Tuesday April 10, 2007

Four Tales of Stuffing Face

Our sweet little hometown is notorious for its way-too-many amazing restaurants per-capita. If you’re a pundy (tourist) the choice is easy: Al Forno and The Hill. But where do we super-trendy and attractive locals go?

Haruki East
by Rae Mancini, Account Service

Haruki East is the mecca for serious RI sushi lovers. Located on the corner of Wayland Avenue and Waterman Street on Providence’s East Side, their chefs are the maki makers to local stars (and us). In fact, you can’t throw a California roll here without hitting Duffy devotees placing their standard lunch orders: 2 Spicy Scallop; 1 Wayland; 1 Tekka Avo, 1 Philadelphia, and 1 Piano. Other favorites to try are the most delicate shumai around (steamed shrimp dumplings); hearty vegetable tempura; and their delectable yakisoba (stir-fried thin egg noodles, whoa).

Haruki started in a former Pizza Hut on Park Ave. in Cranston, with sweet RI waitresses who called you dahlin’, who’d hang with you during slow time. Today, they’ve got two locations – Haruki East, and “West”, at 1210 Oaklawn Ave., Cranston. Both are great, but we love the chic ambience of the Wayland loc – soothing water tones and minimalist surroundings, with a modern sleek sushi bar.

Psst… Finish off your meal with their fried ice cream. It’s naughty and delicious.

Haruki East
172 Wayland Ave.
Providence
Phone: 401.223.0332

East Avenue Café
By Jeremy Duffy, New Business

East Ave. is back and better than ever! A hidden jewel located on East Avenue in Pawtucket (just follow Hope Street!) offers the best Irish pub/sports bar around. For beer lovers, it has a menu of 69 types of bottled beers and 18 drafts (including our favorite, the Famous Narragansett Beer). For food, you have to try the house specialty, steak tips. And the best deal in town (and a Duffy softball team favorite) is on Monday nights, featuring twenty-cent wings from 7:30 till midnight.

With seven plasma TVs, it is the place to go on the East Side.

Doherty’s East Avenue Café
342 East Ave.
Pawtucket
Phone: 401.725.9520

Red Stripe
by Lauren Engel, Account Service

Located in the heart of Wayland Square you will find, in my opinion, one of Providence’s best neighborhood restaurants… Red Stripe. Created by Providence’s Jaime D’Oliveira, Red Stripe is a premier destination for anyone visiting the capital city.

From the Parisian feel to the brown bag 40s, Red Stripe is truly a unique restaurant that offers great food from an eclectic, but not fussy menu at reasonable prices. With so much to offer Red Stripe definitely gets crowded and loud. If you are planning to visit Friday or Saturday night, make sure you have reservations.

If crowded-and-loud isn’t your thing, stop by Red Stripe after 8 PM on Sunday night, sit at the bar and order the famed moules frites, give it about a ½ hour and you will start to escape into your own Parisian dream.

Bon appétit.

Red Stripe
465 Angell St.
Providence
401.437.6950

Apsara Palace
by Amy Bagner, PR Account Executive

I have to admit that I’m not the most adventurous eater – when I find a dish I like, I tend to order it again and again. Such is the case with the pad thai (Thai style) with chicken at Apsara Palace. The noodles are light, the chicken is tender, and it’s easy on the bean sprouts, which I appreciate. I mix it with a generous squeeze of lime and chopped nuts and swirl in some hot chile sauce for some extra kick. When I’m not eating the pad thai, I’m likely ordering the chicken with broccoli (with garlic sauce, not oyster sauce). A note of caution: this restaurant is packed, regardless of day or time. The fact that it’s BYO can’t hurt.

Apsara Palace
783 Hope St.
Providence
401.831.4722