Eat, Drink and Think at Le Petit Gourmet Café
Because she loved wine, she opened a wine shop (Newport Wine Cellar, 2008). Because she loved cheese, she opened a cheese shop next door (Le Petit Gourmet, 2009). And because she loves to cook, Maria Chiancola expanded once more this past February and opened a café next to the cheese shop (Le Petit Gourmet Café).
The third venture is tucked beside and inside The Inns on Bellevue, three conjoined B&Bs, for which Chiancola provides breakfasts. The beautifully restored room behind the Inns’ front parlor seats 18, and the intimate café up front another 16, so that the wine tastings, cooking classes and wine dinners initiated by Chiancola (four to six events a month) now have ample space. Chiancola herself cooks four days a week; Brianna Hodgkins the other three days. Their emphasis on sustainable farming and local and seasonal products means that the breakfast menu (egg sandwich variations and homemade granola) and lunch menu (soup, panini, frittata, pizza or salad) change every day. The pastries are house-made except for Pain D’Avignon’s brownies and croissants, the latter made into a delectable chocolate bread pudding. An espresso machine is at hand; there’s BYOB at The Newport Wine Cellar two doors away. The block on Bellevue is all set up to eat, drink and think, according to Chiancola’s philosophy.
24—28 Bellevue Ave., Newport; 401.619.3966 (wine), 401.619.3882 (cheese); NewportWineCellar.com
