An old favorite for a fine meal with panache

By MICHAEL JANUSONIS
Journal Arts Writer

* See the menu

BRISTOL -- We'd enjoyed so many meals over the years at S.S. Dion on Bristol's waterfront that you might call it the Old Reliable.

That's just what it turned out to be on a recent wintry night when we were actually headed to another restaurant on Thames Street. We couldn't find the other place, even though we had the address.

Fortunately, in the midst of our wild goose chase we'd passed S.S. Dion, whose lights were bright and whose parking lot was almost full, even on a cold Monday night. We took this to be a good sign.

So we quickly decided that S.S. Dion it would be. It turned out to be a happy circumstance.

Inside, the blaze of a gas fireplace in the barroom served as a cheery welcoming beacon, though we wound up sitting in the main dining room, right in the front bay window with a water view.

S.S. Dion has been around since 1983, also a good sign in an era when restaurants come and go. It remains a popular haunt for East Bay people. Steve Dion, who founded the place with his wife, Sue (hence the "S.S. Dion" name), says his menu is "a mixture of Old Yankee and Italian, which I call 'Rhode Island cuisine.' "

Several large tables were filled on the night we visited: one party celebrating a birthday, two others with several women in celebratory mode, another with a group of seniors talking about far-flung adventures, and a really big party with several young children. It's a family kind of place to visit, and Steve Dion says it's also a family kind of place to work: Two of his waitresses are approaching 20 years of service.

Most of the times we've been here were Mother's Days, one of the few Sundays of the year S.S. Dion is open (the other this year will be July 3, the day before Bristol's Fourth of July parade).

If the menu is not terribly inspired -- running to clams casino and stuffed mushrooms on the appetizer menu; surf 'n' turf and lots of lobsters among the entrees -- the quality is high and the presentation is handled with panache.

It's an attractive room, actually two rooms, separated marginally by a big aquarium. There are wooden tables, heavy captain's chairs, dark pine plank walls, beamed ceilings, a hefty bookcase and a grand piano which, eerily enough, plays all by itself. They all work together to create a restful, clubby mood.

To go along with that, S.S. Dion has an extensive, reasonably priced wine list. We ordered glasses of Kendall-Jackson VR Chardonnay (the most expensive at $7) and a much fruitier Rodney Strong Chardonnay ($6.50) because we'd planned on fish dishes.

Yes, there are several veal dishes -- Francaise, Marsala, parmigiana -- and even more chicken items -- gorgonzola, Mancini, saltimbocca, verdura, teriyaki -- plus steaks -- supreme Angus sirloin, filet mignon. But when you're in a place on the doorstep of Narragansett Bay whose name sounds as though it belongs to a ship, fish and shellfish seem to be the order.

A clams casino jackpot

After a round of crackers with a cream-cheese-and-chives spread, we began our meal with the Hot Combo platter ($7.50) -- two clams casino, two mushroom caps, a skewer of grilled garlic shrimp kebabs.

The enormous mushrooms overflowed with a flavorful breaded seafood stuffing (including bits of lobster meat), yet the mushrooms themselves were surprisingly bland and in need of a little tarting up; just a touch of salt and pepper would have helped.

The shrimp skewer had six medium shrimp perfectly grilled and smothered with bits of garlic. Despite that, they, too, were rather bland, even when dipped in the accompanying salsa mustard dipping sauce.

The star of the platter, on which everything was attractively arranged atop a bed of greens, were the clams casino, a standby of seafood restaurants. Moist and tangy, with a slice of bacon on top, we wished we'd taken a full order.

Just as successful was a big copper pot filled with littlenecks steamed in lemon, garlic butter, herbs and white wine ($9.95). Although there was plenty of garlic in the pot, it didn't overpower the clams. Their plump sweetness married well with the rich buttery flavor of the sauce.

We finally got the dish's extra-garlicky flavor by dunking chunks of warm Italian bread into the sauce, sopping up nearly all of it right down to the minced garlic at the bottom. It was all I could do to practice moderation and not dunk all the bread into this heady concoction. Otherwise, there'd have been no room for the entree.

But before the entree there were salads: large plates of mixed field greens, plus julienned carrots, black olives and grape tomatoes. My dining companion had a surprisingly light, yet creamy, peppercorn dressing that was, happily, not overly heavy on the pepper. My fat-free Italian was on the salty side, but went well with the greens and the sweetness of the little tomatoes.

