Providence Monthly October 2010

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savor tasty bites from some of RI’s best culinary establishments as they compete in the “Top Dog” Culinary Competition

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this memorable evening is dedicated to helping homeless animals in need

“top dog” culinary competition peruse competitors’ stations throughout the museum & enjoy their signature “purr-fect bite”

online auction & ticket sales in october www.parl.org

celebrity judges decide who will be the Culinary ‘Top Dog!’ guests will cast votes for the ‘howlin’ crowd pleaser!’

meet the judges Herb Mesa from “The Next Food Network Star” Al Matthews from “The Paul & Al Show” on 94HJY

culinary competitors aspire ~ atomic catering ~ blaze dave’s marketplace ~ grille on main pizza gourmet ~ solo ~ whole foods market

to benefit the 401.421.1399 presenting sponsors

enjoy some swanky spirits

Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Museum 315 Harborside Blvd., Providence, RI VIP Reception 6:00 PM ~ 7:00 PM Main Event Only 7:00 PM ~ 10:00 PM

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Contents

Photography: (Left) Jonathan Beller, (Right) Kate Kelley

October 2010

33 This Month 29 Things that Go Bump in the Night

60 43 City Style Dressing up for the fall 45 The Look 46 Beauty 49 Shop Talk

A ghost hunt with the Rhode Island Society for the Examination of Unusual Phenomena

33 The City Smartens Up The cultivation of Providence’s Knowledge Economy

51 Feast A world of spices on Wickenden 53 In the Kitchen 54 On the Menu 57 Behind the Bar 58 In the Drink 60 Review 63 Dining Guide

is something to think about

71 Get Out

Every Month

All lit up for Halloween 72 Calendar 75 Theatre 76 Music 81 Art 82 Movies

8 From the Editor

84 The Last Detail

13 Feedback

Digging through the stacks never sounded so good

17 Providence Pulse The city’s open market system 19 City 23 Scene in PVD 24 Malcontent

On the Cover: Photography: A. Cole Illustration: Alli Coate

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

7

Editor’s Note The City’s Bright Idea Providence is a

smart city. We know this. With Brown, RISD, JWU and URI campuses here, we’ve got a lot of brainpower in a small place. But students leave, and take everything Providence has taught them when they go. It’s called Brain Drain, and it happens every year. That’s one of the reasons why the cultivation of the Knowledge District is so exciting. With developments in all kinds of knowledge economy fields – biomedical, technology, internet services – businesses in the city are finally working together with schools in a way that could lead to significantly more students choosing to live here after graduation (and thereby develop all of that young urban growth we were hoping for with the construction of those downtown high rises). In this issue, we take a look at the newest developments, from the businesses that are springing up in the new Knowledge District to the driving forces behind the branding effort – and what the implications are for the rest of us.

81

Meet the artist behind all of those awesome murals in South Providence in Art

If you’re looking for a good scare this month, try having your own Ghostbusters experience. We go on a real live (or, dead) ghost hunt with the Rhode Island Society for the Examination of Unusual Phenomena at a haunted mansion in Cranston. You can also hunt down spirits on the Providence Ghost Tour – or enjoy something a little more family friendly at the Jack-o-Lantern Spectacular at the zoo. If you haven’t seen it yet, you need to go this year. We’ve also got non-frightening ways to enjoy the last of the warm weather, like shopping at the Providence Open Market or following the road to Rhode Island on the Family Guy tour. There’s a lot to do this month. Make the most of it.

Providence MONTHLY

Publishers Barry Fain Richard Fleischer John Howell Publishing Director Jeanette St. Pierre Editor Julie Tremaine Assistant Editor John Taraborelli Art Director Allison Cole Assistant Art Director Alli Coate Advertising Design Director Layheang Meas Graphic Designer Karli Hendrickson Account Managers Danielle Claro Louann DiMuccio-Darwich Ann Gallagher Nellie Lima Dan Schwartz Liz Sliney Jessica Webb Illustrators Emma Tripp Photographers Jonathan Beller K Harber Photography Laurel Mulherin Mike Braca Dan Schwartz Stacey Doyle Kate Kelley Contributing Writers Stephanie Obodda Linda Beaulieu Cristy Raposo Emily Dietsch Dan Schwartz Scott Duhamel Jen Senecal Dawn Keable Alyssa Smith Molly Lederer Vikki Warner Michael Madden Andrea E. McHugh Interns Lauren Knight Whitney Smith Jennifer Liedke

Contributor Molly Lederer Writer Molly Lederer is a long-time favorite of ours here at Providence Monthly. She has been with us for several years, writing the monthly theater column here and in our sister publication SO Rhode Island.

This month she talks to the visiting Artistic Director at Perishable Theatre about their annual Women’s Playwriting Festival. With all that work profiling theater, dance and music throughout the state, it’s hard to believe this is her second career. When she’s not out taking in shows, Molly is toiling at her illustrious career in the natural chewing gum industry, penning all those clever rhymes that the Glee Guy is always spouting off.

8

Providence Monthly | October 2010

PRINTED ON RECYCLED PAPER. PAPER CONTAINS 20-25% POST-CONSUMER CONTENT Providence Monthly, 167 Valley Street Providence, RI 02909 • Fax: 401-521-0024 www.providenceonline.com providencemonthly@providenceonline.com For advertising rates call: 401-521-0023 We welcome all contributions, but we assume no responsibility for unsolicited material. No portion of this publication can be reproduced in whole or in part without prior written permission.

Copyright ©2010 by Providence Monthly, All rights reserved. Printed by Gannett Offset.

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

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special advertising section

The PM List events / promotions / good deeds

PM SPONSORED

Eat, Drink and Bid Your Tails Off Get your tickets now for The Rescue, a fundraiser for the Providence Animal Rescue League on Saturday, November 6 at the Johnson and Wales Culinary Arts Museum. Restaurants and caterers like Aspire, Blaze and Pizza Gourmet will square off in a competition to see who’s the “Top Dog,” as determined by celebrity judges Herb Mesa from The Next Food Network Star and 94HJY’s Al Matthews. There will also be a swanky selection of spirits, as well as great item up for bid in live and silent auctions. Tickets for this will sell out, so go online today and reserve yours. 421-1399; parl.org

HOT gossip Fall FaShiOn Party Sunday, October 3rd Fall FaShiOn ShOw at the tent at 11:30am *Party Starts noon-5pm*

SEXY SINGLES

Are You Eligible?

It’s that time of year again: PM is looking for the city’s hottest bachelors and bachelorettes for our annual “Most Eligible” issue in February. Nominate your finest, most fascinating single friends, or even yourself to be one of our ten lucky ladies and gentlemen. We’ll set you up with a photographer, interview you about your ideal special someone, and even throw a party in your honor. If you can’t get a date after that, well, maybe it’s time to consider getting a couple cats. Go to providenceonline.com/providencemonthly to submit your nomination today.

PUBLIC ART

Paint the Town Providence Monthly is proud to sponsor the Providence Rotary’s 11th annual Street Painting Festival, which returns to the Bank of America City Center and Biltmore Park on Saturday, October 2. Hundreds of painters will square off on the pavement, classic automobiles will be on display, dozens of restaurants will provide food and there will be live musical performances from ‘50s and ‘60s cover band Reminisce and the Extraordinary Rendition Band, Providence’s raucous street marching band. Don’t miss out on this day of fun in the city for the whole family.

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

STYLISH ADVICE

PM SPONSORED

Providence Fall Fashion

Fashion for a Cause

Couldn’t get enough fall fashion in our last issue?

Be sure to check out the special style section on TheProvidenceLife.com, with info on what’s happening at local boutiques, as well as interviews and fashion tips from the trendsetters who own and operate them. It’s the perfect resource for putting together your autumn wardrobe.

Enjoy a stylish evening out and aid in the fight against breast cancer at the third annual Gloria Gemma Fashion Show on Saturday, November 13 at Twin River. It features Harley-Davidson clothing and formal wear alike, as well as pop-up boutiques, 30-plus racks of $20 clothing and accessories, and a special appearance by designer/Project Runway alum Jonathan Joseph Peters. There will also be cocktail and food stations and a raffle to win Patriots tickets. It’s a great night out for an even better cause. 861-4376; gloriagemma.org

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Feedback From Our Readers Making Some Noise Typically, I do not write letters to the editor, but I couldn’t resist after reading your coverage of Sound Session (“Who Stole the Soul?”, September 2010). As an arts and cultural professional, I know how delicately you treaded to report this honest portrait of The Ultimate Disappointment.

I noticed the festival started to go downhill drastically last year, when the curation of “genre defying music” basically meant anything that was happening anywhere in the 401 area code during the festival dates.

Surely I am not against the idea of all the local venues collaborating, but it was clear there was no one curating this experience. Furthermore, SS always presented musical experiences that were not typical to the Providence (or Rhode Island) scene: African diaspora, Cuban, Latin, jazz, hip-hop, electronica, etc.

This brought people from all walks of life down to the city center to dance and celebrate. By contrast, this year, I felt inundated by white culture. Where once there were African drummers and salsa bands, it was so sad to now see mediocre indie rock acts and burlesque shows that really only appeal to the monoculture they are a derivative of. Plus, I can catch them any night of the week. Big whoop.

The once festive parade was nothing more than a march of politico hopefuls a la the Bristol 4th of July parade. Sad. It was the perfect storm of mismanagement, unmet expectations and broken promises. Only the City appeared to come out looking good. The interesting question will

be whether too many bridges have been burned to even salvage this thing, or do we just have to scrap it and hope something new will arise from the compost pile? Nice reporting from the trenches.

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From Our Facebook Friends Several of you wrote in with your comments on our Fall Fashion Issue (September 2010).

I grabbed the September issue as soon as I saw it. I really like your magazine because the articles are very readable, and your graphic design is clean and strong. What I like best is learning about funky new shops around town. I clip them out and try to make some time on weekends to hit a few of them.

-Julia Meylor Simpson

We’re Hiring!

Providence Media is growing and looking for an advertising account rep for the East Bay.

I’m all about the fashion. Loved the September issue. Keep up the great work!

-Laurie Brophy Hersey

Media sales experience preferred.

Send your resume to: resumes@providenceonline.com.

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Special primary election coverage... pages 24-30

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

13

No one can draw a crowd better than we can.

Saturday, October 2, 12 pm-6 pm Bank of America Skating Rink & Biltmore Park

JOIN US FOR: • Hundreds of street painters in competition • Classic automobiles on display • Family games & entertainment • Food samples from dozens of R.I.’s best restaurants & caterers • Live 50’s & 60’s music all afternoon

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C o n d o m i n i u m s

Cranston/edgewood. This 2 bedroom, 2 bath Townhouse features wide open loft like living, maple floors and oversized windows to maximize your sweeping views of Narragansett Bay. Fireplaced living room, in-unit laundry, parking and a master suite worth dreaming about! $289,900.

ProvidenCe/east side. Terrific garden level unit! Sophisticated yet charming space with lovely details. Open layout, hardwoods, built-ins, working fireplace. Master bed w/private bath. Laundry. Private entrance & brick patio overlooking state house. $259,000.

east ProvidenCe. Fabulous 2 bedroom, 2 bath end unit in pristine condition. Open & spacious floor plan with great light. Maple/granite/stainless kitchen. Fireplaced living room, dining room, hardwoods, master bed w/cathedral ceiling. Deck, water view, clubhouse & fitness center. $239,000.

ProvidenCe/east side. Gorgeous 1st floor, 3 bedroom Condo across from beautiful park in Fox Point. Hardwoods, replacement windows, new heating system, eat-in-kitchen with stainless steel appliances. Walk to Brown, Wayland Sq., India Point Park and bike path! $219,000.

Central Falls. True industrial loft! Like living in Williamsburg NYC. 1900SF. 12 windows. Concrete counters. Funky artist additions. 2 walled bedrooms. 1 full bath & plumbing for 2nd. $185,000.

PawtuCket. True loft excitment! Spread over 2 floors featuring a honed granite kitchen, rich hardwoods, master suite, laundry in unit, 1 full bath and 1 half bath. Garage parking.

Special tax program and tax credit! $175,000.

ProvidenCe/elmhurst. Desirable, comfortable 2 bedroom Townhouse minutes from downtown. Maple floors in fireplaced living room, attached garage, full basement, sliding doors from dining room to deck. $179,900.

north ProvidenCe. Spacious 2 bed, 2.5 baths Townhouse in Oak Crest Village. Open floor plan, dining room opens to deck. Large master suite plus 2nd bed and bath, finished lower level. Central A/C. Great space, great value! $169,900.

ProvidenCe/east side. Surprisingly quiet birds nest unit with tremendous light, new kitchen and bath, A/C, wide plank floors. Large rooms, plenty of closet space. Steps to Wayland Sq, city parks, and groceries. $159,000.

140 Wickenden Street, Providence, RI 02903 401.274.6740 • ResidentialProperties.com Barrington • CumBerland • east greenwiCh • narragansett • ProvidenCe • reloCation

Providence Pulse City / Malcontent / Scene in PVD

Open Season in Providence Lippitt Park has just about everything you could ask of a Saturday morning this October: farm fresh foods, local artisans peddling their handmade wares, a picturesque park featuring a beautiful walk along Blackstone Boulevard, fall foliage, and plenty of nearby restaurants to hit up for lunch (as well as some prepared food vendors in the park itself) – all that and an abundance of free parking, too.

This month the Farmer’s Market teams up with the Providence Open Market on Saturdays from 10am-4pm to give you the opportunity to check out some locally produced arts and crafts as you peruse locally grown fruits and vegetables, Rhode Island-made cheeses, breads and even ice cream. This is the Open Market’s fourth season, and the variety of ven-

dors is unmatched by any other event in the state. Whether you’re looking for art, jewelry, clothing, accessories, cupcakes, hand-blended teas – really anything beautiful, cute, relaxing or just plain nice – the Providence Open Market is offering its local incarnation for sale.

And Lippitt Park’s prime location at the junction of Hope Street and Blackstone Boulevard is a major draw in and of itself.

Take a Saturday morning or a lazy Saturday afternoon this October and have a look, take a walk or eat some food – because you earned that hand-sewn purse during your hard week of work, and you earned that cupcake when you took the walk. See how it works? Yeah, you do. providenceopenmarket.com. -Michael Madden

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

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Pulse | City

PM Experiment

Knives Out

Learning to cook from Chef Walter Chef Walter Potenza is

everywhere – at his eponymous restaurant on Federal Hill, hosting culinary tours of Italy, grinning on the back of frozen Freschetta Pizza boxes – but he walks into the second floor teaching kitchen at Walter’s and there he is. We’re all standing at cooking stations that have a recipe, a French knife and various ingredients portioned out in front of us. We’re all wearing chef’s aprons (and when I say “we,” I mean almost the entire staff of PM, from publishers to ad reps). We’re about to learn to cook from one of the best chefs in the city.

