Monday, November 25, 2013

Thanksgiving.. Quail?

     Thanksgiving week is finally upon us, and if you're in charge of the meal, things are about to get pretty hectic. Preparing any holiday meal can be tough, especially the biggest one of the year. I find that people often over complicate things by making too many dishes with too many steps, and if that's not something you do every day, it's going to be stressful. This year, a few of my friends and I will be having a small post-Thanksgiving celebration and we've decided to get together to cook the meal as well. Cooking with friends is always more fun than cooking alone, and the teamwork that it takes to put out a good meal is nothing short of bonding. We're keeping our meal pretty simple, and hopefully the recipes will inspire some ideas in your kitchen for this year's meal.
     Since there are only five of us celebrating, buying a turkey would just be too much food, and we wanted to change it up a bit, so we decided to roast some quail. Quail is mostly dark meat, and you'll need one or two per person, so if you're cooking for the whole family, I'd stick with a turkey. Many people think of quail as a luxury food, only served in high end restaurants, but they're actually fairly cheap and delicious. Rather than making mashed potatoes, we're going to add some texture by making a potato 'risotto,' and because no feast is complete without a salad, we'll also make a simple shaved fennel salad.

Crispy Roasted Quail with Potato 'Risotto' and Shaved Fennel

Yields enough for a five person meal
Ingredients:
Quail
 10 quail
2 bunches of thyme
10 large collard green leaves, cut into small chunks
2 cloves of garlic, minced
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

 Potato 'Risotto'
3 lbs waxy potatoes, such as Yukon Gold or Red Bliss, diced into about 1/4 inch cubes
3 shallots, diced
2 tbsp unsalted butter
chicken stock or water, as needed
1/4 cup heavy cream
grated Parmesan cheese, to taste
Kosher salt and black pepper, to taste

Shaved Fennel
2 medium-large bulbs of fennel, shaved as thin as possible on a mandolin
1/3 cup rice vinegar
1/4 cup red wine vinegar
1 cup olive oil
Kosher salt, pepper, sugar, and thyme leaves, to taste

Quail
     Preheat your oven to 400 degrees Fahrenheit. bring a large pot of water to a boil, and blanch your collard greens for about one minutes, then remove them into an ice bath. Once they are cool, transfer them to a bowl with the garlic and season to taste with salt and pepper. Season the quail well with salt and pepper, and stuff the cavity with your collard greens. holding the drumsticks together, push the legs of each quail in towards the body to plump it up, then tie a piece of string, first around the drumsticks to hold them together, then around the body to keep the legs tucked in. This will promote even cooking and a nice shape to the finished bird. In an oven proof skillet, heat about 1/8 inch of cooking oil (I like to use avocado oil because of its high smoke point) and once it is hot, add your quail, breast side down. Once the skin on the breast is seared and crispy, flip your quail over, add the thyme branches to the pan, and transfer it to the oven. After 10 minutes, remove the quail from the oven and baste it with the juices in the pan. Transfer it back to the oven for another five minutes, or until t is cooked to your desired doneness.

Potato 'Risotto'
      In a large pan, at least a couple inches deep, heat a small amount of cooking oil and sauté the shallots. When they are soft, add the potatoes an
d season with salt and pepper. Cook the potatoes, stirring occasionally, for about 5 minutes, or until most of them are nicely seared. Add enough stock to barely cover them, and cook, stirring frequently, until almost all of the liquid is absorbed. Continue adding stock, about 3 tablespoons at a time, waiting for each addition to dissipate before adding the next, until the potatoes are tender. To finish, add the cream, butter, and cheese. Taste and adjust your seasoning if necessary.

Shaved Fennel
     in a blender, combine all of the ingredients except the fennel and blend, tasting occasionally and adjusting seasoning, until the vinaigrette is frothy and emulsified. In a large bowl, toss the fennel with just enough vinaigrette to coat it. The rest of the vinaigrette can be saved in the fridge for further use.


Thursday, August 29, 2013

Loie Fuller's

A review I wrote for the JWU Campus Herald:

   With the world of culinary arts so quickly becoming engulfed by modernist techniques, it's nice to escape the compressed beets, gelatinized vegetable purees and anything that's been dehydrated and rehydrated. Sometimes in order to really appreciate food, we need to take a step back from impressive techniques and treat our ingredients with respect. After all, when you're in Rhode Island and surrounded by hundreds of passionate local farmers, consistently delivering the absolute highest quality ingredients, why would you want to mask those natural flavors? Thomas Keller has said that the reason he opened Bouchon - his bistro style restaurant - is so that he would have a place to eat after a day of cooking at the French Laundry. Even the greatest chefs cannot deny that simple bistro style food - when prepared well - is a staple cuisine which is both comforting and exciting; something for every person to indulge in. Whether you're a food snob or an anti-foodie, bistro food is something that anyone with an appetite can appreciate. There are a few wonderful bistro style restaurants in Providence, and with classic dishes such as roasted Cornish hen and steak with pommes frites, Loie Fullers is one of the best.
   In 2007, Loie Fuller's opened it's doors on Westminster Street, and they've been delighting Providence diners ever since. On the inside, the décor is best described as elegant. With hand painted murals on every wall and a beautiful mosaic tile floor, the craftsmanship here is excellent. The dining room is pretty small, yet not quite as tiny as many of the newer restaurants that are popping up downtown (north, birch, Figidini, ect.), and the space is very comfortable. One other perk to this restaurant is that because it's out of the way of downtown, in an area where there is more space available, they do have their own parking lot, so those of us with cars don't have to worry about finding parking on the street.

