Ellen Gracyalny who owns
Gracie's (194 Washington St, Providence 401-272-7811) recently opened
Ellie's Bakery just down the street from the restaurant (61 Washington St, same telephone).
Ellie's is managed by
Courtney Ortiz; the chief baker is
Danielle Lowe, a
Johnson & Wales grad who was assistant pastry chef at
Gracie's; and
Melissa Denmark, current pastry chef at Gracie's (also a
J &W grad and noted by
Food & Wine magazine in 2012 for her creations) contributes part-time.
Finally, I thought, after reading the gushing spread in the
Providence Journal this week, a French-style bakery in Providence. *
Right now I pick and choose or make my own creations.
Seven Stars (
www.sevenstarsbakery.com/) supports the olive bread habit, the occasional sticky bun requirement and the needed baguette sandwich for train
travel
but
Seven Stars doesn't venture much beyond breakfast pastries and cookies.
Olga's (
olgascupandsaucer.blogspot.com/) produces similar fare and makes some individual rustic tarts and pastries. Everybody has a go-to Italian bakery and I have my favored Portugese shops (
Silver Star on Ives with those Saturday jelly doughnuts comes to mind) but these satisfy a different need. If you ask "Where can I buy French pastry in Providence," someone will laud
Pastiche (
www.pastichefinedesserts.com/) on Federal Hill. I don't. So, where to find a splendid French tart or a gorgeous mousse and merinque cake?
Well, not at
Ellie's, at least not yet. The shop offers a variety of breads, attractive sandwiches (maybe a little too bready) but there was only one actual breakfast pastry when I stopped in this week. Mostly, it was muffins and scones. Among the traditional cookies there are
Madeleines, both olive oil chocolate and the more Proutian lemon-scented. They are good. Not a single fruit tart. The featured
spicy chocolate meringue tart is lovely and made especially flavorful by the chocolate crust. As for the
macarons (cookies I think I loved more when I had to cross an ocean to get them - I've hit macaron saturation at this point), the
salted butter caramel is a winner and I would say so is the
dark chocolate coconut if I were basing it on the meringue - the filling was so scant (see picture) I couldn't locate the taste.
I'm hopeful. Maybe the tarts and cakes will come once the business is developed.
Monday - Friday 7:00 a.m. - 7:00 p.m.
Saturday 9:00 a.m - 5:00 p.m.
graciesprovidence.com/ellies
*
There is the french tarte (774-280-4803) operated by Susan VandenBerg out of Hope Artiste Village in Pawtucket but it's not a walk-in bakery. Order ahead. www.frenchtarte.com
At The Dorrance (60 Dorrance Street, Providence 401-521-6000) I (we) were served flawless dinners, not a fault in the plates served (though the desserts were a bit precious, way over-thought). But the room - the look, chairs, style - all say wedding venue. It's like having dinner in a hotel ballroom. 
Circe (50 Weybosset Street, Providence 401-437-8991) is the reborn DownCity Diner, sleekly painted in paler hues but pretty much the same. I understand the owners are going for "restaurant" but the feel is "bar" because that's where the noise is. On my first visit service was poor despite an empty room and nothing eaten at our table suggested come back again so I won't. 
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Last year's craft beer event was a hit so now it's the 2nd Annual Newport Craft Beer Festival (www.newportcraftbeerfestival.com), held in two three-hour sessions Saturday, April 27th under a tent at Great Friends Meeting House (the oldest house of worship in Rhode Island and probably not a beer venue), 30 Farewell Street.
Over a year ago I read Gail Ciampa's article in ProJo about chef Eric Bui and his restaurant, Pho Horn's (50 Ann Mary Street, Pawtucket 401-365-6278), just over the Providence line off North Main. Vietnamese and Chinese offerings share the menu; it's the Vietnamese you're after, especially the soup. Share a Vietnamese crepe* (not a crepe at all in the French sense but a light eggy disk filled with sprouts and sliced shrimp) and try any one of the soups featuring different beef parts in a spicy broth filled with rice noodles and hot peppers, bean sprouts and fresh basil. The peppers, sprouts and basil are served on the side so you have a little control over flavor and intensity. Newcomers tend to order the soup with "identifiable" beef; more adventurous folk add tripe, sinew, etc. No need for adventure as the the broth itself, with the entire side plate of veggies tossed in for good measure, could stand alone - would, in fact, be fine with no meat at all (and there is a fish option). Pho Horn's other popular soup is the one ProJo wrote about, Chao Rice Chowder with Pork, chicken stock flavored with pork, scallions, shallots, ginger and cilantro using sushi rice instead of rice noodles. Cilantro and ginger, what's better? 
Matunuck Oyster Bar is not the place you go for poached sole with asparagus. This is a fish joint. Keep to the diet by sticking to the raw bar; dine in healthy middle-ground with salmon; set off the fat alarms with fried oysters. Up to you. It's fun. Me, I am not tempted by the desserts (which look anything but delicate) because the goal is to eat oysters and fish by the water. And that's enough.
Enjoy a spring Friday night and support the Food Bank. Cost is: $50 per person but pay $75 for early entry, extra tastings and a free drink from the cash bar.
Ellen Gracyalny who owns Gracie's (194 Washington St, Providence 401-272-7811) recently opened Ellie's Bakery just down the street from the restaurant (61 Washington St, same telephone). Ellie's is managed by Courtney Ortiz; the chief baker is Danielle Lowe, a Johnson & Wales grad who was assistant pastry chef at
Gracie's; and Melissa Denmark, current pastry chef at Gracie's (also a J &W grad and noted by Food & Wine magazine in 2012 for her creations) contributes part-time.
I'm hopeful. Maybe the tarts and cakes will come once the business is developed.
For New Year's Eve, alas, no oysters, just a nine-course fish-centered extravaganza at Fiaschetteria in Venice. Great fun from soup to panettone (the best ever) and prosecco. 
