Food News

June 2022

Posted

A Jamestown chef returns home

Beech, which opens in the old Simpatico space this month, is a homecoming for chef/owner Kevin Gaudreau, who spent five years at the helm of Simpatico’s kitchen in the early aughts. After leaving, Gaudreau opened the popular KG Kitchen on Hope Street in Providence. The born-and-raised Jamestownian waited 15 years to return to Conanicut Island, naming the restaurant after the 150-year-old, 200-foot beech tree on the property. “It’s iconic on Narragansett Avenue. We wanted to pay homage.”

 Gaudreau and his team made extensive renovations to the four-season property, which includes three bars and outdoor deck seating. The upscale casual menu includes fresh cut pastas and local seafood, and they are working with Jamestown’s famers for everything from fresh veg to hard cider. “We want to be a place where you can swing by and have a crispy chicken sandwich or crush some local oysters,” he says. 

 

Year-round farm coast market heads outdoors for the season

When Meredith Brower created the Tiverton Farmers Market in May 2020, she never quite expected it would become the region’s must-go year-round market. “I started doing this on my own with a group of vendor friends who were invested in contributing to the idea,” she says. Two years later, this weekly farm coast staple draws enthusiastic shoppers. With summer on the horizon, they are returning outdoors this month, setting up at the Tiverton Middle School’s football field. 

Brower was inspired by the fusion of the Hope Street Market with the Providence Artisans Market at Lippitt Park in Providence, which merges food sellers with local artisans. She imagined Tiverton as a way for artists to sell side-by-side with local farmers, with live bands providing entertainment. “People who want to eat well appreciate art,” she says. “You get to support art, music, and fresh food. What’s better than that?”

 

Greek pub grub in Middletown

Mykono Pub recently moved into the old KJ’s Restaurant location in Middletown. “Owner Nick Petsonias saw the building just sitting here, and he wanted to give it new life,” says restaurant general manager Melody Mulcahey. His vision was a traditional American pub but with a Mediterranean flair. Greek favorites like gyros, moussaka, and souvlaki are featured on the menu alongside American favorites like burgers and wings.

After undergoing a total renovation, Mykono has three distinct spaces: a dedicated pub, a billiards room with a pool table and dart board, and the 45-seat dining room. The lively bar area features acoustic music on Sunday and Karaoke on Fridays. A DJ spins throwback music from the ‘90s and early aughts on Wayback Wednesdays. For those looking for a late-night munch, the kitchen is open until midnight. “KJ’s was the neighborhood pub before us,” says Mulcahey. “We’re trying to bring back that same spirit.”

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