Two ’ s Company
Whether it ’ s a craving for comfort food or a warm Spanish evening , these newbies hit the mark . By Karen Deutsch | Photography by Angel Tucker
Rhody Roots
Cassandra Brimmer and Luis Cruz think it ’ s a crime to follow a single path when you can ramble down several . The mantra is manifest in the eclectic decor of their restaurant , Rhody Roots : farmhouse windows at the bar , Italian tile on the dining room floor , a graffiti wall that asks what type of superhero you are , and an array of vintage plates that make it clear that nothing is meant to match and yet everything goes together in patchwork style . Think of it as a Greatest Hits , restaurant-style , in which bestsellers are pulled from every corner of the country .
Most of the menu is a homage to over-thetop , from a Thanksgiving turkey sandwich drenched in duck gravy to a lobster roll that ’ s poached in butter before being tossed in aioli , and a mid-morning waffle covered in liquid cheesecake cream and candied lemon zest . If this year has taught us anything it ’ s that life is short and now ’ s the time to eat . Cruz , who mans the kitchen , treats every meal as if it ’ s checking boxes on your bucket list : hoisin citrus ribs that fall from their bone when jostled , nachos riddled with pork belly and Bolognese in vegan or carnivore varieties .
If that ’ s not enough , some dishes arrive accessorized to the hilt , with a flourish of crispy rice noodles or a pyramid of fried potato shards . (“ Do you remember those cans of Durkee potato sticks ?” asks a guy , fully ensconced in his childhood . “ I have just been taken way back .”)
But if the bread and butter at Rhody Roots is about fried , gravy-doused indulgence , the light side of the kitchen comes out in plates of sushi — the most unexpected arm of this anything-goes joint . The catch is streamlined — tuna , salmon , eel , crab — but the rolls , wrapped in slightly warm rice , are really good and worth taking a more straightforward path through dinner .
You can , after all , just drink creatively . Cruz also takes on the role of mixologist on occasion and the bar is full of sour mixes and syrups that create a collection of rainbowhued cocktails . Thyme and blood orange , blackberry , blueberry , rhubarb : All of them show up to spike the booze in Skittles fashion . If it sounds silly , it drinks seriously . Nothing is cloying and , like the menu , there ’ s a layered effect of heat , sweet and sour to punctuate a meal that runs the gamut from downright healthy to covered in cheese .
If you doubt his ability to marry a midnight refrigerator raid with technical skill , it ’ ll all come down to a single dessert that calls itself fried rice pudding and climbed out of the recesses of Cruz ’ s childhood . It ’ s a scoopful of rice pudding , thick with warm spices , that ’ s deep-fried and drizzled with chocolatehazelnut spread and some sort of hypnotic opiate that will make you young again — or , perhaps , older and better . Fried food rarely disappoints but this manifestation delivers way more than it humbly suggests . Like everything at Rhody Roots , it ’ s a DIY project that went right in almost every respect , for half the price . Hey , the decor may be every which way , and outdoors the glasses might be plastic , but the love is real .
RHODY ROOTS 511 Main St ., Warren , 903-9159 , rhodyroots . com .
MUST GET Sushi , sticky ribs , fried rice pudding .
CAPACITY Based on social distancing requirements .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l JANUARY 2021 107