Cape Verde Native's Dream Comes True at Ten Rocks Tapas Bar in Pawtucket

Lincoln's Carmen Monteiro has longed to open a restaurant since she was growing up on Brava, one of the "10 rocks" that make up the island nation of Cape Verde.

By Gail Ciampa

Journal Food Editor Posted May. 13, 2015 at 12:01 am Updated May 13, 2015 at 11:24 AM

PAWTUCKET, R.I. — When Carmen Monteiro opened Ten Rocks Tapas Bar and Restaurant last month in Pawtucket, it was a celebration, not just of food but also of reaching a goal.

"This has been a dream of mine since I was a little girl growing up on an island," she said.

That island was Brava, the smallest of the "10 rocks," or volcanic islands, that make up the nation of Cape Verde. The one-time Portuguese colony is an archipelago in the Atlantic Ocean off the west coast of Africa.

That is where Carmen was born and raised until she came to the United States in 1981 when she was 15. Now, as vice president of sourcing and manufacturing for Adelington Design Group, a division of Kate Spade & Company, she travels for her job. As she goes around the world, she has observed trends and built her restaurant on one: tapas, or small plates.

"I felt tapas was becoming very popular," she said.

She believes that people care about what they eat and the portions they consume. So the smaller portions of tapas appeal to diners across the globe.

That said, the tapas portions at Ten Rocks are not single serving. They are very much meant to be shared. Think three sliders on a plate. Carmen sees sharing tapas plates as a conversation starter, as people eat the same dishes and then dish about flavors and their likes and preferences.

Carmen, who lives in Lincoln, also wanted to bring her beloved Cape Verdean cuisine to Pawtucket, not just for the community here but also for others looking for an ethnic dining experience.

The cocktails have a definite Cape Verdean flair, with infusions of guava, mango and passion fruit. Carmen also is onto the concept of freshly squeezed juices that is so much a part of the cocktail culture today.

The food is also a very personal homage to the women who cooked for her and taught her to cook, her mother and grandmother.

Growing up, her grandmother Carolina made her yucca fries. So you'll see Ma Culum Mandioca on the Ten Rocks menu, sliced yucca wedges delicately fried and served with a chimichurra sauce on the side.

Maria Helena Batatas Bravas are named after Carmen's mother. Seasoned potatoes and chorizo are sautéed with olive oil, garlic and shallots and then topped with a fried egg and Creole sauce.

The menu, by chef Elia Lima, includes charcuterie, a cheese and meat board that will make the fussy eater comfortable, as will rosemary chicken breast served over a bed of quinoa. Polvo Ten Rocks, or grilled octopus with a balsamic glaze on top of fried plaintains, is for the more adventurous diner.

Many will be happy to see bacalhau, cod cakes, and even the official Rhode Island appetizer of calamari, though here it's served over fresh papaya and pineapple. Fried goat cheese is a delicious concept, as is Camarao Trapiche, baby shrimp sautéed and served with a coconut curry sauce infused with Cape Verde rum and served over plaintains. Chorizo a la Finca is chorizo in red wine sauce served in a traditional pot.

Lima, too, is from Cape Verde, but previously ran her own restaurant in Puerto Rico, making her an expert at infusing dishes with a taste of island cuisine.

Desserts include a cheesecake made with roasted cornmeal, a mango mousse cake or a platter of tropical desserts to share. But the signature one comes in martini glass. It's sweet papaya sprinkled with cinnamon and garnished with white cheese.

Though there has been one restaurant or another on the site since 1929, the last one was in great disrepair. Before-and-after photos reveal Ten Rocks as a great addition to a neighborhood that is in transition, but has Hope Artiste Village, home to many local businesses and a wildly successful Wintertime Farmers' Market, as an anchor.

A new gym is set to open next door to Ten Rocks. An outdoor patio was just opened last week.

Live music, including sets played by Carmen's husband, Carlos "Kalu" Monteiro, a famous Cape Verdean drummer, are part of the tapas bar's mix.

Kalu is also credited with working with Carmen's business partner, Joseph Darosa, to build out the restaurant themselves.

"They made it all happen with their own hands," Carmen said. Not paying for labor, but only materials, and not going deeply into debt to create the space gives her a good start, she added.

Also key to the restaurant are the twentysomething members of her family, son Adilson Vieira, daughter Jocelyn Vieira and nephew Victor Lopes. Carmen said all three helped translate her vision to reality, from the look to the sounds of the restaurant. All work at the restaurant as well, but as a second job. No one is quitting their day job, she said.

"It's hard work, but you do it with a lot of love," she said.

Carmen's dream includes focusing on marketing for the first three years of Ten Rocks. Within five years she hopes the business will be on a solid track, and then her plan knows no bounds.

"I hope to take this," she said spanning the room with her hands, "and bring Cape Verdean taste around the world."

"I hope I have showed my kids that you can do anything if you put your mind to it," she said.


Ten Rocks, 1091 Main St., Pawtucket, (401) 728-0800. They open every day but Monday, serving dinner. They open late afternoon on weekdays and 2 p.m. on Saturday but are expected to serve lunch before the end of May.