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News Bites: Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen, The Pizza Gourmet, Papa Razzi

by David Dadekian
written by David Dadekian
Grand Opening at the Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen

Grand Opening at the Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen

Current news releases—Eat Drink RI is not the source for these items—please follow any links for more information.

Fishermen in Newport Celebrate Grand Opening of Lobster Shack Kitchen at State Pier Nine in Newport

New Waterfront Eatery on the State Pier Offers Steamed Lobster Dinners, Fresh Lobster Rolls, Lobsterman’s Bisque and More Made from Lobsters Landed Right in Newport at Pier Nine on Long Wharf

The Department of Environmental Management, in partnership with the Fishermen in Newport, hosted a grand opening and ribbon-cutting event today at State Pier Nine in Newport for the new Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen.

The Kitchen is an outgrowth of the popular Newport Lobster Shack Cooperative at the state pier on Long Wharf, where the Fishermen in Newport have been selling their catch – lobsters, crabs and conch – directly to the public since 2010. Now, with the new kitchen facility, the public has an opportunity to purchase a variety of freshly cooked items made directly from lobsters landed at Pier Nine. Visitors to Newport can now enjoy an affordable, local seafood meal ‘picnic-style’ under the shade pavilion on Newport’s working waterfront.

According to DEM Director Janet Coit, the Newport Lobster Shack Cooperative is a powerful model for the survival of local fisheries. By selling their catch directly to the public, the fishermen can earn better value for their product, while ensuring that visitors have a stellar Rhode Island seafood experience.

“I am pleased that economic and environmental sustainability were addressed with this innovative idea to support Rhode Island’s hard working fishermen,” Governor Lincoln D. Chafee said. “I thank Director Coit and her staff for their work to support our environment and economy.”

DEM Director Coit noted that this collaborative initiative with the Fishermen in Newport is one of DEM’s efforts to add economic value to the Rhode Island fishing industry. “All of the Kitchen’s menu items including fresh steamed lobster, lobster rolls, lobster bites, lobster cakes, and hand-picked local lobster meat come straight from the lobsters plucked by fishermen in local waters and landed right here at State Pier Nine. You can’t get any fresher than that!”

Lobster typically ranks as Rhode Island’s second most valuable commercial fishery, behind squid. Lobster landings in Rhode Island (including dockside sales) in 2013 totaled 2.1 million pounds for a value of $9.7 million. Approximately 645,000 pounds were harvested by Newport fishermen for a value of $3.1 million. As Rhode Island-landed lobster are processed and move into the wholesale and retail markets, the total value of the fishery increases substantially – likely approaching $28 million – making it a crucial part of the state’s economy. Rhode Island has approximately 250 lobster fishermen, with 45 landing lobster in Newport.

“I want to congratulate the Newport Fishermen’s Cooperative and all the fishermen here at State Pier Nine for coming together to make the Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen a success. This endeavor is really their vision supported by their investment of time, hard work, funding, and resources. I hope it will be a boon to their businesses and that continues to draw even more people to the Newport waterfront to enjoy some locally caught, fresh off-the-boat-fresh lobster and seafood,” said U.S. Senator Jack Reed, who has worked with Rhode Island lobstermen over the years to secure federal funding for lobster gear exchanges and an ongoing lobster data collection project led by the Commercial Fisheries Research Foundation. Reed has also been a champion of the “eat local” and tide-to-table movement in Rhode Island and led efforts at the federal level to help local growers, fishermen, and farmers market and sell their products.

Today, Senator Reed, a senior member of the Appropriations Commerce, Justice, Science Subcommittee, announced that the U.S. Department of Commerce will be providing another $190,000 in federal funding for URI, in cooperation with the Rhode Island Lobsterman’s Association and others, to design and test new types of lobster and crab gear.

House Speaker Nicholas Mattiello said, “I have focused my energy since becoming Speaker earlier this year on improving our state’s economy. The fishing industry is a very important industry, and I am proud to support efforts such as this one to promote our hard-working fishermen and women.”

