PROVIDENCE NOVEMBER 2016 #241
Can
Superman Be Saved?
The debate over the city’s most iconic building The Definitive History of the NY System Wiener A 100% Reliable Way to Predict the Election Providence Returns to the Silver Screen
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CONTE N TS Providence Monthly • November 2016
13
Gather Glass heats things up on the Hill
24
Trace the roots of the hot wiener back to its humble origins on Smith Street
This Month 24 History of the Hot Wiener
27 Superman Returns?
Go “all the way” back to the origins of a definitive late-night bite
Hear from both sides of the argument about the future of the city’s most iconic building
Every Month 6 Editor’s Note
13 Providence Pulse Yacht Club Soda makes its Election Day
67 Get Out Curtains up on a new season of local theatre 68 Calendar 72Music 73 On Stage 74 Art
predictions Photography by (Left) Brad Smith, (Right) Grace Lentini
15 City 21 Scene in PVD
35 City Style
76 Hidden PVD The State House Charter Museum preserves RI’s Colonial history
A grown man discovers the magic of the hula hoop 35 At Home 37 The Look 38 Get Fit 41 Shopping 42 Beauty
47 Feast Talking Korean food at Den Den Café Asiana 48 Review 51 In the Kitchen 52 On The Menu 55 In The Drink 57 Dining Giude
On the Cover: The Superman Building. Photographed by Mike Braca. Illustration by Alison Blackwell.
editor’s note
ProVidenCe MONTHLY
Up in the Sky! It’s a Bird, It’s a Plane… No one image defines Providence the way that the Superman Building does. It’s all over our local art, all over our Instagram feeds, permanently branded into our collective psyche as a symbol of Providence’s once and future greatness. But right now, it’s empty. And its front yard, Kennedy Plaza, is in the worst shape it’s been for decades. People on all sides of the debate over what to do with the Superman Building have valid points: we can’t let it remain dark, we can’t invest the way we did in 38 Studios. (Well, not all sides – people rallying to raze the building should
just go home.) In this issue, we take a hard look at the economics of what it would take to revive the Industrial Trust Building, and what’s at stake if we don’t.
Publishers Barry Fain Richard Fleischer John Howell
Media Director Jeanette St. Pierre @JeanetteSTP
Creative Director Julie Tremaine @JulieTremaine
Managing Editor Grace Lentini @Gracie_NomNom
Editor Tony Pacitti @TonyPacitti
Content Coordinator Caitlin Howle @CaitlinMoments
Art Director Meghan H. Follett
Advertising Design Director Layheang Meas
Assistant Art Director Katie Leclerc
Graphic Designer Nick DelGiudice Nicole R. Hudon
Account Managers Shelley Cavoli: Shelley@ProvidenceOnline.com Louann DiMuccio-Darwich: Louann@ProvidenceOnline.com Ann Gallagher: Ann@ProvidenceOnline.com Kristine Mangan: Kristine@ProvidenceOnline.com Elizabeth Riel: Liz@ProvidenceOnline.com Dan Schwartz: DanS@ProvidenceOnline.com Stephanie Oster Wilmarth: Stephanie@ProvidenceOnline.com Contributing Photographers Amy Amerentes Stacey Doyle Tiffany Axtmann Grace Lentini Ian Travis Barnard Amy Ritter Mike Braca Tim Siekeira Brian DeMello Brad Smith
Contributor Ian Travis Barnard Photographer
Contributing Illustrators Alison Blackwell Meghan H. Follett
As a photographer and filmmaker, Ian is obsessed with capturing both moving and still images, and exploring new angles and exciting moments through his camera lens. “If I’m working or not I always love capturing people at their peak ability. Texture is huge for me as well. Colors and textures abound... finding the beauty in the details is endless.” Of course color and texture is what New England’s known for this month, so there’s a lot for a photographer to love. “I love all the clichéd stuff: cider, donuts, cider donuts, deep colors. The sounds of dry leaves beneath your feet as you hike through Lincoln Woods. Honestly I love everything about this time of year.“
Katie Leclerc Lia Marcoux
Contributing Writers Erin Balsa
Stephanie Obodda @StephanieDoes
Jessica Bryant
Jenna Pelletier
Alastair Cairns
Stephanie Resendes
Emily Dietsch
Charlotte Seley
Claire Flanagan
Jen Senecal @JenSenecal
Amanda Grosvenor Adam Hogue @hoguie Molly Lederer
Interns Jayne Guertin Kemill Logarta
Nicolas Staab John Taraborelli @JohnnyTabs
Evan Tagen
Members Of:
This Issue By The Numbers 10
29
1,664
Plays to check out – including American Buffalo, The King and I and the return of Trinity Rep’s A Christmas Carol – in our fall theatre preview (page 73)
The record for most hot wieners eaten in a single sitting at Olneyville NY System (page 24)
Number of days, as of November 1, since Bank of America ceased banking operations in the Superman Building (page 27)
Facebook.com/PVDMonthly
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
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Fall
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ON tHE BIG ScREEN The Providence Art and Design Film Festival (November 3-6) returns to the Cable Car Cinema and RISD Metcalf Auditorium. Read all about this eclec-
Call Gerri Schiffman (401) 474-3733
tic festival at ProvidenceOnline.com
Craftopia will have Hope Artiste Village bursting with DIY gifts for the holidays on November 13. Keep an eye on our Facebook and Instagram feeds for a chance to win $20 good to use at any vendor.
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November 2016 | Providence Monthly
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Glass Act
Photography by Brad Smith
When it comes to experimenting with a new artistic endeavor, blowing glass isn’t typically as accessible as figure drawing or photography. Gather Glass on Atwells Avenue is looking to shatter that perception by opening its doors to the public and taking its production to the streets.
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pulse pulse
City
Continued From Page 13
Welcome Home, Neighbor
Kicking Glass Gather Glass is literally the hottest thing on the Hill
‘Gansett Goes Full Wonka After years of brewing abroad – in Rochester, New York – Narragansett is bringing production back home. To mark the occasion, they’ve slapped 250 golden stickers on 12-ounce cans of Narragansett Lager. Find one and you’ll have won yourself a VIP tour of the new brewery in Pawtucket, making you the envy of Rhode Island beer enthusiasts who have been patiently waiting for their favorite neighbor’s return. ‘Gansett’s new facility will brew their craft lines, with hopes of having 1020% of production back in Rhode Island by the end of 2017. “Making those craft brews here will give us the flexibility to be a little more creative,” says
BJ Mansuetti, Narragansett’s community and events marketing manager. Barring any setbacks, he’s planning to see the first test batches come out of the new brewery in the early weeks of 2017, with production up and running by the end of the first quarter. The whole facility, which will expand over the next few years, will include a brewhouse, a bottling room, a museum and an event space. In the meantime, we’ll be keeping our eyes peeled for one of those golden tickets. The contest runs through the end of the year and winning cans are being distributed all over the US. We suggest investing in some X-ray specs. NarragansettBeer.com –Tony Pacitti
Artist Ben Giguere opens glassblowing to the public through Gather’s workshops and mobile unit appearances at WaterFire
Photography by (left) Brad Smith, Photo courtesy of Narragansett Beer
Even though Gather Glass
has been in business for over six years, they just opened their first brick and mortar location. You may recognize them from their mobile unit at WaterFire, where they do glassblowing demos of jewelry and small sculptures. Now, with the new location, Gather has opened their doors to the world of glassblowing with hands-on classes in their studio. Ben Giguere, one of the creators of Gather, has been blowing glass for 20 years and is incredibly excited about this new chapter. “A Gather class is a community space for blowing glass, bringing people together and bringing in other artists to work in here as well. We do our own one-of-a-kind work, but we also work closely with some non-profits, for a good cause here in Providence,” he says. Classes are offered a minimum of
two days a week, mostly in the evenings. You work closely with a master glassblower from start to finish, applying color to the glass, heating your piece and inflating it with air, to create your very own ornament (hello, perfect holiday gift!), paperweight or drinking glass. Ben has plans for even more classes and projects down the road, like one-on-one lessons, and Gather is also part of Gallery Night, so you can also get a peek at the studio then. This strong sense of community he strives for symbolizes why they chose the name Gather. “It’s an allencompassing name. It’s part of the process when you’re blowing glass and it’s also bringing people together and working with the community.” Catch Gather’s mobile unit at the last WaterFire of the year on November 5. 521 Atwells Avenue. GatherGlass.com –Claire Flanagan
‘Gansett’s taking a page out of Willy Wonka’s book to celebrate its homecoming (minus the terrifying Oompa Loompas, we hope...)
November 2016 | Providence Monthly
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
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pulse pulse
City
Election, Shmelection
At Least Somebody’s Having Fun With This Madness This election has been
exhausting and no matter who wins we’re all going to be in for a very long four to eight years. Luckily some locals are trying their best to have some fun with it, even if the home stretch of the campaign gets scarier by the day. Take Rhode Island Comedy Hall of Famer and political cartoonist Charlie Hall, who has offered up his two cents with the adult coloring book Electile Dysfunction. It pairs his illustrations with poems that chronicle a political comedy that’s been stranger than fiction from day one. How did this book come together? I’m a pretty good artist, a pretty good comedian and a pretty good song parody guy. I went home and did some research and in the Amazon top 20, eight of [the book] were coloring books. The New York Times top ten had four of them in non-fiction. It was insane. I’m an artist, I’ll throw comedy in there and it will be a perfect marriage. The election of a lifetime is happening. Is satire a challenge when this election has already been a living Saturday Night Live sketch? I just had to kind of report things. Did I have to parody Governor Christie being kind of overweight? I didn’t have to, but sometimes I just amuse myself. Some things were already parody. [Trump’s] small hands... “I just want you to know that there’s no problem there.” I can’t believe he said that.
Comedian Charlie Hall chronicles the madness of this presidential election in coloring book form
Did Lincoln Chafee make the cut? He did! He’s in there [saying] “Let’s go metric! Yes, we gram!” to a room of two people. Is there a particular shade of orange you’d suggest for Donald Trump? That’s one of my jokes. You only need three colors for this book: red, white and orange. Assuming
Trump
wins,
what’s
greater:
your
excitement as a comic for the material or your fear of him actually being president? I don’t know. I don’t know who I’m going to vote for or if I’m going to vote. I was maybe going to go Libertarian but I really don’t know. My next cartoon will be [Hillary and Trump] after a debate with Pinocchio noses. Available at Books on the Square, 471 Angell Street. BookSq.com; Barrington Books Retold. 176 Hillside Road, Cranston. 432-7222, BarringtonBooks.com
Photo courtesy of (top) Charlie Hall, (bottom) Yacht Club Soda
Pop Go the Polls
Mike Corsini, Yacht Club owner John Sgambato and cartoonist Frankie Galasso have come up with a couple choices that are easier to swallow than the two on the ballot
We turn now
to Yacht Club Soda, our official state soda – as any reputable news outlet does – for an early Election Day forecast, based on their super scientific Soda Pop Poll. If their numbers are to be believed, November 8 is going to be a truly bottleneck-and-neck race. Back in August, Yacht Club released two limited
edition flavors – Hillary’s Liberal Limeade and Donald’s Populist Punch – to gauge public opinion of the two major party candidates. “I was watching the debates and they kept talking about polls and it struck me. We should do this,” says Yacht Club owner/pollster John Sgambato. Based on the data as of October 3, it would appear that Trump has a slight edge
on Hillary with 20,352 bottles sold over her 20,184. As far as third party candidates go, Yacht Club’s Sarsaparilla is standing in for Libertarian Gary Johnson (3,768 bottles sold), while the Green Party’s Jill Stein is probably best represented as a bottle of kombucha. Who are we kidding, Stein would kill for kombucha’s numbers. YachtClubBottlingWorks.com –Tony Pacitti
November 2016 | Providence Monthly
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pulse
City
REEL LIFE
Providence’s 15 Miles of Fame City landmarks that have made it to the big screen
Bleed For This, the much-anticipated (and surprisingly well reviewed) Vinny Paz biopic, opens in theatres on November 18. While Miles Teller, Aaron Eckhart and Katey Sagal are in the movie, we all know who the real star is: Little Rhody. Here’s a look back at some of our other moments on the silver screen.
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DOWNTOWN Bleed For This filmed at various locations in Warwick, at Twin River in Lincoln and at our very own Dunkin’ Donuts Center – which we can only hope they filmed with its real name, the Providence Civic Center.
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HOPE STREET The Steve Carell dramedy Dan in Real Life takes place mainly on Aquidneck Island, but the opening scene was filmed at Seven Stars Bakery on Hope Street. The real comedy in that movie? The idea that Dane Cook could ever land a classy French lady like Juliet Binoche.
