Splendid dining in 19th-century elegance

By MICHAEL JANUSONIS
Journal Arts Writer

NEWPORT -- Grand old houses and fine dining are two things that attract visitors to the City by the Sea.

The Canfield House more than fills the bill on both counts. Here you can have a splendid meal surrounded by 19th-century elegance.

James Buchanan was the president when the Canfield House was built in 1860, the year before the start of the Civil War. Among its original owners were a pair of partners who owned a Brooklyn baseball team, although it wasn't the Dodgers, according to Maggie Wiggins, who has owned the restaurant with husband Gary for the past three years. (They also operate the Glass Onion restaurant in Middletown.)

With its high ceilings, elaborately florid floral wallpaper, carved cherry-wood wainscoting and impressive vaulted ceiling that runs the length of the dining room, the Canfield House is a step back in time. Stained glass and carved moldings around the doors and windows add to its Victorian atmosphere, right up the staircase that leads to four inn rooms upstairs.

In the large entrance hall that separates the lounge from the dining room, an enormous wheel of chance stands silent, but still very spinnable, recalling the days in the late 1890s and early years of the 20th century when the Canfield House was an invitation-only casino (gambling was illegal) operated by renowned gambler Richard Canfield.

Canfield, who also gave his name to the game of Canfield Solitaire, bought the place in 1897 to attract the social set who summered in Newport. The gambling flourished until it was eventually shut down in 1905.

Other reminders of those wagering days are the small push buttons every 10 feet or so around the dining room near the top of the wainscoting. Our efficient and knowledgeable waiter, Dennis, said that as near as the staff can figure out, dealers at the roulette wheels and blackjack tables used the buttons if they needed betting chips or cash or to call the pit boss down to check out a high roller.

But food is the best bet at the Canfield House these days, and we were happy with everything we tried.

Wine and dine

Although it was a Wednesday, the parking lot was jammed. We had to park across the street on Memorial Boulevard.

With no reservations, we had a 20-minute wait for dining room seating, although we could have been seated immediately at one of the four tables off to one side of the entrance hall near one of Canfield's two gas fireplaces. The tables seemed a bit out of the way, however, and the area paled next to the bustling, ornate dining room. We decided to hold off for a dining room table and were invited to wait in the lounge, although it turned out there weren't any seats available there, even at the long bar.

Why is it so busy, we wondered, and asked the perky hostess who, it came to light in the followup call, was Maggie Wiggins herself. She explained that there's a Wine & Dine Menu Tuesdays through Thursdays at the Canfield House: Dinner for two with a bottle of wine for $24.95. Entrees range from baked scrod to mushroom ravioli, chicken portobello to flat-iron steak grilled with a maple peppercorn demi glace. A braised pork shank from this menu looked delicious and huge as it passed en route to a table.

Once seated in the dining room, we decided that when on Aquidneck Island one should sample the bounty of the island. So we started with wines from the "local vineyard" list. My companion's Greenvale chardonnay ($5.75 the glass), from the Portsmouth vineyard, was robust; my Newport Vineyards Great White ($5.25) from Middletown was very sweet and fruity, almost a dessert wine.

Tempting appetizers

There were many temptations on the extensive appetizer list, from duck confit with a wild mushroom ragout ($9.95) to steamed mussels in a creamy herb broth ($7.95) to Oysters Canfield ($12.95) with spinach, shiitake mushrooms and feta baked and served with lemon beurre blanc.

I settled on the scallops prosciutto ($10.95) -- or "proscuitto" as the menu called it. A lovely presentation, it tasted as good as it looked.

Five plump, very sweet and tender scallops had been pan-seared with kalamata olives and sat atop little squares of the salty Italian ham. The sweetish roasted tomato relish, with small chunks of tomato, so soft they seemed stewed, was a nice flavor contrast. It was served on a decorative plate rimmed by a pale blue circle, inside which was a black circle with mini sunbursts; an edible orchid was propped in the middle of the dish.

We shared the scallops alongside an order of skewered sirloin of beef ($9.95). Two skewers of pounded-thin, very tender beef were accompanied by a small ramekin of sweet sesame plum sauce. Dipped in the sauce, the beef made for a wonderful treat. It was accompanied by sauteed slices of crunchy bok choy, which gave the dish a touch of the Orient.

As an accompaniment, Dennis brought a small, sliced loaf of warm bread that had a hint of rosemary. When we complimented the bread (not made here, but baked in the Canfield House ovens), he said that they also served a bread with basil. Later, when he brought a second helping of bread, he included a half loaf of the rosemary and a half loaf of the basil, which we liked as well.

