As the summer begins, each day at your favorite local restaurant brings a new challenge.
Overwhelming demand plus staffing issues and keeping standards and quality at a high level are a heavy lift. Every restaurant has been affected by the pandemic. Some owner-operators are handling it quietly, out of the spotlight. The ordeal of the past 15 months has taken its toll. Unfortunately, the tone of the food media and consumer media alike continues to paint a picture of an industry reeling from multiple traumas and barely able to hang on but for the grace of government. In Rhode Island, restaurant owner-operators are exceeding customer expectations with a fraction of the staff they employed before March 2020, with continuing government restrictions – these days accompanied by the glacial pace of increased vaccination numbers. This is in addition to prohibitive cost increases for supplies and supply-line bottlenecks.
The quiet, out-of-the-spotlight method that even the best-run restaurants are having to employ these days is to turn away some guests. Be assured that this is as painful as it gets for a restaurateur – almost worse than being ordered to shut down completely. Service is a high calling to the vast majority of restaurant owner-operators. It is second nature to each proprietor, chef, manager and most servers. Reservations are essential and are being adhered to as never before.
Another big change in dining is that simple, comfort foods are the rule. Fine dining with ingredient-driven culinary acrobatics has not yet made its return. The familiar and the comfortable are to be expected. That does not mean quality has suffered. In fact, it may be just the opposite. You will be in for the highest-quality version of classic dishes possibly ever.
The fried chicken sandwich is enjoying a moment these days, with adornments and techniques that would rival some of the most elaborate dining triumphs on any restaurant row. And so goes the humble hot dog.
Harry’s Bar & Burger, which has locations in Providence, Lincoln and Newport, has teamed up with artisanal sausage maker Gastros Craft Meats in Woonsocket and has made Gastros’ award-winning hot dogs a permanent part of the menu.
Harrison Elkhay, co-owner of Harry’s Bar & Burger and vice president of Harry’s parent company Chow Fun Inc., said in an interview that the history between Harry’s and Gastros goes back over five years. “I remember around 2014 when Chez Pascal had their food truck parked in the Roger Williams National Park across the street from the original Harry’s and [Gastros founders] Travis Gervasio and Owen Doyle were serving up some great hot dogs!” Elkhay would take a daily walk after the lunch rush to take a hot dog break.
Elkhay recalled that from the start, those “dogs” were well-bred: “Locally made, super-quality ingredients, Berkshire pork and Wagyu beef spiced in the classic tradition and packed into a natural casing.” Gervasio and Doyle began their company after leaving Chez Pascal, producing their hot dogs and other sausages in a federally inspected facility in Rhode Island. Harry’s began featuring Gastros as the foundation of a subset of its burger menu with creations such as the All American Dog topped with ketchup, spicy mustard, raw onions and diced pickles. There is a chili dog with chili, chopped onions and mustard. Gastros hot dogs are available at all Harry’s Bar & Burger locations.
The best advice for the foreseeable future is to make a reservation at your favorite restaurant as far in advance as you can. Then keep it or be courteous enough to cancel it if you can’t make it. Be patient. And be nice.
Bruce Newbury’s radio show and podcast, “Dining Out with Bruce Newbury,” is broadcast on WADK 1540 AM and several radio stations throughout New England. Email him at Bruce@BruceNewbury.com.
