Tag:

Darius Salko

chefs & restaurants farms news

Coming Sunday, October 14: 2012 Chefs Collaborative RI Farm Picnic

by David Dadekian September 10, 2012

written by David Dadekian

Nick’s on Broadway’s wood grill at the 2011 Picnic

On Sunday, October 14, from 4 – 7 p.m., Chefs Collaborative, a non-profit organization that works with chefs and the greater food community to celebrate local foods and foster a more sustainable food supply, is collaborating with some of Rhode Island’s best “farm-to-fork” chefs to promote awareness of local and sustainable ingredients available in the Ocean State.

The event Co-Chairs, Chefs Derek Wagner of Nick’s on Broadway in Providence and Jake Rojas of Tallulah on Thames in Newport are teaming up with Chefs Matthew Gennuso of Chez Pascal, Mike McHugh of Julian’s, David Reynoso of Al Forno, Darius Salko of Tini, Matthew Varga of Gracie’s and Beau Vestal of New Rivers—all in Providence, Champe Speidel of Persimmon and Eli Dunn of The Beehive Café in Bristol, and Tyler Burnley of TSK (Thames Street Kitchen) in Newport to create a locally sourced, home-style barbecue-themed menu. Wine will be provided by local vintners Greenvale Vineyards in Portsmouth and Jonathan Edwards Winery in North Stonington, Connecticut. Local breweries Grey Sail Brewing Company of Westerly and Revival Brewing Co. will be offering beer selections.

An Autumn Harvest will celebrate local and sustainable food at Schartner Farms in Exeter, Rhode Island. The fundraiser is to support Chefs Collaborative and to support the Rhode Island Chefs Collaborative Local, a group of chefs that network together to represent the state in culinary competitions, dinners and fundraisers, promoting Rhode Island as a “farm-to-fork” culinary destination. It will also aid Rhode Island chefs in working together with their communities to bring more awareness of buying local and sourcing sustainable products through dinners, events and programs at each chef’s restaurant.

“This is by far my favorite event of the year. An event that truly celebrates all of the things that we as cooks, chefs, farmers, artisans and food lovers are so passionate about, hand-crafted food and drink, the farm, the fall harvest in New England and our sense of community,” said R.I. Local co-leader Derek Wagner. “This is our 3rd year and it just keeps getting better and better. This is an event put on by chefs for chefs and gives us the opportunity to break bread with our friends and fellow food lovers in the most fun, sincere and beautiful setting possible: on the farm.”

“We are very pleased and excited to be working with such a wonderful and forward thinking group of chefs. Not only is the food coming out of Rhode Island delicious, but the chefs cooking for this event really strive to cultivate a vibrant, sustainable community,” said Chefs Collaborate Executive Director Melissa Kogut.”

Chefs Collaborative is a partner with the National Food Day, a nationwide celebration of and movement toward more healthy, affordable, and sustainable food culminating in a day of action on October 24 every year. The Rhode Island Farm Picnic embodies Food Day’s message of “Eat Real” and seeks to reinforce Food Day’s aim to bring us closer to a food system with “real food” that is produced with care for the environment, animals and the women and men who grow, harvest, and serve it. For more information about National Food Day, visit www.FoodDay.org.

The Rhode Island Farm Picnic is a perfect event for families and friends. Ticket holders are encouraged to bring a blanket for the picnic and enjoy the pristine beauty of the pond-side environs of Schartner Farms. The event is $55/adults, $25/children ages 8-18, children under 8 are free. Tickets include all the food and beverage offerings and can be purchased online at http://ri-bbq.eventbrite.com/.

Photos from last year’s event.

Panorama of the Schartner Farms site. Please click the image for a larger version.

