November 1, 2001
JAMESTOWN OYSTER BAR & GRILL
Seafood shines at Oyster Bar & Grill


By MERIDITH FORD
Journal Restaurant Reviewer

JAMESTOWN

I seem always to wait until off-season to visit restaurants that are seasonal. It's not just to avoid the crowds, honest. Part of it has to do with the flavor of a place when the summer swarm has left it.

The Jamestown Oyster Bar & Grill is the kind of place left standing after the dust of summer's turmoil settles. It's a place rife with loyal locals. By November, if they don't know you when you walk in, they wonder -- albeit only for a moment -- why you are there.

I was there, of course, to eat. Oyster Bar & Grill is the kind of place that almost tempts me to refer to food as fixin's -- fried oysters, fish and chips, steamers, mussels. Almost -- save for a bevy of creative daily specials that push the food envelope from fixin's to fine food.

Either is fine by me.

The decor looks as if it came from a Central Casting call for a local fish joint: a long bar to the right, tables to the left, so close together it made me wonder how the waitresses served the food. Pleasant, but with enough roughness around the edges to give the place a swarthy, seafaring feel. And yet so comfortable, like a favorite pair of old jeans.

(If you find yourself on Aquidneck Island, the restaurant has another location, too, in Portsmouth, at 980 East Main Rd.)

Fried-food weather

It felt too cold outside to eat from the raw bar -- only fried food would do. Tiny freshwater smelts -- lightly battered, perfectly trimmed -- came with a rich tartar sauce, cocktail sauce and rings of very hot peppers. I tried the tiny, rich fish with each separately, until deciding that they were best when dipped and eaten with all three.

Mussels in white wine and garlic -- served in a big plastic bowl with another for the shells -- were still steaming when they arrived at the table. There's little to do to improve on the essence of what makes a mussel such a great thing to eat: Sometimes it's best to just get out of the way and let their plump, juicy flavor shine for itself. With the help of a little white wine, lots of garlic and a hint of butter, that's exactly what the Oyster Bar & Grill does.

An entree special of stuffed flounder, written on a large chalkboard on the wall in the dining room, proved that the Oyster Bar can do more than fry smelts. Light, fluffy rolls of flounder were wrapped around a rich, creamy stuffing of spinach and crabmeat and covered with Newburg sauce (made with butter, cream, egg yolks and sherry). Served with beautifully julienned summer squash, zucchini, carrots and red onions, as well as a heap of buttery smashed potatoes, the only thing missing was more sauce -- I wanted enough to smear the hot-from-the-oven bread all around the plate.

I was devastated when our waitress told us the kitchen was out of fried oysters. Before I read the menu, I didn't realize how much I wanted them. Now it seemed so disappointing not to be able to get them. I tried the fried cod -- billowing tufts of soft, white, steaming fish -- instead. With cole slaw and enough French fries to feed Moby Dick, I forgot about the fried oysters.

Dessert? No thanks

Our waitress was missing in action for most of the night; she seemed distracted whenever taking an order. When we asked about desserts, she told us they came from ``someplace in Pennsylvania.''

After tasting them, Pennsylvania should keep them. On second thought, how bad can fudgy chocolate cake be?

As for the Granny Smith caramel apple pie, I don't think any grannies were involved in making it -- apples or otherwise. It had a nice tartness of flavor, but ultimately tasted mushy -- crust, apples and all. Next time, I'll have fried oysters for dessert.

Appetizers, including chowders and salads, are $3.50 to $7.50; grilled pizzas and pasta selections are $7.95 to $11.95. Entrees are $7.95 to $17.50. There is a sandwich menu with burgers and grilled tuna melts for $5.95 to $7.95. Desserts are $4.

Sipping coffee, we were content to let the two couples at the bar -- dressed in Halloween garb -- take our place as the latest outsiders. Jamestown Oyster Bar & Grill, in addition to serving some good old food, is a lot like New England itself: Once you get to know the locals, you fit right in.

Jamestown Oyster Bar & Grill, 22 Narragansett Ave., Jamestown, 423-3380. Very casual. No reservations. Smoking at bar only. Open Mon-Thu 5-9:30 p.m., Fri-Sun 11:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. V, MC, AM. Municipal parking next door. Highchairs available. $$.