Kitchen

Tag and Scott Review

Kitchen Restaurant

Kitchen Restaurant

Breakfast just makes us happy! Finding an out-of-the-way place serving scratch cooked morning meals is like discovering our own private eggland oasis!  It’s not surprising that Tag found “Kitchen” – a nondescript one-story building attached to a tenement-type house humbly operating just off Dean Street between Broadway and Westminster. Tag is a culinary wanderer who basks in the glory of his own discoveries.  We hope he never finds the breakfast holy grail because we like to say, it’s not only about the destination, but about the journey too.

Kitchen's Scratch Baked Muffins

Kitchen’s Scratch Baked Muffins

After a brief consultation with owner and chief cook Howard, I anxiously awaited the delivery of the Mexican farm favorite Huevos Rancheros.  In the meantime we decided on a starter sampling of freshly baked muffins. The smell was wafting throughout the rustically furnished, 18-seat dining room where the daily menu board rules each morning.

Kitchen's Daily Menu Board

Kitchen’s Daily Menu Board

When we inquired about the morning muffin choices, Howard replied “only one; ginger orange”.

Thick Cut Bacon

Thick Cut Bacon

He said that he bakes one kind of muffin each day with the freshest ingredients.  Well let me tell you, Kitchen’s one daily muffin was moist, fresh and delicious.  We asked Howard to grill it and he refused – no kidding, he refused!  He said the muffins recently came out of the oven and were too fresh to cut & grill, and would ruin the flavor. This was one of the best muffins I have ever eaten, un-grilled, and naked (no butter).  It was crispy crunchy on the outside, warm and soft on the inside, and the muffin top… well when you see this muffin top, you’ll swear this is where the term was coined.

Huevos Rancheros

Huevos Rancheros

El Huevos rancheros se excellently preparado!  The fried eggs on top were thankfully not overcooked. Our saying is that “if the yoke don’t flow, it ain’t a go”!  The tortilla was soft and tasty, and the ingredient deck inside was delicious.

When in Providence, give this cozy and unpretentious place a sample, but be prepared to wait a short time if you don’t get there by 8:00 AM.  Order a muffin while you wait – it’ll be worth the trip!

Tags Toilet Talk:  All I want to say about this unisex “powder room” is you need not be frightened ladies!  Big, roomy, well-appointed with all the “necessities” one needs; and ergonomically comfortable.  One of the selling features of this bathroom was an empty trash can first thing in the morning. If I were a betting man, I would have guessed it would not have been emptied from the day before, “butt” to my surprise, as clean as a whistle with new trash can liner to boot.  I rate this one 4 TP rolls out of 5.

Kitchen |94 Carpenter Street | Providence, RI | Wed-Fri 7:30 am – 1 pm | Sat-Sun 7:30 am – 4 pm

2013 Top 10 New York System Weiner Challenge

2013 New York System

2013 New York System – Rhode Island

At a time when our dining public thrives on evolving menus – low in carbohydrates, fat and sodium, while insisting that taste is never compromised, I would argue that the wickedly popular New York System Hot Weiner has never evolved into anything greater than that which it always has been – a “Rhode Island Original!”

When prepared correctly, the nostalgic New York System hot weiner transports us back in time. For a moment, you can remember the grill-man lining his arm with orders being yelled to him from the counter-man. We can fondly remember ordering 3 all-the-way, with coffee milk and fries with our grandparents,parents, aunts, uncles, cousins or life-long friends. We can remember sitting at the counter while solving the world’s problems with the folks from the neighborhood.

From the blue collared to the blue blooded, when you walk into a NY System Weiner joint and order, you’re nobody special – just equally important. It’s hard to believe that there exists so much history, happiness and memories inside a little steamed bun, but I assure you of its truth.

When judging hot weiners, subjectivity is always a factor. In order to level the playing field, we ask that our judges use the same scoring sheet, criteria and ranking for every location.  Additionally, we assigned multiple judges per restaurant in order to balance scoring outliers and variations in daily product consistency. It’s not enough for a product to be sometimes great; it needs to be great everyday – on every order.

