Rhode Island has had a long tradition with promoting local food. Farm fresh RI, the organization I spoke of in an earlier post, has promoted an even broader awareness of Rhode Island grown food. In the past decade the trend to buy locally for restauarants has soared. Gracie's downtown, Cook and Brown House and Al Forno's; all powerhouses in Providence culinary institutions, have all adopted this idea of telling guests where there food comes from.
Local 121, a restaurant that thrives on this notion, has however forgotten to include taste on the menu. A brainchild of the owners of local club AS220, this restaurant has always had an excellent ambiance and great looking menu. The execution always fails however. I was taken here this past week by a family friend and again I made the mistake of thinking I was going to have a good meal.
I ordered "Steamed Matunuck Littlenecks with Grilled Baguette", which in actuality turned out to be rubbery little-necks with burned baguette. The sauce is also usually absent from dishes. In the case of my salad: "Jonah Crab and Snow Pea Salad" there was no sauce/dressing to speak of.
Now I fully appreciate the desire to move to sustainable foods. I am a member of the Slow Food Movement and a staunch supporter of tightening my food imprint radius to support local farmers. Where some chef's err, is in thinking that this "Green-washing" will make them better cooks. If you can't produce a good dish, marking it up with local farms isn't going to make it better. This restaurant is not only a sad happenstance for local farming, but for foodies everywhere.
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