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The Savory Grape New General Manager, Tulay Lawton, Brings Extensive Food and Wine Expertise
The Savory Grape’s Tulay Lawton
The Savory Grape, Rhode Island’s premier retail wine business, recently promoted Tulay Lawton as the new general manager of the business. Lawton is from Istanbul, Turkey, and has been in the United States for over 13 years, some of those years as a personal chef focused on Mediterranean cuisine. A gourmet chef, wine aficionado and “lover of life,” Lawton graduated from Johnson & Wales University with a degree in culinary arts.
Lawton will be responsible for overseeing daily operations, managing The Savory Grape team, and continuing to grow the business, which has seen a 400% growth rate since opening in 2006.
Her passion for food started with her roots in Istanbul, a place that has blended and refined Central Asian, Middle Eastern, Mediterranean and Balkan cuisines.
“From an early age, Tulay dedicated herself to mastering unique techniques of blending flavors with an emphasis on marrying the perfect food and wine pair,” said Jessica Granatiero, proprietor of The Savory Grape. “Aside from being business savvy, Lawton has an innate ability to pick out the varied flavors in wine – and impressively, bourbon.”
Lawton has traveled extensively, including a recent trip to Napa Valley with Granatiero to choose unique varietals and blends to add to The Savory Grape offerings.
“Her passion for food, wine and culture is infectious, and unknown to many, she makes the best tabbouleh and baklava, loves photography, is learning yet another language (French), and yes, can belly dance,” said Granatiero.
“I am excited to join this amazing team at The Savory Grape and share my passion with our customers,” said Lawton. “I hope I can continue the tradition of bringing outstanding personalized service to every person that comes through our doors.”
RED FIN Crudo + Kitchen Announces Opening
New Downtown Providence Atlantic Bistro and Oyster Bar Features Latin-Jazzed New England Fare
Chefs Julio Lazzarini and Jenny Behm-‐Lazzarini, co--proprietors of RED FIN Crudo + Kitchen, plan to pop the Pol Roger champagne tomorrow night, marking their Downtown restaurant’s official opening. For this veteran chef duo, introduced nationally via reality food TV Chopped and MasterChef respectively, Friday culminates a year of planning including the rebuild of 71 Washington Street at Union St. in the Biltmore Garage building. Their new 1800 sq. ft. Atlantic Bistro and Oyster Bar features New England fare prepared with Latin and Spanish influences. Currently the restaurant opens at 5PM Tuesdays through Saturdays for Dinner and Bar service; starting next week hours will expand to Lunch Express and Sunday Brunch. Standing heaters will allow eight additional outside seats.
The name RED FIN Crudo + Kitchen reflects both chefs’ excitement for all things ocean: oysters, clams, lobster, crab, scallops, octopus, squid among a wide variety of fish species–-Hamachi, Acadian Redfish, Red Snapper, Cod, and Mahi. These may arrive on the menu as grilled steaks, Italian Crudo, Jamaican Run Down, Brazilian Moqueca, Portuguese Caldeirada, Peruvian Menestrón or as deconstructed chowder. The Daily Chalkboard over the Oyster Bar will announce the day’s oyster varieties of an Atlantic coastline lean: northern PEI, Cape Cod to Rhode Island and southward. The season-‐driven menu featuring foods sourced principally from New England farms and Eastern waters, presents spirited Latin, Caribbean and Spanish culinary theme: Baca Frita with Black Bean Broth, Aji Amarillo Emulsion, and Creamy Rice Croquettes ($23); Bolognese Spaghettini (hand-rolled), Roasted Garlic, Jalapenos, Queso Fresco with Cilantro and Lime Zest ($21), Whiskey Cake with Pepper Whipped Cream ($8) and Tres Leches ($8). Reclaimed barn board tables are set with Mason jars for drinks, crocks and imported Spanish red clay ‘cazuelas’ anticipate classic Paella and stews.
