NEWPORT What is there to like about Fluke Wine, Bar and Kitchen?

It’s set on two floors above Bowen’s Wharf in Newport, facing the lovely harbor. During sunlight hours, the rays bounce off the water and at dusk sunsets can be exquisite. Sit on the top floor in the bar and you’ll wish you had an easel and paintbrush — and the talent — to capture it all on canvas.

The energy in the restaurant is great, with lots of animated diners, many of whom are happy on vacation. The staff, too, buzzes around merrily, from busy owners Jeff and Geremie Callaghan to personable and energetic servers. Support staff wings around the place with boxes of silverware to keep every dinner table refreshed. There’s no apathy here.

The cocktails are beautifully conceived and concocted in full view of patrons. Cocktail glasses sit with ice, chilling for the next drink. There are fresh herbs on the bar to infuse interesting flavors.

The food is fun and creative and fresh as the day. Small plates offer little delights like crostini topped with a chick pea purée and pepper relish and the lightest potato and chourico croquettes. There are burgers and steak frites for meat eaters and a risotto for vegetarians. But make no mistake, seafood is the star here. Fresh from the sea is a Shellfish Pan Roast with scallops, clams, mussels and shrimp in a beautiful broth meant to be enjoyed with slices of grilled bread. It’s a play off cioppino, the Italian fish stew traditionally made from the catch of the day.

Each day is a happy adventure for new executive chef Neil Manacle (a J&W grad) and sous chef Kevin King, both recently imported from Manhattan. The sea provides beautiful fish, which inspires them: most recently, it was tuna prepared three ways. But then there is the land, too. The Callaghans have contracted for four acres at nearby Rhode Island Nursery to be farmed for them. Zucchini blossoms and snow peas are just the beginning of what it will produce this season.

All this means you shouldn’t get too comfortable with that menu, as they print it each night with the most seasonal and local foods they can find.

Blueberry Shortcake with Crème Fraîche is the dessert of choice with a bounty of blueberries being harvested around the state.

The Callaghans are Newport natives who opened Fluke two years ago, modeling it after all the cutting-edge spots they loved while living 15 years in New York. Jeff was in the wine business, something that serves him well here. The wine list includes out of the ordinary selections (Grüner Veltliner from Austria comes to mind) that make it rich in choices.

Jeff grew up busing tables at the Clarke Cooke House and the Black Pearl, and when he and his wife returned to Newport they thought they’d open a restaurant in Middletown. But then they came upon this perfect space that used to house Le Bistro, and they opened it up and made it bright and introduced all the food to match its sparkle.

Fluke Wine, Bar & Kitchen, 41 Bowen’s Wharf, Newport, (401) 218-7884, flukewinebar.com. Casually upscale. On street parking; pay lots. Reservations. Not wheelchair accessible. Highchairs. AE, MC, V. Open daily at 5 p.m.; Sunday brunch 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. Small plates $6-$13; large plates $12-$38. Extensive cocktail menu and wines by the bottle and glass.Bill of Fare

A dinner for two at Fluke might look like this:

Glass Prosecco… $7.00

Duotone Daquiri… $10.00

Potato and chourico croquettes… $6.00

Cheddar burger… $12.00

Shellfish pan roast… $26.00

Blueberry shortcake… $7.00

Total food and drink… $68.00

Tax… $5.44

Tip… $14.00

Total bill… $87.44

gciampa@projo.com

NEWPORT — The Newport International Film Festival is in full swing through Sunday and filmmakers and filmgoers alike may be looking for an easy dining spot.
The Brick Alley Pub, with its cheerful yellow-and-white- striped awnings, has been delighting customers for more than 28 years with a menu that ranges from burgers to steaks to seafood and chicken dishes. Once a frequent diner, I hadn’t visited for a couple of years and was startled by prices that now ranged from $24.95 to $29.95 for steaks and $25.95 for fried scallops. Still, many chicken, seafood and pasta items are in the $15.95 to $23.95 range. There are wonderful burgers and filling sandwiches from $7.95 to $10.95.

It’s a cozy place despite encompassing a warren of very different dining rooms — an airy front room, a wrap-around bar where you can drink and dine and hang out with politicians, yachtsmen or sailors on shore leave; a narrow room with booths that’s lined with retro posters and paraphernalia, including a program from the 1913 Navy Day where “Col. Theodore Roosevelt” spoke; a smaller back room, a front room opposite the bar that’s dominated by a huge soup and salad bar and the front end of a 1938 red pickup truck whose back end has been turned into a cooler.