Gracie’s Executive Chef Matthew Varga at his barbecue pit

A full Steamship Round (leg of beef) from Blackbird Farm on the Gracie’s grill

The Beehive’s grilled pizza

September 10, 2012 0 comments

chefs & restaurants news wine & drinks

Tini’s Spring Cocktails Are Here, Along With Two New Dishes

by David Dadekian April 1, 2011

written by David Dadekian

The new Spring Cocktails at Tini, from left to right: (verb) my Green Bikini in (place), A Classy (noun), (noun) on the Horizon, (verb) the White Dog, Make Her (verb) This Time

After this winter, it seems as if everyone is working hard to bring about spring. When I asked bartender Alicia Canning about working on the five new drinks for Tini‘s Spring Cocktail Line she gave kind of a sly smile. I’ll just say bringing about spring at Tini can be intoxicating and leave it at that. It can also be delicious, as proven by Chef Darius Salko’s two new dishes. When I received Salko’s message mentioning a fried chicken skin sandwich you could almost see the swooshing, curly speed lines behind me as I rushed to Tini.

Orange Dream Salad (larger version at end of piece)

First, the food. In addition to the fried chicken skin sandwich, which is more properly called The Crackling Club, there is the Orange Dream Salad. I’ll confess, when Salko told me what was in it—orange and grapefruit segments, dates, Bulgarian sheep’s milk Feta cheese, red seedless grapes, torn mint, cinnamon and pomegranate seeds—I wasn’t sure how that combination would work. But I’ve learned to have faith in Salko’s method of putting together good, fresh ingredients in clean, simple ways that create hugely flavorful dishes. Salko told me, “We serve it with two tortillas and you kind of just have a ball,” and he was so right. I highly recommend ordering the Orange Dream Salad, especially if you’re going to also have The Crackling Club, which as you might imagine, is so good (and only a little bit “bad”).

The Crackling Club (larger version at end of piece)

While you might think a fried chicken skin sandwich sounds hedonistic, again, in the Tini style of fresh and simple, it’s really a somewhat light sandwich. I say somewhat because it is a club sandwich, so there’s also house cured & smoked bacon, Allen Farms red mustard greens, sweet cabbage, pickled shallots, bread-and-butter pickles and house made mayonnaise, along with the two chicken cracklings. It’s all piled beautifully on their house made brioche. The chicken skin is perfectly crisped and slightly puffed so the effect is really a somewhat light spring-like club sandwich and not something heavy.

Now, the cocktails. Canning prepared five beautiful drinks for me to play with making photos of, and then of course I got to try them all. The Spring Cocktail Line is called “Ad Lib” and the names of the drinks require the person ordering to fill in some key words, in the style of a favorite childhood written word game. Sure the missing spots in the cocktail names could all be filled-in with words loaded in innuendo, but then who didn’t do that with Mad Libs anyway (0r skipped the innuendo altogether and just went straight to the gutter)? The cocktails are:

White Whisky, Muddled Cucumber = [verb] the White Dog
Cachaça, St. Germain, Basil = [verb] my Green Bikini in [place]
Belvedere, Framboise, Lemon, Champagne = A Classy [noun]
Genever, Maraschino, Violette, Mint = [noun] on the Horizon
Maker’s Mark, TINI Grenadine, Thyme = Make Her [verb] This Time

I really enjoyed the “[verb] the White Dog.” It uses Death’s Door White Whisky which is fermented in stainless steel and finished in uncharred oak barrels so it never gets the caramel color or smoky flavors of a traditional whisky. Personally, I wouldn’t call it a whisky, or maybe label it with an asterisk, because it’s a delicious drink and people who aren’t fans of whisky might pass it by. The “Make Her [verb] This Time” was also a favorite. The thyme and a little touch of salt in it really brings out some subtle flavors. All the drinks were perfectly balanced and should be big hits.

In addition to the new drinks and dishes, Tini is now serving late on Wednesdays with live music. Salko posted, “It’s the Tini Show starting at 10 p.m.! 3 excellent musicians, amazing cocktails, $15 wine bottles, late night grub until 11 p.m. You can’t go wrong! Tini Weenies and Fries will be served for the Music Lovers!”

