L'Epicureo undertakes its own renaissance

By GAIL CIAMPA
Journal Food Editor

• See the menu.

When my husband and friends C and D joined me on a hot summer Sunday evening for dinner at the new L'Epicureo Ristorante in the Hotel Providence, I didn't know I was stepping into an enigma wrapped in puff pastry.

We had some excellent dishes, including an otherworldly veal osso buco cooked -- and served -- to perfection. We had desserts worth dreaming of, and all were beautifully presented on lovely English bone china.

Unfortunately, there was no energy there in the Botticelli-bedecked dining room, no electricity that made me feel our $300 dinner for four (before tip) was an event. If dining is like wine, this dinner lacked what the French call terroir -- a sense of place.

In fact, I could have been in any dining room in any city in the United States. I was amazed looking around the room at my fellow diners. A few of the women wore sweaters, several men were attired in long-sleeve shirts. The room was at a most comfortable temperature, but outdoors it was unbearably hot and humid. Wondering how they had arrived dressed in such cool-weather clothes, I realized they must have been hotel guests.

I pondered whether the Downcity location, across from Grace Church and the Tilden-Thurber Building, is proving a negative to local diners who avoid the city. It shouldn't be, because parking isn't a problem, with a valet on duty. But clearly the room was full of out-of-towners -- a single businesswoman, a couple with a young child, a table of men in suits -- who had ventured in to L'Epicureo to eat out this evening.

Ultimately, though, what I couldn't feel was the warmth and passion of Rozann and Tom Buckner, the couple who made L'Epicureo one of the spots for destination dining on Federal Hill. They moved from their tiny, much-loved bistro on Atwells Avenue so they could fully realize their culinary ambitions with large, well-equipped kitchens. For the most part, they have succeeded, expanding their menu beyond the chops and Italian specialties with which they made their name. Foie gras and many seafood dishes now grace the menu.

But the place lacks any warmth. Apparently, the Buckners will have to wait for the soul of their new digs to catch up.

Botticelli and tortellini

No expense was spared in giving the restaurant a Renaissance-style decor, complete with oversize copies of Old Master paintings. Access is either through the lobby of the boutique hotel or through the courtyard at Mathewson and Westminster streets. Visitors enter a bar and lounge with several tables and a piano. There's a wall of wine racks and then two dining rooms.

The menu continues the Renaissance theme with a picture detail from one of Botticelli's paintings. Inside the cover, the story of the Buckners is told, from their beginnings on Federal Hill to the design of the new restaurant.

After enjoying cocktails -- margaritas, a gin and tonic and a lovely glass of Prosecco, the Italian sparkling wine -- we ordered dishes from all the menu categories: appetizers, pasta and risotto, salads, entrees and desserts.

With the appetizers we saw another theme, too much salt. My tortellini, Swiss chard and meatball soup in a capon broth ($5.95) was too salty even for me, a lover of all things sodium. The tortellinis, though, were tasty little cheese-filled treats.

D opted for a shrimp and spinach crespelle ($12.95), a thin Italian pancake filled and rolled like a crepe. As with my soup, the overwhelming flavor was of salt.

More successful was the pasta dish of Maine lobster ravioli in cognac cream sauce. This is a signature dish of the Buckner's from their Federal Hill days, and the half portion ($13.50) came with three stuffed ravioli and three caramelized sea scallops.

With the entrees, L'Epicureo's kitchen began to shine. Two dishes were downright amazing. C ordered the veal osso buco ($38.95) and was impressed at the presentation. The meat was not sliced into pieces but prepared -- and served -- on the bone, shank upright. And prepared to the hilt it was: so moist, so full of flavor, so tender, so perfect. It was garnished traditionally with a parsley-garlic gremolata that offered a fresh flavor contrast to the meat. In a circle around the plate was an abundant portion of risotto Milanese, again cooked to perfection.

D selected a Tuscan-style slow-braised pork belly ($27.95), not something you see on every menu. This is one of the dishes that couldn't have been made in the old L'Epicureo kitchen, as it takes four days to prepare. Rozann Buckner starts with a piece of fresh pork belly (what is usually made into bacon), still with the skin on, and marinates it for 48 hours in a blend of 13 herbs. Then it's brined for two days and finally poached in its liquid to cook for 12 hours.

The result is a flavor-filled dish. Though this dish can be fatty, Buckner's is anything but. Rather it is meaty and tender and moist, oh yummy. A tomato dressing offered just the right bit of sweet to complement the meat and the accompanying deep-fried mascarpone polenta.

Lovely and delicious

I went the very successful pasta route and had orecchiette with veal bolognese ($20.95). The sauce, a delightful blend of meat and vegetable, clung nicely to each piece of the pasta, which comes in the shape of a little hat.

Just when we thought the kitchen had happily lost the salt shaker, my husband began to deconstruct his picturesque open-face Maine lobster pot pie ($39.95). The lobster mixture was inside a circular piece of puff pastry, and the lobster's head and tail were positioned so the dish looked like a lobster. The meat was tender and abundant but alas, the truffle sauce was too salty.

The bread basket offered warm parmesan rolls. Our Caesar salad ($7.95) was the perfect blend of creamy and tangy on crisp Romaine lettuce and topped with bruschetta croutons.

Our leisurely dinner ended on a high note with some amazing desserts -- an apple crostada and banana fazzoletto ($8 each). The crostada, an open face tart, offered a flaky and light pastry. The apples inside were hot, tender and sweet. Each slice of apple lay side by side, offering a nice distinction and makes for ease of dining without need of a knife. A caramel sauce added perfect sweetness. The banana dish was caramelized beautifully and the crepe was folded into a napkin design, making it lovely and delicious.

Those desserts left a nice taste in all our mouths.

So, too, did the work of our server Brian, who was at all times attentive and not at all obtrusive, though the service was quite slow. Brian was helpful in suggesting a half bottle of 2001 Chateau Teyssier Bordeaux.

There's a lot of good going on at L'Epicureo, which makes it worth a second look, even if you're not staying at the hotel.

***

L'Epicureo Ristorante, 311 Westminster St., Providence, (401) 521-3333, www.lepicureo.com. Upscale. Reservations accepted. Handicapped accessible. Highchairs. Lunch served 11:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., Monday through Friday. Dinner served 5-10 p.m. Monday through Thursday; 5-11 p.m. Friday and Saturday; 4-9 p.m. Sunday. Seasonally al fresco dining in the gated Robert Freeman Park. MC, V, AE, D. Appetizers $5.95 to $19.95; entrees $15.95 to $39.95, desserts $8. Extensive wine list.

***

Bill of fare

A dinner for two at L'Epicureo might look like this:

Margarita . . . . . . $8

Prosecco . . . . . . $6

Caesar salad . . . . . . $7.95

Veal Osso Buco . . . . . . $38.95

Orecchiette with Veal Bolognese . $20.95

Banana Fazzoletto . . . . . . . . $8

Apple Crostada . . . . . . . . . . $8

Half bottle 2001 Chateau Teyssier $22

Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . $9.59

Tip. . . . . . . . . . . . . $24

Total . . . . . . . . . . $153.44

---

L'Epicureo Ristorante