Local Seasonal Fare in a Relaxed Space with an Ever-Changing Menu
“It’s kind of like going to your friends’ house for a special party, and Stacy’s just making dinner,” explains Rob Deetz, co-owner with wife and chef Stacy Deetz of Pawtucket’s Hangry Kitchen. “We want to get to know our customers, talk to them and encourage them to come back.”
From his childhood in Italy, where diners linger after dessert for relaxed conversation—and from Stacy’s expansive imagination, the ever-changing menu has featured close to 400 unique dishes. In the 18 months since they opened, the restaurant has created a loyal following and a strong neighborhood vibe. The Deetzes have enjoyed seeing customers coming back weekly or bimonthly, and even planning birthday or farewell parties at Hangry.
As a chef, Stacy, a Johnson & Wales grad, has worked at many prestigious restaurants in Boston, participated on Bravo’s “Top Chef” (season 12) and published a cookbook in 2015, called The New New England Cookbook.
During Covid lockdowns, she and Rob left Boston for her job at a Virginia restaurant where she stayed for almost three years. (Rob’s full-time day job is fully remote.) But New England still beckoned, and when they found a house in Providence’s Elmwood neighborhood and a restaurant space in Pawtucket, they moved back and opened Hangry Kitchen just before Thanksgiving of 2023.
Their first menu offered “smalls” and “bigs,” with items changing every week, but when they realized customers wanted to try everything, they expanded to slightly larger appetizer plates and entrées, in a more traditional listing.
“I always have ideas cooking in my head—I even dream about recipes and keep a notebook on the night table to jot down any inspiration,” says Stacy. She crafts creative combinations from local sources or from farms where livestock is responsibly raised. The latter could include beef, lamb or chicken; seasonal seafoods will also pop up.
A wide variety of appetizers will feature autumn produce, such as root veggies, squashes and pumpkins, seasonal greens and beans. And apples and other fall fruits will dominate the desserts.
Some customer favorites may reappear—chicken pot pie jonnycakes or banana-bread grilled cheese are just two. But the Deetzes’ whole approach is, in Stacy’s words: “You show up not sure what will be on the menu.” She happily adapts for vegans and offers vegetarian options, too.
Hangry’s drink menu leans local with five Rhode Island–brewed beers (Sons of Liberty, Narragansett, Whalers, Radiant Pig and Phantom Farms); wine from Greenvale Vineyards; and bottled spirits from Rhodium, also in Pawtucket.
Well into their second full year at Hangry Kitchen, the Deetzes have no plans for expanding quickly. Instead, their intent remains “to win people over with food and service.”
“We want people to be present—we have no screens or tablets here,” Rob says. “We expect the appetizer plates, or even the entrées, to be passed around the table as a shared experience. We want to limit the distractions, with no rush, no need to feel hurried, so everyone can enjoy their food.”
Johnette Rodriguez is a food, travel and arts writer published in Yankee, Saveur, The Boston Globe, SO Rhode Island and The Westerly Sun.
Hangry Kitchen
542 Pawtucket Ave., Pawtucket
401.424.5812; Hangry-Kitchen.com
