Kartabar
284 Thayer Street
Providence
by Bob Mariani
Kartabar is a very smart restaurant, in every sense of the word: Smartly designed and decorated in sophisticated blacks with earthy highlights and a classy looking bar that looks out on busy Thayer Street; and smartly in tune with their audience’s tastes and dining preferences with a menu that offers delicious meal-size appetizers, salads and burgers, as well as full-fledged entrées and pasta dishes. Katabar’s menu is also smartly priced so that the many Brown and RISD students who frequent the place can enjoy a very tasty yet affordable meal; or when mom and dad come to town for a visit, indulge in a filet mignon or veal tenderloin with all the trimmings.
We visited early on a rainy Tuesday night and were shown to a dimly let corner table. We watched as the wait staff, all female and clad in body hugging black, worked the room, which was beginning to fill up fairly quickly now. The atmosphere is casual but sophisticated.
I ordered the coconut shrimp platter appetizer ($7.50). It was a meal in itself with a lean-to of battered and deep fried asparagus and zucchini stacked over a nest of greens. The shrimp were medium size and their mild flavor balanced well with their crunchy coconut coating. My wife had the French onion soup ($3.50), a rich broth steeped with hardy, long-cooked onion flavor and topped with a gooey cheese--a classic just right for a cold rainy night.
I wondered about another of the appetizers, "Mussels Marinara." The menu described it as "…mussels sautéed in garlic, white wine and rosemary and fresh parsley, in a tomato sauce." White wine in a Marinara sauce? I’ll have to try that next time. Starters also included things like filet mignon carpaccio ($7.50); calamari Marseilles; bistecya bruschetta— sliced and grilled rib eye steak with mozzarella and a shallot cream sauce on toasted bread; and "Chicken Meshwi," grilled chicken on skewers dressed with a peppery pomegranate honey glaze.
My wife’s entre’e was a hefty grilled turkey breast ($16), juicy and tender and marinated to perfection in garlic, white wine and fresh herbs. It was simply ganished with lemon and extra virgin olive oil and accompanied by some creamy, light mashed potatoes. Your basic "meat-and-potatoes concept taken to quite another level. From their long list of thin crust pizzas, I chose the Juliano ($11.50). It was easily big enough for two or even three people. Topped with lots of melted gorgonzola, mozzarella, fontina and regiano cheeses, the Juliano featured delightfully sweet accents of sautéed pears and figs. The crust was thin and tasty but I prefer my thin pizza crusts with a little more olive oil so they are chewy rather than flaky. This was perhaps a more "Greek" or fusion version.
All the burgers on the menu at Kartabar are 8oz. There’s the Basha Burger with tomato and red onion; the Kartar Burger topped with sautéed mushrooms, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato and red onions; the Mediterranean Burger with roasted red peppers, goat cheese and a kalamata olive tapenade. Entre’es include a grilled filet mignon stuffed with gorgonzola cheese and glazed with red wine ($19.50); champagne sea bass ($16.50) roasted with plum tomatoes, basil and red onions; a herb encrusted seared tuna steak ($16); and a grilled veal tenderloin with garlic, rosemary and a port wine demi-glaze. For dessert we indulged in their house made lava carrot cake, which was a round loaf of crumbly carrot cake with a sweet creamy custard center; and their special chocolate banana bread served warm in a rich syrupy sauce with a scoop of coffee ice cream. Both were as sweet and filling as a dessert should and could be.
Kartabar’s is certainly one of the more successful "fusion" menus I’ve encountered. Think of it perhaps as the "world music" of food—just exotic enough to be different without being totally foreign. There’s smoking at the bar and handicapped access. They’re open Sundays through Thursdays 11am to 1am; Fridays and Saturdays from 11am to 2am. 331-8111.
www.kartabar.com.Bob Mariani is a Southeastern New England freelance author. Besides his "Table for Two" restaurant reviews found here, he also writes jazz articles on allaboutjazz.com.
