KING-SIZE DINING

To be sure, our area has a long and varied of tradition of “big” dining - it started with the concept of the clambake which begat the shore dinner hall which begat the chicken-and-pasta palaces, with Wright’s Farm and West Valley Inn as the gold standard. And the all-you-can-eat buffet has its own history in the state, with the storied Custy’s - now a scaled-down operation in Connecticut - and the Nordic Lodge which is spawning its own legends of patrons downing multiple lobsters in the woods of Charlestown.

The places that we think of for special occasion dining are often “big”. The king-size restaurants of Southern New England have a special place in our hearts as they are often the very first places at which we dined out with parents and siblings. And there is plenty of room for all of us whenever we would like to visit. Their names are as familiar as relatives - Twin Oaks, Luciano’s, Benjamin’s, Venus di Milo.  These dining behemoths serve hundreds and in at least one case, thousands of hungry diners from a varied menu.  So what’s the secret of their success?

Twin Oaks has been at the same address on the shore of Spectacle Lake just off Reservoir Avenue in Cranston since 1933. The restaurant can seat 650 patrons on any given night for classic baked stuffed shrimp, steaks and Italian specialties. Frank Caduto believes he has welcomed each of those patrons at the host station since 1964. “We’re like your favorite vacation spot,” he explains. “We serve a good meal, good portions and a fair drink and people keep coming back.” Caduto can look at a party and tell their family history, having seated couples on dinner dates, who later married, had children and grandchildren all the while returning to Twin Oaks for their family celebrations. That same sense of family pervades the back of the house as well. Caduto declares, “I started working for William DeAngelus Senior, then Junior and now III. Our people don’t leave us. There are [staffers] who have been here 30, 40. 50 years!” The original chef, Tony Sepe spent 50 years in the kitchen before retiring. Cooks who worked on Sepe’s line have moved up including the present executive chef, Bill Smith who has been at the restaurant for 15 years.

A similar story is told in Fall River, Massachusetts at the Venus di Milo restaurant and banquet complex on Route 6. Monty Ferris along with his brother Ron are the second generation to operate the Venus. “We’ve been here for 58 years and our staff is the cornerstone of our success,” says Ferris. Servers, chefs and managers have been on board for an average of 30 years. The Venus di Milo with a peak season staff of 220 served 500,000 meals in 2007. The restaurant seats 350 with room for another 2100 in the banquet halls. Earlier this year, Restaurants and Institutions magazine ranked it 38^th of the 100 largest independent restaurants in the nation.

As manager Judy Brown puts it at Benjamin’s Restaurant in Taunton, “People like it when there is a constant.” She should know. Brown has been at the popular spot on Lake Sabbatia for 25 of its 40 years, as has her husband Scott. Brown too credits a veteran staff for the 550-seat restaurant’s longevity. “A lot of places just don’t have the staff with the years of experience we have.” She says this enables Benjamin’s to try new concepts. “We’re always growing and tweaking the menu.” A Sunday brunch was recently added, along with a separate menu on Monday nights which she refers to as Gourmet Night. “We bring back some of the more elaborate presentations such as tableside Caesar salad and Chateaubriand.” Brown points with pride to the year-round tradition at Benjamin’s of having a full band in the restaurant lounge on weekends. “We’re one of the last places around that still does it.” There are Rhode Island connections aplenty at Benjamin’s. Brown estimates that half of the restaurant’s patrons are Ocean Staters, particularly on weekends. Also, Benjamin’s was designed by acclaimed Rhode Island restaurant designer Judd Brown - Scott’s brother.

While these large dining landmarks have history and a traditional menu in common, the future of the king-size restaurant has a different look and taste. Large Asian restaurants have opened around the state over the last five to ten years and are among the most popular night after night. Jacky’s Galaxie has three locations, the largest in Bristol seating nearly 1000 including banquet guests. And Seven Moons opened in North Kingstown in 2004, expanding in 2007 to 300 seats. Both have similar concepts with Chinese, Japanese, and Southeast Asian specialties on the menu. At Seven Moons, traditional Japanese-style seating at floor-level tables is offered in one section of the restaurant for those seeking an authentic experience.