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BROADWAY The East Side’s Seven Stars isn’t the only one to have its 15 minutes of fame. Seven Stars’ Broadway location was transformed into a bookstore cafe for the upcoming November Criminals, starring Chloe Grace Moretz, Catherine Keener and that guy from the kids-with-cancer-fall-in-love movie that all the tweens adore.
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WESTMINSTER STREET Of all the things Woody Allen loves, he loves Westminster Street best. Irrational Man, starring Joaquin Phoenix and Emma Stone, filmed at Loie Fuller and Classic Cafe, both on the West Side extension of Westminster – though Joaquin was spotted smoking butts outside basically every bar in town.
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THE STATE HOUSE In a stunning moment of prescience, The Purge: Election Year predicted the horror show that has become this year’s election season. The movie filmed in Woonsocket and downtown at the State House.
OAK HILL While Jack Black’s The Polka King filmed all over the greater Providence area this summer, including at the State House and Rhodes on the Pawtuxet in Cranston, we’re happy that Pawtucket’s Modern Diner finally got the spotlight it deserves. (No, Guy Fieri doesn’t count.)
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SOUTH WATER STREET In a scene from There’s Something About Mary, Ben Stiller and Chris Elliott sit at the bar at The Hot Club, with a full view of the iconic power plant in the background. There’s even a plaque on the wall commemorating the moment. FWIW, they didn’t order beans and franks. BROWN UNIVERSITY Remember that time Fred Durst directed a movie? Neither does anyone else – but he did, and he did it in Providence. Portions of The Education of Charlie Banks, starring a pre-Zombieland Jesse Eisenberg, filmed on the Brown campus.
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
HOPE HIGH SCHOOL Underdog, the Rocky and Bullwinkle offshoot that nobody ever asked for, filmed at Hope High School and brought along Jim Belushi, Patrick Warburton and Tyrion Lannister himself, Peter Dinklage.
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WAYLAND SQUARE Infinitely Polar Bear, the indie movie that earned Mark Ruffalo a Golden Globe nod, shot primarily in Wayland Square. Ruffalo himself was often spotted walking to work from his East Side apartment. –Julie Tremaine
Illustration By Meghan H. Follett and Katie Leclerc
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pulse pulse
City
Malcontent
The Nightlight Effect The things we love about PVD need our support to stay things we love I have a confession
to make: I’ve never been to Live Bait. For those of you who are not familiar, Live Bait is a monthly, participatory storytelling event that has been going on in Providence for years. I’ve praised it in the pages of this very magazine, included it in roundups of things to do in Providence, suggested it to people who asked me to recommend something fun, but I’ve never actually attended. Other things of which I am theoretically supportive, but have never actually patronized: Gallery Night, the Providence Flea, FringePVD and Maker Faire. I couldn’t tell you the last time I saw a movie at the Avon, the Cable Car or even the (free) Movies on the Block. I’ve never eaten at Birch or Oberlin, two of our most nationally acclaimed restaurants. Despite that, if someone from out of town were to ask me what makes Providence cool or fun, I would probably cite many of those same examples. I am the epitome of not putting my money where my mouth is. I confess my guilt to you now because my guess is that you’re guilty too. It’s one of the great paradoxes of Providence: we’re always complaining that there’s not enough to do, or that a particular business closed, or that there’s nothing new happening. Yet we often neglect those very same things when we have the opportunity to support them. It’s understandable. We’re creatures of habit. We’ve got our usual roster of places and things that dominate our field of vision when we’re looking for something to do, and there’s nothing wrong with that. The problem is that if we don’t nurture the things that are new or different or worthy of a chance then they wither and die. Providence is a cool, vibrant and creative city and it will remain so only to the extent that we’re willing to support the things that make it cool, vibrant and creative. It’s a similar phenomenon to an NPR pledge drive: the vast majority of us go right on listening for free, assuming that other people will contribute enough to keep them on the air. (While I’m laying bare my own hypocrisy, I also haven’t
given to NPR in like ten years.) Recently, I was talking with the director of a small local theatre about this unfortunate coupling of theoretical support with actual indifference, appreciation without action. He had a succinct take on it: “It’s like a nightlight – people just want to know it’s there.” So let’s call it the Nightlight Effect. It’s a problem for many of the very same things we claim to love about this city. That director was talking to me about the difficulty of getting Providence audiences to make the arduous seven-minute trek to his theater just outside the city. I suggested that the problem isn’t necessarily the drive, as common wisdom about Rhode Islanders would dictate. If people stop and think for even one second about the time or distance, they will immediately recognize it as a non-issue. The obstacle is getting people to stop and think at all. His theater isn’t too far outside Providence – it’s too far outside people’s thought patterns. My girlfriend and I often look for something different or somewhere new when planning a night out. We almost as often mention a new bar, an annual event, a place that we’ve “been meaning to try one of these days.” So we made a list to remind ourselves. We’ve managed to cross exactly one place off the list. If any one of them ceases to operate before we get to it, we would lament the loss. That’s the Nightlight Effect. We’re about to enter one of the busiest seasons of the year for eating, drinking, shopping and socializing, so let’s do something simple: I want you to go through this issue and find one thing that’s not “the usual” for you: a restaurant, an event, a performance, a business. And I want you to make a plan to patronize it before the end of the month. Don’t just say you’re going to do it and then go on with the rest of the day. Stop what you’re doing. Call friends and ask them to join you. Go online and purchase tickets. Put a date on your calendar. I will too. Let’s do our part to keep Providence’s nightlights shining. –John Taraborelli
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The Providence-based Peace Flag Project held its annual Peace Fest on September 24 at Burnside Park. The day was a celebration of positivity as people of all ages, faiths and backgrounds came together in the park to enjoy art, music and free hugs. ThePeaceFlagProject.org Photography by Mike Braca.
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Hot wiener history, going “all the way” and what the future holds for our state’s littlest celebrity Written and Photographed By Grace Lentini
H
ot wieners are firmly
planted in Rhode Island’s culinary psyche. They’re to the Ocean State what cheesesteak is to Philly, what barbecue is to Kansas City and what street tacos are to Los Angeles. Everyone has the wienie joint (their words, not ours) they grew up with, their gold standard against which all others are judged. There’s The Original New York System on Smith Street in Providence, Olneyville NY System, Sparky’s Coney Island System in East Providence (now closed), Wein-O-Rama in Cranston, Rod’s Grille in Warren, New York Lunch in Woonsocket, Sam’s New York System in North Providence, Snoopy’s Diner in North Kingstown and plenty more scattered throughout. We wanted to know who served the very first hot wiener, so we asked wienie joint owners across the state, and the answer was always the same: hot wieners started at the Original New York System (424 Smith Street, Providence. 331-5349). It’s the OG of the wienie. No matter where you go, getting them “all the way” is always the same: steamed bun, wienie, mustard, meat sauce, onion, celery salt. Of course you don’t have to get them all the way, but what fun is that? That’s like getting a cheesesteak without the cheese: you just don’t do it. However, what differs joint to joint is the meat sauce,
Hot WIener records olneyville nY system The record holder ate 29.5 hot wieners in 15 minutes rod’s grille in Warren Most wieners eaten were 16 in one sitting with a large fry and coffee milk. original new York system One customer ate 12 wieners in 8 minutes
with each place remaining as true as possible to their original recipe, some over 70 years old.
IconIc IngredIents There are distinct differences between hot dogs and hot wieners: hot dogs are typically very processed, with a hodge podge of different cuts of meat. Hot wieners on the other hand are made with beef, pork, veal, spices and one preservative. There are two types of hot wieners that wienie joints use: ones in a natural casing, and ones without. According to Greg Stevens, the owner of Olneyville NY System (18 Plainfield Street, Providence. 621-9500, OlneyvilleNewYorkSystem.com) who is directly related to the family who first served hot wieners in RI, it’s tradition to serve hot wieners that have a natural casing. The wieners with a casing come as one long rope, meaning that each wiener must be cut by hand. Most joints get theirs from either Little Rhody Brand Frankfurts and Wieners (831-0815, LittleRhodyHotdogs.com), which makes skinless and rope wieners, or from All American (294-5455, All-American-Foods.com), who carry Marcello’s skinless, pre-formed wieners. The consensus on hot wiener buns is that Homestead Baking Company of East Providence (145 North Broadway, Rumford. 434-0551, HomesteadBaking. com) bakes the buns that virtually everyone uses. “We make [the buns] sweeter than the typical hot dog roll,” says Homestead General Manager TJ Pascalides. “Restaurants are super particular about how they steam them up. Everyone has a different steamer and everyone leaves them in for a different amount of time, so we have to use a strong flour.” To get an idea of the demand for the buns,
“What’s more Rhode Island than our own 70-year-old Olneyville NY System wieners and coffee milk? There’s a layer of charm and nostalgia at the Olneyville spot, though as someone born and raised in Cranston there’s a special place in my memories for 2am on Reservoir Ave.”
–David Dadekian, founder of Eat Drink RI
To keep up with demand, Olneyville NY System goes through roughly 500 pounds of onions every week
Homestead receives shipments of 200,000 pounds of spring wheat flour at a time via railway. Three railway cars fit alongside the bakery, where the flour is then moved to three flour silos. One silo holds 150,000 pounds of flour, the other two hold 125,000 pounds each. Just as the meat sauce recipes never change at the restaurants, the bun recipe has also remained the same: sugar, water, flour and yeast. As far as the onions sprinkled on top of the wieners, survey says that white onions are used. Everyone uses celery salt, although any information about the brand was held close to the vest. The mustard? Well, it’s not French’s. That’s about all the info the owners were willing to reveal. Same with the sauce. Everyone is tight lipped about their secret recipes, but some said that one of the most important factors
in making a perfectly spreadable meat sauce is to use 70/30 ground beef. Fat is flavor, and no one’s eating a hot wiener for its health benefits.
WHo served tHem FIrst? It was in the early 1900s that Greek immigrants came to New York, passing through Ellis Island and settling in Brooklyn (most likely in the Coney Island section). As the Greeks moved out of Brooklyn and across the country, they brought with them and served up a form of hot dog or hot wiener which they covered in a Coney Island meat sauce. We caught up with Greg to learn about his family history, and where the first hot wiener was served. As the story goes, Augustus Pappas and his son Ernie opened the Original New York System on Smith Street in Providence in 1927. In the late 1930s, Augustus Pappas fell ill, so Ernie called on his cousins Anthony and Nicholas Stavrianakos (Greg’s great grandfather and grandfather, respectively) to help run the restaurant. In 1933, Greg’s father, Peter, was born in New York where his name was shortened from Stavrianakos to Stevens. In 1946, Ernie no longer needed help running the Smith Street location. His son Gus eventually took over in the ‘60s, running the place until he retired in 2014. Once Gus retired, the business changed ownership and eventually had its doors closed for ten months. This past July, restaurateur Tener Zoprak bought the business, and plans to keep to the original recipes. Back to Anthony and Nicholas. The father and son team branched out on their own after leaving the Original New York System and bought a small restaurant located at 11 Olneyville Square (where the bar Lonely Street is currently located). The restaurant was located right next to a taxi stand, which in 1954 was built over into a restaurant (the current location of Olneyville NY System). Anthony and Nicholas bought that space in 1964, and have been there ever since. In 1957 Nicholas passed away, and in 1958, Anthony passed away at age 97, working until his last day. Greg’s father Peter took over the business in 1958. Greg was born in 1960, and when he was old enough he worked at Olneyville NY
System on weekends and during the summers. At the ripe age of 15 he knew he was going to join the family business, and in 1979 he started working full time, side by side with his dad until the early ‘90s when Peter retired. Greg and his sister Stephanie Stevens-Turini have operated the restaurant ever since.
“There is nothing like a hot wiener. Every once in awhile, I crave them. I like to get one plain and one all the way. I remember when I was a kid, my older brother once ate 12 wieners. I was very impressed.”
