Dining ~ Gracie's ~ Providence
Gracie's
194 Washington St.
Providence, Rhode Island
(401) 272-7811
Bear, C and I went to Gracie's on a whim, and lucked into an available table. It was one of the best meals I've ever had in a restaurant.
It's a very elegant (and dimly lit) restaurant, with a star theme. This was the wall over our table:
The meal got off to an iffy start with a plate of crispy salmon railettes with capers. Although they had a pleasant start, they had a strong fishy aftertaste that I didn't care for.
One of the servers came around with a basket of bread that included a lovely sourdough cranberry. It was moist with just the right amount of chewiness. I'd have bought a loaf if it was available.
We decided to try the three course prix-fixe menu, each order different courses and share them around.
C's appetizer was potato gnocchi with oxtail, foraged mushrooms, celeriac puree and provolone. We all enjoyed it. I thought it was a nice combination, where no one flavor overpowered anything else. There was a strong woodsy/earthy sense to it, and the mushrooms really played that up.
I had the local potato soup with house cured bacon bits, caramelized onion, creme fraiche and black truffle. I was a little confused by the presentation at first: the bowl was brought in with the creme fraiche, bacon, onion and truffle in it, then the soup poured over it. Once I realized that the pat of creme in the middle of the bowl wasn't the entire soup experience, I thought it was a really neat way to go about it. The soup was delicious, although I couldn't identify the taste of truffle.
C thought that, after stirring in the bacon, the soup had just the right amount of salt. Bear liked the mix of flavors.
Bear's appetizer was, naturally, the Hudson Valley foie gras with beluga lentils, butternut squash, shaved chestnuts, pickled cranberries. Hardly surprising, since Bear is a foie gras fiend.
While I thought the combination was delicious, smooth and moist with sharp sauce that had a barbecue-type flavor, Bear felt it was too salty for her taste, and a bit underdone.
After a palate-cleansing grapefruit sorbet that had all the taste of grapefruit with none of the bitter bite, we were on to the main course.
C tried the Bomster sea scallops with charred Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, celery root and cranberry mostarda.
I loved the way the bright taste of the sauce brought out the flavor of the scallops. The scallops themselves seemed a bit undercooked, but the overall combination was great. C seemed to enjoy it as well.
Bear's choice was the Crescent Farms duck with roasted root vegetables, pomegranate, foie gras confit ravioli and sage reduction.
Honestly, I've never seen him react like this to food before. He was charmed by the presentation and the "adorable" ravioli. The sauce was really good, with a citrusy aftertaste, and the duck was "perfect." His only complaint was that he couldn't have more.
I thought the duck was very good, but I'm not a big fan of duck and was happy to let Bear have the lion's share.
My main course was the ribeye, potato croquette, poached garlic fondu, spicy greens, pearl onion confit and bordolaise.
The meat was perfectly cooked, the garlic sweet and pungent. The greens weren't exactly spicy, but certainly substantial enough to stand up to the beef, and the sauce was perfect. It was the best steak I've ever had.
C liked the steak, but didn't care for the garlic fondu. She felt it was too vinegary, and that the greens were too salty.
Bear had no interest in trying the steak. He was more interested in saving more duck for himself.
Then it was time for dessert.
My word, they were good.
The clear favorite was my dessert, the chocolate hazelnut mousse with toasted spice cake, poached cranberries and brown butter ice cream.
Bear commented that the spice cake lace looked like angel wings, and I had to agree. The presentation was beautiful, and set us up for the experience.
C, who's not often left wordless, could only say "wow," when she first tasted the mousse. Eventually she followed up with "this is exactly the way mousse should taste and feel." It was smooth and creamy, and the crisp spicy wings set it off perfectly. I liked the browned butter ice cream quite a bit, too. Everyone who attempts mousse aspires to this.
Bear tried creme brulee for the first time, and was not disappointed.
The crisp caramel shell covered a delicate, creamy custard with just the right touch of Madagascar vanilla. Excellent.
C ordered Cherry Clafoutis with toasted rye crumbles, honeycomb, and lemon-thyme ice cream. C loves cherries, so it was a good choice for her, it still wasn't quite the success of the other desserts. I will say that I loved the lemon-thyme ice cream and would have paired it with the mousse.
