Scrumptious seafood with a Florida touch

By MICHAEL JANUSONIS
Journal Arts Writer

• See the menu.

TIVERTON -- Stepping into the new Boat House restaurant one recent warm, humid evening I had the sensation that I'd been there before.

I hadn't really been there before. It had been open barely more than a month. And yet the Boat House, with its open-air dining room, teak planters filled with tropical foliage and waterside view reminded me so much of a favorite place along the Intracoastal Waterway just north of Miami Beach that I felt right at home.

The only thing missing, I mused to a waitress, were the dolphins who swam into the inlet and had splashed just feet from our waterside table.

She reminded me that last December more than 10 wayward dolphins had made their way right up the Sakonnet River not far from the Boat House. Perfect!

The Boat House sits at the bottom of a steep hill that's crowned by a wall of condominiums, some still under construction by the Starwood Tiverton company, which also owns the restaurant building. Happily, like the condo village above, the Boat House, open since July 25, looks out across the river on an ever-changing pattern of passing boats.

Designed to look like an elegant oceanside New England cottage from the outside, the interior really shouts "Florida!" So much so that I was especially glad I wore my black shirt dotted with whimsical pink flamingos for the occasion. It fit right in.

The open-air dining room is under a canopy, flanked on one side by an outdoor cocktail area with Adirondack chairs and on the other by a small deck with umbrella tables for outdoor dining. Light came from pendant lamps hung from the struts holdings up the canopy "ceiling." For cold weather days, there are electric warmers as well.

A large, ornately carved mahogany bar sits in the middle of the front third of the dining room, with tables all around. The chairs are casual and would be perfect on an outdoor patio. They're comfortable, with loose woven seats, but are surprisingly deeper than they first look. When I sat down, I fell into the chair deeper than expected. The overall effect of the room is of sitting on a Southern veranda.

Screen netting was draped from the tent-like canopy down the three open-air sides of the dining room the night we were there, but manager Kate Manning said in a subsequent phone call that they try to keep it open as much as possible. When it rains hard or becomes too cool, plastic sheeting can be dropped down. The fourth side is a wall, actually the exterior wall of the kitchen which is inside the building, painted a crisp white and hung with large photos of the Mount Hope Bay area.

Because of its design, the Boat House, said Manning, will close "around Columbus Day weekend." However, because business has been so good since opening day there's a proposal -- still in the planning stages she said -- to expand the building and enclose part of the dining room for year-round use.

Seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. But although the Boat House was surprisingly busy for a Monday night, we only had to wait a few minutes at the bar for our table to be made ready. Don't expect such luck on weekends.

Tropical drinks

In deference to the tropical decor (and to my flamingo-print shirt), we started with tropical drinks. My companion's pina colada ($8) was a tall glass of creamy sweetness. I chose the Tropical Martini ($8), a combination of Parrot Bay, Smirnoff Raspberry, Smirnoff Orange and "a splash of pineapple." It sounded sweet and Miami-ish, but actually packed more of a punch than I'd expected.

True to its name, the Boat House specializes in seafood: Block Island swordfish ($20), pan-roasted Georges Bank scallops ($22), boiled native lobster ($30), fish and chips ($14), clam cakes ($5). But there's also a 12-ounce Hereford strip steak ($26), a half barbecue chicken ($16) and sandwiches that range from roast beef ($10) to smoked turkey ($10) to even a jumbo hot dog ($7).

With that lovely water view, however, we stuck with seafood. Although we were each going to order an appetizer, in the interests of sampling as much as possible we couldn't resist trying the native seafood stew with herb-roasted baguette ($8). Served in a large bowl, the stew had the rich taste of ripe tomatoes and there were big dices of potato, lots of baby shrimp (could these possibly be native?), one fat clam and one fat mussel. It was accompanied by a slice of barely toasted bread rather than the baguette I'd expected. Nevertheless, it was so delicious we wished we'd ordered another bowl.

We'll order clam cakes ($5) whenever they're on the menu and so gave them more than a passing glance. But at the suggestion of our knowledgeable waitress, Rebecca, we ordered a more upscale version -- Maine lobster-roasted corn fritters ($11.95). A few minutes later, six plump, lightly fried-to-a-golden-brown fritters arrived in a little paper bag, a nice touch. They were accompanied by a cup of chipotle chili aioli for dipping, a sweet mayonnaisey blend that had a little, but not overwhelming, bite.

It certainly dressed up the fritters, although we only got the taste of the corn and the bits of lobster in them when we ignored the sauce. My companion actually preferred the fritters without the dip. On the side, a good-sized mound of Manic Organic vegetable slaw that was mostly mostly red cabbage and broccoli pieces with a warm, spicy dressing. Manic Organic, explained Manning, is the brand name of products from a well-known Portsmouth farm.

