Welcome Back: Three Tomatoes

By Randal Smathers

It’s not often I ignore “No trespassing” signs, but here goes.

When I first started writing this column, Alan Frye of Three Tomatoes in downtown Rutland passed along a message that he didn’t want to be reviewed. I understand his concern. A bad review can linger like the smell from a fish fry. And in this era of the Internet, it’s more like a fish dinner where you forget to take out the trash with the bones in it and go on vacation for two weeks in the summer.

It’s not like he needed the publicity. On a good Friday night, despite 140 seats there’s a modest lineup at the door and a few folks at the bar waiting for a table.

And you never know about reviews. A reviewer might not understand what you’re trying to do, or catch you on a bad night. As this column is designed to suggest where to eat — not where to avoid — and as I had lots of other places to go that appreciate the recognition, that’s where I went.

But then the flood happened, and Three Tomatoes and Clem’s got shut down for weeks and weeks, and the hole at the corner of Center Street and Merchants Row in the city’s dining scene was too big to let slide, so here goes.

Seven reasons to eat at Three Tomatoes:

1) The flatbread from the appetizer list: A smallish pizza, smeared with a garlicky, hummus-ish white bean spread, topped with a mound of fresh, bitter green salad, which goes brilliantly with the antipasti platter for a table of four. Fair warning for when somebody says they’ll pass on the appetizer: It’s like that old A&W ad where the guy’s date said she didn’t want anything and then she ate his whole meal.

2) Also from the appetizer list: The roasted beet salad with a goat-cheese fritter and shoestring beets. Chefs are taught to mix and balance opposites: Sweet/tart, soft/crunchy. Dishes like this are why. When I tried it for the first time, I was sorry I hadn’t ordered a second as the main course.

3) Pizza. Wood-fired like back in the old country; original blends of toppings on offer, including great white pizzas.

4) Pasta. Generous portions, good prices. Meals good enough that they’re conversation killers, as people who order them tend not to come up for air for five or 10 minutes at a stretch. The pizza and pasta are so good, I never get to the grilled meats. Hey, I’ve got to give the cardiologist a week off once in a while.

5) Rooster jugs. If you’ve been there, you know. If not, it’s the shape of the house wine jug, part of a smart, reasonably priced wine list. I always feel cheated when I go to Three Tomatoes during office hours, because these days a couple of beakers of vino are frowned upon for business meals. Bring back the three-martini lunch! (And maybe don’t show this column to my boss. Thanks.)

6) Because the Three Tomatoes chain (Burlington, Williston and Lebanon, N.H., as well as Rutland) buy a substantial amount of their products from local farms and producers.

7) Because it’s great to have such an established, reliable, quality restaurant in the heart of downtown. Not that there aren’t any others because there are several good eateries in the city, but face it, if Alan hadn’t reopened after the flood, we’d all be reminiscing about it for years.

Go. Enjoy. Mangia mangia.

And tell Alan I’m sorry for trespassing.

Table scraps

PEG-TV is taping its monthly flagship cooking show, “What’s Cookin’ Rutland,” sponsored by the Chaffee Art Center, at the station’s Howe Center Studio on Monday.

This month’s guest is Brad Burns from the Lakehouse Pub and Grille.

The show seems to have lost the plot, as the original concept was that it was going to be all about food from local producers. Frankly, in the middle of growing season it’s a shame not to see Rutland County produce front and center, although I’m sure it will still be both tasty and informative.

I know there’s not going to be local tuna for the tartare or local salmon for the Caribbean jerk salmon, but if somebody’s distilling Vermont maple syrup rum for the mojitos, count me in.

Salud

Doors open at 5:30 p.m. and tape starts to roll at 6:00, so they would like everyone seated by 5:45. Tapings include a tasting of the food prepared on the show; a $10 donation to cover costs is requested and tickets are available through the Chaffee at 775-0356.

Herald Editor Randal Smathers writes weekly on dining. He can be reached at randal.smathers@rutlandherald.com. Archived reviews can be found at www.invitevt.com, and do a review of your own.