Welcome to my annual mid-winter lecture to island-bound food fans. Yep, early March is mid-winter here; talk to ya in late May for a new season. But whether you’re planning to jet off for a pre-spring beach vaca or are feeling a tad skeptical of the friendly skies, a change of scenery, a breath of fresh air and a menu you can’t recite by heart are just a half hour-ish away from Aquidneck Island. Point your car toward a bridge, foodsters!! Culinary gems await you just on the other side.
If you love farm to table, a trip to sweet little Wakefield and its charming Purslane is mandatory. In East Greenwich, there are no words to describe the luscious decadence of the egg yolk filled ravioli with shaved truffles at old school Italian La Masseria. Baba Sushi in Bristol dazzles with its super fresh and glistening sushi platters.
For Newporters who want the shortest distance possible between home and a table for two, it’s hard to beat Plum Point Bistro. Two quick bridges and you’re there, barely on the mainland but in a whole new world.
Jamestown residents Ralph and Elisa Conte opened the restaurant in 2012 with a menu anchored by Italian staples and other creative, internationally inspired dishes, all done right. Prices are reasonable, portions are generous, the staff are warm and welcoming, cocktails flow, and the dining room is always buzzing with regulars. About that: you’ll need a reservation. Plum Point is in a category of its own in that location, with locals arriving at approximately 4:01 p.m. daily to claim precious bar seats and coming in waves throughout the evening. A summer patio adds a satellite bar and outdoor tables.
If I’m wearing my winter hat, I’m going for comfort food and Plum Point does not disappoint. I recently sampled the burrata with prosciutto, served with grilled toasts, the cheese appropriately, delightfully oozing with creaminess and the cured meat perfectly tender, lightly smoky, and draped over a large mound of fresh, undressed, unseasoned arugula. The greens would benefit from a drizzle of good olive oil and a squirt of lemon juice to be relevant to the two stars of the dish.
A soul- and palate-warming bowl of subtly spicy, plump coconut curry mussels simmered in a broth with tomato, lemongrass, cilantro and lime is in a category by itself. Order extra bread for sopping up every drop of that elixir, or opt for a side of fries. Also divine is a heartbreakingly tender, grilled octopus dish served with celery leaves, creamy white bean mash, a squirt of bright citrus and a salty olive tapenade.
Feeling a salad? The Butterhead wedge with cherry tomatoes, crispy onions, chunky, sharp blue cheese and hickory smoked bacon is textbook, and if you came for the Italian dishes, you won’t be disappointed with the rollatini style spinach and ricotta stuffed eggplant appetizer topped with mozzarella and tomato.
Thin, perfectly crispy, breaded chicken cutlets are so good, I often order them Milanese- style, un-sauced and topped with a fresh salad, but if it’s a red sauce kinda night, Plum Point’s chicken parm is top notch. The spaghetti with white clams was studded with bivalves quite a bit larger than the promised little necks, the results somewhat chewy.
But the Plum Point pasta dish that ranks as one of my top five in Rhode Island is the Strozzapreti with slow braised pork Genovese style. The house made pasta twists are a chewy masterpiece and the most excellent foil for this explosively savory ragu with its tender shreds of delicate but rich pork, bits of carrot, rosemary, and a vague scent of orange. It’s good enough to cross a bridge for.
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