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A Providence Chef Has Connections at the Docks A Providence Chef Has Connections at the Docks
(about 3 hours later)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Raw bluefish was on the menu at Oberlin in July, and I was thinking: I hope they know what they’re doing. Bluefish goes off so quickly that there was a chance my first impression would end my curiosity about this restaurant.PROVIDENCE, R.I. — Raw bluefish was on the menu at Oberlin in July, and I was thinking: I hope they know what they’re doing. Bluefish goes off so quickly that there was a chance my first impression would end my curiosity about this restaurant.
But I gave it a shot, and it was great: sliced cold and neatly fanned out like sashimi, then sprinkled with olive oil and salt and pickled garlic-chive buds, the bluefish was chewy and soft at the same time, somehow, and had a rich, oily flavor that was especially delicious because I knew that in 24 hours it would taste half as good and a day after that it wouldn’t be worth eating at all.But I gave it a shot, and it was great: sliced cold and neatly fanned out like sashimi, then sprinkled with olive oil and salt and pickled garlic-chive buds, the bluefish was chewy and soft at the same time, somehow, and had a rich, oily flavor that was especially delicious because I knew that in 24 hours it would taste half as good and a day after that it wouldn’t be worth eating at all.
Finding bluefish fresh enough to serve raw takes connections down at the waterfront. Oberlin’s chef, Benjamin Sukle, has been cultivating relationships with fishing captains in southern Rhode Island for about four years since he opened Birch, his small tasting-counter restaurant in this city’s compact downtown.Finding bluefish fresh enough to serve raw takes connections down at the waterfront. Oberlin’s chef, Benjamin Sukle, has been cultivating relationships with fishing captains in southern Rhode Island for about four years since he opened Birch, his small tasting-counter restaurant in this city’s compact downtown.
His shopping list got longer when he opened Oberlin a few blocks away early last year. Fish isn’t the only thing on the menu here, but there is a lot of it, and the ways Mr. Sukle uses it illustrate the exploration of local ingredients that makes Oberlin the most rewarding new restaurant I know of in Southern New England.His shopping list got longer when he opened Oberlin a few blocks away early last year. Fish isn’t the only thing on the menu here, but there is a lot of it, and the ways Mr. Sukle uses it illustrate the exploration of local ingredients that makes Oberlin the most rewarding new restaurant I know of in Southern New England.
The menu starts with a long list of raw seafood that is a snapshot of what’s swimming around Rhode Island at the moment. “When I go to the docks I’m not just picking the best of the catch,” Mr. Sukle said. “It’s all great.”The menu starts with a long list of raw seafood that is a snapshot of what’s swimming around Rhode Island at the moment. “When I go to the docks I’m not just picking the best of the catch,” Mr. Sukle said. “It’s all great.”
I last ate there in the middle of September, when the raw fish included bonito and bigeye tuna, striped bass, mahi-mahi, both Spanish and Boston mackerel, and scup. A week or so later, the final gasps of a hurricane had chased the fish away, and Oberlin’s raw bar was down to a dish dreamed up in the last hurricane season, mussels marinated in their steaming juices and a slug of aioli. Slightly rich and spicy under crunchy little sweet-potato chips, it is a terrific thing to eat even with plenty of fish around.I last ate there in the middle of September, when the raw fish included bonito and bigeye tuna, striped bass, mahi-mahi, both Spanish and Boston mackerel, and scup. A week or so later, the final gasps of a hurricane had chased the fish away, and Oberlin’s raw bar was down to a dish dreamed up in the last hurricane season, mussels marinated in their steaming juices and a slug of aioli. Slightly rich and spicy under crunchy little sweet-potato chips, it is a terrific thing to eat even with plenty of fish around.
Buying whole fish instead of fillets helps Mr. Sukle, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Heidi, keep prices down and the menu varied. I loved Oberlin’s shiny, alluringly pasty brandade, made not with cod but with salted remnants of more abundant white-fleshed fish such as scup, mahi-mahi and fluke. It is served with a green splash of herbed olive on top and lightly toasted slices of the restaurant’s excellent sourdough on the side. Buying whole fish instead of fillets helps Mr. Sukle, who owns the restaurant with his wife, Heidi, keep prices down and the menu varied. I loved Oberlin’s shiny, alluringly pasty brandade, made not with cod but with salted remnants of more abundant white-fleshed fish such as scup, mahi-mahi and fluke. It is served with a green splash of herbed olive oil on top and lightly toasted slices of the restaurant’s excellent sourdough on the side.
