a snow-capped mountain , completely monochromatic and dynamic . It ’ s a cabbage-based Caesar salad , tart with yuzu instead of lemon , and fully covered in fluffy Parmesan . Does cheese belong in a ramen bar ? Apparently .
But if it seems like a divergence from Pickerel ’ s homage to the Far East , there ’ s always the menma rice . It ’ s arguably the most poetic of the small plates : unabashed in its articulation of tradition and humble in its execution . It ’ s a pickled dish that ’ s sharp but fragrant with sesame , a perfect foil for the sweet Koshihikari rice . Bamboo shoots make an appearance more than once on the menu but giving them the spotlight is a tell as far as the kitchen ’ s philosophy . There ’ s a modesty in these dishes that makes the end product more impressive , a combination of ingredients that is so singularly unassuming that the composed dish is all the more miraculous .
CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT : The bar at Pickerel ; highball
Du Jour ; barley daiquiri .
Nowhere is this more evident than in the ramen , which is as interpretative as it is traditional . Noodles are thin at Pickerel , which puts more attention on the broth , each version of which is markedly defined . The spicy sesame is bright orange with chili oil , ground pork and a tangle of chrysanthemum greens . The heat comes up front but there ’ s so much flavor that settles into the background that it ’ s hard to think of any way to improve the balance . It ’ s the most integrated of the bowls and , despite its opposing textures , each spoonful is a compilation of building blocks .
The negi shoyu and “ Carpenter Street ” versions , though , are ambitious in their own right . Both are chicken-based , though the negi shoyu is richer and almost beef-like in its flavor , offset by raw scallions and slices of pork . Carpenter Street , however , is a bowl that would bring anyone home . The broth is dotted with little pools of fat drawn from pork belly , the marriage of which creates a soup that sits in some borderland between umami and sweet . Ramen , of course , has countless groupies who live for the adventure of exploring its elements and Pickerel ’ s bowls are an epic culinary odyssey . The only way they ’ d be better is if the kitchen offered a flight of broth to save diners the torture of choosing from a nightly trio .
But , if the exercise of eating here is intense , pastry chef Millie Joslyn — who hails from Big King — ends the meal with flourishes of whimsy . There are warm cookies and
clafoutis , though her work is usually centered on ice cream , combining everything from matcha and strawberry to cocoa and shiitake . She ’ ll test the limits of almost any pairing , but never strays too far from a kid ’ s imagination . Malted miso ice cream , wedged between bananas with maraschino cherries , is a sweet and savory circus , festooned with bitter coffee caramel — a fitting end to any meal that thrives on the unexpected .
One has to think this small space has some sort of spirit , a persistent quirkiness that will only allow kismet souls to exist in its walls . The footprint is diminutive but those who manage it continue to insist that personality is a product of idiosyncratic choices . Like the original north , wine at Pickerel still shows up in plastic cafeteria cups — this time because Smith ’ s priority is not in formality but in telling you to watch out for “ baby bubbles ” in the Portuguese white or that the South African red is “ chewy with a little bit of wood .”
And even if you order everything on the menu twice , the laid-back servers will simply nod and tell you it ’ s “ cool .” No doubt the neighborhood has come to expect great things from the West End ’ s smallest restaurant and Pickerel is all about making it happen , once again . 🆁
134 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2023