Vegetables and Grits

   Our latest visit to Loie Fuller's was on a Sunday evening, and it was somewhat empty. On a busier night such as a Friday or Saturday, this place gets packed, and the wait for food can get pretty long, so I would suggest coming on a slower night. Our waitress was pleasant and happy to explain everything on the menu to us. She knew the menu pretty well, and the very few things that she didn't know offhand, she promptly went to the kitchen to find the answer. As well as having regular specials, the menu is always changing to suit the season based on what is available from local farms. Many of the ingredients used here come from local farms, and some even come from a farm which is owned by the head chef. To start, we ordered a bounty of appetizers, including the confit duck wings, which were both crispy and tender, tossed in a spicy, sweet sauce making them blissfully sticky and delicious. We also ordered the Loie Fuller plate which is a selection of artisan cheeses, cured meats, and olives; all of which were excellent, especially a particularly strong bleu cheese which had us in awe of it's sharp, full flavor. The polenta fries are another must-try appetizer, fried and crunchy with a smooth house made aioli, although the seasoning was a little uneven, and some fries were perfectly salted, while others lacked some seasoning.

Roasted Pork Loin
   For my entrée, I had the special, which was a roasted pork loin served atop fresh cornbread with a green chile salsa. As unusual as it was to have this type of meal offered in a bistro setting, I thought that having an occasional non-French dishes on special is a nice way for the chef to keep the menu interesting and show that his talent extends far past French bistro cooking. The portion was surprisingly large, and the pork was juicy and fresh. The salsa was quite spicy, and the cornbread, which was warm and fragrant, was made even more delicious by the pork drippings that soaked into it from sitting underneath the pork loin. Other entrees that we ordered included the roasted local Cornish hen, steak frites, and the grilled veggies with grits, all of which were very well executed in classical-French style.
   Overall, our meal at Loie Fuller's was excellent. With elegant décor, friendly service, and well executed bistro food, this is a lovely choice of restaurant for any occasion, whether you're taking out a date or just looking for comforting, tasty food.

Roasted Cornish Hen

Saturday, August 24, 2013

Husk Cherry Clafoutis with Cantaloupe and Cucumber Yogurt

     Every year, it seems as though summer is getting shorter and shorter. It still feels like it has only been a few weeks since the warm weather arrived, although it is already packing up it's belongings and preparing to slowly slip out of our grasp as fall washes over the East Coast. While the end of summer is a sad time for most, it is always a bittersweet time for me. Bitter, of course, because soon the glorious season of abundance will be gone, along with all of the light, crisp summer vegetables. However, it is also very sweet for a few reasons. First of all, the end of summer means that fall is almost here, and nothing is quite as nostalgic and quaint as the corn maze navigating, pumpkin picking, fire-side reading season of autumn. The second reason to love the end of summer isn't because of what is to come in the months ahead, but what is already here - husk cherries. These tiny husked fruit begin to pop up for a short time at farmers markets in New England towards the end of summer, and what a glorious short time it is.
   If you are not familiar with husk cherries, they look - at first glance - like miniature tomatillos, carefully wrapped in a delicate natural packaging, giving them a great presentation as an after-dinner-snack when entertaining guests. Although the husk isn't what makes this fruit so special. Once you unwrap a husk cherry, it is a small yellow cherry-tomato-looking thing with a very unique taste. Some people say that they taste like pineapples, while others compare them to mangos. To me, the flavor falls somewhere between a mango, a kumquat and a sweet, just picked tomato.
    Recently, I found some husk cherries at a farmers market, and I wasn't exactly sure what to do with them. While the idea of a chutney or tart sounded delicious, I couldn't help but feel like such a unique and rare fruit needs to be treated simply and left whole, so that it can be appreciated for exactly what it is. I eventually settled on a clafoutis-kind-of. A clafoutis is an old school rustic French dessert. The kind of thing that house wives have been making for ages. A traditional French clafoutis consists of cherries, which are placed in a baking pan and have a almond-flavored custard batter poured over them before being baked in the oven. This recipe differs from a traditional clafoutis in two ways. First, that we will be using husk cherries instead of cherries, and second, that we will be using vanilla extract to flavor the custard rather than almond extract. I personally find that the delicate flavor of vanilla does more to compliment the light sweetness of the husk cherries, although you can use almond extract if you prefer. This dessert tastes best when served still-warm with a spoonful of a cold cucumber and cantaloupe melon yogurt to offset the sweetness with tart and refreshing flavors.
 
 
Husk Cherry Clafoutis
1 Pint Husk Cherries
2 Large Eggs
2/3 Cups sugar
2/3 Tbsp Flour
1/2 Cup Whole Milk
1/4 tsp Vanilla Extract
 
Preheat an oven to 375 degrees. Butter and flour a gratin dish or oven-safe pan and spread the husk cherries evenly throughout the bottom of the pan. In a separate bowl, beat the eggs along with the flour and sugar. When they are well beaten, add the milk and vanilla extract. Pour your custard batter into the baking dish, just enough to almost cover the husk cherries. Put the clafoutis in the oven until the top begins to brown and it is cooked through. A knife or fork - when inserted into the custard - should come out clean. While your clafoutis in baking, you can make this simple yogurt topping.
 
 
Cucumber Cantaloupe Yogurt
 
Plain yogurt(Preferably from a local artisan producer such as Narragansett Creamery)
Cucumber, finely diced
Cantaloupe, finely diced
 
 
You may have noticed that there are no quantities listed for these ingredients, and that is mostly because there really is no right or wrong way to make this. Add more or less of each ingredient as you would like. The cantaloupe adds sweetness; the cucumber adds a refreshing element and the yogurt adds a tart flavor, so keep that in mind when choosing your quantities. Of course, if it doesn't come out how you would like, then you can always add more of any ingredient, and if plain yogurt is too tart for you, feel tree to add some honey or agave nectar. To prepare the sauce, simply fold the cucumber and cantaloupe gently into the yogurt Be careful not to mix your yogurt too much or it will become thin and runny. To serve, wait for your clafoutis to cool to just above room temperature, use a spatula to scoop some onto a plate, and add a spoonful of the yogurt. This makes an excellent sweet treat for a summer afternoon spent sitting in the sun.
 
