Gift Horse — Restaurant in Providence

One of my biggest pet peeves is parking. I do not want to spend 20 minutes looking for parking. Luckily, there is multiple parking lots/garages nearby. The one I chose was $20 flat rate as long as it isn't overnight.

I arrived at the restaurant and was surprised at just how busy it was. The fact that it was a Friday was obviously a factor, but also a testament to how great the place really is. I expected to be disappointed by the hostess who I thought would tell me a reservation is required. To my delight, only parties of 6 or more are required to make a reservation. I agreed to be put on the waiting list and was told 45 minutes. I took advantage of the time to walk around and see the local sights.

Less than 45 minutes later I received a text notifying me that my seat was available. Not having a preference in being seated at the table or the bar definitely helped to speed things up.

Upon being seated (at the bar) I was offered regular or sparkling water. I turned it down, thinking there would be soda and the water and glass would be unneccesary. They in fact did not have soda. They did have a neat selection of cocktails, beer, wine, and a couple non-alchoholic options. Being a little thirsty, I chose a non-alchoholic option.

I was given two menus. One for the raw bar, and one that had the drinks available, chilled dishes, hot dishes, and three different size towers.

Naturally, I wanted to opt for the largest tower, but did not want to take up too much bar space. After the fact I realized it would have been fine and would not take up anymore space (horizontally) than the plates the oysters were being served on. They have several different varieties of oysters and serve little neck clams. The varieties have subtle differences in taste, but enough to decide which one is my favorite. I'm sure you're curious, but you'll have to decide which one suits your tastes the best.

After enjoying items from the raw bar, I indulged in several other dishes, ordered more from the raw bar, and then enjoyed a couple more dishes. The fried oysters are to die for. It was tempting not to try everything on the menu. The food was fresh, unique, delicous, and the plate presentation was spot on. Saw someone order fried pickles, and eithout even tasting them, I could tell they would have been the best fried pickles I ever had.

Service was top notch. Our server was courteous and had the perfect balance of attentiveness. She made sure to ask beforehand if I had any allergies or dietary restrictions. Items can be pricey, and it adds up quick, but its...

It's been a long while since I've remotely been excited about a place from witnessing and ordering from a well thought-out menu, experiencing stellar service, and a fine culinary touch on every aspect of the food served. Here, it happened and it broke the writer's block. It was one of those days that I just felt a need to drive somewhere and get out of town. I've never been to Rhode Island so I just googled popular restaurants as I began my drive south.

As one in the culinary industry, it is a professional habit to notice the finer details (as I would also expect of any critic) and here I found myself repeatedly smiling. Gift Horse as a name for a raw bar already beckoned many questions (which were later answered and gave further understanding to the culinary mastermind behind all of this) and their relatively tiny menu offered culinary uppercuts to the palate JUST by reading it. The words used expressed the mind of the chef behind all of it. I was already guessing her thought process and expression (once again, confirmed later by the amazing staff that took the time to discuss a great deal of who they were to me). Even the design of the restaurant spoke volumes of their thought process. Geez, I'm just going to say that the restroom was a complete LSD trip...

All these words said, I'll keep it simple. The food was impeccable and utterly ignited the palate. Every bite was a savory fresh finish. But what highlighted the night above everything else were the oysters. It helps to be in direct partnership with the farms instead of going through a middleman (once again confirmed by staff). I don't usually order another tray of oysters as a dessert but it happened here. I've never had RI oysters before (having always personally preferred Washington or Louisiana oysters) but they were plump, flavorful, and had more brine liquid this night than I've had my whole culinary and foodie career.

I really appreciate this place a lot. Thank you for being a culinary highlight and expression of what good food and service really is. I'll...

With the NYT putting Gift Horse on its list of America's 50 Best Restaurants and James Beard bestowing its coveted accolade, I had to check out what the excitement was all about. After trying over four dishes, I still don't know. Those are some towering distinctions, so expectations were proportionally raised. Yet nothing rose to such stunning heights of amazement, especially when compared against thousands of others in the vast dining scene.

The cold kelp, mushroom, kholrabi, and sesame salad failed to meld that promising combination into something exciting, instead being a bland, cold mush without flair. Their smoked fish dip was heavy on the cream cheese, light on the namesake ingredient. The accompanying puffed nori chips were a bit soft, likely sitting around long before serving. The thimbal-sized fermented green chili hot sauce did not pack much of a punch (which it was ordered for to bolster drab dishes). The sesame semifreddo was another dreary disappointment, a homogenized texture more dry than creamy, again lacking character of the theme ingredient, with cake crumb topping that just added to the mushy texture which begged for crunchy inclusion for contrast.

It wasn't all a disappointment. The pickled veggies were well cured and spiced, notably the soy items. And the smoked scallop roll was pure comfort food stuffed inside a crisped butter bun. But good as these were, neither wowed or compensated for the other lackluster dishes.

I didn't order from the raw bar, as I was interested in how the kitchen cooks. But maybe Mother Nature would have done it better. Ok, that's too harsh. The food was not bad, but it wasn't impressive enough to live up to the big awards--and...