The Boathouse

Reeling in customers with succulent seafood

by Bill Rodriguez

636 Thames Street, Newport, RI
846-7700
Open Mon.-Thurs., 12-9 p.m., Fri.-Sun., noon-11 p.m.
Major credit cards
No handicapped access

The Boathouse Restaurant likes to brag that it sells more lobster dinners than any other restaurant in Rhode Island. It certainly has more America's Cup Race photos on its walls than anywhere except, perhaps, Ted Turner's den. Admiration of superior seafaring usually signifies pride in the seafood served, so we felt in good hands when we walked into the Boathouse.

Nautical bric-a-brac abounds. There are pennants from the Navy base in town and a yellowing canvas banner proclaiming "Headquarters Newport to Australia 87." So many unfurled sails billow around you, a draft from the door registers as a breeze.

The Vars family, which a plaque proclaims as the proprietors, must positively squish when they walk.

The downstairs dining area is spacious, dominated by the bar you pass as you enter. A roaring fire in a street-side corner wood stove looks as inviting as it felt when we took our seats nearby. There is no separate smoking section.

The menu is wide-ranging, with plenty of burgers, salads, and pricey ($5.95-$10) sandwiches for the bustling Thames tourist trade. Try their chicken or roast beef, both of which are freshly roasted.

In evidence is a thoughtful kitchen as well as a finger to the winds of trends: there are beefsteak tomatoes rather than plastic hothouse ones with fresh mozzarella ($5.95); there is "Our Famous" New England fish chowder ($2.50/$3.50) rather than the omnipresent clam chowder, which tells me that family recipes are more important here than tourist-safe offerings.

To see how fresh their main offerings were, I ordered a seafood sampler ($5.95), described on the menu as two littleneck clams, two oysters and two jumbo shrimp. Usually, I'm a little miffed by unannounced substitutions, but this time I had no complaints. Although there was only one oyster, in its place on the bed of crushed ice were an extra littleneck and shrimp. All of it was as fresh and briny as the ocean intended.

Entrees are mostly seafood, with a few steaks, chicken dinners and Cajun preparations thrown in. Across the table from me, my companion sampled one of their vaunted lobsters. Now, while my favorite whole lobster preparation -- baked and stuffed -- allows for a little latitude in the timing, she likes them simply boiled. This makes them juicier but also time-critical -- you don't want to risk the claw tips turning rubbery.

Not to worry at the Boathouse, if our meal was typical. Succulent, sweet meat accompanied by a baked potato sans aluminum foil.

The ocean's bounty dutifully taken care of, I chose a special of the evening -- a variation of a usual menu item, Caribbean jerk chicken ($12.95). For two bucks extra, the chef had added a rich brown rum sauce and sauteed bananas on top. The grilled chicken breast was thick, pleasantly pink and peppery hot from the Jamaican marinade.

As a nod to the jerk seasoning, which also contained ginger, allspice, and cloves, a cinnamon stick garnished the dish, along with some parsley. The pilaf I'd ordered on the side kept the plentiful tangy sauce from going to waste and was a step above the frequent bland version, al dente and with bits of onion and green pepper.

Our one disappointment was the only dessert made in their kitchen. The apple cobbler ($2.50) gets points for having a pastry crust and using fresh apples, but the syrupy preparation tastes almost like a canned version except that the apples have a slight bite. The concoction refused to meld with the graham cracker layer, leaving it separate and mealy.

But who's perfect? Even Ted Turner, who used to frequent the Boathouse in his Newport days, isn't. And I bet he can't boil a lobster for beans.