Restaurants

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Luxe Burger Bar

An "All American Burger" from Luxe Burger Bar.

After seeing Food Inc., I didn’t think I’d ever eat a hamburger again. Apparently, I was wrong.

Last night, we headed to Luxe Burger Bar in downtown Providence for dinner.  Since there was a 20 minute wait for a table and we were in a rush, we opted for the bar.

Oh big deal, you say, what’s another hamburger?  But I  have to give a nod to Luxe Burger Bar not only because of their flavorful, juicy Kobe beef burger with hand-cut Idaho potato fries, but also because of the way you order it.   Each diner gets a sheet featuring nine steps to custom build a burger.  You choose the meat (turkey, Gold label beef, Kobe beef, vegetarian, etc.), the toppings (caramelized onions, lettuce, etc.), the cheese, the sauce, the bun (sesame, plain, whole wheat), and the sides.  And voilà, you get exactly what you wanted without taking 10 minutes to order. 

No wonder as we rushed out to catch Avatar (blush), the number of people waiting had since doubled.

Luxe Burger Bar
5 Memorial Boulevard
Providence, RI
www.luxeburgerbar.com

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2nd Story Theatre: Comic Potential

Paula Faber, Kevin Broccoli, Vince Petronio, and Laura Sorensen in Comic Potential. Photo by Rich Dionne.

I adore theatre. Granted, I’ve seen a few shows that I didn’t like (such as Smokey Joe’s Cafe which I had the misfortune of seeing on Broadway). But in general, I love theatres large and small and shows drama, comedy or musical.

The 2nd Story Theatre where I saw Comic Potential last night seems an especially great find. It’s an intimate theatre (not a bad seat in the house) with simple sets and great plays emphasizing writing and acting. It reminded me of the Lyric Stage, my favorite theatre in Boston. They even have a café downstairs serving salad, pannini, and soup. It looked charming, but Geoff couldn’t resist delicious fish tacos at Beebop Burrito next door.

The play — a mix of theatre of the absurd and futuristic allegory — had attracted a full house, which gives me faith that theatre is not dead, after all. Although I was a bit alarmed by the average age of the audience (definitely AARP status). C’mon kids (by which I mean those aged 25-45)! Go to the theatre! Avatar can’t be that good, can it?

2nd Story Theatre
28 Market Street
Warren, RI
2ndstorytheatre.com
Current play: Comic Potential (now through February 21)
Upcoming plays: The Voysey Inheritance (March 12-April 11) and The Underpants (April 30-May 30)

Bebop Burrito
40 Market Street
Warren, RI
www.bebopburrito.com

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Pho Paradise: Vietnamese Bánh Mì & Phở Noodle Soups

The vegetarian Phở is packed with crunchy vegetables and layered with tasty tofu and noodles.

With its neon sign and strip mall parking, Phở Paradise might easily be missed as you’re cruising down Broad Street. But this unassuming restaurant happens to be one of the few Providence restaurants where you can find a tasty Bánh Mì, an east-meets-west sandwich that perfectly combines Vietnamese ingredients on a French-style baguette.

Last night, we stopped in for some Phở, Vietnamese noodle soup. But first we tried some terrific appetizers — I loved the Gỏi Cuốn Chay (aka vegetarian summer rolls which you’ll find on the vegetarian menu) a tightly-wrapped roll of crispy shredded lettuce, mint, vermicelli and tofu in thin rice paper. Geoff thought their scallion pancakes rivaled his favorites at Mary Chung, and their Bánh Xèo, Vietnamese crepe which packed baby shrimps, chicken and bean sprouts with a sweet and spicy sauce could make a meal in itself.

As for the Phở, we tried three kinds — beef, chicken and vegetable — and all were delicious, although my personal favorite was the vegetable which is made with a vegetarian base and packed with crunchy, flavorful carrots, zucchini, baby corn, peppers, celery, peppers and broccoli and layered with noodles and fresh and soft fried tofu. If you hate winter as much as I do, this might be just the cure.

Pho Paradise
337 Broad Street
Providence, RI, 02907

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AS220: Power of the Arts

Tasty potato leek soup for a good cause at AS220.

With live/work spaces for artists (two vacancies opening this spring) along with their existing repertoire of workshops, studios, galleries, and labs, AS220 is more than a local nonprofit — it is a force to be reckoned with.

They even have a restaurant, but clearly this is no ordinary restaurant. The menu consists of an eclectic mix of dishes from a variety of cultures with ingredients derived from local farms and food artisans. Although they are known for their vegetarian and vegan options, they have plenty of dishes for carnivores as well. (They aim, after all, for inclusion). They even provide six month training positions at the restaurant for local teenagers.