Gracie's is not "cheap eats." It's excellent food, skillfully prepared and presented, and the prices represent that. We didn't limit ourselves in terms of what we ordered (although none of us had alcohol), and dinner for three cost nearly $200. It's definitely possible to eat there for less, however. And the food is definitely worthy of special occasions.
194 Washington St.
Providence, Rhode Island
(401) 272-7811
Bear, C and I went to Gracie's on a whim, and lucked into an available table. It was one of the best meals I've ever had in a restaurant.
It's a very elegant (and dimly lit) restaurant, with a star theme. This was the wall over our table:
The meal got off to an iffy start with a plate of crispy salmon railettes with capers. Although they had a pleasant start, they had a strong fishy aftertaste that I didn't care for.
One of the servers came around with a basket of bread that included a lovely sourdough cranberry. It was moist with just the right amount of chewiness. I'd have bought a loaf if it was available.
We decided to try the three course prix-fixe menu, each order different courses and share them around.
C's appetizer was potato gnocchi with oxtail, foraged mushrooms, celeriac puree and provolone. We all enjoyed it. I thought it was a nice combination, where no one flavor overpowered anything else. There was a strong woodsy/earthy sense to it, and the mushrooms really played that up.
I had the local potato soup with house cured bacon bits, caramelized onion, creme fraiche and black truffle. I was a little confused by the presentation at first: the bowl was brought in with the creme fraiche, bacon, onion and truffle in it, then the soup poured over it. Once I realized that the pat of creme in the middle of the bowl wasn't the entire soup experience, I thought it was a really neat way to go about it. The soup was delicious, although I couldn't identify the taste of truffle.
C thought that, after stirring in the bacon, the soup had just the right amount of salt. Bear liked the mix of flavors.
Bear's appetizer was, naturally, the Hudson Valley foie gras with beluga lentils, butternut squash, shaved chestnuts, pickled cranberries. Hardly surprising, since Bear is a foie gras fiend.
While I thought the combination was delicious, smooth and moist with sharp sauce that had a barbecue-type flavor, Bear felt it was too salty for her taste, and a bit underdone.
After a palate-cleansing grapefruit sorbet that had all the taste of grapefruit with none of the bitter bite, we were on to the main course.
C tried the Bomster sea scallops with charred Brussels sprouts, butternut squash, celery root and cranberry mostarda.
Bear's choice was the Crescent Farms duck with roasted root vegetables, pomegranate, foie gras confit ravioli and sage reduction.
Honestly, I've never seen him react like this to food before. He was charmed by the presentation and the "adorable" ravioli. The sauce was really good, with a citrusy aftertaste, and the duck was "perfect." His only complaint was that he couldn't have more.
I thought the duck was very good, but I'm not a big fan of duck and was happy to let Bear have the lion's share.
My main course was the ribeye, potato croquette, poached garlic fondu, spicy greens, pearl onion confit and bordolaise.
The meat was perfectly cooked, the garlic sweet and pungent. The greens weren't exactly spicy, but certainly substantial enough to stand up to the beef, and the sauce was perfect. It was the best steak I've ever had.
C liked the steak, but didn't care for the garlic fondu. She felt it was too vinegary, and that the greens were too salty.
Bear had no interest in trying the steak. He was more interested in saving more duck for himself.
Then it was time for dessert.
My word, they were good.
The clear favorite was my dessert, the chocolate hazelnut mousse with toasted spice cake, poached cranberries and brown butter ice cream.
Bear commented that the spice cake lace looked like angel wings, and I had to agree. The presentation was beautiful, and set us up for the experience.
C, who's not often left wordless, could only say "wow," when she first tasted the mousse. Eventually she followed up with "this is exactly the way mousse should taste and feel." It was smooth and creamy, and the crisp spicy wings set it off perfectly. I liked the browned butter ice cream quite a bit, too. Everyone who attempts mousse aspires to this.
Bear tried creme brulee for the first time, and was not disappointed.
C ordered Cherry Clafoutis with toasted rye crumbles, honeycomb, and lemon-thyme ice cream. C loves cherries, so it was a good choice for her, it still wasn't quite the success of the other desserts. I will say that I loved the lemon-thyme ice cream and would have paired it with the mousse.
Gracie's is not "cheap eats." It's excellent food, skillfully prepared and presented, and the prices represent that. We didn't limit ourselves in terms of what we ordered (although none of us had alcohol), and dinner for three cost nearly $200. It's definitely possible to eat there for less, however. And the food is definitely worthy of special occasions.
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