The meaty issue of lobster

S.S. Dion serves plenty of lobster dishes -- boiled, broiled, baked stuffed or grilled. In a followup phone call, Dion said that for the grilled version a lobster is split down the middle and cleaned. Then it's laid on its back in the shell on the grill until the meat starts to change color. It's brushed with garlic butter and then, "when the smokiness from the grill gets into the tail," it's put into the oven to finish the process.

Considering all the lobsters served, we were startled to hear that on this night the baked stuffed -- "with additional lobster meat, shrimp and scallops," according to the menu -- had no additional lobster meat. Extra shrimp and scallops were substituted ($31.95) in the 1 1/4-pound creature. (Lobsters of the same size boiled, broiled or grilled were $21.95.)

Instead, my lobster-loving companion ordered the Seafood Fra Diavolo ($21.95), which was billed as "shrimp, scallops, littlenecks and lobster meat simmered in a spicy marinara sauce on capellini." Alas, no lobster meat here, either.

Dion later explained that although he serves live lobsters, the "extra" lobster meat comes frozen in packages and the quality this time of year is not good.

"It's a seasonal thing. It happens every February-March. We could buy frozen stuff from Canada, but it's dry and chewy. I wouldn't eat it, so why should I expect my customers to eat it?"

Little matter. The Fra Diavolo had a terrific taste of the sea, chock full of jumbo shrimps, fat and tender scallops and sweet littlenecks on a big mound of thin-strand capellini. My dining companion raved, then wound up taking some home, there was so much.

My only quibble was that as with most restaurants serving "spicy marinara sauce," it really seemed to have been concocted for people who don't like spicy foods very much. The Fra Diavolo had only a hint of fire. Yet my dining companion, who doesn't like overly spiced foods, found it superb.

Fire lovers can ask for more spice, however. Kim Kelly, a waitress here for 18 years who answered the phone when we called, said all the food is made to order and the restaurant accommodates requests.

"We can spice it up or tone it down, either way," added Steve Dion.

Tender scrod, decadent dessert

My Scrod Classico ($16.95) was simmered in a broth of peppers, garlic, scallions, parsley and wine. It was wonderfully rich-tasting and yet, according to the menu, fat free!

The big hunk of flaky, tender white fillet was topped with slices of red pepper and grilled zucchini rounds and accompanied by four littlenecks. Despite all those ingredients, the gentle flavor of the fish held its own. The dish was accompanied by fluffy garlic mashed potatoes, though the garlic flavor was elusive if not missing altogether.

Although nearly stuffed to our own gills by now, we sailed on toward dessert. There are no housemade offerings, but of the four on the menu this night, the most interesting sounding were the Toll House cookie pie ($5) and the double chocolate mousse cake ($5). (The others were a plain cheesecake and a Key lime pie.)

For the cake, two light, creamy layers of chocolate mousse were sandwiched between fudgy chocolate cake, then topped with whipped cream and drizzled with rich chocolate sauce. The lightness of the mousse made all this decadence seem almost innocent.

The Toll House cookie pie, with a side of vanilla ice cream topped with chocolate sauce, certainly tasted like a big, slightly gooey Toll House cookie. It was rather spectacular, a very sweet end to a fine meal.

****

Details, details

S.S. Dion, 520 Thames St., Bristol, (401) 253-2884. Dressy casual. Reservations accepted; suggested on weekends. Wheelchair accessible. Highchairs. Open 5-9 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; to 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. V, MC, AE, DIS, DC. Free parking.

Appetizers cost $2.95 to $9.95. Entrees are $14.95 to $21.95, more for baked stuffed lobster. The wine list is $4 to $7 by the glass; $14 to $75 for a bottle.

****

If you like Benjamin's, Tav-Vino or Hemenway's, you'll like S.S. Dion.

****

Bill of fare

Dinner for two at S.S. Dion might look something like this:

Rodney Strong Chardonnay . . . . . . . . . . $6.50

Kendall-Jackson VR Chardonnay . . . . .. . . $7.00

Hot Combo . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $7.50

Steamed littlenecks . . . . . . . . .. . . . $9.95

Seafood Fra Diavolo . . . . . . . . .. . . . $21.95

Scrod Classico . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $16.95

Chocolate mousse cake . . . . . .. . . . . . $5.00

Toll House cookie pie . . . . . . . . . . .. $5.00

Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . $6.39

Tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . $16.76

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $103.00

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S.S. Dion