I was monumentally disappointed in Mediterraneo. Entering, I was generally pleased. It's a very pretty restaurant with all the architecture and design I'd expect from a supposed 4-Diamond eatery. The architecure was classy, the tables looked well-dressed, and the overall feeling was of subdued trendyness.
We had called ahead for our table and were greeted by a maître d' who was brusque at best. We were shooed upstairs where we waited around for five minutes. The upstairs was cold. Like, really cold. Sixty-degrees kind of cold. I found it acceptable, but my partner was shivering. After this random wait for a table that was supposedly set, we were sat and given water.
It took them over ten minutes to bring us our bread which was so tough that my partner had to stop halfway through her second piece because her jaw hurt. We were about to order our appetizers when we were informed we must order all at once. I'm unsure of as to why, but so be it. Another ten minutes pass before our server returns. It's now almost 30 minutes in and we have only bread. Finally, the server returns to take our orders. Our appetizer comes out, mozzarella en carozza. For $9 we got a single piece of glorified fried mozzarella. I've had its equal at places not much better than Olive Garden. It was good, certainly, but for $9 we got $.89 worth of food. It came with some random mixed greens as to seemingly say, sorry for the overpriced piece of cheese you've ordered, so have this cheap salad to help explain the cost.
Our entrees arrive. My partner's Filetto di Maialo pork loin is truly excellent. At $25, it's a bargain. The pork was tender and juicy, the breading and horseradish sauce were perfectly seasoned, and the potatoes on the side were wonderfully done. In fact, it was so good I wish I had gotten it. My ravioli all' aragosta is technically perfect, but is nothing special for $25. Yes, it comes with lobster and shrimp, but I can have similar foods for $5, maybe $8 cheaper at a number of places. At least here, the sauce is excellent. As I say, Italian food lives and dies by its sauce, and this sauce was very good.
Our desserts arrive. My molten lava cake is bad. Very bad. It's dry, luke-warm, with what could be gelato or ice cream on top. Either way, it's bad gelato/ice cream. The house-made whipped cream is good, if that makes up for anything. My partners gnutella mousse is very good, though. Rich and flavorful, it's a success, but kind of expensive. But it's got nothing on mine. Over $10 for bad cake. BAD CAKE. I can nary think of a greater crime.
All the while, an army of seemingly confused servants wander about ignoring us. I was never given water without directly asking. The tables had butchers' paper on them. You may think that picking a nit, but for such a trendy, expensive place as this, there better be a God-damned table cloth on my table. Another detail that just chapped my ass the entire night was the windows. The windows were dirty. Dirty as though they hadn't been cleaned in days, perhaps weeks. A nice thing about the upstairs is the aerial view of Atwells, where you can watch all the mid-life crisis men driving by in their Ferraris. To have that view sullied by handprints is unacceptable. The windows should be cleaned nightly.
The night finished nicely enough. Our waitress, freed from some mysterious obligations somewhere in the depths of restaurant, suddenly was aware of our existence and we received some attention. I ordered a cappuccino, which was very strong and well-brewed. Our night concluded with a complimentary shot of house-made Limoncello for a digestif. It was very good, and ice cold. Just the way it should be. Still, the good entrees and free drink can only do so much. AAA's Four-Diamond means a place of dining nirvana, not this train wreck. If AAA were to review Mediterraneo that night, their award would be stripped away, no questions asked. I expected a lot from Mediterraneo, and got very little.
P.S.
I originally wrote this review for Citysearch.com. Since then, their Four-Diamond review has indeed been revoked, reduced to a Three-Diamond. Also of interest, at 11:00pm on Fridays and Saturdays it turns into some latin dance club where the bleary-eyed night-lifers of Providence swarm. I recommend avoiding it like the plague.
