The Best

Food & Drink

Best deck at sunset

The Outrigger restaurant in Warwick is the place to relish a sunset while partaking in some of the finest waterfront fare the state has to offer. With an upstairs deck and bar overlooking Brewer's Yacht Yard and the East Greenwich Bay, the Outrigger provides for amazing sunsets and moonrises, blanketing the Bay in surreal fiery red tones from Oakland Beach to the Newport Bridge. The Outrigger caters to a crowd that is a bit more sophisticated than the multitude of Water Street restaurants that drunken college inhabitants invade every summer. The enticing menu offers everything from filet mignon to Mako shark, $9.99 dinner specials, and an array of delicious appetizers and pasta dishes, prepared by Johnson and Wales grad Tom Cannon. Reservation required for parties of 8 or more. 100 Folly Landing, Warwick, 541-9100.

Best veggie calamari

The first time you have batter-fried pacaya ($6) at El Chapin, you might be in for a botany lesson. Even if you are shown the tentacled vegetable in a jar of briny liquid, it's hard to get a grip on what part of the plant you are consuming. Turns out it's the spiky flower of the pacaya palm tree. The texture is awfully squid-like, just like its appearance, but is also like thick slices of pan-fried eggplant. It's nicely egg-battered, like a chili relleno, and served with tasty ranchero sauce, black beans and rice, and hand-made, thick, warm tortillas. The shrimp rancheros ($7) are also tops, and a popular dish with the locals is fried plantains with beans and sour cream, served with each breakfast item. 486 Broadway, Providence, 273-2320.

Best BYOB joint on da Hill

For 12 years Plaza Grille chef/owner and Johnson and Wales grad Fran Whiting has been serving up the Hill's most eclectic, original Mediterranean cuisine in an adorable bistro setting. The weekend brunch, served until 2:30 p.m., is comparable to none. Then the dinner menu offers intriguing and enticing dishes that would have Emeril reaching for a pen and paper: the savory apps, including butternut-squash ravioli in a sage butter-cream sauce, and outstanding artichoke fritters served with a horseradish-beet hollandaise prove that there is indeed life after calamari. The ever-changing menu has included fettuccini with smoked salmon in a dill and parmesan cream sauce ($15.95), a beautiful paillarde of veal, chicken, and shrimp in citrus vinaigrette atop a mesclun salad ($17.95). The Grille has also mastered the art of lobster ravioli (now a Rhody staple), the best in the biz. 64 DePasquale Avenue, Providence, 274-8684.

Best place to get a testosterone rush in one deep breath

There are portraits of dour movers and shakers on the walls, and a power in the air you could slice like the $25 dry-aged porterhouse steaks on the tables. The first one was in Providence and now nine more are around the country, from Miami to Minneapolis and to within two blocks of the White House. The portraits and the brass and dark wood décor varies at Capital Grille, but what stays the same are the glass walk-in refrigerators displaying meat that is hung for two to four weeks to ripen a variety of steaks to tender perfection. If that's not enough to flare your nostrils, you can pump up your ego along with State House top dogs and self-declared honchos by renting a personal wine locker with your name on a nice big brass plate. One Cookson Place, 521-5600.

Best animal motif

Actually the theme started with a British expression meaning a fun-loving or devilish person. But Cheeky Monkey has taken the idiom a bit farther: there are monkeys on the chandeliers, in the rugs and perched in every nook and cranny; monkeys in costume are painted onto the walls; there's even a Barrel of Monkeys game at the bar. Carried over into the menu, the monkey motif is subservient to the colonial strains of Asian, Indian, Cajun and Creole cuisine. But there is a banana/plantain chutney served with hickory-smoked pork chops and smothered collard greens ($23.95); the signature dessert is the bananas foster sundae ($6.95); and a banana leaf lines a bread basket that sometimes includes a "monkey bread" sweet roll and always some slices of banana bread. Need we say Cheeky Monkey is the place to have a swinging good time? Well, maybe we don't. 14 Perry Mill Wharf, Newport, 845-9494.

