Rhode Island - Editor’s Favorites

A Sentimental Journey Brings Pleasure for Eyes and Palate

This is an opportunity to step back in time to an era when dining aboard a luxury train was a statement of elegance and privilege. Newport Dinner Train offers dinner and luncheon trips during a 22-mile sentimental journey along scenic Narragansett Bay. Dine in a vintage rail car meticulously restored to the golden age of railroading, with plush velvet draperies and fine china, silver and crystal set on crisp white linens in the soft glow of candlelight. Enjoy black-tie service and excellent cuisine. The four-course dinners are prepared on board and presented tableside in a professional and timely fashion as you gaze upon scenic Narragansett Bay and beyond. Offered April through October. This is a Newport experience that you should not miss. Phone: 401-841-8700.

All Aboard Island Girl for Lobster Dinner on the Water

From single-malt scotch and baked lobster to Whoopie pies and chocolate milk – your idea of a fine dinner is at your disposal, with a fabulous sunset on the side, on a dinner cruise aboard the Island Girl, hosted by Seaward Charters. The company has two 44-foot luxury sport fishing yachts, one based in Warwick and the other in Point Judith. Along with sport fishing charters, Seaward also offers lunch or dinner-and-sunset cruises around Narragansett Bay and Block Island Sound. Seaward engages a caterer to serve the menu of the passengers’ choice. Some guests choose a clam boil, prepared and served on the beach at one of the islands in the Bay or the Sound. The major task of the guests is to enjoy the sunset, pick up a napkin, and dig in. Phone: 401-739-5286.

Bedroom Farce and Other Light Fun at Dinner Theater

The Newport Playhouse & Cabaret Restaurant in Newportpresents dinner and light theatrical fun, just right for vacation. Among the plays to be presented with dinner this season are “Bedroom Farce,” “Over the River and Through the Woods,” “No Sex Please, We're British,” “Pajama Tops,” and “Goodbye, Charlie.” You get the idea. In addition to the shows, this is a place to eat well. The Cranston Herald wrote, “If you can’t find something you like in the huge selection, then there is no buffet that will please you. … Look for the specialties. The chef makes a delicious hot and spicy roast pork dish that I could have filled up on.” Phone: 401-848-PLAY.

Bounteous Fruits, Flowers, and Pastries Arise From This Farm

A visit to Moosup River Farm in Greene is nutritious for the body and soothing to the senses. This small family farm produces fresh vegetables, honey, flowers, beef, turkeys, and pigs. All of the produce is farm fresh; no antibiotics or growth hormones are fed to the animals. A new offering since 2006 is the Moosup River Farm at Knight Farm, which is a combination farm stand, café, and orchard at Route 116 and Snake Hill Road in Glocester. The formerly abandoned orchard is once again producing apples, peaches, plums, and heirloom apples. The Café offers breakfast and lunch, pastries, homemade pies and soups, desserts and specials. In 2008, the farm will sell field-cut flowers and vegetables. Visitors are welcome to walk the orchard and gardens. Phone: 401-949-7898.

Brewhouse Shares Trinity Name and High Quality

Trinity Brewhouse was established in 1995 as one of the first combination brew pub and restaurants in New England. Located in the heart of downtown Providence, Trinity Brewhouse is easy walking distance from wonderful strolling-and-shopping areas like Water Front Park and the Providence Place Mall. The Brewhouse also is around the corner from Trinity Repertory Theatre and across the street from The Dunkin Doughnuts Center and Rhode Island Convention Center. Food is all-American, hearty, and filling. The beers, ales, and stouts available at the Brewhouse Pub are brewed on premises. For spring and summer, brew master Sean Larkin recommends his Belgian White Ale. "It is a nice crisp, unfiltered beer with moderate alcohol and is spiced with orange peel and coriander," Larkin says. Phone: 401-453-2337.

Brilliant Views of the Sakonnet Add Charm to this Vineyard

Sakonnet Vineyards & Winery , with breathtaking views of Narragansett Bay, is Rhode Island’s largest and oldest winery. The winery, in Little Compton, with breathtaking views of the Sakonnet river, was established in 1975 after extensive research showed that the microclimate and soil conditions along the southeastern New England coast closely resembled some of the great wine regions of the world, particularly northern France. Today, Sakonnet Vineyards devotes 50 of its 115 acres to grape growing, planting many Vinifera varietals, like Chardonnay, Gewurztraminer, Pinot Noir, Cabernet Franc, and Vidal Blanc. The vineyard has received awards in both domestic and international competitions. The vineyard is open for tours, wine tasting, and retail sales every day. Tours are at noon and 2 p.m. Phone: 800-919-4637.

