HUNGRY GERALD

HG could not leave Rhode Island without lunching on a native treat: A New York System Hot Wiener. So, accompanied by gifted Daughter Lesley R., off to the friendly, down home, plain spoken Riverside Grill in the town of Riverside. Had two wieners (they are composed of pork and beef and gently steamed). The tube steaks are served in soft buns and topped with mustard, celery salt, chopped raw onions and meat sauce (flavored with cumin and cinnamon). Curiously, these wieners evoke flavors of the Iberian Peninsula and the Middle East which is perhaps a reflection of the Greek roots of many Rhode Island hot dog shops. The only comparable fast food dish that hits the taste buds in the same way is the chile served in Cincinnati eateries. At the Riverside Grill, the wieners are accompanied by a Rhode Island beverage, coffee milk. This is cold milk flavored with coffee syrup. Somehow it all works.

HG enjoys good (and eccentric) Rhode Island cuisine: Fried calamari with hot pickled peppers. Del’s Frozen Lemonade. New York Systems (wieners on a bun with celery salt, onions, mustard and a unique, Greek influenced meat sauce). Briny, clear clam chowder (no cream or tomatoes). Snail salad. HG does not share the Rhode Island obsession with Dunkin’ Donuts (highest per capita doughnut consumption in the US). But what stands Rhode Island apart is the quality of their clams. Yes, HG, a long time enthusiast for Long Island clams, must confess. Rhode Island clams are the best. They are tender, full of brine and juicy with clam goodness. Ornaments of the sea. HG and BSK are at the Riverside, R.I., home of Daughter Lesley and Profesor/’Dottore Massimo R. for family Christmas. Their home faces Naragansett Bay and their dining room is the venue for many sea treats. Tonight the treat was clam chowder prepared with potatoes, onions, tarragon and many, many, many juicy cherrystone clams. Lesley treats clams with respect. Never overcooked. The big, steaming bowls were a joy. There was a lovely bottle of white wine from Romagna. HG finished the meal with Stilton, grapes and Beaujolais. Grappa for a friendly nightcap.

HG is a lucky man. While HG gets great gustatory pleasures eating at restaurants throughout the world, it is the meals that HG eats with his family that transport him. Yes, HG is blessed with a family of great chefs; and chefs whose influences and talents are truly global in scope. Take the two meals HG ate over the past week: Dinner in Brooklyn Chez SJ and Exquisite Maiko. Their pals Jay and Maya were present. Jay is an outstanding wit and guarantor of laughter. So, fun was guaranteed. A bottle of Tito’s Hand Made Vodka was on the table. The meal started with French smoked herring and smoked salmon. Rich, unusual tastes. Then, wielding chopsticks with her usual grace, Exquisite Maiko transformed into a master of Japanese style BBQ, grilling marinated short ribs and thin slices of pork belly to perfection on a table top barbecue. The crisp, sizzling pieces of meat were placed in cold lettuce leaves accompanied by EM’s extraordinary sesame oil and scallion dressing, onion sauce and discreet dabs of wasabi. With sips of cold vodka, the meal turned into a paen to the real flavors of beef and pork where richness was counter-balanced with the lighter, healthier touch of EM’s Japanese presentation.

Onto Rhode Island where comfort may be the last word one associates with the ever turbulent, bloody and embattled Middle East. But, the word is appropriate when applied to Brilliant Daughter Lesley R.’s riffs on dishes from that region. Lesley R. made her own version of little kefta (middle eastern stuffed grain and lamb meatballs). The ingredients: Ground lamb. cumin, smoked Spanish paprika, chopped almonds, chopped onions, garlic and raisins. Beaten egg as a binder. The mixture was formed into balls (about the size of a golf ball) and baked on a cookie sheet. When done, these were popped into steaming lentil soup. The ingredients: Red lentils, chopped onions and garlic, cumin, finely chopped carrots, chicken stock. Salt and pepper, of course. The savory bowls of soup and meatballs were topped with scoops of Greek yogurt and sprinkled with cayenne. To complete this filling and heartening one dish meal there was cheese, green salad and very superior bread from the Seven Stars Bakery in Providence. Needless to say, there was ample wine.

Yes, verily, verily — there’s no place like home.

Last night BSK sauteed calamari in olive oil with a heap of sauteed garlic and hot and sweet Greek-style pickled cherry peppers. HG fried some catfish filets (Dust the fish in Zatarain’s Fish Fry, dip in beaten egg, roll in panko crumbs and fry in very hot grapeseed oil). BSK stir fried some baby bok choy. Lemon wedges, Frank’s Hot Sauce, chilled Spanish rose. Big time feast. HG first encountered the calamari with peppers dish in Rhode Island, where it is a regional specialty. HG was cycling along the bike path between Riverside and Bristol some years ago. Hunger took over. HG stopped at a plain spoken little diner alongside the path. Ordered the calamari-and-pepper appetizer and a bowl of linguini with white clam sauce. The “appetizer” must have contained about two pounds of calamari and the pasta dish could have fed four hungry long distance cyclers. HG, a champion Clean Plate Ranger, met the challenge. Finished it all. HG has wanted to repeat this modest snack. The restaurant, alas, has closed. Another dismal sign that fast food chain hamburgers are diminishing local food treats.

