north

     Just off of Broadway, nestled comfortably in a residential street, there is a tiny restaurant with a small neon blue sign in the window which reads "north." It doesn't look like much from the outside, and you're likely to drive right past without even noticing that it's there, but take a step inside, and you can be sure that you won't ever forget about this unique little restaurant. There are only a few tables and a small bar, which can make getting a seat on a busy night difficult, but the limited seating means that the staff will never be completely swamped with a sudden influx of customers, ensuring that the quality of both service and food will remain consistent. A fair trade-off if you ask me.  At 7:30 on a Saturday, we walked into a completely full north, but luckily for us, there was a table that was paying and getting ready to leave. The décor here resembles the inside of an old wooden ship and was very quaint and comfortable.
     When we sat down, we were handed small slips of paper with that day's menu. At north, the menu is constantly changing based partially on what's in season, and partially on what the extremely inventive kitchen staff wants to create. No doubt, the most difficult part of our visit to north was refraining from ordering one of everything. After placing our first order, for Tiny Ham Biscuits, Hot Flavor Sesame Noodles, and Rabbit & Carrot, our waitress- who was very attentive and extremely nice throughout the entire meal- assured us that we could always order more if we were still hungry.





     First to arrive were the Tiny Ham Biscuits, which were sandwiches made with fresh, warm biscuits, country ham, and beer mustard. Surprisingly, they managed to pack an entire symphony of flavors into such a simple dish. the biscuits were crunchy on the top, and buttery and moist on the inside. The ham was sweet and salty, and the beer mustard was acidic and tangy. It took all of three minutes to devour our tasty little biscuits, and just as we were contemplating ordering a second helping, the sesame noodles arrived at our table.

     This dish was delightful. The rice noodles were thin and slightly chewy, which was complimented well by the crunch from the sour pickled kale and fried tofu. The chili oil added a lot of spice to the dish which was a surprisingly nice way of bringing the separate flavors from all of the ingredients together into one cohesive dish.

     Next to come was the rabbit and carrot. I loved the presentation of this dish, mostly because of the vibrant colors added by the paper-thin slices of watermelon radish and the elegant looking rack of rabbit-ribs. The rabbit was very tender, and seasoned well, and the carrots were thin and stringy with an excellent acidic-yet-sweet glaze. I never would have thought to pair rabbit with ranch, but the combination worked surprisingly well. The watermelon radishes- an ingredient that is completely under-utilized on most menus- added a refreshing crunch to the dish.
     After we finished the rabbit and carrot, we were starting to get pretty full, but after seeing how creative and unique the food at north is, we knew that we had to try more, and we decided to take up our waitresses previous offer to order more food. For our second order, we got the Burmese Style Chickpea And Pomelo Salad, and the thrice Fried Rice.

     First to come was the chickpea and pomelo salad. The chickpeas were fried, making them cruncy and salty. Another under-utilized ingredient which has found a home on the menu at north is pomelo. Pomelo is similar to a grapefruit, with a slight sweetness added to the bitter flavor. My favorite part of this salad was the dressing, which tasted almost like a citrusy peanut-sauce, making the salad slightly reminiscent of a deconstructed nim-chow.

     Just as we were starting to get full, the thrice fried rice arrived. These tasty little morsels were deep fried chunks of fried rice, with a spicy mayo sauce, cilantro and juliennes, pickled carrots. The rice had a hard, crunchy exterior, with a smooth, velvety interior. The house-made pickles added a delicious sour touch to the dish, and despite our already quenched appetites, we managed to finish every bite.
     After a huge meal, our check came to only $50 which brought our already impressive meal to a perfect end. If you're looking for a delightfully creative meal made with local, fresh ingredients, look no further. north (Yes, it's supposed to be lowercase) delivered one of the best restaurant experiences I've had in a while. I would highly recommend this restaurant to any foodies looking for a truly unique experience.

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?