President of the Senate M. Teresa Paiva Weed said, “This is a creative partnership that helps keep jobs in Rhode Island. The Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen supports an important industry, enabling fishermen to market locally harvested and locally prepared seafood direct to consumers. It wouldn’t have been possible without Director Janet Coit, and the Senate appreciates her commitment to working with the state’s fishermen to help maintain this vital industry.”

“I visit the fishing pier regularly and I am very excited to see this new facility being opened that will be so helpful to our local fishermen,” noted Representative Peter Martin of Newport. “As a former commissioner on the Atlantic States Fisheries Commission, I truly value the importance of Rhode Island’s fishing industry.”

Representative Deborah Ruggiero of Jamestown added, “The fishing industry is so important to our state’s economy and I am thrilled about the opening of the Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen. I buy lobsters year-round at the pier and it’s exciting to see the expansion from retail sales to a restaurant. I encourage everyone in our state to buy local and eat fresh!”
In addition to the Lobster Shack and Lobster Shack Kitchen, Pier Nine is the site of a farmers’ market that opened in collaboration between DEM and the Pier Nine fishermen in 2011. Located at the edge of Newport Harbor, the market is open Fridays from 2 p.m. to 6 p.m. through October.

The family-friendly Newport Lobster Shack Kitchen is open daily from 12 p.m. to 6 p.m. and is offering several grand opening specials through Labor Day.

 

The Pizza Gourmet Kicks Off Season at Fall Venues

Wood Grilled Pizza Stars At Sports Stadiums and Events Nationwide

From Rhode Island across the nation, The Pizza Gourmet is adding to football fans’ enjoyment this new season. The Pizza Gourmet real wood grilled pizza is being served from pregame to the final gun at pro football venues including Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Massachusetts. The specialty pizza made only from hand-stretched dough grilled at 1800 degrees over real oak and maple wood is served to VIP guests at games as well as in the clubhouse.

Baseball fans enjoy The Pizza Gourmet as well at the home of Cleveland’s big league club, Progressive Field.
And this fall and winter, hometown fans will have the advantage at the University of Rhode Island where a Pizza Gourmet-themed concession stand will open in the Ryan Center. URI’s athletic department and fraternity/sorority foodservice is featuring the real wood-grilled pizza as well.

The Pizza Gourmet and The Catering Gourmet will unveil their brand new food truck, The G Truck, at the Peace & Providence Festival September 6th at the Roger Williams National Memorial in Providence. The G Truck will be at select events throughout New England serving The Pizza Gourmet’s original wood-grilled pizzas and a full menu of food that can only be described as casual and fun. At the Festival, the Catering Gourmet will be located in eight food tents and will be featuring BBQ, doughboys, sandwiches such as sausage and peppers, wraps, ice cream and house made potato chips and fries.

At this year’s Newport Mansions Wine and Food Festival, the Pizza Gourmet will be joining the scores of celebrity chefs and winemakers who come to this world-class tasting and education weekend. The Pizza Gourmet’s wood-grilled pizza will be served at the Grand Tasting at Marble House September 20th and 21st.

 

Weekly Specials at Papa Razzi

Mangia Monday (Every Monday, All Day 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.)

  • All entrées are $15.99 all day on Mondays
  • Add an appetizer, pizza or antipasto or salad for only $7.99
  • Add a glass of our house red or white wine for only $5.99
  • *Purchase of entrée required to receive special pricing on appetizers & wine

Brunch & Bubbly (Every Saturday and Sunday from 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.) (*Also on Monday Holidays at the same time)

  • Join us all weekend long and Monday holidays for our classic Papa Razzi brunch offerings.
  • With purchase of a brunch entrée, your first drink is on us, with your choice of a Bellini or Mimosa.

Spaghetti Notte (Every Wednesday, All day 11:30 a.m. – 10 p.m.)

