Provisionally speaking: At T&B Provisions in Niantic, it's not just great sandwiches

Oct. 4—One of the best suspense novels I've ever read is "The First Deadly Sin" by Lawrence Sanders. One of the finest horror novels I've ever read is "Salem's Lot" by Stephen King.

A hugely important common denominator — to me, anyway — is that each book has a character to whom the making and eating of sandwiches are of the highest priority. In "The First Deadly Sin," New York City police captain Edward X. Delaney, on the hunt for a serial killer, thinks best when he's crafting a multi-faceted, Dagwood-style sandwich to be consumed while leaning over his kitchen sink.

In "Salem's Lot," Mike Ryerson, whose duties as the town's groundskeeper include maintaining the cemeteries, likes to munch his basic homemade sandwiches — "bologna and cheese was his favorite" — during breaks from digging graves that may or may not serve as hiding spots for vampires.

I think — I KNOW — Delaney would give up his quest for a murderer, and Ryerson would leave the mostly peaceful boneyard, and both would cheerily relocate to Niantic to become regulars at T&B Provisions & Eatery.

Y'see, located in the small storefront long occupied by the Village Bake House, T&B is a breakfast/lunch spot that indeed specializes in remarkable and creative sandwiches.

More than just two slices of bread and ...

But that's hardly the extent of the sorcery therein. The menu also includes soup, rice bowls and salads, and the "provisions" part of the equation features prepared take-home dinners, baked goods, sauces, soups and so on.

T&B Provisions is a partnership between owner/chef Tom Prue and owner/front-of-the-house Ben Looney, two friends with extensive restaurant experience who met while working at Aspen restaurant in Old Saybrook. Inspired by the idea of more normal, family-friendly hours, the pair opened T&B in April. So far, so pretty damned great.

Entering, the customer beholds a few tables and, along the front windows and left wall, dining counters. On the right are coolers filled with the take-out provisions and drinks. A display case with baked goods and other items is dead ahead, behind which a server takes your order — which you decide on from six hand-chalked blackboard menus. They boast "breakfast stuff" (which is served all day), cold and warm sandwiches, design your own sandwiches, salads, coffee/tea and rice bowls. Each day brings a new T&B sandwich and soup special.

Let's point out that both Ben and Tom are casual and friendly guys, a wide array of music blares forth from Tom's kitchen speakers, and the vibe is extremely relaxed (except for one post-harmolodics piece that sounded like Thelonious Monk stole Ornette Coleman's trumpet and experimented with it for the express purpose of driving my wife Eileen insane.)

Anyway, over the last week, I visited for breakfast with my pal Jeff, (trumpet) lunch with Eileen, and again at midday with Eileen and my pal Kristy. Between us, that's eight thumbs up.

Excellent across the (sandwich) board

Here's what we tried:

Banana Split ($9) — Bananas, granola, fresh berries, yogurt and a misting of honey. Jeff ordered this and loved it. However, he substituted yogurt for the recipe's original whipped cream.

Grilled Cheese & Tomato Sandwich ($12) — Speaking (sorta) of healthy people, my vegetarian wife called this "a grilled cheese for the ages." A dollop of pesto mayo offered a creamy spice, the thick slab of tomato provided a pleasantly acidic tartness, and the arugula's garden-y leafage brought it all home on toasted wheat.

Pressed Grilled Chicken Sandwich ($13) — This was Kristy's choice. Wait! She's healthy, too. She'd just raced a four in a rowing regatta the day before! Skeptical of the ubiquity of grilled chicken sandwiches, but trusting the T&B pedigree, she enthusiastically lauded the succulent chicken on a properly toasted ciabatta roll, with particular emphasis on the four-part harmony of caramelized onions, lemon chive aioli, baby arugula and tangy gorgonzola.

On her second trip, Eileen ordered the Provision Salad ($11) — a simple but delicious offering anchored by an arugula/mesclun mix topped with crumbled blue cheese, pepitas, red onion, dried cranberries and apple cider vinaigrette. The portions were generous and the flavors blended in happily calculated fashion. I promise you, she'll order this again.

Me? I couldn't resist the Lobster Avocado Panini ($18) from the daily specials — I'm fascinated by the idea that, probably because of the exotic and expensive nature of lobster, folks will try pairing it with anything. To me, though, fresh, sweet lobster is a subtle treat — one that can be overpowered by ill-advised combinations.

Avocado is also a delicate flavor with a subtle richness that's wonderful when not rendered ineffective by a more dominant flavor. In this case, the two performed marvelously, and a slice of pepperjack and a dash of lemon-chive aioli added just the right exclamation mark on a remarkable sandwich.

On my last stop at T&B, I devoured a salmon rice bowl ($15.95). A perfectly grilled slab of fish, with nicely crisped edges, was plopped over a multi-layered slaw of edamame, cucumber, carrot, seaweed and avocado — with a toothsome anchor of sticky rice. Fabulous.

Eileen and I also picked up some provisions to take home, a slice of quiche ($6.50 slice), a beet salad ($4.95 small, $8.95 large) and a complete meatloaf dinner ($13.95 with green bean casserole and mashed potatoes), and we look forward to trying them out. We eagerly anticipate the results. Other take-out possibilities include chicken, potato and pasta salads, sesame noodles, quinoa salad, dolmas, marinated mushrooms and much more.

T&B Provisions has the creative vision and chops to ensure it becomes a staple not just for the downtown Niantic strip but for the whole region.

T&B Provisions & Eatery

28 Pennsylvania Ave., Niantic

(860) 918-3643

www.tbprovision.com

Cuisine: Designer sandwiches that work beautifully, along with salads, soups, breakfast and rice bowls

Service: Happy to help

Handicap access: Plenty roomy, no steps or stairs

Hours: 8 a.m.-3 p.m. Wed.-Sun.

Atmosphere: pleasant, clean and casual. There's no public restroom.

Reservations: Call ahead to have orders waiting.

Credit cards: Yes