Best place to pick up food for the (entire) weekend

It's Saturday afternoon and, if you're like any of us lazy slobs at Phoenix Central, you have no desire to spend time in the kitchen. We head up Broad Street to Tony's Delicatessen, where you'll invariably find long lines at the back meat counter waiting for the biggest and best bargain grinder ("grindah") in the metropolitan area. Order the large size and you're set for the whole weekend, although you might want to rent a van to haul the giant sandwich home. Good Italian bread, high quality deli meats, hot pepper spread if you like it -- mmmm, this is a classic. The ultimate endorsement? Tony's is actually a neighborhood market, but the sandwiches are so legendary that it now calls itself "Tony's Delicatessen," and after noon on Saturdays, you'll notice that over half the people in the market are there expressly for the grindahs. 769 Broad Street, Providence, 461-4700.

Best coffeehouse you're not hanging out at

There's plenty of eating and shopping out Hope Street, but somehow the Hope Street Gallery and Café doesn't quite fit. It's the kind of coffeehouse where patrons gripe good-naturedly about writer's block and argue about movies like they mean it. Discreetly dark, crowded with art and littered with quality reading materials and board games, this place is so cozy and cool you could lose a day here easy. And if your day job prohibits you from hanging, be sure and pick up a schedule for events at night. Hope Street features live music three nights a week and poetry readings and literary chat sessions every Wednesday. Be glad this place exists and gladder still that its imperfect address keeps it from being as mobbed as it deserves to be. 810 Hope Street, 621-8962.

Best military discipline among waitstaff

You've got to love -- or at least sit at attention at -- a restaurant that has a captain and his assistants (privates? corporals?) serve you. That's the deal at Spain where if you get the captain, a formally dressed gentleman will take your order, and an array of helpers will light your candle, bring your drinks, keep your water glass filled, bring your courses, clear your plates, scrape your crumbs, and all but dab your lips with your napkin. At restaurants associated with culinary schools you can expect such an abundance of service, but it's a special treat at a formal restaurant, especially at a moderately priced one like Spain. Not to mention that the mariscada salsa verde will bring joyful tears to the eyes of any garlic lover. 1073 Reservoir Avenue, Cranston, 946-8686; 1144 Ocean Road, Narragansett, 783-9770.

Best place to luxuriate in the glow of former gangster glory

The last great restaurant along the Atwells Avenue eating strip, running from the pine cone arch to Harris Avenue, is Lucy's, a romantic little place with a beautiful outdoor patio hidden away in the back for warm weather dining. Fabulous Food Babe, Diane Slater (long a mainstay of the Downcity Diner) is one of the owners and longtime Providence residents know that her standards are high. Creative meals, many with a southwestern flavor, are served by a friendly and attentive staff. And those who know their local gangland history will recognize that, before Lucy's took up residence here, this was the home of a little coffee and pastry joint run by the reputed head of organized crime, Luigi "Baby Shanks" Manocchio. Undercover FBI guys may not come in as often as they used to, but food-wise you will definitely not be disappointed. 441 Atwells Avenue, Providence, 273-1189.

Best thing to happen to a wonton

Wontons made their reputation in soup, as a soft and soggy dumpling with a chewy piece of pork wrapped inside their pasta-like skin. Next they graduated to appetizers, either fried or steamed. But now, at Neath's New American Bistro, the humble wonton has found its true destiny: as a dessert ($7). Chef Neath Pal, in an inspired illustration of his Euro-Asian kitchen, has wrapped the wonton skin around a bit of dark chocolate, quickly deep-fried it so that the chocolate melts and runs out as you cut into it and garnished these tantalizing tidbits with fresh ginger ice cream. Chocolate wontons are a light but decadent end to any of Neath's fine meals, including his justly famous roasted sea bass with black beans and ginger ($19) or the scrumptious braised lobster in a red curry sauce with Cantonese noodles ($23). 262 South Water Street, Providence, 751-3700.