Manager Tom Desmond has been at the Brick Alley Pub since a month after Ralph and Patricia Plumb opened it in December 1980. They immediately won fans, said Desmond, by introducing sky-high nacho platters to the City by the Sea, of which there are now five varieties. That’s why, Desmond added, Ralph’s license plate is NACHOS.

The Brick Alley Pub uses as many local ingredients as possible and, in that vein, I started with a Sakonnet Eye of the Storm wine ($5.25). Brick Alley holds a Wine Spectator Award. After a long day, the Pusser’s Painkiller ($6.75) also caught the eye — a generous pour of Pusser’s British Navy rum, coconut, pineapple and orange juices, topped with cinnamon and nutmeg. It’s strong, refreshing and yet pleasingly slightly sweet.

Because the menu reported that “the 50th anniversary issue of Bon Appetit had named Brick Alley’s Portuguese Littlenecks one of the 13 best recipes in the history of the magazine,” how could one resist? A bowl of 10 fat littlenecks had been steamed with chourico in a heady broth of white wine, garlic, olive oil, lemon and slim onion slices, with bits of green and red peppers and red pepper flakes. A delicious, slightly spicy mix, it was perfect for dunking with the otherwise tasteless slices of a baguette. I’d definitely order it again, though with the soup and salad bar that’s included with dinner entrees ($5 extra with a sandwich or burger), it might be too much food for some. The salad bar has a wide choice of fresh ingredients and the soup that day was a hearty barley-based Italian Wedding with tiny meatballs.

Southwestern Tilapia ($19.95) featured two good-sized fillets, bronzed from being sautéed with Southwestern spices and topped with a tangy chipotle-cilantro sauce that hinted of mustard. The fish sat atop a mound of rice that had been sautéed with black beans and red pepper, giving it a very spicy zing. On the side, creamed spinach added a mellow touch.

A yummy lobster roll ($17.95) had big chunks of claw and tail meat spilling out of a grilled frankfurter roll, but it could have used a lighter hand on the mayonnaise. It came with crunchy cole slaw and a choice of a side dish, in this case thick, meaty and yet crisp French fries that had a solid taste of the potato.

Many of the desserts tempted, but we were happy with the Peanut Butter Volcano ($6.95). Arriving in what looked like a tall, wide martini glass, it was decadence defined. Peanut butter mousse that had been married to a graham cracker crust with chocolate fudge inside was hidden under a mountain of whipped cream, vanilla ice cream, dark chocolate syrup and shaved Ghiradelli chocolate. Oh, and a sprig of mint on top, the only low-cal thing about it. Spectacular looking and wonderfully rich, it easily was enough for two to share . . . and rave about.

Brick Alley Pub, 140 Thames St., Newport. (401) 849-6334, brickalley.com. Casual. Wheelchair accessible. Child seats. Limited number of reservations taken each day. MC, V, AE, DC, DIS and domestic traveler’s checks. On-street parking. Lunch 11:30 a.m. to 4 p.m.; dinner 4 to 10 p.m. Sun. to Thurs., to 10:30 p.m. Fri.-Sat.; Sun. brunch 10:30 a.m. to 12.30 p.m. Appetizers $7.95 to $13.95. Entrees $15.95 to $29.95. Wines $5.25 to $12 by the glass; $18 to $275 for a bottle. BILL OF FARE

Dinner for two at Brick Alley Pub might look something like this:

Eye of the Storm…$5.25

Pusser’s Painkiller…$6.75

Portuguese clams…$13.95

Lobster Roll…$17.95

Southwestern tilapia…$19.95

Volcano…$6.95

Total food and drink…$70.80

Tax…$5.66

Tip…$14.00

Total bill…$90.46

mjanuson@projo.com

EAST PROVIDENCE Once upon a time, a summery Saturday evening attracted thousands to Crescent Park for a night of food and fun.

It’s nice to recall those days, but now we all have a chance to make new memories there along the lovely waters of Narragansett Bay in this city’s Riverside community.

What’s better than driving along Bullocks Point Avenue to the Crescent Park Carousel and finding a clam shack waiting with huge, meaty lobster rolls and tender fried-bellied clams? Blount Fine Foods, the Warren-based seafood wholesalers, has been expanding in several ways, and none is more welcome than with the setting for their second clam shack (the first is in Warren) there in the shadow of the historic carousel where for $1 riders can hop on a beautifully carved horse and still grab for the brass ring.

