Long Live Ragoût

My aunt Claire recently passed, and with her went the best ragoût in New England. Or at least Rhode Island, but definitely Manville.

While the US may be more familiar with its Italian cousin (think Ragu), a French-Canadian ragoût will put hair on your chest, or at least some pounds around your middle. A Parisian ragoût, or stew, to put it simply, might contain vegetables like mushrooms and can pick and choose the meats that might be involved. But in northern Rhode Island, it means only one thing—slow cooked pork meatballs with a brown gravy laced with shredded turkey and heavy with chunks of large, boiled potatoes. Its a closer kin to Swedish meatballs than any pasta sauce or delicate Parisian stew.

Aunt Claire would brown the flour for the gravy in the oven, even well into her 80s. She’d make it probably once a year, usually around or after the New Year. She’d made pounds and pounds of potatoes. She’d roast a turkey and shred the meat. The whole family would get together and take turns sitting at the table for a hearty bowl with a side of warm French bread topped with a healthy amount of butter. Most people would also go home with Tupperware leftovers that we’d freeze for another day or eat the following day, hungry again for the thick, rich gravy and moist meatballs.

She’d make a lot of ragoût. I mean a lot. She was the oldest of 10 children and never had any herself, but her sisters and brothers more than made up for that—one of them had 10 kids of her own. All in all, there were probably 8 siblings with their spouses and children that would show up at that table for a helping. That’s easily a consistent group of 30-40 people (sometimes more, sometimes less) that would look forward to ragoût every season. And if you couldn’t make it one year, you’d probably have a Tupperware set aside with your name on it.

I will miss Aunt Claire, and not just because of her cooking. Still, many of my memories are tied to food with her. On New Year’s Day, when we would visit, she’d have made liver pate… a mound of liverwurst topped with a layer of cream cheese and slices of green olives that you’d scoop up on a cracker. Or homemade peanut butter Ritz sandwiches dipped in chocolate. Or Oreo-cookie “truffle” balls. Or dinner roll sandwiches of chicken or ham salad. Whenever we’d visit, she’d try to feed us. It was difficult to sit without a plate in your face or leave without a doggie bag.

Food was her way to show that she cared. That was easy to see. And if you can measure it, then she loved us all a lot. We all love you as well, Aunt Claire. Rest in peace. I hope the food wherever you are is half as good as the food you prepared for your family.

Wayland Square Diner (Ruffles)

When it was called Ruffles, I wanted to give it a try, but never did. My wife said she used to go with her grandmother, and that it was exactly the type of place that grandmothers took their grand kids. Its been there for a long time, so long that no one seems to remember anything that was there previously. The Wayland Diner, as it is known now, is also one of a dying breed – it used to be that small diner-style eateries were on every street. Hope Street had one (where Blooming Blossoms is now, we think) and Thayer Street, and more. Now, they are few and far between.

The interior is fresh and newly renovated, but the charm is still there. Vintage tables and a long counter lined with tools are not a new addition, they are the pieces that have been there since the diner opened. I think it is called “authenticity”.

The food is new as well, at least I think so. Lighter in general, but not without the standard diner flourishes of home fries and buttered toast. We ordered off the specials board, as everything else on the menu seemed standard fare. Not that we were complaining, but the chance to try some diner food with a home-cooked twist was too much to pass up.

The place in general was very kid friendly. There were already some kids sitting down inside and out when we got there. The menu had some kid options as well, but since we didn’t know what we’d be getting into, we brought some yogurt for the little girl. Still, she had some of our fruit and some of an extra muffin we got on the side.

I ordered an avocado, mushroom, tomato and onion scramble with home fries and toast. I got an iced coffee on the side. The scramble was very good, and the portion was reasonable. I was actually able to finish it all, including the toast and home fries. It wasn’t greasy or particularly heavy, which was nice. The veggies seemed very fresh and the cheese made itself known but was not overwhelming.

Beth got a bacon and cheese quiche with fruit salad and coffee, and the site I had was pretty rich. I mean, it was a bunch of chopped bacon with eggs and cheese, what did we expect. Still, the portion was reasonable and she was able to finish it as well without feeling over-stuffed.

Because our entrees were satisfying but not over-the-top, we handily finished the grilled blueberry muffin we got on the side, and the little girl had plenty of it as well. By the end of the meal we were pretty full, and took a little stroll around the square.

All in all we’d go back, and make sure to get there on the early side of things. The diner started to get pretty full by 9:30am, but we got there at about 8:45 and were able to take our pick of booths. The service was quick and courteous, and like I mentioned, there are plenty of old favorites on the menu.

