RI Monthly photo / Ron Manville

Nice mussels: Moules et frites is a signature dish at the East Side brasserie Red Stripe.

Flexing His Mussels
The man who brought us Mills Tavern may have a bigger hit yet with his popular American brasserie, Red Stripe.

By Karen Deutsch
Rhode Island Monthly

The opening of a new restaurant in Providence is not the event that it used to be. With culinary ventures being launched Downcity, on Hope and Thayer streets and the West Side, the city has become a bit jaded. With so many options, restaurateurs are no longer guaranteed success just because they hire the right people to work the kitchen. That being said, Red Stripe has been a long time in the making. Owner and sometime chef Jaime D'Olivera held onto the lease of the Wayland Square property for almost a year before all of the ink was dry, proving that he may know as much about real estate as he does about food. What he's managed to create is something in between his posh Mills Tavern and your favorite college bar.

It's quite astonishing to think back on the old Newport Creamery with its awkward wrap-around entrance and harsh fluorescent lighting. Though the space actually feels a bit smaller, the transformation is nearly miraculous. Wood paneled walls and globe-shaped light fixtures alongside a marble-topped bar compliment the open kitchen highlighted by an awning of beautiful and eclectic tiles. The faux tin ceiling may be very Parisian, but the oil painting on the wall comes from the studio of Rhode Islander Mark Freedman. Indeed it is the happy confluence of the two cultures that makes Red Stripe so appealing.

The restaurant offers a sizeable and affordable wine list as well as lunch, dinner and a "little folks" menu that features a diminutive portion of steak or chicken frites and more standard fare such as "mac and cheesy." In short, Red Stripe offers a lot: a variety of salads, sandwiches, grilled meats, home-style favorites such as braised short ribs and the highlight of the menu, nine varieties of moules et frites (mussels and fries) available in full or half portions ($12.50/$7.50).

The simple mussels mariniere with white wine, shallot and garlic is light, aromatic but irresistibly tangy, the marinara rich and heady with tomatoes and olive oil while the favored Portuguese mussels rest in a bath of garlicky white wine with grape tomatoes and lardons of smoky chourico sausage. Every culture offers a dish that is a thinly disguised vehicle for getting you to lick the gravy off your plate, and God bless the French for this one. Like eating a fresh artichoke, there is something so satisfying about the ritual of eating mussels: removing the sea-faring prize with your diminutive fork and relegating the shells to an empty bowl so that, eventually, you can sop up the delicious sauce with your crusty bread. It's bar food for the culturally savvy and it's divine.

The trio of deviled eggs appetizer ($5.50) is a little misleading. The stuffings (which change according to availability) include cold salmon with dilled crème fraiche, roasted cauliflower and scallops and a chopped beet salad with goat cheese. Though intriguing, the fillings lacked the dense, thick characteristics that one looks for in a comfort food, and I'll opt to avoid them on my next visit.

Red Stripe offers a myriad of choices for meat eaters, although I was quite surprised that all three meat dishes I order medium-rare are brought to the table decidedly red and barely cooked in the center. Apparently someone at the grill station has very little patience. I do, however, like my meat closer to rare and am happy to keep the tender pork loin ($17) served with caraway-laced cabbage slaw as well as the thick, juicy burger ($8.50) topped with the unusual but wonderful combination of guacamole and havarti. The hanger steak ($18), an inherently chewy cut of beef, needs a return trip to the kitchen. Our waitress does so quickly, and the meat returns toothsome and delicious with a mountain of piping hot frites.

There are several options for vegetarians and fish devotees as well, including baked rigatoni, roasted tomato risotto, a rich and tangy linguine topped with little neck clams and some very large salads. The "everything but the kitchen sink chopped salad" ($10) is just that, offering diners a variety of tastes and textures while allowing the kitchen to utilize its inventory. Cheeses, olives, cauliflower, haricot verts, roasted peppers, hearts of palms and a myriad of greens comprise a salad large enough to make an entrée and then some.

If you still have room for dessert, the caramelized banana tart ($7) is rich, sweet, drenched in caramel syrup and big enough for two. On the other hand, I'll be certain to order my own chocolate hazelnut mousse cake ($8) next time: a triangular slab of gianduja-style mousse wrapped in dense chocolate cake and served alongside a refreshing timbale of frozen creamy raspberry mousse; this pairing is just too good to share.

I was a little confounded by the cookie platter ($5), which is more of a plate and offered three varieties of rather large cookies. A greater variety of bite-sized treats would have been more alluring, and our cookies seemed to have been taken directly from the cooler with a faint taste of freezer burn. Any reservations we had, however, were washed away when the $50 bill arrived. It would be nearly impossible for two people to ring up a bill of $100 or more and even three people would have to make an effort to do so.

As to whether Red Stripe is a success, that may depend on whom you're asking. For the eager customers who manage to claim a table and nestle in with a steaming bowl of moules frites, there's no doubt. Much has been made of the noise level inside and, although it may not be the place for a romantic rendezvous, most of the din is just indicative of a lot of people having a good old time. As to whether a restaurant can turn a profit on a $50 bill, let's let Jaime worry about that; we just want to enjoy it.

***

Red Stripe, 465 Angell St., Providence, 437-6950. Open for lunch Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m.; late lunch Mon.-Fri. and Sun. 3-5 p.m.; dinner nightly: 5-11 p.m.; brunch Sat.-Sun. 9 a.m.-3 p.m. Price range for two: $45-$75. Reservations suggested.

All major credit cards accepted. Street parking. Handicapped accessible.

***

Soulmates: XO Steakhouse, Cafe Paragon