Bites Nearby: DownCity featured on Television

I love watching cooking shows on TV. There are at least five scheduled to regularly record on the DVR at home. The easy favorite is Top Chef, followed by Worst Cooks in America, Chopped, Hell’s Kitchen, Iron Chef, and Food Feuds in no particular order. My fiance, Amy, and I got bitten by the reality TV bug pretty good.

You may be wondering why I am talking about television in my restaurant column. The answer is that it tickles me when local cuisine is featured on a national television program. This is the case with Fox's show Kitchen Nightmares. Chef Gordon Ramsay, with two cooking shows on national TV, was requested by the ownership at DownCity in Providence to lend his expertise in turning around this local restaurant.

DownCity has a rich history. Originally opened in 1990, the business was located at 151 Weybosset St. and thrived on a diner atmosphere serving comfort food. (It was actually called Downcity Diner.) In 2006, a fire destroyed the restaurant and they moved to their current location just up the street at 50 Weybosset street. They have always been friendly to the gay community. The third Sunday of every month they have "Drag Brunches," which I bet are as colorful as the décor of the restaurant itself.

Amy and I had the "pleasure" of dining there several months ago. From what I remember, we decided that there was never a need to return. After getting some take-out sandwiches for lunch one day that were mediocre at best, we decided to take a chance on some dinner.  My fish and chips were completely lackluster, and Amy's steak tasted more like charcoal than steak. This restaurant earned a second shot when filming crews and trucks took over the parking lot for my day job. When signs and people confirmed that one of my favorite celebrity chefs was featuring the restaurant, I had to go back. If you have ever seen the show, it's a mix of screaming, tears, and simple restaurant management 101. Ramsay's approach is simple, eradicate what is not working and get a fresh start. 

At DownCity, the atmosphere and decor were working fine, and received little, if any, changes. The restaurant itself has a narrow New York City feel to it. The kitchen area is exposed for customers to see. The colors and lighting are bright and energetic. The reception upon entering and the waitstaff were extremely friendly and helpful. How could a restaurant doing these things right go so wrong? As far as I know, it really was just the food. Apparently, Ramsay agreed. The interior style and trademark martini menu were completely untouched.

Now DownCity has a smaller and simpler menu that still centers on comfort food, and a new head chef. Ramsay inspired additions to the menu include a lobster mac and cheese, miso glazed sea bass, BBQ ribs, and a pork belly lettuce wrap appetizer. Our dining experience began with hope and excitement which remained intact until the food hit the table. Our party of three ordered two appetizers and three entrees to sample and pass around between us. After a feature on national TV, we thought the food would have a pop that would bring new life to DownCity. Here's the play by play. 

The calamari, which is a staple of American cuisine, was alright and lacked anything special to set it apart from the hundreds of other places with fried calamari on the menu. The pork belly lettuce cup appetizer was a fantastic idea in theory, but did not deliver on the taste. The pork belly was presented in large cubes that were awkward to bite to make last through the whole lettuce cup. The tomatoes and avocado puree, which should have helped cut through a salty pork belly, were unnecessary as the pork was bland. Both appetizers should have been a party of salty goodness but lacked the pop to make them special. 

For entrees we went with a lobster mac and cheese, Stroganoff, and steak filet. The lobster mac and cheese was fantastic. It was clearly the choice dish of the night. Unfortunately, I didn't order it, and only got a couple small bites. The filet was done as requested and delivered as promised, this time without the charred taste that ruined it last time. It was accompanied by horseradish mashed potatoes that were a great twist on your traditional meat and potatoes dish. My entree of choice suffered the same fate as the appetizers. The Stroganoff was missing the something it needed to put it over the top. Dollop of sour cream on top, which I mixed into the dish, may have been the downfall, diluting or covering that extra something the dish needed. If I had it to do over again, I would have ordered the miso glazed sea bass. 

The experience in general, for me, was satisfactory. I think I had my expectations set unrealistically high. I was hoping to witness some huge transformation and participate in a pop culture event. I think less than perfect menu selections took the fire out of our experience. The change at DownCity was less of a zero to hero, in favor of some incremental improvements from a pretty mediocre starting point.