Phantom Gourmet: Salted Slate In Providence, RI

PROVIDENCE, RI - Benjamin Lloyd isn't a celebrity chef. In fact, he's sort of the anti-celebrity chef. He's a humble, hard-working guy who just happens to cook some of the finest food in Rhode Island. At The Salted Slate in Wayland Square, Providence, there are no tablecloths, no stuffiness, and absolutely no attitude or ego.

"We're not superstars here. We are here serving people food. We're not saving babies. We're not making rockets. We're just not overcooking steak," Benjamin said. "We're not giving each other high fives in the back after we plate something that maybe nobody orders, or come up with a dish that's so weird and out there that people are scared to try it."

Connect With Phantom: Facebook | Twitter | Instagram

Quite the opposite, actually. You'll probably want to try everything on the menu, from the handmade pasta with lamb Bolognese, to an Ahi tuna sandwich, to a lusciously layered braised pork belly. Some dishes are simple, and some are a bit more complicated, but the common denominator is that just about everything is sourced locally and all the dishes are deliciously approachable.

"It's rustic, it's rich, it's homey. I wanted people to feel comfortable coming in here, getting great food, but not necessarily having to throw on a coat and a tie," Benjamin said.

The menu changes with the seasons, and it's broken down into four sections called "To Share," "To Start," "To Dine," and "To Finish".

The sharing section offers some real standouts, including Mac and Cheese that's not served by the bowl. Instead, it's prepared like stuffed shells and blanketed with bacon, ricotta, parmesan, and gruyere. Then there are the legendary Salted Slate Meatballs made with pancetta, cheese, and fresh herbs served over polenta.

"Those tend to get a lot of attention. One of the things that sets them apart is we do them to order in sauce. We don't bake them. They cook in the marinara," Benjamin explained. "We serve them over a runny style of polenta. The way we set it up is the polenta is almost meant to be a sauce. They're piled up; they're hit with fresh herbs and then they're topped with pamigiano reggiano and olive oil. Consensus is they're definitely the best meatballs people have ever had."

The so-called Bacon Burger, topped with braised short ribs, herbed goat cheese, and a fried egg isn't so bad either, even though you won't see any smoky bacon strips under the bun.

"The bacon burger does not have bacon on it; we grind bacon into our burger. We grind enough in that someone tastes it and they go 'ooh, that's really interesting,'" described Benjamin. "We make our bulkie rolls here in the restaurant. We have a tomato marmalade that we make here that rides the border of being acidic and sweet, and that's sort of what the short rib is swimming in. So you're getting all these different flavors."

From the "To Dine" section of the menu, Phantom recommends the Blackbird Farm Steak, beautifully presented with roasted bone marrow, a simple fennel salad, and housemade coffee butter.

"To Finish", check out the crispy Crème Brulee, with a pool of natural honey hidden on the bottom; or the signature Brioche Bread Pudding studded with candied pecans, white chocolate, and rum raisin ice cream.

"You're getting these really great components of the pecan nut in there; it's also adding texture. The rum raisin ice cream, the raisins are acting as a natural friend to the bread pudding. A lot of people tend to put raisins in bread pudding. We thought in the ice cream it would be a little more interesting. So you're getting rum soaked raisins," Benjamin explained.

Every weekend, Salted Slate becomes one of the area's most popular brunch spots, serving dishes like their upscale version of Southern Chicken & Waffles, and even a bag full of warm, handmade glazed donuts that cost only a dollar a piece. But the brunch meal that gets the biggest buzz, and the most giggles per order, is the dish known as The Chubby Duckling.

"We decided that we were going to serve duck eggs. It's a larger egg. There's more protein to them. There's more fat to them, and we're serving it with poutine," Benjamin said.

The portions are large and the value is huge considering the quality. Even though Benjamin isn't a celebrity, that doesn't stop him from making customers feel like stars.

"I want people to be able to find enough stuff on this menu that they can come out a couple of times a month. I want them to be able to find stuff that they wouldn't expect to find in Wayland Square in Providence, Rhode Island. And I want them to walk away with a sense that we value their time with us."

You can find Salted Slate at 186 Wayland Avenue in Providence, Rhode Island, and online at saltedslate.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.