RI was snubbed by the New York Times best restaurant list. Here's what they missed

There's been a lot of talk in local circles and on social media about the recent publication of the New York Times Restaurant List of 2023. The newspaper calls it "America's Best Restaurants."

On the list are 50 restaurants in 28 states. Five are in California and five in New York. Texas has four. Florida, Oregon and Pennsylvania each have three. A bunch of states have two, including Illinois and Georgia. Restaurants in Idaho and Alaska are on the list.

New England has a total of three on the list – one each in Connecticut, Maine and Massachusetts. Ore Hill in Connecticut was built by philanthropist and socialite Anne Bass and provided for the restaurant in her will. The Maine restaurant Tinder Hearth is a rural pizzeria. Boston's Comfort Kitchen serves ethnic food from many traditions including that of the owners' native Ghana and Nepal.

Was Providence snubbed? Nope. All of Rhode Island was snubbed.

You can't say this list, by a bevy of New York Times food writers, is random. It couldn't have been compiled without some method to their madness. You can't really say it is capricious, but maybe it is a little audacious.

It's almost as if we need a new word for this could-be travesty. Or do we?

Though the editors call this "a best list" online, the actual story headline says "The 50 places in the United States that we're most excited about right now."

Doesn't that make so much more sense? All these writers went on vacation, or visited family or friends, or kids at school. They each had a magical experience at this restaurant or that one. Those are the 50 spots that made the list. That's what makes sense to me.

There are several thousand restaurants in Rhode Island alone. How many are there across the United States? How else would you select only 50? And 50 at such very different levels. Ore Hill in Connecticut serves foie gras. Tinder Hearth in Maine serves wood-fired pizza.

We can all be indignant on behalf of our hospitality community, sure. But should we?

Let me tell you about what I call the Red's Eats effect. I can't find the year but it was more than 15 years ago, maybe even 20, when the New York Times declared Red's Eats lobster roll the best in Maine. The little takeout spot is open seasonally right on Route 1 in Midcoast Maine in the town of Wiscasset.

At this point, let's just note that every New Yorker who doesn't come to South County in the summer heads to the Maine coast. Now, back to my story.

Red's always had a line of customers, but since that story, it's next-level hysteria to get their lobster roll, starting in April. What's so notable is that across the street, there's Sprague's Lobster. You'd be hard-pressed to tell the difference in rolls if you were blindfolded. But something, who knows what, made that writer go left instead of right. That, my friend, has made all the difference in this story for Red's.

Sprague's meanwhile, still operates, and does well, but generally doesn't have the hour to two-hour lines. Locals root for them.

What's my point? Rhode Island will survive the snub. It wasn't on the list last year or 2021. Does that mean we don't have great restaurants? Don't be absurd.

Truthfully, I loved the photos from all the restaurants on the NYT's list. But I got bored reading the short stories about them.

What I thoroughly enjoyed were the more than 500 comments from readers of the story online. One suggested the list being the 50 from the best publicists. Zing.  Some questioned why nearly every restaurant on the list was less than two years old. Others suggested their misses (no D.C. restaurants or ones in Puerto Rico) and made their own suggestions.

I bet you all know that you should take every list of the best in any category with a grain of salt. The writer might have gone left instead of right. It could be that simple.

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I worked out a short list of what they missed in Rhode Island. We can debate them all you want, but they make me happy!

I'll follow the New York Times lead and start with newish restaurants.

Gift Horse

Ben Sukle's Gift Horse opened this summer at 272 Westminster St. as one of the most highly anticipated restaurants of the year. It does not disappoint, with local shellfish including seafood towers, creative seafood dishes, perfect desserts and refreshing cocktails.

Little Sister

Go to Little Sister for a taste of Puerto Rico. You'll be thrilled with the flavors, from the guava pastry to the lunch specials of the day to the Sunday night wine tastings. And don't forget the brunch option. Milena Pagán is the chef/owner of Little Sister at 737a Hope St. in Providence, and she garnered a James Beard Foundation Best Chef Northeast semi-finalist nomination this year.

Val's English Tea & Pie Shop

Anglophiles rejoice that we have Val’s for a taste of Great Britain. The tea service with trays of sandwiches and sweet treats is amazing and worthy of securing a reservation at the Greenville restaurant at 466 Putnam Pike. Take home a pot pie for later.

Shark's Peruvian Cuisine

Head to Central Falls and 1420 Broad St. for a trip to South America. Sit right above the lovely Blackstone River and sip and savor ceviche like the Ceviche Mixto, a bowl full of a fresh-mixed selection of seafood and fish, including octopus and calamari rings. Or go for the feast of grilled meats, including ribyes, anticuchos beef heart skewers, pork ribs, chicken, chorizo and sausage. It comes in a mini-grill.

Locally made: RI is known for dining excellence. For 50 years, Johnson & Wales has nurtured that status.

Sly Fox Den Too

How did the NYT ignore Sherry Pocknett's restaurant? She made culinary history winning the James Beard Foundation Award for Best Chef Northeast for cooking indigenous cuisine from her Wampanoag culture at her Sly Fox Den Too restaurant at 4349 South County Trail in Charlestown.

Otra

From the owners of Bacaro, Brian Kingsford and Jennifer Matta, Otra, 303 South Main St., Providence, offers a taste of the Iberian Peninsula. Explore the foods of Spain and Portugal, with some Southern French influences from the Pyrenees.

Blu Violet

Rooftop dining atop the new Aloft Providence Downtown hotel offers view, vibes and delicious food and drink. Blu Violet at 191 Dorrance St. is the whole package. Think fashionable cocktails and creative dishes. The brunch is high energy with music, too. There might still be a few outdoor days for enjoying the balcony outside, too.

Bellini

Bellini, 50 Westminster St., Providence, at The Beatrice, is one of the city's most elegant dining experiences. The decor transports you to a mid-century modern world in New York City or Miami. But it's the food that shines, from Italian specialties to exceptional brunch choices on the weekend. Don't miss the cocktails.

Not new, but local hall of fame restaurants

In Providence, don't miss Nicks on Broadway (classic brunch), Persimmon (elegant cuisine and cocktails), Los Andes (Peruvian and Bolivian), Gracie's (pre-theater menu excellence), Hemenway's (stellar seafood) and Capital Grille (the steakhouse that launched a thousand filets). In Narragansett, don't miss Monahan's Clam Shack (get there before the season ends) and Coast Guard House (waterview dining destination). In East Providence, enjoy Nick Rabar's food at Avenue N and Honeybird Kitchen & Cocktails. In Newport, Gilded Age dining can be enjoyed at Castle Hill Inn and Cara at the Chanler on Cliff Walk. In Wakefield, there's Matunuck Oyster Bar, which offers their own oysters grown almost tableside.

This article originally appeared on The Providence Journal: Providence restaurants snubbed by New York Times best restaurant list