Theatrical flourishes worth a hearty "Bravo!"

Restaurants are often likened to theaters, but there's an unusually strong theatrical wind prevailing at Stumbling Goat Bistro. Maybe it's the heavy red curtains shielding the front door. As you emerge from behind them, it's as if you are walking from the wings onto center stage.

Stage right is the main dining room, soothingly lit with mismatched vintage lamps circa mid-20th century, and yet flamboyant with blood-red walls and vivid contemporary paintings.

Stage left is a smaller, more darkly romantic dining room.

Beyond that, glimpsed through graceful wrought iron, lies a miniature magic kingdom waiting to be discovered: the Enchantress Lounge, a shimmering lair where hand-painted vines creep across misty peach walls toward a ceiling swagged in crushed velvet pinned by a crystal chandelier.

The lounge is a recent addition to this six-year-old neighborhood bistro, as is chef Seth Caswell, a New York transplant and worthy successor to Matt Dillon, who moved on last fall to open his own restaurant, Sitka & Spruce.

Owner Erin Fetridge, who once held the title of "assistant grower" at The Herbfarm, found another kindred spirit in Caswell. He prowls farmers markets forging connections with local growers and food artisans, and tweaks his contemporary American menu often to keep it current with what's fresh and available from those purveyors — all of whom are listed on the back of the menu, like credits at the end of the movie or actors in a playbill.

Caswell achieves his own drama with color, texture and flavor: packing fresh chevre into tiny whole pickled yellow peppers; filling fresh figs with smoked blue cheese; pairing mussels with butternut squash and crab with black kale; putting purple, yellow and orange carrots into risotto.

Appetizer salads showcase the beautiful produce. Dandelions dominate the tangle of pungent greens dressed with olive vinaigrette that accompanies those precious baby bell peppers. Roasted figs sweeten the vinaigrette for frisée and arugula that escorts the stuffed figs. Crumbled "Oregonzola" from Rogue Creamery connects a mosaic of sliced beets in every shade of ruby. Roasted cauliflower florets, tiny chanterelles and toasted walnuts hide among watercress sprigs glistening with walnut vinaigrette.

Six mussels might seem skimpy, even for an appetizer, but these jumbo, locally raised Mediterranean mollusks fill the bowl. They surround steamed butternut squash, onion and herbs piled on a raft of grilled bread, and the vegetables gain as much flavor as they give to the chili-spiked shellfish broth. The bread sucks up the succulent juices faster than you can, though.

Entrees include such bistro classics as roasted chicken, here rendered as a boneless breast and thigh, simple and sublime, resting on buttery mashed potatoes in a pond of garlic-enriched pan juices too elegant to be dubbed gravy.

Halibut fillet — equally golden, gorgeous and seasoned with gusto — gets a large supporting cast of roasted fennel and rings of Delicata squash, sautéed crabmeat and chopped black kale.

Those sunset-hued carrots do more than decorate the peppery risotto, one among several options for vegetarians. Their sweet crunch offsets the slippery earthiness of lobster mushrooms; every bite is arresting. Vegans can opt to omit the crown of ricotta cream, but it's a divine flourish.

Wagyu beef enriches a tomato ragu saucing organic orrechiette. Those little pasta ears are perfect for capturing the bits of beef, Berkshire pork and spicy sausage that give this Bolognese a boost — and that contribute to its $24 price tag.

Prices may seem high for a neighborhood bistro ($8-$12 for starters, $17-$28 for mains) but so is the quality of the ingredients and the caliber of the chef. Sharing an appetizer keeps the price down; or show up for happy hour in the Enchantress Lounge, where four days a week starters are discounted and selected cocktails and wines poured by the glass are just $4.

The wine list deserves applause for its range of prices, varietals and international reach, galloping from Austria to Argentina to Australia in just two pages. (On Tuesdays, most bottles are half-price.)

A glass of wine, a salad and a cheese plate make an inexpensive supper, too.

Try a pungent Italian La Tur, a blend of sheep, cow and goat milk, or buttery cheddar from Washington's Estrella Family Creamery. Whether you choose two cheeses for $7 or all six for $15, they arrive beautifully presented at room temperature with grapes, raisin-nut bread and mosto cotto — a sweet-and-sour sauce made from grape must.

Don't let the curtain come down before dessert. That might be as simple as fresh seasonal fruit on a cloud of whipped cream and a warm shortbread biscuit, or as lavish as a mini sour-cream cheesecake for two, so light it should be tethered, ringed with a huckleberry sauce thick enough to double as pie filling.

Providence Cicero: providencecicero@aol.com

Sample menu

Pickled baby-bell-pepper salad $12

Mussels with butternut squash $12

Roast chicken $17

Carrot risotto $21

Halibut with crabmeat $28