If the city is to be judged by its Creativity Index, then things certainly are looking up for Providence, thanks largely to AS220.

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Show me the pancakes: a search for Rhode Island’s best

The Gold Standard: My beloved pancakes from the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown, Massachusetts. Photo by möca.


Why is it that I’m always reading blog posts and newspaper articles about great breakfast places that turn out to be subpar? Surely, I am not the only pancake purist in Rhode Island. After having eagerly gone from diner to hotspot and back again in my quest for Rhode Island’s best pancakes, I’ve decided I am going about this all wrong. When I discovered the best pancakes near Boston, I discovered them not through a blog (if those even existed then) nor through a magazine or newspaper article, but through an accountant friend who happened to live in the area and really liked pancakes.

Here I am with my Deluxe Town Diner pancakes.

Here’s how I know that the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown, Massachusetts has amazing pancakes: it is the only thing I order there. That’s not to say I haven’t been tempted by tuna melts, homemade stews with fresh (not frozen) vegetables, and burgers with sweet potato fries. But the pancakes made with sour cream and buttermilk are just too good: they rise to thick height and remain fluffy, perfectly browned, made the size of your plate in a stack of three (or two if you so choose, but you’ll be sorry), and smeared with butter with a side of real maple syrup.

I know Rhode Island is the smallest state, but I refuse to shrink my expectations accordingly. So, fellow citizens, I beg of you: show me the (amazingly good) pancakes. Post a comment with your local favorite, and I promise to go, eat and report back.

Surely Not Rhode Island’s Best Pancakes List
(or the places I’ve tried so far)

Note: My criteria for the perfect pancake includes: 1) fluffy texture; 2) neither too wet nor too dry; 3) excellent flavor, more specifically a well-orchestrated recipe of ingredients that culminate in a caramelized flavor balancing salty and sweet; 4) made and served with real butter; and 5) served with real maple syrup.

Despite a wonderful old-fashioned diner atmosphere amidst the strip malls, you won't find the best pancakes at Star Diner.

Atlantic Grille
Middletown, RI
Why not? One of the RI Monthly reader’s choices for best breakfasts, this is truthfully the only place I can stand to eat pancakes on Aquidneck Island. Yet they are no match for the perfect pancake (decent flavor, but not fluffy enough) and fail to provide real maple syrup.

Corner Café
Newport, RI
Why not? Such a cute little spot, but they use margarine — a deal-breaker in my opinion.

Eddie & Sons Diner
Providence, RI
Why not? Here you’ll find decent pancakes (although too light indicated not enough caramelizing butter, sugar, salt), but nothing spectacular, and the diner lacks real maple syrup.

Gary’s Handy Lunch
Newport, RI
Why not? Although I love this place for its atmosphere and enjoy their thin old-fashioned french toast, their pancakes are thin and mealy.

IHOP (The International House of Pancakes)
Middletown, RI
Why not? There is no better option when you absolutely need pancakes at 1 am and are too lazy to make them (yes, it’s happened to me). But, let’s face it, as good as they may taste at that moment, we all know that IHOP is not the real deal.

Louie’s
Providence, RI
Why not? Generally their pancakes have fairly good flavor, although they are always too flat and light. Plus they lack consistency: a few times, the pancakes were metallic, which Geoff says is an indicator of too much baking powder. They serve them with real butter but artificial maple syrup.

Mel’s Diner
East Providence, RI
Why not? According to Providence Journal’s food writer Gail Ciampa, these are “some of the best pancakes around.” No way. Slathered with margarine, these pancakes were bound to lose. They were the right color and thickness, but ultimately too gummy with the wrong flavor.

Modern Diner
Pawtucket, RI
Why not? Their pancakes had great texture (just a tad wet) and were quite fluffy, yet the flavor was wrong — not sweet nor salty enough.

Nick’s on Broadway
Providence, RI
Why not? In general, breakfast here was terrific, but the pancakes sadly not so. Cinnamon in the batter definitely doesn’t fit the bill.

Oatley’s Restaurant
North Kingston, RI
Why not? I had high hopes here with the homemade breads and muffins, but ultimately the pancakes missed on both flavor and fluffiness.

Star Diner
Rumford, RI
Why not? Pancakes were greasy and burnt. By the taste, I highly doubt they were made with butter in the batter or on the griddle. And they don’t serve maple syrup.

T’s Restaurant
Why not? Pancakes were dense and dry with lousy flavor. They’re also served with a butter ‘blend’ (aka margarine), blanketed with powdered sugar, and a side of phony syrup — need I say more?

