In Our Spring 2022 Issue

Dear Reader,

Two years ago at this time, we were hard at work on our Spring issue, full of anticipation for the change of season: milder, longer days, along with the arrival of ramps and asparagus, not to mention strawberries. There was news of Covid, but we were still blind to what was headed our way. Now, two years into a pandemic that we are told will soon be endemic, there’s at least one thing we can still count on: Spring will again come, and with it a sense of rebirth and renewal.

In keeping with spring’s promise, it’s important to remember that, even though our world has turned upside down, some good has resulted from all the upheaval. Social inequalities have been laid bare, resulting in more opportunities for dialogue and meaningful change—including in the food industry. New efficiencies have been created for local food systems and technology has advanced processes for food businesses. Despite supply chains breaking down, multiplying the challenges of planning ahead, new restaurants and other food and beverage businesses have been opened in Rhode Island by a number of determined entrepreneurs.

In this Spring issue, you’ll get to meet three of these restaurant warriors plus the CEO of a spirits company, all of whom stayed hitched to their dreams despite the obstacles brought by the pandemic.

One restaurateur is Chef Kevin O’Donnell of Giusto in Newport, whose asparagus salad landed on our cover this season—we simply couldn’t resist its beautiful leaf-green stalks, which are one of the earliest heralds of the harvest season. Like the other tempting dishes on his menu, it’s emblematic of O’Donnell’s Italian cooking, creatively made with seasonal New England foods. You can read his story here.

A chef who is new to Rhode Island but seasoned in the art of good cooking is Indigenous Wampanoag chef Sherry Pocknett. Her story describes how her family elders influenced her career as a chef. She opened Sly Fox Den Too in Charlestown in the start of 2021 to the pleasure of a rapidly growing fan club of devoted customers who return for Pocknett’s creative blend of Native American food traditions and contemporary seasonal cuisine.

If you’ve been lucky enough to pay a visit to The Industrious Spirit Company in Providence since the pandemic spring of 2020, you know it’s a distillery pouring creative cocktails to match the caliber of their team’s line of craft spirits. You’ll want to learn about their groundbreaking new launch, Ostreida, the first-ever vodka made with sustainably farmed oysters. A local vodka that reflects the merroir of oysters grown in the salty brine of Li’l Rhody waters—we can all drink to that!

We’re also saying a fond farewell to two longtime local-food advocates from the Providence restaurant scene while we welcome some new friends who have been working diligently to open a West African restaurant on Westminster Street.

Of course, we’ve got much more for you in this Spring issue, with tempting recipes, including creative libations, savory entrées, plus a sweet dessert to celebrate the season that, after a long winter, is finally upon us.