2014 Newport Restaurant Week Review

By Quisan Taylor-Lawhon | Photography Editor

Many of Newport’s finest destinations for the season’s freshest and most innovative prepared dishes serve not only dinner, but lunch too. The lunch and dinner duo is offered at a variety of cuisine themed restaurants from Busker’s Irish Pub, to Diego’s Mexican inspired flavors to Newport’s steak and seafood sanctuaries like 22 Bowens.  Located in the heart of Newport is 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar and Grille, a world-class steakhouse, at which locals and foreigners can experience lunch and dinner on the waterfront.

For this spring’s April 4^th thru 13^th Restaurant Week, 22 Bowen’s Wine Bar and Grille served as the sample location for what to expect for lunch and dinner in Newport. The ambiance of having lunch versus dinner at 22 Bowen’s centered on the level of intimacy for each table. Lunch as oppose to dinner featured bare wooden tables set of groups and couples. The sun’s rays filled the rooms through the floor to ceiling windows, gave an open and casual quality throughout the afternoon delight. Whereas the dim lit, white linen cloth of dinner’s tables gave a more intimate and sophisticated atmosphere for guests. The unanticipated twist came from the dishes offered for this spring’s Restaurant Week three course prefixed price menu.

The menu for this week featured the typical three-course meal. The lunch’s first course or “Starters” embraced warm and savory flavors from the 22B potato, bacon and dill Clam Chowder to the Shrimp and Sweet Corn Fritters served with Harissa Aioli. The filling foods are what guests enjoy first. The second course or “Entrée” opens the palette with many re-freshening and lighter tastes.

 Taking a look at 22 Bowen’s twist on the common grilled cheese by adding bacon and apple. Along with using Brie cheese and infusing a Cider Aioli between two slices of toast. The apple in this course is in the most unexpected place, providing a burst crisp sweetness mixed with the crunch of the salty bacon. The inventive dishes continue into the desert portion of the meal.

A cross between cake and pudding, the Chocolate Budino, light and rich is paired with sea salt caramel, whipped cream and cubes of brownie. This course is a slice of heaven for chocolate lovers everywhere.

 

 

Lunch is prepared fearlessly at 22 Bowen’s. Creating savory flavors and almost filling dishes upfront in the Starter course. The dinner’s approach is slightly different in that the 2^nd course or Entrée is the filling and heaviest course of the three for the meal. Both the Starter and the Desert are light and open the palette. Focusing on the Starter selections, salads added to this course. The Citrus Cured Artic Char salad, served with an avocado paste, pomegranate seeds over fresh green goddess. This salad contains smooth textures due to the avocado paste and cured Char fillet. As well as pops of acidity from the pomegranate seeds and the citrus cured flavor of the Char. The palette is awakened with the Starters punch of chilled fillet fruits and vegetable salad. Following this comes the richest dishes: Petit Filet Mignon, Colorado Lamb Sirloin and Roasted Market Cod are just three to choose from in the main course for dinner. As a world-famous steakhouse, 22 Bowen’s Petit Filet Mignon is the highly anticipated dish to showcase why this waterfront restaurant is loved so much. Cooked to a tender medium-well, this dish was filling, savory and sweet. Lightly cooked asparagus is paired with Duck Fat Fingerling Potatoes and Black Garlic Bordelaise. Finishing off the evening with an airy Lemon Olive Oil Cake creates an appreciation for the delicate, sweet and tart dishes. With toasted Meringue and Rhubarb jam to fulfill any sweet tooth. The desert, may be small in proportion but with ends dinner on a note of satisfaction.

Restaurant Week opens the mind and stomach to the possibilities of dinning for lunch and dinner. Next time noon hits walk into your nearest island kitchen and enjoy what the chief has prepared for you and yours.