Could one of the unexpected benefits of this past year we have all endured be that our palates are ready for adventure? It would seem to be the case with new restaurants and concepts opening their doors and existing restaurants and food companies turning out tastes and styles that would have been unheard of a couple of years ago.
Plant-based fare is more popular than ever. This was true even before the pandemic. PB Bistro and Bar in East Greenwich, the original Plant City in Providence and its sibling in Middletown are more than holding their own. Creative specialty items are coming from all corners, including at the grocery store. A hot item is the new Ming’s Bings from the inventive kitchen of celebrity chef Ming Tsai, who created it out of necessity when his wife, recuperating from cancer, changed her diet and he found the non-meat selections lacking.
A quiet food revolution is taking place at several restaurants throughout the state as a mainstay from Canada establishes an outpost here.
Poutine, the dish popular among French Canadians, is showing up on several restaurant menus in Rhode Island. It has become established enough to have its own tasting competition. The Poutine Indulgence is now in its fifth year and benefits the Museum of Work and Culture in Woonsocket.
Between March 15 and April 11, event ticket-holders are sampling poutine (a traditional Québecois dish of French fries smothered in gravy and cheese curds) from seven restaurants via curbside pickup. They then vote online for their favorite. Restaurants include Adelines: A Speakeasy Kitchen Bar in Cumberland, Bywater in Warren, Ciro’s Tavern in Woonsocket, Durk’s Bar-B-Q in Providence, Friskie Fries in Johnston, KG Kitchen Bar in Providence and Ming’s Asian Street Food in Pawtucket.
Poutine has a disputed history, but it’s generally accepted that it was invented in rural Quebec in the 1950s. The story goes that in 1957 a customer at Fernand LaChance’s restaurant in Warwick, Quebec, requested a bag of French fries mixed with cheese curds. LaChance reportedly commented it would be messy to eat, using the Quebec French slang term for “mess” – poutine. The gravy was not added until 1964, in a Quebec restaurant owned by Jean-Paul Roy. Roy sold a dish of gravy-slathered fries, but when he noticed customers ordering a side of cheese curds with it, he combined all three to make the popular dish we know today.
My radio show is carried on Vermont radio stations and I have had an education in poutine. It is as ubiquitous a dish there as clam cakes are in Rhode Island. Just like our local specialty, poutine is found on restaurant menus in every category from fast food to fine dining. Some Rhode Island versions have taken things to the next level. In the Museum of Work and Culture competition, there are special touches such as hand-cut fries, locally sourced cheese, house-made gravy from short ribs, pork and smoked venison, herbs and secret aioli.
Inspiration for the dishes comes from family recipes – as proprietor Phil Giguere of Adeline’s put it: “There are a lot of French folks around here!” – and from restaurants where some of the chefs cut their culinary chops, such as Kevin Gaudreau of KG Kitchen Bar. Ming’s Asian Street Food is serving up a version of poutine with gravy from the Vietnamese comfort food, pho. Yes, they call it “pho-tine.” The Poutine Indulgence will culminate on April 11 with Salute to Spring~Bonjours Printemps. The event will begin at 3 p.m. with a livestream on Facebook featuring the announcement of the winning restaurant, as well as entertainment for ticket-holders featuring a livestreamed performance by Québecois band Mélisande from Canada.
(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.)
