Two new restaurants have just opened in Newport. An Italian bistro called Vieste is now in the original Stoneacre space on lower Thames Street. To the north, on that same restaurant row, another pizza concept has moved in to 372 Thames to be known as Il Forno Italiano.
In Smithfield, the cutting-edge Blackie’s Bulldog Tavern just put the finishing touches on its new location at 280 George Washington Highway, about a mile closer to Lincoln Mall from its former site. The new, larger Blackie’s is scheduled to open on Aug. 20.
Last fall, a new operation quietly began in two of the state’s growth industries: restaurants and brewing. Apponaug Brewing Co. tapped its first keg in the former Pontiac Mills in Warwick. Then, co-founder and self-titled “Beer EO” Tamara McKenney decided to add a restaurant. Head brewer Justin Tisdale has a background in chemistry and puts it through its paces with eclectic and interesting brews. At a business gathering in July, he served a Berliner Weisse – a hazy, refreshing “sour” summer beer he had just created. If Tisdale had served this according to tradition, it would have come with a fruit syrup the drinker adds just before drinking. Instead, he simply added fresh raspberries to the brewing process, creating a unique and appealing warm-weather sipper. Then there is Apponaug’s Imperial Stout, which spends time in Thomas Tew rum barrels, almost creating an all-in-one Dark and Stormy.
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ECLECTIC BREWS: Head brewer Justin Tisdale stands in front of one of the tanks at Apponaug Brewing. There are eight to 10 craft brews on tap daily at the brewpub in the former Pontiac Mills building in Warwick.
/ PBN PHOTO/BRUCE NEWBURY[/caption]
With such creative examples of the brewer’s art, it was not much of a stretch to bring on creative food pairings. McKenney calls the menu “upscale bar food,” with an emphasis on shared plates of comfort food. The signature menu item is house-made chicken and waffles. The Korean beef taco is also a favorite.
The brewpub is undergoing a chef change now, with its original chef about to leave to take a position with another new restaurant, in Jamestown. The new chef is Leann Ucci, who came from another beer-oriented eatery and has a creative palate. She is working with Tisdale on new, beer-friendly food pairings.
McKenney spends a lot of time doing what she calls “thinking about what people think about food.” She is keenly aware of the fact that not everyone drinks beer, so Apponaug Brewing has a limited selection of spirits for patrons to choose a cocktail as an alternative. McKenney makes an excellent point, one many proprietors and chefs of eclectic and ethnic restaurants deal with on a day-to-day basis, when she says if one member of a group is not a fan of a place’s style of food – or beer in Apponaug’s case – the group is likely to go elsewhere.
The current popularity of “plant-based” foods – formerly known as vegetarian – is at the forefront of menu-making. McKenney views the trend as a conversation starter. There is a significant number of foodies who want to explore, and plant-based dishes are prime territory to do just that. There appears to be a bit of a pushback on the headline-grabbing Impossible Burger or Beyond Meat so-called vegan burger – some are turned off by the idea the taste is “just like meat.” As one woman put it, “That’s why I don’t eat meat – because I don’t like the taste!”
Today’s restaurant is taking the place of family feeding. Our culture is now two generations deep in never having learned how to cook. So, when an eatery closes its doors, it can have much the same effect as the loss of a family member. Conversely, it takes time to develop a new family relationship. As is evidenced by the immediate success of these new places, that time is quite short – about the time it takes to welcome a new pet.
Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” radio talk show is heard Saturdays at 11 a.m. on 1540 AM WADK, on radio throughout New England, through various mobile applications and his podcast. Email Bruce at Bruce@brucenewbury.com.