  • Join us Wednesday for your choice of four signature pastas, soup, salad or pizza for $19.99
  • With a bottle of red or white wine $29.99
  • Seasonal promotions cannot be combined with any other offers
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Eat Drink RI Festival Rhode Island’s All-Local Food Celebration Expands to Four Days in Providence

by David Dadekian
written by David Dadekian

Eat Drink RI Festival

EAT DRINK RI FESTIVAL
RHODE ISLAND’S ALL-LOCAL FOOD CELEBRATION
EXPANDS TO FOUR DAYS IN PROVIDENCE
Thursday, April 24 through Sunday, April 27

PROVIDENCE, RI (March 11, 2013) – Showcasing the best of the ever-expanding Rhode Island culinary scene, the Eat Drink RI Festival is returning to Providence for an expanded four-day all-local food festival. Taking place Thursday, April 24th through Sunday, April 27th, the Festival, now in it’s third year, will be held throughout downtown Providence, which was named among the best small cities for restaurants and dining in the world in Saveur magazine’s 2013 Culinary Travel Awards.

The Eat Drink RI Festival will feature a star-studded line-up of over 80 chefs, farmers, bartenders and producers including: James Beard Foundation Best Chef Northeast semifinalists Benjamin Sukle of birch and Champe Speidel of Persimmon, eight top culinary instructors from Johnson & Wales University, Gold Medal Cheese award-winning Narragansett Creamery, Blackbird Farm, two-time James Beard Foundation Rising Star nominee Chef Derek Wagner of Nick’s on Broadway, Easy Entertaining Inc., Good Food Award winner Daniele Inc., Dave’s Coffee, Walrus and Carpenter Oysters, among many others.

“The food and beverage community is a powerful economic generator in Rhode Island – and an oft-cited reason tourists and meetings choose to visit the Ocean State,” said Martha Sheridan, President and CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The Eat Drink RI Festival presents a wonderful opportunity to celebrate one of the country’s finest culinary scenes.”

Festival highlights include:

THURSDAY, APRIL 24
Rhode Island Chefs Feast – Gracie’s
Eight of the finest Rhode Island chefs to graduate from Johnson & Wales University, paired with eight of the best culinary faculty at JWU, present a culinary experience like none other, hosted at Ellen Slattery’s Gracie’s in Providence. Guests at this unique Eat Drink RI Festival opening event will be treated to a reception with passed canapés, breads baked in a mobile wood-fired oven, a seated six-course dinner with dessert, and treats—all prepared by a group of sixteen chefs with over 300 years of combined culinary experience. These experiences include winning World Champion awards, Chef of the Year awards, James Beard award nominations and more. Wines will be paired by Jonathan Edwards Winery, along with beers paired by Rhode Island’s own Revival Brewing Company. A portion of the proceeds from this event will benefit AIDS Project Rhode Island.

FRIDAY, APRIL 25
Truck Stop to Benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank – Bank of America Center, Kennedy Plaza
This hugely popular Festival event returns in 2014 with 50% more trucks! Admission includes tastings from sixteen of Rhode Island’s best mobile restaurants, along with wine and beer from several local producers. Benefiting Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Stop’s participating trucks include Acacia Café, Championship Melt, Ellie’s Bakery, Flour Girls Baking Co., Fugo, Gilded Tomato, Like No Udder, Lotus Pepper, Mijos Tacos, Noble Knots, Presto Strange O, Portu-galo, RISD’s Rosie Eats to Go, Rocket Fine Street Food, and Tallulah.

“Truck Stop is an amazing celebration of Rhode Island’s culinary creativity, and we are so honored to be the beneficiary of this event,” said Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer of the RI Community Food Bank. “This important fundraiser will help us put food on the table of thousands of hungry families in Rhode Island.”