Tacqueria Taconaza

500 Valley Street, Providence RI

You may have passed it a hundred times and not noticed it was there. In an industrial area of Valley Street (which is mostly industrial) in between some used car lots and repair shops there is a set of low buildings that advertise a weekend flea market. In that parking lot, leaning up against the larger buildings is a small shack painted in alternating stripes of white, red and green. An unassuming building in an unassuming location.

Once upon a time the Tacqueria Taconazo was a trailer, but since a seating area has been built around the trailer, it is has more permanent status. You can still tell that there is a trailer in there somewhere, and I find that both fascinating and fantastic. The food is even more fantastic.

The selection is geared towards people who know what they are doing and who may know a bit of Spanish, or at least, know more about Mexican food aside from what they see on the Taco Bell menu. Thankfully, this food is far, far from Americanized fare.

Don’t be shy, though… there is plenty on the menu that will be familiar, even if it is just in name – tacos, burritos, tostadas, empanadas, chimichangas – but there are other items as well, most of which I haven’t tried yet (but they look great) like tortas, gorditos, sopa and pambazos. Any of the menu items also come with various meat options, like the usual chicken, pork, or beef but also carnitas, chicharron (pork skin), lengua (beef tongue), chorizo and, my favorite, campechano, which is a great combination of chicharron, chorizo and beef.

The tacos are small, but cheap, so get more than one. I suggest one each of chicken, pork and beef as a foray into the authentic flavors of the Taconaza. The empanada plate is great, too. But for the money (only $6.75 of it),  you can’t go wrong with the burrito. I get mine with that lovely campechano concoction. It comes with rice, black beans and plenty of cilantro and onions in a loose-fitting wrap. Don’t expect it to eat like its tightly-wrapped brothers and sisters, but expect a lot of flavor and heat. Even if you order it to go, you’ll get a little aluminum satchel of fresh limes and a small container of daily-made pico de gallo and green chili sauce. I pile on the jalepano-laden pico with plenty of lime juice… mmmmm.

In short, give them a try if you are in the area, or, if you are in the mood for mexican and are feeling like something more authentic and down home, definitely seek out the Taconazo.

Mama Kim’s BBQ

The Providence Food Truck scene has exploded over the past year. So many new trucks have come out of the woodwork, it has become hard to keep track of them. (A few ways I have found helpful are the Eat Street iOS/Android app and the @PVDFoodTrucks Twitter list)

Mama Kim’s BBQ is not a newcomer to the scene, however. They have been slinging fresh sliders and Korean specialties to Brown students (mostly) since about 2008 (?). They typically park on Thayer Street between Waterman and George most evenings and are in Kennedy Plaza for most lunches weekdays. Their specialties are great street food like fried dumplings, small sandwiches and “rice sets”, which are their popular meats served as full meals with rice and a side dish.

The Order

As a newbie, I decided to get only a few of their offerings and did some research to figure out which are their best. The slider options I got were two each of their beef bulgolgi and their pork kimchee sliders, served on Portuguese sweet bread. I also got a daily special of theirs, their veggie dumplings, which were deep fried and gooey on the inside.

The pork kimchee slider from Mama Kim's truck

I was very happy with this little meal. It was quick, cheap (under $20!), and ever so tasty. The bulgogi was nice and tender with plenty of sauce and drippings. The overall taste was mild with no heavy spices, just tender and delicious marinated beef. The kimchee sliders were amazing. The spicy kimchee and the juicy, tender pork complimented each other so well, with the toasted sweet rolll… oh man, I should have gotten way more of those. The spice wasn’t overpowering, and I’m not a big fan of kimchee on its own, but this combination is making me hungry for one even as I write this.

I’m really happy with all the new food trucks coming onto the Providence scene, and I hope to try some more. I have a feeling, though, that the kimchee slider is going to be something that I crave from time to time, though…

Ran Zan

Another week of take out, or as we like to call it, Dinner In. This week, we were still wanting some Asian food, and we went with Japanese from Ran Zan on Hope Street.

Providence is lucky to have plenty of options for Asian food in general, and at least five places that I can think of doing Sushi. Ran Zan is a great little place with nice servers, atmosphere, and great, simple food. It’s not full of college kids like Tokyo, and the servers are nice unlike Sakura. The food is great and the prices reasonable.

The Order:

Beef Teriyaki dinner (with soup)
Chicken Yakisoba (with soup)
Tempura Shrimp maki and a Yam roll

The Sushi

We wanted something warm, something cozy, so we ordered dinners. But of course, we couldn’t forsake sushi. While we love tuna and salmon and all sushi, to keep us feeling cozy, we stuck with the cooked rolls. Yam is always a favorite, no matter what mood we are in, and the tempura shrimp was a good complement. I think Ran Zan’s sushi is around the best in Providence, easily on par with Sakura. The couple that owns Ran Zan has been doing this practically all their life, and it shows in their food. Plus, I think I am too old to accept harsh service – it’s just not charming anymore.

