Every restaurant has a signature dish or two on its menu. A few have become cult favorites and do not even appear on a printed menu. But regulars know to ask for them.
A regular customer at Perella’s Ristorante in Warren was in the mood for seafood one night but had trouble making up his mind. He ordered some littlenecks, then shrimp, then a few scallops with his pasta and white clam sauce. Diners at nearby tables noticed this bounty from the sea and wanted to order it, too. The restaurant put the customer’s creation on as a special a few nights later and sold out. Proprietor Lou Perella then put the dish, named for the customer, Stan Ross, on the restaurant’s menu. It remains a favorite on Perella’s menu and won an award in a pasta competition several years ago.
Veal Loretta has been on the menu at Sardella’s Italian Restaurant in Newport since it opened. Restaurateur Richard Sardella, a former Newport mayor, named it for his late mother. Veal Loretta, sautéed veal in olive oil with pancetta, mushrooms and onions finished with brandy and beef stock reduction is served over pasta. Sardella recommends the pancetta should be crispy. The tribute to his mother is still remembered by family members. Says Sardella: “Nine out of 10 of them order it when they visit from New Jersey.”
Some dishes become entwined with the restaurant. Legal Sea Foods’ clam chowder has been served at six presidential inaugurations. Ruth’s Chris Steak House’s sweet potato casserole is ordered every fall by restaurant patrons to serve at their home Thanksgiving tables. XO Steakhouse in Providence has featured the XO Filet on its menu since opening 11 years ago when the restaurant was known as XO Café. The 10-ounce filet is topped with seared scallops and served with roasted asparagus and macadamia nut butter.
At CAV Restaurant in the Downcity arts district in Providence, there is a salad on the menu with a heartwarming story. Proprietor Sylvia Moubayed is as well-known for her spiritual outlook on life as she is for her flavorful and eclectic menu. The Sophia, an entrée-sized creation of mixed wild greens and endive with sun-dried cranberries, apples, walnuts, Gorgonzola, and honey onion vinaigrette tossed with grilled chicken, is named for Moubayed’s granddaughter. Sophia was undergoing medical treatment at the time and her grandmother named the dish for her as a good-luck charm. It must have worked because the girl and the salad have both been doing well for several years.
Rick’s Roadhouse, on Richmond Street, the former Big Fish, is Citron Wine Bar & Bistro’s sister restaurant and is named for restaurant group co-owner Rick Bready. On the Roadhouse menu, the Buzzsaw Steak Chili is named for a close friend of Elkhay’s whose recipe won a Texas chili cook-off.
One of these local favorites may someday have the status of perhaps the best-known signature dishes, one that appears on many restaurant menus. The story of the Caesar salad revolves around one Caesar Cardini, who operated a restaurant in Tijuana. Late in the evening of July 4, 1924, friends of Cardini came in looking for something to eat. There was very little left in the kitchen but eggs, croutons, Romaine lettuce and parmesan cheese. Some accounts say there were also anchovies, Worcestershire sauce and lemons, but others dispute this and say these ingredients were added later. The friends essentially said “make us whatever you can.” Caesar did, and prepared it tableside with a flourish. There are several other claims to the salad’s invention, mainly from other members of the Cardini family, but it is generally agreed that the salad came from Caesar’s kitchen in Tijuana. •
Dining Out with Bruce Newbury (bruce@ brucenewbury.com) can be heard on TalkRadio 920 WHJJ-AM Fridays at 6 p.m. and Saturdays at noon.
