FACING PAGE : Market salad ( center ). THIS PAGE , CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT : Quiche with marinated zucchini , celery gremolata and hash browns ; lamb sausage
with corn polenta ; whipped ricotta beach rose doughnut .
P rovidence had barely more than a year-and-a-half to get to know Eric Brown before he shuttered Thick Neck , a short-lived , hard-hitting repository of contemporary cuisine housed in the Dean Hotel . Everything about the restaurant existed in the realm between audacity and irreverence , so it was something of a shock when Brown announced he was giving up the nightlife to open a brunch spot with his partner , Sarah Watts , a mile-and-a-half away .
Brunch — that nebulous slice of time between early morning and evening — has always been the most benign meal of the day , offering a greatest hits album of dishes . True , things started to evolve last year when Oberlin began serving brunch , expanding the lexicon to include oysters every which way , all things mortadella , and a very European outlook . But the decision to give up dinner service for a five-hour window of eggs and pancakes seems like a step backward in the realm of creative vision . Like I said , though : Brown is a man who thrives on revising the culinary canon .
Unlike Thick Neck , there is a streak of sentimentality to Frank & Laurie ’ s . It ’ s named after Brown ’ s grandparents and there ’ s something distinctly precious about its homegrown aesthetic . The former bagel shop has been transformed into a dining room paneled in warm woods and rattan seats , crowned by a teal blue ceiling . Wildflowers and plants cascade off counters and a sixteen-seat communal table sits atop a Persian-style rug in the center along with a swath of smaller , more intimate tables .
It ’ s weathered in the most inviting way , asserting itself as a fixture in the neighborhood for what seems like decades . Even the tchotchkes — including a 1960s “ Oscar Orange ” figurine that predates Mr . Potato Head , a fifty-year-old quadraphonic receiver , and slightly unnerving ceramic baby and bisque Kewpie dolls that overlook the dining
FRANK & LAURIE ’ S
110 Doyle Ave ., Providence , frankandlauries . com
Open Wed .– Sun . 10 a . m .– 3 p . m . Reservations for Fri . night only .
Wheelchair accessible . Street parking .
CUISINE A remake of American brunch .
CAPACITY Just shy of forty indoors with
additional seating outdoors .
VIBE Grandma cooking on a world stage and winning .
PRICES Small plates : $ 5.50 –$ 14 ; sandwiches , salads and
breakfast : $ 13 –$ 15 ; larger plates : $ 26 –$ 27 .
KAREN ’ S PICKS Everything . And a biscuit .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l SEPTEMBER 2024 107