He’s loud, gregarious and full of energy, with a thick Italian accent and a keen eye, especially for what’s happening at all times in his kitchen. We read our recipes and get ready to start. I’ll be making risotto with red wine and mushrooms.

Next to me, Jessica is working on a baked vegetable pie, and Ann and Louann have teamed up to handle the fresh bread on which we’ll be eating a roasted eggplant concoction. John is on lentil and couscous soup, Jeanette is making tomato sauce from scratch, Dan is making chicken breasts stuffed with zucchini and squash, and our super-publisher Richard sets to work on pork involtini with prosciutto and white bean puree (which is a surprise, because until this point I had honestly believed that he survived only on red wine and the fear of his underlings).

We start to cook – and we do everything wrong. I chop an onion poorly and am told to try again. (Presentation is key, Chef Walter says. If my chop isn’t uniform, diners won’t enjoy the food as much because it doesn’t look professional.)

When I drop a piece of onion on the floor, he leans in and says, “That’s the last mess you’re going to make in my kitchen. This isn’t your house.” And that really pales in comparison to John’s mistake of dropping several cold ingredients into a pan at the same time. “Everyone look at what a mistake John made. Everyone come here, I want to show you what he did wrong,” he says. But the atmosphere is jovial, not harsh, and we’re all interested in the mini-lesson that arises from John’s error. He was supposed to render the pancetta first, bring-

ing out that flavor completely before adding any vegetables.

That’s one thing that Chef Walter stresses in this class: when you bring out the best flavors from your food, you only need a few ingredients, and you don’t need to cover them up with heavy spices. “Great chefs have the ability to extract the most flavor out of one ingredient,” he says. This comes through best when we get to taste Jeanette’s red sauce – which used San Marzano tomatoes, garlic and barely anything else, and was hands down the best sauce I’ve had this year.

While we’re technically following recipes, Chef intentionally has us break from them – both to give us a feel of what works with what, and to stress that he’s not there to teach us to follow recipes; he’s there to teach us to cook. “Italian cooking is about the best ingredients, minimally worked and left alone for the most part,” he stresses.

We cook for two hours or so, but it goes quickly because we’re having so much fun watching each other’s projects and listening in when Chef Walter is giving someone advice. He never cooks with salt and pepper, he says. Those are adjusting spices to be added at the end, after you’ve brought out the flavors in your food. He also tells us that Italians never cook basil, never use rosemary in pasta and use garlic only as a flavor that’s removed before eating. We’re all surprised to find out that Italians also don’t cook with olive oil – it changes the flavor of the food too much, and is mostly used to drizzle on top of foods prepared with other fats like rice oil.

As quickly as it started, the food is whisked away to the downstairs kitchen, which serves the restaurant. We head downstairs and gather around a table to be served the five-course dinner we just prepared. Chef Walter and his wife Carmela join us and – get this – actually eat and compliment what we made. For a group of foodies and amateur gourmets like us, it really doesn’t get better than that. Cooking classes with Chef Walter happen several times a month. Some offerings in October are: Fall Flavors in Tuscany, Essentials of Tuscan Cooking, Risotto and Soups and Minestre. chefwalter.com –Julie Tremaine

Paws Hit The Pavement

A Dog Walk for a Good Cause It might be best to have a chat with your English Bull Dog before The Gloria Gemma 5K on October 9, so there’s no confusion about expectations. Take the jogging angle.

It’s important for your furry friend to realize that while serious runners are welcome to compete in the race, there’s absolutely no pressure for doggies, or people, to maintain anything above a stroll. It would also be kind to explain to Bruno why he’s decked out in a pink boa and rhinestoned collar, even if it seems like common sense to you. The walk is, after all, the kick off event for Flames of Hope, a daylong celebration of life sponsored by the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Resource Foundation.

You’re just hoping that someone with four legs will graciously take one for the team, to bring home the prize for the Most Pinked Out Pup. For their trouble, each canine receives a Curb Your Enthusiasm Baggie and the opportunity to have a photo taken with their owner – if they’re still on speaking terms. The State House, Smith Street. 861-4376, gloriagemma.org.

-Dawn Keable

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

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A Fashionably Good Cause While helping out a great organization is always in style, it’s a nice treat when it can also be stylish. Such is the case with the upcoming fashion show fundraiser for RISE (Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education), a nonprofit that provides scholarships and mentoring to children of incarcerated parents. The fashionable event takes place Saturday, October 16 from 6:30-9:30pm at the Pawtucket Armory. As always, the show will feature “models” taken from the ranks of prominent local citizens, media personalities and just all around good folks. This year they include Deanna Cruz from Hot 106, Elizabeth Hopkins from The Rhode Show and musician/fire dancer Spogga. “Latin Beat” is the theme, so in addition to the usual fashionistas strutting their stuff, there will be an opening dance performance by Kristen Minsky and her TropiGals, as well as food from Russell Morin Fine Catering and beverages from Presidente Beer, XX Vodka and Sakonnet Vineyards.

For more information, call 421-2010 or visit riseonline.org.

–John Taraborelli

The Blackstone Valley Visitor Center wants to put you on the road to Rhode Island, Family Guy style, with their Family Guy Rhode Island Road Trip Map. Family Guy put the Ocean State on the national map with its frequent references to the area, and now you can follow the trail of its references to key locations in the show. Don’t expect to find Buddy Cianci Jr. High – these are real locations mentioned in Family Guy, where you can make real (bad) fart jokes with your real (nice) girlfriend in the car. So this fall, if you’re thinking about driving around to check out the changing leaves (New England has native peepers, too), take the Road to Rhode Island that begins at the Blackstone Valley Visitor Center, grab the map, and check out some of the locations that inspired Seth McFarlane. 175 Main Street, Pawtucket. 724-2200; tourblackstone.com. –Michael Madden

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

Scene in PVD

| Pulse

Providence Monthly took it outside for our last party of the summer. We enjoyed spectacular views of the skyline at – where else? – Waterplace’s new Skyline Lounge, and sipped cocktails from Tito’s Handmade Vodka.

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The other day I witnessed a testy exchange between a staunch advocate for gay marriage, and someone who ostensibly seemed to be an opponent of it. As they shot points and counterpoints back and forth, debating things like joint tax returns, shared benefits and hospital visitation rights, focusing on increasingly niggling details of language, I found myself a bit lost. I turned to the woman next to me: It sounds like they’re actually saying the same thing – they just think they’re on opposite sides of the argument. She nodded in a mixture of confusion and agreement.

So-called hot button political issues often amount to just that: button pushing for its own sake.

While I’m always one to recognize the entertainment value in argumentative hyperbole and petty histrionics, this kind of myopic, self-obsessed, singleissue zealotry is rather counterproductive. The time, effort and often money we spend fighting over non-issues is diverting valuable resources away from real problems.

The gay marriage debate is a perfect example of this. Gay couples are here. They’re out in the open. They’re in committed, monogamous relationships, living under the same roof. Using various dubious legal blockades to deny them their human rights and define marriage as “one man, one woman” will do nothing to change that. All it’s doing is depriving them of the same legal and economic benefits straight couples take for granted – benefits which, I might add, were established to ease the economic burden on society as a whole.

Furthermore, the lines between what is acceptable and what is not are arbitrary and downright absurd. Need an illustration? Imagine a street that crosses the border between Rhode Island and Massachusetts – say between Pawtucket and Attleboro. Now imagine two houses next door to each

other on that street, but on opposite sides of the state line. Now imagine two gay couples living side-by-side in those houses. The couple on the Massachusetts side is happily married. The couple on the Rhode Island side would like to get married, but to allow that would mean the downfall of western civilization. Silly, right?

Now, think for a moment about the people on both sides of this debate: the

While I’m always one to recognize the entertainment value in argumentative hyperbole, this kind of zealotry

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

is rather counterproductive.

motivated, intelligent, persuasive and committed people dedicating their time and brainpower to fighting this battle.

Imagine if they were no longer locked in this farcical moral faceoff and could turn their attention to important issues that affect us all, like renewable energy, economic growth and world hunger.

Most often it seems that these nonsensical squabbles erupt over issues of morality – especially where sexuality and/or vice are concerned. Casino gambling is another great example. The debate over allowing a casino in Rhode Island rages on, with both sides offer-

ing up facts and figures of questionable merit to prove definitively, once and for all, that yes, Rhode Island needs a casino before those rapacious Bay Staters bleed us dry; or, no, we mustn’t allow gambling in our wholesome corner of the world, lest we risk damnation.

Simply put: we have a casino. It’s called Twin River Casino, and in addition to the slots for which it’s well known, it offers poker, blackjack and roulette – just like a regular casino. The only difference is that in Rhode Island these table games are virtual table games. They are played by the same rules as actual table games and can just as easily gobble up your kid’s college fund, but instead of providing an actual person with a decent job dealing at that “table,” they use a computer program and video screen. Apparently, these virtual “dealers” are the only thing standing between noble, God-fearing, salt-of-theearth Rhode Islanders and economic and spiritual ruin.

Even issues without moral implications draw people into the game of rhetorical chicken in which no one wins. Overnight parking in Providence is a controversial issue, one that has been debated in community forums, city council meetings, newspaper op-eds and more. Over on the West Side of town, where I live, a pilot program was launched to see what results this bold experiment will yield. After a long and arduous fight, residents can now proudly leave their cars parked overnight under signs reading “No Parking 2am-5am Except by Resident Permit.”

Really? We engaged in so much gnashing of teeth and rending of garments over three hours – literally 1/8 of a day. (And three hours during which street traffic is at its lowest, I might add.) What are we really fighting for? Do these causes matter, or have we just focused so hard on our sharply drawn battle lines that we can’t see how small and insignificant the field of play is?

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RELIABLE GOLD Fall Must Have: “I am very excited about new contemporary pieces that have beautiful lines and give an alternative to the way we look at things. I just love good design. Perennially beautiful old jewelry is always an attraction. Pieces that have lived through time and will continue to live through time are very special. They become heirlooms.” – Rena Abeles What You Can Find at Reliable Gold: Featuring an eclectic selection of unique estate jewelry along with contemporary designs. Now offering a growing selection of jewelry by local artists. Get the Look at: Reliable Gold, 181 Wayland Avenue, Providence; 401-861-1414; reliablegold.com

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M.R.T JEWELERS Fall Must Have: “Gold will continue to be popular. Especially gold in tones of pink or rose, as seen in the Rebecca brand we carry (pictured here) Rebecca jewelry has already been embraced by celebs such as Beyonce and Pink. Amethyst is doing very well through the late summer and will probably continue to do so through the fall. Purple is a great color for the season.” – David Audette What You Can Find at M.R.T: A wide selection of fashion and fine jewelry that ranges from traditional to cutting edge. We are a full service jeweler and offer in house repairs, custom design, diamond setting, mounting and engraving. Get the Look at: M.R.T Jewelers, 927 Warren Avenue, East Providence; 401-435-3500, MRTjewelers.com

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THINGS THAT GO BUMP IN THE NIGHT: Ken DeCosta investigates the basement of the haunted Sprague Mansion

There’s Something Strange in the Neighborhood Adventures in the supernatural with Rhode Island’s other ghost hunters

By Julie Tremaine | Photography by Jonathan Beller

It’s 9pm on a Friday night,

and I’m sitting in complete darkness in the basement of a haunted mansion, waiting to see a ghost. With me in the empty wine cellar, surrounded only by some scattered, moldering bottles of longgone wine (and, we hope, some spirits of another kind), are Tom Stewart and Chris Blanchette. They’re members of the Rhode Island Society for the Examination of Unusual Phenomena (RISEUP), a group of local hobbyists who have a serious fascination with the paranormal. Under other circumstances, having ghost experts around might be comforting when creepy, unexplained noises emanate from the oppressive blackness of the expansive basement (or from whatever’s lurking in it). But these two are trying to get the ghosts to come out.

After all, this is a ghost hunt. What’s the fun unless someone has a brush with the unexplained?

The wine cellar in question belongs to the Sprague Mansion in Cranston, which is widely acknowledged as one of the most haunted places in the state.

The home was built over 200 years ago by the Sprague family, owners of the Sprague Print Works and all-around rich and powerful people. In 1848, Amasa Sprague, the master of the house, was murdered and is rumored to haunt the

property still. There is also rumor of a female ghost who could be the estranged wife of Governor William Sprague, Amasa’s brother. But the mansion’s supernatural mascot is Charlie the Butler, who served the Sprague family and had unfulfilled dreams of capturing part of their fortune. The ghostly legends have brought RISEUP here in the past for lectures and investigations, but they never pass up a chance to search for signs of the paranormal. The group, which was founded five years ago by Ken DeCosta and his son Dave in Tiverton, regularly investigates private homes at the owners’ request and public spaces that are rumored to be haunted.

I arrive at our agreed start time of 7pm to a flurry of action as ten or so RISEUP members are setting up. The first floor pantry is their de facto control room.

A monitor simultaneously displays the feeds from the six infrared cameras that have been placed all over the house in areas where there has been reported activity in the past. Camera equipment, flashlights, digital voice recorders and other gadgets I can’t identify litter the table, while miles of coaxial cable snake out in all directions from the DVR console. It creates a professional scene, one that surprises me with how much it resembles an FBI stakeout. I don’t know

what I was expecting, but it wasn’t this.

While people are setting up, Shayna Drinkuth, a RISEUP investigator, tells me about the group’s last experience at the mansion. “I got one of the clearest EVPs any of us have ever gotten here. It’s a nice place, but there’s definitely something weird going on,” Shayna says. EVP stands for Electronic Voice Phenomena, which is when a voice appears on a digital recording that the people present for that recording didn’t actually hear. It’s one of the most common pieces of evidence RISEUP captures… not to say that it happens very frequently at all. The EVP she’s talking about is what sounds like a little girl’s voice calling out for her mother. “We’re really excited because the last time we were here we didn’t have this much equipment,” she says.

They’re also excited because the last time they investigated the Sprague Mansion, which was about a year ago, they found some promising leads for what might have been ghost sightings. “One of our members saw a shadow go through a doorway, and we saw movement in empty rooms,” Tom says. It might not sound like enough to compel another investigation, but trust me – when you’re sitting in a completely silent building in the middle of the night staring at the darkness around you, any movements

are easy to perceive, even the ones that are hard to explain.

