December 6, 2001
L'ATTITUDE
L'attitude is the little restaurant that could


By MERIDITH FORD
Journal Restaurant Reviewer

CRANSTON -- In reviewing a restaurant, I doubt many critics would list sparring with the waiter as a plus.

But at L'attitude, in Pawtuxet Village, our waiter had a smoldering sarcasm that was like a kind of food flirting that made the evening as enjoyable as this local hangout's food. Fitting, considering the restaurant's name.

When I asked him who made the tape of groovy background music (it was the kind full of one-hit wonders that prompted a lot of fun guesswork as to who sang what), he said with a cute smirk, ``I did.''

When I asked him who made the luscious desserts, he said with another cute smirk, ``I did.''

Later, of course, he came clean and admitted (big shock) that he didn't make the tape or the desserts.

Amid all this table tap dancing, we had a very good meal. L'attitude is a restaurant that knows its strengths and relies heavily on them, without ever pushing its envelope too far into unknown territory.

The food is American bistro, with quietly creative flourishes from chef de cuisine Helio Aranju. Dean Scanlon is owner, with wife Maria, and is responsible for the menu's creation. (The Scanlons also run the kitchen at the Rhode Island Yacht Club.)

Scanlon's emphasis is on hearty portions and full-flavor favorites, such as colorful risottos, grilled pizzas, and large dinners (the menu claims enough for maybe two or three people) of pan-roasted chicken with garlic, shallots and pan gravy or paella with chicken, sausage, shrimp and clams with risotto.

There's not much to the restaurant's digs: It's mostly a bar attached to a big room that was part of a recent expansion. Pomegranate-colored paint coats the walls, except in the open kitchen, where the walls are a contrasting mustard yellow. These splashes of color are the only real forays into any kind of decor; the tables are covered in white linen (covered with white paper).

Tempting choices

Appetizers are listed as snacks, although they are hardly snack-sized. Delving into a large bowl of cannellini beans and spicy sausage, I remember why I love sage so much: the dish was laced with leaves of the fresh herb, cooling and spicy at the same time, bold, yet subtle. The beans and sausage meld with the heartiness of the sage, all melting into a broth layered with wintery flavors and perfect for dipping soft tufts of bread.

It was difficult to chose between a grilled pear salad or one of the grilled pizzas, but ultimately a craving for artichoke hearts pushed me towards a pizza covered with them. It was also covered in gobs of melted mozzarella and slices of banana peppers with beautifully diced tomatoes -- altogether a mesh of mild flavor with a biting contrast from the peppers. The crust was thick but crispy around the edges, although there were a few spots that had gotten a little too mushy from the moisture content of all the goodies on top of the pizza.

Large slices of portobello mushrooms, as well as perfectly diced (someone in the kitchen knows how to dice well) grilled chicken came drenched in a creamy pesto sauce over penne pasta. My money was on a meatloaf, though -- chock full of onions and black peppercorns, with a rich brown gravy pooled around it and a heap of buttery mashed potatoes.

The meatloaf tasted like the old-fashioned kind every cook learns in Meatloaf 101, a flavor reminiscent of Lipton's onion soup mixed with the juiciness of the meat. With the gravy and potatoes, this reliable old standby of a dish became infectiously good.

A fine tiramisu

We sent our wry waiter on a mission to find dessert; apparently the chocolate-pecan concoction I had seen paraded through the dining room all evening was about to sell out. Unfortunately for me, the last piece was gobbled up by the people at the table to our left.

``Do you want me to ask them if you can have a bite?'' he quipped.

The desserts are made in-house, and the tiramisu is the first I've tried in a long time that actually tasted like something other than a lot of fluff and sponge cake. Although it lacked true coffee flavor, the creamy filling was full of the tangy sweetness of mascarpone cheese. A creme caramel was smooth, with a Jell-O-like jiggliness and mild egg flavor.

Appetizers, pizzas and salads are $4 to $8.50; pasta dishes and other entrees are $9 to $18. The larger dinners, for two or three, are $25 to $36. Desserts are $4.95. There is a sandwich menu, with selections such as Black Forest ham with Gruyere cheese and arugula or boneless breast of chicken with bacon, provolone and Southwestern spices, for $6.50 to $8.50.

A small wine list has bottles from $14 to $20.

L'attitude is a bit like the little restaurant that could. I really wasn't expecting so much from such an unassuming neighborhood eatery. How nice it is to be pleasantly surprised.

L'attitude, 2190 Broad St., Cranston. 780-8700. Casual. Reservations accepted for parties of 5 or more. Not wheelchair accessible. Smoking in bar and lounge area only. Open daily for lunch and dinner from 12 to 10 p.m. V, MC, AM, DIS. Two small parking lots and on-street parking. Highchairs available. $$.