SATURDAY, APRIL 26
Grand Tasting presented by Rhody Bites – Providence Biltmore Grand Ballroom
The Grand Tasting is our showcase of over forty local food, wine, beer and spirit exhibitors, all gathered in the Biltmore Grand Ballroom overlooking the city of Providence. During the Tasting there will be four expanded Local Food & Drink Seminars, all included with admission to the Grand Tasting, these seminars include cooking demonstrations and discussions with birch’s Chef Benjamin Sukle and Indie Growers’s Lee Ann Freitas, Easy Entertaining’s Chef Kaitlyn Roberts and Blackbird Farm’s Ann Marie Bouthillette and Nick’s on Broadway’s Chef Derek Wagner.

SUNDAY, APRIL 27
Grand Brunch – Providence Biltmore Grand Ballroom
The Festival will come to a close with two seatings for Brunch. There will be ten stations with dishes prepared by several of the area’s top culinary stars including: Ellie’s Bakery’s Melissa Denmark, Food & Wine “People’s Best New Pastry Chef 2012” nominee, local pioneer Chef Ben Wood of Wildwood, Martha Stewart Weddings baker Kelly Dull of the soon-to-open north bakery, Chef Kevin Thiele of the world-renowned Hotel Viking in Newport, Joe Simone of PBS’s The Chefs of Cucina Amore, Mexican icon Maria Meza of El Rancho Grande and more. Specialty cocktails will be created by Little Bitte Artisanal Cocktails and a coffee bar will be provided by New Harvest Coffee Roasters.

The Grand Brunch is accompanied by live jazz performances from Rhode Island Philharmonic musicians, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Philharmonic’s Music Education programs. “The funds we receive from the Festival are used to support our efforts to bring music education to every elementary school child (50,000 in all) in our region over the next 4 years,” said Betty Ann Kearney, Director of Development for the RI Philharmonic. “Through efforts like Eat Drink RI we were able to bring 10,000 children to the Vets Auditorium to play and sing with the RI Philharmonic Orchestra.”

For more information about the Eat Drink RI Festival or to purchase tickets, please visit www.eatdrinkri.com/festival online, on Facebook at facebook.com/eatdrinkri.

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Fund Julius Searight’s Food4Good Mobile Soup Kitchen

by David Dadekian
written by David Dadekian

Food4Good Mobile Soup Kitchen

“You’re already spending money to eat. Why not spend it for you and someone else to eat?”

That’s the question CEO and founder of Food4Good, Julius Searight, wants you to consider. Searight wants to launch a “non-profit Social Conscience food truck,” and he’s looking for your help to crowdfund it. Searight’s plan sounds straightforward, but hasn’t been tried before: to create a food truck business who’s sales will help fund a mobile soup kitchen.

The idea sprung out of Searight’s love for cooking and his desire to give back to the community. Having grown up in foster homes—Searight was in 13 foster homes before the age of 3, when he first came to his now-adoptive family—he’s always gravitated toward community service. As he told me when we met at the Johnson & Wales University Entrepreneurship Center, he knows what it feels like to not have a lot and wants to give back. So while Searight studied at JWU in the Culinary and Food Service Management program he was always trying to find ways to give back.

Searight joined the Americorps program and was placed at Crossroads Rhode Island around 10-15 hours a week. Halfway through his time there they moved him to the family program to run the food program. He would hear moms say to their children, “Don’t eat a lot for dinner, you’ll eat tomorrow at school.” Searight realized “those families didn’t want to go to a soup kitchen. They know by Friday, or next week, mom will get a paycheck, so they feel a need to hold themselves over until they can.” Searight would see that a lot of the kids in the family program were hungry, “but they don’t want to say they’re hungry.”

Realizing that there’s a group of people with limited resources, Searight started to formulate a business model using his culinary education that he’s hoping can help people who won’t go to a soup kitchen, for whatever reason, but may use one that’s made available to them where they live.

His plan is to launch a food truck that will operate like any other three days a week, selling great food to the public–his planned menu includes comfort finger-food items like wings, fries and shakes. The sales from those three days will in turn fund the truck’s role the other four days of the week, acting as a mobile soup kitchen.