Mediterraneo: **
Price range for two: $50-$100
http://www.mediterraneocaffe.com
Mediterraneo
134 Atwells Ave
Providence, RI 02903
401-331-7760
Hours
Winter Hours: October - May
Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 9:00pm
Friday 11:30 am to 10:00pm
Saturday 11:30am to 11:00pm
Sunday 3:00pm to 9:00pm
Summer Hours: June - September
Monday through Thursday 11:30am to 10:00pm
Friday 11:30am to 11:00pm
Saturday 5:00pm to 11:00pm
Sunday 5:00pm to 10:00pm
Saturday, September 29, 2007
Thursday, September 27, 2007
REVIEW: Don Jose Tequila's- * / $$
I arrived at Don Jose Tequilas with great expectations. I had read good reviews, and been told the same by friends, and after living for so long with nothing but bad Tex-Mex at local restaurants, I relished the chance to eat real food.
It was a sad day.
The dining area was well decorated. The ambiance was cozy, warm, and not too tight. Service was quick and friendly. The margaritas ordered by the table were good, but not great. I would have called them a little weak, although everyone else seemed happy.
For our appetizers we got the Macho Nachos and Don Jose's platter. The nachos were bland, uninventive, and bland. Did I mention bland? Who the hell makes nachos without any kind of spice. They're nachos! This isn't a gas station nacho dispenser. Give me some cayenne pepper. The refried beans were luke warm and dry, the salsa was as hot as an episode of Full House, and the cheese was, for the most part, missing in action. The Platter wasn't much better. The quesadillas weren't fully cooked, the chicken was tough and over-cooked, and whatever they spiced it with tasted burnt.
For dinner, we got steak fajitas, chimichangas, and a stuffed burrito. Across the board, the meat was tough, over-cooked, and flavorless. My tortillas for my fajita were cold. The chimichanga seemed to not have been fried at all. The tortilla had no crispness, and again the spices were bland and muted. The burrito was a similar story. None of them were finished.
I was sad because there was a lot to like. It seemed like their heart was in the right place, but in the real world, you don't get an A for effort. And even then, I'm not sure what kind of effort was actually expressed. The problems were all the mistakes of either someone who doesn't care or has no skills whatsoever in the kitchen. Overcooked meat, terrible seasonings, poorly timed preparations causing some hot and some cold foods. These are transgressions of the highest caliber because a restaurateur should be long past these errors before ever opening a place.
Don Jose's may have earned two stars earlier, but after my discovery of El Tapatio, which is so vastly superior as to be almost comical, the poor haunt on Federal Hill gets tagged with the only one-star review I've written. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.
Don Jose Tequila's: *
Price range for two: $25-$50
http://www.donjoseteq.com
Don Jose Tequila's
351 Atwells Avenue
Providence, RI. 02903
401-454-8951
Hours
Sunday through Thursday 3:00pm to 10:00pm
Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 11:00pm
It was a sad day.
The dining area was well decorated. The ambiance was cozy, warm, and not too tight. Service was quick and friendly. The margaritas ordered by the table were good, but not great. I would have called them a little weak, although everyone else seemed happy.
For our appetizers we got the Macho Nachos and Don Jose's platter. The nachos were bland, uninventive, and bland. Did I mention bland? Who the hell makes nachos without any kind of spice. They're nachos! This isn't a gas station nacho dispenser. Give me some cayenne pepper. The refried beans were luke warm and dry, the salsa was as hot as an episode of Full House, and the cheese was, for the most part, missing in action. The Platter wasn't much better. The quesadillas weren't fully cooked, the chicken was tough and over-cooked, and whatever they spiced it with tasted burnt.
For dinner, we got steak fajitas, chimichangas, and a stuffed burrito. Across the board, the meat was tough, over-cooked, and flavorless. My tortillas for my fajita were cold. The chimichanga seemed to not have been fried at all. The tortilla had no crispness, and again the spices were bland and muted. The burrito was a similar story. None of them were finished.
I was sad because there was a lot to like. It seemed like their heart was in the right place, but in the real world, you don't get an A for effort. And even then, I'm not sure what kind of effort was actually expressed. The problems were all the mistakes of either someone who doesn't care or has no skills whatsoever in the kitchen. Overcooked meat, terrible seasonings, poorly timed preparations causing some hot and some cold foods. These are transgressions of the highest caliber because a restaurateur should be long past these errors before ever opening a place.
Don Jose's may have earned two stars earlier, but after my discovery of El Tapatio, which is so vastly superior as to be almost comical, the poor haunt on Federal Hill gets tagged with the only one-star review I've written. I would not recommend this restaurant to anyone.
