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.

CITY SIDE CAFE, 53 Pine St., Providence, 272-6660. The night we visited City Side, the place was packed with a Friday-night, after-work crowd, especially in the bar area. So my boyfriend, Andre, and I decided to join in the fun from our table with a round of drinks. For an appetizer, I let Andre talk me into potato skins ($5.75). Heaped with a blend of melted Swiss and cheddar cheese and topped with crumbled bacon, the deep-fried skins were amazingly crispy. For my main course, I selected the grilled chicken salad ($6.75), while Andre went for the chicken parmesan ($10.50). The strips of boneless chicken in my salad had been marinated in a balsamic vinaigrette dressing for a mildly tangy flavor, and they were served over an incredible assortment of garden vegetables. On the other side of the table, Andre's dinner was so enormous, it looked as though an entire box of penne, cooked perfectly to an al dente firmness, had been dumped on his plate. What else could Andre have possibly wanted after this? Dessert, of course. We chose the two specials for $3.95 each -- a slice of carrot cake topped with a light, whipped-cream frosting and the strawberry cheesecake, a crust-lover's dream with a graham-cracker layer on both top and bottom. A perfect end to this perfect culinary picture.(1/98)

15 POINT ROAD, 15 Point Rd., Portsmouth, 683-3138. There's a bright and pleasant feeling to 15 Point Road from the moment you step inside. On our recent visit, we were greeted by an appetizing aroma of fresh basil from freshly picked leaves in the entry vestibule, a small space that concentrated the fragrance. And 15 Point treats the interiors of its patrons just as attentively. Seafood is the specialty here, declared by only one of the seven appetizers containing meat. For starters, we tried the Portuguese soup ($2.75), planning on diving into the ocean offerings later in the meal. The bulk of the kale soup was taken up by tender pieces of pork, more plentiful than the potatoes, in a sweet, flavorful broth. It was better than we'd had at some Portuguese restaurants. For a main course, we went for the "Sole Sarafino" ($13.75). The filets were dusted in flour and lightly sautéed, topped with small shrimp plus tart tomatoes, scallions and mushrooms. Last but not least, try the liqueur-topped vanilla ice cream for dessert -- or perhaps your sweet memories of the meal itself will be enough. (9/98)

INDIA, 123 Dorrance St., Providence, (278-2000). Amid the warm dark wood ambiance of India is a restaurant that is personal, endearing, and good. The bar serves Indian specialties, such as Kingfisher Beer and a cream sherry. Among the appetizers, the aloo paratha, a pancake of grilled whole-wheat bread stuffed with mashed potatoes and cilantro, confirmed our belief that no cuisine does better by potatoes than Indian. Our entrées, a "veggie mango" ($6.95) and a mixed kabobs platter ($14.95), were sweetly seasoned and well marinated, respectively. The desserts at India are equally impressive. The shahi kheer ($1.95) is a sweet cardamomed rice pudding heavy on the almond slices. The gulab jamun ($2.50) is a golf ball-sized piece of fried dough soaked in honey and oris water. For an extra dollar, a scoop of mango Ben & Jerry's comes with it. The whole experience is enough to make you wonder whether what they were really doing in the Kama Sutra was sublimating over food. (6/97)

LUCIA'S, 186B-190B Thames St., Newport, 864-4477. For starters, you have a choice of nine crescentino, or Northern Italian fried pizza. Cousins to pitas and tortillas, the saporita ($6.95) and the fresca ($6.50) are particularly good. The two half-moon pizza-dough pockets are lightly fried (not as much as dough-boys, but with a hint of that taste) and then filled with roasted sweet peppers and fontina for the saporita and lettuce, tomatoes, and provolone for the fresca. And the meatless choices at Lucia's go beyond the appetizers, including a red sauce made with soy beef and soy sausage, seitan (a wheat gluten formed into meat-like chunks) breaded and lemoned a la veal francaise, and seitan simmered in a vegetable and tomato stew. There are many crossover dishes from the pizzeria to the restaurant next-door, but meat entrées are only served at the latter and pizzas at the former. But no matter which place you choose, you're bound to discover something out of the ordinary at Lucia's. (9/98