Nick's on Broadway

Went to Nick's on Broadway last night with my parents and a few of their friends. Being a tiny place (roughly 35 person seating) I knew to make a reservation far in advance. What I didn't remember was that Nick's often makes you wait even when you have a reservation. O man was it worth the wait and cavetching from the older people in our group. We all had opted for the "four-course savory menu" which brings four small courses of some of the finest local food you can get in Rhode Island. A Nick's staple and signature is the Oysters with capers. If you are a true Rhode Island foodie you love oysters, just part of the deal, and these are perfect. The toppings don't detract from the purity of the oyster nor are the covered by the Oyster's subtle taste. The other standout course was the corn-crusted bluefish over barley in pesto. Good stuff. The tasting menu is on the pricy side (60 dollars per person) so I wouldn't recommend it on a value proposition. But as a pure pallet pleaser there are few places in Providence that can delight as Nick's does. The combination of local food (a bit over presented in that everything's origin is given alongside the dish) and perfectly executed sauces is a delight.

Sakura on Wikendon St. Still great rolls, still bad service

Sakura on Wikendon Street is something of an institution in Providence. There have been many "more upscale" sushi joints that have come and gone in the past couple decades but for natives there has always been the rivalry between this gem and Tokyo, which is just up the street. It is inevitable when growing up in the 02903 that you become a die-hard of one or the other. Some of my friends treat it something like the GM vs. Ford Rivalry, thumping tables and beating chests about which of the two is better. I've always been a Sakura man. I'm a sucker for the fact that there is still part of the restaurant that allows you to eat on the floor (and where people are relegated to when the rest of the place is packed). The BYOB is also great, much better to bring your own saki than to pay Haruki East's ridiculous prices. Best of all though, the great rolls fantastic and at around 12 bucks for 12 rolls, still a huge bargain. The presentation is so funky and whimsical. There have been nights when I've been at Sakura late with my girlfriend and Akira, the main chef and owner, will just do something really wacky like put lights in the radish as in the picture above. The service (or lack there of), however, is also part of the show. Staffed entirely by Akira and his wife Sakura's family, the check is always long in coming as is the food. Sure you could say its part of the charm. But as a devout the show is getting a little old. I appreciate a family business as much as the next dude but when you're in a rush this is not the place to go. Unfortunately you won't see me quit Sakura any time soon. The Crazy Roll and Tiger Maki are too good for me to give up on, even if it comes a half an hour cold.

Albie's Place in the URI emporium

Now I get that campus (or slightly off-campus) food is never intended to be the last word in fine dining. Greasy food is what the students want. Cheap, great tasting and greasy are the criteria. Unfortunately Albie's Place in the URI emporium only lives up to one of these things: greasy. Visiting one of my friends today at the Kingston Campus of URI, I was subjected to Albie's. Now I've been to Albie's before and I knew what I was getting into, so I only agreed when he agreed to pay for lunch. This is because the price/food ratio, hell the value/edibility ratio, of this place is just atrocious. Now I'm a burger lover, plain and simple, and when I'm going to go greasy and have the option of burger I go for it. And I'm sorry but if I want a greasy burger, I don't expect to pay 8-10 dollars for the middling grade version. The buns are straight from a package and the fries are those overly squishy type that I loathe. Even the ketchup has that slightly... browned age to it. That's fine, I get that Albie's can cater its below average food to students when there aren't many options. Unfortunately for them, this is no longer true. This past semester the owners of the Burrito powerhouse Caliente's opened the Burger Shack. Now those are some damn fine burgers.

Sawadee, that Thai place on Hope

I just got back from Sawadee on Hope Street on College Hill. As with many great American Thai establishments, the place is a dive. There is a pervasive mildew smell emanating from some funky HVAC going on in the front of the place (probably bad humidity). The waiting area for the small 10 top is actually the stoop in front, which in this case was huddling in the pouring rain. But I couldn't care less. The BYOB policy rocks and so do the Curry Puffs. The menu is fairly traditional Thai but the specials are what you come for. As you can see from my post-order Chinese Broccoli with Crispy Pork

the specials are imprinted under the table glass on tacky placards. I think its fantastically unique. You can only see the pork specials of the night but the waitress also pointed out the mango specials under my left elbow, as well as the roast chicken special under my right. The food is satisfying without the extra helping of oyster sauce that you come to expect from low rent Thai. Needless to say the Crispy Pork was superbly crispy and the broccoli fresh. The real reason I came though was the house's Tom Yum soup. While it may seem to be a ubiquitous dish, there is an actual art to this ultra tangy soup and Sawadee has nailed it. Sure it smells like your grandmother's basement and sure the waitress are trying to shuffle you out. But I couldn't have cared less And better yet! I had a $10 coupon from Rhode Island Monthly.

Goldilocks on Supermarkets

As a member of the real world, the majority of my food comes from a chain supermarket. Sure I could have made my inaugural post about the best sushi in Rhode Island(it will probably be my second now), but in reality most of the food I consume is purchased at the ‘mart. Because of this, as well as the increasing schism between white and blue collar, there have really been two distinct tiers of food shopping. There is your budget market and there is Whole Foods. Where there was once a range of price tiers at various markets; Whole Foods has become the monopoly of high value food in New England.

            Sure you could get all pedantic about the “multitude of options in specialty markets” or the like in a given residential area, but lets face it, Whole Foods has bought most of the great local chains that once dotted our fair state. Bread and Circus has been dead for a decade, and Nature’s Harvest for two. This is sad for me, because I honestly hate Whole Foods.

            Whole Foods is based out of Austin, so there is really nothing local about it. Nor is the food restricted to an-anything-mile-radius to keep carbon footprint down. The ‘greenwashing’ and self-entitlement of its food are nearly as insufferable as some of its self righteous patrons. Yesterday I watched a woman (illegally) park her Escalade in a handicap spot so she could run in to buy some sustainably farmed salmon. It’s not entirely Whole Foods’ fault either as we as consumers continue to truly buy into the message that if you buy their branding, you will be healthier and more earth conscious.

            Happily there are a few hold-outs peppered around the state that still offer fantastic food without the snoodery. As a University of Rhode Island student living in Narragansett during the school year I have come to know Belmont Market in Wakefield. Sure Belmont has had to adopt some of the large chain’s conventions (namely the labeling of food as organic) but it has also attempted to stay true to it’s local roots.

            East Side Market on college hill is also a fantastic supermarket. What is more incredible is that when Whole Foods built a franchise less than a quarter mile away, East Side continued to thrive. The meat is local and the fish is (within reason) wild caught. The staff is friendlier and unpretentious. The range of quality on items is vaster than encompassed singularly by either Whole Foods or Stop-and-Shop.

            These local markets are really the Goldilocks special of our local food landscape. While they are neither the last word in pretension or value, places like Belmont and East Side have flourished as stand alone pillars of the food community. They are unubiqutious and uniquely Rhode Island