August 1, 2002
STICKYFINGERS

BY MERIDITH FORD
JOURNAL RESTAURANT CRITIC

• See the menu.

PROVIDENCE -- Some people are just instantly likable. The same can be said of restaurants. And as it is with people, it's often hard to put your finger on exactly why that is.

At Stickyfingers, maybe it's the friendly atmosphere. Maybe it's the St. Louis-style ribs. Maybe it's the margaritas. (Okay, it's definitely the margaritas.)

The explanation gets even more difficult when you realize that this is a restaurant with a menu identity crisis. It is a barbecue joint at heart, but several years back, Mexican specialties were added. Therapy won't be needed -- selections from either menu are very good. As a matter of fact, the Western side mixes well with the Mexican, although the vast selection of both makes it hard to whittle down a choice.

The space is cavernous -- almost like a dance hall -- and the bar, with its engraved, cherry-toned wood, looks like it belongs in a saloon straight out of the Old West. High-backed wooden booths line the side of the dining area next to the bar.

Two walls are intricately painted murals -- one depicting a chuck wagon scene, the other a Mexican fiesta. Both give a festive, colorful feel to the big space, as do bright red dried chiles hanging from the structural columns and sombreros and pinata-like cowboy boots.

Wood-grilled barbecue

The barbecue is wood-grilled, a fact discerned in the parking lot -- the smell of wood-grilled meats wafts through the air, a beacon for your nose to follow. Mine followed the menu to a chopped pork sandwich. It sings in your mouth -- tender meat melding wood-smoked flavor and tangy sauce over a big, fat grilled bun.

St. Louis-style spare ribs are a taste test in polarized forces -- tender and juicy on the inside, crisp, crunchy and almost bacon-like in texture and flavor on the outside.

Good sauce makes for good barbecue, and Stickfingers' is zesty, leaving a bit of twang on your tongue. As part of a platter, the ribs come with tender and juicy chicken and house-made cole slaw as well as huge slices of deep-fried potatoes the restaurant calls, amusingly enough, buffalo chips.

Before getting to the ribs and chicken, an indulgence in potato skins -- smothered in stringy cheese, onions and bacon -- as well as an order of iguana eggs (delicately-fried jalepeno peppers stuffed with cream cheese) seemed fitting. As did a side order of corn bread, moist and sweet, butter-drenched and laced with cinnamon. (It was so sweet and good that I would have preferred it topped with ice cream for dessert.)

Mexican choices are as varied as they are plentiful.

Chile con queso is the Mexican-American version of grilled cheese -- only the gooey melted cheese is dotted with piquant chiles and used as dip for soft flour tortillas.

Camorones rellenos were too tempting to pass up -- chipotle-seasoned, wood-grilled shrimp are stuffed with the mild tartness of goat cheese and cilantro and served with the rustic, woodsy flavor of a salsa verde (a classic Mexican green sauce). By the time you're two or three bites in, mildly spiced rice and grilled vegetables -- zucchini and carrots -- wrangle their way into the scene, and the whole thing is like a well-balanced rodeo.

A whipped frenzy

Desserts fall into that genre that comes with squirts of whipped cream, and lots of it. So much of it that the menu carries a warning: "All desserts are served with whipped cream."

That's good, because whipped cream goes great with peach cobbler, especially when it's gooey and sweet and just warmed up. Ditto the whipped cream thing on top of Key lime pie -- velvety smooth and sweetly tart.

There's also fried vanilla ice cream, dredged in a crunchy, coconut-flavored crust and drizzled with that Magic Shell kind of chocolate sauce that seizes when it gets cold (you know -- it's like the kind at Dairy Queen). The whole thing is covered in -- you guessed it -- gobs of whipped cream.

Stickyfingers, 137 Douglas Ave., Providence. 272-7427. Very casual. Smoking section. Wheelchair accessible. Open Sun-Thu for lunch and dinner 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., Fri 11:30 a.m. to 11 p.m., Sat 4 to 11 p.m. V, MC, AM. DA, EC, RID. Ample parking. Highchairs and booster seats available, with a children's menu. Saloon fixin's (that's appetizers to all you non-cowfolk) are $1.95 to $4.95. Burgers and barbecue sandwiches are $4.95. Steak and barbecue dinners are $8.95 to $16.95 and come with potatoes, cole slaw and Texas toast. Desserts are $1.95 to $2.95. Appetizers on the Mexican menu are $3.95 to $6.95; entrées are $6 to $14. There's a whoppin' good margarita menu and an extensive selection of Mexican beers.