There was a day when the Vanderbilts and the Dukes and the Astors and the wealthiest of the Guilded Age would import the most talented chefs and the finest ingredients to Newport, making even their simplest breakfasts an exercise in lavish dining. Since those days, Newport's dining extravagances have stepped back, tending to spend more effort on elegant teas and the occasional historical society gala. Long ago, the best restaurants of Newport started catering to the lobster and seafood tastes of tourists, forgetting their gourmet roots. The Spiced Pear has returned truely fine dining to Newport.

My wife and I were the guests of the Spiced Pear last month, where we dined on dishes that would have pleased the Vanberbilts. Since August 2003, executive chef Richard Hamilton and pastry chef Richard Bies have served "international cuisine in harmony with the season", preparing gourmet dishes in the exhibition kitchen.

Tremendous attention is given to presentation, with each course served in dishes of a variety of shapes and sizes, each element artfully arranged, and even the service being a carefully choreographed affair, with each plate brought to the table and uncovered in unison.

The ever-changing menu has a four-course dinner with multiple choices for each course, an 8-course tasting dinner, and a "Chef's Table" dinner, with 12 courses.

The fine dining at the Spiced Pear emphasizes flavor, with portion sizes designed to excite with variety rather than overwhelm with quantity. For our first course, I had a Bagaduce River oyster on the half shell with a very light apple-habanero mignonette and a cup of old Malpeques oyster chowder. My wife's first course was a study in wild mushrooms, featuring a mushroom consomme, a rolled black trumpet mushroom with an oyster mushroom tempura.

Other courses featured a parmesaean encrusted heart of palm, Atlantic cod cheek, squab, truffles, foie gras, and an amazingly tender and marbled piece of seared Kobe beef. But just listing the ingredients can't begin to describe the rich and delicate flavors.

Rapturous.

When desert arrived, my wife had a baked apple wrapped in pastry, served with cider. The amazing touch that Chef Bies put on this dish wasn't the shredded, fried apple garnish -- it was the swizzle stick in the cider: a stick of natural sugar cane. My dessert featured a pumpkin mousse and a chocolate truffle, with its own touch of magic -- three baked pumpkin seeds in a line of powdered cumin. These wonderful little touches went thoughout the entire meal -- something just a little unexpected in texture or flavor or color or shape that made every new dish something to anticipate.

At age 36, Chef Hamilton has developed an unusually diverse repertoire, working with island spices, Southern-flavors and now New England seafood to create his own unique culinary style. “I cook for the moment,” says Hamilton. “Every day, I draw upon all the flavors and countries that have influenced my cooking – from the freshest seafood in the Bahamas to the simplicity of a crystal clear French consommé. I approach each day as a chance to create something new.”

Chef Hamilton began cooking at age 6 in his family’s Oklahoma restaurant. He went on to train in Paris where he graduated from the venerated Ritz-Escoffier Ecole du Gastronomie and Le Cordon Bleu culinary academy. Upon graduation in 1991, he went to work as Saucier at the French two-star Michelin restaurant Espadon under Chef Michel Roth and Guy Legay.

In 2002, Hamilton consulted as the Executive Chef at the Dunmore Beach Club on Harbour Island in the Bahamas, where he introduced five-star quality dining to a relaxed island setting. Previously, he served as Chef du Cuisine at the MGM Mirage Bellagio Resort in Las Vegas. Hamilton was also Chef du Cuisine of Magnolia’s in Nashville, where he earned the Award of Excellence from Wine Spectator magazine in 1999 and a four diamond rating from AAA.

In the course of his 20-year career, Hamilton did stages with renowned chefs such as Joel Robuchon, Alain Ducasse and Jean-Georges Vongerichten and has had the pleasure of working at events with such chefs as Thomas Keller, Todd English, and Charlie Trotter. He has cooked for numerous celebrities, politicians, and dignitaries including former Presidents Ronald Reagan and George Bush Sr., Julia Roberts, Elton John and Garth Brooks. Hamilton has been a featured chef at the James Beard House in New York on several occasions, most recently in February 2003.

Our four course dinner would have been $79 per person, $119 with wine. The Chef's Table dinners are $175 per person. Add to that wine that can cost hundreds of dollars a bottle, and you have a dinner whose price alone demands excellence in service. And the service was up to the challenge.

Even in the middle of the winter, the restaurant was filled with patrons who wanted to dedicate an evening to a special meal, watching the waves roll in.

We highly recommend the Spiced Pear for what may be the finest fine dining in Newport.

The Spiced Pear is in The Chanler, 1117 Memorial Boulevard, Newport. Their phone is 401/847-2244. Visit their website at www.spicedpear.com. Since the restaurant is part of the Chanler, they also serve breakfast and lunch.

Johnson Landscaping

Landscape design Renovation Maintenance

greengiant84.net (401) 862-7202

Let our experts make your yard beautiful again!

Readers Comments About This Page:

Be the first! Add Your Comment!