Salty pink hunks of cured bigeye tasted like the canned tuna of my dreams, alongside cucumbers and explosively ripe heirloom tomatoes seasoned with basil, wild mint and seaweed.Salty pink hunks of cured bigeye tasted like the canned tuna of my dreams, alongside cucumbers and explosively ripe heirloom tomatoes seasoned with basil, wild mint and seaweed.
Cured local bluefish stands in for imported anchovies in a bracingly original interpretation of puttanesca sauce in which the flavor of each ingredient — garlic and tomato and chiles and bluefish and razor-thin shavings of green olives — was clear and distinct.Cured local bluefish stands in for imported anchovies in a bracingly original interpretation of puttanesca sauce in which the flavor of each ingredient — garlic and tomato and chiles and bluefish and razor-thin shavings of green olives — was clear and distinct.
Birch is the smaller, tidier and quieter of Mr. Sukle’s restaurants. Lamb pelts thrown over the backs of high leather-upholstered seats project a studied cool borrowed from Scandinavia. The handmade ceramics are plated with more delicate precision. Greater subtlety is drawn out of, or spirited into, the ingredients.Birch is the smaller, tidier and quieter of Mr. Sukle’s restaurants. Lamb pelts thrown over the backs of high leather-upholstered seats project a studied cool borrowed from Scandinavia. The handmade ceramics are plated with more delicate precision. Greater subtlety is drawn out of, or spirited into, the ingredients.
There were delicious surprises in everything I tasted, and the set price of $55 for four painstaking courses was remarkably fair. When I ate there, charred cucumbers dressed with pistachio butter lurked below a translucent shingling of marinated cucumber. Airy fronds of fennel and a single preserved beach-rose petal had been airlifted into place on top.There were delicious surprises in everything I tasted, and the set price of $55 for four painstaking courses was remarkably fair. When I ate there, charred cucumbers dressed with pistachio butter lurked below a translucent shingling of marinated cucumber. Airy fronds of fennel and a single preserved beach-rose petal had been airlifted into place on top.
Wild foods like beach roses turn up in both restaurants, a sign of the imprint left by Mr. Sukle’s brief stint at Noma, in Copenhagen. Some chefs have copied Noma in exactly the wrong way, importing ingredients that grow in Denmark instead of scouring their own landscapes. I wonder if Noma’s chef, René Redzepi, ever feels like the character in “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” who tells a crowd of followers, “You’ve got to think for yourselves! You’re all individuals!” only to hear them shout back in unison, “Yes! We’re all individuals!”Wild foods like beach roses turn up in both restaurants, a sign of the imprint left by Mr. Sukle’s brief stint at Noma, in Copenhagen. Some chefs have copied Noma in exactly the wrong way, importing ingredients that grow in Denmark instead of scouring their own landscapes. I wonder if Noma’s chef, René Redzepi, ever feels like the character in “Monty Python’s Life of Brian” who tells a crowd of followers, “You’ve got to think for yourselves! You’re all individuals!” only to hear them shout back in unison, “Yes! We’re all individuals!”
Mr. Sukle took Mr. Redzepi’s teachings the right way. Edible discoveries get slightly more play at Birch, but the next time I’m set loose in Providence for a night, odds are my feet will carry me to Oberlin. I like the friendly spontaneity of the dining-room crew. They’re busier and can be harder to flag down than the staff at Birch, but once you have their attention they seem more engaged.Mr. Sukle took Mr. Redzepi’s teachings the right way. Edible discoveries get slightly more play at Birch, but the next time I’m set loose in Providence for a night, odds are my feet will carry me to Oberlin. I like the friendly spontaneity of the dining-room crew. They’re busier and can be harder to flag down than the staff at Birch, but once you have their attention they seem more engaged.
Seating is in a rhythmic hodgepodge: high tables and bar stools to the right, regular tables to the left and out on the sidewalk, and a few wooden stools at the short counter facing the cooks who put together salads and slice raw fish under a sign that reads, “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.” (An absurdist streak is one of Providence’s underappreciated charms.)Seating is in a rhythmic hodgepodge: high tables and bar stools to the right, regular tables to the left and out on the sidewalk, and a few wooden stools at the short counter facing the cooks who put together salads and slice raw fish under a sign that reads, “Time flies like an arrow; fruit flies like a banana.” (An absurdist streak is one of Providence’s underappreciated charms.)