After an hour or so of setting up, the team is ready to investigate. Ken and Marlaina Gaboriault head into the basement; Shayna and Julie DeMay go back to the third floor bedroom where Shayna captured the famous EVP, hoping to get something similar. I follow Tom and Chris to a second floor bedroom where others have reported seeing and feeling strange things. “We’ve got to get our ecto-packs out,” Chris jokes. I imagine the Ghostbusters comparisons happen constantly, but I am a little disappointed that there’s no hearse-cum-ghost-hunting-mobile outside and no friendly green ghoul along for the hunt.

Chris, who studied Archaeology and Historical Preservation at Salve Regina, is the resident historian in the group, and is responsible for all the preliminary research, which includes uncovering the history of the property by going through newspaper archives and searching deeds and census records for any pertinent information on past owners.

Understanding a place’s past is crucial to a successful investigation – and even if the team doesn’t find anything during an investigation, homeowners still get the satisfaction of having an in-depth history of their home.

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

29

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CLOCKWISE FROM TOP LEFT: Tom Stewart in the surveillance room; the doll room; ghost hunting equipment Once we’re in the bedroom, he puts out a K-II monitor to measure electromagnetic fields and a digital voice recorder. Then he shuts off all the lights, and we sit down in the middle of a dark, creepy room to talk to some ghosts. I’d like to ask any spirits that can hear my voice to come join us. We know you’re here. Could you come sit on the bed?

Could you let us know you’re here?

You can’t be self-conscious when you’re trying to coerce ghosts, so there’s a lot of Tom and Chris talking to the room. After a while, we all think we see something and move into an adjoining room where we agree there’s a stronger ghostly vibe. While I do hope we’re seeing something, my sense of rationality tells me that it’s probably only wishful thinking. (That is, until a few days after the investigation, when Tom sends me this email: “We did capture some interesting audio evidence during our Sprague Mansion investigation, some of it on my recorder, which means it took place while you were in the room.”

Great. Now I’m haunted. Thanks for that.

Though this does mean, in the strictest technical sense, that I ain’t, in fact, afraid of no ghosts.)

Any potential evidence they record is subject to very thorough vetting that results in almost every spooky thing being explained rationally. “We’re real sticklers for not calling anything paranormal until we’ve eliminated every possibility.

We look at all the evidence over and over,” Tom, who handles case management, explains. “We try to capture the same things we’ve gotten before so we can dismiss them as some explainable

30

Providence Monthly | October 2010

abonormality.” In the case of the EVP of the little girl’s voice, they listened to the recording until they ruled out every possibility of outside noise, and used the tapes from the infrared cameras to ensure that none of their own members caused any kind of interference. “It was on the second or third floor of the house, at 11pm. There’s nothing going on at that time. If it were a noise coming from somewhere else, we would have heard it,” he says.

After my adventures in the haunted bedroom and the wine cellar of terror, I decide to spend the third investigative session manning the surveillance equipment with Ken, who’s the guy in charge.

While I see things floating across the screen, he’s quick to tell me that I’m seeing dust, not spirits – which, admittedly, is a little disappointing. The cameras aren’t particularly useful at capturing paranormal evidence. They’re more to monitor where people are when things do happen, so they can identify where people are in relation to the phenomena (or, as was the case at one private investigation, to catch a couple who was trying to fake a haunting in their house.

“Some people want their ghosts,” he says). “Eighty percent of the time, we can disprove that things happen,” Ken says. “We’re tough. We make sure that if we’re going to put something out there, we can’t explain it.”

Though we’re talking about supernatural phenomena that common logic dictates don’t actually exist, it’s easy to believe Ken when he’s talking about the paranormal. He’s a no-nonsense kind of guy, and he takes a pragmatic approach

to investigating. “You’re not always going to get a ghost, but you can learn about the history of a place,” he says.

“I’m more interested in why people experience these things and why the tell these stories. We just try to figure out what’s happening to people.”

This month is, unsurprisingly, their busiest month of the year. They’ll be holding public investigations on October 2, 8 and 29 at Belcourt Castle. (“We have a bat at Belcourt,” Dave Grady, the group’s tech guru, interjects. “It comes to us every time.” They’ve also been touched when nobody is standing near them, and have heard a woman singing several times there.) RISEUP is also booked for private investigations (which they do statewide, and as far away as Cape Cod) almost every weekend from now until Halloween. It happens like this every year. “When you get close to Halloween, people start seeing ghosts,” Tom says. If you’re lucky enough (or unlucky enough) not to have a haunting in your house, and you don’t quite have the nerve to go on a ghost investigation of your own, you can still experience the thrill of the hunt at www.riseupparanormal.com, where the team posts video and audio of some of their best paranormal evidence. Then, the next time someone tells you that you look like you’ve seen a ghost, you can say that you actually have.

The Sprague Mansion is holding Charlie’s Party, ostensibly hosted by Charlie the Butler and actually featuring Rory Raven, on October 29. Check out cranstonhistorialsociety.org for more information.

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Can the city’s industrial hub be reborn for the information age?

By Emily Dietsch | Illustrations by Alli Coate

T

heorists are good for jargon and terminology. Their business is, after all, the art of naming. Economists especially seem preoccupied with this art, fervently christening the economy’s twists and turns as if prosperity depended on it. “Late capitalism,” the “Information Age,” and “Post-industrialism” are but three among the slew of terms, for instance, coined for the contemporary shift away from traditional industries and towards abstract ones. Simply put, we’ve built an economy based on manufacturing Nike the brand rather than Nike the shoe.

In Providence’s historic Jewelry District, this precise transition (and a struggle over it) is playing out as city officials, institutions, and entrepreneurs vie to develop the neighborhood as a competitive, 21st-century innovation hub. Here, too, names carry weight, evidenced by a gesture of hopeful branding that has informally re-christened the area as the “Knowledge District.”

Historically, of course, the old district housed Providence’s jewelry manufacturing industry, a piece of the state’s once robust industrial economy. An expanded and refurbished Knowledge District, by contrast, would eschew the manufacture of things in pursuit of ideas and intangibles.

Naturally this is an exaggeration, but only a slight one that holds at the macro level and captures the new district’s enthusiastic boosterism. Op-eds regularly proselytize the district’s modernizing potential, selling it as the city’s antidote to a rusted-out reputation.

Providence’s mayor-cum-pitchman David Cicilline has heavily promoted the district through his office’s website and the Creative Providence initiative. Among the local business community, a commonly cited allegory champions the district as a means to avoid the fate of nearby, once mighty cities and towns that grew dilapidated rather than forge new directions. Rhode Islandborn Angus Davis, for instance, returned from a lucrative stint in Silicon Valley to found the IT firm Swipely on the

belief that Providence is poised for revitalization as an information corridor. Yet Davis realizes the city’s precarious position at the crossroads between progress and stagnation. “Do we want to be like Hartford?” he asks, referencing Connecticut’s infamously burned out capital. “Or do we want to be like Cambridge?”

T

he Knowledge District is only one part of Rhode Island’s Knowledge Economy initiative, launched in 2008 as a comprehensive effort to effectively relinquish the state’s retrograde, industrial attachments, and replace them with a forward-looking base. As a significant chunk of prime Providence real estate, however, the zone’s realization in glass and concrete would make it the initiative’s most visible and viable facet. Sketched as a 220-acre amalgam of the old district’s boundaries plus new land opened up

by I-195’s relocation, the new district holds real promise as a zone for productive research, business growth and job creation.

While a designation for “knowledge” appears widely encompassing, the district’s hopes for success rest primarily on life sciences and, to a lesser extent, the IT sector. A focus on life sciences, from genetic engineering to pharmaceutical development, is strategic given the field’s potential for both enormous profitability and long-term growth. It’s also pragmatic, attuned to make the most of existing resources in the area. Several biotech companies such as NABsys, a state-of-the-art DNA-sequencing startup, have already set up shop in the burgeoning zone. Providence’s proximity to Boston and Cambridge, and its relative affordability and unique character, is a readymade pitch to lure a well-trained regional workforce tired of exorbitant living costs and long commutes. Buttressed by the Lifespan partners’ existing operations, along with Brown University’s planned research and medical school expansions, and URI’s potential satellite facilities, privately funded companies are cautiously optimistic about the Knowledge District’s chances to become a vibrant, entrepreneurial hub.

Yet is the Knowledge District more than just another over-hyped savior doomed to fade, if not fail, in Rhode Island? Lack of leadership is one key concern, both in public and private sectors. State officials, along with key agencies like the Rhode Island Economic Development Corporation (RIEDC) and the Slater Technology Fund, have a bad reputation for caprice and clumsiness in cultivating long-term growth. For Slater’s part, the reputation is unfairly earned, given its reasonably effective history of investments in life science and IT start-ups. Slater’s portfolio boasts, for example, numerous successes such as NABsys, Swipely and Andera, a financial services-fo-

cused software company founded by Brown alumnus Charlie Kroll. Beyond Slater’s incubation in their fledgling states, all of these companies have developed strongly and attracted significant venture backing. RIEDC’s track record, by contrast, has been unremittingly poor.

R

egarding institutional involvement, Brown, URI and the Lifespan partners have yet to take strong leadership roles in developing the area. Perhaps most distressing, these entities have yet to display a collective will to form meaningful partnerships and a truly collaborative environment. Brown, for instance, reputedly exercises stubborn ownership over intellectual property rather than the openness that marks dynamic, venerable institutions like Stanford and MIT; companies that might otherwise do business with Brown, and the companies located nearby, instead flock to areas and institutions where they can exercise greater control – including, of course, control over profit margins. Meanwhile, private companies here are left to seek ad hoc solutions to problems they encounter, such as hiring shuttle buses to overcome Providence’s anemic public transit system.

Of course, a broken transit system and other such woes aren’t simply a matter of poor leadership, but a severely cash-strapped state economy made all the worse by a national recession. Some may argue that the two are not mutually exclusive, but regardless, these financial obstacles undeniably stifle project development. To profoundly strengthen the region’s chances for survival in a way that the state’s empty coffers simply can’t, Mayor Cicilline, Representative Patrick Kennedy, and others submitted a wide-ranging, $460 million proposal to the federal government at the onset of 2010. With the absence of Kennedy, who held a key position on the House Appropriations Committee but has announced intentions to depart office, any federal supplement to

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

35

Providence’s Knowledge Economy

No one claims clever branding as the magical key to the Knowledge District’s prosperity. the district’s local and private funding seems at best a question mark. Similar problems plague the private sector, in which venture capital has waned as the recession continues to tax investor confidence. While virtually all industries are hampered by reduced cash flow, the challenge is particularly significant for fields that constitute the Knowledge District’s bread and butter: though more lucrative than most other fields, life sciences and IT can require huge amounts of startup financing, long incubation periods, and well-established infrastructure to thrive.

Among everyday, uninvolved residents, the Knowledge District’s upstart is incurring indifference and even cynicism. Earlier this year a Providence Journal article (subtitle: “What’s in a Name?”) subtly lampooned the concept and its boosters, calling to mind Cicilline’s previous, much-maligned campaign to brand Providence the “Creative Capital.” Public opinion still smarts over the latter campaign, which many view as reducible to sheer rhetoric and a bright-orange, overpriced, and ill-advised ‘P’ icon. Regarding the Jewelry District’s renaissance and name change, many seem to suspect merely a coat of new paint over rusted ruins rather than a real metamorphosis. Arguably neither the orange P’s nor the Jewelry District’s new moniker are without value if those branding efforts successfully galvanize ground-level action; and indeed, giving people a proper conceptual handle can do wonders to think action into being. Whether one likes or loathes President Obama’s election, for instance, one is hard-pressed to deny the role of Shepard Fairey’s icon-making “HOPE” poster in that coup. Regardless of actual babies kissed and dollars raised, that poster was an undeniable factor

36

Providence Monthly | October 2010

in transforming Obama from lowly junior Senator to aspirational hero in the public imagination. And accordingly, on Election Day that public imagination moved bodies to ballot boxes in droves.

Y

et no one claims clever branding as the magical key to the Knowledge District’s (or Jewelry District’s, or whatever-we-call-it’s) prosperity. Indeed, local venture capitalist and candidate for State Treasurer Gina Raimondo characterizes fuss over wordplay as but a distraction from the real work at hand. “Ultimately, it doesn’t matter what name we give to a particular district,” Raimondo contends, echoing a viewpoint widely shared among parties close to the project. “What needs to happen is a commitment on the part of Rhode Island’s political and business leadership to thoughtfully consider new possibilities and initiatives that will help bring new businesses to Rhode Island, and help the businesses that are already here to grow and thrive.”

Yet resistance to the name change among some Rhode Islanders suggests a deeper problem than mere cynicism against politics by P.R., or distraction from core issues, or merely reluctance to update long-held cognitive maps. It suggests, in other words, resistance to a metamorphosis altogether. One need not bill a psychoanalyst to diagnose a parallel between states of clinging, between the district’s old name and its roots in the tangible and traditional. This reluctance has parallels more broadly in Providence and greater Rhode Island, too, where the state’s grandiose capital building symbolizes at once our fiercely independent, entrepreneurial past and a more ambivalent, uncertain present.

As seat of not only the American Revolution but also the Industrial one, New England was once renowned as a harbinger of change. Now, the region is more associated with a tendency to resist change than foster it. As the state’s industrial mills grow dilapidated and sparse, as construction jobs stall following the implosion of real estate and lending markets, and as local government and union structures appear more lousy than gainful, one is forgiven for thinking our best days are behind us.

Still, the confidence evident in those close to the Knowledge District’s development is undeniable and even infectious. Dr. Barrett Bready, a Brown-trained physician and CEO of NABsys, is quick to point out Cambridge’s forgotten history as an industrial relic before the area was revived as the East Coast high-tech corridor. “Providence used to look a lot like Cambridge,” he avers. Even so, what’s to say the city’s promise will materialize? If Providence does stand at the proverbial crossroad between Cambridge’s and Hartford’s disparate fates, what guarantees that we won’t find ourselves at the wrong end of that metaphor?

U

nfortunately no clear models exist for predicting booms or busts, much to economists’ chagrin. Yet whatever the Knowledge District’s present woes and future uncertainties, many of the area’s driving forces match Bready’s optimism. Among existing start ups, for instance, the most visibly shared sentiment isn’t one of lamentation over what’s not there – but instead confidence in what is and can be. At Swipely, for one, Davis holds firm that miraculous, public sector intervention isn’t as important to the district’s success as simply a letting loose of entrepreneurial spirit. What’s needed, he maintains, is a state government willing to step aside and let businesses do what they do best by definition – which is, in a word, business. Take the recently enacted Affiliate Tax, which exposes internet retailers who do business with Rhode Island-based companies to an array of state taxes: Only two other states hold such laws, giving retailers ample alternatives to take their business elsewhere and, effectively screeching cash flow to a halt for local vendors. According to Davis, the simple act of removing these and other prohibitions would revitalize existing companies and lure new ones.