 


Wednesday, August 14, 2013

On Gnocchi

     Ah, gnocchi (pronounced nyaw-kee): what fond memories I have of thee. If you are not familiar with gnocchi, you're missing out. These adorable little dumplings are a traditional Italian treat, made with either potato or ricotta cheese, boiled, and often seared in butter or tossed with an herby sauce. But, of course, my love for gnocchi goes far beyond their unique taste and texture. As with any true human-food-romance, I share a sort of emotional connection with this dish, and with the fact that each dumpling is completely different and tells its own story.

Exhibit A (Photograph is from http://www.sallypasleyvargas.com, an absolutely wonderful food blog):
   Notice the shape of these dumplings, and the fork on the bottom right. Gnocchi have a unique ridged shape that, when home-made, must be done by hand with either a fork or a nifty little tool called a gnocchi board - but I prefer using a fork for a more rustic outcome, as well as a much more nostalgic experience. Now those ridges means that each and every single dumpling is handled individually, crimped by hand with a fork, and inspected by the gnocchi-artist for quality assurance. A plate of homemade gnocchi is special in a way that not many foods are, and that is that each single gnocchi on that plate is a little different, and that they were each made and shaped with a huge amount of time and love. Fresh gnocchi isn't a plate that can just be slapped together on your lunch break, but with a little time and a lot of care, you can create something truly amazing that will not only taste great, but it will make you feel great knowing that you crafted your dinner from scratch.
   For a long time, gnocchi was almost unheard of in the states, even on the east coast where "Italian" culture is pretty popular. I have vivid memories of going to "Italian" restaurants of the late 90's and asking for gnocchi, only to be met with a blank, confused stare by a waiter who had obviously never heard the word in his life. Also, I remember quite well one particularly amusing classroom moments during my first year of culinary school, involving a student who was assigned a recipe for gnocchi, and - having never heard the word - sounded it out as ga-noh-chee. He spent the first 30 minutes of class asking if anyone had ever heard of ga-noh-chee before someone finally explained what they were and how to pronounce them. He had changed majors by the end of the trimester. Now does that mean that they was impossible to find until recently? Of course not! It was just a bit of a scavenger hunt. Although that has changed, and gnocchi can be found at the tables of many rustic Italian restaurants and bistros today, but the obvious truth is that no restaurant gnocchi will ever compare to what you can make at home. For me, gnocchi are a great go-to item when I'm planning dinner for my family or friends. Not only does the flavor and craftsmanship impress, but many Italian friends have never seen or heard of this authentic dish, and there's no better feeling than introducing a friend to their new favorite food.

As previously stated, gnocchi can be made from either potato or ricotta cheese, so here are the recipes that I use for each dough.

Ricotta Gnocchi


2 cups ricotta
2 large eggs, lightly beaten
1 1/2 cups grated Parmesan cheese
all-purpose flour as needed
1/2 stick unsalted butter
salt to taste

Potato Gnocchi

6 russet potatoes, baked, skinned and mashed (or some of last night's leftover mashed potatoes)
4 egg yolks
all-purpose flour as needed,
salt to taste


   For both dough recipes, start by combining all ingredients except flour in a bowl. Slowly add flour while mixing until a soft, somewhat sticky dough is formed. Once your dough is formed, you do not need to let it rest before forming your gnocchi. To form your gnocchi, simply take a handful of dough, and roll it out into a log, about 1/2 in or larger if you want bigger gnocchi. Using a knife, cut your dough log into pieces, depending on how large you want them to be. Now comes the fun part.
   

   Take one of your gnocchi and roll it into a ball between your hands. Then, roll it gently over the back of a well floured fork. You should end up with small oval dumplings with even ridges. Don't get discouraged if your first few gnocchi don't come out well. It takes some practice to learn the technique, but it's well worth the practice, and rolling gnocchi with your family or friends can be a fun social event before dinner. Once your gnocchi are formed, lay them out in a single layer on a floured surface. When you're ready to cook them, just drop them into a pot of salted boiling water. Unlike homemade pasta, fresh gnocchi will take a couple of minutes to fully cook through, and they can be doughy when not fully cooked.
   As for sauce, I like to keep it simple. Gnocchi go great with three things: butter, herbs and vegetables. I like to saute some herbs and garlic in a little butter while my gnocchi are cooking. When they're finished, I toss my gnocchi in the pan with the butter and let them get brown on one side. Be sure to do this in small batches to avoid over-crowding your pan. If you want to add vegetables, add them before the gnocchi to let them cook, or precook them and toss them in with your finished gnocchi.

Ricotta Gnocchi with Rosemary and Oven Roasted Beets

Potato Gnocchi with Basil, Chives and Pickled Radishes

Wednesday, June 5, 2013

birch

This is a short piece that I wrote for the JWU Campus Herald. Enjoy!


It all started with “Hello!;” the first tweet from @birchPVD, the Twitter moniker of soon-to-be restaurant, birch. Ben Sukle, nationally acclaimed chef, chef at Providence’s The Dorrance and Johnson & Wales University graduate, with his wife, Heidi, are opening a brilliant new restaurant at 200 Washington street (The space formerly occupied by Tini) which already has the whole food scene buzzing with anticipation. birch is set to open in mid June. 
Sukle is known for his unique approach to food, in which, not a single ingredient goes unnoticed. Ben puts time and passion into selecting the finest produce, meat and seafood from small, local farms and distributors. The menu at birch will focus on exactly that, with a small, a la carte menu which will be constantly changing with the seasons, and with ingredient availability. So far, 2013 has brought amazing restaurants to Providence, such as The Grange, and everyone is expecting to welcome birch as a perfect new member of the cities incredible, vibrant food scene. For more information, check out www.birchrestaurant.com or follow @birchPVD on Twitter.

