Rhode Island
The City of Providence's Twin Flame is a Los Angeles Restaurant – Rhode Island Monthly
The city of Providence has a twin flame in the form of a restaurant in Los Angeles. The restaurant’s name is literally Providence and it’s an homage to the seafood of the Ocean State. Executive chef and restaurateur Michael Cimarusti, the 2019 James Beard Award winner for Best Chef: West, leads a spectacular team at the West Coast restaurant that is named after the city where his father and grandparents are from. Cimarusti has run Providence for two decades, where he and his team have maintained two coveted Michelin stars for over a decade and recently added a newly minted Michelin green star. Cimarusti got his start with Wolfgang Puck and worked in some of New York City’s finest restaurants including Spago and Le Cirque.
Recently, I got to meet Cimarusti at a symposium for students at Johnson & Wales University’s School of Culinary Arts. While the chef himself graduated from the Culinary Institute of America in Hyde Park, he spoke highly about culinary education at Johnson & Wales. Cimarusti addressed students and media representatives from around the country – including “Good Morning America,” Travel & Leisure and Saveur – about the connection between the restaurant and Rhode Island. Mainly, it’s the Ocean State’s incredible seafood that inspires him. The Providence and Warwick Convention and Visitors’ bureau and Cimarusti’s public relations team took the chef, his wife, team members and journalists from national media outlets on a three-day journey throughout Rhode Island to experience some of the best dining and drinking destinations in the state, including Oberlin, Gift Horse, Dune Brothers, Dolores, Persimmon, Sakonnet Vineyards, Sly Fox Den Too, Dolce & Salato and more.
“My roots in Rhode Island go way back. My grandparents were born in England but raised here in the Ocean State. My parents met here and were married here,” Cimarusti says. “My love of cooking and seafood, in large part, was found here in the Ocean State. My love of fishing is what inspired me and led me to the kitchen.”
He learned how to fish from his grandfather, Ted, and he later named his second restaurant, Connie & Ted’s in West Hollywood, after his grandparents, Constance and Edward, who lived in Providence all their lives. That restaurant serves clam cakes and Rhode Island-style chowder, stuffies, calamari, Portuguese fish stew, and yes, even coffee milk.
Providence restaurant, on the other hand, features an elaborate tasting-style menu that changes every few weeks. Sustainable fish species are key to the creation and execution of the cuisine. “We try to base every dish we do around a single ingredient,” Cimarusti says. “Of course, seafood is always at the core but then what we surround the seafood with is only good for a couple of weeks so the menu has to change all the time.” The renowned chef spoke at length about the importance of adhering to the Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch program, and recommended students print out the guide and keep it in their pocket, or download the Seafood Watch app to check the status of specific seafood species before cooking with them. “What remains a constant at the restaurant is our staunch belief that sustainability has to be at the core of everything that we do,” Cimarusti says.
What first snapped him to attention was when Gourmet magazine editor Caroline Bates visited his restaurant and wrote a nice review, but commented that she couldn’t bring herself to eat the bluefin tuna, because the species was potentially threatened at the time. “She wanted to try it, but just couldn’t do it out of good conscience,” Cimarusti says. “From that moment, it became clear to me that it had to become part of what we do on a daily basis. Now it’s central to everything we do at the restaurant.”
Cimarusti learned everything he could about seafood sustainability and joined the Monterey Bay Aquarium Blue Ribbon Task Force, a group of chefs that assemble to discuss issues of sustainability. “It changed the way I think about the ingredients I purchase and the impact I might have as a chef,” he says. “I think this is something all of you as young culinarians need to think about: What is your impact on the world going to be and how will you affect the world?”
He spoke about environmental and sustainability issues, including how drought affects the wild salmon population, when fish can’t make it back to freshwater to spawn; and how some farmed salmon is raised in crowded small pens, which causes disease and releases excessive nitrogen, or effluent, that is then pumped into oceans. Some farmed salmon might even escape and breed with wild salmon, which weakens the species for generations to come. He also mentioned how lobster trapping may endanger the threatened population of Right Whales that can become entangled in lines that lead from surface buoys to traps at the bottom of the sea. While there are many issues with seafood, there’s also hope. Because of our seafood regulations and guidelines, he says the bluefin tuna population and swordfish are both rebounding.
