The following listings have been distilled from recent full-length reviews; the date appearing at the end of each entry indicates the month and year of review. Hours, credit-card and liquor information are not included, so be sure to call ahead. And bear in mind that some menus change seasonally.

ATWOOD GRILL, 1413 Atwood Avenue, Johnston, 943-3331. Eating at Atwood Grill is an open, comfortable experience. Surrounded by crisp white walls and framed black-and-white pictures, it feels like home, with hanging dried-flower arrangements and a casual mix of music in the background.The main dishes are reasonably priced, including the chicken marsala ($8.95). The dish holds a full plate of chicken and is accompanied by large portions of corn and mashed potatoes. The moist chicken is covered in a thick marsala gravy and portobello mushrooms. The penne in a pesto cream sauce ($6.25) is also a good choice -- firmly cooked and tossed in a homemade pesto, cream, and Romano cheese. The dessert menu is varied, but the Oreo cheesecake ($2.50) is one of their best offerings, with an Oreo chocolate bottom and cake topped with crumbled pieces of cookie. The tiramisu ($3.50) is also heavenly. It's a light blend of espresso-soaked ladyfingers and thick cream. Overall, the Atwood Grill serves a lot of food for little money. (11/97).

JULIAN'S, 318 Broadway, Providence, 861-1770. Julian's seems to exude a '70s California style, featuring wooden tables marked with hump-back whales, counter stools, and aged cookbooks stacked throughout the room. The menu, however, reflects '90s dining, with pasta, calamari, and grilled pork loin or veal chops. If you're in the mood for grilled seafood, Julian's serves shrimp over linguine with a tomato-and-pesto cream sauce ($12). There is also swordfish with portobello ($12) complimented with three accompanying sides of Yukon mashed potatoes, the best grilled zucchini, and summer squash rounds. The swordfish steak, meanwhile, is so naturally moist, it doesn't need to be topped with the usual buttery sauce. On the night we visited, the alternating menu only offered "Anita's almond cheesecake" for dessert ($3). No matter. Light and creamy, the cake had just a hint of almond with sliced almonds on top. (11/97)

MONTANA, 272 Thayer Street, Providence, 273-7427. Popular among college students and their visiting parents, Montana has undergone a new color scheme, with booth seats covered in aqua and royal blue and chairs covered in orange. Montana rounds up a Southwestern back-yard barbecue flavor that is spicy, but not overwhelmingly so. The "St. Louis Ribs" ($12.95) are lean, cooked in Montana Red Gold barbecue sauce, and served with two side dishes, perhaps a salad or a golden piece of warm corn bread. Montana's "Santa Fe Salad" ($5.95) is also an excellent choice. It comes in an edible bowl, a crisp, fried tortilla that is filled with lettuce, tomatoes, shredded carrots, red cabbage, cheese, and spicy taco meat. The entire dish is so flavorful, it doesn't need dressing. For dessert, the "Big Horn Cookie Pie" ($3.95) is a deliciously rich, thick wedge of chocolate-chip-cookie pie, with the consistency of a gooey brownie. At Montana, take a bite of the hickory barbecue flavor, and you'll feel like it's summertime in the back yard again. (11/97)

RAPHAEL BAR-RISTO, 5600 Post Road, East Greenwich, 884-4424. This semi-formal bistro is roomy and warm, with crystal chandeliers hanging from the ceilings and subdued artwork covering the walls. The Italian-trained chef and owner, Ralph Conte, keeps his restaurant hip, giving credit to his RISD-trained wife, Elisa. The menu lays out a manageable 16 main course selection of pastas, seafood, and meat. The grilled pork chops ($14.95) are juicy and center-cut, served on a generous pile of spinach mixed with pine nuts. Grilled Yukon potatoes lie in the meat juices; on top of the pork chops, delicious figs and red onions. Another recommended meat dish is the sage-roasted chicken breast ($15.95). Two pieces of chicken enwrap portobello mushrooms and are topped with a heavy amount of Sicilian olives. They are served over a rich, yellow-corn polenta. For dessert, all of the selections ($6.95) are house-made, and the dark-chocolate-mousse layered cake is particularly tasty. The latest Raphael Bar-Risto is scheduled to open next to the Capital Grille in Providence. (11/97)