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

GottaQ Smokehouse BBQ Asks for Your Vote To Be Named Mobile Cuisine’s Best Food Truck BBQ in America

GottaQ Smokehouse BBQ, based in Cumberland, RI, is poised to take home yet another award in Mobile Cuisine’s national Best Food Truck BBQ contest. Their authentic wood-smoked barbecue is served up on two food trucks, a BBQ trailer and a mobile smoker, as well as two brick & mortar locations, and a successful catering business. After placing 3rd in the annual contest three years in a row, GottaQ is ready to bring the top prize home to Little Rhody. The gang kindly asks for your support! This poll will wrap up on Friday, June 16, 2017 at 9:59 PM EST. Fans can vote daily via: https://mobile-cuisine.com/contest/2017-food-truck-bbq-of-the-year/.

“When we launched the company on April 25th, 2014 we had no idea how much of an impact we would have on the New England BBQ and food truck communities. People couldn’t get enough of GottaQ and their voice was strong enough to get us nominated as one of the top 10 BBQ food trucks in the country! We finished third, behind trucks from El Paso and Los Angeles.” said owner Michael Strout. “We’ve grown tremendously, and have continued to place third in the nation each year. We are so grateful to receive recognition and respect from our peers in the professional BBQ and food truck communities and have earned the chance to say that we are the #1 BBQ Food Truck in the USA. Please vote!”

In addition to GottaQ’s two brick & mortar locations, you can find the Q-Crew out and about on one of their food trucks, with their Festival BBQ trailer and soon from a new mobile smoker. Enjoy lunch in downtown Providence at Kennedy Plaza every Tuesday and Thursday from 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., or check them out at Food Truck Friday at Roger Williams Park Carousel Village every Friday night starting at 5 p.m. You can also find GottaQ serving at special events and festivals by following them on social media.

Hosting a summer party and want GottaQ to come to you? GottaQ offers simple solutions for all your catering needs with everything from easy pick-up platters, delivery upon request, to full on-site vending from one of their food trucks or the giant BBQ trailer. For more details and pricing, please visit: https://gottaq.com/catering.

Follow GottaQ Smokehouse BBQ on Facebook @GottaQ, Twitter @IGottaQ, and Instagram @GottaQbbq.

Eat Drink RI presents the Land & Sea Summer Farm Culinary Series with Blackbird Farm & Matunuck Oyster and Vegetable Farm

Eat Drink RI is thrilled to present a series of exclusive culinary experiences showcasing the bounty of summer in the Ocean State. The culinary marketing and events company, fresh off the successful sixth annual Eat Drink RI Festival, is partnering with Blackbird Farm in Smithfield, RI and Matunuck Oyster & Vegetable Farm in South Kingstown, RI for a series of eight open-air explorations. These curated, one-of-a-kind culinary adventures can only be experienced with Eat Drink RI.

Celebrate Independence Day weekend at one of the most-acclaimed beef and pork farms in New England, Blackbird Farm. Relax with a welcoming adult beverage and wander the idyllic farm pastures with a personal tour by farmer/owner Ann Marie Bouthillette. Learn about where your food comes from, how it’s raised and cared for, and enjoy a menu featuring the humanely raised 100% Black Angus beef and 100% American Heritage Berkshire pork.

This dinner experience begins at 4pm, with a cocktail hour and passed hors d’oeuvres, followed by a multi-course seated dinner with friends, paired with wine and beer by Jonathan Edwards Winery and Revival Brewing Company. Finish the evening with dessert and gorgeous sunset views. Tickets are $139 per guest, all inclusive.

The 2017 Blackbird Farm Dinner Series
Friday, June 30th | Chef Ashley Vanasse | Easy Entertaining
Saturday, July 1st | Chefs Eli Dunn & Jordan Goldsmith | Eli’s Kitchen & Moonrose Farm
Sunday, July 2nd | Chef Nick Rabar | Avenue N American Kitchen
Monday, July 3rd | Chef Maria Meza | El Rancho Grande

Oysters, bubbles, and a sea breeze more your style? Join us for the pond to plate Matunuck Oyster & Vegetable Farm series in South Kingstown. This experience begins at 3pm with a personalized tour of the organic vegetable farm at the edge of Potter Pond with owner Perry Raso followed by the freshest raw bar in town, with oysters harvested directly from the pond, paired with bubbles. Enjoy a seated dinner in Matunuck’s lush vegetable garden, overlooking the coastal lagoon. Chefs will prepare a four-course meal, paired with wines from The Wine Bros. and The Savory Grape, and beer by Narragansett Brewery. Tickets are $189 per guest, all inclusive.

The 2017 Matunuck Oyster & Vegetable Farm Dinner Series
Monday, July 24th | Chef Chris Kleyla | Statesman Tavern
Tuesday, July 25th | Chef Antonio Franco | Basta
Monday, August 21st | Chef Rick Allaire | Metacom Kitchen
Tuesday, August 22nd | Chef Derek Wagner | Nicks on Broadway

To purchase tickets, please visit www.eatdrinkri.com/landandsea.

