Category Archives: providence

buys, providence

The Urban Greens Buying Club

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If you haven’t heard of Urban Greens, it’s a group of people (around 330!) who are working to start a cooperative food market in Providence. Even though the market is not yet open, you can order food through the buying club, which has been active for over ten years.

I have an confession to make – even though I was on the board of Urban Greens for a couple of years, this month was my first time ordering from the buying club! Previously, the buying club had separate membership fees, but now all member-owners of the future co-op (a 1-time payment) can order through the buying club at no additional charge.

What can you order? Items from two catalogs – a catalog of local goods, and the Associated Buyers catalog which has natural, organic, and international products. Individual products can be ordered a la carte, and bulk goods with ordering minimums can be split by co-op members using a convenient feature on the website: you can indicate how much of a bulk order you want (for example, 5 pounds of oatmeal), then other members will see the split and can add their order to it. The catalog includes not only food, but also natural body products, cleaning supplies, vitamins, and more.

How does it work? The order is placed once a month, and pickup is the following week. You can volunteer for only 1 hour a month to get the goods exactly at wholesale catalog prices, but if you choose not to, you pay a 10% surcharge (I’m pretty busy these days, so the 10% is still a good deal).

What I ordered: A very small order to start, and easy to bike home. Both of these were a lot less expensive than they would be at the store.

  • 1 lb of New Harvest Coffee – Steamroller Blend
  • 1 lb of chia seeds (I had them once recently and my curiosity was piqued!)

How can you join? More information about Urban Greens is available at http://urbangreens.com. I recommend becoming a member-owner of the co-op instead of just the buying club (haven’t you always wanted to co-own a store?) Joining is a one-time payment of $160, but you can also pay $40 a year for 4 years.

eats, providence, rhode island

The Whiskey Republic

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The Whiskey Republic is a new addition to Providence’s bar roster.  Opened by Ken Casey, bass player and vocalist for the Dropkick Murphys, the bar “blends Irish roots with rock and roll style.”  I’ve had a soft spot for the band ever since I was lucky enough to catch them at a tiny American Legion hall in New Jersey twelve years ago – it was one of the most energetic shows I’ve seen.

Bar Food

We finally made it to The Whiskey Republic for a beer and a bite. The menu can best be described as creative bar food.  Instead of the usual buffalo sauce, their wings have a BBQ whiskey sauce.  I had a flavorful pulled pork sandwich with a spicy cumin  kick, and  J tried the chicken schnitzel sandwich, which was topped with a sunny side up egg.   Tasty food, nice water views, and of course a great playlist.

eats, providence, rhode island

Kitchen Nightmares

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After a long break from blogging, I feel like I have so much to say, and I want to say it in more than 140 characters (sorry, Twitter).

Us on Kitchen Nightmares
In the photo above, my husband and I are the ones with our heads turned.

Our episode of Kitchen Nightmares aired last week – we were diners on the show at DownCity in Providence.   Filming was a fun experience.  We dined on re-opening night, so we didn’t experience quite as much drama as diners on earlier nights.  

You can watch the episode on Hulu – most of our footage was about 37 minutes in.

We celebrated the airing last Friday with a little viewing party. A few of us brought food inspired by DownCity’s menu – we chose to recreate the truffled goat cheese dip, probably my favorite dish of the night.  Ours was tasty too but sadly lacked the homemade potato chips for dipping.

My interview with Abby (the co-owner of DownCity) can be found in the latest Providence Monthly.

cooks, eats, meals, providence

Local Love

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Last night’s dinner was delicious! It was inspired by yesterday’s post-work trip to the Wickenden farmers’ market.

First, we started with a caprese salad made with a striped German tomato from White Barn Farm, mozzarella from Narragansett Creamery (also from the market, sold by Wishing Stone Farm) and basil from our garden plot. The tomato was giant and so sweet. I thought we’d have leftovers, but it was impossible to leave any.

Caprese Salad

Then, Jeremy grilled a chicken breast stuffed with arugula from the garden, spicy dried sausage and hot pepper cheese, both from Tony’s Colonial on Atwells. Meanwhile, I sauteed beet greens, also from White Barn Farm, with some garlic and hot pepper flakes.

What a feast! And what a great city we live in.