d.carlo trattoria smithfield ri- still awesome

I live about 5 minutes away from Andrews but have never been. I've heard it has gotten better since opening a few years back. It has managed to succeed in a tough location,( an older retail strip set pretty far back from Rt. 122) where others failed. Vintage was really good, but overpriced, when I went three years ago and it was under different ownership. But I really like d. Carlo Trattoria and have been there a half-dozen times over the years. d. Carlo is like one of the upscale restaurants in Providence, (such as Siena) at about 10% less in price. I forget I am in a retail strip when I eat there. My only complaint is that they don't change their menu often enough, and when I go they seem to be out of the specials.

blackstone in Southern New England

Oakland Beach, Warwick RI - Top of the Bay or Timmy's?

Can anyone recommend either these restaurants: Top of the Bay or Timmy's One Bay Ave both in the Oakland Beach neighborhood of Warwick RI?
I want to take my lovely wife out for drinks and dinner tonight and sit outside, have a bay view, linger for a few hours, have drinks and then dinner. I have only driven by both these restaurants. She would probably order a Fruitti de Mare type dish and I would order a steak. I would like to know which has a better deck view of Narragansett Bay or which one has better food and service. Please don't tell me to go to Iggy's Doughboys! Thanks!

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Top of the Bay
898 Oakland Beach Ave, Warwick, RI 02889

blackstone in Southern New England

RI Romantic bay view dinner

Thank you for the suggestions. I ended up driving down to Oakland Beach. It was so cloudy, foggy and rainy and we were running short on time. So, we went to Sophia's Tuscan Grill on Warwick Ave. We had a big bottle of chardonnay with us that the waitress promptly opened and poured for us. She was one of the most charming and professional waitresses we have ever had. We opted out of the Wed. special $35 dinner for two with 3 courses. Instead, we split an interesting Tuscan salad that I ended up picking the dried cranberries out of. It was otherwise delicious but dried cranberries belong in muffins, as far as I am concerned. My wife had the cioppino and had so much she had to take the rest home. I had the spinach gnocchi with pink vodka sauce and added the ground house sausage to the sauce. It was delicious but the pink vodka sauce could have been a little pinker with some more cream! The extra focaccia we ordered and could finish was so good we asked the waitress to pack it up with our leftovers. The bill total was $60 with tax. I left a $12 tip for our excellent service. Ri's best BYOB restaurant IMHO!

blackstone in General New England Archive

RI Romantic bay view dinner

Thanks for the suggestion! Frank, I checked the Persimmon website and the menu looked very creative but had no prices! It reminded me of the Spiced Pear in Newport. My wife went there once and had a superb meal but walked away with a $250 charge to my credit card.
I think I'll save Persimmon for a really special occasion and when my cash flow situation is a little more fluid.

blackstone in General New England Archive

RI Romantic bay view dinner

Suggestions please for RI dinner with a water view. Just found out my kids are going to an overnight Wed. night. Wanna take wifey to a surprise dinner with a water view, perhaps al fresco. Coming from Cumberland. Don't want Prov. but would rather travel as far south as
E. Greenwich, Warwick, W. Warwick, Barrington, maybe Portsmouth or Bristol.

Cherrystones on Oakland Beach would be a perfect spot with a view except I'm not crazy about their menu. I was thinking we could go for a drink with a view there, then head inland to one of my wife's faves - Sophia's Tuscan Grille in Warwick. My wife's favorite dish is a frutti di mare pasta with tomato broth.
I like anything but Italian-American and fried seafood. (We loved Nero's Restaurant Oak for Prov Restaurant week) Wanna spend about $100 for 2 before tip, including starters, entrees, bottle of wine. Thanks! (Counting on you, JaneRI)

blackstone in General New England Archive

Is Windsor the BEST kept food secret in the Upper Valley?

