Author Archives: Fork in the Rhode

2011 Top 10 New York System Weiner Challenge!

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What is it about Rhode Island’s love affair with New York System Hot Weiners that keeps them in the spotlight year after year? Locals affectionately refer to them as  Hot Weenies, Belly Busters, Gaggers, Gaggas, Systems and my newly created favorite – “Colon Blowers.”

Wien-O-Rama - Cranston

One of the most comprehensive explanations regarding the history of the N.Y. System was from Christopher Martins “Whence Came The First New York System?”

Cosmic Steak, Pizza & Weiners - Warwick

According to the article, the origins of the “New York System” can be traced back to Greek immigrants whose first experience in America was based largely in the Buroughs of NYC – namely Brooklyn’s Coney Island.

Sparkey's Coney Island System - East Providence

Although speculation surrounding the “Original”  N.Y. System/Coney Island location in Rhode Island will continue to be debated, the benefactors of this culinary pariah continue consuming them without a major concern.

Original New York System - Providence

Rod's Grill - Warren

The RhodeCrew (along with help from 30+ “N. Y. System loving”  judges with iron stomachs ) set out to find the best of the best “Hot Wiener in the Rhode” – ordered “all the way” (meat sauce, chopped onion, mustard and celery salt).

M & M New York System Restaurant - East Providence

The ForkintheRhode.com judges based their results on the following scoring categories: Appearance, Steamed Bun, Wiener Texture, Meat Sauce, Onions and Overall One-Bite Taste.

Lumber-Jacks-Pizza 'n Wieners - North Smithfield

Having sampled over 200 hot wieners from over 37 different locations statewide, we can honestly conclude that the  existing love affair may not merely be the System’s individual components, but the sum of its parts.

North Kingstown House of Pizza

The overall One-Bite Taste is where everything about the product works together for a very unique and addictive experience.

Olneyville New York System - Providence

We can tell you that many of these community based establishments have been around for years and their multi-generational customer base are fiercely loyal. The atmosphere in these restaurants is just as their customers have come to expect – familiar, uncomplicated and friendly. The menu prices affordable.

Ferrucci's Original New York System - West Warwick

The bar stool counters encourage talking to your neighbors, and are still as popular today as they were years ago.

Any good Rhode Islander knows how to order – “2 all-the-way with fries and a large coffee milk!” In that moment, life doesn’t need to be any more complicated than that.

In alphabetical order, here are the top 10 locations where the Hot Wieners were scored the highest:

  • Cosmic Steak, Pizza & Weiners
  • Ferrucci’s Original New York System
  • Lumber-Jacks-Pizza ‘n Wieners
  • M & M New York System Restaurant
  • North Kingstown House of Pizza
  • Olneyville New York System
  • Original New York System
  • Rod’s Grill
  • Sparky’s Coney Island System
  • Wein-O-Rama

Feel free to sample and judge N.Y. Systems Wieners in the following locations as we did. We “double-dog-dare” you!

  • A&W Restaurant                                                              Greenville
  • Barbara’s Place                                                                 Woonsocket
  • Bucci’s                                                                                  Lincoln
  • Connie and Nikki’s Restaurant and Creamery     Pawtucket
  • Cosmic Steak, Pizza & Weiners                                   Warwick
  • Dot’s Dairy Bar & Grille                                                 Pawtucket
  • Ferrucci’s Original New York System                     West Warwick
  • Fidas Restaurant                                                              Providence
  • George’s Grill New York System                                Cranston
  • George’s Pizza ‘N Pub                                                      Burrillville
  • Harry’s New York System                                            Warwick
  • Hoxie New York System                                               Warwick
  • Jesse’s New York System II                                         West Warwick
  • John’s New York Systems                                             Providence
  • Kip’s Restaurant                                                                Pawtucket
  • Lumber-Jacks-Pizza ‘n Wieners                                  North Smithfield
  • M & M New York System Restaurant                       East Providence
  • Moonlight House of Weiners                                       Woonsocket
  • New York Lunch                                                               Woonsocket
  • Nick’s New York System                                                West Warwick
  • North Kingstown House of Pizza                                North Kingstown
  • Oatley’s Family Restaurant                                          North Kingstown
  • Olneyville N.Y. System                                                 Providence
  • Original New York System                                           Providence
  • Peter’s Coney Island                                                       Warwick
  • Plouffe’s Cup n Saucer                                                    Pawtucket
  • Right Spot Diner                                                               Pawtucket
  • Riverside Kitchen New York System                       East Providence
  • Rod’s Grill                                                                            Warren
  • Sam’s New York System                                                North Providence
  • Santoro’s Pizza                                                                   Coventry
  • Snoopy’s Diner                                                                   North Kingstown
  • Sparky’s Coney Island System                                    East Providence
  • Stykee’s                                                                                Warwick
  • Taso’s N.Y. System                                                          Johnston
  • Weiner Genie                                                                     Lincoln
  • Wein-O-Rama                                                                    Cranston