Best non-prequel dinner

The high, stainless steel doors loom Lucas-like, and six back-lit letters spell it out: EMPIRE. But the letters announce not another Jedi-imprinted production but a George Germon/Al Forno one. As one of the backers of Loren Falcone and Eric Moshier's Empire Restaurant, Germon wanted a diner's first impression to be that of entering a very exclusive club. His distinctive eye for color, texture and gloss is everywhere: the gold-sprayed wall behind the bar, the polished granite atop it, the copper lamps along it, the different greens in woodwork and chair seats, the natural brick wall at one end. It all sets the mood for a food that fuses many traditions - none of which originate from Hoth -- from Falcone's grandmother's chicken soup with fennel meatballs ($6) to her own double-marinated half-chicken ($19). Other great one's include the cheese fondue ($7), the hake baked with polenta and vegetables ($23), and the decadent pies, crepes and cookies ($6-8). 123 Empire Street, Providence, 621-7911.

Best place to have your first meal outta the slammer

After spending the better part of 20 years patiently crossing off the dates on your calendar with permanent black marker, your day of reckoning has finally arrived. But as you leave your eight-by-12 home, it's not freedom you're smelling. It's Momma's homemade lasagna filling the olfactory senses of your imagination. But your family has completely disowned you and moved without a change of address. Luckily, it's just a short walk over to Café Luna in Garden City. No institutional cuisine, metal trays or men named Bubba here, just a menu of delicious Italian favorites, all with an updated twist. And you won't have to worry about how to afford your meal: the prices will accommodate whatever wages you've saved from your work in the prison laundry. What could be a better location to start the first day of the rest of your life? 22 Midway Road, Cranston, 944-1438.

Best side of cerebellum with your beer

What do you get when two Brown Ph.Ds tire of teaching in Podunk towns and open a bar in Providence? To find out, visit the Wild Colonial, where Maurice and Michele Collins, husband and wife and doctors of English and Psychology, respectively, opened their doors this past February. Not content to satisfy man's physical appetites alone, the Collinses fortify their patrons with a steady diet of brain food. Recent events have included bi-monthly pub quizzes (questions run the gamut from "Where was Natalie Portman born?" to "What was Bill Gates's Math SAT score?"); theatre performances courtesy of New Gate Theatre; and a marathon reading of Joyce's Ulysses to commemorate Bloomsday. The Collinses, themselves frustrated veterans of the Providence bar scene, earn big cheers for pouring a thinking person's pint. 250 South Water Street, Providence, 621-5644.

Best "Rhode Island's Own" salad dressings

>When you've been in the business for a couple of decades, it becomes clear you're doing something right. So you decide to market your sauces and salad dressings, with a few stuffed hot peppers and flavored oils thrown in for good measure. Deborah's Garden Gourmet or Ruefood line originated at Deb Norman's Rue de L'Espoir restaurant, and is available at several local shops. Of the seven sauces ($3.99 each), the eggplant arrabiata and the fennel-tomato sauce are especially hearty, and of the six salad dressings ($3.49 each), the bleu cheese/celery seed and the avocado win hands down. Other greats include fat-free raspberry balsamic, fresh herb and the sparkling citrus-thyme vinaigrette. The raspberry dressing has real raspberries, and the avocado and citrus have fresh lemon and lime juice. They stack right up with a certain celebrity's eponymous label. 99 Hope Street, Providence, 751-8890.

Best place to sing "No, Nay, Never, No More . . . "

Yes, Virginia, there is an Aidan. Aidan's Pub and Grubs are two Irish-pub style watering holes that bear the name of Aidan Graham, who has built up a rep for pouring the best pints in the Ocean State. The mix of regulars of all ages come to both places as much for the bangers and mash as they do for the conversation. But Aidan's is perhaps best known for its seisuns, impromptu sing-alongs that mix professional musicians with local talent. In the 10 years since he went into business, Aidan -- whose brogue has not diminished one whit -- has encouraged these sometimes raucous White Rover mid-afternoons, where, for an hour or two anyhow, everyone is Irish. 1 John Street, Bristol, 254-1940; 1 Broadway, Newport, 845-9311.