Hope & Main’s Summer Farmers Market Returns on Father’s Day

Local Families Can Celebrate with Dads & Grads at ‘Schoolyard Market’

Hope & Main, Rhode Island’s first nonprofit food business incubator, announces its third Schoolyard Market season, open weekly on Sundays starting June 18 with a farmers-makers marketplace fit for families looking to enjoy their Sunday Funday focused on food. Locals can stock up on an unmatched variety of specialty foods and beverages all summer long with a cast of 48 Rhode Island and Massachusetts-based vendors including 30 Hope & Main members.

Schoolyard Market features a unique, interactive experience where market-goers can sample and purchase products made by many small food start-ups who create their products onsite at Hope & Main in their shared-use, commercial kitchens. Says Hope & Main Founder, Lisa Raiola, “The Schoolyard Market consumer is actually part of the incubation process by providing input and feedback to these budding food entrepreneurs. We have had many companies crowd source and perfect their recipes, packaging and branding during the Schoolyard Market season. That makes this market unlike any other local food experience.”

Sip on coffee, cold-pressed juice, kombucha and sodas over brunch or lunch. Chefs are cooking on-site making meals to order as well as offering pre-prepared packaged foods ready for picnics and family occasions. Find fresh doughnuts, savory and sweet pastries, specialty confections, traditional sourdough breads, as well as handcrafted packaged items like granola, sauces, spreads, jams and pickles. Also find farm fresh fruits and vegetables, honey, eggs, meat and poultry raised within just 25 miles of Warren.

Market day activities promise fun for everyone all season, including live music, cooking demonstrations, “FEEDback” customer taste-test surveys, backyard games, face painting, storytelling and facility tours. Locals can look forward to additional specials events occurring monthly like chef competitions, talks and interactive demonstrations with experts in food, agriculture and gardening.

Especially for Father’s Day, Schoolyard Market will offer a great selection of “Dude Food” including favorites like tacos and chili. Backyard aficionados will be glad to meet Master Gardener Valerie Harvey, the keeper of Hope & Main’s organic garden classroom. Valerie will share sage wisdom with aspiring farmers and gardeners eager to dig in to their own backyards.
Schoolyard Market welcomes customers with EBT/SNAP/WIC and/or Senior Citizen vouchers using the Farm Fresh Rhode Island “Fresh Bucks” market coin system.

Schoolyard Market happens at Hope & Main, 691 Main Street, Warren, RI 02885. Free and open to the public every Sunday until October 29, 10 a.m. – 2 p.m. Rain or shine. Public parking. Dog friendly. More information is available at http://www.makefoodyourbusiness.org/market

Sage Cellars Introduces La Sirena Winery

Sage Cellars brings world famous winemaker Heidi Barrett’s label to the Rhode Island market

It is with great excitement that Sage Cellars introduces La Sirena Winery to their portfolio of worldly wines. La Sirena is created by world renowned winemaker, Heidi Barrett, the first female winemaker from the Napa region. Barrett has earned five 100 point wines from Wine Advocate critic Robert Parker, who has called her “The First Lady of Wine”. Prior to starting La Sirena, Barrett was a winemaker for Screaming Eagle in Napa Valley, CA. Her Screaming Eagle 1992 6L vintage bottle sold for $500,000 at the 2000 Napa Valley Auction, setting the world record for the highest price paid for a single bottle of wine.

La Sirena varietals are made in small production in Barrett’s hometown of Calistoga, California. Living among her vineyards, the wines are near and dear to her heart and are “made with great care and the highest quality in mind”. Barrett creates varietals for some of the most prestigious labels, while continuing to produce for her own labels, Barrett & Barrett and, of course, La Sirena.

Sage Cellars is proud to introduce 4 varietals from La Sirena to the Rhode Island market. The 2013 Cabernet Sauvignon is the “crown jewel” of La Sirena, and this elegant yet balanced wine will not disappoint. The 2015 Moscato Azul, the only white wine from La Sirena, is a fan favorite that has a perfumey aroma with crisp acidity and pairs well with many dishes during those warm summer nights. The popular 2012 Le Barrettage is a Syrah-based blend with rich, velvety, earthy and ripe flavors. Last, but not least, the 2013 Pirate TreasuRED is a big, bold and complex red blend. ​The base of this wine is Cabernet and Syrah, but also features Grenache and Merlot, as well as small amounts of Cab Franc, Petit Verdot, and Petite Syrah.

Sage Cellars is a Rhode Island based company owned and operated by trained professionals in wine and beer. As owners Anne Sage and Jesse Sgro explain: “Our passion for great craftsmanship runs deep and is born out of a life of dedicated study. Our business model is based on a simple premise: We choose to work with companies with whom we feel an equal excitement for their wines or beers and believe pairs well with the Rhode Island consumer. Our focus has been with family run vineyards, we are also a family business and understand the value in our industry. We listen closely, provide genuine and valuable support both for our quality products in our portfolio and our customers who sustain us.”