Feeding a village at Taste of Pawtucket
BY GAIL CIAMPA - JOURNAL FOOD EDITOR
Providence Journal, September 05, 2007
Back in 1999, when the Pawtucket Arts Festival was brand new and hosting its first gala, a total of 35 guests showed up at the public library , for the event. About a dozen local restaurants provided the food, including 60 pizzas. When the night was over almost everybody went home with two pizzas.
They've come a long way baby.
The gala for this year's ninth festival includes the first Taste of Pawtucket. It will be held al fresco Friday night from 6 to 8 at Hodgson Rotary Park on the Slater Mill grounds on Roosevelt Avenue. There will be more than two dozen Pawtucket eateries offering everything from kebabs to kielbasa under 20 tents.
The restaurants represent the variety and diversity of the Pawtucket dining scene. They include fine dining spots, full-service restaurants, mom and pop family enterprises, delis, pubs and ethnic food that show what a global village the city is.
This food court promenade will surround the gala main event tent which has 400 seats and will feature The Gnomes during the Taste of Pawtucket and then its gala headliner C. J. Chenier and the Red Hot Louisiana Band on the stage.
All is included in the ticket price.
Joe Silvestri, general manager of Spumoni's Seafood and Italian Restaurant, recalls dropping off something in the neighborhood of 50 pizzas for that first gala.
"Other restaurants had the same idea," he said, remembering.
But this year, with the draw of the Cajun headliner, Silvestri and his colleagues knew they needed to involve the whole Pawtucket restaurant community.
Edward Tezner, chairman of the festival gala, expects at least 1,000 guests judging from past years but thinks but it could get to 1,200 and would love to imagine 1,500 for this fundraiser.
Herb Weiss, Pawtucket's economic and cultural affairs director, said the $10 price is intended to make sure the event is inclusive.
"We wanted to keep it affordable for the whole community," Weiss said. Parking is free.
But to feed a village you need to engage everyone, said Silvestri. "We knew we couldn't do this with four or five restaurants."
So off went Weiss and Tezner to recruit such local institutions as John Stratis' family from the House of Pizza and Bachini's Bakery. Just about everyone asked signed on.
"We are all doing this to promote all of us and to show that Pawtucket is a place to come and eat," Silvestri said.
The lure of the food promises to be great with this proposed line-up of offer desserts. Jarosz Delicatessen will offer Polish dishes. Local Hero Deli will offer sausage and peppers, homemade tortilla chips with salsa and guacamole.
Galito Restaurant will feature their Portuguese food, while Rasoi will showcase Indian cuisine and House of Pizza's Stratis family will show off their Greek heritage with kebabs. The newly opened Tolos Seafood and Chicken Express on Division Street will serve chowder and more. LJ's BBQ will serve barbecue chicken.
There will also be offerings from The Blackstone, Volcano Grille, a new restaurant where Lang's Villa most recently was, and Doherty's East Avenue Irish Pub. Cross Country Cookie will serve treats.
Each of those eateries guaranteed that they would bring enough food for 300. Many will offer coupons for dining specials at their restaurants for gala attendees, Weiss said.
Weiss bought the 20 tents from Ocean State Job Lot so restaurants can have serving stations and hang their names to signal their spot.
Restaurants aren't the only ones participating. Other businesses will donate the drinks and particulars to make the event have a soup-to-nuts menu.
Seven Stars Bakery, which does all its baking for two restaurants and dishes, from soup and salad to dessert.
Spumoni's plans to serve chicken Milanese and pasta. Ground Round will serve fajitas. Hose Co No. 6 will make seafood jambalaya and chili. Gregg's and Bachini's will both Providence stores at a Pawtucket facility, will send along hundreds of loaves of bread in assorted varieties.
"We are Pawtucket-ers now that we produce here," said owner Lynn Williams.
Cabot Cheese will have a cheese table and Stop & Shop will send along meat platters. New Harvest Coffee Roasters will serve joe.
Weiss said Newport Deck will send appetizers, Riverside Diner will serve chicken wings and Monroe Dairy will serve iced tea and lemonade. The Exchange Street Cafe will make pierogis while the Garden Grille will serve wraps, Weiss said.
Eastside Marketplace will donate water. Entenmann's will send pastries; McDonald's salads and sodas.
Domino's is donating 100 pizzas which will be at the children's area across the street at the Blackstone Valley Visitor's Center. They will be part of the ticket price but slices can also be purchased individually for those just attending the children's event.
Not included are glasses of beer and wine which will cost $3. The beer has been donated by Budweiser distributor McLaughlin and Moran and the wine from five wineries: Greenvale, Newport, Sakonnet, Westport Rivers and Running Brook.
Tetzner, whose day job is in the city's Office of Government Affairs, said that once the 400 seats are taken, the event is BYOLC, bring your own lawn chair.
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