Best archers of loaf

There may be breads that taste sourer. There may be bakeries with more sourdough variations. But Provencal Bakery has the pedigree -- their sourdough starter is from Marseilles, where owner Med Mehdaoui grew up and learned his trade in a shop with an elderly proprietor who came from a long line of bakers. Mehdaoui turns out several specialty breads, such as sun-dried tomato, black olive and cranberry-pecan ($4.50). But it is the sourdough -- in a boule or a baguette -- that keeps customers coming back for more. The breads have a thick, chewy crust and an airy, sponge-like crumb inside, the better to soak up olive oil. But the bread itself has such a delicious flavor you barely need any accompaniment. Just slice and eat. And on the off-chance that there are leftovers, use them to make authentic French toast. 796 Aquidneck Avenue, Middletown, 845-9313.

Best 'lobsta' roll (What, you thought McDonald's?)

Oddly, hordes of native Rhode Islanders pull into Mickey D's every summer for the "lobster roll value meal" and actually enjoy it. (What's next -- McMussels?) These people should seek counseling. If you're craving serious seafood that won't break the bank, get your lazy, lobster-loving ass down to Duffy's Tavern in Wickford for the real deal. $10.95 gets you a plump, utensil-worthy lobster roll and basket of fries -- a far cry from the usual cold lump of mayonnaise, celery, slivers of synthetic crabmeat and stingy strands of lobster shrapnel. Mentioning a drive to South County to the typical Rhode Islander will most likely result in a whiny "Awl da way ta Wickfid faw a lobsta roll? That's wicked faah away," but the payoff is undoubtedly worth the drive. And with a Website named quahog.com, you know it's all good. Take-out, fresh seafood market and catering available. 235 Tower Hill Road, Wickford, 295-0073; market and takeout 885-2020.

Best chow when you forget your dentures

No one said that getting older was easy. Memory loss, wrinkles, cataracts, tooth decay. Omigod! Where are your teeth? After several minutes of deep breathing exercises to quell your rising panic, a breakthrough comes. Yup, you can visualize those puppies right where you left them: soaking in a cup of foaming Efferdent on the kitchen counter. Luckily, you can still eat lunch. At Spoons in Wayland Square, sustenance is only, well, a spoonful away. The café menu is heavy on liquid lunches: homemade soups ($3.95 to $7.95) and fresh fruit smoothies ($3.50). And if you're feeling up to a sandwich, don't be shy about requesting that the bread be soaked for easy chewability. Heck, why not just put the whole thing in the blender so you can sip that too? Now where did you put that change-purse? 485 Angell Street, Providence, 272-7687.

Best stick-to-your-ribs eating experience

No, you won't go wrong sticking to the ribs at Wes' Rib House in Olneyville, although straying into the chicken barbecue or the hefty ham steaks will make your mouth happy, too. The signature item is a perennial winner on "best" lists, including every Best Rib kudos from Rhode Island Monthly since 1994. You can tell that regulars take them seriously, because the price list goes all the way up to $48.95 for a bushel of them (40). Wes Broughton hasn't owned the place for years, but they still do ribs Missouri-style -- slow-cooked before grilling, and with cumin and chili powder in the sauce. And if these meaty country ribs are too chock-full of cholesterol or flavor for you, there are always their St. Louis baby back ribs, lean but still slathered with that finger-suckin' sauce. 38 Dike Street, Providence, 421-9090.

Best sandwich as performance art

>At outdoor festivals, when the crowd gets thick and the lines grow long, Dave Boutros, of International Pockets, turns theatrical. Dave makes eye contact as you approach his spread of falafel, tabouleh, hummus, three kinds of sauce and multiple vegetables, and says, "I say the item, you just say `yes' or nod your head, o.k.?" The speed-demon sandwich-maker speaks as fast as he moves. Holding a large pita in his hand, he slathers it with sauce -- "mild, medium, hot?" -- then heads for lettuce ("yes"), onions ("no"), tomatoes ("yes"), pickles ("yes") and so on, through hummus, tabouleh, falafel. Then, faster than you can follow the action, Dave lays the whole onto a sandwich paper backed by foil, rolls it up, twists the end and hands it to you. "Next." Falafel sandwich is $3.75, chicken $3.99, combo $4.99. 99 Fortin Road, Kingston, next to the URI Campus, 782-2720.