Thursday, May 23, 2013

Thyme & Paprika Grilled Chicken w/ Spicy Cucumber Apple Chutney & Grilled Radishes

     Summer is finally here, and for seasonal food lovers everywhere, that means one thing: Grill weather. If you've ever lived through a summer in America, then you're most likely very well acquainted with grilled chicken. A dish which all too often ends with dry, flavorless, slightly tough meat, accompanied by under-thought side dishes, or even worse, nothing. But with a little bit of care and creativity, paired with a few fresh vegetables, we can recreate this classic dish, and take it from kind-of-boring to new and delicious.

     The first thing we have to contemplate is the chicken. If you want to get chicken at your grocery store, that's fine, and it certainly won't ruin your final product, but if you really want the flavor of the chicken to shine through and add another layer of flavor to your dish, then you want to find fresh, chemical free chicken. You can find truly fresh chicken at your local farmers market, and you can buy directly from some of the local farms in your are. For a full list of local poultry farms, click here. My chicken is - of course - from Baffoni's Poultry Farm in Johnston. If you're not a regular eater of local meat and produce, I highly suggest trying it at least once. The difference in flavor is a lot larger than you would imagine and you'll be pretty surprised when you actually taste the flavor of chicken for the first time in your life. After being genetically modified, stripped of any relatively natural living conditions, and shipped halfway across the world, chicken tends to lose almost all of it's natural, fresh flavor by the time it hits shelves at your local grocery store. I like to use leg quarters when grilling. The dark meat holds up to the heat without drying out, and cooking meat with the bone-in extracts a lot of flavor from the bone into the meat. However, if you prefer white meat, then use the breast. Cooking is all about using the ingredients and flavors that YOU like.

     Once we have our chicken, the next thing to contemplate is seasoning. One of the biggest mistakes people tend to make when seasoning meat for the grill is using seasoning as flavor. Remember, we just spent time sourcing fresh local chicken, and we want that flavor to shine through. Seasoning should be used to enhance the natural flavor of our chicken, not to cover it. I like to keep my seasoning simple. I start with salt and pepper, and like to use one herb and one spice. Two of my favorites for chicken ate thyme and paprika. Remember, we want to season the meat, not flavor it. Over-seasoning is just as bad as under-seasoning, and with a little practice, you'll find your perfect balance. Once your chicken is seasoned, it's ready to hit the grill, which should be heated to around 400-450 degrees. If you're using white meat, it will cook a lot faster than dark meat, so check constantly and be careful not to overcook it.

     Alright; our chicken is perfectly seasoned, and cooking away. Now we're getting somewhere. Now it's time to start thinking about sides. One of my absolute favorite grilled side dishes is simple, tasty, and completely under-utilized by so many home cooks: grilled radishes. Some people are scared away from using radishes because they don't like the spice of raw radishes, but when they're cooked, they lose their kick and gain a flavor that falls halfway between potatoes and roasted cauliflower. If you've ever picked a radish, you know that by the next day, they've already started to lose some of their flavor, so it makes a big difference to buy fresh, local radishes, especially when they're so easy to find at just about any farmers market in Rhode Island. I like to quarter my radishes, and toss them with olive oil, minced garlic, salt and pepper. If your grill's grate is too big, and you think your radishes will fall through, you can cook them in a sauté pan, or leave them in larger pieces. Cook these until they're brown on all sides and tender all the way through.

     While your chicken and radishes are finishing up on the grill, we have one more component to this meal that needs to be made. No summer time grilled dish is complete without a cold component. For this dish, I'm making a cold chutney. More specifically, a spicy cucumber apple chutney. This is a simple side for the chicken which will add a spicy kick, as well as balance out the smoky paprika with sweet , fresh flavors. For this chutney, we'll start with one cucumber, peeled and diced, as well as one apple and one pear also diced. To this we'll add a tiny pinch of salt. We don't want our chutney to taste like salt, but we want just enough to help bring out the natural flavor of the fruit. Finally, we'll add minced cilantro, to give the chutney a refreshing flavor, and sriracha for a spicy kick. Add as much, or as little as you like, depending on how well you handle spicy food.

     When our chicken and radishes come off the grill we're finally ready for a delicious, fresh summertime feast.

     Hopefully you're inspired to add some creative twists to your summertime grilling this year. To keep up with this blog, you can follow us on Twitter and Facebook. Happy noshing!

Thursday, May 16, 2013

The Duck & Bunny Restaurant Review

Hello all! Sorry that I haven't posted anything on here in so long. I've been incredibly busy with final exams and a new job. Here is an adaption of a restaurant review which I wrote on The Duck & Bunny for the JWU Campus Herald this spring. Enjoy!