–Linda Beaulieu, author of The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook
more WIenIe JoInts The Original New York System and Olneyville NY System opened their restaurants with the express goal of being hot wiener joints. Of course there’s plenty else on their menus, but folks typically go there for the wienies. Other restaurants have followed suit, while others have simply added hot wieners to their menu to get folks through the door. Rod’s Grille in Warren in one of the restaurants that has had hot wieners on their menu since the day they opened in 1955. Meghan Rodrigues is the fourth generation to work at Rod’s Grille and credits her great grandmother with creating the meat sauce they use until this day. “My dad, grandmother or I make the sauce,” she says. “No one else knows the recipe. You have to follow every single step of the recipe or the taste will change.” Unlike the sauce at either the Original New York System or Olneyville, there is a touch of spice in it, which slowly builds as you eat it. Meghan also puts less onions on it compared to other places; she doesn’t want the onions to overpower the secret sauce. The sauce
Every week, Rod’s Grille in Warren serves up over 200 pounds of hot wieners
is so popular that their regulars regularly add it to other menu items, like the burgers. 6 Washington Street, Warren. 245-9405, Facebook.com/Rods.Grille
tHe Future oF Hot WIeners One thing that rings true at every hot wiener restaurant is the need to stay true to the ingredients. “We’ve tried other products and they just don’t taste the same,” says Meghan Rodrigues. Greg Stevens of Olneyville is of the same mind. “Do not change a thing. That’s the theory with Olneyville NY System,” he says. “When people come in and have their hot wiener and coffee milk I’ll ask, ‘does it taste exactly as you remember?’ If they say yes, that’s the best compliment I can get. Keeping everything the same… it’s harder than it looks.”
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saving superman What will it take to revive our city’s most iconic building? By Tony Pacitti Photography by Mike Braca
Illustration by Alison Blackwell
In
July,
when it was announced that the Superman Building would host free public tours, guests snatched up the 200 slots in less than two hours. Arguably the most iconic building in the city (if not the state), Superman doesn’t just occupy a place in our skyline, but in our collective psyche. For artists, its charismatic art deco design serves as a muse, showing up on everything from t-shirts to handbags to screen-printed posters. For citizens, it is a reminder of a time when the city, and by extension, all of us who live here now, regardless of our age, were on top of the world.
The Gondola Room on the 29th floor of the Superman Building has inspired all of those legends about blimps landing there in the building’s early years
T
wenty-nine floors above the streets of Providence is a room that, with its leather paneling and porthole windows, evokes the haute accommodations of travelling by airship in the 1920s. This is the Gondola Room, so called for its resemblance to passenger gondolas that drifted elegantly through the skies until a fiery day in New Jersey brought an end to a more romantic era of air travel. It’s safe to say that this room has played a key role in the decades of rumors and party myths surrounding 111 Westminster Street; the non-fact that zeppelins used to dock at the Superman Building has been repeated to and by most of us at one point or another. I’m told that the room was designed in honor of a British airship that crashed near the construction site of that very building. Google says otherwise. Regardless of any weight to the claim, it’s hard not to get swept up in the myth. When captains of industry were occupying this room, the vaults two and a half floors beneath the Industrial Trust Building’s grand banking hall contained $6 billion in assets behind two doors that each weigh 17 tons. Pneumatic tubes pumped cash like red blood cells through the monolithic heart of the city’s financial district. The entire building, all 380,000 square feet of it, pulsed with life. Providence was the costume jewelry capital of the world, and the building’s four-story beacon sparkled at the top of it like a diamond. But it’s 2016, and the leather on the walls is cracked and torn, and several of the windows are boarded up. Bill Fischer, a spokesperson for the building’s Massachusetts-based owner, High Rock Development, tiptoes to a window with a spectacular view that would seem foreign to the powerful men who stood here nearly 90 years ago. “I’m going to approach the window very carefully so as not to disturb our only tenant,” he says, speaking not of a well-to-do banker, but a peregrine falcon. The falcon, who nests just outside the window with the breathtaking view of the river, the hurricane barrier and the Atlantic Ocean beyond, wasn’t home. No one was home. There was nothing below us but steel, limestone and empty spaces.
The vault underneath the Grand Banking Hall, protected by two 17 ton doors, at one point held $6 billion in cash and goods
The Death of Superman The building has been virtually empty since Bank of America finally packed the last of its things and left in 2012. High Rock’s effort to revitalize the property has been a semi-annual discussion with its fair share of supporters and detractors. Both sides of the argument are passionate, and while everyone can agree that it’s an icon and a testament to Providence at its height, where they disagree is who pays for bringing Superman back from the dead. Bank of America’s exit was no small shock. For 85 years, a bank had occupied the building in some capacity, though Bank of America was only utilizing about half of the building at the time. They had also invested $7 million into new fire safety and sprinkler systems less than three years prior to their vacating the building. “That’s not the kind of investment one makes when they’re on the precipice of walking out the door,” says Fischer. “In many respects everyone got a little flat footed by their departure.” The bank’s decision not to renew its lease was
one of several factors contributing to the perfect storm of bad timing for High Rock and its owner David Sweetser. High Rock purchased the building in 2008 for $33.2 million, just as the Great Recession was about to lay waste to the state. 2012 came with the one-two punch of Bank of America’s last day of regular business operations – the dusty counters in the banking hall still display plaques with the date of the bank’s last day of business, Friday, April 12 – and the spectacular implosion of 38 Studios. In 2013, High Rock proposed turning 35,000 square feet of the lower levels into retail and office space and converting the rest into 280 residential rental units. The plan would have required $39 million in state support, between $10 and $15 million from the city and $21 million in Federal historic tax credits. It didn’t get far. In 2015, High Rock tried courting Citizens Bank, who ultimately decided to setting up shop in Johnston. Just a couple of months ago, easy headlines briefly filled our social media feeds when the Commerce Corporation showed the building to PayPal in September, but they showed several places to PayPal.
“Industrial Trust Building, Providence, RI,” PC6783, Rhode Island Postcard Collection, Providence Public Library, Providence, RI
The building of tomorrow
A circa-1940 postcard from Providence Public Library
“The days of this building being single-tenant use are gone. They’re not coming back. You would need something significant for one tenant to be gobbling up 380,000 square feet,” explains Fischer. Currently there’s no concrete plan – though they’re expecting to have something for the next legislative session – but the idea has gone back to mixed-use, with the lower levels being repurposed for restaurants, retail and office spaces, with the bulk of the space turning into rental apartments. There’s certainly a need for housing. In their annual report, Rhode Island Housing showed that demand will require 34,610-40,230 new units over the next ten years, the majority of which would be for rental properties. Of the overall demand, 57% of it will be in Providence. Fischer suggests that whatever new plan High Rock comes up with, approximately 270 units of rental housing would be a part of it. Cornish Associates, which is consulting with High Rock on its redevelopment effort, are no strangers to the revitalization of historic downtown properties. Projects such as the Peerless Lofts have been redeveloped as mixed use spaces with significant state investments – mostly in the form of the now-discontinued State Historic Tax Credit – and the Smith Building and Kinsley Building, which offer affordable housing and workforce housing, respectively. The State Historic Tax Credit program, which Cornish’s managing partner Buff Chace had championed in the early 2000s was discontinued when the recession hit in 2008. The Rhode Island Commerce Corporation’s Rebuild Rhode Island Tax Credit, which has stipulations for the repurposing of historic properties, is seen by developers as the next best thing to the State Historic Tax Credit, but with a cap of $15 million per project it doesn’t meet the assistance High Rock is looking for for Superman. “A safe number is $115 million to rehab the building,” says Fischer of the project’s total cost. This of course is an estimate, as at the time there’s no firm plan High Rock is ready to put forward. “There’s not a historic structure downtown that you can point to that was rehabbed without state and city support. It’s simply not going to happen. Right now this building is not producing. It’s not part of the economy; nobody is living or working here and paying taxes.” Fischer points to The Arcade on Westminster, the Providence G and other historic buildings that have come back to life in the last decade or so as examples of projects that wouldn’t have been feasible without state aid. But above all else, the South Street Landing project, which is turning the dilapidated Dynamo
111 Westminster Street The Industrial Trust Tower – or the Superman Building as we all tend to call it – opened in October of 1928. A bank occupied the building until 2012, when the building’s last tenant, Bank of America, vacated the premises. • 428 feet tall • Approximately 380,000 square feet • Purchased in 2008 by High Rock Development for $33.2 million • An aggregate total of $5 million has been spent since 2013 in maintaining the building • High Rock has estimated the annual cost of lighting the exterior of the building to be $35-40,000. Though they shut the lights off in 2013, they’ve kept the building’s blue beacon lit.
You’d never be able to recreate or get anything like it. It’s special. It’s part of our culture and it needs to be preserved. There’s a solution to this problem, it just takes a collective will to solve it. –Bill Fischer, spokesperson for High Rock Development
There is no way that we should be subsidizing it. Rhode Islanders have this emotional attachment to the things they’ve been surrounded by. I get that, but we can’t keep sacrificing our present. –Pat Ford, Chairman of the Libertarian Party of Rhode Island
House into administrative offices for Brown University and a state of the art nursing school for RIC and URI, is seen as textbook example of the good that can be done when developers and government put their heads together (see sidebar). “The basic assumption there is that [the historic urban fabric is] one of our hidden assets,” says Chace. “We should come together and use the same types of resources that were used for South Street Landing to repurpose [the Superman Building].” “The Dynamo House has received state tax credits, and that has certainly contributed to making that project work,” says Brent Runyon, executive director of the Providence Preservation Society (PPS). PPS, which has included the Superman Building on its Most Endangered Properties list twice since 2013, have selected the building as the location for their annual Providence Symposium (see sidebar on page 31), a weekend of events focusing on the question “Why Preserve?” “We think that reusing and preserving that building makes a statement that our morale is strong,” says Runyon. “It’s less about preservation for the sake of preservation and more about what are we losing if we lose that building. We feel it would be similar to if city leaders had let the Biltmore Hotel be torn down in the ‘70s, or even worse.” From an aesthetic standpoint, there’s nothing like it in Providence. One Financial Plaza, the city’s second tallest building, can’t help but look hopelessly generic by comparison. Inside Superman, the three gorgeous domes depicting zodiac signs, the seasons and the months of the year adorn the ceiling of the banking hall. This is the kind of building that just doesn’t get made anymore. In addition to advocating for the revitalization of the Superman Building, PPS would like to see the State Historic Tax Credit return. “If structured correctly, it’s a fair system that awards credit based on merit rather than personality or politics,” explains Runyon. “It seems like that would be the kind of incentive we would want from the state to make things predictable for developers and really take the politics out of it.” South Street Landing had its fair share of public hurdles, particularly the proposed museum for the property that turned out to be a non-starter. For years the building sat empty and decrepit. “It would still be that way without tens of millions of dollars in historic tax credits and incentives, and a tax stabilization agreement,” says Fischer. “Now the return is that you bring back a property, hundreds of people go to work, they come here, they move here, they spend money. It’s a long-term investment. The challenges of the development community and the political atmosphere don’t necessarily mesh up, but those are our realities.”
kryptonite to taxpayers? Another reality is the fact that the failure of 38 Studios has left many citizens with a doozy of a hangover, turning every subsequent high-profile case of taxpayer aid into a round of drinks they just don’t have the stomach for. Tax credits for developers? No thanks, had a bad night a few years back, we don’t touch the stuff. “These folks are sophisticated business people who are clearly capable of raising private equity. Fix it yourself. I want no part of it,” says Pat Ford, chairman of the Libertarian Party of Rhode Island (LPRI), which held informational picket lines outside of every tour of the Superman Building this summer. “We’re there just to provide a counterpoint. We don’t want people to leave with this romantic haze about how important it is.”
South Street Landing
The South Street Landing project is occupying the space formerly known as the Dynamo House. Supporters of revitalizing the Superman Building point to it as a model that should be followed. • 130,000 square foot state-of-the-art Rhode Island Nursing Education Center, a joint venture between Rhode Island College and University of Rhode Island’s nursing programs • 136,000 square feet of administrative offices for Brown University • A new 744-space parking garage along Eddy Street • Two new, seven-story buildings with a total of 270 beds for graduate, medical and nursing students • Cost: $220 million • Incentives: $28 million in state historic tax credits, $26 million in federal historic tax credits. Property tax stabilization agreement with the city
We should come together and use the same types of resources that were used for South Street Landing to repurpose [the Superman Building].” –Buff Chace, Cornish Associates South Street Landing is a gorgeous project that’s a bad deal for the taxpayers. The parking garage is hideous, which sort of takes away from the sense of placemaking, which was really a selling point. –Sam Bell, State Coordinator of the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats
The Industrial Trust Tower, seen under construction in the winter of 1928, would become the heart of the
“Industrial Trust Company”, VM013_WC0264_1, Rhode Island Photograph Collection , Providence Public Library, Providence, RI
city’s financial district and serve as home to banking operations until Bank of America’s exit in 2012
Ford can commiserate with the unfortunate timing of High Rock’s purchase, but at the end of the day he and LPRI – which galvanized around the fallout of 38 Studios and last year’s dalliance with building a new stadium for the PawSox in Providence – doesn’t feel it’s the role of government to fix it. “It’s not a proper debate when you’re comparing giving $75 million to a baseball player who has no experience in the video game industry to brick-and-mortar projects,” Fischer states. “I don’t care who owns the building, there’s nobody on this planet that is going to repurpose this building without state and city support. We’ve got to learn from [38 Studios] and move on. It was an incredibly poor policy decision on behalf of a number of people who let the state down. It had nothing to do with this structure that’s been standing here and has contributed to society since 1927.” “Curt Schilling and 38 Studios made everybody
scared of this kind of government funding, even though they’re not at all the same,” adds Chace. “That was a start up company, this is hard asset real estate.” Sam Bell, the state coordinator for the Rhode Island Progressive Democrats, suggests that High Rock is deliberately keeping the building vacant until the state antes up. “The current corporate welfare approach has been keeping the building [unoccupied] far longer than the market would. That approach has been tried and it’s failed.” Step out of the Superman Building and you’ll find plenty of evidence of the city’s need for affordable housing. Mayor Elorza and former Mayor Paolino have both offered their own solutions to panhandling and homelessness. Those plans offer competing points of view and come with their own detractors and supporters, but as far as Superman is concerned, it’s unclear what role its revitalization will play in this issue.