I might settle in with sake — a diverse set of 10 are poured by the glass — or beer from such nonconformist breweries as To Ol in Copenhagen and Prairie Artisan Ales in Tulsa, Okla. If I was feeling lucky I might roll the dice on the wine list, which contains some reliably crafted natural wines alongside some lean, withholding ones. An Oregon pinot noir recommended as a staff favorite was, to me, off-puttingly thin and tart.I might settle in with sake — a diverse set of 10 are poured by the glass — or beer from such nonconformist breweries as To Ol in Copenhagen and Prairie Artisan Ales in Tulsa, Okla. If I was feeling lucky I might roll the dice on the wine list, which contains some reliably crafted natural wines alongside some lean, withholding ones. An Oregon pinot noir recommended as a staff favorite was, to me, off-puttingly thin and tart.
Then I would get down to business, starting with raw fish, of course. A submerged Italian theme surfaces on the menu from time to time. My experience with Oberlin’s handmade pastas, though, was patchy. The filled pastas I ordered were not very good; both the duck inside triangular pansotti and the pork folded into doughy ravioli were dry and a little severe. But then there was that inspired puttanesca tossed with fusilli, and some wonderful potato gnocchi that were browned on one side and stirred into a buttery clam broth with tender littlenecks.Then I would get down to business, starting with raw fish, of course. A submerged Italian theme surfaces on the menu from time to time. My experience with Oberlin’s handmade pastas, though, was patchy. The filled pastas I ordered were not very good; both the duck inside triangular pansotti and the pork folded into doughy ravioli were dry and a little severe. But then there was that inspired puttanesca tossed with fusilli, and some wonderful potato gnocchi that were browned on one side and stirred into a buttery clam broth with tender littlenecks.
Knowing that Mr. Sukle seeks out produce I’m not likely to meet every day, I’d keep an eye out for things like Victor squash. This is also known as Red Warty Thing, an accurate description in the fall when it ripens, but Mr. Sukle is fond of it when it is still green and immature. Cut into thin raw crescents that were sandwiched with juicy slices of cantaloupe and sprinkled with fresh oregano and za’atar, then arranged over creamed feta, it tasted like a cucumber that has been carbo-loading. Its thin, edible skin was also delightfully free of large warts. (The Red Warty Thing lobby should feel free to use that language in its ad copy.)Knowing that Mr. Sukle seeks out produce I’m not likely to meet every day, I’d keep an eye out for things like Victor squash. This is also known as Red Warty Thing, an accurate description in the fall when it ripens, but Mr. Sukle is fond of it when it is still green and immature. Cut into thin raw crescents that were sandwiched with juicy slices of cantaloupe and sprinkled with fresh oregano and za’atar, then arranged over creamed feta, it tasted like a cucumber that has been carbo-loading. Its thin, edible skin was also delightfully free of large warts. (The Red Warty Thing lobby should feel free to use that language in its ad copy.)
Most nights see two whole, bone-in fish on the menu, one grilled and the other roasted. I’ve had yellowtail flounder and Boston mackerel, and both were cooked just the way they should be, with a hint of pink along the spine.Most nights see two whole, bone-in fish on the menu, one grilled and the other roasted. I’ve had yellowtail flounder and Boston mackerel, and both were cooked just the way they should be, with a hint of pink along the spine.
The same two desserts were offered each time I went. One was a rustic blueberry tart that was slightly underbaked on a first encounter and perfect the second time around. The other was a peach-blossom custard topped with fresh fruit. The custard had the fluffiness of a soft meringue. It was, in fact, a panna cotta infused with flowers that were preserved just like the rose petals and then frothed with a nitrous oxide canister. It was studiously put together but easy to like, which come to think of it is not a bad description of Oberlin itself.The same two desserts were offered each time I went. One was a rustic blueberry tart that was slightly underbaked on a first encounter and perfect the second time around. The other was a peach-blossom custard topped with fresh fruit. The custard had the fluffiness of a soft meringue. It was, in fact, a panna cotta infused with flowers that were preserved just like the rose petals and then frothed with a nitrous oxide canister. It was studiously put together but easy to like, which come to think of it is not a bad description of Oberlin itself.
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