SO Rhode Island - February 2009
Love Bites

This is my love letter to Siena, where we recently had a near perfect dining experience.

We like to dine out on Tuesday or Wednesday nights, which many restaurants describe as their "slow" or quiet nights. We find that service and food are often better when the staff and chef are under less pressure. So four of us headed to Siena in East Greenwich on a Tuesday night, only to find the place was packed with customers with many people waiting in the wine bar for tables. Fortunately, I had made a reservation so we were seated immediately upon our arrival.

We had been to the original Seina on Federal Hill in Providence, and we loved the Italian soul food for which that restaurant is so famous. We thought it was time to see how "Siena in the Suburbs" compared. Our expectations were on the highs side, but both Siena restaurants share a winning team, the Tarro brothers. Chris Tarro is in charge of the front of the house , and Anthony is the executive chef. To put it simply, they seem to do everything right.

I have to admit I was just a tad disappointed with our table, which was next to the windows near the wine bar. I had hoped to be seated in the main dining area, a stunningly beautiful space. But the scene was so lively, the service so good, and the food so astounding, that I quickly forgot about our location. Anne Marie was our knowledgeable waitress, who know about all the food on the menu as well as the specials. And once that glorious Italian food started landing on our table, I would have been happy seated in the middle of the parking lot.

There's so much to consider on Siena's menu, it's a little overwhelming. The menu is written in Italian, with excellent translations. For starters, you can mix and match imported meats, cheeses and olives to create your own antipasti board, or you can select one of the three signature tasting boarding offered. We chose to do our own, beginning with the olive sampling - four varieties of exotic olives($5), plus the Spicy Batter-Fried Green Beans ($4) served with a mild aiolo sauce, plus the Pan -Fried Eggplant ($9) rolled with prosciutto and herbed ricotta cheese, then baked in a San Marzano marinara sauce. San Marzano tomatoes are the finest in world, and that sauce lived up to their reputation.

But the king of all appetizers was the Polpetta Grande ($10), a massive meatball served in more of that wonderful marinara sauce. I very reluctantly shared this slightly spicy meatball with everyone at the table. Weighing in at one pound, it's really too much for one person, but so delicious I could easily consume the whole thing. To me, a meatball is a barometer of the food in an Italian restaurant. If the meatballs are good, then everything else is likely to be good. This meatball was beyond good.

Could this dinner get any better? Yes, indeed. All four of us were very pleased with our entrees: the tender veal scaloppine in the Saltimbocca ($19); the grilled center-cut swordfish drenched in an aromatic butter sauce ($22); the four jumbo shrimp served over the creamiest bed of Parmigiano-Reggiano risotto imaginable ($19); and my entree - Branzino ($26).

Branzino? You don't see that fish dish on many menus. The only other time I had this was in a restaurant in Boston's North End, and it was spectacular. I was thrilled to see it on Siena's menu. But would it match up? One bite was all I needed to know this was Branzino done right. The Chiliean sea bass fillet was pan seared, then finished with ocean scallops and a creamy scallion sauce. This was one of the beas dishes I've ever had in Rhode Island.

At this point, I was reeling in gastronomic ectasy. Desserts ($7 each) were ordered, but I didn't even care. I was more than satisfied. My dining companions assured me the chocolate cake with a sinful rasberry-chcolate sauce was wonderful, and the minature fried doughboys topped with warm Nutella and valilla bean gelato were to die for. All I wanted to do was bask in the afterglow of my perfect Italian dinner at Siena in the Suburbs.

Linda Beaulieu is the author of "The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook, available at stores throughout the state.

Review Date: 02/2009