Best place for an ice cream headache

Ah, the sweet pain of youth. No, we're not talking about your outward battle scars. (Admit it -- there was no winning slide into home plate: you tripped over your shoelaces and we all know it.) This is the nostalgic pain of summertime, where chasing the ice cream truck brought on narcissistic consequences. How many times did you pay the price for gobbling that fudgsicle too quickly by spending the afternoon indoors to recover from that wicked ice-cream headache. At Sunshine Creamery, licking a mountain high ice cream cone comes close to recreating the same frenzy of uncontrollable dairy consumption. Fortunately, the only element missing is the irritating canned music. 305 North Broadway, East Providence, 431-2828.

Best place to get wired without an Internet account

The Coffee Exchange has been a Wickenden Street institution since it opened across the street from its present location in 1984. That was way before designer brews got so hot, back when you went to a coffeehouse to schmooze with friends and check out `whashappinin.' There's no better spot to leave a public message than on their wainscoting, dense with posters and phone-number-tab notices about everything from kundalini yoga and drumming circles to dermatologists and roommate-seekers. Coffee is taken seriously there, from the wide variety of organic Arabica beans to the on-premises roasting of many varieties for maximized freshness. Caffeine junkies can sip unashamedly here, grasping their "Ambulance Chaser," four jolts of espresso in a two-fisted mug. But the little café tables are all built for two, so why don't you meet a friend instead of e-mailing them? 207 Wickenden Street, Providence, 273-1198.

Best homemade salsa a-go-go

You've probably heard the stat about salsa surpassing ketchup as America's favorite condiment. But you don't have to buy a ticket to San Antonio to find good, fresh salsa. Just motor on down to Middletown, where Tito's Cantina turns out jars and jars of medium and hot, from pequeño to grande. Though the exact recipe is a trade secret, you can tell on first taste that the folks at Tito's like cilantro. They also use very little oil and plenty of lemon juice, and that brings up the taste of the tomatoes, onions and peppers -- jalapeños for the medium, jalapeños and habañeros for the hot ($3.29 for 12 oz., $3.89 for 16 oz.). Tito's also has a broad selection of enchiladas, chimichangas, burritos, etc., all cooked up in a tasty Cal-Mex style, with seven Mexican beers to cool down the mouth-warming spices. 651 West Main Road, Middletown, 849-4222.

Best opportunity to wash down your Zantac with a root beer

When you take your out-of-town friends to the Olneyville New York System tell them that you're treating them to the traditional local dessert. Wait, wait, hear us out -- it isn't far off, since the elaborate construction, a local invention, practically melts in your mouth. The wiener and steamed bun are heaped with meat sauce, chopped onions, a flick of celery salt and a squiggle of yellow mustard. Actually, the mouth feel is about as far as you can get from the snap of an authentic, casing-wrapped Coney Island hot dog, heaped with kraut. It's more like a high-protein confection, a meringue with guts. But what the hell, we need to be vocal with our local pride -- in upstate NY there's a sauced version called "Dallas or Texas Hot Wieners" that no one in Texas has ever heard of. Buffalo wings, anyone? 18 Hartford Avenue, Olneyville Square, Providence.

Best bar chock-full of Brown chicks

For just over two years, the East Side college contingent has enjoyed the unassuming company of Liquid Lounge, a dimly lit, swanky basement bar. One might assume that the nightly multitude of empty green bottles means the $1 Rolling Rocks are the drink of choice, but, true to its "martini lounge" moniker, the Liquid bar staff can just as easily concoct a mind-numbing martini rivaling Downcity's trendiest hot spots. Shoot some stick in back (free Sunday and Mondays), and educate yourself with the fair ratio of Brown and RISD ladies. DJs spin old-skool reggae on Tuesdays, and the popular Thursday nights offer everything from Dinosaur Jr. to DMX to DJ Skribble. 165 Angell Street, Providence, 454-3434.