Snuggery: (snŭg'ə-rē) n. a cosy and comfortable place

     In America, we've adopted a pretty stressful lifestyle. Between the time we spend trying to balance work, school, family and a social life, we all need some time to relax and enjoy life, and that's why there are places like The Duck & Bunny. The Duck & Bunny is a cozy, quaint little restaurant built in a house on the east side which offers an elegant, yet laid back environment with friendly, approachable staff, and creative French comfort food.
     From the minute we stepped foot in The Duck & Bunny, we felt the hominess which emanates throughout every aspect of the restaurant. Everything about the décor- from the elegant, white cushion which lined the walls, to the fireplace which was left from the house in which The Duck & Bunny was built- gives it a very comfortable vibe, making it a perfect place for a casual brunch, a delicious meal, or afternoon tea and cupcakes. Since it was a Tuesday night, there were plenty of open tables, and we were seated as soon as we walked in. The wait staff were all very welcoming, and are thoroughly trained. Our waiter managed to take our order- for five people- without writing down a single thing, which shows a thorough knowledge of everything on the menu. When I commented on being impressed by remembering an order for five, he told me that his current record is a table of twelve, with no mistakes.
     The chef at The Duck & Bunny manages to match the creativity and comfort of the décor in the menu, which is based mostly on one of my all time favorite foods: the crepe. Among our order was The Miss Harriet, a crepe with brie, pear, and scallion; the crepeccini, a bowl of crepe-noodles tossed in pomodoro beurre blanc; the roast beef and gorgonzola crepeccini, a bowl of crepe-noodles with roast beef and a mushroom and gorgonzola cream sauce; The strawberry and grilled pear salad with goat cheese; and the PB&B, a massive toasted sandwich of peanut butter and banana on nearly-inch-thick sweet bread. the relaxed, comfortable nature of the seating and atmosphere makes waiting for food anything but an unenjoyable experience, and after about fifteen minutes, our food had arrived.
The Miss Harriet was the first item on my to-taste list. The crepe was thin and fluffy with a slight buttery crispiness on the outside. The pears were sweet and slightly acidic, making a perfect flavor base for the crepe, and the creaminess of the brie was the perfect way to counter the flavors and prevent the pears from adding too much sweetness to the crepe. Next, was the crepeccini, which was a blissfully inventive use of crepes. The beurre blanc was perfectly executed, making a tangy, acidic sauce with enough fat to coat the crepe-noodles well. The crepeccini with roast beef was another delicious take on the concept of crepe noodles, with rare beef, and a creamy, salty gorgonzola and mushroom sauce. One of the most unexpected delights amongst our order, however, was the PB&B. Expecting a small, simple sandwich of peanut butter and banana, we were all shocked by the monstrous, sugar-coated, toasty, gooey sandwich which arrived at our table.
     Over all, our experience at The Duck & Bunny was absolutely delightful. It's obvious that the staff here puts a lot of thought and passion into making every aspect of the customer experience enjoyable and comfortable. If you're searching for a sanctuary from all of the worries and stress of life, then I highly suggest clearing some time if your schedule and making a visit to The Duck & Bunny on Wickenden St. For a full menu, as well as hours, head to www.theduckandbunny.com

Monday, April 1, 2013

north

     Just off of Broadway, nestled comfortably in a residential street, there is a tiny restaurant with a small neon blue sign in the window which reads "north." It doesn't look like much from the outside, and you're likely to drive right past without even noticing that it's there, but take a step inside, and you can be sure that you won't ever forget about this unique little restaurant. There are only a few tables and a small bar, which can make getting a seat on a busy night difficult, but the limited seating means that the staff will never be completely swamped with a sudden influx of customers, ensuring that the quality of both service and food will remain consistent. A fair trade-off if you ask me.  At 7:30 on a Saturday, we walked into a completely full north, but luckily for us, there was a table that was paying and getting ready to leave. The décor here resembles the inside of an old wooden ship and was very quaint and comfortable.
     When we sat down, we were handed small slips of paper with that day's menu. At north, the menu is constantly changing based partially on what's in season, and partially on what the extremely inventive kitchen staff wants to create. No doubt, the most difficult part of our visit to north was refraining from ordering one of everything. After placing our first order, for Tiny Ham Biscuits, Hot Flavor Sesame Noodles, and Rabbit & Carrot, our waitress- who was very attentive and extremely nice throughout the entire meal- assured us that we could always order more if we were still hungry.



     First to arrive were the Tiny Ham Biscuits, which were sandwiches made with fresh, warm biscuits, country ham, and beer mustard. Surprisingly, they managed to pack an entire symphony of flavors into such a simple dish. the biscuits were crunchy on the top, and buttery and moist on the inside. The ham was sweet and salty, and the beer mustard was acidic and tangy. It took all of three minutes to devour our tasty little biscuits, and just as we were contemplating ordering a second helping, the sesame noodles arrived at our table.
     This dish was delightful. The rice noodles were thin and slightly chewy, which was complimented well by the crunch from the sour pickled kale and fried tofu. The chili oil added a lot of spice to the dish which was a surprisingly nice way of bringing the separate flavors from all of the ingredients together into one cohesive dish.
     Next to come was the rabbit and carrot. I loved the presentation of this dish, mostly because of the vibrant colors added by the paper-thin slices of watermelon radish and the elegant looking rack of rabbit-ribs. The rabbit was very tender, and seasoned well, and the carrots were thin and stringy with an excellent acidic-yet-sweet glaze. I never would have thought to pair rabbit with ranch, but the combination worked surprisingly well. The watermelon radishes- an ingredient that is completely under-utilized on most menus- added a refreshing crunch to the dish.
     After we finished the rabbit and carrot, we were starting to get pretty full, but after seeing how creative and unique the food at north is, we knew that we had to try more, and we decided to take up our waitresses previous offer to order more food. For our second order, we got the Burmese Style Chickpea And Pomelo Salad, and the thrice Fried Rice.
     First to come was the chickpea and pomelo salad. The chickpeas were fried, making them cruncy and salty. Another under-utilized ingredient which has found a home on the menu at north is pomelo. Pomelo is similar to a grapefruit, with a slight sweetness added to the bitter flavor. My favorite part of this salad was the dressing, which tasted almost like a citrusy peanut-sauce, making the salad slightly reminiscent of a deconstructed nim-chow.
     Just as we were starting to get full, the thrice fried rice arrived. These tasty little morsels were deep fried chunks of fried rice, with a spicy mayo sauce, cilantro and juliennes, pickled carrots. The rice had a hard, crunchy exterior, with a smooth, velvety interior. The house-made pickles added a delicious sour touch to the dish, and despite our already quenched appetites, we managed to finish every bite.
     After a huge meal, our check came to only $50 which brought our already impressive meal to a perfect end. If you're looking for a delightfully creative meal made with local, fresh ingredients, look no further. north (Yes, it's supposed to be lowercase) delivered one of the best restaurant experiences I've had in a while. I would highly recommend this restaurant to any foodies looking for a truly unique experience.

