Yesterday a few of us went off island to Bristol-our new sister county-for lunch at Redlefsens, a German-style restaurant down by the water on Thames Street. Hearty portions, a super decorative décor with stained glass and Christmas lights-up because no one ever wanted to climb up there and take them down according to owner Jeff Guertler!
Our engaging waiter had much to tell us about the menu and food style that makes them renowned. I opted for a chicken Caesar salad-full of garlic, anchovies, parmesan and tasty chicken cooked from their rotisserie. Fellow blogger Andrea had pasta puttanesca-angel hair pasta amid olives, capers, tomatoes and their own twist-a kick of chili pepper.
My friend Annie was tempted by a menu item that Guertler had made an exception for us (he really wanted her to try it) with their signature Weiner Schnitzel-Chef Joe Folk’s authentic German creation served with red cabbage and spaetzle.
Wiener Schnitzel
As you can see from the photo-the plate was a masterpiece. Sautéed breaded veal-pounded thin (it took up most of the plate) and served with two fried eggs on top-I didn’t think anyone cooked these German classics anymore. And to Annie’s credit she did very well-leaving some to take home to her husband and especially wanting room for dessert.
This crew is all about dessert! They made me a sundae with vanilla ice cream and berries topped with outrageous fudge sauce.
Andrea had the Daisy Crepe, filled with ice cream and more of that killer hot fudge. Annie knew she should try the Apple Strudel but opted for the Triple Chocolate Mousse Cake.
During Newport Restaurant Week, remember it’s not just Newport-Jamestown, Middletown, Portsmouth, Tiverton, Little Compton and now Bristol participate-time for a road trip!
“Cross County…off island” i never thought i would become so island-phobic, but those terms used to describe your trek to bristol, resonated with me and actually made sense! fortunately for me, being in portsmouth, my trek is a lot shorter. so on a very stormy and rainy tuesday night, sans reservations, we cross-countied and off-islanded it and headed to dewolf tavern.
we had been to dewolf before, but had not been there recently. we were greeted very pleasantly and were offered the option of dining downstairs (the “tavern”) or upstairs (the more formal dining room). we chose the latter and were rewarded with a table overlooking the water by a convincing real “faux” gas fireplace. we were greeted formally but warmly by our wait person and here is what they are offering: http://www.gonewportrestaurantweek.com/PDFs/Restaurants/68.pdf.
for dinner, my partner chose for his starter, the mesclun salad (by default…he doesn’t like cod or the mixed seafood which the other two choices had) and i opted for the shrimp pakora with sweet chili sauce and a great beer by schrimshaw (which i highly recommend, it had depths and nuances that one generally associates with a good glass of wine). before our starters arrived, we were served bread and a ramekin of soft butter…i think hard cold butter always ruin great bread, so BRAVO dewolf. our starters arrived and we were both blown away by the oval plate that had my starter…8 prawns, coated with besan (chickpea flour), fried crisp, sitting on a bed of mesclun greens. it clearly made his plate of mesclun greens, pale in comparison. i did share my prawn pakoras with him and knew that the dipping sauce was going to be too sweet for his liking, but perfect for my should-be-diabetic taste buds.
for entrees, he chose the filet mignon and i hovered and debated between the grilled jumbo shrimp (why don’t they call it large prawns? i guess JUMBO anything sounds better); the seafood stew and the tandoor oven roasted chicken. after consulting our knowledgeable wait person, and asking for his recommendation (which i generally never take…which infuriates my partner…”why do you ask for their opinion, then never take it?” quoted verbatim). he did recommend the grilled shrimp, but since i had shrimp for a starter, and since i tend to favor dark meat on poultry, i opted for the seafood stew. his filet looked great and was a sizeable portion. my seafood stew was spectacular, which for those who know me is a word i very, very, very seldom use! mussels, clams, two JUMBO shrimp, a large scallop and a 2″ section of lobster bathed in an curry, rich and redolent with coconut milk. my only regret was that there were any crusty grilled slices of a baguette to sop up and enjoy the sauce…i “macguiver-ed” and used the left over bread and it was delicious!
for desserts, my partner chose the seasonal parfait, which our informed wait person told us consisted that evening of pears, grilled figs, toasted walnuts and pomegranate seeds with a raspberry sauce and whipped cream. i opted for the sticky toffee pudding. his dessert was served in a glass and was layered with the different ingredients listed by our waiter. he quit half way and i had a bite and it tasted good but confused…too much going on. my dessert was not what i was expecting, i guess i was hoping for a small individual pudding but was instead presented with a warm slice of good “brown bread” like cake, rich with molasses (which was good) drizzled with a caramel sauce and topped with a scoop of great vanilla ice cream.