And I am not talking about Pirates of the Caribbean, Johnny Depp or even Keira Knightley. I am however referring to the restaurant in Newport, Rhode Island. First of all, try the clam chowder. No really, try it. Just about every restaurant along any coast will have the stuff on their menu and some of those may even make it in house but a bowl of it at The Black Pearl is worth its weight in…well…clams.  Smelling it all the way out on the pier approaching the door I queried our waitress and she assured me it was good and not in the “I work here so I have to say that” way. In fact she made several suggestions that night and every single on of them was on the mark.

The cream base (none of this tomato nonsense) with an underlying taste of vegetable and seafood stock and just enough clams and potatoes was enough to make it tasty and fulfilling but not clammy. I may have a relatively intrepid palate (I ate horse burgers in Slovenia just last month) but clam chowder has never been a favorite and this place does it right. The halibut was great but what finding good halibut is not nearly as difficult as finding good clam chowder so I will skip the details on it.

I do need to mention the bread pudding desert.  Wow. Seriously…wow. On the menu it is listed as “seasonal bread pudding” which sort of confused me.  I didn’t know there were bread pudding seasons.  Bread is bread be it challah or a baguette. So how do you make it seasonal. I am still not sure but their version was simple and perfect. Not to heavy or sweet. Not to crusty or eggy it was almost as if the custard part was more moscarpone cheese than egg or milk. It was covered in finely chopped hazelnuts and a healthy dollop of lightly sweetened (obviously) freshly homemade whipped cream. Again…wow…

If you find yourself in Newport and in need of a nice meal, head to the wharf and The Black Pearl.