Broadway Bistro

     We're living in an amazing time period, food wise. Currently, local and sustainable sourcing are on the forefront of the local restaurant industry, and Chefs, as well as customers, are taking more time to learn about their food and where it comes from. Diners are paying a huge amount of attention to the sourcing of the ingredients in their food, and restaurants are doing everything they can to source locally grown, high quality food. These days, Chefs are working hard to get to know the farmers and artisans who raise, grow, and create their ingredients. In Rhode Island, the sustainability movement has rooted itself deep into local food culture, with dozens of farmers markets, Farm Fresh RI, and endless efforts by local Chefs to scratch make all of their food from local ingredients. One restaurant in Providence that is doing its part to promote sustainability is Broadway Bistro.
     If you've ever walked down Broadway from downtown Providence, then you've seen Broadway Bistro. You know, that quaint looking little restaurant with the giant black dog painted on the side? Yeah, that's it. From the outside, this European-style bistro looks like a pretty average Federal Hill restaurant, but inside is a team of culinary artists, using fresh, local ingredients to craft some unbelievably delicious, scratch-made, gourmet dishes.

     We visited Broadway Bistro on a Saturday night, and were lucky enough to be seated right away. We must have showed up at the perfect time, because once we were seated, the entire restaurant filled up in a matter of fifteen minutes. The interior is pretty small and seating is limited, so I would suggest coming early if you want to avoid a wait. Our waitress was very attentive, and seemed to appear almost instantaneously to refill our water glasses every time they neared empty. The menu was pretty small, which is good, because it was hard enough trying to decide between the small amount of available menu items. It was obvious that the Chef at Broadway Bistro had taken the necessary time to perfect every single dish on this menu.
     For an appetizer, we ordered The Crepe($8), which came out surprisingly fast, considering how full the restaurant was. The Crepe is a crepe with duck confit, and a side of mixed local greens. The crepe was thin, soft, fluffy, and slightly chewy. The crepe was cooked through perfectly with just a touch of browning on the outside. Our crepe was stuffed full of a surprisingly hearty amount of duck confit. If you've never had confit, it is duck leg meat that is salt-cured overnight, then poached in duck fat until it is crispy and so tender that it is falling apart. The confit at Broadway Bistro is delicious in every way a confit can be. It is salty and crispy, yet so tender that it melts in your mouth. The fatty confit was balanced well by the mixed greens were served on the side. The mixed greens were refreshing, with bitter notes and dressed lightly with a bright, acidic, white balsamic reduction.
     The House Gnocchi($18) which I had exceeded all of my expectations. The gnocchi are scratch made in-house and while it may be a time-consuming task to make fresh gnocchi, the flavors in this dish proved that it is more than worth the time and effort. The outside was seared to crispy brown perfection, while the inside was smooth, cheesy, and creamy. Some gnocchi can be doughy and dense, but that wasn't the case at Broadway Bistro. Their gnocchi were light with an almost fluffy texture. They were tossed in a butter sauce with crunchy broccoli rabe and tender, sliced chicken breast from Baffoni's Poultry Farm.
     Equally delicious was the roasted, halved Cornish hen($19), also from Baffoni's. The skin was seasoned with paprika and oven-seared until it was dark brown and crunchy. The meat was tender, juicy, and evenly cooked through, which is an impressive feat considering the amount of heat needed to get the skin so crispy. Served with a sweet onion jam, roasted cauliflower, and a creamy, rich root vegetable mash, this was an excellent gourmet take on classic roasted chicken. The kitchen staff at Broadway Bistro has true passion for food, and it shows through in every dish that they put out.


House Gnocchi



Crusted Hen



     After our meal, our waitress brought two delightful, complimentary dark chocolate truffles as a palate cleanser. When our check came, it was tucked into a blank page of a small journal with a pen, which I thought was a brilliant way to get customer feed back, and to make the guest feel personally appreciated. Everything about my visit to Broadway Bistro- from the attentive service, to the incredible food, and even the method used to deliver the check- impressed me. Broadway Bistro serves locally-grown, gourmet food in a casual environment at a reasonable price. What else could you ask for?