No matter how simple or grandiose, private and public sector partnerships are clearly critical to the Knowledge District’s success. Reflecting on the likelihood of these partnerships beyond rhetorical calls for them, Raimondo cites NABsys as a “perfect example” already realized: Begun in the nonprofit sector at Brown University, NABsys received federal grant money for basic research and was leveraged by the private sector with investment by Raimondo’s firm, Point Judith Capital, in its commercialization. “We need more of that in Rhode Island,” Raimondo contends, seemingly sure that NABsys is no one-off aberration, and that “more” is indeed within the realm of possibility. Similarly, Rick Reed, who operates as Cicilline’s lead consultant on the project, unswervingly vocalizes the district’s potential and the simplicity with which the city can make it happen.

Reed’s refreshing take is straightforward, offering an ironically low-tech (and low-cost) solution that sounds rather like the district’s manufacturing past. “The pieces are there,” he insists. “All we need are people to push sleeves back, make deals happen, and get to work.” No deus ex machina required.

Join us W E D N E S D A Y

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October 13

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

37

Providence’s Knowledge Economy

Inspiration

Springs Forth

Four cool companies making providence smarter Photography by Jonathan Beller Let’s say you’re a budding entrepreneur with a good concept – for a product, a business, a software application, etc. – but aren’t sure how to turn what’s on your drawing board into a functional – and more importantly, fundable – company. That’s where Betaspring comes in. The program, founded and operated by four self-described serial entrepreneurs, is an intensive, 12-week startup accelerator that provides seed funding (what Betaspring euphemistically calls “rent and Ramen noodle money”), mentoring, shared office space and immersion in a community of like-minded innovators. Teams enter the program through a competitive application process, and come out of it with a business plan that has been poked, prodded and put through the ringer in order to make it more appealing to investors. Betaspring’s second class culminated on August 19. Here we profile four of those teams that decided to stay in Providence to launch their businesses in the Jewelry – nay, Knowledge – District.

Taking the ouchies out of medicine:

Diavibe

N

obody likes needles. Remember going to the doctor as a child and shuddering when he brought out the sharp objects, thinking to yourself, There’s no way he’s sticking me with that thing? You’re not alone. If Brown grad Adam Leonard has anything to say about it, that unpleasantness may be a thing of the past.

His company, Diavibe, is developing a medical device that will deliver therapeutic vibration at injection sites, thereby eliminating or reducing pain. This device could take the place of traditional topical anesthetics, which are slower and more expensive, and therefore underutilized.

Though he began as a Neuroscience student (and graduated with a degree in that last May), Leonard focused more on entrepreneurship towards the end of his program. In a senior entrepreneurship class, he and his classmates began to tackle the pain of medical injections. Their faculty mentor suggested using vibration, planting the seed that would become Diavibe.

Through the recommendation of another Brown grad and alumnus of Betaspring’s first class, the Diavibe team entered the program, and turned an academic project into a startup business. “Programs like Betaspring are exactly what young entrepreneurs need to launch their businesses,” Leonard says.

“While the seed money was helpful, the mentorship was by far the most valuable part of the program.”

Now that Diavibe is more company than concept, they’re looking to move out on their own into the Jewelry District, which provides its own opportunities. Their plan is to move in with Isis Biopolymer, a medical device company already based there, and use Isis’ manufacturing capabilities to contract out the Diavibe prototype. “This is a great example of the type of relationships that can be formed when a hub of life sciences companies exists,” Leonard notes.

Leonard hopes that programs like Betaspring, as well as investment and guidance from local academic institutions and the business community will not only help make his company successful, but give him the opportunity to return the favor. “For a young entrepreneur, Providence is a great place to get started. There is an extremely close-knit and supportive community here, which I wouldn’t expect to find in a larger city,” he explains.

“In turn, our aim is to create life sciences jobs in the Jewelry District, and we plan to work with future young entrepreneurs to grow their companies in the Providence area.” diavibe.com –John Taraborelli Diavibe’s Adam Leonard in his Jewelry District office

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

Providence’s Knowledge Economy

Turning Social Networking into Career Networking:

Jobzle

T

here are dozens, perhaps hundreds, of websites geared toward job seekers of various stripes, from medical professionals to $100k+ wage earners to entry level applicants. But Walker Williams, the co-founder of Jobzle along with Kevin Durfee and Ben Matthews, saw a gaping hole in the job search market: students.

At Jobzle.com, potential employers orient their listings to particular colleges, and the site encompasses all of Rhode Island’s 11 schools. Prospective applicants provide their college email addresses and search listings ranging from casual work, such as babysitting and odd jobs, to unpaid internships offering valuable experience, and other part-time employment at local businesses.

Jobzle fills a key niche, as more and more kids walk away from school with advanced degrees, but with minimal work experience. It charges would-be employers $29.99 for part-time listings, though casual jobs can be offered for free, and searches, of course, don’t cost a thing. Its audience of some 90,000 Rhode Island students can only grow in leaps and bounds as it adds more schools and attracts more employers.

Already it garners listings from around 120 employers, among them the Rhode Island State Government Internship Program and the networking giant Atrion.

Walker and his team hope to carefully manage the growth of their startup. The idea, though, is sound, and with time we may be seeing Jobzle up there with the other job-seeking monsters whose websites are household (or, in this case, dorm room) names. –Michael Madden

Jobzle’s Walker Wilson

Brains in their pants:

Manpacks

I

Ken Johnson of Manpacks

f there’s one thing we can universally acknowledge, it’s that the average man doesn’t think much about his own underwear. This leads to an abundance of holes, rips and various other forms of terribleness. Men, it’s time to take ownership of your underpants. It’s time for Manpacks.

“We liken it to how Amazon started with just books,” says cofounder Ken Johnson. “We’re a service for men to alleviate shopping for mundane things.” Here’s how it works: you choose your subscription level ($14 for one shirt, one pair of socks and one pair of underwear; $39 for three of each) and every three months you get a package in the mail of clean, respectable underwear.

You can customize the fit and style of each, including the choice of dress socks. Manpacks makes the choice fast and easy. “It’s our belief that our customers have better things to do with their time,” Johnson says. “We’re making sure men have the essentials they need without someone else taking care of it.” He and cofounder Andrew Draper plan on offering men’s grooming essentials like shower gel and razorblades later this year.

“At the beginning, people were saying that this was totally insane or the most brilliant thing they’d ever heard of,” Johnson laughs. The company launched in January, with Johnson living in Florida and Draper in Ottawa. Then the media blitz hit in March (think New York Times, Huffington Post, Boston Globe) and T.J. Sondermann from Betaspring reached out to them to apply. “We hadn’t considered an incubator program,” Johnson says. “We were flying by the seat of our pants.” The two relocated to Rhode Island, subletting on the Brown campus for the summer. Johnson doesn’t know what the long-term plans are, but he just signed a one-year lease on an apartment, so Manpacks is calling Providence home for at least that long. “Since we got here, it’s been amazing how much support there has been for entrepreneurship,” he says. “The program ended in August, but we still have office space in the same building, and we still have regular contact with our mentors at Betaspring. There’s a real benefit to staying here.” manpacks.com –Julie Tremaine

Knowledge District Dollars

&

Sense

What this really means for the city

By Barry Fain

T

he name of the new district notwithstanding, a more important question is this: what will the ordinary residents of Providence get out of this, anyway? Sure, it might sound exciting.

And sure, providing jobs is a good thing.

But how is it going to change that elusive “quality of life” thing we all make such a big deal about? Here’s our reality check on what they’re promising.

Bridging the Gap As the final step in the zillion dollar (okay maybe we’re exaggerating the cost a little bit…) I-195 relocation, a pedestrian bridge will be constructed to connect the land freed up by the I-Way project and the new Knowledge District.

Since City and State planners could not agree on what the bridge should look like, a competition is now underway to solicit designs from local architects. The presentations are due this month and a final plan will be selected by the end of the year. Given the level of creativity in our city, our guess is the winner should be pretty cool. Ultimately the right kind of bridge promises to be a wonderful addition to our urban experience.

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

39

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Providence’s Knowledge Economy

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The Tax Base Problem Everyone admits that the real economic engines in Providence remain the educational (mostly Brown and RISD) and medical (mostly Lifespan) institutions. So assuming they continue to expand in the new district, how do we measure success? It can’t be entirely based on buildout if only the non-taxpaying entities are expanding, argues the Department of Planning and Development, and they’re probably correct. More jobs are good, but so are more tax revenues to help lower the City’s reliance on property taxes. The challenge is to create a fair blend of the private and public sector development to produce a win-win for everyone.

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

Jamie Brim of tu.nr

Giving your bar a better soundtrack:

tu.nr

W

alk into a bar these days and it’s more common to hear the contents of the bartender or proprietor’s iTunes library pumping from the sound system than a patron’s jukebox selection. What if there was a way to combine both? Take the ease of use and ever-changing discography that comes from plugging another iPhone in with the participatory democracy of a jukebox, and you’ve got a constantly evolving soundtrack.

That’s exactly what inveterate tinkerer Jamie Brim is trying to do with his new mobile application tu.nr. The app allows bartenders, party hosts, really anyone with an iPod or iPhone and a crowd, to turn it into a virtual jukebox. Guests can use their own phones to request songs, see other people’s requests and vote for the songs they most want to hear. That last function makes the experience viral and encourages schmoozing with others, because if your request gets the most votes, it gets played first. Plans on the horizon include integrating tu.nr with Facebook and Twitter, as well as streaming music providers like Pandora. “This will let anyone instantly create a jukebox with an unlimited catalog of songs, just by installing our app,” Brim explains, adding, “Oh, and we’re doing this all for free.”

A lifelong builder and experimenter, Brim started with Legos as a kid, and eventually worked his way up to servers for media sharing websites as an adult. His passion for entrepreneurship, however, is just as strong and enduring. “I love hustling as much as I love building. I sold Pogs in elementary school, Tamagotchis in middle school and fake IDs in high school,” he quips. tu.nr took a bit of a circuitous route to Betaspring, where it became an actual startup company. It began as an idea for a project in a software engineering class, a way for friends to share their iPod libraries with each other.

“Turns out Apple frowns upon that type of thing, and makes it very difficult to accomplish,” Brim notes. “So we worked on another project instead.” That project became a startup that didn’t quite work out, but by then Brim had already dropped out of Brown. That brought him back to his original idea – with a few minor tweaks – and then to the doorstep of Betaspring’s Jewelry District office.

Now, after going through the program, Brim has his sights set on building a real business and sees good prospects for success. “We have a first mover advantage in a market that’s ripe for disruption,” he confidently declares. And tu.nr might just be coming soon to a bar near you. –John Taraborelli

Next on the agenda is what the buildout will actually look like. There needs to be some sort of comprehensive planning to ensure a mixed building design to create a sense of enlightened urbanism. Imagine if the area were taken over by large windowless buildings, perfect for lab space and testing rooms perhaps, but awful to look at. How do we deal with this? Allow the City’s Department of Planning and Development to establish design criteria? Pick one master developer for the whole area? And how do we ensure the community has the opportunity to weigh in? See the problem?

Keeping it Moving Everyone acknowledges there needs to be better connectivity between the college campuses, the medical complexes around Rhode Island Hospital and the Knowledge District. We all win if that happens. But what’s the best plan? Are streetcars the answer? A modified T system for Providence? Someone once even suggested a canal to connect the river to the district. Developing a connection to the Brown campus is relatively easy. Creating an attractive connection to the hospitals is a bit more problematic. Right now RIPTA is touting a series of public meetings to promote its Providence Streetcar Initiative. But if they build it, will we come?

There’s a lot to get excited about should the Knowledge District actually make it. But let’s not lose sight of reality here. The city also has a Capital Center District, a Foundry development, the Alco project on Valley Street, an Allens Avenue waterfront, and perhaps most significantly, all that I-195 land coming into play. That’s a lot of competing space for a city the size of Providence. It’s wonderful to dream - but way more useful to be realistic.

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

City Style the look / shop talk / beauty

Photography: Stacey Doyle

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warm, rich brown tone is not only seasonably classic and chic, but also as inviting as a pumpkin spice latte on a brisk morning. And who doesn’t love an oversized, vibrantly jewel-toned leather Francesco Biasia handbag ($195) to accessorize? This is one look that I’d happily trade my beach bag for.

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City Style | The Look Jim Draper Artist/Flaneur

What is a flanuer?

It’s a French term for someone who wanders city streets, to experience the city. Very much like the cafe society on the streets of Paris.

Nice gig. How’d you get it?

I’m retired now, but I was heavily involved in the music scene for my career. I’ve worked with everyone from Johnny Cash to Marilyn Manson. I was a booking agent and did screen printing. I started out with a punk rock t-shirt company; there were not many people doing punk t-shirts in 1976. I did the posters for the first rave in Providence, and for Iggy Pop when he played at The Strand. I always knew immediately what design I wanted to print for a band; I picked it and it was done.

by Caitlin Quinn

I’ve been involved in looking good since the ‘60s.

One Fin

Two Fin

Red Fin...

Does your art aesthetic influence your style?

Yes and no – it’s a chicken and egg proposition.

I am from the ‘60s and was involved in my culture. I would call my personal style “city gente” – very early ‘60s, the way mod looked originally.

Back then it was thin black jeans, winkle pickers (very pointy boots – so pointy “you could pick the periwinkle out of the shell,” as the saying goes), tailored suits, thin trousers and thin lapels – early Mick Jagger. Almost like what’s going on with Mad Men, but edgier. My style has pretty much stayed this way through the years, just evolving to keep a more now profile.

Photography: Krzystyna Harber Photography

Tell me about this outfit.

This is how I would dress now for a night out, but it’s the way I used to dress daily when I was in the business. The suit is a fitted, three-button Tommy Hilfiger, with a cotton, starched shirt. The tie is from a small designer in Sweden. I love the color – in fact, Calvin Klein just came out with a brown tuxedo. I would say this look is close to the new, refined hip-hop look: a tailored suit and nice Kangol hat. When I enter a room, I want people to look at me and say, “Who is that guy?”

I see you’re a fan of fedoras.