Meanwhile, back at Twin Oaks, Frank Caduto is getting ready for another busy Saturday night. What are his plans after 45 years? “I’ll be here. Susan DeAngelus told me [when she took over day-to-day management of the restaurant] that I can’t retire, that I have to stay another 15 years!”

DINING OUT WITH THE PAWSOX

            McCoy Stadium has much more than peanuts, popcorn and Cracker Jack these days. While the home of our beloved Pawtucket Red Sox may be the last place you think of for fine dining, PawSox management spends a lot of time thinking about your tastes. It may surprise you to know that McCoy Stadium has a full-time chef, a wine list and music to accompany your meal.  Ken Bowdish is in his third season with the club after several years as a catering chef. His job is to feed the fans who get to watch the game from one of the 12 luxury suites located at field level along the first and third base lines.   Food and beverages are ordered from a menu with appetizers ranging from shrimp cocktail and fresh vegetable crudite to quesadillas, and even clam cakes - made with Bowdish’s secret recipe. These are followed by salads, New England clam chowder, chili, fajita platters, grilled chicken, sausage and peppers in marinara, wraps, pizza and giant sandwiches. Desserts are served late in the game.  

Of course, the fans in the grandstand and bleacher seats have plenty to eat during the game too. Jim Hogan, director of concessions oversees the vendors in the stands, the carts positioned throughout the ballpark and the tented Food Court that he describes as a mini-restaurant with picnic tables, a band, and burgers grilled to order, bratwurst,  fries including chili and cheese, nachos and of course hot dogs. The team serves New England-made Kayem franks, as well as kosher dogs made by Hebrew National, on buns baked locally by Homestead Bakery of East Providence. “They are the staple of the ballpark,” he declares, “but we have a lot more than just hot dogs.” Hogan and his staff have something for just about every fan’s taste and preference. He is very excited about the newest food cart that recently began serving hot roast beef sandwiches topped with zippy horseradish mustard sauce. These sandwiches have been wildly popular for years at the minor league ballpark in the Rochester, New York. McCoy even has a concession stand that serves vegetarian and vegan items during the game.

As for wine, it can be ordered by the bottle can be ordered in the suites with a good selection of vintages from California and Australia. Wines by the glass are served from the Wine Cart in the concession area under the stands.

Will we see sushi at McCoy anytime soon?  Probably not. The demand is not there, say Hogan and Bowdish. These days, most if the inquiries about the food at the park are about ingredients particularly where food allergies are concerned. Just as they have for over 30 years of one of the most successful franchises in minor league baseball, the PawSox food management is listening carefully to the fans. And yes, just like the old song says, they still have peanuts, popcorn and Cracker Jack.

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            The Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association (RIHTA) has called on Rhode Island restaurants to apply for the 10^th annual Restaurant Neighbor Award. This award is given to restaurants that demonstrate outstanding community service. Each year, the National Restaurant Association, in partnership with RIHTA, gives away $20,000 to restaurants to help support their favorite charity or community project. “Restaurants across Rhode Island continue to demonstrate a generous spirit through a variety of community service activities,” said Dale. J. Venturini, President and CEO of the Rhode Island Hospitality and Tourism Association.  Winners will be chosen in each state who are eligible for one of four grand prizes of $5,000 to help the restaurant continue its community programs. National winners also receive an all-expense paid trip to Washington, D.C., to receive the award during the National Restaurant Association’s Public Affairs Conference, held September 23-24, 2008.  The deadline to apply for the award is June 20, 2008.  Applicants may apply online at the National Restaurant Association’s Web site, www.restaurant.org/community  Restaurants may apply on their own behalf, and employees, patrons, and other members of the community may work with a local restaurant to apply for the award.

                                                  DISHING IT UP IN RHODE ISLAND

            A celebrity chef visit, a major new player on the local restaurant scene, more new restaurants opening with still others on the drawing board - all are making dining out news around the state.

