3 minute read
Dining Out: Menus out of the blue
DINING OUT | BRUCE NEWBURY
Menus out of the blue
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THIS IS A TALE of two menus.
In Portsmouth, the East Bay mainstay 15 Point Road rolled out a special version of its longtime favorite prix-fixe menu. The restaurant owned by Carly Smith and Sean Smith was catching up on lost time and completed a makeover of its upstairs dining room that had been postponed due to the pandemic.
As Sean Smith put it on my radio show, “We decided to do something unexpected.”
Instead of cutting prices – next to impossible for a family-owned standalone business – the eatery’s longstanding chef Chris Maitland went to his creative side and brought in new combinations, some of which were making their menu debuts. Threecourse dinners with appetizer, entree and dessert are priced at $35. Entrees, which change periodically, include Campanelle Bolognese tenderloin made with prime rib, Graziano sausage, mushrooms, cream and marinara. Appetizer choices include fried pork kimchi dumplings and harissa chicken pops. Dessert selections feature salted caramel ice cream, one of several options that rotate through the menu.
Neon Marketplace, which describes itself as the newest, most innovative and elevated brand in the convenience store industry, recently opened its newest store at 288 Kinsley Ave. in Providence.
Neon Marketplace offers a full array of dining options, including its signature artisan, handpressed pizzas. Developed in conjunction with James Beard award-winning chef and restaurateur Michael Schlow, Neon’s pizza pies are baked onsite. Each handcrafted pizza pie starts with dough that is proofed for several hours to give it a light and airy texture and is then baked in Neon’s brick ovens. On “Pizza Twos-day” Tuesdays, customers can pick up any two of Neon’s Roman-style specialty pizzas topped with house-made sauce and Neon’s signature three-cheese blend for $15 at the Providence, Warwick, Seekonk and Freetown locations.
In addition to the pizzas, there is a burger menu featuring beef from the famed Pat LaFrieda, according to Elise Babey, senior manager of product development and supply chain. LaFrieda is the beef of record at places such as Shake Shack.
Babey explained that guests of the Providence location will soon be able to enjoy Neon’s new chicken sandwiches, which feature a choice of a buttermilk-battered crispy chicken breast or a tender sous vide chicken breast grilled and topped with tangy pickles and the slightly sweet, slightly spicy and always creamy Neon sauce served on a toasted brioche bun. Guests can make their sandwiches deluxe with the addition of crispy bacon, American cheese, green leaf lettuce, sliced tomato and onion.
Neon recently added new menu items inspired by flavors of the holiday season, including peppermint hot chocolate, peppermint mocha, iced peppermint mocha and an indulgent candy cane cookies and cream milkshake.
Seasonal baked goods, made fresh in-house daily, will feature the cranberry orange nut muffin packed with juicy cranberries, tangy orange pieces and toasted walnuts, and the decadent red velvet cookie with white, dark and milk chocolate pieces, available warm.
In addition to its signature pizzas, Neon offers a variety of made-to-order and grab-and-go options, including gourmet coffees, breakfast sandwiches and baked goods; handmade grinders and sandwiches; salads; snacks; and fountain and cooler drinks, as well as delivery and catering services for any size group and for any occasion.
It must be kept in mind that these unique offerings are enjoyed in a place with gas pumps and charging stations out front. Talk about unexpected. But here in our foodie state, it has come to be expected. n
OVEN BAKED: Neon Marketplace employee Nina Robertson is ready with fresh pizza at the official opening of Neon’s location in Providence recently.
COURTESY REGAN COMMUNICATIONS
SEAN SMITH, 15 Point Road co-owner
“Dining Out With Bruce Newbury” is broadcast locally on WADK 101.1 FM and 1540 AM and on WWRI 105.5 FM and 1450 AM. The show is also broadcast on radio stations in Vermont and Indiana. Contact Bruce at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
