Writing With My Mouth Full

Where to eat in Providence: De Wolf Tavern

10:25pm – train back to New York City, delayed
12:10am – finally on board, but with an announcement that we’d arrive an extra hour late
1:00am – somewhere outside Providence when “the train’s axl hit debris”; delayed another extra hour “to switch machines”
4:00am – somewhere in Connecticut, stalls for forty minutes
6:00am – somewhere in upstate New York, stalls for half an hour
6:18am – sunset, still on the fucking train!
7:30am – back in Harlem, kissing my own pillows on my own bed

I thought riding in trains was supposed to be romantic. I am still wondering how the Europeans can take me from Amsterdam to Belgium, but the United States can’t even get me from Providence to New York City under the three-hour schedule.

The boy and I started laughing at ourselves when we first heard of the delay at 10:30pm because I originally rescheduled my 5pm train. I ended up missing the 7:30pm as well because we were having too much fun over dinner. It stopped being funny at midnight. He had to drive at least two hours back to Maine to go to work at 7am, but he couldn’t stand to leave me waiting in the station alone. He only left after the Amtrak clerk told him the train was five minutes away from Providence.

Despite the inconvenient and frustrating ending to our reunion, we exhausted Rhode Island during the twenty-four hours we spent there. On Friday, he picked me up from the train station at 9pm. We had 9:30pm dinner reservations at De Wolf Tavern so we hurried and drove to Bristol. The staff at the restaurant was accommodating. They still honored my request and sat us by the fireplace even though we arrived fifteen minutes before the kitchen was scheduled to close.

Our meal was one of the most refreshing we’ve had in a long time. Almost every dish had an Indian influence, a nice break from the predictable French taste we’ve gotten used to in fine dining. With our Glenlivets, Guinness beers and sparkling wine with orange-spiced rum, we shared three appetizers and a main course. The tuna carpaccio was served with green mango salad in mustard oil and verjus chutney. The tortellini was stuffed with king crab meat and drizzled with sauce made of fried curry leaves that tasted deliciously nutty. The quail legs were roasted and came with a pretty boring salad of iceberg lettuce and bacon and ranch dressing, but the infused tandoor flavor in the quail perfectly came out at every bite. The medium-rare rib-eye steak completed our meal with crunchy haricot verts and mashed potatoes. To end the night, we also split the cafe au lait ice cream on top of warm pumpkin bread. Esquire Magazine might have prematurely picked The Modern as one of its 2005 restaurant of the year, but they hit the bull’s-eye with De Wolf Tavern.

De Wolf Tavern is about a thirty-minute drive from Providence in Rhode Island. It’s at 259 Thames Street in Bristol. Call 405/254.2005 for reservations.

What to do in Rhode Island

I’ve never been to Rhode Island before, so when the boy proposed the idea that we meet there because it was a short drive from Maine, I bought a train ticket from New York to meet him. Before I left from work, I booked a room at Edgewood Manor and dinner twenty-something miles away at De Wolf Tavern, an Esquire Magazine restaurant pick for 2005.

In Providence, we stopped by for one drink at The Hi-Hat, a lounge with a live jazz band, before we drove back to our bed and breakfast inn. We had a late start on Saturday–the jacuzzi in our room had everything to do with it–but we still had a full day which started at Rue de L’Espoir. I ordered poached eggs on top of crab cakes because I was still remembering the king crab legs I ate the night before at De Wolf Tavern. After brunch, we drove to the art galleries in Reez-Dee and in Brown University. We walked around the campus. The boy thought of how much they both looked like Amherst College, his alma matter. It was very sunny and warm, the perfect autumn day in New England.

We also drove to Federal Hill, Rhode Island’s Italian neighborhood, where we made stops at Scialo Bakery to pick up a couple of tarts, Pastiche to drink iced coffees, Roma Gourmet to buy prosciutto and sopressata, and Antonelli’s Poultry, where you select a live chicken or turkey to be killed for your dinner. Needless to say, the smell in the poultry store left us breathless.

Dinner was at McCormick and Schmick’s where we shared a half dozen oysters and a bowl of mussels with chorizo, plus a bowl of corn chowder and a plate of baby arugula and goat cheese. I decided to let my 5:30pm train go because we were having too much of a good time.

Providence looked beautiful with the sunset’s glow. The neighborhood has a very industrial look, complete with red-bricked warehouses turned into lofts, but it also has the typical colonial houses that are very much New England. Add some maple and oak trees shedding leaves and I’m in-love all over again.

Afghan Chicken with Caramelized Onions and Pistachios

Adapted from Rachel

Ingredients:
12 pieces of small chicken legs
1 large onion, sliced thinly
a pinch of saffron threads
2 garlic cloves, minced
1/2 stick butter
1 tbsp sugar
2 tsp grated orange peel
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups white rice, cooked
1 small box of raisins
a handful of pistachios, toasted and chopped

1. Salt and pepper chicken pieces. In a large Dutch oven, melt half of the butter. Brown chicken on all sides over medium-high heat, about 5-7 minutes. Remove chicken from pot.
2. Melt the rest of the butter in the same Dutch oven and sautÃ© sliced onions over medium heat until golden brown, 10-12 minutes. Add saffron and garlic, cook 1 minute, stirring constantly. Add orange peel, raisins and sugar, stir again for another minute.
3. Add broth and place chicken pieces back in pot and cover with lid. Cook chicken for about 25 minutes while checking to make sure they don’t dry up. You may need to add a bit more broth or water. Add salt to taste. Add cooked rice. Simmer for about 10 minutes. Stir. Sprinkle with pistachios and serve.

Short-Cut Pumpkin Pie

Adapted from joyofbaking.com

Ingredients:
2 eight-inch pie crusts, thawed
6 large eggs
2 cups fresh pumpkin meat, shredded
1 cup heavy cream
1 cup light brown sugar
1 tsp ground cinnamon
1/2 tsp ground ginger
1/2 tsp ground cloves
1/2 tsp salt

1. In a large bowl, lightly whisk the eggs. Add the remaining ingredients for the filling and stir to combine. Pour the mixture into the pie crusts and place on a large baking pan to catch any spills.
2. Bake the pie for about 45 minutes or until the filling is set and the crust has browned (the center will still look wet). Place the baked pie on a wire rack to cool. Serve at room temperature, with whipped cream if you’re into that stuff.

Goat Cheese-Stuffed Squash Blossoms

Adapted from Mare Restaurant, Boston

Ingredients:
a dozen zucchini squash blossoms, stamen removed, gently washed in cold water and dried with paper towel
1/2 cup goat cheese
1/2 cup cream cheese
1 tsp chopped fresh basil
1 cup all-purpose flour
2 tbsps fine yellow cornmeal
1 cup milk
1 large egg
oil, salt and pepper

1. In a medium bowl, combine the goat cheese, cream cheese, basil, salt and pepper. Mix with a fork until well blended. Using a teaspoon, stuff the squash blossoms.
2. In a large bowl, combine the flour, cornmeal with salt and pepper. Stir to mix well. Set aside. In another bowl, whisk together the milk and egg until well blended. Dip one blossom into the milk mixture, then into the flour mixture. Place on a large plate or pan. Repeat with all of the blossoms.
3. Add oil to a large heated heavy skillet. Fry the stuffed blossoms until golden brown, about 1 to 2 minutes. Drain on white paper towels and serve.