Providence preservation society symposium
The Providence Preservation Society (PPS) will be holding their annual Symposium at the Superman Building on November 3 and 4. This year not only marks the 60th anniversary of PPS, but the 50th anniversary of the National Preservation Act and 100th anniversary of the National Parks Service. The Symposium will explore the theme “Why Preserve?” and Friday, November 4 will include a panel discussion about the community impact of leaving Superman empty and a tour of the Building. This year’s keynote speaker will be the President and CEO of Mount Vernon, Curtis G. Viebranz. PPSRI.org, ProvidenceSymposium.com You think of Mount Vernon as George Washington’s home and museum, but it all started with this citizens’ push to preserve an important part of America’s history in the 1850s. That wasn’t really done at the time. It’s one of these preeminent institutions that will tell us a lot about how preservationists are thinking about what we do today and tomorrow.” –Brent Runyon, executive director of Providence Preservation Society.
Both Bell and Ford point to the city’s shortage of affordable, low and middle income housing and are weary of taxpayers supporting high income or luxury units that will only be of benefit to a select few – specifically, Bell decries the development of downtown as “an all white, all segregated high income neighborhood.” For their part, Chace says that he’s advocating for housing that would be of mixed sizes and available to mixed incomes. Fischer has said that luxury units are out of the equation given that the market in Providence doesn’t support them, but will the Superman Building have a place for citizens in need of affordable or low income housing? Will retailers and high income renters flock to the iconic tower if they’re afraid of Kennedy Plaza? Until there’s a plan to put forward, it’s all a bit hypothetical. What isn’t hypothetical is the dedication of either side of the argument. “[High Rock’s owner] David Sweetser is bullish on Providence, he’s bullish on this building. He’s been incredibly patient,” says Fischer, pointing to the $5 million High Rock has paid in maintenance on the building since Bank of America left. “It has a future history, it’s just not written. We need to write it. There’s a solution to this problem, it just takes a collective will to solve it.” Ford offers a counterpoint: “Build it. Fix it up. Make a fortune. Knock yourself out. God bless America. Just don’t do it on my dime.” Like the hero who gives the building its nickname, the Superman Building has become a symbol. For its supporters it represents the very best of what this city was and could be again, not unlike how the last son of Krypton stood as an example that mankind could aspire to. But there were people who feared Superman too, who felt that his presence was holding humanity back and that as an unchecked power, he courted danger on a massive scale. Trade the cape for concrete and the super powered daringdo for debates over tax credits and our Superman isn’t so much different from the Man of Steel. At the end of the day, each comes with a healthy dose of idealism and the risk of collateral damage.
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City Style At Home / Shop Talk / The Look / Beauty / Get Fit
Home Sweet Home
Residential Properties agent Kevin Fox has been helping people buy and sell homes on the East Side for years. But what does the longtime East Sider’s home look like? This month, we flipped the script and took a peek inside the living room in the house Kevin shares with his wife Theresa and kids Owen and Nola. Theresa: I love the bookshelves. Over the years, in an ongoing effort to de-clutter, we have given away most of our books, but couldn’t part with the ones in this room. These are our old friends — the ones we return to time and again, along with a few piles of titles waiting to be read for the first time.
Kevin: That’s an etching that was given to me by a client - it’s the Carriage House on Thayer Street.
Theresa: Sitting among the books are a few drawings by my sister-in-law, several fox figurines given to us by friends, and a set of Dante and Beatrice bookends that had been given to my parents as a wedding gift. Another set of bookends that are replicas of the lions in front of the New York Public Library were given to me by a former student.
Photography by Mike Braca
Kevin: Our dear friend Rick Sementa who owned 20th Century Provenance in Pawtucket passed away last year. I bought that rosewood cabinet there it was a great little shop.
Kevin: Those two midcentury chairs on the right are penguin chairs by Kolfod Larsen. I bought them on Wickenden Street years ago. I wish I had bought all four - I’ve seen them sell for $1500 a piece now.
Theresa: When Juno is not lounging on her favorite perch in the bay window, or snuggling with us on the couch, she likes to roll around on the carpets.
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Why you should vote for me on November 8 As a State Representative, I shall focus on the issues which the majority of my constituents find most important to RI. Based upon my personal door to door campaigning so far, those issues are: Economic Development & Job Creation, Improving RI’s Public School Education and Ethics Reform. I’ll bring to the General Assembly a unique understanding of how to fix the RI Economy based upon my over 40 years of sophisticated financial experience and expertise as: VP & Controller of Fleet Bank, Senior VP & Controller of Old Stone Bank, CFO (25 years) of Providence Equity Partners with a strong reputation for straightforwardness and high ethical standards. I shall be an Independent first time elected official with none of the political party cronyism and baggage of the incumbents and not be encumbered by the influence of narrowly focused special interest groups.
Since retiring in January 2012, I have focused on: A) Economic development and job creation in RI by fostering and nurturing start up businesses by:
I) Investing my own money through Cherrystone Angel Investors and Ocean State Angel Investors. II) Sitting on the Boards and Investment Committees of The Slater Technology Fund (www.slaterfund.com) and The Business Development Company of RI (www.bdcri.com) III) Being an Advisor and Judge at the Annual RI Business Plan Competition (www.ri-bizplan.com)
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
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The Look
by Jeanette St. Pierre
Photography by Ian Travis Barnard
Joshua Brown Creative Director, Newport Restaurant Group I guess I would say my style is rooted in classic New England fashion themes. If I’m at a restaurant doing a photo shoot, I like to be comfortable but still maintain a certain level of professionalism. Other days in the office can vary from donning a suit to a casual day of jeans and sneakers. The outfit I’m wearing is a good representation of what I would wear to work on a given day. The pants are from Brooks Brothers, the shirt and sweater are from J.Crew. The boots are Alden. The watch is Paul Smith, which was a gift from my wife many years
ago. I try to invest in certain pieces like the boots, which I’ll have for decades and can pass down. Hopefully my son ends up with the same size feet. I’ve been with Newport Restaurant Group for 16 years. It was my first job out of college. As an employee owned company, we all pride ourselves on going the extra mile for our guests, from our culinary teams, to our waitstaff and management. I’m grateful that I get to play a part in the overall guest experience from a creative and brand perspective.
My favorite place in Rhode Island is, without question, the RISD Museum. My parents would take me as a child and now my wife and I take the kids regularly. And nothing beats a post-visit stroll down Benefit Street in the fall. Shopping wise, I’m a fan of Civil and Sneaker Junkies. Marc Allen has great bespoke pieces for dressier occasions. And while not fashion related, my love of letter writing and correspondence is a key part of my personality. If not designing my own, I hit up Craftland for unique stationery.
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Hoop De Doo A 36-year-old tries hula hooping for the first time in his life
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
There are certain simple things I have never managed to do, basic childhood abilities that if I haven’t picked them up over the course of 36 years, I probably never will. I can’t whistle. I’ve never been able to blow a bubble with gum or do a handstand. Until recently, hula hooping belonged on that list: had never done it, didn’t ever expect I would. That changed when I was assigned to attend a class with Jessie Jewels, a local artist, Zumba and belly dance instructor, and hoop dancer. She picked up hula hooping in 2013 and “hasn’t stopped whirling since,” performing publicly, teaching classes, even designing and selling handcrafted hoops. I arrived at the Movement Exchange, a small dance studio on the Pawtucket/Providence line, for the first session of a four-week “Basics of Hooping” class. Standing barefoot in the center of the wood floor (I tend to appreciate activities that can be done in bare feet), forming a circle while trying to give each other a wide enough berth, we dove right into basic waist hooping. Jessie offered us hoops of varying sizes, with the advice that the larger and heavier the hoop, the easier it would be to keep up – which makes sense when you actually stop to consider the physics of it, but at first glance seemed counterintuitive. Jessie instructed us not to fear the sound of the hoop clattering on the floor because we would be hearing a
lot of it over the next hour, and it immediately became a familiar din. My first several attempts resulted in the hoop almost immediately dropping off my waist. In a revelation that may seem obvious to any eight-year-old but was entirely new to me, I learned that the “secret” to hula hooping is not swaying your body in a circle, but swinging rapidly back-and-forth or side-to-side. Apparently in hula hooping, you’re either a back-and-forth person or a sideto-side person – seldom do both come naturally to one person. I am definitively a back-and-forth person. We also learned that each of us kind of has a natural orbit. There is a particular combination of the lean of one’s body weight and the direction of the spin that is the default setting for each of us; once you discover yours, it becomes the basic starting point for your hooping. After I discovered mine, I found myself able to get a handful of solid rotations around the waist each time, which was far less than all my classmates, but roughly 600% more than I expected based on previous experience. Before I had the chance to marvel at my accomplishment, we quickly moved on to spinning the hoops around our hands and arms. To my
surprise, I proved far more adept at this than waist hooping. With some simple flicks of the wrist I could not only keep the hoop spinning indefinitely, but change direction, switch hands and move around pretty freely. What followed was a rapid progression through a series of hoop dancing basics: passing the hoop from hand to hand, rotating it above our heads, twisting our bodies through the center of it. Jessie then walked us through some simple combinations of basic maneuvers, slowly demonstrating each step, then adding more to the sequence. Before long, I was – well, I wouldn’t I would say I was hoop dancing, but I was engaging in a rudimentary approximation of it. I’m counting that as a win. As we neared the end of our intro, Jessie led us in a hoop-based cooldown: some simple, yoga-inspired stretches and even a brief bit of meditation. The quiet moment provided a nice contrast to the pumping music and crashing hoops of the previous hour. My first foray into hooping had not been particularly graceful or adroit, but it exceeded my expectations for myself. Next up: finally nailing that handstand.
The Movement Exchange 545 Pawtucket Avenue, Pawtucket • JessieJewelsHoops.com TheMovementExchange.org
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
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years.” Very few shops can boast that kind of longevity and deep intimate relationship with their customers. In addition, Ruth’s Lingerie is also a major supplier of mastectomy products for women in Rhode Island. “We have over 4,000 women who come to us post breast surgery. In other parts of the country, women often go to a hospital boutique or a DME supplier
for their products. I think we are such a better venue for them,“ explains Carol. “They shop where all women shop – it’s not like a medical experience. They’re still the same woman they always were. Emotionally and psychologically it makes sense.” Women’s welfare is important to Ruth’s in every way – it’s not just about looking good, but feeling good, too.