I have a lot of hats. I like hats. Fedoras are the type that actually can work for me. I wear them all the time. I have one for spring, summer, fall and winter.

What’s a fall must-have for men?

Well, a really good overcoat is a must. But if you want to see what trends are happening right now, here’s what you do: take a bus or drive to New York City as soon as possible. Go to Washington Square Park and just observe what people are wearing. All the fall fashions are out and that’s the best place to see them. I love the city – you can’t help but be surrounded by people wearing the newest stuff.

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Blown Away With the new Brazilian Blowout, your bad hair days are finally over Everyone has a bad hair day once in a while, but I was having a bad hair year. After a long summer of ponytails, I knew I had to do something drastic. I didn’t want to lose the length, so I started looking into some options. Then I found it: the Brazilian Blowout, a smoothing treatment that was proclaiming frizz-free, shiny and manageable locks. I booked an appointment at the Kenneth Cote Renewal Center and secretly hoped for Gisele Bundchen hair.

I arrived at the salon and was quickly introduced to my stylist Jessica. She led me to New Hair, a new expanded division of the salon that will soon offer scalp therapy, hair replacement treatments and post-cancer hair services.

Jessica and I talked about the problems I had styling my hair and she was confident the Brazilian Blowout would make a significant difference. She explained the process and how the serum would create a protective protein layer and decrease frizz and bulk. It sounded promising. I took my elastic off and put it in my purse.

“Hopefully I won’t be using that for a while,” I joked.

After blow-drying the serum into my clean wet hair, she sealed it in with a 450-degree hot iron. She rinsed my hair and took me back to her station for the final blowout. It took about half the time this round, which is to be expected with the BB. “Your hair is much happier now,” Jessica said as she finished up. I agreed: it was smooth yet bouncy, and had an amazing shine. But could I possibly get this salon look at home?

Unlike a normal Keratin treatment that has the grosshair waiting period, I could wash this right away if I wanted to - but I exhausted my professional blowout for three whole days. Just as I was getting used to the effortless style (and the glowing compliments from my co-workers), I had to take the next step: washing and blow-drying on my own.

Right away, I could tell the difference in the shower.

It literally felt like a weight off my shoulders. Blow drying, which used to take me 25 minutes, took less than 15, and I skipped the flat iron altogether. With minimal effort and brushing, my hair was the smoothest it has ever, ever been on my own. Better yet, the compliments kept coming at work.

Kenneth Cote Renewal Center started offering the treatment this past spring and it’s been off-the-charts popular ever since. Cote, who’s been in business for 34 years and is celebrating his 25th year in East Greenwich next month, says this is the most popular service

he has ever offered. “It’s huge,” he told me. “This gives people the opportunity to have the hair they’ve always wanted.” Most of the stylists are certified to perform the service, and Jessica estimated that the salon is doing 15 per week. “Women who have had it are now coming back for their second treatment. They can’t live without it now,” Jessica told me. Now that I’ve had only good hair days, I can see why. It’s been two weeks since I’ve had my beloved Blowout and now I feel like I’m in on the Good Hair Secret. Feeling good about yourself really does start from the top. If you’re happy about the way you look, your confidence builds and your days are better. I know this sounds all Kumbaya, but that’s really how my experience has been. And like any good secret, this is worth sharing.

Brazilian Blowout lasts about 12 weeks and costs about $200, depending on your hair. Kenneth Cote Renewal Center and New Hair Center is located at 333 Main Street, East Greenwich. www.kennethcote.com. In Providence, Salon Bianco on Atwells Avenue (salonbianco. com) and Luminous Salon on the East Side (luminoussalonandspa.com) offer the Brazilian Blowout. This month, Luminous is offering $50 off the service.

Illustration: Ruth Chung

By Appointment Only

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For full festival schedule visit: first-works.org 48

Providence Monthly | October 2010

831.3434 Open Every Day

City Style | Shop Talk

by Lauren Knight

Chic & Cheap Check out this month’s best-looking deals

Tina Grindeland and her daughters Katie and Sarah

A Cure for Your Wardrobe Fashion for a good cause at Dresses that Cure

Photography: Laurel Mulherin

Your days of

guilt-inducing, bank-breaking shopping are now over. The Dresses that Cure boutique is giving you an excuse to whip out your credit card for not only a rewarding, but a bargain-filled day of shopping. Located in Cranston, this cozy boutique is making a huge difference in the lives of women across the state struggling with breast cancer. With October being National Breast Cancer Awareness Month, Dresses that Cure gives you reason to start a habit you can carry throughout the year.

Owner Tina Moretti Grindeland was compelled to put her energies into cancer support years ago. Growing up, she lost her mother, her mother’s sisters and her cousins to breast cancer; she also lost her father to colon cancer. She always felt that cancer would inevitably be in her future. However, after results from genetic tests proved negative, she realized she must be here for a reason. Now, Grindeland organizes dress sales, fashion shows and support programs. Her theory is that everyone can make a difference, whether you wear, buy or donate.

In addition to dresses, the store sells jewelry, sunglasses, bags, shoes and other accessories. Every item can fit into your budget: dresses are $20, beaded dresses $50, wedding dresses between $50-150, shoes $10, purses $5, as well as a featured $10 rack in the center of the store. On top of great prices, you can leave with a bag in hand and a bounce in your step as you just supported a worthy cause. Grindeland gives 100 percent of the net proceeds to the Gloria Gemma Breast Cancer Foundation. And while anyone is welcome to shop there, Dresses that Cure is also a support center for women who have been affected by breast cancer.

“Having this boutique is not only about selling dresses,” says Grindeland. “It is about recapturing a woman’s beauty inside and out.” As you walk through the store

you see that the ambitions extend much farther than merely offering merchandise. It seems never-ending, with room after room designed for specific services: a children’s room for them to play or talk to someone; a café to sit and share company with other women in similar situations; a fitting room made to fit wigs, style hair and give makeovers; an LBD room inspired by Audrey Hepburn; and a meeting room to rest and relax.

Come springtime, two additional rooms should be upand-running: a mini boutique by Barbara Manning, a cancer survivor, and an art studio by Mary Jane Bohlen, a two-time cancer survivor. Grindeland also hopes to build a healing garden outside in the spring, with a ribbon-shaped Walkway of Hope.

Grindeland knows from personal experience that cancer affects not only the individual, but also everyone around her. Her efforts strive to reach the community through programs like a quilting and tote-making club and her Rags to Runway fashion show. Both activities reuse donated clothing and fabric to create something new. The fashion show displays the design work of survivors and their children. This year has been especially successful, as Project Runway contestant Jonathan Joseph Peters came to help with design ideas and sewing tasks.

The Dresses that Cure boutique continuously seeks to support women, their friends and family. Not only does it provide financial support to a great organization, but Grindeland focuses on helping each woman with day-to-day struggles and adjustments. The encouragement and strength given is apparent as you first walk through the doors. Take part in October’s challenge to support breast cancer awareness and stop

by Dresses that Cure. Even if you just buy yourself a dress, you will be making a huge difference. 1985 Broad Street, Cranston. dressesthatcure.org

Anyone who’s been to Salon Panache knows that the threading salon is packed to the gills all day every day – but now they’ve expanded into a new space. Now located at 1103 Park Avenue in Cranston, Salon Panache still offers their acclaimed threading technique. Walk-in service is still welcome. salonpanache.com

Opening in the middle of October, just in time for the new fall fashions, Modern Love Shoes and Accessories is the sister store of Queen of Hearts (conveniently next door).

Injected with trendy, modern style, vintageinspired lines and cutting edge design, Modern Love promises to be an accesory lover’s paradise, with designers like Seychelles, DC, Irregular Choice, Hobo and Frye. Need I say more? 220 Westminster Street. queenofheartsprovidence.com

Coiffurium on Hope Street is now offering threading and henna tattoos. Though commonly referred to as “eyebrow” threading, the salon also offers lip, chin and arm threading. Prices range from $14-16. Pricing for henna tattoos, which last two to four weeks, varies. Stop by Coiffurium to find out more. 800 Hope Street. coiffurium.com

To celebrate 30 years in business, Providence’s worldly treasure chest is hosting a trunk show. Peaceable Kingdom will be showcasing the captivating, avant-garde Fall 2010 clothing line of Mari Katsigiani and her wearable art composed from recycled materials. The show is on October 2 from 12-5pm and offers refreshments, live music and free gifts with purchase. 116 Ives Street. pkgifts.com

Pay what you want at Spectrum India, where customers can negotiate their own prices on globally inspired clothing, books, gifts and more. 252 Thayer Street. spectrumindia.com –Whitney Smith

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

49

7

Best Bets for Breakfast & Brunch

Aspire

Cav 14 Imperial Place, Providence. 401-7519164, cavrestaurant.com. Cav’s sophisticated lofted atmosphere offers a contemporary bistro lunch and gourmet dinner menu with international influences. Saturday and Sunday Brunch features an exquisite flair on breakfast such as pistachio encrusted Maryland Blue Crab cake with a poached egg. W $-$$

1149 Located in Warwick, 401-884-1149, and in Seekonk, 508-336-1149, elevenfortyninerestaurant.com. Offering an omelet station of every imaginable ingredient, seasonal fruit, pasta and salad stations, fresh squeezed juice and more, Sunday brunch couldn’t get any better. The huge buffet will be sure to keep you full for hours. S $$-$$$

LJ’S BBQ East Avenue, Pawtucket. 401305-5255, LJsBBQ.com. Southern spins on traditional favorites include award-winning benedicts, sweet potato pancakes, crab cakes, and buttermilk bacon crumble corncakes. Brunch redefined, LJ’s style. W $-$$

Louis Family Restaurant

Tazza 250 Westminster Street, Providence.

401-421-3300, tazzacaffe.com. The best coffee makes tazza’s brunch even better! Stellar coffees & espresso, eclectic cocktails & an array of delectable brunch specialties. Mon-Fri 8am-11:30am Sat & Sun 8am-2:30pm. Full brunch served 7 days per week! D $-$$

311 Westminster Street, Providence. 401-521-3333, aspirerestaurant.com.

Sleeping in; warm breezes; summer sunshine; fresh fruits and juices; hot coffee; time with friends; crossword puzzles; newspaper stories; lazy mornings, hangover munchies, alfresco dining; live music. D $-$$

286 Brook Street, Providence. 401-861-5225, louisrestaurant.org. Featured on Diners, Driveins and Dives, Louis’s homestyle cooking has impressed everyone from the locals to the Food Network. Oversized omelettes, huevos rancheros and legendary pancakes. Open everyday at 5am! D $

D = daily, W = weekend, S = Sunday $ = under 10, $$ = 10-20, $$$ = 20+

Thorton’s Grille

50

Providence Monthly | October 2010

145 Spruce Street, Providence. 401-270-5444. Thorton’s knows how to do breakfast right. They make everything from waffles to eggs Benedict to scrambled and poached. The Texas round omelet is a favorite of many. D $

For menus, maps and more info visit:

TheProvidenceLife.com

Feast

IN THE KITCHEN / on the menu / behind the bar / review / in the drink

Photography: Kate Kelley

60

REVIEW Taste of India

Chefs Combination: Chicken Tikka, Chicken Zalfrez And Vegetable Korma

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

51

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Feast | In the Kitchen

by Stephanie Obodda

The Hardest Working Man in Food Business Jaime D’Oliveira, of Red Stripe(s) and Mills Tavern, stays on the move

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Red Stripe is an American brasserie, and the diversity of Rhode Island is reflected in its menu. In addition to the traditional French Alsatian dishes, we offer Italian specialties such as Veal Parmesan and foods from other cultures including Greek and Portuguese.

Like many of the brasseries in France, Red Stripe is a neighborhood destination catering to the mix of students, professionals and families in the area.

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Red Stripe offers a lot of mussel preparations. What’s your favorite?

I would say that one of my favorites is the Red Stripe mussels, which is my own recipe. It’s prepared with shallots, beer, garlic, tomato, pesto and cream. But, close runners up for me are the Portuguese-style with tomato, and the mussels Meniere, made with white wine, leeks, shallots, garlic and thyme. My mother is French and my father was Portuguese. These are the flavors I grew up with.

I heard that you used to work at a Newport Creamery as a teen, and then renovated one (in Wayland Square) to build your restaurant. Is that true?

Yes, I actually worked in that same location. It was pretty incredible to come back after 35 years to a place that I did dishes in, and the dishwasher was in the same corner. I had many laughs and took the golden cow logo, which is now displayed in my office.

Photography: Mike Braca

Tell me more about your background.

I studied and have always had a great passion for music. Throughout my early years, I worked in restaurants to make the money I wasn’t making playing music. So, food became a new instrument for me. My restaurants became my stage.

What instrument did you play?

Drums and percussion. I’ve played in rock, jazz and R&B bands. Most recently, I’ve been playing African drums; you might spot me playing drums at Red Stripe at Narragansett, sitting in with one of the live acts.

221 Admiral Street Providence, RI • 421-7030 (open to the public)

Red Stripe is always busy. What’s your secret?

We offer comfort, value, high-quality food and service at affordable prices. In addition, we feature a diverse menu that covers everything from tomato soup and grilled cheese to chef-driven entrees such as fresh cod loin wrapped in prosciutto with lentils and cherry tomato vinaigrette.

You can come in dressed up or casual.

Families love that you can bring your children and they can draw on the tables.

How did you decide to open a second location in Narragansett?

I wanted to grow the concept and go into new areas. Narragansett made a lot of sense, as it allowed me to introduce Red Stripe to local and seasonal residents. Right now, we’re looking at sites around Boston with plans to open the third Red Stripe in summer 2011.

Is it hard to balance between several restaurants?

Time management is important and it’s something that I continue to work on. But mostly, it’s about the art of

managing people and having the right people and systems in place. Right now, I have outstanding managers and chefs who all work together to support our culinary vision and service philosophy. Also, I move around a lot, spending time in all of the restaurants.

Do you have any favorite Rhode Island sources you’d like to share?

Matunuck littlenecks and Little Compton local farms are some favorites.

Craigslands organically grown vegetables had an outstanding tomato crop this year. At Mills Tavern and Red Stripe we strive to support and serve produce from local farms through the state and New England.