Best practice in pronouncing Italian pastry names

If you thought that getting the correct intonation of zeppole was tricky, try matching the consonants of sfogliatelle to what you hear at the counter in Scialo Bros. Bakery. Anyway you say it, this pastry and its cousins at Scialo are unbeatable. Sfogliatelle ($1.50) look like closed clam shells, with crispy layers of made-from-scratch dough that is filled with a semolina mixture. Zeppole ($1.50) start with paté choux dough that is baked and then filled with a yellow cream. Scialo's does two variations, one in which the filling is ricotta with grated orange rind, and one in which the dough is fried before stuffing it with cream. The latter are only made on the days of the festivals for St. Joseph's Day or Columbus Day. The bakery does, however, take special orders for the baked incarnation. And don't miss their homemade cannoli and torrone. 257 Atwells Avenue, Providence, 421-0986.

Best south-of-the-border cod

If you live near the ocean, you can't get enough seafood; and yet your heavy-on-the-nachos compulsion must be served, and often. What better way than to throw some flaky, sweet chunks of cod into several Tex-Mex dishes and pass out $2 margaritas? At the Ocean Mist, Thursday nights are 2-for-1 Mexi-Menu nights, with choices from scrod flautas (those cigar-shaped burritos), fish burritos, quesadillas, tacos or chimichangas. The tacos and flautas have cod sautéed in white wine and herbs, then topped with cheeses; the others have beans and vegetables folded into their wrappers. All are quite tasty, as are the bargain margaritas. The Mexi items are offered every night at regular prices (all under $10), and there are more than a dozen beers on tap. And you can't beat the salt air seeping in at the windows. 895 Matunuck Beach Road, Matunuck, 782-3740.

Best place to get a free drink whenever Jeff Gordon crashes

Deep within the boonies of West Greenwich ("hey, are we still in Rhode Island?"), in the lonely Exit 6 Plaza is Mark's Grille, where racing rules. Owner and NASCAR fanatic Mark Stevens offers incentive to sit through a race -- everyone in the house receives a freebie if Jeff Gordon, the young and brash Tiger Woods of auto racing, crashes his car. Obviously, you must be present during the crash (no call-ins, "I saw Gordon crash, I'm comin' down -- Yee ha!"). Mark's Grille offers seven beers on tap, pool table, a country-laced jukebox (this is CAT Country, baby) and our favorite obsession -- Keno. Mark's also serves up a full lunch and dinner menu, some damn good fish and chips on the weekend, and 15-cent wings during NFL games and, duh, NASCAR events. Open 11a.m-1a.m every day, kitchen serves until midnight. 45 Nooseneck Hill Road, West Greenwich, 397-9050.

Best political grease

Who knew bottles of olive oil had vintage years, just like wines? It makes sense that each olive harvest has its own characteristics, but leave it to Mayor Vincent "Buddy" Cianci to educate us about his native cuisine. In liter and half-liter bottles, the Mayor's Own Olive Oil first hit the market last June and is now carried by major supermarkets, specialty markets and drugstores (for those of us who consider olive oil a controlled substance). A long-standing friendship between the Cianci and Piacitelli families -- the latter own the Incanto Soprano groves in Apulia, Italy -- led to this new product. The oil's cold-pressing retains its fruity olive flavor, with a peppery after-kick, and its heritage gives it instant credibility. A portion of the $10 - $12 a liter goes to the Vincent A. Cianci, Jr. Charitable Fund for Providence students. For more information, call Beryl Kenyon at 421-7740, ext. 222.

Best (and only) Wimpy Skippy

If you've never indulged in a Wimpy Skippy, you ain't from Rhode Island. Overlooking Route 10 is the legendary Caserta Pizzeria, home of the famous Wimpy Skippy (named after each of the original owner's two best friends) since 1955. A spinach pie on steroids, the Wimpy Skippy is stuffed with fresh spinach, olives, mozzarella and Margherita pepperoni. There is no better way to satisfy the stomach for a measly $3.10. This isn't the typical flat, doughy, plastic-wrapped pie other pizzerias offer. Carnivores can opt for the Pepper Pig, with authentic Italian sausage and fresh peppers for $3. And oh yeah, the pizza is pretty damn good too. 121 Spruce Street, Providence, 621-3618.