British Canal Boats Presents Authentic Tea and Overnight Cruises on the Blackstone

The Blackstone River, which is revered in Rhode Island as a “working river” that supported the earliest mills of the American Industrial Revolution, also days is home to the Samuel Slater Canal Boat . This authentic British canal boat, built in Cambridgeshire, England expressly for the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, plies the water for a two and a half mile scenic cruise. People who love good food with their historic travels will be interested to know that the Samuel Slater also operates as a floating bed-and-breakfast, offering a one-over night stay and cruise, and serves overnight guests a hearty New England clambake (lobster, mussels, corn, red potatoes). Other daytime culinary cruises include a traditional British Tea Tour, with all the appropriate frills. Departs from Central Falls Landing. Phone: 800-454-2882.

Casey Offers Fantastic Views and Fine Fresh Foods

Casey Farm, founded in 1750, perches atop a sweeping hillside off Boston Neck Road (Route 1A) in Saunderstown, with gorgeous east-looking vistas toward Narragansett Bay and Jamestown Island. Owned by Historic New England, the farm is a working endeavor, and every Saturday morning from June 1 to mid-October it is host to the seasonal Coastal Grower’s Market, in collaboration with other local farms and local artisan food producers. Fresh produce and locally produced meats are sold and, apart from all that, it is simply a beautiful place to visit. Special events run throughout the season, including visits by chefs, children’s activities, artisan/craft days, and an heirloom tomato tasting. Rain or shine. Phone: 401-295-1030. Website: http://www.historicnewengland.org/visit/homes/casey.htm

Ciao! Federal Hill Is the Place for Italian Food

Food Network Chef Mario Batali calls Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood “one of the five best” Little Italy neighborhoods in the United States. Federal Hill is one of the most densely populated and largest Italian settlements in the nation. Italian restaurants, specialty and gourmet food shops, bakeries, and boutiques, among other businesses, line a mile-long strip of Atwells Avenue through this historic and authentically Italian section of Providence. From downtown Providence, visitors enter Atwells Avenue by passing below an arch bearing an ornate iron image of La Pigna, the Italian symbol of welcome. Most businesses on Federal Hill are family-owned. Live chickens, traditionally strong espresso and cappuccino, pastries and biscotti, cuts of cheese, meats, wine, olive oils, marmalades are available, as are a diverse and authentic selection of excellent Italian restaurants. Among the many fine restaurants are Camille's, Cassarino's Restaurant, Pane e Vino, and the Blue Grotto Restaurant.

Clam Chowder Doesn’t Get Better Than This

In the Ocean State, clams are found along the shores of Narragansett Bay and in the many salt ponds and estuaries along Rhode Island’s 400-mile coastline. Quahogs, the larger variety of clams, are used to make the famously delicious clam chowder. The Rhode Island version of clam chowder is made with a clear broth – no cream – thereby allowing the ocean-salty flavor of the clams to take center stage. Even in Rhode Island, though, the creamy New England clam chowder and the tomato-based Manhattan clam chowder are also widely served. The city of Newport holds a yearly Great Chowder Cook-off competition, when cooks compete for the title of the best chowder. The Mooring Restaurant in Newport (401-846-2260) took first place in 2007, so that is a good place to begin your taste survey of clam chowder. Also, the Boat House in Tiverton (401-624-6300), in the East Bay region, has won awards for most creative chowder.

Dairy Farmers and Bakers Working Hand-in-Hoof

To begin with, 130 Holstein cows give a lot of milk. Wright’s Dairy Farm and Bakery, a family-run operation in North Smithfield, milks that number of cows daily. The farm pasteurizes its own milk, which is sold at a retail store on the farm property, along with a luxurious variety of homemade baked goods like pastries, cookies, butter shortbread, éclairs, cakes, and tarts. Whipped cream made on the property fills the cream puffs, zeppoles, and rich chocolate cakes. The family business has been in continuous operation for more than 100 years and recipes for the baked goods have been handed down from generation to generation. Everything in the bakery is made on premises. The bakery doors open at 8 a.m. Visitors are welcome to come into the dairy barn from 3 to 5 p.m. daily, to watch the milking process and visit the animals. Phone: 877-227-9734.

