Dining ~ Tumblesalts Cafe ~ North Providence

Tumblesalts Cafe
1 Morgan Ave.
North Providence, Rhode Island

It was a hot and muggy night. Bear and I had decided to finally take advantage of Providence Restaurant Weeks to try a new restaurant. We chose Tumblesalts Cafe because of its menu. They offer a flight of beef. A flight of beef.

With apologies to vegetarians, vegans, and the Ghostbuster Winston, "Ray, when someone offers you a flight of beef, you say yes!"

Tumblesalts is adorable. It's a small compound of buildings right off Mineral Spring Avenue that offers a cafe, pub, tavern, and event space. There's even a gift shop called Hopscotch Room..

It was a busy Friday night, but before long we were seated in the cheerful living room, done up in shades of blue and gold. 

Bear was very impressed by the wallpaper in the alcove.

It took a few minutes to get organized before our server arrived to take our order. Bear and I were more than ready. After all, flight of beef had been beckoning all day. We started with appetizers, house calamari for me, seafood bisque for him.

They were both delicious. The calamari was crisp, not greasy or rubbery. The bisque was delicate, with good sized bites of seafood. Either could have been a satisfying meal.

The entrees arrived, and looked great. The lighting wasn't cooperative, so the pics don't do them justice.

 The meat was good. Tender and well-seasoned. I enjoyed the various staging: the grassy earthiness of the pesto, the sharp gorgonzola, and the smooth comfort-food creaminess of the mashed potato. The bacon jam was a great idea, but a little too sweet for me. (Full disclosure: although I tried two bites of each steak at the restaurant, the rest had to come home with me. Just as delicious the next day.)

Bear really enjoyed his lobster ravioli. I tried it and also thought it was good, though I felt it too closely resembled the bisque for the two to be ordered together.

Both of us had been looking forward to the "cheesecake mashups" on the menu, but alas, they were all gone. Based on overheard conversation at neighboring tables, cheesecake wasn't the only item that had sold out. We took home carrot cake and pistachio cheesecake instead. Both survived travel and refrigeration well. The cheesecake was sweet and creamy, the carrot cake was well-spiced with a good amount of walnuts.

My parents are planning a trip to Providence this fall. Already we're planning to go over the town line to do breakfast at Tumblesalts.