Best restaurant to shake and stir

James Thurber said this of martinis: "One is alright, two is too many, and three is not enough." With this scale in mind, you'll need to make multiple trips to Olive's to experience the full range of your martini-drinking options. With 50 -- yes, 50 -- different martinis on the menu (not counting the one you're invited to design for yourself) Olive's celebrates James Bond's signature cocktail with a host of ingeniously mixed, cleverly named concoctions such as the Purple Rain (Tanqueray, a splash of cassis), the Church Lady (Beefeater, dry vermouth, and lots of pucker-up citrus), and the Jackie Gleason (yes, you can make a martini with scotch). The newly upgraded menu features sophisticated-looking, very yummy fare. Three nights a week (Thursday, Friday, and Saturday) you can sway as you sip with live jazz, blues, or R&B provided at no additional charge. 108 North Main Street, Providence, 751-1200.

Best neon drink

You might not travel to Central Falls for the milkshakes at El Paisa, but you should. Along with a steak platter ($10) that comes with stewed yucca, potatoes, rice, beans, fried plantains, salad and a strip of fried pork, you should definitely hit El Paisa's many beverage offerings, particularly the beet-and-orange milkshake ($2). There are seven other varieties of milkshake including guava, passion fruit or sour sop (a citrus-y white juice), but the beet/orange variation has all the right elements -- layers of Day-Glo pink and magenta with a light pink froth and the unforgettable flavor combo of perky orange and earthy beet. And as unnatural as the colors appear to be, rest assured the drink tastes as healthy as it is. 598 Dexter Street, Central Falls, 726-8864.

Best place to get egged on

Who said Ethel Merman was in the great beyond? She's alive and well in the form of Laurene, head waitress at Bristol's Hope Diner. Her dulcet tones only compliment the jokes of her egg-cracking father, Mickey Silva, the guy everyone in town knows should have been president. Grab a seat by the grill and hash out politics with the Mick-man while he folds a spinach omelet ($3.95 w/cheese). And be prepared to wait for service. "If you want it fast, forget it," laughs Laurene about the not-so-speedy eats, though the delay is worth it for the spectacular water view. The joint is known for its Bacon O'Doris (an English muffin, sunny-side egg, cheese and lotsa crispy bacon, $3.25) but no one really shows up just for the food. At the Hope, the spécialité de la maison is Mickey: he makes sure the coffee is hot, and the yolk's on you. 742 Route 114, Bristol, 253-1759.

Best way to meet (and eat) your aspirations

Have you noticed how certain vegetables and herbs jump into vogue, hand-in-hand with the cuisine-of-the-moment? Think cilantro and Thai food. Think sun-dried tomatoes and Tuscan dishes. Plus, there are those designer vegetables that grab our attention all on their own, like white eggplants or deep purple bell peppers. And then there is aspiration. Gracie's Bar and Grille regularly serves aspiration, a long-stemmed vegetable with a broccoli-based floweret on the end that has the earthy sweetness of asparagus. The chef at Gracie's also garnishes most plates with edible orchids, another exotic bit of flora to nibble; and one of Gracie's specialties is a five-onion soup, with leeks, scallions and red, white and Spanish onions ($4.95). Don't let the veggies distract you from the main events: cherrywood-smoked pork tenderloin, veal, rack of lamb, red snapper and walnut-encrusted chicken breast ($12.95-$20.95). 409 Atwells Avenue, Providence, 272-7811.

Best array of frozen flavors since Ho-Jo's

If the winter blahs send you in search of an ice cream stand in February or you're craving coldness but not calories, head to Gelina's/Michael's on Route 3 in Coventry. You can't miss the glowing pink roof and the long lists of flavors offered at Gelina's -- Michael Lysikatos added his name to his ex-wife's, but the original has stuck. Lysikatos prides himself on his variety: 50 custom-made flavors of soft-serve including Irish Cream, Kahlua, and creamsicle; 50 flavors of lactose-less Dole Whip; a half-dozen flavors of hard ice cream; five dips for cones, including peanut, cherry, butterscotch, chocolate and colored jimmies; plus Italian ices, slushes, frozen yogurts, chocolate-dipped bananas, low-fat ice cream sandwiches and infinite possibilities for shakes, cabinets and sundaes. Hope you can make up your mind. Open mid-February to mid-October. 975 Tiogue Avenue, Coventry, 823-9910.