An unexpected and welcome surprise was a pair of dinner salads of crisp mixed greens, tomato chunks and kalamata olives, topped with the housemade creamy dressing. We hadn't realized salad was included; it wasn't mentioned on the menu. A delicious touch.

Seafood stew

The midweek dinner specials sounded good, but we chose from the regular menu, which includes shrimp scampi ($22.95), braised pork shank ($18.95), Mediterranean roasted Statler chicken ($19.95) and a lobster-and-scallop pie ($24.95).

My dining companion quickly settled on the New York sirloin topped with sauteed shrimp and lots of other extras ($26.95), while I dithered. Then a sole Napoleon passed by on its way to another table, looking eye-poppingly spectacular. But I'd also had my eye on the seafood stew ($23.95), a selection of shellfish in a Pernod seafood broth; I often make a similar-sounding dish at home.

So I consulted Dennis who, without hesitation, said, "Go with the seafood stew."

A good choice. A large white bowl arrived chock full of mussels (a lot of mussels . . . so many that I didn't mind that a half dozen hadn't opened), a sprinkling of littleneck clams and shrimp, and a good-sized portion of tender scallops.

Standing at attention in the center were a lobster tail in half its shell, a slice of lemon and a plume of rosemary. There wasn't quite as much broth in the bowl as in my homemade version, but it had that same sweet, slightly licorice flavor from the Pernod, a perfect if unusual flavor for dipping shellfish.

My companion's sirloin, listed under the menu's "land & sea" section, but more turf than surf, was a plate-challenging slice of steak. It was topped with a pair of sauteed jumbo shrimp, shiitake mushrooms and spinach, finished with garlic butter.

The plate was rimmed with a spicy Asian chili sauce. Unless you craved some fire and dipped your steak in it, everything on the plate had enough of its own flavors to please the palate. The chili sauce was an interesting cross-culture touch, however, which Wiggins called a "fanciful flair" by chef Kenneth Wosczyna, a Johnson & Wales graduate who has been working with the Wigginses "off and on for nine years." He took over at Canfield House in October 2004 and has definitely brought a fanciful flair to familiar menu items.

On the side of this sirloin-shrimp dish were several asparagus spears, with the steak itself sitting atop a mound of mashed sweet potatoes. There also was the requisite frond of rosemary. The steak was extremely tender; the potatoes added a sweet boost to the dish.

We'll be back

None of the desserts is made in house; they're brought in from Pastry Arts.

My companion settled on the Boston cream pie ($9.95), a tall serving filled with light cream and topped with fudgy chocolate frosting. It looked like a miniature tower, the sides rolled in chopped nuts with dollops of whipped cream as an accompaniment.

My raspberry tart with Grand Marnier cream sauce ($7.95) was served in a puddle of vanilla and chocolate sauce. The buttery sweet tart was a nice contrast to the tartness of the berries, which had been dusted with confectioners' sugar. Two big dollops of whipped cream added to the festive flair.

It was a delicious meal in a lovely atmosphere with tip-top service. We'll be back later in the season, on a warm summer night when we can sit on the Canfield House's veranda, where tables surround a large bar. That veranda would be the perfect spot to sit and unwind after a long day of mansion visits, shopping on nearby Bellevue Avenue or sailing in the harbor. Ahh, summer in Newport.

K-9 Cocktails

On Mondays, when the Canfield House is closed (although the downstairs Canfield Cellar Pub is open every day, serving lighter fare such as fish and chips, grilled pizzas and burgers), its veranda is given over to what co-owner Maggie Wiggins calls K-9 Cocktails: Diners are encouraged to bring their dogs on the porch.

mjanuson@projo.com / (401) 277-7276

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Details, details

Canfield House, 5 Memorial Blvd., Newport. (401) 847-0416. www.canfieldhouse.com. Dressy casual. Not wheelchair accessible. Reservations accepted and recommended. AE, MC, V, DIS. Parking in the lot or on the street. Open Tuesday through Sunday 5 to 10 p.m.; Canfield Cellar Pub daily 5 to 11 p.m. Appetizers $7.95 to $33 (for the raw bar for two), with most in the $9.95 range. Entrees $16.95 to $29.95. Wines are $5.25 to $11 by the glass; $24 to $190 for a bottle.

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Bill of fare

Dinner for two at Canfield House might look something like this:

Newport Vineyards Great White . . . $5.25

Greenvale Chardonnay . . . . . . . . . . . $5.75

Scallops prosciutto . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $10.95

Skewered sirloin of beef . . . . . . . . . . $9.95

Seafood stew . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $23.95

New York sirloin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $26.95

Raspberry tart . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $7.95

Boston cream pie . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. $9.95

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $100.70

Tax . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $8.06

Tip . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $21.24

Total . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . $130.00

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Canfield House