Don Jose Tequila's: *
Price range for two: $25-$50
http://www.donjoseteq.com
Don Jose Tequila's
351 Atwells Avenue
Providence, RI. 02903
401-454-8951
Hours
Sunday through Thursday 3:00pm to 10:00pm
Friday and Saturday 11:30am to 11:00pm
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
REVIEW: Pastiche- **** / $$$
Nestled along a back road of Federal Hill, Pastiche has been serving up some of the best desserts in all of Rhode Island since 1983, and the state has been all the better for it. Combing a good selection of some of the best coffee available, unmatched desserts, a bustling and friendly staff, and perfect atmosphere, Pastiche is a total gem.
Pastiche is so perfectly decorated. The outside, the sign, everything about it would allow it to just as easily sell drapes and knitting supplies as be a cafe. It's so friendly that you expect Meg Ryan to own it. Inside is cozy and can get pretty cramped during busy hours. The table density also makes any walkable areas rather treacherous what with wait staff flying around at Mach 4 with loaded platters.
Seating is first-come-first-serve, so if you show up on a Friday at 6pm, you may have a serious wait ahead of you. I've never waited much more than fifteen minutes for a table, which highlights the quick sojourns of most patrons. Everything is comfy and welcoming. While you're waiting, you can gaze upon their large selection of cakes, tortes, custards, pies, and other girth-enhancing items so by the time you sit down you're so freaking hungry you'd just as soon eat your waiter as order something.
Once settling in, and getting a new waiter, the coffee menu is generally whelming. It's got all the usuals --mocha, latte, etc.-- but nothing that really shows the hand of an inventive barista. The coffee is some of the strongest I've ever had, if not the strongest. As if when roasting the beans, they just set them directly on fire. The deep, powerful coffee flavor is something that will probably overwhelm Americans weaned on the weak concoctions of Starbucks (nothing against Starbucks, though). They seem to hand-make their espresso, since the varying strength of the drinks betrays the absence of an automated machine. Not really a bad thing, but sometimes the coffee is masterful, and other times it's just good. The only real Baristatic (Webster! I got a new word for you!) snafu is coffee that is sometimes not just strong, but burnt. If you have complaints, though, the friendly staff will happily replace your cup.
The pastries and cakes, which change seasonally, are the real stars. Everything is made in-house, and there are so many items to try it's pointless to try and list them. The standouts are the fruit tart, which is the best in Rhode Island, a chocolate mousse cake that leaves you always wanting more, and the airy Italian mascarpone torte. Their chocolate layer cake and chocolate torte have also, on occasion, been very dry. But don't think I'm saying it was bad, because it was still fantastic, but it was a simple mistake that shouldn't have been made.
Still, no errors can really detract from the ineffable charm of this quaint, Federal Hill haunt. Fabulous coffee combined with mostly amazing desserts gives Pastiche the honor of being one of the Rhode Island's best cafes and bakeries. I make a trip at least once a month, where you'll find me, nursing my latte and notching my belt seemingly forever outward. I may grow, but at Pastiche, I grow with a smile.
P.S.
All orders and pickups must be made before 7pm. Oh, and don't get the large fruit tart. Believe me, you won't finish it.
UPDATE 9/6/2008: After a number of visits, I think it should be mentioned that Pastiche has a pretty dodgey record when it comes to the espresso drinks. Drip coffee is fine, but as I mentioned in my review, the espresso was very dark. Well, I've had more than a few drinks that aren't just dark, they're burnt, really burnt. Burnt, bitter, sour, with poor milk on top. I've had some drinks that were basically unacceptable. I feel that what I wrote didn't drive the point home.
I can find no pattern, as in the drinks are only bad on weekends, so it's a crap shoot if you're going to get a well-made drink or a slapdash. I'm not going to amend my review since when the drinks are good, they're good, and the atmosphere and baked goods overcome sporadic weakness... for now. So be forewarned. If you demand the best in espresso, you may want to stick with tea.