We've often enjoyed mussels steamed in wine and served in a broth of natural juices, garlic and olive oil. But the Boat House had a twist -- mussels steamed in Widmer Brothers Hefeweizen, a very delicate German-style wheat beer that's often served with a lemon slice. The broth also contained native tomato, onion, garlic and herbs ($7). It was a big portion of large, but tender mussels, swimming in a broth that was surprisingly mild and buttery. It came with two slices of toasted bread, but it was so good that after we finished the mussels we asked for more bread to sop up the juices. We got a pair of warm, crusty rolls for dunking which did the trick nicely.

Crab cake roll

Portions are large at the Boat House and so my companion, who wanted to sample a dessert later, chose a lighter entree. As much a fan of crab cakes as clam cakes, an order of the crab cake roll with lemon-parsley remoulade served on a sweet bread roll ($10) seemed just right. And this lobster lover couldn't resist adding the lemon-poached Maine lobster tail martini ($12), too.

The wonderfully tender tail arrived in a tall martini glass that was filled with a sweet, mild, fruity salsa and cocktail sauce for dipping. It was as delicious as it was impressive to see.

Two moist, crab-only crab cakes (with no discernible filler, my companion happily pointed out) were lightly fried and sat on one side of the jumbo sweet bun. The mayonnaise-based lemon-parsley remoulade on the other half of the bun added a heady, fresh fragrance to the crab cake once it was folded over into a "crab cake burger." On the side was a slightly different version of the earlier vegetable slaw, this one with more finely sliced red cabbage and pieces of cauliflower as well as broccoli. Also on the side, wonderfully crispy French fries of both white and sweet potatoes. Marvelous!

My Jamaican Jerk tautog ($15) was a large filet of North Atlantic white fish grilled with a Caribbean jerk seasoning that was easy on the chilies and spices so as not to overwhelm the fish's delicate flavor. Success! It was topped with a mild salsa of sweet tropical fruits that carried the flavors of the Caribbean and enhanced the tender moistness of the fish, a perfect accompaniment. On the side, a light touch of grilled zucchini rounds mixed well with the salsa. A serving of red beans and rice completed the dish and the island touch.

Chef James Campagna, under the direction of celebrated chef Casey Riley of Castle Hill Inn & Resort in Newport, has come up with some inventive ways to give the Boat House menu a tropical flair. Campagna, who grew up in Bristol, learned his way around a kitchen at the family-owned Old Venice restaurant in Warren. Manning explained that the Riley connection comes from the fact that Newport Harbor Corp., owner of Castle Hill Inn, manages the Boat House.

Although the Boat House doesn't make its own desserts, the choices were tempting. Rebecca steered my dining companion to the New York-style cheesecake ($5) over the Key lime pie ($5). It was a very tall slice of very good none-too-heavy cheesecake. The topping, a juicy mix of blueberries, blackberries, strawberries and raspberries, added a light and sweet touch.

I'd longingly eyed the pineapple upside down cake on the menu ($6.50) and Rebecca endorsed it as her favorite. It was my own little pineapple upside down cake, an individual small cake rather than a slice, crowned with the pineapple and topped with a generous scoop of Gray's coconut ice cream (made right here in Tiverton) and decadently rich and warm caramel rum sauce. I scraped the plate clean afterwards.

It only added to the feeling of the tropics which you can now find by only driving as far as the East Bay. Forget Florida! Think of the savings in gasoline!

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Details, details

Boat House, 227 Schooner Drive, Tiverton, (401) 624-6300, www.boathousetiverton.com. Dressy casual. No reservations. Wheelchair accessible. Highchairs. Open 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. Mon.-Thurs.; to 10 p.m. Fri.-Sat; 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. Sunday. V, MC, AE, DIS. Free parking. Appetizers cost $4 to $12. Entrees are $14 to $30. The wine list is $4.50 to $12 by the glass; $16 to $75 for a bottle.

***

If you like the Marina Grille in Newport, the Sakonnet Fish Co. in Portsmouth or the Atlantic Beach Club in Middletown, you'll like the Boat House.

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Bill of fare

Dinner for the two of us at the Boat House looked like this, but you might select only one appetizer or one dessert, so adjust the bottom line total accordingly:

Pina colada . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8.00

Tropical martini . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . $8.00

Seafood stew . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . $8.00

Lobster-roasted corn fritters . . . . . . . . $11.95

Steamed mussels . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.00

Lobster martini . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $12.00

Crab cake roll . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.00

Jamaican jerk tautog . . . . . . .. . . . . . $15.00

Cheesecake . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . $5.00

Pineapple upside down cake . . . .. . . . . . $6.50

Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.31

Tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $19.52

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $118.28

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Boat House