Thames Waterside Bar and Grill - Bristol Rhode Island

Thames Waterside Bar & Grill is located at 251 Thames St, Bristol RI 02809. It's basically on the end of a pier with a short inlet to one side and a fantastic view of Bristol Harbor. We visited the area and went to Thames on the recommendation of one of our vendors - this was both for a taste of the local grub and a fantastic waterfront view - the afternoon was extremely bright with blue skies and a low volume of tourists.

The place to sit at this restaurant is the deck - as you can see in the many photos. The menu was simple and more of what I think a tavern or bar would produce, but the highly coveted lobster roll could be found there which was of particular interest to me, having only experienced them in places where the lobster or preparation isn't particularly fresh. The service was very good - we actually got a bit of work done while enjoying the beautiful views and sunny day.

Sidd ordered a vegetarian Caprise Panini that he thought very tasty. I went for the lobster roll with slaw and a side-salad.

The lobster roll was fantastic with lobster falling in chunks as I tried to stuff an end into my mouth. The salad was a bit weak - more of an afterthought and certainly worthy of improvement - I've never understood the use of iceberg lettuce (other than in the fabulous bleu cheese wedge!).

No beer for me as we had an additional vendor to visit. See, proof that we were working. Enjoy the many photos...

-- John

(also posted on Yelp)

Siena - Federal Hill on Atwells Ave - Providence Rhode Island

Siena is a restaurant located at 238 Atwells Ave, Providence, RI 02903 in Federal Hill. You can find it in the center of a row of shops and restaurants, with parking along the street or in some back-lots or via valet.

After suffering from a less-than-optimal experience at a local Guatemalan restaurant for lunch, I was excited to receive this above-par recommendation from one of our vendors for this fine dining establishment. Friday early evening and Siena was packed, luckily our vendor was a frequent visitor - our wait was about 45 minutes. The interior is nicely furnished and a bit classy for my regular t-shirt-and-shorts, but in this instance I was lucky to be dressed slightly above that level in business casual due to the earlier meeting.
The restaurant is low lit so please excuse my rather dark and grainy photos - a short stint at the bar while waiting allowed me to sip on a rather good Harpoon IPA - this ended up being my go-to beer while visiting Rhode Island.

The service was particularly good with frequent stops due to the length of time to get the food to the table - it wasn't excessive once you adjust for the crowd and wait. Seating was a bit tight - once again due to the crowd, with standing-room-only at the bar (where we waited until seated).

Caprese Salad - this was atypical with arugula, tomato, fresh mozzarella cheese and crumbled cheese, drizzled with balsamic vinegar.

Arugula Salad - something a bit simpler than the caprese and very good. Served with a large dollop of fresh cheese.

Scaloppine di Vitello Porcini - this very nice, classic veal scaloppine came finished with porcini mushrooms.

Filet Mignon Dinner Special -  This very nice filet was covered in a compote of veggies and served with haricots vert and a wedge of polenta - this is what I had and it was divine.

Frutti di Mare - Shrimp, clams, scallops and fish sauteed in red clam sauce on linguine. I was especially jealous of this dish (started to order it but someone at the table already had and against my gluttonous desires, demurred). 

Involtini di Melanzane -  Pan-fried eggplant rolled with Prosciutto di Parma & herbed ricotta cheese, baked with marinara sauce. For our vegetarian, Sid.

In all a delightful experience that I hope to one day repeat. It also ended up being some of the best food I had while visiting Providence.

Good eating!

-- John

Mi Ranchito - Providence RI

Mi Ranchito is a small Mexican-themed restaurant located near Federal Hill at1516 Westminster St, Providence RI 02909. We had just arrived in Providence and were basically starving from being on a plane for several hours. A quick check on Yelp revealed Mi Ranchito with 4 stars and 71 reviews.


First a little background - I work for a technology company that provides a marketplace for vendors (think "sellers") and requesting systems (think "buyers") to get together and provide services in exchange for payment. Prior to rolling out new features in states we Product Managers like to visit vendors and get some before-and-after feedback. Basically, what's liked about the product and then what's liked or disliked after pushing something new into a production environment. For this occasion we flew into Rhode Island and queued up a handful of vendors - we were meeting one later in the evening so visiting Mi Ranchito in the early afternoon for lunch.

In all the years I've used Yelp it's never failed me - until this restaurant. I hope I'm not being too harsh, and please take my opinion with a grain of salt, especially if you like to eat here. Maybe I'm jaded with all the opportunities for authentic Guatemalan, Honduran, Mexican and TexMex to be found in Atlanta, but this food to me was really marginal. Not that it smelled or tasted foul or anything like that, but the flavors were downright bland and there were enough other peculiarities about the meal that it pushed me into only giving it 2 stars.