Top Photo Credit: möca

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Butcher Shop Café & Deli

Plenty of seats and a tasty breakfast awaits at the Butcher Shop.

When Geoff accidentally left for Boston with the car keys this morning, I decided to walk Madeline to school which is 1.5 miles from our house. It doesn’t sound so bad, and it only took about 25 minutes. But having to turn around and come back home seconds later for the same journey with no breakfast and no caffeine was definitely not a good thing. So I decided to stop on my way home at Butcher Shop Café & Deli. I’ve passed this place four times every school day in the car, but never stopped. Today, it appeared to me like a mirage in the desert — oh please let there be egg sandwiches. Yatzee! I’m not sure that after my 2 miles of walking I could accurately judge (cardboard might have tasted good), but I’m pretty sure it was the best egg sandwich I’ve ever eaten. It wasn’t oozy as some, but the bacon was crisp and meaty and the egg on the well-done side — just the way I like it. How did they know?

The best egg sandwich ever, or maybe I was just really hungry.

It’s the perfect neighborhood joint — they’ve got a mini-grocery on one side where you can buy meats, breads, dairy and then a little café on the other where you can order breakfast and lunch to stay or go. They have an extensive catering menu and take plenty of holiday orders. The sandwich menu looks quite serious including what they call Dave’s famous hamburgers and the world’s best tuna, egg and chicken salads. It seems it might be worth walking to school more often.

Butcher Shop Café & Deli
157 Elmgrove Avenue
Providence, RI
www.elmgrovedeli.com

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Hewtin’s Dogs Mobile: Gourmet Food Truck

Locals line up at Hewtin's Dog Mobile at the Roger Williams Memorial Park.

I am usually not the biggest fan of food conceived in a truck, but I have to make an exception for Hewtin’s Dogs Mobile. This gourmet food truck, created by the owners of Chez Pascal, serves up a tasty on-the-go lunch. Emblazoned with their motto, “If it ain’t in a casing, then it’s not worth tasting,” the truck can be found at Roger Williams National Memorial Park and the Pawtucket Winter Farmers’ Market (see below for times). The menu features freshly made soups, sandwiches and sausages — such as a hand-smoked ham with gruyere and apple compote on foccacia and brined pork belly with sunny side up egg sandwich. Of course, you can also opt for a plain old cheeseburger or hot dog (a Grote & Weigel), but even those exceed their ordinary names. Not surprisingly, even their condiments are homemade.

And if you need a little something sweet after your meal, get one of their wonderful chocolate chocolate chip cookies — soft on the inside and crisp on the outside.

Hewtin’s Dogs Mobile
Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays 11:30 am to 2:30 pm
North Main Street alongside the Roger Williams National Memorial Park
Providence, RI

Saturdays 11:30 am to 2:30 pm — during the Pawtucket Winter Farmers’ Market
Hope Artiste Village
1005 Main St
Pawtucket, RI

www.chez-pascal.com/HewtinsDogsMobile.htm

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Nick’s on Broadway: Great Brunch

nicks

In my continued search for the Rhode Island equivalent to the world’s best pancakes, we decided to pick a place for brunch this morning.  One of our readers had recommended Nick’s on Broadway, which sounded great from the reviews.  At 9:30 am this morning, there was already a substantial wait, although that’s not such a bad thing on a warm, sunny day.  After about 30 minutes, they offered us three counter seats together where we directly faced the open kitchen.  I love this.  Not only can you see the action, but you can scope out all the dishes and decide what looks good.

g-brunch

Geoff's breakfast: sliced ham and Eggs Benedict.

In my continued search for the Rhode Island equivalent to the world’s best pancakes, we decided to pick a place for brunch this morning. One of our readers had recommended Nick’s on Broadway, which sounded great from the reviews.

Although I had planned on pancakes, I knew I wouldn’t be able to resist getting something that came with what appeared to be the best-looking hash browns ever.  Luckily Madeline always wants pancakes, so we ordered her a short stack (in the shape of Micky Mouse) so I could try them too, and I chose a bacon and cheese omelet with an english muffin and hash browns.  It turned out to be an excellent choice.  The omelet had been perfectly cooked (not runny yet no traces of brown), and the hash browns were as good as they looked: a mix of regular and sweet cut potatoes sauteed with red onions.  As for the pancakes, they were just okay.  It seems they put cinnamon in their batter, a strange choice in my opinion.  Madeline didn’t mind, but I, well, you know.  We’ll be back, but the quest for the best pancakes must continue.