Pastiche: ****
Price range for two: $10-$25
http://www.pastichefinedesserts.com
View Larger Map
Pastiche Fine Desserts
92 Spruce St
Providence, RI. 02903
401-861-5190
Hours
Tuesday through Thursday 8:30am to 11:00pm
Friday and Saturday 8:30am to 11:30pm
Sunday 10:00am to 10:00pm
Pastiche is so perfectly decorated. The outside, the sign, everything about it would allow it to just as easily sell drapes and knitting supplies as be a cafe. It's so friendly that you expect Meg Ryan to own it. Inside is cozy and can get pretty cramped during busy hours. The table density also makes any walkable areas rather treacherous what with wait staff flying around at Mach 4 with loaded platters.
Seating is first-come-first-serve, so if you show up on a Friday at 6pm, you may have a serious wait ahead of you. I've never waited much more than fifteen minutes for a table, which highlights the quick sojourns of most patrons. Everything is comfy and welcoming. While you're waiting, you can gaze upon their large selection of cakes, tortes, custards, pies, and other girth-enhancing items so by the time you sit down you're so freaking hungry you'd just as soon eat your waiter as order something.
Once settling in, and getting a new waiter, the coffee menu is generally whelming. It's got all the usuals --mocha, latte, etc.-- but nothing that really shows the hand of an inventive barista. The coffee is some of the strongest I've ever had, if not the strongest. As if when roasting the beans, they just set them directly on fire. The deep, powerful coffee flavor is something that will probably overwhelm Americans weaned on the weak concoctions of Starbucks (nothing against Starbucks, though). They seem to hand-make their espresso, since the varying strength of the drinks betrays the absence of an automated machine. Not really a bad thing, but sometimes the coffee is masterful, and other times it's just good. The only real Baristatic (Webster! I got a new word for you!) snafu is coffee that is sometimes not just strong, but burnt. If you have complaints, though, the friendly staff will happily replace your cup.
The pastries and cakes, which change seasonally, are the real stars. Everything is made in-house, and there are so many items to try it's pointless to try and list them. The standouts are the fruit tart, which is the best in Rhode Island, a chocolate mousse cake that leaves you always wanting more, and the airy Italian mascarpone torte. Their chocolate layer cake and chocolate torte have also, on occasion, been very dry. But don't think I'm saying it was bad, because it was still fantastic, but it was a simple mistake that shouldn't have been made.
Still, no errors can really detract from the ineffable charm of this quaint, Federal Hill haunt. Fabulous coffee combined with mostly amazing desserts gives Pastiche the honor of being one of the Rhode Island's best cafes and bakeries. I make a trip at least once a month, where you'll find me, nursing my latte and notching my belt seemingly forever outward. I may grow, but at Pastiche, I grow with a smile.
P.S.
All orders and pickups must be made before 7pm. Oh, and don't get the large fruit tart. Believe me, you won't finish it.
UPDATE 9/6/2008: After a number of visits, I think it should be mentioned that Pastiche has a pretty dodgey record when it comes to the espresso drinks. Drip coffee is fine, but as I mentioned in my review, the espresso was very dark. Well, I've had more than a few drinks that aren't just dark, they're burnt, really burnt. Burnt, bitter, sour, with poor milk on top. I've had some drinks that were basically unacceptable. I feel that what I wrote didn't drive the point home.
I can find no pattern, as in the drinks are only bad on weekends, so it's a crap shoot if you're going to get a well-made drink or a slapdash. I'm not going to amend my review since when the drinks are good, they're good, and the atmosphere and baked goods overcome sporadic weakness... for now. So be forewarned. If you demand the best in espresso, you may want to stick with tea.
Pastiche: ****
Price range for two: $10-$25
http://www.pastichefinedesserts.com
View Larger Map
Pastiche Fine Desserts
92 Spruce St
Providence, RI. 02903
401-861-5190
Hours
Tuesday through Thursday 8:30am to 11:00pm
Friday and Saturday 8:30am to 11:30pm
Sunday 10:00am to 10:00pm
Freedom for Myanmar
As the rise of dissent continues in Myanmar, I would like to express my hope that the military does not again repress these calls for freedom with violence. I value nothing more intently than freedom and I deeply feel for those who don't have it. I really, truly hope this leads to change in the poor little country.
Three killed as Myanmar troops battle protests (Via Reuters)
Three killed as Myanmar troops battle protests (Via Reuters)
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