HUNGRY GERALD

No, Rhode Islanders don’t subsist only on Dunkin’ Donuts (though they eat a zillion); Hot Wieners; Coffee Milk; Del’s Lemonade and Stuffies (a concoction only edible after being dunked in Rhody’s great clear, clam chowder.) Fresh seafood (oysters, clams, scallops, squid, etc.) are very good and prepared skillfully at both Yankee and Portuguese restaurants. There is an abundance of ethnic restaurants (Greek, Peruvian, Mexican, Japanese, Italian and more). An HG favorite is Chonquing House in Providence, an authentic Chinese restaurant. On this wonderful holiday visit with Gifted Daughter Lesley R., her husband, Profesore Massimo R. (who overwhelmed HG/BSK with great wines); beautiful and brilliant granddaughters, Arianna and Sofia, HG/BSK discovered dating discord, an Indian restaurant in Pawtucket. Wonderful place for a joyous family meal. Rasoi is very innovative and creative. The chefs give the dishes a tweak that makes them soar above the usual Indian restaurant fare. HG’s favorites were the grilled shrimp with spinach and a fabulous vegetarian dish, cauliflower. The description was:”sweet, spicy and golden fried”.It was all of these things. There were exemplary dosas stuffed with chicken and peas; crispy samosas; eggplant (baingan bharta)); Indian cheese and spinach (saag paneer). Adding to the joy was basmati rice, dal and Indian beer. And, the prices are very moderate. HG/BSK will be back.

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Rhode Island Spirits in Pawtucket, R.I., is one of the great small, craft distillers. The other is Myriad View, just outside of the Town of Souris in Prince Edward Island, Canada. During HG/BSK’s annual Rhode Island holiday visit, HG has been drinking the RIS Rhodium brand vodka three ways: before dinner: On the rocks; with lime juice; with a splash of Aperol or Campari. RIS distills its vodka seven times and finishes with sliced apples. There’s no apple taste and the vodka has a remarkable flavor and finish. It’s now HG’s favorite vodka, better than Grey Goose and the other expensive brands. Another winner is the distillery’s Grapefruit Limoncello. There is no better after-dinner drink. On next Rhody visit, HG will try the company’s gin. Made with a unique blend of botanicals. HG will compare it with Myriad View’s excellent gin. Let’s chill those martini glasses. (If you are in Rhody, visit the distillery’s Tasting Room and get pleasantly tipsy on expertly mixed cocktails in a lovely, historic setting.)

HG’s wonderful daughter, Victoria Freeman, arrived in Rhode Island (via train) from New York for a brief, glorious visit. She has a demanding schedule running four restaurants with chef/husband Marc Meyer. (Cookshop, Rosie’s, Shuka, Vic’s). Adding to the pressure is the opening of a fifth restaurant, Shukette, in late January. On top of all this, Vicki and Marc hosted a Christmas dinner for 15 at their Hamptons home. However, Vicki managed to arrange her half-day visit with HG/BSK, Lesley, Massimo and Arianna R. (Sofia left for New York early in the day). So, there was time for a beach walk, conversation, laughter, pre-dinner drinks, Dad-Daughter bonding. Since Vicki doesn’t eat meat, the festive dinner was based on seafood from Tony’s Fish Market, excellent source for every variety of fish, shellfish, bivalves, crustaceans. Lesley did a tasty saute of plump shrimp followed by pasta in a delectable swordfish sauce. Joyous meal. Joyous reunion.

Excellent simple dinner last night. Started with a plate of thinly sliced prosciutto, white anchovies, chopped tomato and olive salad. Loaf of good bread. Then, steaming bowls of chickpea soup garnished with bacon and topped with grated parmesan and a dusting of red pepper flakes. This ultimate comfort soup is Lesley R.’s happy modification of Marcella Hazan’s recipe. Soup was followed by a cheese platter and green salad. HG and Massimo R. were happy to share the last piece of Pretty Penny cheese encircled by a mottled, pungent rind. There was also a good Stilton from London’s Neal’s Yard and an Italian truffle cheese. Greek fig jam complemented the cheese and sliced pears. HG enjoyed a sweet finale: Red wine and a Loretta’s New Orleans praline. This is a very sweet praline and HG finds red wine moderates the sweetness. Some folks don’t like a sweet thing with red wine. HG finds the combination yummy.

Happy treat for HG (and family): Annual holiday dinner at Chonquing House on Wickenden Street in Providence. The Chinese restaurant used to be located in a dingy strip mall in Seakonk, MA. (shopping area contiguous to Rhode Island and minutes from the Lesley/Massimo home). It has since moved to larger premises on a Providence street of restaurants and retailers. The food remains delicious. There’s a tendency to over order. This is what the table of six (HG/BSK; L & M; glorious granddaughters Arianna and Sofia–all hungry) ate with gusto. To start: Wontons in chili oil; fried pork dumplings. Seafood: Sliced steamed fish in wine sauce; large crisp-fried pepper and salt shrimp. Meat: Cumin lamb; stewed pork belly with chestnuts. Vegetables: Marinated wood flower mushrooms; peashoots; eggplant in garlic sauce; home-style tofu with vegetables. All accompanied by bowls of white rice. To drink: Tavel (HG’s favorite wine); Pinto Grigio; beer. Over order? Nothing left but a few scraps for a modest future Arianna lunch.

As noted in previous post, Gifted Daughter Lesley R. touted the frozen sea scallops bought at the Providence Farmers Market as “best ever.” As always, she was right. Dinner featured linguine with scallops, chopped tomato, garlic, parsley and herbs. A sublime pasta dish. The linguine was cooked to the perfect al dente point (probably too soft for Lesley’s Italian husband, Massimo R., who likes pasta that, in HG’s opinion, tastes like shredded plywood). The exemplary scallops were enhanced by their gentle saute in superior olive oil from Italy. HG, a lover of spicy heat, added a generous dusting of red pepper flakes. The big surprise of the meal was the cheese course. The feature was Pretty Penny cheese from Sweet & Salty Farm, a local Rhode Island operation. How to describe it? Edible rind. Soft, but not oozing. Taste was a blend of ripe brie and camembert with a bit of pont l’eveque or gorgonzola dolce tossed in for flavor. This was bought at the Farmers Market also. It’s HG’s favorite cheese now. HG finished remaining red wine with a slice of Moore’s Brandy Fruit Cake from England. Yes, there are folks who sneer at fruit cake. Obviously, they’ve been eating the wrong kind of fruit cake.

Dear readers, go to hungrygerald.com archive (Dec. 30, 2018) and see HG’s appreciation of “The Ultimate Christmas Dinner”). This fabulous, sumptuous feast was repeated, step by glorious step, last night. Once more, it brought an Italian glory–osso bucco and saffron risotto–home to Rhode Island for a joyous family dinner. There were minor differences. This time, marrow was scooped from the veal bones and added to the lushness of the risotto. The flan got a topping of whipped cream (much to HG’s delight). Instead of Irish whiskey, HG’s finale was a glass of grapefruit limoncello from Rhode Island Distillery (a distiller of first rate vodka). And, yes, Massimo R.’s selection of Barolo and Barbaresco underlined the pleasures of the food and the company.