Nick’s on Broadway
500 Broadway
Providence, RI 02909
www.nicksonbroadway.com

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Pot au Feu

wines

Wine and champagne bottles line the perimeter of Pot au Feu.

We first stumbled upon Pot au Feu as we were walking aimlessly around downtown Providence.  The menu looked great — a traditional rustic French with some unique twists.  As I peered in the window, I could read a posted quote from Julia Child who apparently adored the place.  And it’s been there since 1972.  These are all things that seem to come together to make a truly stellar restaurant, so I was somewhat surprised to discover it only earned 3 1/2 stars on Yelp.  But that didn’t stop us.  We in Providence and are here to stay, and as such feel it’s our duty to try things ourselves that intrigue us.  What do Yelp users know anyway?

So last night we dined at Pot au Feu.  It’s a bit like walking into a cave, and when I say that I also mean a French cave, meaning “wine cellar.”  The brick walls lined with bottles of wine and champagne (even a sabered salmanazar) create a festive and cozy atmosphere.  It seemed odd that there were only two other tables occupied on a Thursday night — how they can have such a large menu with such a thin crowd?

snails

Escargots served in their shells

To make up for that, we decided to order all the courses, as well as a bottle of wine.  We started with the escargots — a classic French dish perfect for setting the standard.  The snails were perfect in their shells with a buttery garlic and parsley sauce.   The bread could have been better, however.  It was warmed which was a nice touch, but just not very good (or fresh perhaps).

All entrees come with a salad so that came next, along with their two homemade dressings — a creamy mustard and a raspberry vinaigrette.  Our server recommended mixing them together, which we did (he was right).  Of course, we had ‘upgraded’ ours to include blue cheese which was sprinkled atop and a welcome addition.

For dinner, Geoff had the boeff bourguignonne — a plate of deliciously tender braised meat with a decadent gratin dauphinoise (potatoes with cheese and cream — a winning combination).  I had the sirloin steak which was a thick cut and yet a juicy medium as I had requested.  The baked sweet potato and broccoli were fine, although even I can make those.  I was more impressed by the sweet winter squash served in its skin.

Dessert came next.  I ordered the pot du chocolate, which was topped with delicious fresh unsweetened whip cream.   The chocolate had great flavor; although since the cup had been refrigerated, it was a bit colder than it should be.  Geoff had the vanilla bean mousse — a delicious spin on an old favorite.

Overall, a wonderful meal.  Not cheap at $160, but we did have a lovely four-course meal with wine and steak.  It’s clear the chef puts a great deal of effort into his preparations and cares about his customers.  After I started eating my steak, the server came over to say the chef wanted to make sure it was cooked to my liking.  I said yes, but his real answer came by the fact that I finished every bite.

Pot au Feu
44 Custom House Street
Providence RI 02903
www.potaufeuri.com

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Chez Pascal: Market Menu Mondays

escargot

Sweet escargots but was it intentional?

We had planned to go to Tini, a new downtown Providence bar and restaurant serving tiny, tasty dishes, but discovered they are closed Monday nights.  So is Al Forno.  So is Farmstead.  Just as I was starting to think Monday might be the worst night to try to have an elegant and delicious dinner in Providence, I found Chez Pascal open.  Better yet, they offered their special “Market Menu Mondays” featuring all dishes created solely from local ingredients purchased at the nearby markets and farms.

We chose all our dishes from the Market Menu.  Well, except for escargots.  Oddly they were quite sweet which I didn’t notice until Geoff guessed that they had accidentally sugared not salted them.  The waiter attributed it to the pernod, but we never did hear the official word on that from the chef.  Still, we gladly ate them — once we added a bit of salt they tasted a bit more familiar.  Although much breadier than their Paris counterparts, the escargots were just as tender and perfectly paired with some toasted parsley-scented brioche. 

apple

Cortland apple crumble with lemon verbana ice cream.

For an appetizer, I ordered the fresh crisp greens with cortland apples, ginger pecans and sweet honey vinaigrette.  Geoff had the hearty escarole and potato soup.  For entrees, the Market Menu choices were meat (angus strip steak) or more meat (brined pork chop) so we ordered both.  The salty, blackened crust on the steak balanced the tender rare interior, and a sweet sauce complemented the pork chop and braised red cabbage.  Both were terrific.  We shared the baked cortland apple with rolled oat crumble and lemon verbena ice cream. Overall, Chez Pascal was a pleasant surprise, and I was glad to see the restaurant full and the bar humming. There is restaurant life in Providence on a Monday night, after all. Just make it an early night — the kitchen closes at 9 pm.

Chez Pascal
960 Hope Street
Providence, RI
www.chez-pascal.com