Though bluefin’s status is improving, it’s still on his personal watch list. But Cimarusti is optimistic. He hopes to one day serve it without a guilty conscience. “Salmon is salmon or cod is cod or tuna is tuna is not the case,” he says. “There’s not one ingredient in the world that I want to cook with so badly that I’m willing to risk the health of the ocean or risk the extinction of species.”
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Rhode Island
Dr. Seuss Drew Ads for Rhode Island's Narragansett Beer
In the 1970s, you could walk into any bar or tavern in Massachusetts and Rhode Island and order a “Narry” or a “Gansett,” and before long, you’d be wiping away a foam-head mustache while guzzling your Narragansett beer.
Narragansett was once the No. 1-selling beer in New England. Big changes in the beer brewing industry and changes within the Narragansett Brewing Company have resulted in the brew occupying a much smaller segment of the beer-brewing market.
Narragansett Beer was originally brewed in a brick brewhouse in Cranston, Rhode Island.
The Narragansett Brewing Company website says, “In 1890, six German immigrants came together with $150,000 to construct this building and start Narragansett Beer. Less than a decade later, Narragansett Beer was the largest-selling beer in New England.”
Ownership changes, court battles and company relocations negatively impacted the Narragansett product name. In 2005, a group of Rhode Island businessmen attempted to reinvigorate the Narragansett name.
In 2016, it was announced that Narragansett was returning to Rhode Island. A new generation of Narragansett Beer was brewed in Pawtucket the following year. The Narragansett Brewing Company is now located in Providence.
In the first half of the last century, Narragansett Beer was a primary sponsor of Boston Red Sox baseball broadcasts during which announcer Curt Gowdy coined the slogan, “Hi neighbor, have a ‘Gansett.”
Narragansett Beer was featured in several films, including Jaws, parts of which were filmed in Massachusetts.
During World War II, Springfield, Massachusetts native Theodor Seuss Geisel, later known as Dr. Seuss, created advertising lithographs with a character named “Chief Gansett,” to promote Narragansett Beer.
The lithographs appeared on posters, trays and other promotional products.
Geisel’s father and grandfather operated a brewery in Springfield until it was forced to close under prohibition.
Dr. Suess And His Unorthodox Taxidermy
Dr. Suess and His Unorthodox Taxidermy
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This is a must visit park for all Dr. Suess fans.
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Rhode Island
Hasbro could move headquarters to Boston from Rhode Island, report says
BOSTON – Toy and game maker Hasbro is looking at moving its headquarters from Rhode Island to downtown Boston, according to a new report.
The Boston Business Journal cited “several real estate sources” in reporting that Hasbro, which is currently based in Pawtucket, recently toured multiple Boston office buildings. The sources also said Hasbro could relocate to the suburbs of Boston.
The company that makes Monopoly, Dungeons & Dragons and Play-Doh is said to be looking for a large block of office space between 200,000 and 250,000 square feet.
Hasbro comments on reports of potential move to Boston
In a statement to WBZ-TV, Hasbro did not confirm or deny that it is weighing a move to Boston.
“As Hasbro continues to evolve, we’re exploring options for our global headquarters to make sure it is a space that can best serve our employees, partners, and business needs for years to come,” chief communications officer Bertie Thomson said. “We’re taking our time, evaluating all options that can best support our team’s creativity and innovation, and will share updates on our progress. Regardless of the outcome and location, we remain committed to our history – not leaving it behind, but building on it.”
Hasbro moving out of Providence office
Hasbro said last December it was laying off about 20% of its workforce, or 1,100 employees amid toy sales that were softer than anticipated during 2023.
The company also said at the time it would not renew its lease on its office in Providence and workers would be moved to the headquarters in Pawtucket.
Hasbro was founded in Providence more than 100 years ago.
Another major toymaker, Lego, is moving its headquarters from Connecticut to Boston’s Boylston Street in 2025.
Rhode Island
Person killed near Dupont Circle, police look for trio in white vehicle
A person is dead after a shooting early Monday in Washington, D.C.’s Dupont Circle neighborhood, and officers are looking for three potential suspects, police said.
Officers responded to reports of a shooting in the 1700 block of Rhode Island Ave. NW about 4:35 a.m.
Officers found a male victim with a gunshot wound, police said. He was unconscious and was not breathing, police said.
Homicide investigators were called to the scene. News4 is working to learn more about the victim.
Police said they were looking for three people who drove off in a white vehicle while wearing black clothing and ski masks.
There could be impacts to traffic while police investigate.
Stay with News4 for more on this developing story.
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