Best way to celebrate Pedro's long-term contract

Both come from the juice of the guava, a southern-clime fruit that Dominicans often cook into a thick paste that is then used to frost pound cake, stuff into turnovers or layer between flaky dough to make fig-square-like confections that drip the delicious red preserve all over your fingers. All of these and many, many more Dominican treats sweeter than Pedro's stuff can be found at Panaderia La Mocana, a bakery and sandwich shop near South Providence. The Central High crowd loves the large Cuban sandwiches and other Spanish-style grinders. The older generation heads for the bread pudding -- rummy and raisiny -- and the flan, made with sweetened condensed milk and delectably eggy. 304 Broad Street, Providence, 331-3195.

Best confusion of dessert and architecture

Maybe it's the proximity of Rhode Island School of Design, but Café Nuovo has gained a reputation for building food rather than simply cooking it, of using a plate as a kind of bedrock for constructing a formidable culinary tower. Entrée ingredients are stacked, as though clambering up to match the view of the arugula salad that is propped up by three tuile staves anchored by strawberries. One fears that the asparagus spears will dream of their garden beds and rise priapically. But if entrées tower from porcelain bedrock, desserts at Café Nuovo soar from launching pads. They are flights of fancy as much as food. And though pastry chef Emily Pascal has not yet devised ways to make fudge and caramel sauces puddle vertically, she continues to aspire to the spires, as long as wafers can jut, sugar can be spun into stiff, lacey webs, and chocolate can be stretched toward the stars. One Citizens Plaza, Providence, 421-2525.

Best place to raise a rainbow flag

When you see the sun peeking out from behind a cloud during a downpour, you know the conditions for viewing are perfect. Just don't go looking for a pot of anything but coffee (or tea, or chai, etc.) at the Castro. Sorry, the rainbows here aren't of the natural wonder variety. The flags we're talking are gay friendly, fostering a vibe of unity. Nope, you won't find Lucky the Leprechaun sipping a cup of coffee ($1.30) or munching on a slice of pizza ($1.75) inside. (Unless it's around Saint Patrick's Day and it's a stage name for someone starring in a local production. But of course that's only an extreme case.) The only rainbows you'll see at this locale are the windsock and pinwheel flapping in the breeze outside. Can you feel the beauty? 77 Ives Street, Providence, 421-1144.

Best bevvy for a colicky mood

With a nod to the comfort of warm oatmeal and hot chocolate, Mi Guatemala serves a variety of soothing hot beverages that combine milk, a grain or grain powder, sugar and a hint of cinnamon ($2-3.50). Three of them are atols, a very ancient Mayan drink, usually made with milk and a very fine corn meal, called masa harina. Mi Guatemala also adds corn kernels to one and uses plantain flour for another. A very thin rice pudding, called arroz con leche is served as a beverage, too. The last offering, aside from the splendid hot chocolate itself, is called mosh -- it is indeed oatmeal simmered in milk and requires a longer preparation than the others. And each warm drink is guaranteed to chill your mood and cool your palate, the better to enjoy Mi Guatemala's spicy pork, chicken and beef dishes. 1049 Atwells Avenue, Providence, 621-9147.

Best grease-laden food for an alcohol-laden belly

Need we review the history of the Haven Brothers Diner? Your old man's old man ate here, the battered silver truck a beautifully weathered survivor within the upscale Downcity renaissance. Atmosphere oozes from the battered roach coach, from club-sprung drunkards to the custom Harleys lining the sidewalks every summer. And the dining room? Saddle up on the steps of City Hall. Desperately seeking chow after a Sunday late-night high ride without wallowing in paranoia at Bickford's? Haven's red and green neon shines bright 'til 3 a.m. every night. Grab a cheeseburger ($2.30), still delicious and still hella-greasy (that's a really, really good thing after a night of draught beer). And, unlike franchised burger joints and their funky, orange government cheese, Haven's uses white American cheese, always a culinary bonus. And don't forget the prestigious fries ($2.25), offered with your choice of presentation: wax-paper baggie or paper plate. 72 Spruce Street, Providence, 861-7777.

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