra Bakery & Cafe in Cambridge. We'd been here once before and after a stroll through nearby Mount Auburn Cemetery Sofra is just the place to have a delicious lunch. It's chaotic to be sure and the seating can be interesting to say the least. But it's worth the wait and patience.

Even if you don't want lunch you have to try one of their incredible and incredibly delicious pastries, most of which are Middle Eastern in origin, like the twice baked brioche (left below) with custard actually baked into the filling (how'd they do that?). I had the chicken Shwarma stuffed flat bread and Susie had a concoction of three cheeses with grated fresh squash on top wrapped in a burrito-like hint of dough.

Loie Fuller's in Providence

My wife and I have been to Loie Fuller's restaurant a number of times over the years. Living close by on the west side it's been a source for drinks at the bar, an occasional dinner and one less-than-stellar brunch (some years ago, now).

Well, we returned recently for dinner and enjoyed ourselves immensely.

It was quiet with just a hint of Carla Bruni (how fitting) singing in the background, when we sat near the fire. The place is one of those truly rare gems in Providence: a French bistro that actually looks like one -- although it would be nice to see a picture of Loie Fuller hanging in a place of prominence.

The service was friendly and engaging without being cloyingly so -- a pleasant young woman whose answers to our questions and conversation hinted at a more interesting backstory.

The food was, in a word, delicious. Beginning with bread from Foremost bakery (they're out to topple Seven Stars, no doubt) we moved quickly to the Cajun Shrimp, which came in a sauce that called for more bread, much, much more. This was comfort food at it's finest.

 My wife had the veggie pot pie and I had the short ribs -- both dishes were well-prepared with just the right portions to get you back home on a winter's night. For dessert we opted for the Gateau Basque -- one of the few (maybe only?) place in the city you'll find Gateau Basque and it was just a delectable as each main course. We washed it all down with a French chardonnay by the glass.

Prices are reasonable and in line with other neighborhood eateries.

Parking is off-street right next door.

Chez Pascal in Providence

Susie and I splurged recently on a Kermit Lynch wine dinner at Chez Pascal. It was a wonderful evening of delicious wines matched by equally delicious food, put on by the brilliant folks at Kermit Lynch. An importer of incredibly wonderful wines at a relatively decent price, Kermit Lynch has been one of those marques you find and never let go: you just know the product he selects and brings over here will be delicious and of good value; his organization has been a resource for us since we lived in Michigan.

During dinner we actually sat next to an Eisenhower, although she claimed that her branch of the family was very distant from the former President. There was really no resemblance, but still. . .

Unfortunately, the poor lighting and my mediocre photographic technique doesn't even begin to accurately depict the scrumptious food but I think you'll get the idea:

seared scallop with celery root, apple and saffron butter

beef short rib, white sweet potato gratin

pear custard gratin with bleu cheese

AS220 in Providence

AS220, part of the downtown Providence art gallery movement that has stalled somewhat in recent years, is probably one of the better known venues for appreciating local art. It's also got a nice little bar and counter cafe on one side of the fairly large ground floor space on Empire Street as well.

 I went there for lunch and had the white bean soup -- loaded with green leaves, which I tossed out, and heavy on the garlic and semi-fried bacon, it tasted just OK. The toasted bread was good.

Oh, and since it's order at the counter and pick up your food when your "playing card" is called, I had very little observation of the level of quality of service.

But there's little else along Empire Street for a quick bite at midday. Just go without any great expectations.

Breakfast at Nick's on Broadway

Between Sunday brunch and evening dinner I've eaten quite a few times at Nick's but even though I live just four blocks away, I've never gone there just for breakfast in the middle of the week. Until now.

This morning I met up with three colleagues from work to sit, chat and have a delicious breakfast. 

It was worth the walk and the time.

Ed had the frittata

I had an omelet (bacon, sausage and provolone)

Jeff and Andrea had Eggs Benedict

Westside Diner in Providence

Located just a block from our house on Westminster the Westside Diner is only open for breakfast and lunch and that hasn't really fit in with our schedules. But when a pair of friends blew through Providence on their way from Vermont to Louisiana we took the opportunity to check the place out.

OK, the basics first: the diner itself is very 1950ish and, we thought, so was the food. But more of that in a moment.