The following are the 10 locations that maintained the highest overall scores in standard categories (Appearance, Steamed Bun, and Weiner Texture, Meat Sauce, Onions, and Overall One-Bite taste) - in alphabetic order:

Restaurant Street City
Cosmic Steak, Pizza & Weiners 1141 Post Rd Warwick
Dot’s Dairy Bar & Grille 1476 Newport Ave Pawtucket
Jesse’s N.Y. System 710 Main Street West Warwick
Liberty Lunch 732 Central Ave Pawtucket
New York Lunch 8 Main St Woonsocket
Olneyville N.Y. System 18 Plainfield Street Providence
Rod’s Grill  6 Washington Street Warren
Stykee’s New York System 1617 Elmwood Ave. Cranston
Timmy’s Restaurant 644 W Shore Rd Warwick
Weiner Genie 80 Higginson Avenue Lincoln
Into the Belly of the Beast

Into the Belly of the Beast

We encourage you to judge NY System Wieners in all of the following locations as we did. There are so many excellent ones to choose from. Again, we “triple-dog-dare” you!

Restaurant Street City
Athenian Deli & Restaurant 1242 Oaklawn Ave Cranston
Athens Pizza House 1 Austin Ave Greenville
Barbara’s Place 77 North Main St. Woonsocket
Ben’s Chili Dogs 158 Broadway Newport
Bucci’s Café 37 Main Street Lincoln
Chepachet Deli 842 Putnam Pike Chepachet
Coffee King 66 Fountain Street Providence
Connie and Nikki’s Restaurant 526 Pawtucket Ave. Pawtucket
Ferrucci’s Original New York System 1246 Main Street, Arctic West Warwick
George’s Grill New York System 716 Reservoir Avenue Cranston
George’s Pizza ‘N Pub 60 Main St Pascoag
Indigo Pizza Lounge 599 Tiogue Ave Coventry
John’s New York System 827 Park Ave. Cranston
John’s New York Systems 326 Cranston Street Providence
Kingston Pizza 1283 Kingstown Road Peacedale
Kip’s Restaurant 826 Newport Ave Pawtucket
Little Rhody Brand Frankfurts 5 Day Street Johnston
Lumber-Jacks-Pizza ‘n Wieners 1402 Victory Hwy North Smithfield
M & M New York System Restaurant 361 Waterman Ave East Providence
Moonlight House of Weiners 32 Rathburn Street Woonsocket
North Kingstown House of Pizza 6170 Post Rd North Kingstown
Norwood Grill 1325 Post Rd. Warwick
Oak St. B&B 87 Oak Street Westerly
Oatley’s Family Restaurant 171 Ten Rod Road North Kingstown
Original New York System 424 Smith Street Providence
Peter’s Coney Island System 2298 West Shore Rd. Warwick
Plouffe’s Cup n Saucer 267 Main St Pawtucket
Poppy’s Family Restaurant 3344 Mendon Road Cumberland
Quick Rick’s 58 High St Wakefield
Right Spot Diner 200 South Bend St. Pawtucket
Riverside Kitchen New York System 467 Willett Ave East Providence
Rod’s Grill 6 Washington Street Warren
Royal Lunch 1179 Westminster St Providence
Sam’s New York System 1031 Mineral Spring Ave North Providence
Sam’s New York System Sandy Lane Warwick
Santoro’s Pizza 687 Tiogue Ave Coventry
Silver Lake Pizza 1146 Main Street Coventry
Snoopy’s Diner 4001 Quaker Lane North Kingstown
Sparky’s Coney Island System 122 Taunton Avenue, East Providence
Taso’s N.Y. System 1500 Atwood Avenue Johnston
Wein-O-Rama 1009 Oaklawn Avenue Cranston

Note: On behalf of the RhodeCrew, we would like to offer our sincerest thanks to the volunteer judges who helped make the 2013 NY System Weiner Challenge a success!

