FACING PAGE: New
England lobster roll with
preserved lemon, fried
shallot and trout roe with
Coco’s Punch cocktail. THIS
PAGE: Smoked chicken with
harissa, candied lemon
and broccolini.
The Wayfinder Hotel —
which looks far more like a
motel — is in disguise.
Sitting on Admiral Kalbfus
Highway, it stretches in
squat fashion, horizontally, on a large
asphalt parking lot. It looks, momentarily,
like a bare-bones refuge for families
traveling southward and who likely took
a wrong turn.
But there are clues that all is not as
it appears. The first three spots in the
humdrum parking lot are charging
stations for electric cars. (Hmmmmm.)
Chairs on the patio facing that same lot
are just a bit too colorful, a tad too trendy,
to be an afterthought. And the moniker,
sitting atop the building in flamboyant
retro typeface, suggests a style that’s
anything but accidental.
One step into the lobby and the jig is
entirely up. Inside is a merry mid-century
explosion that centers around a mustard
yellow firepit surrounded by sofas that
attract twenty- and thirty-something
guests after 8 p.m. for cocktails and
conversation, many of them with a toddler
or two around their ankles. The Wayfinder
is kid- and pet-friendly to such a degree
that guests without either seem anomalous
or at least lonely.
But the hotel has something celebratory
to offer, even for those solo travelers,
and nowhere is it more evident than in its
restaurant, Nomi Park. Owned by chefs
Chad Hoffer and Tyler Burnley, as well as
Anna Burnley — who already have TSK,
Mission and Winner, Winner in their
portfolio — it’s an unabashed homage to
the HoJo days, when family pilgrimages
in the station wagon were the highlight
of summer. The restaurant looks like a
scene from Ang Lee’s “The Ice Storm,”
a collection of vignettes in which groups
can gather in bright orange booths or
cheetah-patterned benches. It’s a
throwback for people too young to know
the reference but who are living large
just the same, against a backdrop of an
orange and blue medley, a big old bar and
an endless parade of cocktails.
Nomi Park doesn’t feel anything like
either incarnation of TSK. The interior
bears some resemblance to Ogie’s Trailer
Park but with an aggressively good menu.
This, of course, is where Hoffer and
Burnley come back into view. Howard
Johnson’s didn’t have lofty culinary
ambitions because their clientele wasn’t
interested. But this team (and their
following) walk the thin line between
kitsch and complexity with dexterity.
The menu is full of self-proclaimed
comfort food and, in the wake of
quaran-times, that’s a safe and welcome
bet. But “comfort” doesn’t translate as
staid; it’s a jumping-off point.
If the original family restaurants
focused on fried fish and burgers, Nomi
Park insists on molding that wet clay into
a different shape. Starters may include a
plate of poutine covered in chicken confit
and light gravy that one diner declares,
“the chicken a la king of my dreams.”
***
NOMI PARK
151 Admiral Kalbfus Hwy., Newport,
849-9880, nomiparknpt.com.
Open daily for breakfast, lunch and dinner.
Wheelchair accessible. Lot parking.
CUISINE
Retro favorites through a modern prism.
CAPACITY
Eighty, although social distancing
may affect seating.
VIBE
HoJo meets Hipster.
PRICES
$9–$25; entrees $18–$28; dessert $6–$10.
KAREN’S PICKS
Fluke crudo, steak tartare, poutine,
roast chicken.
KEY
Very Good
Excellent + Half-star
* Fair ** Good ***
****
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2020 81