Providence
August 14th, 2006I was in Providence last week.
The people of Rhode Island pride themselves on their strange and miserable food—milk with coffee-flavored syrup, stuffed clams, lemon slush, vaguely clam-flavored fried dough. These are Rhode Island specialties, each with its own peculiar local name.
Another specialty item is the New York Hot Weiner or the New York System:
This particular style of hot dog has only a tangential relation to New York City, being brought over to Rhode Island in the 1920s by a pair of Greek immigrants living in Brooklyn.
The New York System is: a hot dog, a bun, a “meat sauce,” mustard, chopped onions, celery salt. I’m actually really eager to try one. If this type of hot dog ever existed in New York, it has long since vanished, replaced by the “papaya”-style frankfurter. And of course, Chicago is truly the place to go if you have any interest in hot dogs.
But ultimately, you really should be eating less meat, for a host of reasons.
So I was in Providence visiting Kaveri. Hopefully, I’m going to move my art studio there for a couple of weeks. While I was there, Kaveri and I fought terribly. We are both stressed out. And living apart while she’s off at graduate school has been tough. So, tough, in fact, that I appear to have developed a cold sore.
Here is a picture of Kaveri in Providence:
August 15th, 2006 at 9:25 am
Your New York Weiner encounter reminds me of how I feel when I am somewhere other than Philadelphia and I see on the menu of your average eatery: “Philly Cheesesteak”; or in the case of New England: “Philly Steak and Cheese.” Why do we have to regionalize this sandwich? I feel like thats whats keeping these places from making a half decent version of the cheesesteak to begin with. For example, a “Philly Steak and Cheese” in Boston, I am convinced, is nothing more than Steakum and Kraft cheese slices on a roll. Pure evil. If you want a good cheesesteak in the city I am told Tony Luke’s on 42nd & 9th is good, although I have not been yet…
August 15th, 2006 at 2:48 pm
yeah, but what’s interesting about the New York System is that the “authentic” version exists only in Rhode Island. So, if I were to open a New York Hot Weiner place in New York, it would be like your Boston Cheesesteak.
By the way, aren’t philly steaks supposed to be kind of crappy? Isn’t the authentic version made with cheese wiz on a soft, soggy roll?
August 16th, 2006 at 2:16 am
no picture of the cold sore?
we aren’t fighting in that picture. we’re drunk. happy and drunk.
August 16th, 2006 at 5:44 pm
if you still want to move to Providence for a few weeks the food and the fight couldn’t have been that bad.
August 25th, 2006 at 3:42 pm
Meredith makes a good point!
August 29th, 2006 at 11:59 am
As a Rhode Islander, I have to stand up and shout a bit about your comments on the food. Let’s break it down:
1) Clamcakes (”vaguely clam-flavored fried dough”). Greasy and pretty gross. But once a year or so they’re a treat. And they usually have actual clams in them, so it’s not clam-flavoring, you Philistine.
2) Stuffies (”stuffed clams”). A crappy version of the delightful and easy-though-tedious-to-prepare French dish, Coquilles St. Jacques. While the latter is a mini-casserole (sometimes served in a large, evacuated clam shell) of mussels, clams, scallops, and other seafood mixed with a cream and cheese sauce, topped with bread crumbs and baked to crispiness, the Rhode Island version is just a bunch of spicy bread stuffing jammed into a quahaug (giant clam) shell. Crappy. No good. I agree with you, Mitch.
3) Del’s Frozen Lemonade (”lemon slush”). I’m sure that you expected–given my oft- and proudly worn t-shirt bearing the Del’s logo–that you would get a fight on this one. Del’s is great, and there is nothing like it. Slush Puppies, Slurpees, all the rest of it is crap. When I left Rhode Island, I learned that many of the things that I thought were unique to my childhood were actually widespread commodities. Not so with Del’s. Every summer, I expect to see Del’s carts taking over New York City streetcorners. I don’t think I’m crazy to expect its eventual cool drink domination. I know that Kaveri likes Del’s. Is this one of the things you fought about? Well, I side with Kaveri, obviously.
4) Coffeemilk (”milk with coffee-flavored syrup”). I didn’t drink coffee growing up, so I don’t think that I’ve never had this. No opinion.
5) Rhode Island Clam Chowder (not in your list). This is–in my opinion–one of the triumphs of Rhode Island cooking. Popular at clambakes, this is a clam soup with a clear broth, not the milky New England or tomato-based Manhattan. While good versions of those other soups are great, the tendency is for them to be gloppy crap. The Rhode Island stuff always gets me. Real clam and potato flavor, not masked by cream or tomato. I love it.
August 29th, 2006 at 12:00 pm
I love the picture of Kaveri in the wilds of Providence. I imagine that you are wearing khakis and a pith helmet as you take the picture.
August 30th, 2006 at 6:22 pm
Doc, I actually like Del’s. Del’s is good.
I knew that you’d eventually be posting on this one, and I worried that I might offend you. Especially with the use of the word *miserable*.
I did it solely for comedic effect.
September 4th, 2006 at 2:39 am
Doc, I’m glad you like the picture of me in my natural habitat. Mitch was too harsh in his judgment against RI food. I agree with you on Del’s, of course. I actually enjoy stuffies, too, in moderatoin. I am disappointed to hear that it’s only breadcrumbs in the shell. Are you sure there isnt some chopped up quahog in there? I guess I’ve always eaten them while slightly intoxicated and willing to believe I tasted clam. I dont mind coffeemilk or clamcakes, though I think the latter could be improved by a more generous hand with the clams . I am psyched to try some RI chowder when I get a chance.
BUT—maybe I told you this already, but Mitch and I did eventually try hot weiners, and that really was a crappy experience. And when I say “really,” what I mean is “literally.” I was rushing to the bathroom just minutes after finishing my meal. It wasn’t pretty. It wasn’t tasty, either- just bits of meat on a hot dog.
I had had high hopes for the hot weiner, and would say I needed to try a different hot weiner purveyor, but since we ate these at the somewhat legendary Olneyville NY System, I think the whole concept may be flawed. And besides I dont want to risk it.