CELESTIAL CAFÉ

from SO Rhode Island September 2023

DUCK PRESS

Few restaurants celebrate local farms and purveyors the way Celestial has for more than 20 years. On the menu, you’ll see where each ingredient is sourced, and their monthly local farm dinners are seasonally themed and a great bargain. Fall favorites include their crispy Brussels sprouts with sweet red onions, Laurel Hill microgreens and chipotle aioli, and Rhody Jambalaya – Cedar Valley Farm chicken and Pat’s Pastured sausage in a Creole velouté over jasmine rice. 567 South County Trail, Exeter; CelestialCafeRI.com

The Rathskeller

Starting your meal with a plate piled high with French fries might seem like a strange thing to do – unless you’re at the Rathskeller, where this is what practically everyone does. The fries – delish twice-cooked – come plain, with short rib gravy, tru ed, or loaded. After you’ve indulged, get into the Oktoberfest mindset with their Jagerschnitzel, a huge crispy fried pork cutlet smothered with mushroom gravy atop mashed potatoes and braised cabbage and apples. After eating, wander to their “Down Back” area, a huge outdoor space featuring games, ﬁrepits, and occasional live music. It all makes for perfect fall evenings. 489 Old Coach Road, Charlestown; TheCharlestownRathskeller.com

Offerings at Ella’s created by chef Jeanie Roland, who starred in season two of Iron Chef Gauntlet

ELLA’S FINE FOOD AND DRINK

Multiple James Beard Award-nominated chef Jeanie Roland’s eatery has won lots of loyal fans in the several years since it opened, most notably everyone’s favorite part-time Rhode Islander, Taylor Swift. While Roland says that her menu is inspired by French and Asian flavors and techniques, there’s something here for everyone, from the simple to the sublime. Fall calls for some of the richer flavors on Ella’s seasonally evolving menu, and few in the Ocean State do duck as well. Recent iterations include a foie gras club sandwich on house brioche, seared duck breast with mushrooms and udon noodles and hoisin, and a magnificent duck a deux facons – crispy confit alongside garlic-marinated breast meat with duck fatroasted fingerling potatoes. We’re flying high on all of them!

2 Tower Street, Westerly; EllasFineFoodAndDrink.com