Chez Pascal
960 Hope Street
Providence
by Bob Mariani
Long the East Side’s only French restaurant, Chez Pascal took on a new life about a year ago when it was acquired by Kristin and Mathew Gennuso from Boston. The Gennuso’s spruced up the cozy neighborhood atmosphere of the place and proceeded to take the menu to a whole new level. Whereas the previous Chez Pascal was a pretty traditional American-zed French eatery, the "nouveau" version is a lot more like a very sophisticated bistro in the heart of some smart Parisian neighborhood.
Chef Mathew has trained at the Culinary Institute of America and spent over a decade perfecting his craft with some of the world’s best chefs here and abroad. Both Mathew and Kristen are warm, welcoming hosts and the service at Chez Pascal couldn’t be more friendly and attentive. The atmosphere is casual and comfortable with a small bar with a window that lets in the evening light.
From a very sturdy list of bottled wines, there are also 18 different by-the-glass options plus a featured wine of the day, plus some of Chez Pascal’s own creative martini concoctions. (Mine was garnished with a seasonal, pickled fiddlehead fern.)
During the week, Tuesday through Thursday, Chez Pascal offers what may be the best dining deal in town— their bistro menu. For $28 you can choose from three appetizers, three entrée’s, and dessert, plus a glass of the house wine. And believe me, whether you select a starter like their chicken liver mousse with greens and arrope (a mélange of pumpkin and raisins); their beef Bourguignonne with oyster mushrooms, roasted shallots and bacon; and a dessert like their house-made cherry claflouti with crème chantilly— you will come away feeling very satisfied for a very reasonable price.
On my most recent visit to Chez Pascal, I began with a choice from the regular dinner menu, their cured slow roasted pork belly, which Chef Mathew described to me as "…bacon that’s gone to heaven." The melt-in-your-mouth pork, shaped like a chop but without the bone, came with a rich grainy mustard, sherry and soy sauce, and was beautifully accented by a little nest of pickled carrot salad ($9).
Some of the other appetizer options included a marvelous selection of artisan cheeses with arrope and spiced walnuts ($12); crispy duck leg confit with spaetzli in a port wine sauce ($9); escargots a la Bourguignonne baked with garlic, parsley and pernod butter ($10); a selection of house pâté’s and Charcuterie ($8).
On the menu of entrée’s, the choices are all so intriguing it’s hard to decide. Previously, I’ve loved their slow roasted duck served with wilted dandelion greens, some intoxicating warm cherries and a deep, rich sour cherry sauce ($24).
This time I opted for the sautéed Bomster scallops, which Mathew told me are always fresh from the dock that day in Stonington, Connecticut. The medium-size scallop morsels, cooked to perfection in a brown butter vinaigrette sauce, were mixed with a wonderfully refreshing combination of tiny mussels, tidbits of bacon and— perhaps, most delightful— dainty slivers of toasted almonds ($24).
Other entrée’s this time of year are: a roasted boneless half-chicken with turnips, parsnips and Swiss chard with a bacon-wrapped crouton and a brandy cream sauce (for $18 how could you go wrong here?); a grilled culotte steak with haricot vert, roasted shallots and bacon with a truffle fingerling potato salad and a fois gras vinaigrette ($26); a grilled marinated loin of veal ($28); and a sautéed native black bass filet with fava beans, morel mushrooms and fingerling potatoes with a salad of pea tendrils and saffron oil ($25).
Chez Pascal also has an a’ la carte "Vegetarian Tasting Menu" for $27.50.
Of course, no French restaurant would be complete without a shamelessly seductive array of house-made desserts. So how’s this? Warm chocolate and hazelnut molten cake with a Sable’ cookie accompanied by espresso-scented crème Anglaise and vanilla ice cream; or field-grown rhubarb crumble with rolled oats, walnuts and mint tea ice cream; or apricot and white chocolate bread pudding with an apricot and champagne compote and vanilla ice cream; or a tasting of three French custards; or warm old fashioned profiterole with praline ice cream and caramel sauce; or my choice-- a pear upside down cake.
I was served an unbelievably light crown of spongy cake soaked in a rich brown caramel-like sauce. Interspersed throughout were small bits of pear and gorgeous chunks of Great Hill blue cheese for a truly marvelous balance of the sweet and the pungent. All desserts are $7 and there is also an excellent cheese tray for $12.
As if the new Chez Pacal’s weren’t a great enough culinary addition to the Hope St. neighborhood, Mathew has also created "Herwin’s Dog," his own old fashioned hot dog cart for the summer. After a relentless search for the perfect old spoke-wheeled cart, Matt has added the "perfect dog," home- made and served with tantalizing custom-created relishes, mustards, sauerkraut and other "dog adornments." You’ll find the hot dog stand in the grassy park across Hope St. at lunchtime on Tuesdays through Saturdays from 11am. Chez Pascal’s is open every night for dinner. For reservations call 421-4422 or visit their website
.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.