            The Barking Crab Restaurant will be joining the Newport dining scene this June.  The restaurant will reside at the space formerly occupied by Seafare’s American Café at Brick Market Place II on America’s Cup Avenue. The Barking Crab’s newly appointed Executive Chef, Allen Bohnert, brings over thirteen years of diverse culinary experience and will oversee the kitchen operations in both restaurants.  

            It is a great honor for a chef to cook at the prestigious James Beard House in New York. The Manhattan brownstone where Beard lived his life has become a culinary shrine for the select few chefs who have been invited to cook there. This summer, the Beard house will be under an Ocean State invasion.  In June, four Providence chefs -Walter Potenza of Walter’s Ristorante d’italia, Michele Calise of Mediterraneo fame, Salvatore Cefaliello from Venda Café and Capriccio’s Nino D’Urso - will be there to commemorate Italy’s Republic Day.  Later this summer, Joe Hafner, executive chef of Gracie’s, will also cook in the small, but historic kitchen.

            Small kitchens seem to be the trend in new Providence restaurants. The new Tini restaurant, scheduled to open in May, takes up about as much room as just the kitchen of its next door neighbor Gracie’s. Owned by George Germon and Johanne Killeen of Al Forno fame, Tini is to occupy the space that for many years housed the New Yorker luncheonette at 200 Washington Street, across from Trinity Rep. The menu is being developed by Al Forno chef David Reynoso for what Germon calls “the new way of eating.” The concept is “small plates, small drinks.” Add “small space” as Tini will seat only 20 patrons at a U-shaped bar and a few tables. Meanwhile, at the new Chinese Laundry, executive chef Nick Rabar and sous chef Lou Cruz cook for a three-level dining room from a kitchen measuring only 60 square feet. Rabar notes that in some restaurants that is the size of the coat closet.  Incidentally, it is not a Chinese restaurant.

            A much better use of a roll of quarters than in the slot machines is to invest in  

a 25-cent martini with your lunch, at the Spiced Pear restaurant at the Chanler Hotel at Cliff Walk in Newport through May. The Spiced Pear’s terrace overlooking First Beach opens May 1^st. Manager Jeff Hirsch at The Lobster Pot says the patio  is scheduled for a May opening as well. This Bristol Harbor mainstay is most certainly an extension of Bristol’s “Restaurant Row” that I wrote about recently.

            Rick’s Roadhouse is just opening at 370 Richmond Street in Providence’s Jewelry district. Using the Rhode Island GPS, it’s where Big Fish used to be. In case the Route 66-inspired décor doesn’t clue you in that the menu is downhome BBQ, the phone number should.  It’s 401-271-PORK (7675).

            Celebrity chef Ming Tsai will be the headliner at this year’s Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival coming this September. The festival expands to four days this year, September 25^th through 28^th with two days for tastings and a Sunday jazz brunch.

            The White Horse Tavern in Newport has a new executive chef. Robert L. Coutu Jr., a native Rhode Islander and graduate of Johnson & Wales University, worked for Ted Gidley at the Clarke Cooke House and as Chef de Cuisine in the Radisson Airport Hotel where he cooked for Julia Child and casino mogul - and fellow J&W alum - Steven Winn just to name a few. 

            Former executive chef of The Gatehouse in Providence and longtime local culinary favorite Holly Dion is now Culinary Specialist at Whole Foods supermarket in Providence.

            A major makeover is underway at Ivy Garden in West Warwick, the former Evelyn’s Villa. The extensive renovation of the banquet and restaurant areas should be completed by late spring. Functions scheduled at the facility are still going on in other parts of the complex. Across the street, Jacky’s Galaxie has completed its facelift. In East Greenwich, there is another addition to the Main Street Restaurant Row and competition for Jacky’s as a Japanese-style sushi-and-hibachi place is being built next to Tio Mateo’s Mexican Grill.

            Here in the “owner-operated restaurant” state, the chains took it on the chin again as two locations of 99 Restaurant in the state shut down recently. And best wishes to Ralph Conte.  With his ahead-of-its-time Raphael, he showed us how “cool and sophisticated with great food” could be done and was a pioneer in the Providence restaurant boom.