(verb) the White Dog

(verb) my Green Bikini in (place)

A Classy (noun)

(noun) on the Horizon

Make Her (verb) This Time

Orange Dream Salad

The Crackling Club

April 1, 2011 0 comments

chefs & restaurants news wine & drinks

Tini Adds Frostbite Cocktails, Tini Pour and House Bottle to Drink Menu

by David Dadekian January 5, 2011

written by David Dadekian

Tini's Satan's Little Helper cocktail 1

Adding to their already excellent lineup of drinks, Tini introduced their Frostbite Cocktails, fittingly enough, on the Winter Solstice. The downtown destination restaurant has also added two new wine options called the Tini Pour and the Tini House Bottle.

The five new Frostbite Cocktails are named Hard Cider, Harder Cider, The Plush, Satan’s Little Helper (photographed here) and The North Pole. Since unveiling the new menu I’ve ordered all but the two Ciders. The Plush is a milk-based cocktail, almost egg nog in flavor but without any eggs. It’s very cool and refreshing. Both Satan’s Little Helper and The North Pole are prepared in front of the diner with a bit of cocktailing flourish. In the case of Satan’s Little Helper, Port is slowly poured over the back of a spoon so that it floats on top of the bourbon-based drink (see photo below). For The North Pole, Ruby Port is added as individual drops, equally spaced around the rim of the martini glass so that if you give your drink a little swirl it creates a kind of candy cane effect in the glass. They’re both visually fun and tasty cocktails.

“The Tini Pour and Tini House Bottle are both housed under the heading ‘Simplicity Preferred,'” said Chef Darius Salko. “They are wines of our choice, sold at a very accessible price, to alleviate the stress and anxiety of ordering wine.” The Tini Pour is $3.00 a glass and changes almost daily. The Tini House Bottle is priced at $15.00. Since adding the House Bottle to the menu Tini has served the Rapido Red, a Sangiovese wine from Puglia. This is subject to change. Salko continued, “It’s our way of saying anyone should be able to enjoy wine with dinner, even those who want to be frugal without losing quality. They are smaller pours but by no means are they just a sip.”

Tini, 200 Washington St., Providence, RI 02903. Lunch: Tuesday – Saturday 12 -2 pm, Dinner: Tuesday – Saturday 5 – 10 pm, Bar open until midnight. 401-383-2400.

Tini's Satan's Little Helper cocktail 2

Tini's Satan's Little Helper cocktail 3

January 5, 2011 0 comments

chefs & restaurants farms news

The Blackbird steak sandwich at Tini in Providence, RI

by David Dadekian February 19, 2010

written by David Dadekian

Tini's "The Blackbird" in its purist form—sans catsup

Chef Darius Salko at Tini restaurant in Providence has created a new menu item named after the farm in Smithfield that he sources the beef from. In Chef Salko’s words, “‘The Blackbird’ is Blackbird Farm beef shaved thin and piled high on a soft roll with onions and homemade catsup.”

I got a chance to try the sandwich two ways when I photographed it. I love Blackbird Farm’s beef (I work with the farm often), and Salko uses roast cuts that he chills just enough so that he can slice the meat ultra-thin, then he sautés it with onions and serves in on a warm buttered soft roll, which adds some great flavor. After trying it without catsup I asked Salko to add some and when I saw the amount of catsup on the sandwich I did think for a moment that it might be overwhelming, but it wasn’t in the least. Salko makes the catsup from scratch and the slightly sweet condiment perfectly complements the saltiness in the steak and onions. I also really loved the steak sandwich with the carrots/cumin side as well. Comments from other diners trying the sandwich were all overwhelmingly positive. Everyone at Tini during lunch on Thursday said we could happily eat three or four of the sandwiches.

The point of naming the sandwich “The Blackbird” is to raise awareness of the local beef—100% pedigreed Angus beef—in the sandwich. It’s one thing to list local sources on your menu or in individual dish descriptions, but Chef Salko wanted to put the name of the farm front and center for diners to see. Ann Marie Bouthillette was very excited to have her farm’s name so prominent on Tini’s menu. “The Blackbird” is on both the lunch and dinner menus so head on over to Washington St. in Providence and try it out.