Monday, March 18, 2013

Broadway Bistro

     We're living in an amazing time period, food wise. Currently, local and sustainable sourcing are on the forefront of the local restaurant industry, and Chefs, as well as customers, are taking more time to learn about their food and where it comes from. Diners are paying a huge amount of attention to the sourcing of the ingredients in their food, and restaurants are doing everything they can to source locally grown, high quality food. These days, Chefs are working hard to get to know the farmers and artisans who raise, grow, and create their ingredients. In Rhode Island, the sustainability movement has rooted itself deep into local food culture, with dozens of farmers markets, Farm Fresh RI, and endless efforts by local Chefs to scratch make all of their food from local ingredients. One restaurant in Providence that is doing its part to promote sustainability is Broadway Bistro.
     If you've ever walked down Broadway from downtown Providence, then you've seen Broadway Bistro. You know, that quaint looking little restaurant with the giant black dog painted on the side? Yeah, that's it. From the outside, this European-style bistro looks like a pretty average Federal Hill restaurant, but inside is a team of culinary artists, using fresh, local ingredients to craft some unbelievably delicious, scratch-made, gourmet dishes.
     We visited Broadway Bistro on a Saturday night, and were lucky enough to be seated right away. We must have showed up at the perfect time, because once we were seated, the entire restaurant filled up in a matter of fifteen minutes. The interior is pretty small and seating is limited, so I would suggest coming early if you want to avoid a wait. Our waitress was very attentive, and seemed to appear almost instantaneously to refill our water glasses every time they neared empty. The menu was pretty small, which is good, because it was hard enough trying to decide between the small amount of available menu items. It was obvious that the Chef at Broadway Bistro had taken the necessary time to perfect every single dish on this menu.
     For an appetizer, we ordered The Crepe($8), which came out surprisingly fast, considering how full the restaurant was. The Crepe is a crepe with duck confit, and a side of mixed local greens. The crepe was thin, soft, fluffy, and slightly chewy. The crepe was cooked through perfectly with just a touch of browning on the outside. Our crepe was stuffed full of a surprisingly hearty amount of duck confit. If you've never had confit, it is duck leg meat that is salt-cured overnight, then poached in duck fat until it is crispy and so tender that it is falling apart. The confit at Broadway Bistro is delicious in every way a confit can be. It is salty and crispy, yet so tender that it melts in your mouth. The fatty confit was balanced well by the mixed greens were served on the side. The mixed greens were refreshing, with bitter notes and dressed lightly with a bright, acidic, white balsamic reduction.
     The House Gnocchi($18) which I had exceeded all of my expectations. The gnocchi are scratch made in-house and while it may be a time-consuming task to make fresh gnocchi, the flavors in this dish proved that it is more than worth the time and effort. The outside was seared to crispy brown perfection, while the inside was smooth, cheesy, and creamy. Some gnocchi can be doughy and dense, but that wasn't the case at Broadway Bistro. Their gnocchi were light with an almost fluffy texture. They were tossed in a butter sauce with crunchy broccoli rabe and tender, sliced chicken breast from Baffoni's Poultry Farm.
     Equally delicious was the roasted, halved Cornish hen($19), also from Baffoni's. The skin was seasoned with paprika and oven-seared until it was dark brown and crunchy. The meat was tender, juicy, and evenly cooked through, which is an impressive feat considering the amount of heat needed to get the skin so crispy. Served with a sweet onion jam, roasted cauliflower, and a creamy, rich root vegetable mash, this was an excellent gourmet take on classic roasted chicken. The kitchen staff at Broadway Bistro has true passion for food, and it shows through in every dish that they put out.

House Gnocchi


Crusted Hen

     After our meal, our waitress brought two delightful, complimentary dark chocolate truffles as a palate cleanser. When our check came, it was tucked into a blank page of a small journal with a pen, which I thought was a brilliant way to get customer feed back, and to make the guest feel personally appreciated. Everything about my visit to Broadway Bistro- from the attentive service, to the incredible food, and even the method used to deliver the check- impressed me. Broadway Bistro serves locally-grown, gourmet food in a casual environment at a reasonable price. What else could you ask for?

Thursday, March 14, 2013

Ellie's Bakery

     Among the many things that the French are known to excel at, you'll find just about any food related art, including wine making, cooking, cheese making, and of course, baking. For decades, tourists and locals alike have flocked to Parisian bakeries to enjoy decadent, sweet French pastries. Tarts, Petits Fours, Eclairs, madeleines, and so many more pastries can be found at small, artisan bakeries throughout Paris. But for Rhode Islanders, enjoying the delicious flavors and bright atmosphere of a French bakery no longer requires a trip to Europe, thanks to Ellie's Bakery, a new Parisian-style bakery that has recently opened its doors downtown.
     Ellie's was opened by the same people that brought us the adored Providence restaurant, Gracie's, so before I ever even stepped foot inside, I had high expectations for the food here. Our first visit to Ellie's was on a Tuesday afternoon for lunch. When we arrived, it was relatively empty, and we got served quickly. The staff members that have been working when I've been to Ellie's have always seemed pretty nice and been more than happy to assist customers. The selection of scrumptious looking treats was almost overwhelming, with elegant, bright glass cases packed with sweet and savory French foods. Various breads, fresh sandwiches, and a huge selection of pastries. The menu at Ellie's also features excellent coffee from local coffee roaster New Harvest.
     The sandwich with fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, olive tapenade, greens, and balsamic vinaigrette was a perfect lunch. The mozzarella was soft and tender, with a lightly spongy texture, cut in thick slabs, and was balanced perfectly with acidity from the vinaigrette, and brininess from the olive tapenade. The bread was reminiscent of a focaccia, and tasted buttery and salty. The ham, swiss cheese, baby spinach, mescaline mix, and red pepper jelly sandwich was equally delicious, served on a baguette. The sweet red pepper jelly was an excellent contrast so the savory, salty ham, and the spinach and mescaline mix added a very fresh element to the flavor of this sandwich. I also tried a lemon madeleine which was fluffy, spongy, moist, and sweet, with an almost floral hint of lemon. At only $1 each, a couple of these madeleines and a cup of New Harvest coffee or espresso would make a delicious small breakfast or early snack.
Ham, swiss, baby spinach, mescaline mix, and red pepper jelly sandwich 

Fresh mozzarella, sun dried tomatoes, greens, olive tapenade, balsamic vinaigrette sandwich
     The food and décor at Ellie's Bakery do a fabulous job at capturing the laid back, elegant Parisian lifestyle. Everything about this bakery was delightful and welcoming. If you're downtown for lunch or a quick snack, I would definitely recommend trying this wonderful new addition to the Providence food scene.