Red Stripe 465 Angell Street 437-6950 redstriperestaurants.com

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

53

Feast | On The Menu

by John Taraborelli

More Than Meat and Potatoes A new bistro offers eclectic flavors from around Latin America

STEAK sandwich, uraguay-style: Chivito with flank steak, house smoked bacon and fried egg

As an avid diner, it’s frustrating to visit a new restaurant, flush with excitement over the possibilities, only to find that the menu is the same old, same old – stocked with all the predictable fare and old warhorses found at damn near every restaurant in Providence: the grilled pizzas, the crab cakes, the penne alla vodka, the bacon-wrapped scallops. Worse yet is when the restaurant tries to pass off some unimaginative standard as a “house specialty” – The Calamari alla [insert restaurant name here]: “calamari lightly fried and tossed with hot pepper rings and balsamic vinegar.” Excitement fades quickly into yawns.

That is why it was so refreshing to find a new restaurant in Providence that actually offers something new: a menu boasting dishes that, more often than not, aren’t found in other area restaurants. Such is the case with Mosaic (166 Valley Street at the Rising Sun Mills), a “Latin American Bistro.” The restaurant occupies the space that formerly housed the Icon Café, and then, briefly, Acme Pizza.

Combining a slightly out of the way location with unfamiliar food and moderate pricing seems like a bit of a tough sell for an upstart restaurant, but Chef Winston Guerrero and his business partner/ cousin Ed Gomez seem more than up to the challenge. “We’re very Italian, very meat-and-potatoes oriented,” he says of the local dining scene. “I wanted to show Rhode Islanders something different.”

54

Providence Monthly | October 2010

In doing so, he brings a good pedigree to the table. A former Marine from Central Falls, Guerrero received a culinary degree from Johnson and Wales in 1998, before heading to New York to work his way up to sous chef at the Grand Hyatt Hotel. While there, he learned pastry at the French Culinary Institute, and then moved onto the Morrison House in Alexandria, VA, where he served as sous and pastry chef, receiving two notices in the Washington Post.

He eventually returned to his home state, most recently helping to launch Agave in Bristol, before joining forces with his cousin to open Mosaic in honor of their grandmother.

Indeed, the name has significance as Guerrero hopes to “bring all cultures in together” with his eclectic menu. The selections include dishes from across Central and South America, including Salvadoran inspired wild boar pupusas (black bean-stuffed corn cakes); Costa Rican-style hearts of palm ceviche; a Colombian red snapper with coconut rice, fried plantains and lemon-caper remoulade; and an Argentinian flatbread pizza with mint pesto, smoked mango, Serrano ham and goat cheese.

The grand opening was September 18, and as fall sets in, Guerrero plans to expand the offerings to include more entrée selections on the dinner menu, a Saturday breakfast buffet (it will be “very different,” the chef promises), Sunday brunch and three- and sixcourse tasting menus based around

a choice of two proteins – a concept Guerrero executed successfully during his stint in Virginia.

The staff also includes Beverage Director/Sommelier Seth Mandeville, who will enthusiastically educate you on the best selections to compliment your meal. Go ahead, try something new.

DRINK UP >> The inaugural Providence Craft Beer Week kicks off from October 1-8. Bars and restaurants around the city – including Wild Colonial, E&O, the Avery and Julian’s – will be spotlighting craft brewers like Dogfish Head (DE), Smuttynose (NH) and Southern Tier (NY). Check it out on Facebook for more details.

NEW OPENINGS >> The tragically unoccupied space next to Stanley Burger on Richmond Street, formerly the home of Jake’s, finally has a new tenant. The Apartment (373 Richmond Street) bills itself as “An American Craft Alehouse,” and backs up that claim with an extensive beer menu grouped by state (or country) of origin. The food compliments your brew of choice with a selection of regionally inspired sandwiches and salads, like a New England-style clam roll, New Orleans-inspired oyster po’ boy or Philly cheesesteak. It’s a good concept, though a little light on local selections. There is only one Rhode Island beer (Narragansett), and no distinctly Rhode Island sandwich. (May we sug-

gest an Italian grinder?)

Dusk is a new bar and lounge located at 301 Harris Avenue. There’s no food offered at the moment, but it is a spacious and relaxed place to enjoy a cocktail. The lighting, as you might is expect, is low and sets a laidback mood.

The Johnson and Wales Culinary Arts Museum (315 Harborside Boulevard) is unveiling a new exhibit on October 5 called “Rhode Island… Small State, Big Taste.” The exhibit will highlight 13 businesses and the signature Rhode Island dishes for which they are famous. Visit their website, culinary. org, for more information.

IN STORES NOW >> Tiny Bites of Heaven is a company specializing in sweet Peruvian treats like alfajores (caramel and dulce de leche-filled cookies coated with coconut), suspiro limeno (meringue-topped vanilla custard) and flan, as well as some signature desserts like Coconut Nirvana and Heavenly Apple cake. These “bites” are the work of owner/founder Mili Leon and cake and mousse maker Gabriela Ganoza. Both are Peruvian women (the former a graphic designer and the latter a pediatric dentist) who wanted to share the culture of their birthplace.

As of press time, Tiny Bites were available in a trial run at Eastside Marketplace (165 Pitman Street).

Got food news? Send it to onthemenu@providenceonline.com.

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Feast | Behind the Bar

THe BeST &

by Cristy Raposo

Biggest GrinDerS in Town

The Art of the Drink Well-crafted cocktails with Harrison Elkhay of Harry’s What were you doing before Harry’s Bar & Burger?

I graduated from Johnson and Wales in 2008 and moved out to San Diego.

I thought it was a good place to start.

I bartended four nights a week at the highly acclaimed George’s at the Cove, located in an area reminiscent of Newport. In 2009, I moved to San Francisco and got a job working at a Michelinstarred resort in Sausalito.

228-8555 • 68 Hudson Street, Providence Mon-Fri 7am to 7pm, Sat and Sun 9am-3pm HudsonStreetDeli.com

Comedian, Writer, Singer, Artist, Handyman

What led you back to the Ocean State?

My dad [restaurateur John Elkhay of Ten, Café Noir, Rick’s Roadhouse, etc.] was opening up this restaurant and was adamant about me being a part of it. I really wanted to bring all my experiences from San Francisco back to Rhode Island. San Francisco is really on the cutting edge for culinary, beverage and cocktail creations. The West Coast opened my eyes to the art of the cocktail and how wonderful it can be. I felt like Rhode Island needed to be exposed to some of these things.

What San Francisco influences can customers find at Harry’s?

I don’t use a martini glass. I use a 1930s champagne coupe glass and it’s beautiful. You can experience the West Coast influence in the classic cocktail style that I have here. We offer fresh cocktails with fresher ingredients. People nowadays are using older liqueurs. Ten years ago these liqueurs were collecting dust on the shelves, but now they are being used as an accent in drinks. Vermouth is becoming a bigger accent in drinks and bitters are becoming better known. There are celery bitters and

Photography: Mike Braca

chocolate bitters.

What is your favorite drink?

Tequila Sour, which is made with pasteurized egg whites. If I serve this drink unbeknownst to you, you wouldn’t be able to pick out why it is so good. There’s an egg white accent to this cocktail you wouldn’t add anywhere else, which adds a froth. You can really experience the body of the drink and how it feels in your mouth.

This is made with aged tequila, fresh lemon juice, pasteurized egg whites – although I do prefer to use fresh egg whites – grapefruit and absinthe.

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The Dog house How did you put together your beer list?

I try to focus on craft beer and those rare beers that you can’t seem to find in restaurants. For example, we carry B.O.R.I.S. The Crusher, an oatmeal imperial stout by the Hoppin’ Frog Brewery in Ohio. It was recently named one of the top 100 beers in the world. Also available is Ayinger Brau Weisse, a top-rated German Hefeweizen.

Which beer would you recommend for someone looking to explore?

A German Hefeweizen. This beer has a slightly sweeter style because of the suspended yeast in it. Blue Moon, for example, has citrus, banana and tropical flavors. German Hefeweizens tend to have more of a clove, banana type of flavor which I find is a good introduction to stepping outside the Miller Light and Bud Light. Franziskaner is a great introductory beer to try.

What is your favorite beer on the menu?

PorkSlap, an American Pale Ale

brewed by Butternuts Brewery in New York. If I could make that my house beer, I would. This easy drinking beer has just a little bit of maltiness. It’s a slightly hoppy, clean, crisp beer.

What can customers expect at Harry’s this fall?

Oktoberfest on draft by Newport Storm. Harry’s has a rotating draft selection. We’ve probably had about 15 different selections of draft in the past four months, which is fun. It keeps things new and different. As the winter months come in, we’ll offer heavier style beers because they’re warmer.

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

57

Feast | In the Drink

by Emily Dietsch

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

vor. Loyal to the hilt in many regards, I am nonetheless a fickle lass where infatuation is concerned. Loving and leaving, in other words, is my general modus operandi.

Nevertheless, enduring love has struck on occasion. Take bubbles for instance. Yes, bubbles. Love at first sip upon my first ginger soda, at approximately age three. This early crush led to a precocious (read: semi-obnoxious) insistence on sparkling over tap water in restaurants, and then a momentary Diet Coke addiction – squelched, thankfully – roundabout college. When booze entered my drinking life, bubbles dominated that category of beverage preferences, too: first came beer, and then champagne, gin and sodas and gin fizzes, prosecco, cava – basically anything innately effervescent, or made so with a splash of soda.

On a recent market trip, down the bubble aisle I went in search of my requisite fizzy lifters. A bit bored with seltzer and Pellegrino, however, I perused the specialty sodas. A label for Yacht Club soda caught my eye with its handrawn, Wes Anderson-esque portrait of a white-whiskered captain.

On closer inspection, I spied a Rhode Island bottling address. Sold! Into the basket clinked several bottles, as I wondered how they’d heretofore escaped my attention.

It was a gaping oversight, it turns out, given Yacht Club Bottling Works’ apparent bragging rights as Rhode Island’s “official” soda and water company. Since 1915, Yacht Club has churned out these single-serving joys from an unassuming location on Mineral Spring Avenue in North Providence. An artesian well, dug on the premises in 1923, provides the water – mineral spring water, if the street name didn’t tip you off – that’s subsequently carbonated, flavored and capped in 33 varieties.

Cashing in on eco-friendly and artisanal trends, likely before such things were even trendy, the company uses only glass bottles and real cane sugar.

No plastic, no corn syrup and no unpronounceable detritus mar the label.

When summertime returns, I can imag-

ine a hoard of them will look quite fetching stashed in a red igloo cooler for a day at sea, but what to do with my new discovery as fall encroaches? Yacht Club’s 33 flavors pose a Baskin-Robbins-ish glut of possible directions, yet truthfully I’m not much for flavored soda in cocktails. I always opt for something plainer, to draw out the liquor’s taste rather than masking it. Most of Yacht Club’s many-flavored universe I’ll thus sample Shirley Temple-style, and reserve its seltzers and sparkling water for my bartending needs.

One immediate, autumnal winner I hatched is a variation on two classic Scotch drinks: the highball and the toddy. A “highball” nowadays is more or less known as the designation for a type of drinking glass – a tall, straight cylinder with no frills. Traditionally, however, highballs are also a basic class of drinks in which a single liquor is diluted with a single non-alcoholic mixer and served in the aforementioned glass.

The toddy, on the other hand, is rather a dandy of a cocktail with a base of hot water, lemon, and honey soused up

by Scotch. Think of it as the drink of fey English gentlemen and aged, indulgent housewives.

Although both appear in my cocktail repertoire, something in between answers autumn’s call for decadence – an extra layer, if you will – whilst maintaining a bit of summer’s freshness. A co-tinkerer and I settled on a winning formula that we’ve dubbed “The Blue Blazer.” On the cold side, it mixes honey’s deep sweetness with whiskey and, for bracing levity, lemon and a good measure of bubbles.

As cocktail wisdom goes, perhaps the lesson here is buoyancy as the key to securing my erstwhile affections.

Meanwhile, I’ll satisfy my whims with a new fizzy lifting drink, and wait for next season’s thrill.

The Blue Blazer Hot water in a toddy is the key to fully dissolving honey. Without the heat, this drink requires a little muddling at the start – and satisfaction with semi-dissolved honey, the textural contrast of which makes for a pleasing show in one’s glass.

Neatniks may heat the lemon and honey to make a simple syrup, however, for smoother blending; just remember to chill sufficiently prior to mixing.

3 oz Yacht Club sparkling water or seltzer 2 oz Scotch or whiskey

1/2 to 1 oz clear honey, or to taste 1/2 oz fresh lemon juice

In a highball glass, muddle honey, lemon juice, and a bit of sparkling water or seltzer until the honey begins to dissolve.

Fill glass with ice, and add Scotch, and top with remaining water or seltzer. Give the drink a stir, and sip.

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

59

Feast | Review

by Linda Beaulieu

New and Improved Providence’s original Indian restaurant gets a new look of a restaurant, filled with exotic aromas. Newly renovated, the dining room seems to glow with walls painted the color of saffron. Cobalt blue water glasses on every table provide a pop of color. Traditional Indian music plays in the background, transporting customers to that mystical country.

With a population of more than a billion people in India, it’s no wonder that the cuisine is so varied. Our recent dining experience at Taste of India offered up solid proof that there is so much colorful food to experience, far beyond the mainstay dishes of chicken curry and tikka masala. Their menu is quite extensive with plenty of vegetarian offerings, combination dinners, halal selections, tandoori items and IndoChinese specials. (The halal entrees are made with certified halal meat, food deemed permissible according to Islamic law.)

I started off with the Coconut Soup ($2.50), and coconut turned out to be a

Vegetable Samosas and Vegetable Pakora

60

Providence Monthly | October 2010

recurring theme at our dinner. This is a simple soup of coconut cream and milk, not overly sweet, with shredded coconut and a garnish of finely chopped nuts. This wedded blissfully with the Peshawari Naan ($3.75), the soft bread baked in the tandoor (the cylindrical clay oven used in Indian cooking).

There are seven different stuffed naans on the menu. Ours was subtly flavored with finely ground cashews, golden raisins and flakes of coconut, still moist and warm from the oven.

Two other appetizers landed on our table: the Vegetarian Assorted Platter ($7.95) and the Tandoori Assorted Platter ($9.95). These platters are an easy-on-the-wallet way of trying various Indian foods. I especially liked the great big vegetable samosa, a deepfried turnover stuffed with green peas and tender potatoes. From the tandoor came chicken three ways – chicken drumsticks, chicken tikka and reshmi chicken. The chicken tikka is cubed chicken that is seasoned with spices

and then broiled in the tandoor. The reshmi is chicken breast meat that is marinated in seasoned yogurt and then grilled in the tandoor. The spices give the chicken pieces a vivid red color.

Our meal then traveled in four different taste directions: a simple Chicken Wrap ($6.95), Mango Chicken ($12.95), Lamb Saag ($15.95) and Shrimp Masala ($16.95). Fragrant basmati rice flavored with saffron accompanied the entrees.

