Newport, RI

The wife and I are headed to Newport for the weekend for a wedding and we're looking for a couple of places to eat. It looks like we'll need a dinner spot (something casual and quick) for Friday night and a lunch on Saturday. There have been scattered Newport recommendations in other threads (The Black Pearl sounds good), but I just wanted to see if there's any more recent intelligence out there.

Not a foodie rec, but if you are into tennis at all, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is a good half-day of fun.

Davooda

Davooda wrote:Not a foodie rec, but if you are into tennis at all, the International Tennis Hall of Fame is a good half-day of fun.

Davooda

Already on the schedule (drinks and dessert Friday night).

OK, well, no LTH guidance, but here's some info for future travelers.

We arrived a little bit later than I thought we would on Friday, so we only had time for a quick dinner before a drinks/dessert event at the Tennis Hall of Fame. Our hotel (the Vanderbilt Hall...spectacular, by the way, in case anyone is looking for a place to stay) was just a short walk from the waterfront so we decided to just walk around and find something. We wound up at the Barking Crab, which sort of seemed like the Joe's Crab Shack of Newport. I had some steamed Littlenecks and a pretty serviceable lobster roll. Not fancy or exciting, but it did the trick for a quick bite.

We got to the Black Pearl on Saturday for lunch, and I thought it was a little disappointing. Their much lauded clam chowder was ok (great clams, not so great broth) and my chicken salad sandwich was about as ordinary as they come. Still, it was nice sitting by the water and watching the ships and the people.

Probably my favorite stop on our trip was the White Horse Tavern, which claims to be one of the oldest taverns in North America (it opened as a tavern in 1673). We spent late Friday night there, drinking with friends, and plotting against the British. This isn't The Violet Hour, but it's a great place to enjoy a simple drink or a beer.

The Barking Crab
151 Swinburne Row
Newport, RI 02840
(401) 846-2722

Black Pearl
http://blackpearlnewport.com
10 West Pelham Street
Newport, RI 02840
(401) 846-5264

White Horse Tavern
http://www.whitehorsetavern.us
26 Marlborough Street
Newport, RI 02840-2599
(401) 849-3600

One percenters pfft, mere pikers compared to the Gilded Age.

I'm accustomed to midwest summer vacation spots, so this was my first real taste of an east coast summer haunt. No comparison, they've turned lifting money from your wallet into an art form. Expensive, but we ate very well. Stay away from the wharves and you'll find some very good eating.

The Clamzilla at Bowens 22 (on Bowen's Wharf, so there goes that iron law). Very good, but needed a dose of tobasco to wake it up:


Shrimp, haricots verts and endive at Restaurant Bouchard. Everything was excellent here, great service too:


Oyster martini, a lonely $15 crab cake, and lobster roll at The Lawn at Castle Hill. Pretty spot, the food was ok but wildly overpriced:




F*ing amazing Portuguese Littleneck steamed clams at Brick Alley Pub, highly recommend this place. They also have a shades of Lawrence of Oregano block long salad bar which was actually pretty good, soup of the day was an excellent Portuguese kale soup. Asked the waitress to confirm there had to be a Portuguese/Azorean chef in the kitchen, but no - she said half the crew was Brazilian. Close enough, they had some excellent linguica to work with, both dishes were fantastic:


Portuguese omelette at Franklin Spa. If you get tired of $24 lobster rolls, this breakfast only diner will restore some fiscal sanity:


Pretty remarkable little place, fascinating how much there is of interest crammed into such a compact spot.