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

  • Andy, Beth, Bill W, Chris F, Don L, Ed M, Eddy M, Erik M, Gary B, Jeannie M, Jerry D, Jimmy B, John A, Jack A, Jordan F, Krysten R, Lisa C, Lou M Jr & Sr, Mike D, Natalie F, Nick V, Claire P, Rae C, Rich B, Rich E, Richard C, Rob T, Roberta N, Rosie W, Ryan D, Tammy L, Tom M, Vin O, Vinny L, and YQ.

Rasoi – स्वागत करता हूं चबूतरा

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Scott and Dave’s Review

Curry is not a spice, but is an all-purpose term devised by the English to cover the whole range of Indian food spicing.  Curries can be made of vegetables, fish, meat, chicken or lamb. Indian cooks utilize a wide variety of spices in different combination and amounts in order to produce a curry flavor.

Sanjiv Dhar, chef and owner of Kabob and Curry, opened Rasoi, his second restaurant in Providence, R.I. in October 2006.  In an effort to break what Dhar describes as the “curry taboo,” he and his staff prepare local northern Indian dishes (as well as many from several regions of India) that should even draw cheers from the Hindi community!

Our good friend Sasi joined us for lunch in order to help us navigate the unfamiliar Indian food waters. Sasi is a culinary “fire-eater” when it comes to spicy foods and we were initially apprehensive about his ability to make menu decisions for us that didn’t require a medic! Our concerns were quickly allayed when the food arrived perfectly prepared, spiced and balanced.

Bread Basket (choice of 3 breads – $7.99):  We chose the following Naan: Date and Coconut, Garlic and Cilantro, Honey and Ginger. All breads were a hit. They came expertly prepared and hot to the table. The Garlic and Cilantro Naan had just enough browning, not over crispy and with a very generous sprinkling of garlic. The Date and Coconut was a standout partly because we generally don’t like coconut and were surprised how strangely drawn to it we became!  You can’t go wrong with any Naan on the menu judging from the comments heard at the table.

Shrimp Moilee: Shrimp cooked in a creamy coconut sauce infused with turmeric and lemon juice ($15.99). One of our favorite dishes. If you love coconut you can’t go wrong with this sauce. I could have been happy just eating the Jasmine rice bathed in this sauce. The shrimp were a respectable in size and tender to the bite. Just the right mix of spice made this dish a standout. It came with a side of lentils (very tender lentils I might add) in a very flavorful sauce.

Chicken Tikka Lababdar: Yogurt, ginger, garlic marinated chicken tenders grilled and cooked in a classic tomato sauce. The all-time New Delhi favorite ($14.99).  This chicken dish was another winner. The red sauce along with the ingredients was an excellent compliment to the bite-size chicken tenders. I was impressed with the tenderness of the chicken, expecting them to be a bit chewy but Rasoi did not disappoint. Make sure you have ample Basmati rice to sop up that sauce!

Tandoori Chicken: Skinless whole chicken on bones, marinated in yogurt, ginger, garlic and red chili cooked slowly in a tandoor ($14.99). This dish, a staple of Indian restaurants was very tasty. I can’t look at the picture without salivating.  The pieces were moist and the charring was just right – no so much as to take away from the flavor of the spices. The color was beautiful on this dish. What a nice change to have chicken prepared in a Tandoor.

Lamb Curry: Cubed loins cooked with their signature Punjabi curry. Tempered with onion, tomatoes and garam masala ($14.99).

Mutton Masala: Halal choice on bones – Cooked slowly with Lucknowi spice blend of: green cardamom, cloves, peppercorn, and star anise ($17.99).

Fish Curry: Cooked with their signature Punjabi curry. Tempered with onion, tomatoes and garam masala ($14.99). The white fish was tender and moist.