Monday, March 11, 2013

Cream Of Asparagus Soup

     After a very long and unexpected winter in Rhode Island, it looks like spring in finally beginning to wake up from hibernation, and this is good news for anyone who's getting sick of out-of-season produce flown halfway across the world to American supermarkets. Spring is the prime harvesting season for all sorts of delicious fruits and veggies, including Kiwi, Leeks, Artichokes, and one of my absolute favorite vegetables: asparagus. Asparagus can add flavor to so many different dishes. Everything from an omelet to a stir-fry can be enhanced by the full, crisp flavor of fresh asparagus, but I like to let the flavor of asparagus really shine through by combining it with as few ingredients as possible. Cream of asparagus soup is easy and simple to make, using only a few ingredients, yet it's still healthy and extremely flavorful. If you can find locally grown asparagus at a farmers market or at a local farm, that would be preferred and give you the best tasting soup, but if not, supermarket asparagus will work. Just try to purchase it between February and June, because that is the time of year during which it will be freshest.


Ingredients
1lb asparagus (Feeds two hungry people)
2-4 cups chicken stock (If you have home made stock, use that. If you would like to make this recipe vegetarian, vegetable stock can be used instead.)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
3-4 tbsp butter
1.5 Oz all-purpose flour
1 French baguette
 
 
     First, you want to put your stock on to boil. You should use just enough stock to fully submerge your asparagus. While your stock is heating up, cut your asparagus into pieces about one to two inches in length. Once your stock begins to boil, add your asparagus, and leave it to boil until the asparagus is very tender. I like to leave one or two stalks of asparagus out and slice it thin as a garnish for the soup, but that's optional.
 
 
      While my asparagus boils, I like to make some croutons to use as an auxiliary ingredient which will add a crunch element to the finished soup. To do this, simply slice a French baguette into 1/4-1/3 inch slices. Lay your slices out onto a baking sheet, and top with butter, salt, pepper, garlic, and a sprinkling or Parmesan cheese. Preheat your oven to 375 degrees (I like to use my toaster oven, but if you're making a large batch of soup, you can use a full oven). These cook in a few minutes, so don't put them in the oven until you're soup is almost ready to be served.
 
 
     Once your asparagus is fully cooked and very tender, it's time to puree your soup. If you have an immersion blender, use that to puree your soup right in the pan, but if not, transfer your soup to a blender and puree until you have a smooth creamy mixture. Return your soup to the stove, add your Parmesan cheese, and stir until it melts in. Now, for to finish off this soup, we'll need to thicken it slightly with a rue. In a separate pan, melt your butter and add your flour. Whisk this mixture constantly as it cooks for about five or six minutes, just until it starts to turn light brown.
     Once your rue is cooked, whisk it in to your soup and boil for about two minutes until your soup reaches your desired thickness. Now, you can season with salt and pepper if needed. Finally, garnish with your croutons and sliced asparagus, and enjoy! Delicious, simple, and fresh. Let's nosh!
 


Saturday, March 2, 2013

Abyssinia

     The east side of Providence has always been seen as one of the top food destinations in the state of Rhode Island. With a cornucopia of well known college campuses located right in the heart of the east side, including Brown University, RISD, and others, this area of Providence has an extremely diverse population of students, and young graduates from all over the world. With such a diverse group of citizens living in such a small area, the east side is packed with an endless expanse of hip restaurants, aimed at artsy college students of every background, serving up unique food from just about every corner of the globe. Abyssinia, on Wickenden Street, is a popular east side restaurant which serves traditional Ethiopian cuisine in a comfortable atmosphere.
     It was a Wednesday night on my first visit to Abyssinia, and the restaurant was full. Not many restaurants can manage to fill up on a cold, rainy Wednesday in the middle of February, and I knew right away that this food was going to be good. The air inside was laced with the pungent scents of berbere and other African spices. A fragrance which literally made me feel like I could taste all of the delicious exotic flavors of every dish as I read through the menu. The exotic scents, however, were not the only unique aspect of the atmosphere at Abyssinia. The walls were lined with African art pieces that were both beautiful and interesting.


 
      Our server was very nice, and helped us navigate the menu, as well as learn how to pronounce the names of the dishes. Although it isn't too extensive, the menu can be slightly intimidating if you're completely unfamiliar with African food. All of the entrées come on a large piece of injera. Injera is a traditional Ethiopian flat bread with a tangy, sour, almost citrusy taste, and a spongy texture. As an appetizer, we ordered the Sikwar Dinich Tibs, which are deep fried yam cakes based on an east African snack called Ojojo. For my entrée, I ordered the Doro Wot, a traditional Ethiopian dish of chicken, marinated in lemon, stewed in berbere, and seasoned with an Ethiopian spice blend. According to the menu, this is the 'signature dish' of Ethiopian cuisine. Adriana ordered the Tikle Gomen, a vegetarian dish consisting mostly of cabbage and carrots.
     When the Sikwar Dinich Tibs came out, they were delightful. The outside was crunchy, and the inside was soft and savory. A mix of roughly mashed yams with diced red onion, tomato, and cilantro. For such a simple dish with only a few ingredients, the flavor was excellent..
      It took a little while for our entrées to come out, which was completely understandable. We had obviously shown up during a very unexpected Wednesday night rush. Our server was very gracious and apologized for the wait. The dishes were served with no utensils, though they were offered. At Abyssinia, you eat the traditional Ethiopian way: with your hands. The injera bread which the food is served over is your utensil. We were ripping off pieces of injera, and using them to scoop up bites of food. The Doro Wot was exquisite. The chicken was tender enough to melt in your mouth, and was stewed in a pungent, spicy blend of peppers and fragrant spices which are scarcely used in American cooking. The injera also added complexity to the flavor, complimenting the spices of the Doro Wot with a sour tang. One of my favorite ingredients in this dish was the ayib, an Ethiopian cottage cheese which was creamy and salty, yet almost refreshing in comparison to the spice of the dish. The Tikle Gomen was delicious as well, with crunchy vegetables cooked lightly and seasoned with spiced that were reminiscent of an Indian curry.
Doro Wot 
Tikle Gomen

