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Eating in Providence

3/28/2005

I'm not prone to doing restaurant reviews, but if you find yourself in Providence, Rhode Island, as I did, you would be well-served by stopping at the Mills Tavern. The front end feels a little dark and Buddy Ciancish, if you are familiar with the Mayor of this city now serving hard time. But once at your table, the muted lighting, the open kitchen and the excellent old-school service, made you forget about anything beyond your table. And, most important, the food is excellent. I had oysters, because coming from Vermont, you have oysters when you can. Four of them were excellent, two were so-so. But the star was undoubtedly the braised shortribs. Call me a sucker, but anything billed as being cooked for eight hours can't be bad. They were falling off the bone tender, and rich in all the right ways: scented with the Barolo they were cooked in and little else. The goat cheese mashed potatoes were lovely, and the green beans were just as they should be, beautiful and bright, full of crunch. I skipped dessert, but tried my wife's bread pudding and that might have been the best of all.