Wow! this post sounds like it was written by the president of the Windsor chamber of commerce. I have been to Windsor plenty of times and didn't realize they had so many restaurants. I can say I have had many pizzas from Pizza Chef and it really is as good as any pizza place I've been to. Windsor Station is fine for your standard American fare food. My father-in-law loved their prime rib and martinis. The restaurant at Mt. Ascutney Ski Resort is pretty good too, though a farely pricey. Thanks from RI !

blackstone in General New England Archive

Anyone tried Edgewood Café?

I saw the same blurb in the Pro Jo food section. My wife and I have been trying to save some money lately by going to BYOB restaurants. Cutting out the cost of a bottle of wine from the check really saves a lot. We tried Edgewood Cafe on Sat. night and thought it was pretty good. It's kind of an unusual place in that it is in an old fashioned neighborhood retail space, (similar to Restaurant Oak) complete with awnings and a bakery next door. I don't know the neighborhood but it seems like there would not be enough foot traffic to sustain a restaurant like this. It's small, only eleven tables. It's only been open two weeks. The interior was redone nicely but it seemed like they had not done any decorating - no pictures on walls, no flowers on table etc.
There were only two other tables occupied at any given time during our meal. The waitress was really nice and did a nice job other than her twice commenting on how impressed she was with our appetites.(so we're big eaters and the food was good)
I had the calamari appetizer and that was some of the best I have had. Most imporantly the squid was tender and juicy and the batter was light and crispy but I really liked the way he lightly tossed it with a balsamic vinagrette and pickled peppers and grape tomatoes. My wife had a spinach salad which she really liked. I had the ribs which were fairly generous and pretty good - nothing special - served in a basket with some roasted potatoes and a side salad. My wife had salmon with a panko dijon crust. I tasted the salmon and it was very moist and flavorful. She got some nice broccoli and carrots steamed and seasoned as well as roasted potatoes and a side salad. The bill came to $48 before tip. Don't recall if they had a corking fee. The menu is pretty small and they mostly have some tasty-sounding burgers and pizzas. I would recommend this place to a friend. But I would probably not go back myself because it is a little out the way for us (from Cumberland) and we don't eat very often so we like to try a different place every time. Besides I don't have much hope for a little place like this surviving more than a year but I wish them the best.

blackstone in General New England Archive

Dinner near PPAC Rec.

Maybe you'll find some good Red Fez menu suggestions in these reviews:
http://www.tasteri.com/projo/reviews/090601.htm
http://brown.dailyjolt.com/food/details.html?id=4510

blackstone in General New England Archive

Dinner near PPAC Rec.

Thanks for the recs. I'm leaning toward switching our reservation from Gracie's to Downcity for Sat preshow dinner. I checked Downcity website (still limited but up and running). I liked their menu and prices, though the apps. are pricey compared to the entrees (Calamari 11.50?)
Gracie's just seems a little too pricey and swanky. I can see dropping $300 for a dinner for four there. Since my incredibly generous (no sarcasm) brother-in-law usually insists on picking up the check I'd like to keep it more reasonable. (I did spring for the theater tix). My inlaws have eaten at some of the best restaurants around the world on business accounts. So they care more about good food at reasonable prices than being impressed. I think I'll save a trip to Gracie's for a romantic dinner with my wife.
Parkside was another contender but since we intend to park one time and walk, it might be a little far. If dinner runs a long I don't want to be hoofing it across the river in a rush to make the 8pm curtain time.
Thanks for the tip on Sidebar. I'm taking my 7 y.o. daughter to lunch and a matinee of HS Musical in Nov. I was considering using the Sidebar 2 for 1 coupon included in my ticket envelope to take my kid to lunch. Maybe we'll go to the mall.

blackstone in General New England Archive

Dinner near PPAC Rec.