Attention all vegetarians! If you’ve missed the restaurant train on Indian food, there are at least 10 menu entrées for the choosing. If you are currently a vegetarian-wannabe, Rasoi may tip the scales for you.

The best thing about Rasoi is that the food is unpretentious in presentation but complex in preparation. In order to serve full flavored Indian Cuisine, the quality of the ingredients and spices can never be compromised and Rasoi does not fail to deliver.  This was a good eating day for the Rhode Crew!

727 East Avenue Pawtucket, RI 02860 | Phone: 401-728-5500

O Dinis Restaurant

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Scott and Dave’s Review –

Did you know that the State of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations (defeated ballot amendment!) holds the distinct honor of maintaining the highest percentage of Portuguese population in the country? From a culinary prospective, that’s a huge advantage.  Our little state is an ethnic restaurant powerhouse in the Portuguese arena.

The Rhode Crew was fortunate to be joined by our friends Rose and Judy for this meal. Both sisters are first generation Portuguese Americans and had recommended O Dinis for our review. Once Rose and Judy began ordering for us, we just sat back, tucked in a napkin and let the adventure unfold. For those of you who are without Portuguese friends to help navigate your culinary waters, it about time you started looking!

Here’s our recommendation, add O Dinis to your short list of places to eat! O what a find!  The sauces alone are worthy of a stand-alone entrée with a side of fresh Portuguese rolls for dipping. Let’s get right into some of our favorites:

Bacalhau na Brasa ($14.95) Grilled salted Cod with boiled potatoes topped with garlic and onions sautéed in olive oil. The fish texture was smooth, white, firm and perfectly executed.  This is an excellent menu choice that must not be overlooked.

Carne de Porco à Alentejana ($13.95) – Marinated Pork and fried potatoes with steamed Littlenecks. This was a great dish. You can’t go wrong with the ingredients: marinated pork, potatoes, littlenecks, whole olives and roasted peppers. There was no skimping on the marinated pork as the picture will attest. Everything worked well together. We’ll admit that our experience with this dish is limited and believe that the correct tenderness of the pork could have been a touch more tender. Still, this dish was very good and a great value for under $15.

Espetada de Camarão e Lulas ($13.95) – Grilled Shrimp, Squid and perfectly charred peppers on a Kabob. Ours came with sliced squid – instead of rings, the squid pieces were the ends of the squid tube –obviously much easier to skewer! This was all served over a bed of rice in the phenomenal shrimp sauce (a light red, garlic and lemon concoction). Everything was tender and not overcooked. Watch out for those shoestring fries, they’re very addicting!

Bife à Casa ($13.95) – Pan-Seared Sirloin steak in a beer and garlic sauce served with French fries, an egg and rice. Our only issue with this dish was that we had to share. There’s only so much egg you can savor with steak when you’re sharing with 5 people. Regardless, we were very impressed with the portion size and the thickness of the steak. It had to be greater than a half inch in thickness and the tenderness was perfect.  We have had quite a few ethnic steak dishes priced around the $10-$15 range and most were ¼ to 1/3” in thickness and usually on the well-done side. The brown sauce was a great compliment to the dish, only enhancing the elements and not overwhelming the main attraction.

We ordered a superb Portuguese red wine – Quinta de Cabriz – Dão ($16.00) which was well balanced, full fruit, and aromatic. A escolha perfeita para acompanhar o nosso almoço (The perfect choice to accompany our lunch)!

Our waitress Isabel (Queen Isabel – as she requested we address her) advised us that all the desserts on the menu were terrific, and judging by what we ordered, the “Queen” may have been right all along. The Bolo De Bolacha (Portuguese Cookie Cake) which included Maria Brand Biscuits, butter, sugar, coffee all baked into a very delicious dessert choice. Additionally we ordered Queijadas de Feijao (Portuguese Bean Tarts) which were absolutely a favorite.  This pie was sweet, dense, and rich with hints of caramel throughout.

This was a great dining experience right down to the very friendly and engaging team of waitresses. O Dinis has that down-home authenticity and atmosphere one would expect from our state’s diverse, ethnic culinary treasures. For those of you that are not Portuguese and are unfamiliar with the cuisine don’t hesitate to try this jewel. For those of you who are Portuguese; “bravo, muito bem!”

579 Warren Avenue
East Providence, RI 02914-2816
(401) 438-3769