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heard of Ruth’s Lingerie, you’re in for a treat. The Cranston-based lingerie store carries the most extensive bra inventory in New England. Tucked in a cute little storefront off Rolfe Square, the store carries well-known American and European brands in all sizes and styles of bra – be it bandeaus, long lines or bralettes. There are also goods for every price range, from high-end lingerie to more practical, everyday wear. Swimwear is also sold year round. The floor space and walls are stacked high with every kind of style you could imagine. Seriously – stacked. But, one of the coolest parts about Ruth’s isn’t just its vast inventory, but its amazing story. It all started in 1954 when, wanting to earn some extra money for her family, Ruth Lubinsky opened Ruth’s Shop of Corsetry. Her mother was the first seamstress for the store. Back in a time when it was unusual for women to own and run a business, let alone work, Ruth’s did pretty well. To this day, it remains a family-run business, with Ruth’s daughter, Carol Schwebel now at the helm. And it remains committed to the values it was founded on, namely outstanding customer service. Carol explains that helpful customer service is paramount. Clients receive one-on-one service from Ruth’s highly knowledgeable team. “Our staff is very experienced. They know how to fit a bra and they know what bra does best with each body type – they’re terrific,” says Carol. “The staff often prides themselves at bringing a client a bra and watching the client’s jaw drop as they’re amazed at how well the garment fits, feels comfortable and transforms how they look in their clothing. That type of service isn’t readily available in most of the retail world these days.” Anyone who’s ever shopped for a bra knows how frustrating it can sometimes be to find one that’s the perfect fit. Because Ruth’s carries such a variety of styles, shape and sizes – and the people who work there really understand the garments and the sizing – that problem is quickly solved. It’s truly remarkable how long Ruth’s has been around and a prominent feature of the Cranston shopping experience. “Just today I had a woman come in who talked about getting her first strapless bra from us – for prom. She’s around 75 years old now,” shares Carol. “She’s been a customer all these
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
I’ve been delaying the inevitable for years now. Decades, if we’re being honest. And for all of the oversharing I regularly do in this column, I’ve been avoiding the elephant in the room for too long. So I’m just going to say it. Ready? Here it is: I’m going gray. So what’s the big deal, you’re asking? There isn’t. I spotted my first grays when I was in middle school, and though they were a small but growing minority, they were easy to ignore. I always knew that one day I’d have to do something about them, and one day finally showed up about six months ago when I spotted the beginnings of a Cruella de Vil streak springing up from my hairline. But still, it took me six months to come to terms with the idea of hair color. Why? Honestly I have no idea, but I do know that I have a paralyzing fear of commitment when it comes to dyeing my hair. I’m pretty good at committing to other things: healthy eating, sending birthday gifts on time, keeping the ‘80s alive in my clothing and lifestyle choices. But for some reason, even though I make bimonthly trips to the nail salon, being tied to a hair salon every five weeks has always seemed more daunting than I can handle, despite the fact that 95% of the women I know (and quite a lot of men, too) color their hair. In this six months between realizing that my Cruella streak needed attention and my taking action to fix it, I came to terms with a hard truth – it wasn’t that I needed to dye my hair that
bothered me, it was that “some day” was finally here, that I was at a point in my life when I was starting to hit my “some days.” I’m lucky, though. I made it to 34. I have friends my age who have been coloring for ten or more years. When I sat down in Nora Castrignano’s chair at 43 East, the stylish salon off Wickenden Street that opened earlier this year, she asked me what I wanted to do. “I don’t know,” I said, waiting for her to notice the 101 Dalmatians situation on top of my head. “Maybe there’s… something you can do about all this gray.” I explained my hesitations to her – that I didn’t want to deal with roots in a month, that I was worried about changing the texture of my curls, that I didn’t want to lose the natural highlight in my hair. “You won’t,” Nora said confidently. “I can do an exact color match, and just do those roots and the actual gray strands. You won’t even notice a change to most of your hair. The dye won’t touch it. And it will fade gradually, so you won’t have an abrupt line.” It was all the right things. So she poured me a glass of wine (hey, it was almost five o’clock) and went to work. Nora applied Milkshake Creative Colour to my hair, and told me about the salon. She and two of her coworkers, Shannon Raymond and Eduardo Marques, had been at a big salon that
abruptly closed last year, and they made the decision (over the holidays, no less) to go in on a new place themselves. 43 East is a gorgeous space, with bright, glossy turquoise floors and huge windows that looked onto East Street in upper Fox Point, letting in the fall sunlight and making the whole place sparkle. When the color was set, Nora washed my hair with Neuma shampoo and conditioner, which is sulfate free (good for color), paraben, fragrance and carcinogen free (good for your health), and free of environmental pollutants and made with recycled materials (good for life as we know it). She gave me a cut that kept my general shape, which I asked for, but reworked the interior structure of the cut. “This is going to look similar, but feel a lot lighter and easier to manage,” she promised. A little bit of Milkshake Leave In Conditioning Mousse and Redken Ringlet, and I was ready to go. Usually, when I go curly after a cut, I need to plan on going home for the night. Most stylists can’t style my curls well, and I’m left with a puffball or crunchy worms on top of my head. That day was one of the only times I’ve ever left a salon looking ready for the evening. And the color? Completely fine. No one even noticed – which is exactly what I was hoping for.
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Illustration by Lia Marcoux
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FEAST In the Kitchen / On the Menu / Review / In the Drink / Dining Guide
Season’s Eatings Photography by Stacey Doyle
Following a much anticipated move to the East Side from Bristol, Persimmon is doing what it does best: carefully dishing out peak-of-the-season, hyper-local bites. The menu changes frequently, so visiting is a one-of-a-kind experience, every time.
Burrata-ďŹ lled cappelletti pasta from Persimmon
FEAST
Review
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Big Flavors, Small Plates Persimmon’s meticulously elegant dishes highlight the season’s bounty
at Persimmon, marveling at the petite chanterelle on my fork, I realized why I was having such a good dinner. Persimmon cultivates an aura of calm, which cannot be said for all restaurants of its caliber. Some high-end restaurants deliver on the food but have a nervous temperament. An unfussy and measured dining experience helps me be mindful about what I am eating. At Persimmon, every bite is sure to be something worth my attention. You may recognize 99 Hope Street as the former home of Rue de L’Espoir. Designer Libby Slader’s renovation created a brighter, more formal feel. Persimmon owners Champe and Lisa Speidel moved their iconic Rhode Island restaurant to Providence this spring after a successful decade in Bristol that included several James Beard nominations and plenty of local admirers. The move allowed them to reach more visitors with a central location, expand their seating capacity and broaden their menu. Persimmon’s menu, as you would
expect, changes seasonally, and our visit caught the beginning of the fall selections. The recent seasonal change was evident as soon as we saw the cocktail list. Though I was not eager to say goodbye to summer, let alone fall, I tried the Winter is Coming, a tall drink with the bitterness of St. George Bruto Americano tempered by cassis and soda, boldened by smooth silver rum. It was a refreshing, not-too-sweet aperitif. My husband had the headier Miss American Pie, a whiskey-based cocktail with applejack and yellow chartreuse. All dishes on Persimmon’s menu can be described as small plates. Unlike tapas-inspired restaurants, however, not all are appropriate for sharing. Plan to order around three dishes per person, if not four, depending on your appetite. We chose several dishes to share in whatever order they happened to arrive. Our first was the Oysters Three Ways. Per the staff ’s recommendation, we ordered two – oysters are awkward, if not impossible, to split. The trio was adorable: one raw oyster floating in a
Seafood bouillabaisse with halibut
THE SCOOP 48
Butter powder, grilled corn and caramelized popcorn on top of sweet corn ice cream
little porcelain shell, the second fried and the third, turned into a crispy chip similar to a Chinese shrimp chip, dressed up with caviar.
The Braised Green Beignets were simple but delicious, with a steamy pocket of greens inside and a bright scallion aioli dipping sauce on the side. I enjoyed a glass of the Draught Rose Cabernet Franc from Bridge Lane in Long Island and my husband ordered a favorite local beer, Proclamation Derivative with Citra hops. Next was one of my favorite dishes of the night, Crispy Tempura Squash Blossoms. The small blossoms fully enclosed a spoonful of ratatouille, a light batter sealing the balloon-like shape. They sat in a thick, creamy Parmesan broth and we found ourselves reaching for one last scrape before the plate disappeared. Squash blossoms are a bittersweet, fleeting snapshot of late summer. We recently enjoyed a lobster-stuffed version at Oberlin – both treatments were astonishingly delicate and creative. The Venison Tartare was subtle, enhanced with the occasional punctuation of a roasted hazelnut
CUISINE: New American with French influences PRICES: Small Plates: $9-$26 Desserts: $4-$9 ATMOSPHERE: Upscale
Providence Monthly | November 2016
Photography by Stacey Doyle
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Photography by Stacey Doyle
Designer Libby Slader is the brains behind Persimmon’s new look
and a light shaving of cured egg yolk. It would have been even better with some thin, toasted bread. Our dish of Slow Cooked Octopus had white beans, chorizo and herbs in a deeply flavored broth. The Penne may have looked ordinary, but its confit cherry tomatoes were bursting with end-of-summer sweetness. Another favorite dish was the Pan Seared Duck Breast. The Canadian chanterelles and wild huckleberries were like an autumn walk in the forest. Apparently, Persimmon brought most of their staff along for the move. The well-trained, attentive staff made a great impression, paying as much attention to every diner as the kitchen pays to each dish. The dessert list sent us into a tizzy, so
we ordered four dishes. First, Caramelized Popcorn with sweet corn ice cream. My husband teases me about my affinity for all things corn, so he kindly let me have more than my half. How could we pass up the Peanut Butter and Concord Grape S’more’? I wondered whether it would be a bit much to combine the two childhood flavor combinations – peanut butter and jelly and s’mores – but it worked. The Dark Chocolate Semi freddo were a little hard to spear, but we managed to avoid flinging any across the room. Last, the Colston-Basset Stilton was served with an exemplary toasted raisin and walnut bread. Providence may be full of great restaurants, but there’s plenty of room for this celebrated Rhode Island star in the capital city.
50 Ann Mary Street, Pawtucket • 401-365-6278 • PhoHorns.com On Providence/Pawtucket line behind LA Fitness
Fall in Love at The Hopscotch Room
Stop in and see our new
FAll FAShion & hoMe Decor Visit us next door at
Persimmon 99 Hope Street • 432-7422 • PersimmonRI.com
Tumblesalts Cafe 2207 & 2209 Mineral Spring Avenue North Providence • 349-4409 • hopscotchroom.com November 2016 | Providence Monthly
49
Classic Italian with a Downtown Vibe
Centro restaurant & lounge ONE WEst ExchaNgE • PrOvidENcE • 401-228-6802 • cENtrOPrOvidENcE.cOm Free 3hr parking at ri convention center garage (valid 5pm-close For diners only) centro is located inside the omni providence hotel
FEAST
In the Kitchen by Nicolas Staab
The Other KFC
OPEN HOUSE
Chef Jang Bae whips up authentic Korean dishes (like Korean Fried Chicken)
Sunday, Nov. 20 •1-3pm
Discover a new way to learn.
Preschool - Grade 6 OceanStateMontessori.org 100 Grove Ave. | East Providence 401-434-6913 Den Den Cafe upholds Korean culinary traditions while adding its own signature twist
There are just a few places to get Korean food in the city. Unlike other types of cuisine, it still flies under the radar. I met with Den Den Café Asiana’s Executive Chef Jang Bae to shed some light on Korean cuisine. We talked about must try dishes and staying true to his culinary roots.
Photography by Mike Braca
What inspired you to become a chef? I became a chef because learning a craft was very attractive to me. I had no experience cooking outside of my home, but figuring out how to use certain ingredients and how to make something new out of raw material felt like magic to me. I once watched a documentary on Chef Jiro Ono (Jiro Dreams of Sushi) and he said something that affected me deeply. He said, “You have to be very cautious in picking a dream you want to pursue. Once you decide, you have to give everything of yourself to fulfill it.” That still inspires me to this day. What’s one dish on the menu that encapsulates Korean cooking? My favorite dish is the Bibimbap. It translates to “mixed rice bowl” in English. It’s our number one seller and it’s a very old recipe. Every single component of the dish is seasoned and cooked differently, so it takes a lot of work to make a single order. When you look at it, this dish seems very simple: a bowl of rice with meat or vegetable on top. In our restaurant, you can choose the pro-
tein you want to add on top. In Korea, it doesn’t come as a customizable dish, it just comes as it comes.
add Korean street food to the menu as well – it’s what Koreans eat on an everyday basis.
What makes Bibimbap so complex? The Bibimbap is cooked (and served) in a granite stone bowl. It retains extremely hot temperatures and continues to cook while you’re eating it. At the end, there is a crispy layer on the bottom, but it never burns. A lot of customers ask, “Hot do you get this bowl so hot? Do you pre-heat it in the oven?” Believe it or not, we don’t have an oven. We cook everything here on the stovetop. That bowl is made from a unique Korean stone. When we buy it, we soak it in salt water for 24 hours, oil it with sesame oil then grill it. This keeps it intact after heating and cooling under extreme temperatures. That’s a Korean tradition.
What are some other aspects of Korean cooking that differ from other styles? Korean food is not well known. But I feel very proud of the techniques that people in Korea use. Fermentation, for example, is a staple of our food traditions. Our food is very tightly connected to the seasons as well. The dishes will change drastically from one season to the next. In that sense, it’s also connected to home cooking. Korean cooking is supposed to taste like mama’s food.
Tell me about some other items on the menu. There are many different styles of Korean cooking out there. For our menu, I handpick the dishes that I would like to eat, then place my own twist on them to make them approachable to local diners. The majority of our bestselling dishes are family-style dishes in Korea. However, we are starting to
Fostering independence, self-esteem, and a life-long love of learning since 1973.