The atmosphere was a bit dark but after some of the dives I frequent that didn't bother me too much. The staff took our order quickly and overall we got good service. The first thing that seemed a bit off were the chips. These were cut much thicker than is typical - also instead of a pico or salsa cruda, the sauces were more like what you would get out of a bottle of Tapatico or similar. Much like the baked potato can set the expectation for the steak, the chips are very important, in my opinion, in setting the expectation for the rest of the meal in a Hispanic restaurant. I give these a "D."

I ordered the Pollo Asado lunch special - this came with rice and a small dinner salad. Once again I had a "wow" moment where I felt like I was in the food court of a bad mall. The rice was made up of what tasted like frozen vegetables and a short grain white rice. The salad was made up of iceberg lettuce, with a rather bland "ranch" dressing. Ugh.

The worst, however is what my friend and frequent dining companion Sid ordered - as a vegetarian there is often very little on menus that he feels comfortable ordering - in this case he got some type of appetizer that consisted of three fried tortillas smeared with black-beans, salsa and guac - with a small salad. I don't know what to think about that plate and I'm surprised he ate it.

In any case, my first impression of the food scene in Providence left much to be desired. Luckily dinner at Siena more than made up for this lunch.

-- John

(shorter version posted to Yelp)

 

Las Tortas Locas - Roswell Rd Sandy Springs GA

This location of Las Tortas can be found at 5841 Roswell Rd NE, Atlanta GA 30328 in Sandy Springs. It's in a shopping center on the right traveling North outside the perimeter. The sign outside reads "Las Tortas Locas" - I've seen several of these around town, at least half a dozen in my travels but this is the first I've ventured into. This is more of a lunch place and by the look of all the Hispanic speakers, very popular with that crowd. I'd rate this as slightly above fast food - more like what you would receive at Willy's or other lunch-counter order places with better quality ingredients and minimal service.

Las Tortas translated means something like "cake" or "pie" and it's apparently slang for a sandwich - perhaps something a bit foreign to many Latino cultures. These sandwiches remind me a bit of the famous Cuban pork/ham sandwich of which I'm a huge fan. We hit this location (a group of 6 or so) during lunch - there was already a line forming up at the counter where you order - the menu is on a board above the counter. Roughly divided into: Tortas Sencillas, Flautas, Tortas Especiales, Tortas Combinadas, Tortas Locas, Tacos, Burritos and Pambazos. We tried a variety of items to get a feel for the place, most things on the menu are super cheap.

We started off with a fairly decent horchata - if you haven't tried one of these rice-based drinks with vanilla, cinnamon and milk, they're basically the equivalent of a milkshake, with less cold. My favorite are the coconut version from Puerto Rico, especially good with a bit of rum (but that's neither here nor there).

Lunch Special Taquitos - three chicken taquitos served with black beans and rice

Loca Salad with Chicken - I had this - it was good but next time I'll try a whole sandwich - campesina or al pastor, por favor...

Veggie Casadilla - always one vegetarian in the crowd - luckily they were able to accommodate....

Chicken Burrito - a bit dry but offset with plenty of tomatilla verde...

 
Campesina Tortas  - I feel like this sandwich was the star of the show - awesome flavors and very filling.


Love the condiment bar - several different salsas, pickles and veggies. Their tomatillo verde is particularly good. I also dig the grilled jalapenos quite a bit.

In any case, I think I'll hit up Las Tortas Locas again sometime this week!

-- John

(also published on Yelp)

Sarku Japan - Perimeter Mall Food Court - Dunwoody GA

Sarku Japan is located at 4400 Ashford Dunwoody Rd, Atlanta GA 30345 in the food court of Perimeter Mall. To be expected, this is mall food, but perhaps above average and atypical. There are several locations in the various malls around town and for what is really fast food, Sarku does a great job.

I hate to admit it, but I used to eat at Sarku fairly frequently - sometimes weekly, as the previous location of my office was across the street from the mall and it's just too easy and convenient to walk there for a quick lunch, the mall also provides enough variety that just about any picky eater in the group can find something. Sarku is the Japanese teppanyaki-style, fast-food restaurant in the Perimeter Mall food court. The staff at Sarku are very friendly - they will try to upsell you the double-meat option or an egg-roll but for me the basics are the best options. 

I always go with the chicken teriyaki but opt for all veggies (mostly cabbage with the usual effect) instead of rice, asking for a cup of water instead of soda. It's a nice, quick and inexpensive low glycemic meal. If I'm really hungry I get the double meat option for an extra $1.49, otherwise the $6.95 chicken is fairly filling and super cheap. Don't be lulled into the "extra sauce" at the end - it doesn't add much to the flavor and has a lot of wasted calories. Use the hot sauce (bottles at the end) instead if you want to "flavor up"... also, if you want chopsticks they're hidden behind the "extra meat" sign next to the cash register. While there grab a Sarku card - 5 punches and your next lunch ($6.95 value) is free.

