Where Celebrity Chefs Eat in Rhode Island
Thursday, September 08, 2011
We’ve long heard rumors of top chefs dining in Rhode Island and loving the local food scene, so we sent Ann and Michael Martini out on a journey to try to eat like the celebrity chefs and what they found is 6 great places that are loved by 6 great chefs. Check them out yourself…
David Burke
You might think it’s hard to impress a guy like Chef David Burke. He was a vital part of the revolutionizing of the American restaurant scene in the 1990s and has grown his creative culinary instinct into an empire that includes more than half a dozen restaurants (including David Burke Prime Steakhouse at Foxwoods). But sometimes a culinary innovator likes to kick back and keep it simple. While Burke has recently enjoyed the scenery at bustling waterfront establishments such as Clarke Cooke House and 41 North, both in Newport, he’s just as likely to opt for Flo’s Clam Shack in Middletown. Flo’s is known for chowder, clam cakes, stuffed quahogs, fried shrimp, scallops and clams – unpretentious summertime shore favorites that speak to the “Jersey Boy” in Chef Burke. 4 Wave Ave, Middletown, 847-8141 www.flosclamshack.net
Mario Batali
You’d be hard pressed to find a chef who cooks Italian food who doesn’t want the opportunity to cook for the likes of Chef Mario Batali. As one of America’s best-known and most-loved chefs, Chef Batali seems to rise above the “tv chef” moniker that can be seen as an insult. Part of that is his passion for and love of the history of the food and the ingredients that he uses to put each dish together. This is a trait he shares with Chef Brian Kingsford of Bacaro. Like Batali, Kingsford has spent countless hours eating and studying his way across Italy, picking up local customs and ingredients and bringing them back and making them his own. It’s no surprise, then, that these two have an appreciation for one another. Bacaro’s salumeria menu, its selection of small plates, several amazing pizzas and simply-crafted pastas all speak to Batali’s appreciation for authentic cooking. Mangia! 262 South Water St, Providence, 751-3700, www.bacarorestaurant.net
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Sam Hazen
Chef Sam Hazen ran two of America’s most profitable restaurants – Tao Las Vegas and Tao New York, both known for their Buddhist-themed décor and their wild celebrity birthday parties as well as their inspired menus. Hazen left a couple of years ago to focus on Veritas, an intimate 50-seat restaurant in Manhattan with a seasonal menu and a vast wine list. But when he vacations on the beach in Charlestown, one of America’s most profitable chefs looks forward to fresh local seafood. If he doesn’t buy it in Galilee and grill it on the deck, he takes his family over to Matunuck Oyster Bar, where super-fresh, oyster-farm to table oysters and one of the best lobster rolls in the state are the order of the day. Owner Perry Raso has crafted some of the most briny and delicious oysters around, right there behind the restaurant in Potter’s Pond. A recent visit found an incredible nine varieties of locally-raised oysters on the menu! 629 Succotash Rd, East Matunuck, 783-4202, www.rhodyoysters.com
Rachael Ray
Rachael Ray isn’t a professionally-trained chef. But that doesn’t mean the queen of thirty-minute meals doesn’t appreciate an amazing meal when she finds one. We love the Rhumbline in Newport because it’s off the beaten path but still walking distance to the center of Newport, because it’s housed in a charming historic house in a quiet neighborhood, and because the food and service here is sublime. Ray loves it especially for brunch, which features classic like eggs benedict, fluffy pancakes and different selections of French toast. Brunch is one of those meals that has to be done right and the Rhumbline has it down to a science. This is not breakfast thrown on to a dinner restaurant, this is a meal all it’s own and it get the proper attention. We all know how tough eggs can be to perfect but the Rhumbline makes it seem easy with their beautiful and runny eggs on the benedict. 62 Bridge St, Newport, 849-3999
Alex Guarneschelli
Alex Guarneschlli is the chef/owner of Butter in New York City and the host of “Alex’s Day Off,” a Food Network show that features Alex traveling around the country to some of her favorite spots. One of those favorites is Al Forno, the grand-daddy of the Providence restaurant scene. Martha Stewart was one of the first celebs to discover the restaurant that that would alter the Providence restaurant scene and make us a destination for foodies everywhere. Since Martha, many other celebrities—of the food world and otherwise – would call Al Forno a favorite.
Guarneschelli is among the new generation of Food Network talents who appreciates what Al Forno represents and that is seasonal, fresh ingredients used at the height of their flavor. Al forno is what Italian cooking is all about to chef Guarneschelli and no place does that resonate more than dessert at Al Forno. They revolutionized the concept of dessert in these parts with made-to-order desserts such as fresh baked cookies, hand-churned ice cream and the incredible baked to order tarts. Each season they pick the freshest fruit and bake it until it’s crisp and toasty. We love the apple crisp for two with fresh ice cream on top. It really is simplicity at its finest. 577 South Main St, Providence, 273-9760, www.alforno.com
Tony Mantuano
President Barack Obama’s favorite Chicago chef has a deft touch with Italian ingredients, which he showcases at Spiaggia, the Windy City’s only four-star restaurant. On the rare occasion that this star of “Top Chef Masters” gets to Providence, he heads to Federal Hill and asks Chef Walter Potenza of Potenza’s to feed him. Potenza opts for fresh ingredients (tomatoes and squash blossoms from his own garden) and simple preparations when he cooks for Mantuano. Italian chefs such as Potenza and Mantuano understand the art of letting ingredients speak for themselves and chef Potenza did just that with lightly fried blossoms over a delicate tomato sauce. On the regular dinner menu , chef Mantuano loved the small plate offerings and the use of fresh shellfish throughout chef Walter's menu. 286 Atwells Ave, Providence, 273-2652, www.chefwalter.com
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