Have to mention the tasty lunch HG and BSK shared with La Famiglia following the graduation of granddaughter Ms. A., a young woman who has been showered with more than a score of academic awards. The ceremonies under the stately elms of the Moses Brown preparatory school had dignity, style and a certain bit of reserve that is uniquely New England.

Reserved yes. Short, they were not. Suffice it to say, La Famiglia had much appetite by the time all were seated at Hemenway’s, HG’s favorite Providence seafood restaurant. Chilled Muscadet with an array of good things from the sea: fried oysters with a garlicky mayonnaise, Rhode Island’s special fried squid with hot peppers and clams casino. Then, great seafood salads. The very freshest garden greens. Big, plump shrimp. Chunks of Maine lobster. Maryland lump crab meat. Hard boiled eggs and tomato wedges. All were served with a flavorful dressing that didn’t overwhelm the very generous helpings of crustaceans. Tart key lime pie for dessert. HG and party truly feasted on fruits de mer. Clinked glasses and wished enchanting Ms. A. a brilliant future.

Providence, Rhode Island has quietly become one of the great food towns. Lots of great seafood from the Atlantic and Narragansett Bay. The clams — called quahogs in Rhode Island, are unsurpassed. Fried clam bellies. Local oysters. Crabs (soft shells are now in season). Scungili and snail salads are available at many venues. Indeed, the Ocean State lives up to its name (of course, there’s Federal Hill for all of the good things of Italy).

Celebrated Brilliant Granddaughter SR’s 8th grade graduation at the lovely New Rivers Restaurant on the edge of the Brown University campus. World class food. Lots of small plates to start. Smoked trout. Smoked Artic Char. Smoked squid salad. Crunchy falafel, Flavorful tete de veau terrine. Truly an international array. Chilled bottle of Prosecco was perfect for the weather and the smoky appetizers. Mains centered around Berkshire pork and extraordinary fried soft shell crabs nestled on a galette of crispy shoe string potatoes. Wines were an Italian Dolcetto and a California Pinot Noir. Dessert was dense chocolate cake augmented by salted caramel. Nice celebration for SR’s outstanding academic performance.

Went to Lees Chinese Restaurant in Riverside, R.I. with high hopes but was met with grim disappointment. HG was hoping to revisit an old obsession. HG had been informed that Lees featured a Chow Mein sandwich, the oft posted about treat HG had relished for so many years at Nathan’s Famous in New York. This is what HG got at Lees: A large bowl of celery and onion in a gloppy, dark tan sauce thickened beyond recognition by corn starch. A large plate of crispy chow mein noodles and — surprise!! — a heap of French fries. On top of the noodles was a stale hamburger bun. In other words, a do-it -yourself Chow Mein sandwich. Tasted awful.

The pomme frites, however, even though they were an odd ingredient in a purportedly Chinese restaurant, were splendid. Best HG has had in years. Go figure. HG is now officially cured of his Chow Mein sandwich obsession.

You can’t go home again, said Thomas Wolfe. For HG, eating Lee’s Chow Mein sandwich was like encountering an old girl friend much assaulted by time. Not wise to stir up some old memories.

A respite for Gifted Daughter LR and Profesore/Dottore MR. These busy professionals never have time for restaurant lunches. HG (resident in landlocked Santa Fe) often dreams about freshly shucked oysters and clams freshly dug from the seashore. The solution: Monday lunch at Hemenway’s, a bright, lively restaurant overlooking the river in downtown Providence. A few dozen oysters (from the shores of Rhode Island, Connecticut, Long island and Rhode Island). A few dozen little neck clams from Rhode Island (known as Quahogs in New England). All sparkling with freshness and full of briny flavors. Then a lobster salad with big chunks of juicy Maine lobster. A platter of fried squid with hot peppers (a Rhode Island specialty).

With sun pouring through big windows and a reasonable amount of Murphy-Goode Fume Blanc being poured, this was memorable New England dining.

HG arrived at waterfront home of Gifted Daughter LR and Profesore/ Dottore MR in Riverside, R.I.. After lengthy travel from Santa Fe, HG was truly hungry….and thirsty. Awaiting HG was a bottle of Vinho Verde (the semi-sparkling, delicious “new” wine of the Minho region of Portugal) and Gifted Daughter LR’s version of a crab and avocado salad (really a nautical guacamole). This is an HG favorite. It was followed by a garlicky stew of Rhode Island clams (best in the world), shrimp and Italian sausage which was served on a bed of creamy polenta. Great bread. Two Vermont cheeses. White grapes.

Dining a La Famiglia. Beats any restaurant.

HG first encountered the Rhode Island treat, Del’s Frozen Lemonade on the bike path between Warren and Bristol. Steamy July day. Very sweaty HG pedaling away. Dry throat. Sweaty brow. And, like a heavenly vision there was a Del’s lemonade stand at a street crossing. The frozen lemonade was extraordinary. Thirst was conquered by this icy treat which hit the perfect notes between sweet and tart.

Good news. You can order the fixings for Del’s Frozen Lemonade online. Do it and you will be well prepared for the scorching days of summer. And, if you are fortunate enough to live in Brooklyn (rapidly becoming one of the world’s food capitals) you can sample Del’s at Aunt Butchie’s Desserts.

The Delucia family of Rhode Island founded Del’s. The frozen beverage originated in Naples. (Italy, of course, not Florida).