After a hard day of work, what do you crave? A cold beer and Korean double-fried chicken. It’s a popular soul food dish in Asia right now. They actually call it “KFC” (Korean Fried Chicken) over there, but we’re not allowed to call it that in the States. We double fry it and utilize Korean street spices, like chili and soy paste, and a lot of garlic and honey. It has a tangy flavor to it. We’re actually opening a Korean fried chicken restaurant on Angell Street in Providence. It’ll be open by the end of this year.
Den Den Café Asiana 161 Benefit Street • 270-5269 • DenDenCafe.com November 2016 | Providence Monthly
51
FEAST
On the Menu by Grace Lentini
Fall Off the Bone The Great Northern BBQ Company has a new take on RI barbecue RAISE A GLASS TO GOOD TIMES
The Great Northern BBQ Co. smokes their brisket for 15 hours, which earned them first place at the Ocean State BBQ Festival
There’s plenty of cuisine we do right around town: Italian, New American, French. But barbecue? That’s a category that hasn’t quite caught on yet. But things are changing. More barbecue joints are popping up around the state, including the Great Northern BBQ Co. on the East Side. Currently it’s a food truck, going from event to event, but it makes a point of stopping by The Point Tavern every Sunday from 5pm-12am. The whole operation started with a homemade smoker built by Peter Landry five years ago. He started smoking meat as a hobby and sharing it with friends. “What appeals to me about cooking barbecue is that it’s process oriented, and I’m getting to perfect the process,” Peter says. “It’s what’s drawn me into low and slow barbecue. You can make it scientific but it’s also intuitive the more you do it.” Shortly thereafter he teamed up with his friend Jimmy James, the former chef at Figidini Wood Fire Eatery, to start the great Northern BBQ Co., which made its debut at the first annual Ocean State BBQ Festival (OSBF) this past June. They won best brisket, no small feat. While Peter takes on the role of pit master, Jimmy takes on a more chefly role. “I take all the layers that Peter puts into the meat and I try to do justice to it,” Jimmy says. For example, he takes Peter’s brisket and turns it into a 52
Providence Monthly | November 2016
piled-high sandwich with Texas toast, pickles, red cabbage and mustard. The last piece to this smoky puzzle is their business partner Dan Becker, owner of the Duck and Bunny and Ogie’s Trailer Park. He just so happened to try Peter’s award-winning brisket at the OSBF and it was love at first bite. “Peter smokes his brisket for 15 hours, and it’s the most difficult cut of meat to pull off,” Dan says. “It’s like the bonsai plant of barbecue.” What’s so interesting about these three heads (which are clearly better than one) is their approach to barbecue in Rhode Island. “We’re not reinventing the idea of barbecue. We’re redefining what RI barbecue is: that it’s year round and that it’s an homage to barbecue,” says Dan. “We want to respect all of the barbecue that exists. Maybe New England or Rhode Island barbecue is the collaboration of all these traditional styles, but we put our own twist on it,” says Peter. They’re keeping the traditions of barbecue alive the best way they know how: by perfecting the recipes then playing with them. “If barbecue is rooted in the past, it’s something that’s truly uniquely American, and we want to pay homage to that,” says Dan. “But let’s take what we love about it and see what we can do with it.” Facebook.com/GreatNorthernBBQCo
Pot au Feu has never shied away from pomp and circumstance. From their jazz dinners to their New Year’s celebrations, it seems all they need is a good reason to throw a party. Add the uncorking of the 2016 Beaujolais Nouveau on November 17 at 12:01 am to that list. Every year, Pot au Feu pops the cork to celebrate the wine harvest and enjoy the first taste of the season’s vintage. They follow it up with a Beaujolais Barrel Dinner that same day. Beaujolais is a very young wine that’s released at 12:01am on the third Thursday of November, per French law. It’s a law that Pot au Feu respects, and invites you to join in on. 44 Custom House Street. 273-8953, PotAuFeu.BusinessCatalyst.com
TRADING SPACES
The Laughing Gorilla Catering Company is taking over the kitchen at Kitchen until March
The Laughing Gorilla, a Providence-based catering company, is temporarily taking over the kitchen at Kitchen. This means big changes for the tiny space. The menu is getting a complete overhaul, with breakfast being subbed out for lunch and dinner. Laughing Gorilla takes a global view of cuisine, incorporating fine dining, street food and local beer into their repertoire. For lunch they’ll be offering signature sandwiches, soups, stews and salads. Dinner is elevated with the addition of fun appetizers and international entrees like noodle dishes, tacos, braised meats and yakatori. Watch out for a slew of housemade sauces, too. 94 Carpenter Street. 484-0431, LaughingGorilla.com
Photography by (Top Left) Grace Lentini, Photo courtesy of (Top Right) Pot au Feu, (Bottom Right) Laughing Gorrilla
Pot au Feu pops the cork on the 2016 vintage of Beaujolais Nouveau on November 17
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
186 Wayland Avenue, Providence 270-3737 • saltedslate.com
FEAST
In the Drink by Emily Dietsch
Now opeN
of factory-made syrup. Consider the bar set.
Sugar and Spice Everything is nice at Nara Lounge, especially their sangria We’re in the middle of spiced drink season. Not only at coffeehouses, but also at your friendly neighborhood watering holes. Half the populace is on board with it, and the other half wants to smash every glass they encounter like a pumpkin on the street. To those readers who fall into the latter category, please check your prejudice for 60 seconds. One, there is a right way and a wrong way to do the spice trend. And two, the drink featured here – an Apple Pie Sangria from Nara Lounge – has been served for more
Apple Pie Sangria
than nine years, making it something of an OG of spiced drinks. “It started off as one of our fall season specials when we first opened,” General Manager Joseph Tohme told us. “It was such a hit that we kept it as a mainstay.” Following Nara’s renovation last March, they updated their bar program to use more housemade, organic ingredients – which meant that the sangria got an update, too. Behold, a spiced autumn cocktail made without pumps from a dubious bottle
With New Ownership
Apple cider gets its own grown up cocktail at Nara Lounge
Serves plenty
200 Wayland Avenue, Providence 421-3718 • DorothyWilliamsRI.com
Nara’s Joseph Tohme keeps his restaurant’s exact recipe tight to the vest, but outlined the essentials for folks to DIY at home (see below). Don’t worry, as precision is beside the point. Sangria is a kitchen sink, “what’s on hand and what you like” libation. For a batch at home, I made a pitcher based on one bottle of dry white wine. I advise you to do the same, but play around with the rest to suit your taste. Pro tip: Try swapping in a non-alcoholic sparkling cider for the ginger ale. • Triple sec • Peach schnapps • Ginger brandy • Fresh lemon juice • Fresh apple juice • Cinnamon simple syrup (see below) • Pinot grigio • Ginger ale • Ice, optional
Photography by Brian DeMello
• Cinnamon sticks for garnish, optional Cinnamon simple syrup: To make simple syrup, mix equal parts of granulated sugar and water in a sauce pan and simmer until it creates a uniform consistency. To make cinnamon simple syrup, just add powdered cinnamon or cinnamon sticks at the beginning of the simmer to infuse. In a large pitcher, add all the ingredients and stir to blend. Add ice (optional), then top with ginger ale (or sparkling cider). Give it one more quick stir and pour into wine glasses. Garnish each with a cinnamon stick for the ultimate fall feel.
Nara Lounge 248 Atwells Ave • 273-6272 • NaraProvidence.com
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November 2016 | Providence Monthly
55
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FOR ALL THE NEIGHBORHOOD NEWS WWW.INDOWNCITY.COM & @INDOWNCITYPVD
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
DINING GUIDE I N YO U R N E I G H B O R H O O D
Rosmarin at Hotel Providence Rosmarin, which debuted last December, is an exciting new addition to the Providence dining scene. Housed inside the opulent Hotel Providence, the restaurant offers a refined atmosphere and upscale Swiss-inspired food. The dining room is simply gorgeous, with a deep red color on the walls and oversized crystal chandeliers hanging from above. The open bar and lounge area is a chic and inviting spot for after-work drinks, a pre-theatre bite or enjoying live entertainment on Friday evenings. Local and fresh ingredients are at the core of Rosmarin’s seasonal menu. The food is meticulously prepared and artfully plated, offering diners an exquisite dining experience each and every time.
311 Westminster Street, Providence 521-3333, SilverShellHospitality.com
PROVIDENCE COUNTY 10 Prime Steak & Sushi Gourmet steaks and sushi. 55 Pine St, Providence, 4532333. LD $$$ Capri Swedish-influenced Mediterranean cuisine. 58 De Pasquale Ave, Providence, 274-2107. LD $$-$$$ Catering Gourmet Premiere catering company providing food made from scratch. 333 Strawberry Field Rd, Warwick, 773-7925. $-$$$ CAV Eclectic cuisine and art in an historic setting. 14 Imperial Pl, Providence, 751-9164. BrLD $$-$$$ Centro Restaurant & Lounge Contemporary cuisine and cocktails. 1 W Exchange St, Providence, 228-6802. BLD $$$ Chapel Grille Gourmet food overlooking the Providence skyline. 3000 Chapel View Blvd, Cranston, 9444900. BrLD $$$ Character’s Cafe & Theatre 82 Hybrid art space with all day breakfast, coffee and theatre-inspired entrees. 82 Rolfe Sq, Cranston, 490-9475. BL $
Rosmarin in the Hotel Providence offers a pre-theatre menu
Cucina Rustica Rustic, Italian-style dining combining comfort food and sophistication. 555 Atwood Ave, Cranston, 944-2500. LD $-$$ Flatbread Company Artisanal pizza, local ingredients. 161 Cushing St, Providence, 273-2737. LD $-$$ Fresco Italian American comfort food with international inspirations. 301 Main St, East Greenwich, 3980027; 140 Comstock Pkwy, Cranston, 228-3901. D $-$$ Harry’s Bar & Burger Handcrafted sliders, brews and pub games. 121 N Main St. Providence, 228-7437; 301 Atwells Ave, 228-3336 LD $-$$ Haruki Japanese cuisine and a la carte selections with casual ambiance. Locations in Cranston and Providence. HarukiSushi.com LD $-$$ Iron Works Tavern A wide variety of signature American dishes in the historic Thomas Jefferson Hill Mill. 697 Jefferson Blvd, Warwick, 739-5111. LD $-$$$ Jacky’s
Galaxie
Local
Pan-Asian
chain offering sushi and classic entrees in a modern atmosphere. Locations in Providence, North Providence, Bristol and Cumberland, JackysGalaxie.com. LD $-$$$ Julian’s A must-taste Providence staple celebrating 20 years. 318 Broadway, Providence, 861-1770. BBrLD $$ Luxe Burger Bar Build your own creative burger. 5 Memorial Blvd, Providence, 621-5893. LD $ McBride’s Pub Traditional Irish pub fare in Wayland Square. 161 Wayland Ave, Providence, 751-3000. LD $$ McCormick & Schmick’s Seafood & Steak Mixed grill selections and signature fish dishes sourced locally and seasonally. 11 Dorrance St, Providence, 351-4500. BLD $$-$$$ Meeting Street Cafe BYOB eatery with large menu of breakfast, lunch and dinner served all day. 220 Meeting St, Providence, 273-1066. BLD $-$$ Mill’s Tavern Historic setting for New American gourmet. 101 N Main St, Providence, 272-3331. D $$$
Momo Dessert restaurant with crepes, home-made stir fry ice cream and bubble tea. 100 Washington St, Providence, 521-6666. BLD $ Napolitano’s Brooklyn Pizza Classic Italian fare and traditional New Yorkstyle pizzas. 100 East St, Cranston, 383-7722; 380 Atwells Ave, Providence, 273-2400. LD $-$$ Ocean State Sandwich Company Craft sandwiches and hearty sides. 1345 Hartford Ave, Johnston. 155 Westminster St, Providence, 2826772. BL $-$$ Opa the Phoenician Authentic Lebanese food served in a fun atmosphere with hookahs. 230 Atwells Ave, Providence, 351-8282. D $-$$$ Parkside Rotisserie & Bar American bistro specializing in rotisserie meats. 76 South Main St, Providence, 331-0003. LD $-$$ Pat’s Italian Fine Italian favorites, natural steaks and handcrafted cocktails. 1200 Hartford Ave, Johnston, 273-1444. LD $-$$$ Pizza J A fun, upbeat atmosphere with
Key: B breakfast Br brunch L lunch D dinner $ under 10 $$ 10–20 $$$ 20+
November 2016 | Providence Monthly
57
FEAST
DINING GUIDE
thin crust pizza, pub fare and gluten-free options. 967 Westminster St, Providence, 632-0555. LD $-$$
For All Your Party Needs Home Of The Original Pizza Party Tray
Red Ginger Traditional Chinese restaurant and bar with a relaxed environment. 560 Killingly St, Johnston, 861-7878; 1852 Smith St, North Providence, 353-6688.