During their parallel careers of twenty years each, both chefs journeyed the Atlantic coastline, meeting midway to find harmony in their cooking philosophies and their made‐for-TV personalities. RED FIN Crudo + Kitchen is their first joint enterprise and Chef Julio Lazzarini’s third proprietorship. Known for hi culinary portmanteau ‘Medilatino,’ or flavor fusion using ingredients and techniques of Spanish, Latin and Caribbean origins, he was twice nominated to Best Chefs America by culinary experts and chefs. Chef Jenny Behm-Lazzarini is the duo’s extrovert, juggling chef product spokesperson and TV commitments that follow from her MasterChef victory. Both Chefs Lazzarini look to dispel any assumptions that Latin cuisines are spicy or hot.
“Influential food locations like Peru, Cuba, Spain and my native Puerto Rico gave us flavors we don’t think of as being imported because they’ve been adopted within American food culture by generations of immigrant,” explains Chef Julio Lazzarini. “Latin and Spanish dishes have zesty and aromatic flavor profiles from use of fragrant herbs, earthiness of smoking and roasting, and tropical citrus notes. Chiles and peppers, while popular, don’t universally define these cuisines.”
RED FIN Crudo + Kitchen has 68 seats, comfortably divided between its front cocktail and oyster bar lounge (high-tops or bar stools) and the adjoining dining room (banquettes and tables with chairs) in view of the open kitchen. The décor motif of pipes, oversized mechanical gears, recycled woods and metals, and vintage Edison work lights invokes the workspace of inventors. An ethic common to chefs, it’s also a nod to Providence’s stature as home to the Corliss Steam Engine, the pre-‐Prohibition invention that forever transformed power-using industries from rail and car transportation to cooking. Whimsical sea characters including Sir Archibald, their ‘pigtopus’ mascot, adorn the windows, doors and signs.
“Chefs are inventors by nature. We’ve surrounded ourselves with symbols that are part of Providence and our profession, with humor that fits our personality,” said Jenny Behm-Lazzarini, who oversaw the build-out. An outside bike rack, parking in the Biltmore Garage, and several RIPTA bus routes make RED FIN Crudo + Kitchen convenient destination at the basin of the City’s acclaimed ‘restaurant runway’ that is Washington Street.
Hotel Viking of Newport, Rhode Island Names Barry Correia Executive Chef of Hotel Viking
Hotel Viking of Newport, Rhode Island is pleased to announce the appointment of Barry Correia as Executive Chef of Hotel Viking. Chef Correia, a leader in healthy gourmet cuisine, brings more than 30 years of experience to Hotel Viking’s culinary team. As Executive Chef at Hotel Viking, Correia is responsible for all culinary operations serving both its popular award-winning restaurant One Bellevue as well as the rooftop bar Top of Newport in addition to the hotels banquet and catering programs.
“I am thrilled to join the Hotel Viking team,” said Chef Barry Correia who is taking over Chef Kevin Thiele’s position as Executive Chef. Thiele, who has been with Hotel Viking since 2004, will focus on his role as Food & Beverage Director. “We are going to launch new, innovative, seasonally-inspired menus, sourcing local, organic and sustainable ingredients.” Chef Correia will be creating new culinary programs at Hotel Viking including:
- Top of Newport, Hotel Viking’s rooftop bar which is open from Memorial Day until Labor Day: Chef Correia is crafting a new menu featuring fresh, sustainably sourced local seafood. He will also be developing a new tasting menu of Light Bites, which will be offered with the return of Spirits & Stogies, a special pairing of food, whiskeys and cigars held on Wednesdays at Top of Newport. On Fridays from 2pm until 6pm at Top of Newport, Correia will launch a special “Start at The Top” promotion with special offers on the chilled raw bar and cool summer cocktails.
- The Garden Patio: In addition to creating a new look and feel for Hotel Viking’s Garden Patio, located on the corner of Bellevue Avenue and Church Street, Chef Correia will launch a new tasting menu plus Beer & Bacon Thursdays this summer with craft beers and smoked bacon bouquets.
- One Bellevue, the signature restaurant at Hotel Viking: Chef Correia will introduce a Culinary Passport Series, which will feature cuisine from different culinary destinations around the world. The three-course tasting menu is $39 per person and the May 15 menu features Spain, June 12 features India, French cuisine will be the focus on July 10 and August 15 will feature Italy.
To book your reservations or purchase the Culinary Passport Series, call 401-848-4824. To stay up to date on all new developments, “LIKE” Hotel Viking at www.facebook.com/HotelViking