Searight hopes to hand out about 100 hot meals a day to those that come when Food4Good is in mobile soup kitchen mode. It will be first come, first serve and he’s looking at locations around the city, hoping to cover the south side, west end, north end and east side, one day each a week. Searight is currently looking for those right spots, thinking he could partner with a library or with a community center to find a location that will help the most people in need.

Food4Good Fundraiser and Silent Auction

Searight also plans to connect with local corporations to ask them to sponsor days or weeks of food, using their donations to allow Food4Good to give away healthy, nutritious food when it’s a soup kitchen. He’s been talking to farmers markets and restaurants to donate their “seconds” (food not considered visually pretty to sell, but completely edible). The beauty of being a mobile restaurant is his truck can come and get food donations from places, instead of putting the burden upon the donors to deliver it to Food4Good.

If Searight raises the needed funds to launch the business, essentially to buy the truck, he hopes to be up and running in the Spring of 2014. Typical of an entrepreneur, Searight is already thinking he would like to apply the model to other cities, looking at Central Falls and Pawtucket.

Food4Good needs your funding now to make this possible. Searight has been honing the plan and working out the kinks for over a year now. He entered and competed in Providence Startup Weekend 2012, where he came in 3rd place. Searight pitched it at the JWU pitch event SharkFest, where he didn’t win, but was allowed to come to the Entrepreneurship Center as an intern where he’s been incubating the business.

He’s applied for 501(c)(3) status for Food4Good and registered with the state of Rhode Island as a non-profit so he can apply for grants. There is a traditional fundraising event on November 1st from 6:30 – 8:30 p.m., at the JWU Entrepreneurship Center in downtown Providence. Tickets are $25 (purchase online here) and there will be a silent auction to raise funds as well.

When it was suggested to me to look into Food4Good I watched Searight’s summary pitch on his Foodstart fundraising page, as soon as that ended I felt compelled to search out his original video from JWU’s Fearless speaker series, and then I immediately sent a message to the head of the series to put me in touch with Searight (both videos are featured below).

Searight’s passion for his project is infectious on video and even more so in person. There are many worthwhile crowdfunded projects and charities to help but I hope you put Food4Good at the top of your list and help out with whatever you can. The links again:

As Searight said, when you eat from the Food4Good truck, “maybe your meal from will cost a dollar more. You’re already spending money to eat. Why not spend it for you and someone else to eat?”

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Eat Drink RI Festival Rhode Island’s First-Ever Three-Day Local Food Celebration Comes to Providence

by David Dadekian
written by David Dadekian

Eat Drink RI Festival

EAT DRINK RI FESTIVAL
RHODE ISLAND’S FIRST-EVER THREE-DAY LOCAL FOOD CELEBRATION
COMES TO PROVIDENCE
Friday, April 19 through Sunday, April 21

PROVIDENCE, RI (March 1, 2013) – Celebrating the best of the culinary world in Rhode Island, the Eat Drink RI Festival is set to take the stage as the state’s very first three-day local food festival. Taking place Friday, April 19th through Sunday, April 21st, the inaugural festival will be held throughout downtown Providence, the city ranked #1 for Food / Drink / Restaurants in Travel + Leisure‘s “America’s Favorite Cities 2012.”

The Eat Drink RI Festival will feature a star-studded line-up of over 40 chefs, farmers, bartenders and producers including: James Beard Foundation Best Chef Northeast semifinalist Champe Speidel of Persimmon, Blackbird Farm, Jonathan Edwards Winery, James Beard Foundation Rising Star semifinalist Benjamin Sukle of The Dorrance, United States Bartenders’ Guild RI, Revival Brewing, Allen Farms, Dave’s Coffee, among others.

“Rhode Island’s culinary roots run very deep and have helped play a major role in the state’s unique identity and culture,” says Martha Sheridan, President & CEO of the Providence Warwick Convention & Visitors Bureau. “The Eat Drink RI Festival will celebrate our local food community and embrace a very important component of our heritage.”