DeWolf Tavern Is an East Bay Luxury of Food and Views

Rhode Island is blessed with an abundance of excellent restaurants as a consequence of its ethnic diversity, talented chefs, and the culinary arts program of Johnson & Wales University. One standout restaurant in the East Bay is DeWolf Tavern in the town of Bristol. The restaurant has a list of awards and commendations almost as long as its menu, including a recommendation in the February 2007 issue of Conde Nast Traveler. DeWolf Tavern is located in a historically renovated stone warehouse on the Thames Street Landing waterfront. Guests can enjoy the bay breeze on the patio in the warmer weather, or pop inside to enjoy the fireplace and a meal prepared by Chef Sai Viswanath. Chef Sai has created a cuisine that interprets contemporary American cuisine through the flavorful prism of Indian cuisine. Open daily, but call ahead for seasonal changes in hours. Phone: 401-254-2005.

History of Cooking on Display at This Museum

The Culinary Arts Museum at Johnson & Wales University in Providence is a unique museum devoted to preserving the history of the culinary and hospitality industries. The museum contains more than 500,000 culinary items like antique stoves, kitchen gadgets of all vintages, a display of presidential state dinners, and other culinary showpieces. Within the overall museum are several specialty museums including the stove museum and the American Diner Museum, and the New England Tavern. See cookbooks dating back to the 1500s, more are than 4,000 menus, art works, artifacts, silver, kitchen gadgets, advertisements, autographs, and culinary showpieces. Julia Child and other famous chefs, restaurateurs, and food and wine-related corporations from around the world have been donating pieces or entire collections to this museum since collecting began in 1979. Phone: 401-598-2805.

Italian-Jewish Cuisine Has Roots in Rome, Promoter in Providence

Even before cooking class begins, Chef Walter Potenza of the Walter's Ristorante d'Italia in Providence presents a history lesson about a community of Italian Jews who have lived since the 16th century Rome. Potenza explains, “Over the centuries, Italy's Jews were often isolated from other Jewish communities, so they developed their own traditions of cooking. Roman Jewish food may not conform to the traditions of the Sephardic Jews of Spain and the Middle East, but has a definite Roman influenced cucina.” Then Chef Walter takes people out of the history books and into the kitchen for his hands-on cooking classes and private cooking parties. This spring, the month of March is devoted to ragús and stews and April is the month for fish stews and soups from the Abruzzo region. You don’t need to be Italian or Jewish to join in; you only need to love good food. Phone: 401-273-2652.

Johnny Cakes on the Menu Means You’ve Found Rhode Island

In the early1600s, Rhode Island was home to more than 7,000 Native Americans and corn was one of their staple crops. The English adopted corn cultivation, including the practice of grinding corn into a flour-like substance. Corn flour is the basic ingredient of Rhode Island johnny cakes, a thin, crispy corn pancake. (The name is derived from “journey cakes” because they were often made for travel.) A fine place to taste johnny cakes and other breakfast treats is the Seaview Station Family Restaurant in North Kingstown. The food is abundant and good; the waitresses are friendly and attentive; and kids will enjoy the model train, its boxcars plastered with old-time ads for Rhode Island businesses, that travels on a track encircling the main dining room. Open for breakfast and lunch year-round and for dinner on Fridays and Saturdays in the summer. Phone: 401-295-8666.

This Bazaar Features Delicacies from California to Europe

Cheese hounds will find a friend at the Milk & Honey Bazaar at Tiverton Four Corners. The neighborhood itself, containing about two dozen charming small specialty stores, is a cluster of buildings dating, in some cases, back to the 1750s. Visitors to the Milk & Honey Bazaar may sample some of the 100 varieties of cheese arriving from France, Spain, Wales, Normandy, Norway, England, Italy, Switzerland, Connecticut, Wisconsin, New York, California, and other cheese-making places. Milk and Honey Bazaar also carries pâtés, smoked meats, olive oils, vinegars, mustards, honey, flatbreads, baguettes, and an assortment of seasonal vegetables. Crackers are a favorite with cheese and the variety here is supreme. They include: Mustard Seed and Black Pepper, Extra Virgin Olive Oil and Sea Salt Crackers, Celery Crackers, and Chive Crackers. The staff is happy to advise customers on the best matches of cheeses to crackers, breads and spreads. Phone: 401-624-1974.