Fleming’s 5 for $6 ‘ til 7

5 premium cocktails, 5 distinctive wines by the glass and 5 selected appetizers are $6, and served nightly at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine Bar until 7:00 PM!  Additionally,  Fleming’s adds a Prime Burger from their Bar La Carte menu just for good measure!

We tried all of the menu items and we were quite impressed. Even more impressive was the total bill – $36.00 (excluding tip). If these menu items were ordered outside of the 5 for $6 ’til 7 special, the bill would have been $87.40 (excluding tip)!

5 STARTERS 

SWEET CHILE CALAMARI – Lightly breaded and tossed with sweet chile sauce

 The Sweet Chile Calamari was a standout in flavor. It was perfectly tender, and tossed with a subtly spiced sweet chile sauce – loved it!

Fleming's Sweet Chili Calamari

Fleming’s Sweet Chili Calamari

JUMBO SHRIMP COCKTAILJumbo shrimp, chipotle horseradish cocktail sauce

The “jumbo” shrimp were most likely not U-12, and were a little overcooked, but very fresh, cold and served with a zesty horseradish cocktail sauce that just made the dish work well. The fresh dill over the top was an excellent garnish to compliment!

Fleming's Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail

Fleming’s Jumbo Shrimp Cocktail

ROASTED MUSHROOM RAVIOLI – Portobello and shiitake mushrooms, porcini butter

The roasted mushroom ravioli tasted homemade and were also tenderly cooked and sauteed in a rich porcini butter. Everything really is better with butter.

Fleming's Roasted Mushroom Ravioli

Fleming’s Roasted Mushroom Ravioli

TENDERLOIN CARPACCIO - Caper creole mustard sauce and red onion

As expected from Fleming’s, the velvety smooth Carpaccio did not disappoint. With the addition of creole mustard, fresh herbs and the crostinis, we felt like kings!

Fleming's Tenderloin Carpaccio

Fleming’s Tenderloin Carpaccio

WICKED CAJUN BARBECUE SHRIMPMarinated with a mix of garlic and spices

Correct! Wicked Cajun and wicked spicy. The starter was bit heavy, but full flavored. Keep bread and a cold beer handy while you watch the game with this one!

Fleming's Wicked Cajun Barbecue Shrimp

Fleming’s Wicked Cajun Barbecue Shrimp

BAR LA CARTE

FLEMING’S PRIME BURGERWisconsin cheddar cheese, peppered bacon and our signature onion rings

Wow! Fleming’s hits a home run on this one. An expertly prepared burger using Fleming’s Prime! Absolutely delicious when prepared rare and served on a Challeh-esk braided egg roll. This peppered bacon cheeseburger is served with 2 large onion rings, a wedge of iceberg, onion and tomato – for $6! No really…

Fleming's Prime Burger

Fleming’s Prime Burger

5 COCKTAILS 
MANHATTAN, Jim Beam Bourbon
VINTAGE VODKA MARTINI, Svedka Vodka
RUBY SLIPPER, Mas Fi Cava, Cointreau
CLEAR COSMO, Smirnoff Vodka
STOLI BOMBSHELL, Stoli Vanil Vodka

5 WINES BY THE GLASS
CHARDONNAY, Canyon Road, California
PINOT NOIR, Angeline, California
RED BLEND, Colby Red, California
SHIRAZ, Morse Code, Australia
CABERNET, Paripaso, California

The RhodeCrew concluded our evening by relaxing at Cigar Masters right next door. Leather couches, big screen monitors for the game, a serene atmosphere, and a well stocked humidor just steps away.

Great food, friends, drinks and cigars…it just doesn’t get any better than that…

Cigar Masters

Cigar Masters

Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse & Wine - One West Exchange Street, Providence, RI  401-555-9000

Cigar Masters - One West Exchange Street, Providence, RI  401-383-9002