Seating at the mall can be tricky - during prime lunch hours it's often easier to walk to the other end of the mall in front of Nordstrom's - there are tables there that can seat up to 4 people. Otherwise it might be easier to pack-and-go. For dessert, hit the Chic-fil-a on the other side for a handspun milkshake (if the line isn't too extensive) - speaking of lines, I see complaints about the line at Sarku - it is long but in general moves quickly. The other option is a dipped cone at the DQ next to Chic-fil-a.

(also posted to Yelp)

-- John

Cafe Sababa Mediterranean Grill - Dunwoody GA

(A shorter review was also posted to Yelp)
Cafe Sababa Mediterranean Grill is located on 4639-D N Shallowford Rd, Dunwoody, GA 30338- it's about in the middle of a shopping center on the Eastern side of N Shallowford Rd (to the right if you're traveling North) that also contains Bay Leaf and Indian Bazaar grocery. This is a neighborhood eatery that features near-Kosher Mediterranean foods with fresh flavors, good portions and reasonable prices. I call it near-Kosher as the owner, Doni Tamli previously owned Cafe Ofi at the MJCCA in Dunwoody. From what I've seen the food and ingredients would be Kosher but not labeled as such publicly, indicating the use of some but not all Kosher ingredients, but be assured that the quality is quite superb. The menu is also plainly marked vegan (V) and/or gluten free (GF) for those of you who care (obviously not me!).

I've been a bit hesitant writing about Sababa - I've been coming here for many years and it's become one of my favorites for lunch - call me selfish but I did not want to spoil my great experiences there by bringing too much attention to the place, however over the years word has gotten out. The restaurant is family owned and run with a small staff and limited seating (they do quite a bit of take out). The simple dining room has padded benches along the walls and a few tables to either side of the path from the door to the counter. You can sit and and eat inside or at the tables outside under the awning that stretches across the shopping center. Parking is a bit limited, especially during lunch so I try to go early, around 11:30 AM or so to ensure a spot both in the lot and in the restaurant.

The menu is fairly simple, broken into a handful of categories. I usually go for the plates over the wraps but everything I've had has been very good. For lunch each of the plates have more than enough food for one to get very full. For dinner, do try some of the starters - I'm a big fan of the lentil soup and the Appetizer Combo These are my favorites:

Appetizer Combo - with falafel, hummus, babaganoush, tabouleh, chopped salad and pita, there's plenty to go around. You'll find the tabouleh very fresh and the falafel very well prepared, with a fresh-parsley flavor that is quite good.

Appetizer Combo

Falafel platter - this well-organized platter is similar to the Appetizer Combo above - actually if you're hungry I'd recommend the combo over the platter since you git a bit more for a dollar more. My vegan friends like this quite a bit and I'm very fond of it myself.

Shawarma Platter -  seasoned chicken "strips" with babaganoush, shopped salad, hummus and tehina - this is one of my "go to" dishes.

Schnitzel Platter - breaded chicken breast cutlet, pan fried served with rice and grilled veggies. I've only had this once and honestly, there are better things on the menu. I'm sure fans of fried food will like it, but it seemed a bit dry and uninspired to me.

Gyro Platter

Gyro Platter - I have this quite often and if asked they will admit that the gyro meat comes pre-packaged. No rotisserie of succulent meat spinning in the background at this restaurant, so you're not getting that full-Greek effect. However the quality of the meat is quite good and the supporting ingredients - cucumber-tomato salad, and the side romaine salad are both also very good. The Platter comes with quartered pita but you can ask for whole if you want to assemble a wrap. The tzatziki sauce is thicker than what I'm used to but I still like it quite a bit - I believe they make then pre-package to refrigerate to keep it fresh. It's certainly not the heavy-mayo sauce found at other gyro restaurants.

Gyro Wrap with Salad

Gyro Wrap - similar to the above except with one side and served in the wrap.

Lamb Burger - this is my recommendation if you're "iffy" about Mediterranean food in general - I can't remember anyone to whom I've recommended this succulent sandwich to who hasn't raved about it. Served on ciabatta bread with choice of side. I especially like this for take-out.

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Lentil Soup

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Salad

Roasted Leg of Lamb with Tabouleh

Roasted Leg of Lamb sandwich - as good as the lamb burger is, if they have the roasted leg of lamb as a special, go for this instead. It's unusually flavorful and quite inspired.

Service is quite good and usually handled by Doni's son (it's been fun watching him grow up a bit over the years). For drinks there are a few house-wines (and if you check in you'll usually receive a "free glass of wine" offer. Beers include Mythos Greek Lagar, Peroni, Blue Moon and Sweetwater Blue (not that I'm drinking during lunch). Cafe Sababa also does a fantastic job catering - we've had them supply food for several events at work and the food is always fresh, well proportioned and delivered on time.


-- John