The large spinach wrap was stuffed with chopped onions, tomatoes, lettuce, shredded cheese and sliced chicken. The Mango Chicken was a more successful dish with generous cubes of white chicken meat and tender mango cooked in a delicate tomato sauce with herbs.

One of my favorite Indian dishes, the Lamb Saag, was excellent. Plenty of tender chunks of lamb bathed in a sauce thick with well-cooked spinach, tomato, ginger and a hint of cumin.

There was plenty left over so I brought it home. The next morning all I could think about was the Lamb Saag I would be having for lunch, served over the basmati rice. For me, this is Indian comfort food.

The menu promised jumbo shrimp in the Shrimp Masala, but I would say the shrimp in this dish, though plentiful, was more of the large variety. Nonetheless, they were cooked just right, with a bit of crunch in every bite. They swam in a creamy tomato sauce along with onions and peppers.

Six authentic Indian desserts are available ($2.95 each). I can never re-

sist the Kheer, a very loose rice pudding with crushed nuts. I also tried the Rashmalai, which was very similar in taste to the Kheer. Delicate, slightly sweet cottage cheese patties were served in an aromatic and somewhat thick milk sauce. Some might say that sounds dreadful, but if Kheer is rice pudding, then Rashmalai is crème brulee, Indian style. I would order it again for sure, while I will pass on the Gulab Jamun, or sweet dumplings, golden fried cheese balls soaked in an achingly sweet warm honey syrup.

We are fortunate here in Providence to have a number of excellent Indian restaurants, thanks in great part to an appreciative audience: the many international students attending college in this area. It’s interesting to dine at different Indian restaurants to experience the subtle nuances each one offers.

For a true taste of India, you might want to start with the restaurant that bears that name.

Linda Beaulieu is the author of The Providence and Rhode Island Cookbook, available at stores throughout the state.

Taste of India 221 Wickenden Street 421-4355 tasteofindiari.com

Photography: Kate Kelley

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Aspire Restaurant 311 Westminster St.; 521-3333. Aspire offers an exquisite fine dining experience with a number of delicious small and large plates, numerous fine wines and full bar – with an emphasis on local ingredients. BBrLD $-$$$

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

Feast | Dining Guide

Smooth Sailing

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TASTE OF INDIA 230 Wickenden St.; 421-4355. Providence’s first Indian restaurant delivers on its promise of serving real (and really delicious) Indian cuisine, with seafood delicacies and Tandoori specialties, made with authentic Indian spices. LD $-$$

Waterplace Restaurant & Lounge One Financial Way; 2721040. With its gorgeous views of Waterplace Park, this stylish eatery is guaranteed to please. The chic and sensible menu offers award-winning cuisine that is always fresh and seasonal. LD $$-$$$

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DEWOLF TAVERN 259 Thames St., Bristol; 254-2005. Set in a historic stone warehouse, DeWolf Tavern offers casual dining and drinks on its outdoor patio. An elegant upstairs dining area serves contemporary American cuisine by acclaimed Chef Sai. D $$-$$$ HORTON’S SEAFOOD 809 Broadway, East Providence; 434-3116. Enjoy the finest of fresh seafood at this family-owned-and-operated restaurant. Horton’s is famous for their fried clams and fish and chips, and offers takeout. LD $-$$ Ichigo Ichie 5 Catamore Blvd., East Providence; 435-5511. The name roughly translates as “one encounter in a lifetime,” but you’ll want to visit again and again for the enchanting Japanese décor, and of course, the sushi and hibachi menus. LD $$ JACKIE’S GALAXIE 338 Metacom Ave., Bristol; 253-8818. Jackie’s offers an eclectic taste of Asia, including Chinese, Japanese, Thai, Cambodian and Vietnamese. Enjoy traditional recipes combined with modern technique and flair for a unique dining experience. LD $-$$$

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

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Feast | Dining Guide

South County BISTRO 9 1646 Division St., East Greenwich; 884-5656. Overlooking the East Greenwich Golf Course, Bistro 9 serves up American and Italian cuisine seven days a week, year round.

Enjoy steak, seafood, pasta and a full service bar. LD $-$$ CHELO’S WATERFRONT 1 Masthead Dr., Warwick; 884-3000. Everybody’s favorite chain of Rhode Island family restaurants also provides great waterfront dining overlooking Greenwich Bay. Enjoy all the classics, plus deck and lawn seating, fire pits and live entertainment. LD $-$$ COAST GUARD HOUSE 40 Ocean Rd., Narragansett; 789-0700. This beachfront institution serves classic New England seafood, plus pasta, steak and a raw bar, all in the shadow of the iconic Narragansett Towers. Outdoor bars offer more casual fare. LD $-$$$ ELEVEN FORTY NINE RESTAURANT 1149 Division St, (Warwick/East Greenwich line), 884-1149. 965 Fall River Ave., Seekonk; 508-336-1149.

Metropolitan chic comes to the suburbs at this super stylish restaurant with a raw bar, outstanding menu, and some of the best cocktails around. LD $$-$$$

LILIANA’S 3009 Tower Hill Rd., South Kingstown; 789-4200. Serving authentic Italian at affordable prices, Liliana’s offers great service in a family atmosphere. Owner Dino Passeretta brings over 15 years of experience Boston, New York and Miami to South County. LD $$-$$$

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RHODY JOE’S SALOON 515 Kingstown Rd., South Kingstown; 3126500. Rhody Joe is a legendary Rhode Islander and his namesake saloon does right by his good name, serving up mammoth burgers, grilled pizzas and lots of classic pub fare. LD $-$$

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SIENA CUCINA 5600 Post Rd., East Greenwich; 885-8850. Siena features authentic Tuscan cuisine in a warm and lively atmosphere, plus over 20 wines by the glass and an Italian “tapas” menu. D $$-$$$

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KON ASIAN BISTRO 553 Main St., East Greenwich; 886-9200. This innovative bistro sets the standard for Asian food in southern RI, featuring a variety of sushi and sashimi, classic rolls, hibachi combos, and delicious sushi entrées. LD $-$$$

VINTAGE RESTAURANT 2 South Main St., Woonsocket; 765-1234. In the heart of Woonsocket, Vintage offers top notch cuisine without the top notch prices. Enjoy classics with creative twists in a casual but sophisticated setting. LD $-$$

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Get Out

Events / art / music / MOVIES / theatre

Spook-Tacular October 7-31: Really, it’s time that you just admitted it: you’re the type of cat that basks in everyone else’s vibe.

Oh, no, you’re not the one stringing up the lights, raising the flag or decking out the crib in grapevine wreaths with plastic berries. That’s completely unnecessary when you can pile everyone into the car and take a cruise through that neighborhood, all the while rejoicing over the fact that you don’t have to worry about that electric bill. Halloween? The game plan’s no different. You’ll head to the Jack-O-

Lantern Spectacular, where over 5,000 illuminated pumpkins are on display. This year, they’ll be carved to incorporate the theme of the show, “A Walk Through Time,” with scenes including The Jurassic Era, The Dawn of Man, The Growth of Democracy and The Wild Wild West.

And you can feel good that this time, your mooching supports the zoo’s education and conservation efforts. Roger Williams Park Zoo, 1000 Elmwood Avenue. 785-3510, rogerwilliamsparkzoo. org. –Dawn Keable

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

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This Month Through October 24 Gnaw on a spit-roasted turkey leg at King Richard’s Faire Renaissance Festival in Carver, MA. kingrichardsfaire.net.

October 1 Laugh with, not at, the Funny Girls comedy showcase, hitting Woonsocket with Natasha Leggero of Chelsea Lately in tow. stadiumtheatre.com.

October 1-3 Help create A Better World By Design, during a Brown and RISD sponsored conference. abetterworldbydesign.com.

October 9-11 Opt for crisp air and caramel apples at the Scituate Art Festival. scituateartfestival.org.

October 10 Line Atwells Avenue for a great tradition at the annual Providence Columbus Day Parade. providenceri.com.

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by Dawn Keable

October 13 Choose wisely as Animal Planet’s Victoria Stillwell presents It’s Me or the Dog, at Vets (of course) Auditorium. vmari.org.

October 16 Take bets on which local celebrity goes all Naomi Campbell at the Pawtucket Armory during the RISE Fashion Show, a benefit for Rhode Islanders Sponsoring Education. riseonline.org.

October 22-24 Move the model living room of the Fine Furnishings and Fine Craft Show outta the Convention Center and into yours. finefurnishingsshow.com.

Paint the Town October 2: Ah, the kids of today, with their pink, healthy lungs. You can go ahead and thank that fantastically boring invention called the whiteboard for your ability to breathe deeply without so much as a tickle. Back in the day, a school just wasn’t a school without a cloud of chalk dusk overtaking either the first row, or if you were really lucky, your entire being – your prize for winning that sweepstakes called the “clapping of erasers.”

The 11th Annual Providence Rotary Street Painting Festival works out the health kinks, taking the canvas to the open air where amateurs and professionals, armed with colorful artist-grade pastel chalk, create on the pavement for cash prizes. Proceeds benefit the organization’s foundation that funds the enrichment of underprivileged children in and around Providence. Bank of America Skating Center, Kennedy Plaza. providencerotary.org/ StreetPaintingFestival.cfm.

October 23 Muscle in on the tarmac of TF Green with 19 teammates to compete in the MS Jet Pull fundraiser. msjetpull.com.

October 31 Count down the clock for the Halloween Midnight Organ Recital at Brown’s Sayles Hall. brown.edu.

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Get Out | Theatre

by Molly Lederer

On Stage

Women Rock at Perishable

This fall is all about talented ladies at this innovative theatre Meet Rachel Walshe, Perishable Theatre’s visiting artistic director and producer of the upcoming International Women’s Playwriting Festival. Walshe did not grow up a theatre kid, singing into hairbrushes and putting on impromptu shows. The self-described latecomer to the craft only did drama in high school for fun. But when a URI professor encouraged her to consider theatre as a way of fusing interests in philosophy and the arts, Walshe pursued the idea. She won a grant to spend the summer at Festival Fringe in Edinburgh. There, alone in a foreign land, she watched a new play every night. As she puts it, “That was kind of it. I was totally hooked.”

Walshe plunged into her newfound passion as a literary associate at Trinity Rep, reading all the submitted plays. Immersing herself in classics as well as clunkers, she learned from both. Later, she gained appreciation of contemporary work and emerging playwrights through administrative and development jobs at Perishable Theatre. Opportunities led her away from RI: a Rhodes scholarship to study medieval and Renaissance drama at Oxford, a master’s degree program in directing, and a gig as associate artistic director of Rivendell Theatre Ensemble in Chicago. But, luckily for Rhody, this talented cat came back.

Missing the arts community here, and wanting to raise her young daughter near family and the sea, Walshe moved back earlier this year. She soon learned that Perishable Theatre’s leader Vanessa Gilbert had been hoping to take a sabbatical. Now, supported by a prestigious (and substantial) Emerging Artist Award, Walshe is thrilled to step into the role of visiting artistic director and to present a season of great work by female playwrights, an under-represented group in the theatre world. Gilbert remains involved, and the mix of the two artists’ styles makes for an exciting blend of multi-disciplinary performance work and cutting edge new plays.

Catch the first of those cutting edge new plays at Perishable’s playwriting festival this month. Selected from over 250 entries, the three winning, oneact world premieres all focus on women operating within traditionally male-run industries. But don’t get any ideas about heavy-handed plays that must be endured as some moral or academic obligation.

“There’s a danger, when you have a women’s festival or a season of women’s plays, that people will look at it as nutritional theatre. As in, it’s good for me,” Walshe cautions. “That’s fine, but people don’t go to the theatre to be educated, exclusively. People go to the theatre to have a good time and to be entertained. And these plays are incredibly entertaining.”

Gilbert directs The Golden Lasso by Kit Idaszak, the story of a female soldier at a military base in Iraq.

Though she grew up dreaming of becoming Wonder Woman, she finds no wonder in warfare – especially when a shocking encounter with an acquaintance raises the question of who is the real enemy. Megan Sandberg-Zakian helms This is How by Laura Jacqmin, the tale of a high school boy about to pay for a sexual favor from a female stranger on the stairwell, only to learn he knows her. With the loss of anonymity, painful memories surface and change everything. Kate Lester directs Swingin’ with Petula by Mary F. Unser, a hilarious look at female office workers with an evil boss, a crushing deadline and a soul-deadening job. It involves a rousing musical number. Also, a breast pump.

The festival also includes two free panel discussions (October 6 and 20) and staged readings by local female playwrights. An action-packed season follows the fest.

On top of her work at Perishable, Walshe plans to direct the thriller Mauritius at Pawtucket’s Gamm Theatre this fall and to take the Perishable production of 1:23 to Chicago this spring. When Perishable’s season ends, she’s not sure what comes next for her.

But she wants to continue contributing to the local theatre scene, and has lots of ideas for thow to do so. Let’s make it worth her while to stick around, shall we? And next time you see her, welcome her home.

15th International Women’s Playwriting Festival October 1 – 23 Perishable Theatre 95 Empire Street 331-2695, perishable.org

See what’s going up this month

by Dawn Keable

October 3 What happens when you grow up – literally – with Kermit the Frog? Heather Henson, daughter of puppetry royalty Jim, gives a taste with Panther and Crane, a journey through the Earth’s waterways.

RISD Auditorium, 17 Canal Walk. 621-6127, arttixri.com.

October 16-17 and 21-24 A membership cracks the code to get you in this former church space, only there’s no secret rituals inside, just the Miss Firecracker Contest, launchin’ the 102nd season of The Players. Barker Playhouse, 400 Benefit Street. 273-0590, playersri.org.

October 22-24 Walk a mile to find The Journey Out, based on the oral histories of real live gay Rhode Islanders and their quest just to be, from the 1950s to the present. University of Rhode Island, Shepard Building, 80 Washington Street. 621-6127, arttixri.com.

October 26 Breaking free of your Bombay family traditions? The Merchants of Bollywood gives insight into what may happen next, before you pull the trigger. Rhode Island College, Roberts Hall Auditorium, 600 Mount Pleasant Avenue. 456-8144, ric.edu.

October 29 Raise Samuel Beckett from the dead – legal-like and sans spade – with the Gare St. Lazare Players’ adaptation of First Love, a humorously dark novella by the Irish author. RISD Chace Center, Metcalf Auditorium, 20 South Main Street. 621-6127, arttixri.com.