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Red Stripe Casual French-American bistro. 465 Angell St, Providence, 4376950; 455 Main St, East Greenwich, 398-2900. BrLD $$
Rocco’s Pub & Grub Five-star menu in an intimate, pub-like atmosphere. 55 Douglas Pike, Smithfield, 3492250. LD $-$$
Rick’s Roadhouse House-smoked barbecue. 370 Richmond St, Providence,
Rosmarin at Hotel Providence Bar and restaurant serving Swiss-inspired small plates, craft cocktails and an eclectic wine list. 311 Westminster Street, Providence, 521-3333 BLD $$$
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Spirito’s Restaurant & Catering Classic Italian fare served in a stately Victorian home. 477 Broadway, Providence, 434-4435. LD $-$$$ Starbucks Coffee, tea, bakery items and lunch options. Multiple locations. Starbucks.com BL$-$$
Come in and schedule an appointment today!
Where you’ll always find the brightest SMILES! 66 Kennedy Plaza Providence www.dentplus.net | 401-454-3000
T’s Restaurant Plentiful breakfast and lunch. Locations in Cranston, East Greenwich, Narragansett, TsRestaurantRI.com. BL $
Beautiful
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A neighborhood favorite is more than just a restaurant. Twin Willows is a gathering place for old friends, and friends you haven’t made yet. Purchased by Phil and Pat Durigan in 1984, Twin Willows specializes in seafood, freshly caught and perfectly prepared, that’s best enjoyed on their patio overlooking Bonnet Shores and Jamestown. Now run by Pat and her son David, the restaurant has been feeding happy customers for 32 years. “A lot of our customers have been coming for all 32 years,” Pat says. “It’s a very friendly atmosphere. We’ve been referred to as the ‘Cheers’ of South County. Some people even have their own bar stools.”
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The Crossings Shopping and restaurant plaza. 371 Putnam Pike, Smithfield, 232-8900. BLD $-$$$ The Dorrance Fine dining with exquisite cocktails. 60 Dorrance St, Providence, 521-6000. D $$$ The Grange Vegetarian restaurant serving seasonal dishes with a juice bar, vegan bakery and cocktail bar. 166 Broadway, Providence, 831-0600. BrLD $-$$ The Pizza Gourmet/ The Catering Gourmet From scratch wood-grilled pizzas and Italian American favorites. 357 Hope St, Providence, 751-0355. LD $-$$$ The Rosendale Bar and grill with welcoming atomposphere and creative menu. 55 Union St, Providence, 4213253. LD $-$$
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
865 Boston Neck Road, Narragansett 789-8153, TwinWillowsNarragansett.com
The Salted Slate An agri-driven American restaurant with global influences. 186 Wayland Ave, Providence, 270-3737. BrLD $$-$$$
For full restaurant profiles, go to ProvidenceOnline.com
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Glass Blowing Studio and Gallery 521 Atwells Avenue, Providence • GatherGlass.com November 2016 | Providence Monthly
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
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DINING GUIDE
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The Villa Restaurant & Banquet Facility Family Italian restaurant with live music and entertainment. 272 Cowesett Ave, West Warwick, 821-0060. D $-$$ The Village Lively bar and grill with comfort fare, bar bites and beer. 373 Richmond St, Providence, 228-7222. BrLD $-$$ Tortilla Flats Fresh Mexican, Cajun and Southwestern fare, cocktails and over 70 tequilas. 355 Hope St, Providence, 751-6777. LD $-$$ Trattoria Del Mare Traditional Italian cuisine with a focus on seafood in an elegant yet relaxing atmosphere. 145 Spruce St, Providence, 273-7070. LD $$-$$$ Trinity Brewhouse Rhode Island’s original brewpub. 186 Fountain St, Providence, 453-2337. LD $-$$ Tony’s Colonial Specialty store offering the finest Imported and domestic Italian foods. 311 Atwells Ave, Providence, 621-8675. $-$$$ Twin Oaks Family restaurant serving an extensive selection of Italian and American staples. 100 Sabra St, Cranston, 781-9693. LD $-$$$ Vinya Test Kitchen Raw, plant-based, artful, small plates served by Chef Sam Bonanno, formerly of Grezzo in Boston’s North End. Delicious vegan cuisine, beautifully presented, and accompanied by creative mocktails (BYOB). 225A Westminster Street, Providence, 5005189. D $-$$ Whiskey Republic Delicious dockside pub fare. 515 South Water St, Providence, 588-5158. LD $-$$ XO Cafe Creative cocktails and New American fare. 125 N Main St, Providence, 273-9090. BrD $$
EAST BAY / NEWPORT Black Bass Grille Classic seafood, historic waterfront setting. 3 Water St, South Dartmouth, 508-999-6975. LD $$ Bluewater Bar and Grill Casual restaurant with modern seafood dishes, patio seating and live music. 32 Barton Ave, Barrington, 247-0017. LD $$-$$$
DeWolf Tavern Gourmet American/ Indian fusion. 259 Thames St, Bristol, 254-2005. BLD $$-$$$
$
($75 value)
Ichigo Ichie Traditional Japanese cuisine, creative sushi and hibachi. 5 Catamore Blvd, East Providence, 435-5511. LD $-$$$ Jacky’s Galaxie Local Pan-Asian chain offering sushi and classic entrees in a modern atmosphere. Locations in Providence, North Providence, Bristol and Cumberland, JackysGalaxie.com. LD $-$$$ Starbucks Coffee, tea, bakery items and lunch options. Multiple locations. Starbucks.com BL$-$$ The Old Grist Mill Tavern Fine dining located over the Runnins River. 390 Fall River Ave, Seekonk, 508-3368460. LD $-$$$ The Wharf Tavern Serves fresh seafood and steak with bay views from almost every table. 215 Water St, Warren, 289-2524. BrLD $-$$$
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SOUTHERN RI Besos Kitchen & Cocktails Tapas and eclectic cuisine and cocktails. 378 Main St, East Greenwich, 3988855. BrLD $$$ Blu On The Water Home to Rhode Island’s largest waterfront deck and three outdoor bars, with a wide menu and full raw bar. 20 Water St, East Greenwich, 885-3700. LD $-$$$ Breachway Grill Classic New England fare, plus NY-style pizza. 1 Charlestown Beach Rd, Charlestown, 213-6615. LD $$ Chair 5 Locally sourced and seasonally inspired menus with a main restaurant and rooftop lounge. 1208 Ocean Rd, Narragansett, 363-9820. BrLD $-$$$ Champlin’s Seafood Dockside fresh seafood serving easy breezy cocktails. 256 Great Island Rd, Narragansett, 783-3152. LD $-$$ Dante’s Kitchen American food with a Southern flair. 315 Main St, East Greenwich, 398-7798. BL $-$$
For full restaurant profiles, go to ProvidenceOnline.com
November 2016 | Providence Monthly
61
DINING GUIDE
Welcoming Chef Dante – Winner of "Chopped" F Discover Our Brick Oven Pizza F Homemade Pasta & Specialty Pasta Entrées F Now Offering Full Bar Open 11:30-9:30 Daily
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November 20: The holiday season hasn’t officially started until the Trans-Siberian Orchestra shreds their way through stuffy old favorites at the Dunk. Throw up the horns as the band rocks the firmament for two Providence performances. 3pm and 7:30pm. 1 LaSalle Square. 331-6700, DunkinDonutsCenter.com
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Calendar
November
November 2: AS220 welcomes Rick Shapiro and Ron Bush for Flipped Out Comedy. Rick has appeared on Maron and Lucky Louie, and Ron is a Second City alumni and a filmmaker. Get ready to flip when these two comedians take the stage. 8pm. 115 Empire Street. 831-9327, AS220.org November 2: Need a little soul in your Wednesday nights? Aurora hosts Salsa Con Soul every first Wednesday of the month. Local dance pros will show you the steps, giving you some slick moves to bust out at this year’s company holiday party. 8pm. 276 Westminster Street. AuroraProvidence.com November 4: Comedian Tig Notaro returns to Providence for a set at the Columbus Theatre. Known for her dry, occasionally dark delivery – and a powerful New York City set where she performed topless after a double mastectomy – Tig is the kind of storyteller comic you shouldn’t miss. 8pm. 270 Broadway. ColumbusTheatre.com November 5: 186 Carpenter will be holding the opening reception of What Time This Feels, the new multimedia exhibit by artist Suara Welitoff. Using stills, video and installation, Suara examines the interplay of language, gesture and time. 5-7pm. Exhibit is on display November 1-30. 186 Carpenter Street. 186Carpenter.Tumblr.com November 5-30: The return of A Christmas Carol at Trinity Rep is one of those reassuring signs that holiday
cheer – and a fair amount of humbug – is just around the corner. Catch up with Scrooge, Tiny Tim and the rest of the characters you’ve known and loved for years. Various dates and times. 201 Washington Street. 3514242, TrinityRep.com November 3-6: The second annual Providence Art and Design Film Festival returns with screenings at the Cable Car and the RISD Metcalf Auditorium. This curated film series takes a close look at the multiple disciplines within art and design and showcases the work of international makers, collectors and craftspeople of all kinds. Various showtimes. ProvidenceCinemateque.com November 10-30: The Bannister Gallery at Rhode Island College wraps up its season with Clear Seeing Place. Showcasing the paintings of Brian Rutenberg, this exhibit will explore spirituality, love and a passion for color. Tuesday-Friday, 12-8pm. 600 Mount Pleasant Avenue. 4569765, RIC.edu/Bannister November 11-13: Rhode Island Comic Con is back and it’s bigger than ever. Get to the Dunkin’ Donuts Center and show off that new Westworld costume you’ve been working on, stock up on obscure Pop! Vinyl figures (hello, Lowell from Wings) and meet your favorite celebrities, like the new Wonder Woman, Gal Gadot. 1 LaSalle Square. 331-6700, RIComicCon.com November 12: Oh man you guys, remember ska? Reel Big Fish are coming to Lupo’s to bring all of the catchy horns and smart-ass songs you love from the middle of our favorite decade. It’s been 20 years since the release of their classic Turn the Radio Off, and to celebrate the band will be playing the whole album, start to finish. 8pm. 79 Washington
November 13: Looking to get a jump on holiday shopping without having to slug it out at the mall? Craftopia is back for its seventh year at the Hope Artiste Village, bringing with it more than 60 vendors and makers from around New England. All handcrafted, all local. Beat that Amazon. 10am-4pm. 1005 Main Street, Pawtucket. RhodyCraft.com
Street. 331-5876, Lupos.com November 13: The Vets will be screening a sneak peek of Remember Pearl Harbor, the latest documentary by the RI-Based World War II Foundation. Narrated by Tom Selleck, the film marks the 75th anniversary of the attack on Pearl Harbor. All Rhode Island veterans will get free admission. 1pm. One Avenue for the Arts. 421-2787, VMARI.com November 17-30: The Wilbury Group is putting on a couple of shows. Catch
Straight White Men and Di and Viv and Rose to see what this provocative, contemporary theater company has up its sleeve. Various dates and times. 393 Broad Street. 400-7100, TheWilburyGroup.org November 18: Dustin Diamond – yes, that Dustin Diamond – will be at the Comedy Connection to help you forget the squeaky voiced geek he played on Saved by the Bell. No longer playing third banana to Zack and Slater, Dustin covers everything from farts to grandma porn. Oh Screech… 8pm.
