The "Best" of RI

Last week rain and overall miserable weather got me looking for something different to do. The recent issue of RI Monthly featured the "Best of Rhode Island". I decided to visit some of the spots they recommend, to see if they really were "the best".

We began heading north to Brewed Awakenings, considered the "Best Coffee House "in South County. Located in South Kingston, this coffee place impressed me to some extent. It was spacious, with tall ceilings, and lots of seating (a challenge other coffee places have, ahem Starbucks). There was a mix of people, from clueless teenagers to moms catching up over a cup of Joe. I ordered an extra large latte, as I usually order Ventis and it never seems to be enough. When I finally got my latte, I soon realized that the long wait was not worth it, and that this suburban coffee house, while pretty on the outside, lacked substance in the inside. In other words, the coffee was not good. Not only was it lukewarm, but the taste itself was slightly stale, and unpleasant.

Our next and final stop (we did not hit as many spots as I wished we had) was "Best Neighborhood Restaurant" Avenue N, in Rumford, for brunch. I had previously heard of the fairly new restaurant from a colleague. It is located next to Seven Stars Bakery, in a large brick building, which could have been a factory or warehouse in its yonder years. The space inside had the industrial/ organic minimalist decor, which although well lit, felt cold. We ordered the duck sausage to start, which was served with a small dalop of carrot puree and a thin dash of mustard. The sausage was very well cooked- moist and well seasoned. The carrot puree did nothing for the dish, and the mustard, the predictable companion, was a timid compared to the sausage. As a main I ordered a green salad with goat cheese, apples, and cumquats in a citrus vinaigrette. While very straightforward and fresh, it was overly dressed to the extent that my cheeks slightly puckered and I drank more water than usual. My other half ordered the steak and eggs served with truffle fries. The meat was under-seasoned, and the rest of the companions were good, for Rhode Island standards. But after brunch in Cafe Boulud in New York City, it is hard not to compare. Nevertheless, I would give it another chance, perhaps for dinner next time.

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In House Dining: Easy Strawberry & Apple Cake

When it comes to baking, I am innately inept, thus I tend to follow recipes more accurately. In the quest to bake a pie with fresh fruit (strawberries where everywhere several weeks ago), I stumbled upon (on the Epicurious app) a Barefoot Contessa recipe for a "Easy Cranberry & Apple Cake". I chose the recipe not only because it was clearly simple to make, but also because I am a huge fan of Ina Garden. I replaced the cranberries with strawberries and prepared a decadent cake; it was intensely sweet as the fruit had reduced into a jam-like consistency during baking.

While the cake was well received, I still aspire to bake a pie. Summer will bring me peaches- perhaps then.

Culinary Apps

Thanks to the incomparable advances of technology present today, we are at the constant disposal of innumerable tools to assist us in our day to day- all in our fingertips (literally) with the ever so popular iphones, droids and every other phone or gadget that is smart, (possibly smarter than us). One that I, as a newbie to the app world, rely on is the iphone's Epicurious app. The "cook's companion" allows you to research recipes by ingredient, cuisine, and course, among others, sourcing thousands of recipes from various sources from Bon Appetite to cookbooks such as "The Pleasures of Cooking for One".

When planning a meal, I skim through recipes searching for inspiration. I take elements from different recipes, whether it is flavor combinations, or the cooking methods I as a culinary school student should know, to create my own based on what the purpose of the dish is (a late night dinner for my chef?) and the actual ingredients I can find in this small New England town.

I will share, when possible, my inspired culinary creations.

At Home Dining: Chili Chicken, Wild Mushroom, Mozzarella

Late last night, I made a chili chicken pizza with caramelized onions, wild mushrooms, mozzarella, olives, and marinated tomatoes. I've been meaning to make a pizza at home for several weeks now. It is one of my chef's favorite, late night frozen meals, and I figure, 'I bet I can do better than Tony'. While I did not make the actual dough ( baby steps people- I left that to my reliable friend Pillsbury) , I still wanted to make all the ingredients from scratch to create a slightly creative pizza, without re-inventing the wheel. I first visited the idea of making a tomato sauce (it is my go-to at home, along with pasta for my chef), but decided against it. I chose to do a sauce-less pizza, simply coating the dough with olive oil and my other topping. I was then leaning towards using arugula, or some other leafy green, as it is the forward thing to do, but opted to leave that for some other time. Raw chicken sat defrosted in my fridge; I marinated it with chili seasoning and lemon juice for several hours. I sauteed it with onions and wild mushrooms. I finished with olives ( love!) mozzarella, and marinated tomatoes.

The pizza turned out "okay". It wasn't spectacular, but had simple, good flavors. Now I am determined to make a new pizza each week, and see how interesting I can make a simple piece of bread. Also in the horizon- making my own dough (fingers crossed!). I'll keep you posted.

Dovetail in New York City

This past weekend, I got lucky. I "ran away" to New York City and was able to indulge in all the things I desire in my day-to-day: food, drink, city life. We visited Mario Batalli's Eataly for lunch (complete sensory overload; an Italian market decked out with the best of everything), and for our big dinner in the city, we made reservations at Dovetail. I personally knew very little of this Upper West Side restaurant, but the facts I did know were enough to get me very excited for the dinner. Dovetail has a Michelin Star, and the Chef is a Laundry alum, two factors which guarantee culinary gold.

We chose the five course tasting menu, and after eight courses, left completely gratuitous. Starting with the amuse, mushroom gelee with shaved radish and pea puree, and their perfectly made cornbread, to the avocado, watercress, and jicama salad, and the shaved lamb heart with fried sweetbreads and poach egg, through the halibut with pea dumplings, haricots verts, and mangalica ham, and the roasted sirloin with beef cheek lasagna, king trumpet mushrooms and onions, every dish delivered. With attentive and genuine service, and a dining room with neutral and industrial elements, Dovetail comes across as organic, real, and effortless.

Dinner at Dovetail reminded me of why we go out to eat, and the underlying purpose of all restaurants- the experience.

New Rivers in Providence

New Rivers in Providence has been on my "must-go-list" ever since I attended a wine dinner with industry people (chefs, wine reps, winemakers) and feasted on a family-style dinner of bistro style dishes (potatoes, beets, sausage, salads...) simple, but with incredible flavors. Last week we went to dinner, and I was blown away. The menu is seasonally driven with many house-made components (from pasta to the charcuterie program) and beautiful ingredients. The Chef sent us a house made lardo (aged for 7 months), on garlic toast. This was a spectacular beginning to an incredible dinner. The cliche "melts in your mouth" could not be a better description- the lardo was salty, sliced paper thin, and nearly disintegrated unto the toast leaving the pork flavor on the warm bread. I think the photos speak for themselves, but among the dishes were fried squid (with a slightly spicy aioli- the perfect match to anything fried), falafel, fiddlehead ferns (my first time), asparagus with ramps, spring salad ( a medley of spring vegetables and flowers including string-like asparagus sprouts- very delicate but abundant in the earthy flavor), caramelle with pork sausage (pasta stuffed with ricotta, served with mint, peas, and carrots, and tossed in a brown butter sauce) charcuterie, fried soft shell crab. Every dish showed balance of flavors, and proper execution for the ingredients at hand. Chef Beau Vestal is succeeding in what many try but fail to achieve. I can't wait to return.