My wife and I are entertaining my sister-in-law and her husband on Sat. Sept. 29.
We have tickets to see the Pilobolus dance group at the PPAC at 8pm. They live on the upper East Side of Manhattan and travel a lot. So, they eat out a lot. They are foodies but not food snobs. I want to take them some place they'll like. Expensive is not necessarily better. They know and appreciate good food value. My sister-in-law does not eat red meat and they both love sushi.
Ideally, we want someplace we can park, go to a 6pm dinner reservation, then walk to the show. We're over 40 but good walkers.
I made a reservation at Gracie's but I want to check out other places. We used to go to Gracie's when it was on Atwells Ave. and loved it. Online, the menu and dining room now look much more upscale than the old spot. Makes me nervous they serve foie gras and there are no prices on the webpage menu. Gracie's offers complimentary valet parking for the whole evening, which is a big plus.
We have been to L'Epicureo since it moved to Hotel Providence and liked it. But I want to try something different. I think I want something more upscale than Murphy's, Blake's and Trinity Brewhouse. I checked out Local 121 and Bravo Brasserie online and neither place appeals to me.

Is Downcity open again? Is Ten Prime and Sushi a good option? What about Sidebar?
Is Parkside close enough?
Any input would be great! Thanks!

blackstone in General New England Archive

Two Forty Two Providence

I agree that there is nothing new to Providence on the menu and the headings are silly. But I like the menu too. It has all the items I like to order when I go out - brick oven pizza,calamari, veal chop, lamb chops, tuna steak, chilean sea bass. If it had a duck breast choice it would ideal. Is it daring to not have on single pasta dish, being that it is Atwells Ave.?
This menu sounds more interesting than the 121 menu I read last week.

blackstone in General New England Archive

Rockport Sun. Lunch

Thanks for your suggestions - I just wanted to followup on our weekend on Cape Anne.
For lunch on Saturday, my wife decided she wanted a picnic near Rockport and not a sitdown restaurant dining experience. So, My Place by the Sea was out.
Sat. was absolutely perfect September weather, sunny, puffy clouds, high temp in low 70's. We cycled from our motel in Gloucester to Rockport. We stopped at a little restaurant - The Greenery in Rockport center. They have a deli-style take-out counter as well as a dining area. We picked up some sandwiches and chips. We packed up our bikes and skipped all the adorable, tourist-packed shops (my wife is not a shopper-YES!)
We headed up to Halibut Point State Park to enjoy the spectacular view from the eastern-most point of Cape Anne. You could clearly see up to the Maine coast.

We hit the road and went north to the Lobster Pool. It's a charming little clam shack with friendly service and fresh food. We had a long bike ride ahead so we skipped the lobster ($26 1-1/4lb) and fried fish. We ordered some sodas and two cups of their deliciously creamy clam chowder and sat on their swing seat enjoying the great view of the sea cove. We also ate the tasty turkey club and chicken salad sandwiches from The Greenery.
We rode all the way around the Cape and back into Gloucester where we later enjoyed a fantastic sunset at Eastern Point Lighthouse followed by dinner at Alchemy in downtown Gloucester. We love Alchemy for its nice booths in a cool, wood paneled, open pizza kitchen dining area. The eclectic menu offers a variety of choices, all with creative flair. We had the eggplant pizza and arugula salad as apps. I had the duck breast and the wife had grilled tuna. Everything was cooked perfectly and the service was superb. With a bottle of wine we walked out with a $130 tab including tip.

We also dinnered at the Franklin Cafe in downtown Gloucester. We were less enthused with Franklin Cafe mostly because the atmosphere was not that great. The place was so dark we could not read the menus. The wood bench, straight-back seating with no padding left my tiny butt numb. The music was so loud we had to shout. The place seemed like it was trying to young and hip which seemed ridiculous considering there was barely anyone under 40 in the dining room and bar. The food was very good and priced fairly but the menu had limited choices. Service was very good. I had braised lamb shank but I was really craving rare lamb chops.

FYI, we stayed at the Bass Rocks Ocean Inn on Atlantic Rd. in Gloucester. The view is fantastic! Right out the window you see the sea sprayed rocky coast only a 100 feet away. The rooms are typical 70's style motel but it's modernized and clean. The included continental buffet breakfast in the sea captain's style main house dining room is a great way to start the day.

blackstone in Greater Boston Area

Rt. 128 Lunch on Sat.

Thanks for all your suggestions. Unfortunately, I posted my request too close to my departure and did not read any of the suggestions until today. But I will save the link to this thread for next time.

