Restaurant Review: Dining in Newport, R.I.

The Newport, Rhode Island Food Scene (at least in August, 2005)

The Black Pearl (1-99 Bannisters Wharf)

Pop! (160 Broadway)

Flo's Clam Shack (4 Wave Ave., Middletown, RI)

Rhumbline (62-64 Bridge Street)

Bannister's Wharf's The Black Pearl, located directly on the waterfront amidst sailing excursion shops and moored boats, has a wonderful location, and is even more atmospheric inside. The low-ceilinged dining room is covered with nautical prints and acoutrements of the sea, and generally bustling with a mixed crowd of well-heeled locals and sporty vacationers. The menu is fairly basic, and the main attraction here is the clam chowder ($3.50 per cup), so reknown the restaurant ships quarts around the world via their website. Salty and overly watery, the chowder failed to live up to its reputation on my lunch visit. Not terrible, but honestly, rather ordinary. A Syrian burger to follow, encased in a warm pita with a mint and tomato salad on top, was again, ordinary and without distinction. It seems the best reason to visit the Black Pearl is to soak some local coastal flavor, and may be better suited to a quick bar visit in the afternoon or before dinner.

You can get your drink and dinner on however at Pop, situated on a restaurant row section of Broadway a few blocks from the water. Monday night is the time to go, with all food being 50% off the menu prices. Susan (seen above) and I sampled two salads (essentially the same but with slightly different garnishes) to start. Both had slices of cold grilled chicken resting on either baby greens or spinach leaves, and an assortment of nuts, seeds and vegetables. The salads were over-seasoned in my opinion, and swamped in dressings too tart. A main course of steamed clams in garlic butter was more successful, and a meatball calzone ina pool of tomato sauce was satisfying in the manner of all things indulgently fatty. The cocktails are the star attraction here though, and upon being seated, we were presented with a 6-page drinks menu. Go for the house special, the POPsicle ($7), a plesantly refreshing concoction of berry-infused vodka and raspberry liqueur.

Every seaside town has the waterfront fried food shack, and Easton's Beach (just down the road a mile in Middletown) boasts a legend since 1936, Flo's Clam Shack. If your arteries and stomach can handle it, dive into a greasy platter of fried clams or oysters ($7.95 & $8.95 ). Place your order at the outside window and be prepared within 5 minutes to pick up a heaping plate of perfectly fried seafood and sides. The clam strips were among the tenderest I've ever tasted, the fries crunchy and the coleslaw tangy. Spice it up with a few drops of the homemade hot sauce and you've got a tasty lunch that demands to be eaten on the windswept second-story deck. When in Newport it seems a shame to pass on the opportunity to have a regional speciality, but Flo's stuffed quohouge was the only disappointment. The gargantuan bivalve was overstuffed with a poorly seasoned breadcrumb mixture that tasted of little else than soggy carbs.

Rhumbline is the restaurant currently getting the most attention from the foodies in the area, and its location on a residential quiet street in the historical Point neighborhood earns it points from the beginning. We began the meal with expertly mixed Manhattans and Sidecars and warm sourdough bread. A first course salad of romaine, shaved fennel and pecorino ($8) was lacklustre however; the flavors were too subtle and the presentation was non-existent. Entrees were far better: Susan enjoyed a melting tender osso bucco ($24) served with creamy soft polenta, while I had a nightly special of scallops ($25). Each scallop was seared to bring out the sweet flavor of the tender flesh, and the centerpiece sweet potato cake melded beautifully with the shellfish. A five-minute stroll after the lovely meal will take you to Farewell Street and the oldest tavern in America - The White Horse. Pricey to be sure, but don't forgo a digestif in the candlelit saloon, certainly the oldest and one of the loveliest spots for a nightcap you can imagine.