I Heart Providence: East vs Weat

     A city divided by a river unites over food. Providence is split in two by the Providence river, which separates the east side from the west side. Each half of the city has it's idiosyncrasies in every aspect from Universities, to businesses, and even culture. However, the one thing that the east and west ends of Providence both pride themselves on is food. The east side boasts culinary hotspots such as College Hill, Thayer street, and Fox Point, while the west side keeps its citizens well fed with areas such as the Arts District, Broadway street, and Federal Hill. But which half of this food-loving city would win in an all-out battle for culinary supremacy? That's exactly what I Heart Providence and RI Food Fights set out to determine.
     It was a cold night in Providence, and the sidewalks were lightly dusted with fresh snow from the day's flurries. My fingers were chilled to the bone after walking across town. Adriana, Kevin, and I have finally reached city hall and are relieved to know that we're about to escape from the cold night-time air. We walk in, and are greeted by stands run by some local bakeries giving out cookies, brownies, and even fresh fruit for cascading with rich dark chocolate that's flowing from a small chocolate fountain. That sure warmed me up quick.
     After spending a few minutes devouring some delectable, sweet, chocolate dipped fruit, we decided to head upstairs, and were immediately confronted by "The Wall," a large graffiti covered board with "I Heat Providence" written along the top and "East vs West" written along the bottom. The middle section was blank, and there were a few markers close by for everyone to make their mark on this glorious event for all to see.

Taking a 'dip' in the chocolate fountain 

The Wall

 

      Once we reached the second and third floors, I was like a kid in a candy store- or a foodie in a room full of complimentary treats from some amazing restaurants. All around, there were restaurant stands giving out samples and business cards. Among these restaurants were: El Rancho Grande, Abyssinia, Los Andes, Olneyville New York System, and more. I can honestly say that I didn't eat a single thing which wasn't absolutely delicious, and by the time we got to the competitors on the third floor, my stomach was already about to burst with all of the amazing food.

Ceviche, courtesy of Los Andes

Some seriously tasty South American treats from Los Andes 

Abyssinia, serving up authentic Ethiopian and Eritrean comfort food 

 

Bored With Four, supplying some awesome jams for this lovely event

 

      Eventually, we reached the East vs West competing teams and just barely managed to fit all of their incredible food into our stomachs. The competing teams were:

 

The West- North, Julian's, and The Grange

 

The East- Cook & Brown Public House, The Duck & Bunny, and Vanity

 

      After eating all the food which both teams had to offer, I didn't consume a single bite that didn't impress me with unique and inventive flavors. The well qualified judges of the competition were David Dadekian of eatdrinkri.com, Chef Branden Lewis of Johnson & Wales University, and Chef Matt Varga of Gracie's. They named Brandy Schwalbe of The Duck & Bunny as the winning chef, and the East as the winning team, although the West won the vote for the people's choice. Do I sense a rematch in the future? I sure hope so! Personally, I thought that the West side team offered up the best food of the night, and they earned my vote as the winning team. My personal favorite competing restaurant was Julians with an excellent local ricotta and celery root puree.

 

Local Ricotta and Celery Root Puree from Julians

 

      This was one excellent event for the city of Providence, and it certainly proved that our city is an amazing culinary minefield filled with some of the best food you'll ever find. Although the judges and the people didn't quite agree on who won this competition, everyone agreed on one thing: we all 'Heart' Providence!