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

75

Get Out | Music

by Alyssa Smith

Concerts Check out this month’s awesome shows

by Dawn Keable

October 9 The party won’t officially start until local legends The Schemers come christen the stage at the new Met. Think of it as the Rhode Island rock equivalent of burning sage to shake any evil vibes way out.

Hope Artiste Village, 1005 Main Street, Pawtucket. 729-1005, themetri.com.

ON THE MARCH: The What Cheer?

Brigade at last year’s festival

Go Honk Yourself Marching bands take it (back) to the streets for PRONK! Providence Honk Fest is reclaiming Providence’s streets with horns and fun. A spin-off of Boston’s HONK! Festival, this third annual event delivers the streets to its rightful owners, the people, with a slew of brass bands.

First started in Boston to protest the Iraq invasion in 2003, HONK has grown to include a variety of brass bands with a long list of dedicated causes. Musician and organizer of PRONK! Lydia Stein says it’s really about revolutionizing music and forms of protest. “People want a more active, creative contribution to a protest or movement; PRONK! gives them that,” she explains.

A musician herself, Stein knows that while money is necessary, a lot of musicians can lose their spirit when they play solely for cash. PRONK! flies in the face of the notion that music is solely another way to make money, but rather treats it as a cause or move76

ment for the commonwealth.

With grassroots organizations and local businesses donating to make PRONK! happen, these bands aren’t in it for the money, but rather for their dedication to reviving street life as cities like New Orleans know it. “Many of these bands are specially chosen because they have a community focus,” Stein says. “They’re playing for a cause other than money.”

The festival is operating on a meager budget, and organizers are trying to raise $1,000 between now and the actual event on October 11. This is merely to house and feed the bands, proving once again that a check is not necessarily the ultimate goal for many of these musicians.

Started on a smaller scale with the What Cheer? Brigade playing at Brown, the festival has blossomed into a full-scale parade centered in the Fox Point area.

This year, the schedule includes a full roster of bands, both local

Providence Monthly | October 2010

and from as far away as Austin and Chicago.

The Extraordinary Rendition Band, Providence’s all-inclusive, ever-changing gang of musicians, and probably the most democratic band in town, will also be performing. Stein says the Extraordinary Rendition band is just another example of how music can bring people together. “It’s really impressive to see a band like this form,” she exclaims. “They try to take people from a variety of musical backgrounds and they operate democratically. It provides a real alternative to what’s going on in the music scene and that’s inspiring.”

This year’s tentative route will start at 3:30pm with bands at India Point Park. A parade will then break out around 5pm, marching from Wickenden Street to a block party on South Water Street. So, get out there and take your streets back. providencehonkfest.org

October 24 It’s a new day for your two left feet, as La Excelencia, a 12-piece orchestra from New York City, reclaims the salsa dura of the 1970s, with its political message and frantic beats. Lupo’s Heartbreak Hotel, 79 Washington Street. 621-6127, arttixri.com.

October 29 Celebrate with a night of jazz, intrigue and grandeur as Chifferobe Presents a Halloween Costume Dance at the historic Lippit House Museum. There will be vintage jazz and dance, and, perhaps, an untimely death or two. 199 Hope Street. chifferobecabaret@gmail.com.

October 30 The soundtrack under the big top is a bit too heavy on the pipe organ. Cirque De La Symphonie classes things up, with the Philharmonic Pops providing the background mood. Providence Performing Arts Center, 220 Weybosset Street. 421-2997, ppac.org.

Photography: Jori Ketten

PRONK!

October 13 The Wally Champ returns to Providence in support of his latest album Ghostdini the Wizard of Poetry. That’s right Wu-Tang fans, Ghostface Killah is back in town.

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Ghost Hunters Through November: It’s those quaint clapboard houses that will get you every time. Because while everyone wants to know who lived in their home, that pesky little detail of who died there – and how – has a tendency to get glossed over. After all, the historical society doesn’t hand out plaques for passings. That’s where the Providence Ghost Tour steps in, literally. Their 90-minute walking tour, developed using extensive research and documentation, passes along the cobblestone streets of College Hill. But the usually predictable focus takes a turn past the preserved architecture, to what was going on inside – like say, murders, suicides, accidents and fires. And with a disclaimer denying responsibility for any haunting, soul possession or poltergeist activity endured before, during or after participation on the tour, it’s only a matter of time before you believe that truth is really stranger than fiction. Meets at Prospect Terrace, 75 Congdon Street. providenceghosttour.com.

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Get Out | Art

by Vikki Warner

Exhibits Get inspired at this month’s artsy events

by Dawn Keable Painter Agustín Patiño

Bound to Providence A muralist connected to the water and earth

Photography: Dan Schwartz

Agustín Patiño delights

in the intersections of things – between people, in nature, in geography.

Perhaps this is why he is so well suited to paint his stunningly conspicuous, gently psychedelic murals on buildings in the neighborhoods of South Providence. His subtly optimistic themes focus on the connections we all develop to our cities, our land and each other, and Patiño seeks to make people think about that connectedness rather than the things that divide us.

Patiño, who is from Cuenca in the highlands of Ecuador, exposes this connectedness everywhere in his lush, dreamlike work. His hometown is at the intersection of four rivers – in fact, its name means “a basin caused by a confluence of rivers.” Rivers and oceans, symbolic of continuity and perpetual renewal, appear with frequency in his paintings. In his mural La Plaza del Arte y la Culturas, just off Broad Street, he blends these luxuriant, utopian water images with street scenes and cityscapes, treating the streets as though they are every bit as abundant and life-affirming as the water. In the center, a woman’s face points skyward, eyes closed, bathed in light. It’s a striking metaphor for the inherent goodness of the planet and its people.

Patiño’s smaller-scale works are lavish, jeweltoned, sensual, dreamy. The canvas allows Patiño to paint with a delicacy that walls or cement can’t emulate, and the viewer is rewarded with scenes of surreal, mysterious beauty, of people and objects placed together incongruously, beautifully and wisely. His paintings are less sunny, thematically, than his mu-

rals; they hint at a global environment in danger. In one, Enigma of the River, derelict old cars half-float in a rainforest river, flanked by the angels who have repurposed them as living quarters. In another, Metropolis y Orillas, these same old vehicles are strewn and stacked haphazardly in an otherwise alluring natural paradise. It seems to tell us that we have reached our limit – in terms of the overconsumption, pollution and unthinking abandonment of objects – that the environment can take.

Providence has been Patiño’s full-time home for about four years, although his career still takes him out of the country. He says he feels centered in Rhode Island. Being surrounded by water, Providence offers him that hallowed connection to the rest of the world that Cuenca did. His work is much admired here: besides winning many local arts awards and exhibiting his work in solo shows around Providence, he has received grant funding from the Rhode Island State Council on the Arts. But he counts his murals among his biggest accomplishments: now part of the neighborhood, La Plaza del Arte y la Culturas has been in place three years and has seen no graffiti – just people taking a moment to stop and to contemplate.

Patiño’s mural currently in progress, Dialysis of the Planet, will feature trees from all of Earth’s continents, linked by its seas. Located at Broad Street and Plenty Street on the South Side, it will speak of the repercussions of global warming and deforestation.

The mural is 240 feet x 22 feet; it is due to be completed in October.

Through October 10 Dear, Traditional Gallery Browsing Pose – loosely defined as hands behind the back combined with a thoughtful slow shuffle.

You have no place at Pixilerations [v.7], a citywide showcase of digitial media and interactive performances. pixilerations.org.

Through October 22 Enter into The World of Sylvia Nicolas: Painting, Sculpture and Stained Glass, whose talent extends past the permanent window display built into PC’s chapel. Reilly Gallery, Providence College, 549 River Avenue. 865-2218, providence.edu.

October 2-3 Jump! in the Yard, not on the bed or over the fence. Follow these instructions to be rewarded with original choreography by an innovative Providence youth dance troupe.

Firehouse No. 13, 41 Central Street. 270-1801, jumpdancecompanynews.blogspot.com.

October 14-16 If you weren’t already in a panic over how quickly time passes, Lostwax: Blinking offers up a multimedia dance collaboration of the milliseconds you’re missing. Pell Chafee Performance Center, 87 Empire Street. 4214278, firstworksprov.org.

October 20-23 Last year it was New Orleans. This year, the Alliance of Artists Communities Conference gets all creative in your backyard with its 20th annual gathering, “Advancing Today’s Artists, Boldness and Abundance in a New Economy.” 351-4320, artistcommunities.org.

October 2010 | Providence Monthly

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Get Out | Movies

by Scott Duhamel

Film Here’s what’s showing on the local big screen.

The Town

by Dawn Keable

Dirty Old Town Affleck might just be Boston’s filmmaker laureate Making the rounds promoting his new movie, The Town, actor/director/co-writer Ben Affleck has repeatedly said that he might not be comfortable forging a reputation as a “Boston” filmmaker. Of course, the Massachusetts born and bred Affleck first established his rep by cowriting (with fellow Mass native Matt Damon) the Boston-based Good Will Hunting. As recently as 2007, following a string of mostly poor acting choices, Affleck won acrossthe-board kudos for his directorial debut, Gone Baby Gone, a movie adaptation of a novel by Dennis Lehane (Mystic River, Shutter Island), the contempo bard of Beantown badness.

The Town, set in Boston’s insular Charlestown neighborhood, is an extremely assured follow-up, and suggests that Affleck just might be yet another filmmaker whose most resonant work takes place in his native settings, ala Marty Scorsese or Spike Lee’s cinematic New Yorks.

In Gone Baby Gone, Affleck directed baby brother Casey, but with The Town he’s upped the ante and stepped back in front of the camera, too. He plays Doug MacRay, a savvy, tough guy townie with a few toes in the straight world, but largely caught up with his crew of thieves who have a heightened sense of code and vicious professionalism.

Of course Doug is mirrored by a 82

dyed-in the-wool native and fervent brother-in-arms, Jimmy Coughlin (Jeremy Renner), who has shed any emotional or moral nuances. Doug’s father (Chris Cooper) is doing a lifetime stretch in the penitentiary and Doug’s occasional girl (Blake Lively) is both Jimmy’s sister and a hard living fellow townie.

Doug is sharp but conflicted, torn up with both dislike and curiosity for the so-called “toonies” who are slowly gentrifying his stomping grounds, and all shook up about his dueling senses of long held propriety and increasing distaste for his very roots. After being forced to take a bank employee (Rebecca Hall) hostage during a robbery, Doug ups the ante by falling for her (a “toonie,” no less), tipping his own sense of moral ambivalence into the danger zone, and imperiling him and his potentially good intentions. As the movie progresses, Doug’s growing unrest makes him resolve to pull off the proverbial last job with hopes of getting out of Dodge.

Affleck the director makes excellent use of his locations and evokes an affecting sense of local geography, moving the film along with a terse yet implosive pace. His action scenes are lean, mean and subtly tactile. The Town largely sustains its purposefully tough mood, although it never attains the grimy melancholy of Gone Baby Gone. Affleck

Providence Monthly | October 2010

also sharply injects the neighborhood with some flavorful verisimilitude, a lively chorus of barking, yapping, yowling Boston-based verbal gymnastics.

As with so many actors-turned-directors (Eastwood, Redford), Affleck authoritatively guides his fellow actors through some convincing paces.

Both Chris Cooper and Pete Postlethwaite (as one of the local crime lords) walk away with their scenes, and Rebecca Hall manages to do a lot with a little, while Jeremy Renner (an actor who recently scorched the screen in The Hurt Locker) veers into pure, white hot Jimmy Cagney territory as one of those wrong-side-of-town fireplugs whose volatility makes him an audience magnet, despite his obvious (and deadly) wrongheadedness. Only Jon Hamm as the local FBI manhunter seems unable to bring something extra to his archetypical role.

The Town has obvious echoes of my own favorite modern American film, Marty Scorsese’s 1973 Mean Streets, but it never scorches the soul or soars into artfulness the way the latter film does. Still, The Town, is well played and better executed, and it exhibits an overall directorial keenness. It’s both credible and watchable, and hints that Affleck might go back to the mean streets of his beloved hometown and etch out another tale from the naked city, pure East Coast style.

October 5 Go all retro with the leading men of The Sting, showcasing the hunky 1973 mugs of Robert Redford and Paul Newman, the muse behind this lecture series with pre-film commentary.

Barrington Public Library, 281 County Road, Barrington. 247-1920, barringtonlibrary.org.

October 12-17 While the Women’s Film Festival offers days of free screenings, only ladies in the industry named Yvonne – Welbon and Rainer – can participate in the question and answer sessions. The Cable Car Cinema, 204 South Main Street. 272-3970, brown.edu.

October 19 and 26 The Sound of Music Sing-A-Long schools you to the real lyrics coming out of Julie Andrews’ mouth, not just the ones that you sorta lip read from the telly. Showcase Cinemas Warwick, 1200 Quaker Lane, Warwick.

885-1621, nationalamusements.com.

October 21-24 What’s creepy to you may just be someone else’s pet. Work it out during the RI International Horror Festival showcasing cinematic styles and genre from around the world.

Check website for venues and schedule. 8614445, film-festival.org/Horror_ri.php.

October 28 Watch silent film star Lon Chaney, aka The Man of A Thousand Faces, do his thing during 1925’s Phantom of the Opera, and feel sad for today’s botoxed-out Hollywood. Stadium Theatre, 28 Monument Square, Main Street, Woonsocket.

762-4545, stadiumtheatre.com.

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October 2010 | Providence Monthly

83

The Last Detail

In the Era of the iPod,

we’re more concerned with the portability of our music than the quality of the sound. Good, old fashioned records are the polar opposite of that: they’re clunky, dusty and rather difficult to play in your car or on the treadmill – but damn do they sound good. Try this by way of illustration: download Neil Young’s Harvest on iTunes, then track down a vinyl copy, possibly at this month’s Rock N Roll Yard Sale at the new Met Café. While that fancy, remastered version might sound crystal clear coming

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Providence Monthly | October 2010

through your earbuds, just listen to the richness of that vinyl. You can feel the thump in the bass, hear the dust in the grooves – just the way God and/or Neil intended. There’s simply no comparison. So, come on down to the Met and get some dust on your fingers sorting through those stacks of records, artwork and all sorts of pop culture miscellany.

There will be bands and DJs to provide the soundtrack to a delightfully undownloadable experience. Sunday, October 3 at 1pm. 1005 Main Street, Pawtucket. –John Taraborelli

Photography: Stacey Doyle

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Receive a complimentary bottle of wine with two entrées. Opa! Brunch Saturday and Sunday 9am-3pm. New menu!

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