The Eat Drink RI Festival is sponsored in part by Johnson & Wales University, world-renowned for its College of Culinary Arts and a driving force behind the rise of Providence as a top culinary destination on the world stage; and family-owned charcuterie maker Daniele, Inc., a proud member of the RI culinary community since 1976.

Festival highlights include:

FRIDAY, APRIL 19

Truck Stop to Benefit the Rhode Island Community Food Bank – Bank of America Center, Kennedy Plaza
The Festival will kick-off with tastings from 10 of Rhode Island’s best mobile restaurants, and pairings by Jonathan Edwards Winery and Narragansett Brewery.  Benefiting Rhode Island Community Food Bank, the Stop’s participating trucks include Championship Melt, Clam Jammers, Flour Girls Baking Co., Hewtin’s Dogs Mobile, Joedega, Like No Udder, Mijos Tacos, Rocket Fine Street Food, and Tallulah. “Truck Stop showcases the best of Rhode Island—our culinary talents as well as our compassion for those who are struggling to feed their families,” says Andrew Schiff, Chief Executive Officer of the Rhode Island Community Food Bank.

Cocktail Couture – Providence Biltmore Garden Room
Presented in partnership with StyleWeek Northeast, Cocktail Couture will pair the talents of Rhode Island fashion with the talents found behind the bar. The event will feature the works of local designers including Jessica Abernethy, Jonathan Joseph Peters and Nick Pini; with specialty cocktails created by Little Bitte Artisanal Cocktails. A portion of the proceeds will benefit AIDS Care Ocean State.

SATURDAY, APRIL 20

Education Panels – Providence Biltmore L’Apogee
Day two will begin with four panels dedicated to educating and entertaining attendees on the abundance and quality of local food and drink:

  • Slice & Dice: Hosted by Curt Columbus, food enthusiast and Artistic Director of Trinity Repertory Company, this roundtable with chefs from Gracie’s, Nick’s on Broadway, Persimmon and Tazza will speak to the essential know-how’s of cooking in Rhode Island.
  • Eat Local: Featuring local growers including Allen Farms, Aquidneck Honey and Blackbird Farm, the discussion will focus on the initiatives of this vital business and the process of farm to table.
  • Taste of Terroir: Embracing the true flavors of New England earth, Jonathan Edwards and other area winemakers will take a journey through local wine regions.
  • Brewing in Rhode Island: Discussion and tasting with local microbrewers including Revival Brewing and Ravenous Brewing Company.

Grand Tasting presented by Providence Monthly – Providence Biltmore Grand Ballroom
As the main Festival event, the Grand Tasting will feature beer, wine and spirit tastings as well as products from local food artisans. The highly anticipated demonstrations, The Tastemakers, will pair the region’s top chefs with local farmers to showcase the best in farm-to-fork cuisine.

SUNDAY, APRIL 21

Grand Brunch – Gracie’s
The Festival will come to a close at Gracie’s, Providence’s only AAA Four-Diamond restaurant; with dishes prepared by several of the area’s top culinary stars including: Gracie’s own Melissa Denmark, Food & Wine “People’s Best New Pastry Chef 2012” nominee; local pioneer Jonathan Cambra; vegetarian stars Jon Dille and Jordan Goldsmith; Momofuku alum James Mark; local WJAR NBC’s Chef Kaitlyn Roberts of Easy Entertaining Inc.; Joe Simone of PBS’s The Chefs of Cucina Amore; and two-time James Beard Foundation Rising Star nominee Derek Wagner. Artisan cocktails will be provided by members of the United States Bartenders’ Guild, RI Chapter, one of the fastest growing chapters in the country. In addition, the brunch will be accompanied by live performances from the Rhode Island Philharmonic, with a portion of the proceeds benefiting the Philharmonic’s Music Education programs.

For more information about the Eat Drink RI Festival or to purchase tickets, please visit www.eatdrinkri.com/festival online, on Facebook at facebook.com/eatdrinkri.

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