ONLINE EXCLUSIVE For an up-to-date statewide calendar and to submit your own listings visit ProvidenceOnline.com 68
Providence Monthly | November 2016
Photo courtesy of Craftopia
November 1: Just in time for some election-themed outrage, Henry Rollins will be at The Met to blow off more than a little steam on everything from politics to the perspective he’s picked up in his travels. 8pm. 1005 Main Street, Pawtucket. 7291005, TheMetRI.com
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Grace@providenceonline.com 39 Warren Avenue, East Providence. 438-8383, RIComedyConnection.com November 19: Forever Young brings their spot-on tribute to the music of Neil Young to the Park Theatre. Here the classic rock songs you love from his days with CSNY and Crazy Horse. Close your eyes and you’ll swear it’s the man himself on stage. 8pm. 848 Park Avenue, Cranston. 467-7275, ParkTheaterRI.com November 26: Celebrating its tenth year, the Short Short Story Film Festival comes to AS220 with another line up of short films all under six minutes long. Featuring a mix of live action and animation, the bite-sized flicks show off the under-the-radar talent of independent storytellers. Screenings at 2pm, 4pm, 6:30pm and 8:30pm. 115 Empire Street, 359-2576, MergingArts.org
November 24: Make some room for seconds by lacing up and tackling the Rhode Island Family Turkey Trot 5k. This Thanksgiving tradition starts and ends at Pawtucket City Hall, and there’s a post-5k party at Murphy’s Law with live music (and maybe a pint or two before you have to face certain relatives). This year’s race supports the Pawtucket Soup Kitchen, so don’t forget to bring some non-perishables. Registration required. Races at 9:30am and 10am. Pawtucket City Hall, Roosevelt Avenue, Pawtucket. 952-6333, FamilyTurkeyTrot.com November 30: Andrew W.K. only knows how to party one way: hard. On his first speaking tour, he’ll be stopping at the Columbus Theatre to discuss the Power of Partying, preach the philosophy of the Party Party and to celebrate the intrinsic joys of all things party-related. 8pm. 270 Broadway. ColumbusTheatre.com
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November 17-30: There’s cursing and then there’s David Mamet. Check out American Buffalo at the Gamm Theatre to get a raw dose of testosteronesoaked existential suffering as a con goes south on a crew looking to steal a rare Buffalo nickel. Various dates and times. 172 Exchange Street, Pawtucket. 723-4266, GammTheatre.org
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get out
Music
by Adam Hogue
Brad Krieger (left) wants Big Nice Studio to be a place where Rhode Island musicians can explore their wildest ideas
Stranger Sounds Big Nice Studio encourages bands to dig for weird and wonderful music
Photography by Tim Siekiera
Brad Krieger gives bands
just enough pizza and let’s them take the kayak out before a vocal take. He is a jack-of-all-trades musician and is probably the best band therapist in Rhode Island. All that and more is what his Big Nice Studio is bringing to the table and, whether bands know it or not, it’s just what they need. After helping to build and establish Hanging Horse Studio in Norwood, MA, Rhode Island native Brad Krieger was looking to branch out and start a studio all his own. He comes from a history of growing up in the Rhode Island music scene. Since a property in Lincoln with the largest live room he could find caught his attention in late 2015, Brad has been working to make this studio a place all his own. Brad has been a performing musician for many years, but it was a series of small steps that brought him to the world of recording. “Like a lot of millennial musicians, I started recording my own music when I was younger with programs like Sony Acid and Garage Band, and the passion just grew from there,” he says. A BFA in Sound Design and Audio Production from Emerson College pushed Brad to seriously pursue studio work. With his “little bit of a lot” approach
to musicianship, Brad works to inform whatever he helps to create. Along with Chaimes Parker, engineer Jared Detsikas and house drum aficionado Lee Preston, Big Nice works to capture the sound of bands in a post-genre age. “Genre music seems a bit outdated,” he says, “and more and more I find that artists are creating work that reflects the grab bag, all access, internet and social media world we all inhabit online.” With the same basic rock n’ roll set-up to work with most of the time, it is interesting to think that with the proliferation of sub-genre after sub-genre, Brad might be tapping into what is actually the absence of genre, replaced by sounds that simply are what they are without any need of explanation. Brad and his partners are in search of quality sound and getting the best out of what a musician has created. They encourage their artists to push boundaries, try new instruments and stray out of their comfort zones all while maintaining the integrity of the music and what made the band
create it in the first place. Regardless of where a band places themselves on the sonic map, artists seek out Big Nice for the sounds they bring out of people. This past month, Big Nice wrapped up recording the new Rice Cakes record and Brad is hoping that the studio will become a bigger part of the “weird and wonderful” Rhode Island music scene. “I try to push people far outside their comfy musical boundaries with the caveat that if it totally sucks, we’ll trash the idea and move on,” Brad explains. That’s what an artist does; she or he creates. A producer, a band therapist and a musician all enter into a space where the art becomes something new and exciting. It is not static. In the mind of the musician it is a freeform, malleable thing that hopefully will reach an unseen potential, a place where it is no longer just a riff and some verses, but a challenged piece of music. A good studio makes what we hear and hey, if it sucks, they move on and create more. What more could an artist ask for?
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25 Carrington Street, Lincoln • BigNiceStudio.com November 2016 | Providence Monthly
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
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The providence art & design film festival is a curated series focused on the diverse disciplines within art + design and their impact on culture and society around the world
get out
Theatre
by Molly Lederer
Trinity Rep’s performance of Appropriate hits the stage this month, bringing with it a Southern family with a terrible secret
Curtains Up on Fall Theatre Clear your calendar for ten plays this season Hark! The holiday season begins. Blink and it will be Thanksgiving. Drink and it will be a new year. Between the requisite shopping, cooking, stressing and kvetching, be sure to make room in your schedule for some diversion. Upcoming local plays offer ample ways to delight and distract you. With any luck, a few tickets in, you’ll find yourself brimming with good cheer.
Photo courtesy of Trinity Rep
Bombs away at Brown University, as the undergrads take on The Love Song of J. Robert Oppenheimer. Carson Kreitzer’s award-winning play follows the famous physicist from his development of nuclear weapons to his difficulty dealing with the aftermath. Spoiler alert: this can’t end well. November 3-6, 10-13. Stuart Theatre, 75 Waterman Street. 863-2838, Brown.edu/Tickets Next, find the humor in election fervor with Elemental Theatre Collective’s Donald, Ted, and Marco. This original one-act by local playwright Dave Rabinow considers the question of how certain Republican presidential hopefuls might react if trapped in a pocket dimension. Under the direction of Casey Seymour Kim, a talented, all-female cast supplies the surprising
answer. October 28-November 8. AS220’s Black Box, 95 Empire Street. 831-9327, AS220.org Depending on how the election turns out, the idea of relocating to outer space could seem increasingly appealing. Embrace it with Counter-Productions Theatre Company’s riff on a retro sci-fi radio series, The Final Voyage of X Minus One, playing at AS220’s Black Box later in the month. November 11-20. Remember when political leaders did the polka? Or, at least, when a handsome king of Siam did so once? Revisit that magical time with one of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s most beautiful musicals, The King and I. The National Tour of the Lincoln Center Theater production kicks off at PPAC, with Broadway stars Jose Llana and Laura Michelle Kelly in the leads. While some of its plot points have aged better than others, the show has the power to transport you just the same. October 30-November 6. Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset Street. 421-2787, PPACRi.org When the change of season lends itself to reflection, wind your way over to the Brown/Trinity M.F.A. Program’s
presentation of The Winter’s Tale. Shakespeare’s haunting, dreamy story explores themes of death and rebirth, betrayal and forgiveness, loss and love – plus, there’s a bear! November 3-6. Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street. 351-4242, TrinityRep.com If you think the family in The Winter’s Tale has problems, prepare yourself for the folks in Appropriate. Penned by contemporary playwright Branden Jacobs-Jenkins, a 2016 MacArthur Fellow (think “Genius Grant”), Appropriate examines a Southern family with a terrible secret. The play nods to works by Eugene O’Neill and Tennessee Williams while maintaining its own signature voice, wit and razor sharp focus. Now through November 6. Trinity Repertory Company, 201 Washington Street. 351-4242, TrinityRep.com During times of seasonal stress, the urge to curse could be considered a reasonable response. But, do your loved ones a favor by attending a David Mamet play instead. Catch American Buffalo at the Gamm this month. Helmed by Trinity Rep’s associate artistic director Tyler Dobrowsky, the contemporary classic Buffalo stars Fred Sullivan, Jr., Tony Estrella and
Marc Dante Mancini as three cussing crooks in a pawnshop, scheming to steal a rare coin. In the hands of such powerhouse actors, the profanity-laced script will soar – and the messages within it will sound clearly, too. November 17-December 18. Sandra Feinstein-Gamm Theatre, 172 Exchange Street, Pawtucket. 723-4266, GammTheatre.org If wrangling relatives starts to rankle, hightail it to the Wilbury Theatre Group’s production of Straight White Men. Watch and learn as a father and his three grown sons wrestle with race, identity, privilege, and each other in this provocative play by Young Jean Lee, directed by Vince Petronio. For a counterpoint, it’s playing in repertory with Di and Viv and Rose, a funny play by Amelia Bulmore, directed by Kate Kataja. In Di and Viv and Rose, the three female characters wrestle as well – primarily with the challenges of change and its effects on friendship. Expect to leave both shows with lots to discuss. November 17-December 24. 393 Broad Street. 400-7100, TheWilburyGroup.org There. Feel better yet? Happy holidays.
November 2016 | Providence Monthly
73
get out
Art
by Amanda M. Grosvenor
December 16th 7:00pm McVinney Auditorium Providence, RI December 18th 4:00pm Prout School, Wakefield, RI 401 -861-4842 ProvidenceBallet.com Sponsored by: Les Isle Rose
Eva Marie Pacheco Artistic Director
Relive moments from Providence’s not so distance past – like this scene from RISD’s third annual Awareness Day on May 3, 1987 – at City Hall’s Retro Providence: 1985-1990 photo exhibit
Throwback Providence Those who’ve lived in Providence for a while can tell you that quite a bit has changed since 1985 when Tom Chambers first started working as the official mayoral and city photographer. Now, with sponsorship from the City Archives department, Tom is exhibiting Retro Providence: 1985-1990, a “time capsule” of 60 photographs taken of city life during the six years he held the position. A native of Texas, Tom found he needed a fresh start in life following the painful passing of his mother in 1983, so he moved to Rhode Island. His first job here was as part-time university photographer and photo department manager for URI. Although he enjoyed the position, the pay was minimal so he took up freelancing, eventually meeting Mayor Paolino on an assignment. The mayor and his team liked Tom’s work so much that they offered him a full-time position. He trailed the mayor and snapped photos at all major events, from ribbon cuttings to celebrations to handshakes. During these moments, Tom would also point his camera outwards into the crowds. “I’ve had a lifelong love of history, and I lived all over America growing
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
up,” he says. “I had also always enjoyed the documentation aspect of recording history. The next logical step for me was to find a camera and start using it.” The city photographer position was high profile and helped Tom to achieve other opportunities after he left Providence in 1990, when Paolino lost the gubernatorial election. He went on to join the Peace Corps in Zimbabwe and later taught at Zhaoqing University in China. He still takes some pictures but focuses mainly on other visual mediums these days, such as abstraction and digita art. Tom’s Providence stint was before the days of digital photography, and most documentation of this nature tends to end up in city archives collecting dust. He decided he did not want such a fate for his images, so he reached out to Caleb Horton, Deputy City Archivist at Providence City Hall, and pitched the idea of a retrospective exhibit.
Caleb enthusiastically approved, and in June of this year, Tom flew back to Providence for the first time in 30 years and spent four days wading through hundreds of images to curate 60 highlights. His favorite was taken in 1986 during the 350th anniversary celebration of Rhode Island’s founding. Tom caught a shot of a reenactor dressed as Roger Williams standing on Roger Williams Landing at Gano Street Park, dramatically silhouetted by the sun. He hopes that many who visit the exhibit will be able to pick out familiar faces in the prints. “Something that means a lot to me is that there’s a possibility people could attend the show and find themselves or someone they know in photos from 30 years ago,” he says. “At many historical shows, the people being photographed and the photographers are long gone. What’s exciting about this one is that many are still around.”
Retro Providence: 1985-1990 On display through December 14 Alderman’s Chambers, Providence City Hall 25 Dorrance Street • TomChambers.com
Photo Courtesy of Tom Chambers/Providence City Archive
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Know Your Rights Exploring the origins of religious freedom at the Charter Museum Photography by Brad Smith | Words by Tony Pacitti In the State House’s Charter Museum, secured behind some National Treasure-style state of the art display cases, is the Royal Charter of 1663. Granted by King Charles II, this document gave Rhode Island’s colonists unparalleled rights, such as the ability to govern themselves and freedom of religion. “It also talks about the natives having rights,” explains Secretary of State Nellie M. Gorbea. “With it,
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Providence Monthly | November 2016
the king was basically telling the other colonies to stop invading and harassing the people of this particular colony and that included the natives.” The museum, which was renovated and reopened in January, is open to the public and maps out the story of Rhode Island’s early settlers and their commitment to establishing a colony where people were free to govern and
worship as they saw fit. “We have some really fantastic pieces of our history that we should be very proud of,” says Secretary Gorbea. “When you look at our role as a state in the making of this country, it was absolutely fundamental. Given this day and age, these ideas are more important than ever.” Room 143 of the Rhode Island State House. 82 Smith Street. SOS.RI.gov
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