“Being famous for its shore dinner hall, people come to the park still to this day for chowder and clam cakes, and for a ride on the carousel and to reminisce about the days when the park was open,” summed up Donna McMahon, vice chair of the Crescent Park Carousel Commission.

A stop here is also a step back in time in another way. On Saturday evenings, classic cars are lined up between the clam shack and the carousel for a Cruise Night. Familiar songs from the ’50s and ’60s blast from speakers and transport us back to days that seem so simple in retrospect.

A dinner here too harkens back to less complicated and fussy times. It offers the whole package of the most casual summer fun but with the convenience of an easy-to-get-to urban setting. It’s the attraction of ordering at the window, sharing space at a picnic table and eating outdoors near the carousel, an opportunity that we didn’t have until now. It’s only open Thursday to Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. and only takes cash. There’s no phone, so forget about calling ahead. Cans of soda are sold from a single vending machine. There’s no alcohol allowed at the clam shack.

I suggest you stop first at the ice cream stand called the Dari Bee, 240 Bullocks Point Ave., and order a shake (I know you want coffee but the blueberry one is great) to accompany your meal. Then stop back for a cone later.

Back at the Clam Shack, the lobster roll is amazing, with probably a pound of fresh meat lightly dressed with a Dijon-mayonnaise blend. The lobster is then loaded on a piece of fresh lettuce into an oversize hot dog roll. It costs $19.95 and comes with loads of French fries and a small order of fresh coleslaw.

I loved the clams ($10.95 for a side order or $16.95 for a platter), which were as tender as could be with a light batter. Even the bellies were delicate. For me, the side order was the perfect size, especially since I wanted to share an order of clam cakes, $3.50 for a half dozen. You’ll find the clam cakes on the heavy side but that’s because they have loads of clams inside.

Clam chowder is a specialty here and there are three varieties — white, red or clear with chorizo. A cup of each costs $3.75. The white version was satisfying with plenty of clams and potatoes in a creamy broth, but it was a bit salty even before the oyster crackers went in.

Blount’s menu includes clam strips (a roll for $7.95), but also items for those who lack an affinity for seafood. There are hot dogs ($2.75), hamburgers or chicken fingers (each $3.50) and a side of fries ($2.50). There are also fish and chips and daily specials.

The tiny clam shack is a stark contrast to the many incarnations of the shore dinner hall that dated back to 1892, felled by hurricanes and ultimately by fire in 1984. Charles Looff Jr. (son of famed-carousel builder Charles I.D. Looff) built one hall in 1914 large enough to feed 2,000. But what would you expect there at the spot that was called “The Coney Island of the Northeast”? At the carousel museum, you can view some of the old menus like one from the 1920s with all-you-can-eat chowder and clam cakes for 25 cents. “Don’t forget the Narragansett Ale and Lager,” the menu says. A shore dinner cost $1.90 including lobster.

Crescent Park Carousel was built in 1895 by the senior Looff and still operates seasonally, as will the clam shack.

Todd Blount, president of Blount Fine Foods, lives a mile from Crescent Park and so he was receptive when the Carousel Commission called him at this time last year looking for a vendor to take over the small concession stand and serve food that would recall the park’s heyday. Blount had already opened their first clam shack on the Warren waterfront two years earlier, finding it the natural evolution of their business.

Last year in Riverside, Blount didn’t open until the summer was halfway over, but with help from the experienced Warren team, they opened this year in May.

“We believe the shacks are getting back to our roots,” said Blount. An authentic clam shack lifestyle is the perfect fit for their products which include soups, chowders and clam strips.

Blount also likes that the shack brings back some of the fun to an area that will always remembered for all the great times enjoyed there.

And all it took was serving up some chowder and clam cakes.

Blount Clam Shack, Crescent Park Carousel, 684 Bullocks Point Ave., East Providence. No phone. Free parking lot. Outside picnic tables to share. Cash only. Soda from a vending machine. No alcoholic beverages allowed. Open Thursday to Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed holidays. Open seasonally at least through September. Seafood and grill items, $2.75-$19.95.

Also at Warren Waterfront, 335 Water St., Warren, (401) 245-3210. Credit cards accepted. Open Monday, Wednesday, Thursday and Sunday 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.; Friday and Saturday to 9 p.m. Closed Tuesday and holidays.

Dari Bee, 240 Bullocks Point Ave, East Providence, (401) 433-1931.

gciampa@projo.com