Seating is a bit awkward for the newcomer: no sign to wait or seat yourselves and the staff didn't make things any clearer, at first. Anyway, after a few minutes a booth opened up and the four of us grabbed it.

The booths, tables and seats all moved, allowing flexibility I suppose. The seats we thought quite uncomfortable -- and I know I was sitting directly on springs. I noticed that while the diner was completely refurbished, from a total mess last year, there wee hints of scrimping: the top of the long counter appeared to have an old piece of linoleum (?) instead of new. The edges were curling and there were areas where the top was nearly gone, exposing the brown under layer.

The service was friendly and attentive.

The lunch menu was fairly limited: a few sandwiches, soup of the day and a few hot plate specials. It's the breakfast menu that take sup nearly two pages but they had stopped serving breakfast at 11:30 (they're only open until 2pm).

The four of us opted for sandwiches: I had the classic patty melt on toasted rye bread with 1000 Island dressing. Ed had the burger club (interesting), Chris had a wrap and Susie had a turkey sandwich. I was the only one who opted for the fries, the other 3 went for the homemade cole slaw.

house made cole slaw

turkey club

classic patty melt

house made apple pie -- not good

chocolate pudding -- also house made and also not good

Quality of the food was good; both burgers were prepared as requested and tasty. The slaw, I was informed was quite good and surpassed expectations. The portions were just right as well. Prices ran about $8 per sandwich with sides, which we thought not too bad, particularly in Providence.

Rasoi on the East Side of Providence

After living more than six years in Providence, we finally got to Rasoi, arguably one of Rhode Island's better restaurants and perhaps THE best Indian restaurant in greater Providence. It was last Friday evening, we had no reservations and the place was packed when we walked in the door. The hostess said there was a short wait or we could sit at the bar -- we chose the bar and it couldn't have been more perfect.

Although swamped with drinks and food the bartender was not only attentive but helpful in the extreme: He suggested cocktail specials for the evening and we give both two very big thumbs up -- I loath martinis as a rule but the special had (among other things) caramel vodka and apple cider. . . delicious!

When we asked about the nan bread for an app -- they have a variety of flavors - the bartender asked us what we were going to have with dinner (chicken). He suggested pairing the bread just like wine and he was right, of course: we ended up going with rosemary nan for our chicken dishes. Perfect!

We also tasted a couple of whites -- again at the bartender's suggestion -- to see which we would prefer with the meal and opted for a crisp, slightly tart sauvignon blank.

Cauliflower 65

chicken kebabs with mashed potatoes and lentils

Waterman Grille in Providence

Last Sunday evening, after a gorgeous day part of which was spent on the East Bay Bike Path, we couldn't quite bring ourselves to let go of it. So we opted to go to one of the better places to eat outdoors, Waterman Grille.

Now when I say better I don't mean the food is up to the same level as New Rivers, Broadway Bistro, Chez Pascal or Nick's on Broadway (four of our favorite haunts) but the location is quite nice and that's what we were after.

We started with a glass of prosecco and asked for a a hit of Aperol. They didn't have Aperol (hmmmm) but we substituted Camapari. They put in two or three drops (that's right, drops) just enough to turn the drink pink rather than red.  Obviously making cocktails isn't one of their strong suits we thought. But the drink tasted OK so what the heck -- we were sitting outside on a lovely evening enjoying life.

Susie had the the fish tacos followed by a Caesar Salad; I opted for Harissa meatballs as an app followed by a burger and (frozen) fries -- meat night for me. Our server was pleasant and moderately attentive although he did remind us of his name at least three times. I guess we appeared to be a bit on the dumb side?

Anyway, as I said the food is OK but it's the ambience that's everything.

OK so the view from the restaurant is Seekonk and not Manhattan, that's true

harissa meatballs on orzo salad == somewhat bland actually

the salad was a bit boring but the anchovies lively

Hemenways in Providence

Our 30th anniversary meal was spent at Hemenway's. Part of the Newport Restaurant Group (which includes Waterman Grille and The Boat House in Tiverton), and specializing in seafood, Hemenway's overlooks the Providence River as it drifts down to the hurricane barrier and Narragansett Bay.

The evening couldn't have been better (unless we were in Paris): food was very good, service attentive and the ambience fine.

view of the river looking south

calamari, Rhode Island style with Banana peppers

house salad

Halibut

Seafood casserole with fingerling potatoes