Sea scallops at the Tyler Point Grille in Barrington are served with an artichoke, mushroom and asparagus ragout, and red pepper sauce. The restaurant was opened 13 years ago by Mario and Cheryl Micheletti.
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The Providence Journal / Bob Thayer
BARRINGTON — What with the promise of warm days ahead, we set sail for the Tyler Point Grille, which is surrounded by a flotilla of boats at the point where the Barrington and Palmer rivers meet.
On this night, however, most were sitting on shore, still in drydock. We couldn’t even see the water from the Tyler Point parking lot, in fact. It was hidden from view by boats that were shrouded in canvas, giving the area around the marina and nearby Barrington Yacht Club a haunted look. Our efficient waitress, Melissa, promised however that soon the view out the restaurant’s big picture windows would be very different as the boats were launched.
The decorators at the Tyler Point Grille apparently took their cues from all those sailboats outside and gave the place a nautical feel. Opened 13 years ago by Mario and Cheryl Micheletti, the grille is an airy place with a big open kitchen between the two dining rooms. Fans churn slowly from the cathedral ceiling in the front dining room. The other dining room is almost as spacious. And although it has a lower ceiling, the windows bring the outside in.
In celebration of Tyler Point’s 13th anniversary, every month there are four new $13 entrees on the menu, each spotlighting a particular item in what they call “$13 seasonal sensations.” In a later phone call, Cheryl reported that May’s $13 special will be salmon.
She’s the hostess who will greet you, “a lot of times seven nights a week,” while Mario is captain of the kitchen, where he uses his own recipes: “Seafood because we’re a little bit near the water and Italian because that’s all he knows,” Cheryl said with a laugh. This gives diners the best of both worlds and combinations of ingredients you won’t find at a strictly seafood or Italian restaurant. Thus there’s capellini with lobster, peapods, sun-dried tomatoes and lemon/butter (market price); haddock with Roma tomatoes, fresh oregano and Panko breadcrumbs ($16.95); rack of lamb with a porcini, prosciutto and filetto di pomodoro sauce ($26.95); red or white linguine with clams ($15.95), and a Black Angus burger with shoestring potatoes ($9.95).
Tables are spaced just enough apart so one doesn’t become part of someone else’s conversation. My only quibble was that I found the seats, woven wicker over a wood frame, extremely uncomfortable. I stuffed my jacket under and behind me at the edge of the frame for support, which helped. My dining companion did the same, but quickly adjusted.
It didn’t hurt that we had two soothingly solid martinis for support as well — a sweetish Razzberry with vanilla vodka, Chambord liqueur and cranberry juice ($7.50); and a Spiced Pear of vodka, spiced rum, a splash of grapefruit juice and a slice of pear ($7.50).
The two large crab cakes ($11.95) were billed as an appetizer, but could easily have served as an entrée. There was no apparent filler save for the bits of tiny-diced red bell pepper, yellow onion, panko breadcrumbs and what Mario called his “secret herbs and seasoning.” The light and moist crab cakes were perked up by a little cup of spicy remoulade sauce, just enough to give it a bit of bite. The dish was attractively presented with field greens that were just right for dipping into the remoulade, with grated carrot and red onion ringing the plate.
We raved about the bruschetta ($10.95), which could just as easily serve as an entrée. Three thick slices of crusty Italian bread from Providence’s venerable Buono’s Italian Bakery had been grilled and then topped with thin ovals of mild veal sausage, wide slices of red pepper, sweet onion and shaved pecorino cheese, all slathered with a slightly sweet balsamic sauce. It was so delicious we were tempted to order another! Alas, said Cheryl, it has just been replaced on the new spring-summer menu by another bruschetta, this one with cold ingredients.
Entrees were chosen for their inventive mix of seafood and Italian. The spinach fettuccine with gulf shrimp ($22.95) was preceded by a hefty salad of greens and julienned carrot. The blue cheese vinaigrette was a fine topping, especially for those who love blue cheese (there were chunks of it in the dressing), but not the usual thick and goopy blue cheese dressing. This was much lighter.
The spinach fettuccine’s green noodles, cooked to a perfect al dente, were topped with seven large shrimps and a scattering of diced mozzarella and smothered in a Roma tomato sauce that was as rich as it looked. A generous serving, it would please the heartiest appetites.
To sop up the juices of the spinach fettuccine’s tomato sauce as well as the red pepper sauce that came with an the order of sea scallops ($24.95), we asked for another basket of the yummy Buono’s Italian and multi-grain bread, which we’d gone through even before the appetizers had arrived. The entrée’s six large grilled sea scallops ringed the plate, sitting in the tangy red pepper sauce and surrounding a mound of an artichoke, mushroom and asparagus ragout, the stewed vegetables adding another dimension to the dish. On a side plate were rich-tasting mashed potatoes and a nice mix of tender sautéed vegetables.
Desserts were equally impressive. The house-made Fruit Coupette ($5.50) was a large glass of mixed berries — blueberries, raspberries, blackberries and strawberries — layered inside sweet zabaglione cream. The rich-tasting chocolate bread pudding ($5.50) looked like a slice of chocolate cake, but one bite and you could tell by its soft texture that it really was bread. On the side, a big scoop of vanilla ice cream sat atop a pizzelle. One could only hazard a guess at the calorie count, but the taste count, like everything else we tried at the Tyler Point Grille, was sky high.
Tyler Point Grille, 32 Barton Ave., Barrington. (401) 247-0017. tylerpointgrille.com. Dressy casual. Wheelchair accessible. Child seats and children’s menu. Reservations. AE, MC, V, DIS. Parking lot. Open Sun. to Thurs. 4:30 to 9 p.m.; to 10 p.m. Fri. and Sat. Appetizers $4.95 to $11.95. Entrees $8.95 to $26.95. Wines are $4.75 to $9.50 by the glass; $18 to $100 for a bottle.BILL OF FARE