By Brooke Biolo | International News Editor
Newport’s Restaurant Week is any college student’s dream; a chance to ditch the sub-par meal plan and indulge yourself with a three course lunch for 15 dollars or a three course dinner for 30 dollars. One of Newport’s newer spots is celebrating the week in their own unique way. I had the pleasure of a seasonal three-course lunch at Midtown Oyster Bar. The restaurant is definitely offering great variety, suitable for all pallets.
The starters on the menu offered soups and salad. I went with the “soup of the day” which was a delicious butternut squash soup. Balsamic reduction added tang to the otherwise sweet dish. The warm thick soup was just what I needed to warm up on a glum and rainy Friday. My friend went with the garden salad, a beautiful array of vegetables and a very sizable portion, in their typical “dinner salad” bowl.
Then the entrees came. The choices ranged from a chopped salad with chicken, a blackened salmon BLT or Mussels Frites, my personal choice. The steaming mussels were topped with crispy, golden brown, shoestring French fries and finished with aioli. As I ate my way to the bottom of the seemingly endless bowl, I made sure to let my fries soak in the broth from the mussels, the way the dish is traditionally eaten. The broth soaked fries had a wonderful ocean fresh taste that released only as your sunk your teeth into them.
Just when I thought I could not take another bite, the desserts came. Beautiful and fresh raspberries, blackberries and strawberries in a lovely glass goblet topped with homemade whipped cream and a type of white cream sauce on the side. The mix of the tart berries with the sweetness of the cream sauce and the fluff from the whipped cream created a truly delectable dish. My friend’s key lime pie was raved about as well.
Though there were not many people in the restaurant, we had a fabulous time warming up, filling up and enjoying each other’s company on the first day of Newport’s Restaurant week!