Late Friday night, I did some google searches and found some great suggestions on Chefmoz, Tripadvisor and Yelp. I zeroed in on "Restaurant Row" on Moody Street in Waltham. It was perfect because it was halfway between RI and Gloucester and it was only five minutes from Rt. 128. It's an amazing area for restaurants if you like experimenting with ethnic food. There are multiple choices of every ethnic food especially in the Asian, Indian and Mexican variety.

I gave my wife the choice of Ugandan at Karibu, Greek at Demo's or Tapas at Solea. She chose Solea Restaurant & Tapas Bar at 388 Moody Street Waltham, MA.
It was the ideal choice for a low-cost, charming, romantic and delicious lunch. The staff provided excellent prompt, friendly, attentive service. We had a quiet, separate table in their cozy, appropriately decorated Spanish-theme dining room.

The menu features full entree choices but we chose three items from the tapas menu:
Tostadas de Alcachofas - Artichoke Hearts, Mushroom & Goat Cheese Crostini $5.50

Calabacin Relleno - Grilled Zucchini Stuffed with Summer Vegetables, Baked with shredded white cheese $6.50

Codorniz - Broiled Quail with Balsamic Beurre Blanc $8.50

The artichoke crostini was served cold and was delicious. The zucchini was served hot was really tasty as well. The Quail was just okay - the bird itself was tender but not seasoned flavorfully. The sauce on the quail tasted more like a mole sauce with a sweet chocolaty flavor than a balsamic beurre blanc.

The bill came to $26 before tip and we were back on the road in about an hour after stopping. It was the perfect start to our amazing weekend on Cape Anne (see my thread on lunch in Rockport)

blackstone in Greater Boston Area

Rt. 128 Lunch on Sat.

Thanks! but Capitol Grille does not do lunch on Saturday. Also, that type of restaurant is more upscale than I am looking for lunch. I'd like something a little more casual. We want a cool dining experience without devoting too much of our precious time.

blackstone in Greater Boston Area

Rockport Sun. Lunch

Hi! We're spending the weekend in Gloucester. On Sunday we plan to bike north and go to Rockport and up to Halibut Point.

Any suggestions for lunch? We want to spend about $50 and don't necessarily need a seafood specialty place. A water view would be a big plus.

Last year we went to the Fish Shack for lunch and it was pretty good although the service was slow we had a nice harbor view table. Just thought we might try something different.

My Place by the Sea received some pretty mediocre reviews in previous posts. Would that place be worth it just for the view?

Thanks!
Will

blackstone in Greater Boston Area

Rt. 128 Lunch on Sat.

My wife and I are headed up Rt. 95 from RI for a weekend in Gloucester. We already have dinner reservations for Franklin Cafe and Alchemy in Gloucester for Sat. and Sun. nights.

I am looking for restaurant suggestions for lunch on Sat. on the ride up Rt. 128/95 N. We want a restaurant within five minutes drive off the highway exit in areas like Newton/Wellesley, Waltham and Woburn. We want: a decent atmosphere with a table or booths (not a diner or fast food) ; spend about $50 (no alcohol needed) ; all ethnicities acceptable except Chinese or Italian-American; my wife likes salads and vegetables.

I saw a previous posting about Karibu, the Ugandan place in Waltham, and thought that might be interesting.

Thanks!
Will

blackstone in Greater Boston Area

Dinner 4-2 Back Bay suggestions

Thanks for the suggestions. I did some online research and read a Boston magazine restaurant section. Petit Robert sounds too French for my wife's taste and I did not think Eastern Standard had an innovative menu. Brasserie Jo - too French, Trattoria Toscana - too Italian (we have more than our share of Italian in RI).

Jeninma, I took your suggestion and looked to the South End even though it is not that close to Avalon. Hammersley's sounds really good and has always intrigued me. But the place that really seemed to fit the description in my previous post was Tremont 647.

Can anyone offer their opinion on Tremont 647? How is the dining room? I don't like the tables for two with elbow to elbow dining with the other diners (like I saw on the Vox Populi website)

THANKS! Will

blackstone in Greater Boston Area