Chicken Yakisoba

I don’t think I ever had yakisoba, and I don’t know what I waited so long. No doubt, I can partially blame my sushi obsession – another one of those things that I just have to order, even if there are other things on the menu worth trying. I’m glad I tried this one. The chicken was done well and still moist with some great flavor, and the dish was full of tender vegetables and noodles. I was pleasantly surprised.

The Teriyaki

Teriyaki is one of those things that I remember as a kid. I remember the beef on sticks with pork ribs dyed red and Pu Pu platters… of course, this is nothing like that. This is a serious dinner, the Japanese version of a steak and potatoes dinner: A large portion of steak marinated in a snappy and slightly sweet sauce, cooked medium and served with rice and broccoli. The meat was very tender and the sauce was not too overpowering. While I wouldn’t order it all the time, mainly for its $16 price tag, I was again pleasantly surprised and glad I did. Nothing against the price, I just think I’d be happier with $16 worth of sushi.

The verdict

All in all, a very nice dinner in. We branched out and tried a few things that we wouldn’t normally. I think dishes like the yakisoba would make me try more new things on the menu, and the sushi will always keep me coming back. To a take-out night on the cheap I wouldn’t get the teriyaki again, but I don’t regret a thing.

And even though we wanted to be cozy, we ended up having a few mochi – pounded sticky rice make into a dough-like envelope filled with ice cream… fantastic!

Gourmet House

Since the little girl has arrived, we haven’t had much time or money to go out. And that’s ok… feeding her has been all sorts of fun since she started eating solids a few months ago. More on that later.

For now, Beth and I have been having takeout nights. So far we had had pizza (Nice Slice), arepa’s (small Venezuelan sandwiches) from La Arepa’s on Smithfield Avenue, Thai food from Sawaddee on Hope Street, and tonight more Thai food from Gourmet House, also on Hope Street.

The Order:

This is what we ordered and what it is, for those of you who are uninitiated in Thai food:

Thai Tom Yum Soup – Lemongrass and lime leaves with oyster mushrooms, Thai basil, scallion, cilantro and lime juice.
Vegetable Nime Chow – rice wrap with steam rice noodle, Thai basil, Thai mint, bean sprout, lettuce served with peanut sauce.
Pad Thai with pork – rice noodles with egg, bean sprouts, cabbage, green onion, and peanuts. A typical American-syle Thai dish – like the Thai Chop Suey.
Vietnamese Noodle Salad with Grilled Beef –  Steam rice vermicelli noodles with lettuce, carrot, cucumber, Thai basil, Thai mint and bean sprouts.

The Tom Yum Soup and Nime Chow

The Thai Tom Yum soup and the nime chow, which is what we started the meal with, were something new and something we know and love. The soup was a gamble, but sounded really good. We want to branch out here and there with new selections and a few favorites as fallback. The soup was good, but there was some flavor in there that neither of us could pin point, but didn’t taste or smell appetizing. It was medicinal and very fragrant. I suppose it was a Thai flavor that we were not familiar with previously. I’m glad we took the chance, but I can’t say we’d order it again before we tried something else.

The Nime Chow was excellent, as fresh basil and rice wrap usually is. Very fresh tasting.

The Pad Thai

Every time I have good Pad Thai, I want more. In fact, I want to hold a Pad Thai contest and determine who has the best Pad Thai in Providence. It would be difficult, since every time I have good Pad Thai, it blots out the previous Pad Thai I have had. I would have to have them back to back to back.

Gourmet House’s Pad Thai was really, really good, even if it was not straight from their kitchen (it didn’t sit long in the take out container, but that steam can make noodles soggy pretty quick). Theirs came with plenty of peanuts and sprouts, but not that pile of sprouts in the corner that seems to be taking up space. These sprouts were not over-plentiful as to be filler, and mixed in with the rest of the vegetables, pork, egg and rice noodles.

I have to say that I think I liked Gourmet House’s Pad Thai better than Sawaddee’s – but as I said previously, the Pad Thai I ate last is usually the best.

The Noodle Salad with Grilled Beef

The Noodle Salad was another surprise (again, we usually get what we know we will love) but was better than the soup. The bed of veggies were crisp, and the rice noodles were so thin that they became a spider’s web of noodles under the beef. The beef was very tasty, with a bit of char on the edges that made them really great. Tender and flavorful with a nice tang of teriyaki. This dish was a nice surprise, and I’m glad we branched out enough to try it.

The Verdict

All in all, a good night, and we’ll do it again at Gourmet House, but let me sample some more Pad Thai from other places first.