Sweet and Spicy
Cafe McMillans is 'culinary oasis'
BY COURTNEY GAlLlJKRD
THE CHRONICLE
If Latin American cuisine is your flavor, then
look no further than Cafe McMillans. Located
inside the historic Stevens Center on Fourth Street,
this restaurant offers sidewalk dining for brunch,
lunch and dinner.
Visitors may recall that Cafe McMillans was
previously Cafe Piaf. The cafe reopened in Febru
ary this year under a new name and with a new
menu. Owner and Chef Don McMillan describes
the new lineup as "a culinary oasis in the heart of
the city of the arts."
"We know that people are being familiarized
not only with the (Latin) language but with the cul
ture, and a big part of the culture is the food, and
that is something that a lot of people are w illing to
try," McMillan said.
McMillan is joined in the kitchen by a native
Colombian chef who received his culinary educa
tion there. His familiarity with the cuisjne in that
part of the world, sajd McMillan, allows them to
prepare different variations of food many may not
have tried^ before.
"Wfc want to be as authentic aS possible with
the ingredients that are available locally. But we
also want to present a unique flavor to
people...The types of foods that we offer arc foods
that people have had in one shape or another, but
we present it in an interesting way," McMillan
said.
Sandwiches and burgers come in a variety of
ways such as the Cuban roast pork , beef churras
co. shrimp ceviche, Caribbean seafood burger,
Dutch West Indies burgers and the burger Espana.
The cafe also prepares wraps in large flour tortillas
filled with rice, beans, cheese and cilantro.
Main courses do vary on a daily basis, but cus
tomers can expect entrees such as grilled chicken
breast in citrus sauce, grilled vegetables in bal
samic vinaigrette and the traditional Spanish rice
and black beans combo. While soup is not a pop
PtiiKo by Courtney Giillwl
Chef Don McMillan holds a delicious treat in front of his Fourth Street restaurant.
Location: 401 W, Fourth Street
Hours: Mondays through Fridays 11
a.m.-2 p.m.; Thursdays thriragh Saturdays
5-11 p.m.; and Sundays 11 a,m.-3 p.m.
(Hours will be extended during $$iival
Price range: items from $4.50
Phone number: 750-0955.
ular menu item, it is free on rainy days.
Appetizers such as empanadas, Brazilian fries,
Spanish style hot wings, conch fritters and plantain
chips are favorites of locals. The crab-and-shrimp
cakes are the number one selling items on the
menu. McMillan said.
All sauces are made on the primuses; none
come from a bottle. McMillan said. The menu
boasts a line of signature sauces such as
chimichurri sauces, mango salsa and a homemade
Caesar dressing.
Sunday brunch offers sweet potato pancakes,
Belgian waffles, Cuban bread, toast, three-egg
omelettes and more. Children under 6 eat free on
Sundays.
The menu doesn't advise customers to "Save
Room for Dessert" for nothing, with custom bak
ery items such as coconut pudding. Haitian mm
cake, flan and the infamous two-pound Mile High
Cake at $9 a slice. McMillan said the price is
based on an extra-large slice, which is more than
enough for one to eat.
"We find that people come back different
nights to try different desserts," McMillan said.
"People challenge me, and say, 'If I can eat this
whole piece of cake, will you give it to me for
free?' And I tell them if they can finish it by them
selves I'll take it oft' the bill, and no one has done
it yet." O
Cafe McMillans is open for all major per
formances at the Steveas Center. Hours will be
extended during the National Black Theatre Festi
val until 2 am. every day. Attendees can expect
old favorites such as fried catfish, "mean greens
and a sweet potato casserole to return to the menu
that week.
Theater company uses work ofLangsHughes explore his
C HRONICLE STAFF REPORT
The Providence Black Repertory Company's "ATrib
ute to Langston Hughes" brings to life one of the most
Langston Hughes
integral voices 01 tne nariein
Renaissance. Developed and
produced by PBRC members
with artistic director Donald
King, this piece combines the
powerful words and images of
Langston Hughes with music
and movements that pay hom
age to one of America's pre
mier poets and playwrights.
King explained: "Langston
Hughes is an American poet.
The Providence Black Reperto
ry Company is an American
theater company. The audience
will experience a company of
actors and designers' interpre
tation of one of the great Amer
ican poets of the Harlem Renaissance. We have deliber
ately taken liberties to honor the writer's ultimate inten
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lions while interpreting them through a contemporary
lens."
The Providence Black Repertory Company first per
formed A Tribute to Langston Hughes" a year ago, when
Rhode Island s Langston Hughes Centennial Committee
asked the company to create a production in honor of the
writer s 100th birthday. The production has matured to
include more poetry, prose, and music from the Harlem
Renaissance
James Langston Hughes was born in February of 1902
in Joplin, Mo. He began writing poetry as a teenager and
following high school spent a year in Mexico and a year at
Columbia University. Hughes' first book of poetry. "The
Weary Blues." was published by Alfred A. Knopf in 1926
Hughes finished his college education at Lincoln Uni
versity in Pennsylvania three years later. His first novel.
"Not Without Laughter." won the Harmon gold medal for
literature in 1930.
He wrote novels, short stories and plays, as well as
poetry, and. is also known for his engagement with the
world of jazz and the influence it had on his writing, as in
Montage of a Dream Deferred."