Went up to Newport, RI for one night this past weekend. It was restaurant week, so I had low expectations. I made a reservation at Spark for Saturday evening. It came highly recommended amongst internet chatter.
I called for a rezzie. The answering machine (where you can leave a message) asks you to call the owner’s cell phone, where you leave another message. Shortly thereafter, I got a phone call back. I got a reservation, but they told me it was restaurant week. Simply put, restaurant week in New York SUCKS. Restaurants participate with a half assed menu, as a way to get unsuspecting souls in the door. Once there, the menu is limited, and none of the “good” stuff is offered. So, naturally, I asked if the regular menu would be offered. She told me no, but that I could look up the menu for restaurant week online.
This is the menu that I stared at…
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Wow, it almost wanted me to pay $60 and order twice as many things!
One cool thing about Spark is that it is BYO. They charge $2.50 per person for the luxury of doing so. While the man next to us brought a pint of Dewar’s, I opted to bring a half btl of 2003 Rousseau Gevrey Chambertin. In addition, Spark, as per their website, tells its future patrons, that they can order a btl of vino from Vicker’s Wines, a Newport staple, and have it delivered, just in case you forget to bring something. Well, I knew Vicker’s has a decent selection of older stuff, so I figured I would try out this “delivery method.” I called Vicker’s at 7 pm, told them to deliver a btl of 1995 Guigal Ch D’Ampuis ($74.95 price) for my 8 pm reservation. Well, my btl was at the restaurant waiting for me when I arrived at 8 pm.
The Rousseau was an easy “suck down” wine. Simple, yet delicious, I might have been able to finish off a magnum on my own. The fruit was still all there, this was an outstanding btl of “inexpensive” 2003 red Burgundy.
The Guigal was, as you would expect it, funky. Near pristine condition, I tasted it and opted not to decant it. I think that was the right decision. As, by the end of the meal (2 hours) the wine was not as good as it was during the middle of the meal. Still, a great effort. It went perfect with my Cassoulet.
They brought out some bread to start. It was warm focaccia. An interesting choice. Not crazy about it, but the honey butter that went with it was awesome.
For a starter, wifee did the Pea soup. They insisted it was just a touch of cream. It looked more like a milk shake upon arrival. She liked it. I am not a pea soup fan, so I defer to the experts.
Our server recommended the Sweetbreads over the Frog’s Legs to start. Who am I to argue? Possibly the “flakiest” sweetbreads I have tasted, it came with Kalamatta Olives, Roasted tomatoes (that were to die for) and capers. It all just worked. A high recommendation from me.
My wife did the filet steak and I did the Cassoulet for dinner. The steak came with their own version of Cowboy ketchup. They added chipotle and bbq sauce to the ketchup. The best part of her dish was the green beans. Very fresh, just crisp enough, with salt, pepper, olive oil and garlic. The steak was very good as well.
My cassoulet was good as well, if you go for good Cassoulet.
For dessert, we nibbled on the Chocolate Peanut Butter Spring Rolls and the Warm Tart of Apples. The Spring Rolls were very rich. The tart utilized cheddar and bacon in it. Not sure that that worked for us, but we had no room for dessert anyways.
Our bill, before tip, was $70!!! Astonishing, for first class food! Kudos to Spark!