New Restaurant Row springs up along water

PBN Staff

07/30/2011

A new Restaurant Row has sprung up along the waterfront in Warren. Seemingly overnight, like the tides that come into the harbor and lift all the boats, no fewer than four new eateries are in various stages of opening their doors this summer.
Located among the historic homes and businesses along Water Street on the way to the Bay Queen docks, the Wharf Tavern has come back to life. Restaurateur Greg Esmay and his wife, Sue, who made a name for themselves acquiring and restoring the beloved Old Grist Mill in Seekonk, are hoping for the same results with the Wharf. Esmay’s approach is to retain the spirit of the long-time-favorite spot, while bringing the menu in line with the tastes of today.
The actual Warren town wharf is located two doors down from the restaurant known as the Wharf. Located a few steps from the town dock is another brand-new restaurant, this one called Trafford. Named for the chef, Trafford Kane, the restaurant comes with an impressive pedigree. Kane is the son of Bill and Marguerite Kane, founders and proprietors of the famed Marguerite’s in Westport. Chef Kane, one of Bill and Marguerite’s four children, literally grew up in the restaurant business.
Life in the kitchen is second nature to the 31-year-old. He calls his father, Bill, “his greatest mentor” and is quick to credit the senior Kane’s influence on the menu and the philosophy of Trafford.
As the restaurant’s menu relates, the family met with designer Alyn Carlson from Warren and outlined their ideas for the physical design of the business. The family was not the first to envision a restaurant on the site of the former coal-company storage shed. The original owner of Trafford’s next-door neighbor-restaurant, Sunnyside, formerly Three Rivers, had planned to open her own, larger place and did most of the preliminary legwork to begin the construction process. However, the businesswoman’s plans changed and she left the area. Trafford Kane was a regular at breakfast at Three Rivers and followed the process with more than a casual interest, as he had often thought about what a prime location the building would be for a restaurant. So, when the door closed on the local businesswoman’s plans, Kane opened his own door and the family embarked on the new venture. The Kanes knew that they would require more space for food preparation and for their customers, who they were confident would come. The building was originally a single-story structure. There would not be enough room for, nor would zoning permit, an outward expansion of the building.
There was literally nowhere to go but up and a second story was added. This gave a dramatic look to Trafford’s New England seaside motif both inside and out. The second-floor dining room has high ceilings of exposed wood with large windows giving panoramic views of the harbor leading down to Narragansett Bay. The upstairs bar has a tin ceiling and is partially enclosed to give an intimate feel.
Downstairs, the dining room has a traditional look with large doors opening onto a wraparound deck with its own bar for cocktails and al fresco dining. The restaurant named Trafford opened in late June.
Many restaurants boast great views but as industry insiders and we who dine out often know, “it has to happen on the plate.” The Kane family has a clear vision for their menu. As Trafford puts it, “My inspiration is simply that I enjoy good food and I want to share it with people.” Virtually every item on Trafford’s farm-to-table menu has a story. “We grill our meats on a 4-foot wood grill,” the chef said. Beef and pork come from sustainable, ranch sources. Seafood is locally sourced. The decisions about where menu ingredients come from are not taken lightly. For example, ground beef is from P.T. Farms of Vermont, a small, family farm that produces beef without hormones or antibiotics. This was important to Kane, but the reason that he chose P.T.’s products was the care the farm family took in preparing ground beef for Trafford’s signature burger. “I searched for a producer who would grind beef more coarsely,” he said. “My burger tastes the way a burger used to taste.”
Trafford’s father, Bill’s, influence on his son’s menu is apparent in the New England clam chowder, which is creamy but not thick, and with a sweetness not only from the local clams but from tarragon, thyme and dill – the only ingredients the Kanes would divulge.
Other restaurants coming to Water Street in Warren include the relaunch of the Nathaniel Porter Inn, now in the process of being purchased by a local food-service business, and a corner breakfast bakery being built by a Providence baker.
Back at Trafford, Kane and hostess/bar manager Jeanne-Marie Manning have already embraced Warren.
“It has become a hub for the East Bay’s artist community,” Kane observed. “What a great, little town.” &#8226

Bruce Newbury’s “Dining Out” food and wine talk radio show is heard Saturdays and Sundays on WPRV-AM 790 and stations throughout New England. He can be reached by email at
bruce@brucenewbury.com.

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