     After paying our check of only $30, we both left Abyssinia incredibly full. The portions here were huge in comparison to the prices. The exotic atmosphere and food make this place worth trying, and the low price point makes it worth frequenting. Taking a trip to Abyssinia is about more than just eating Ethiopian food, it's about experiencing Ethiopian cuisine.

Sunday, February 24, 2013

Ebisu

     Let's be honest, is the Unites States, ramen gets a pretty bad rep. There are two kinds of ramen: good ramen, and bad ramen. If you're American, then I'm willing to bet that you're very well acquainted with bad ramen. You know, that cellophane-wrapped noodle brick and sodium packet that you get for 40 cents at your local super market. Well here's something to think about: the amount of blandness and cheapness you'll find in the flavor of bad ramen is about equal to the amount of deliciousness and complexity which you will find in the flavors of a well prepared ramen dish. They say that when ramen is good, it is one of the best things you'll ever taste, and that's a statement that I certainly can't argue with. Ramen is a Japanese noodle dish, made with wheat-noodles which are boiled in either meat or fish broth, sometimes flavored with dashi or miso, garnished with all kinds of delicious goodies, often including vegetables, pork, chicken, seafood, seaweed, and much more.
     In New England, restaurants that serve real ramen are few and far between, but it seems that there is no such thing as a cuisine which can't be found somewhere in Rhode Island, and ramen is no exception. In Providence, Ebisu serves Japanese food and noodle dishes that exceeded all of my expectations. Named after an ancient mythological Japanese god, thought to bring luck and good fortune to fishermen, Ebisu features high quality Japanese cuisine at fair prices.
     The décor is modern and simplistic. The lighting was pretty low, which gave it a nice sense of intimacy. Inside, it looked very clean, which is always a good sign. It was pretty late when Adriana and I arrived at Ebisu, about 10pm, so it was relatively empty. Although, throughout our meal, business did pick up which is a good sign. A restaurant that still draws customers late at night usually has a well established following. A following which I am now a part of.

 
     Our server was soft spoken and seemed a bit shy, but that fit the gentle feeling of the décor, and he definitely wasn't intrusive to our experience, like some overly spunky servers can be. He was also the only server on this shift, so he was pretty busy, but he still managed to do a good job while managing four tables alone.
     The menu at Ebisu was nicely sized. There was an entire section for noodle dishes, which was pretty extensive and covered just about every style of ramen from every region of Japan. I'll be returning regularly until I've tried them all. But ramen wasn't the only thing on the menu. They also had many rice dishes, and a traditional Japanese dish called Shabu-Shabu. According to the menu description, "Shabu Shabu is a Japanese variety of hot pot. The dish is prepared by submerging a very thin slice of meat or a piece of vegetable in a pot of boiling dashi (broth) and swishing it back and forth several times. (The familiar swishing sound is where the dish gets its name. Shabu-shabu roughly translates to “swish-swish”.) Cooked meat and vegetables are usually dipped in ponzu or “goma” (sesame seeds) sauce."
     As delicious as all of the noodle dishes sounded on this menu, I was faced with the unfortunate reality that I could not order every single one, and so after a long and arduous decision-making process, we placed our order. For an appetizer, we got the Spicy Tuna Tostada which was a fried cracker made from layers of seaweed and rice, topped with spicy tuna and a spicy mayo. As my entrée, I got the Tokyo Miso Ramen, which was thin noodles in pork broth, flavored with miso, topped with roasted pork, seaweed, a soft boiled egg, and Kamaboko (fish cake). Adriana had already eaten dinner, and just had a bowl of miso soup as her entrée.
     When our spicy tuna arrived, it was presented very well. The contrast between the warm, crunchy, fried seaweed-rice cracker and the cold, fresh tuna was absolutely delightful. The spicy mayo added a tang to the smoothness of the tuna as well which completed the flavor perfectly.
     After we finished our appetizer, our entrees came, and my ramen looked mesmerizing. A soft, fluffy bed of noodles, piled with a cornucopia of tasty morsels, all bathing leisurely in a savory, rich pork broth, billowing warm steam. Just the smell had my mouth watering.


      The flavors in this ramen were absolutely incredible. The broth was salty and umami; the pork was almost impossibly tender and robust; the noodles had a soft-yet-firm texture; but my favorite part was the soft boiled egg. The egg was soft, smooth, and had absorbed the flavors of the broth. The flavor of the runny yolk combined with the rich broth was unique and delicious.
     So how exactly can you tell if a ramen is good or bad? A good ramen should look something like this when you're finished:
 
      As far as ramen goes, Ebisu is some of the best you'll find in Rhode Island. The selection of noodle dishes is big enough to try something new every time you visit. Although this was my first experience with real ramen, I'll be returning regularly until I'm well acquainted. With modern décor, friendly service, awesome food, and fair prices, this would be a great place to take a date, or just to hang out with friends.
 
Update: Since my first visit to Ebisu, I've been back and also tried the Nagasaki Chanpon, and the Okinawa Soba. They were both equally delicious to the Tokyo Miso Ramen. I would highly suggest any of the three.
Okinawa Soba