Chicken pesto grilled pizza, clam cakes and fish & chips are the kind of tasty but simple menu choices at reasonable prices that Everyman Bistro serves.

The Providence Journal / Kris Craig

PROVIDENCE — Tucked inside the American Locomotive Works off Valley Street on the wonderfully named Iron Horse Way, the Everyman Rhode Island Bistro is the latest welcome addition to the city’s factory-building-turned-

trendy-restaurant dining scene. It’s a concept in which old brick walls, rusted bolts and high ceilings become a home to grilled pizza, chicken pot pie and maybe the jambalaya special.

The concept works with the kind of tasty but simple menu choices at reasonable prices that Everyman Bistro serves.

Leah Reynolds opened Everyman last August. She operated the late-lamented Custom House Tavern on Weybosset Street downtown from 1991 until she sold it in 2002 (it closed in 2005). She said in a later phone call that she wanted Everyman to be “more of a restaurant” than the tavern had been. Nevertheless, besides the many entrees, there’s lighter fare at Everyman as well, plus music and more.

Every night around 9 some form of entertainment is going on — no cover charge — whether it’s an Open Mic Night Mondays and Wednesdays, dinner and jazz Saturdays, bluegrass or swing Sundays, a dance party Fridays, a “Meet the Artists Night” on occasional Thursdays or the wine and/or beer tastings once a month on Tuesdays.

A recent Wednesday open mike night brought several good musicians playing selections from their latest CDs. Yet the noise level was so high because of the two-story-high ceilings that even after the speakers had been toned down, we were thankful that we were almost finished with dessert when they really got jamming and it was difficult to hear our waitress or even the person sitting across from me. But then, since the kitchen closes at 10 most nights, I think many of those in Everyman after 9 will be there to hear the music, have a few drinks and maybe appetizers.

It’s one of the few complaints we had of our experience — the other being that on a cold winter night there was a slight draft coming from the windows next to the booths in the main room. The dining room, with a big bar along one end, is L-shaped. In the vertical part of the L there are tables and a gas fireplace that throws off a surprising amount of heat. The bottom part of the L is much larger and includes the bar as well as tables and booths.

There are 19 draught beers on tap besides those served in bottles and cans and the lineup changes regularly. Reynolds said she tries to put the spotlight on “a lot of nice little breweries in New England that no one has ever heard of.” The wines, which are racked attractively behind the bar, also change every few weeks. There’s a complete bar service, too, and we chose a couple of mixed cocktails.

The Coffee Bean Martini ($7.50) seemed a must-order because one of its ingredients was Rhode Island’s own Autocrat coffee syrup, along with Stoli vodka and “merry Irish cream.” Three coffee beans floated in the heady concoction which was served in a martini glass. Everyman’s credo is to use as many locally grown and produced items as possible — including Rhody Fresh Milk and Little Rhody sodas and so Autocrat fit right in.

The Jersey Girl ($7) was a slightly sweet and very refreshing blend of peach schnapps, orange juice, a raspberry vodka infusion and a “secret soda splash” that made it easy to want another. I’d heard high praise for the clam cakes ($3.75 for five), so those were a must-try appetizer as was Leo’s chili ($3.99 a cup) and the grilled pizza ($9.99). Those clam cakes certainly deserved their accolades. The five were good sized and surprisingly light, with more of a clam flavor than I’d seen even in many seafood restaurants thanks to a liberal sprinkling of chopped clams in the batter. On the side, a delicate sauce that seemed to have a cucumber flavor.

The big bowl of chili was rich with tomato and thick with beans and ground beef. We had it topped with thin strands of jack cheese (salsa and sour cream are other options) which melted into the chili and added a hearty boost to the dish. The pizza was grilled to perfection with a crispy crust and a base that held up, even on slices that were loaded with basil pesto, pulled chicken, tomatoes and gooey mozzarella. The pesto added a deep, dusky touch to the sweet tomatoes and tender chicken for a very happy mix of flavors.

At Everyman, the delicious Fish and Chips ($11.99), are served every day. A big, big piece of cod was lightly fried in a Narragansett Beer batter that also is used for the clam cakes, giving it the kind of light, crunchy touch reminiscent of Japanese tempura. The fish itself was wonderfully moist and flaky. It was served with the same mild sauce that had come with the clam cakes.

It sat atop a more-than-generous mound of hand-cut French fries. The ones on the side of the fish were crisp; the ones under the fish limp from the moistness.

David’s Stuffed Burger ($9.95) too, deserves raves as one of the best burgers enjoyed in a long time. It comes with a choice of Swiss, American or Cheddar cheese inside. The outside had the slightly smoky flavor of having been cooked on an outdoor grill, but inside it was moist, cooked to a perfect medium with a lot of flavor and the cheese oozing out from the sides. Reynolds said the recipe was from David’s Pot Belly, a popular dining spot that once was off North Main Street. “Most of the things on the menu is stuff from places that are not there anymore,” she added. Although the burger was looked askance on at first because “it seemed dry on the outside,” one bite proved it to be wonderful.

The hand-cut onion rings that came with the burger had also been fried in the Narragansett Beer batter. They were large and crunchy on the outside and showed a lot of care taken in the kitchen. Almost all the desserts are made in house. I guessed that Leah’s Graham Squares ($4.50) would be a graham cracker concoction. But it was more akin to a very moist, cake-like brownie loaded with chopped walnuts and drizzled with dark chocolate sauce. The Dark Chocolate Bread Pudding ($5.95) was more custardy than bread-like and very rich.

The two desserts proved to be among the most unusual items on a comfort menu of old favorites such as chicken pot pie, hamburgers, chili, clam chowder, even macaroni and cheese.

Everyman Rhode Island Bistro, 311 Iron Horse Way, Providence. (401) 751-3630; everymanri.com. Casual. Wheelchair accessible. Reservations taken, preferred for parties larger than six. AE, MC, V, DIS. Parking lot. Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m. to 1 a.m.; Sat. 5 p.m. to 1 a.m.; Sun. 4 p.m. to 1 a.m. Appetizers $3.50 to $9.99. Entrees $7.95 to $11.99. Wines are up to $10 by the glass; $18 to $34 for a bottle.BILL OF FARE

Dinner for two at Everyman Bistro might look something like this:

Coffee Bean Martini…$7.50

Jersey Girl…$7.00

Clam cakes…$3.75

Fish and chips…$11.95

David’s stuffed burger…$9.95

Leah’s graham squares…$4.50

Total food and drink…$44.65

Tax…$3.57

Tip…$9.00

Total bill…$57.22

mjanuson@projo.com