In like a Lion
Hello and welcome to another Eat Drink RI newsletter. Lots and lots of brief items to catch up with 2023 so far, so peruse at your leisure and please follow all the links if you’re so inclined—you know you want to open more tabs!
Let’s start in the realm of non-profits. As I’ve mentioned in the past, I’m on the board of ecoRI News, which I hope you’re reading regularly by now. I enjoy reading ecoRI News for a number of reasons, only one of which is they do some excellent food and drink reporting like this recent piece on Whalers Brewing of South Kingstown, RI: South County Brewer Cans Plastic, Will Switch to Cardboard Beer Toppers
ecoRI News is dedicated to reporting on environmental and social justice issues in southern New England. It’s entirely independent and funded by donors like you. But I’m not writing about donating today (though please feel free to donate if you like). The Board is on a mission to increase the number of subscribers to the ecoRI newsletter, so please subscribe at ecori.org/subscribe and you’ll get the latest environmental news in your inbox each Tuesday morning.
Next up, in a few weeks it’ll be Rhode Island’s annual day of giving powered by the United Way of RI, 401Gives. There are a ton of worthy non-profits seeking funds that day and the board of Eating with the Ecosystem is preparing our pitch for that day. I volunteered the phrase “Eat Seafood, Save the World.” So buy some fish and get ready to give on April 1.
In the meantime, two of my dear friends are doing some great giving in the month of March. At Nicks on Broadway, in honor of their 21st anniversary they are donating 21% of all soup sales in March to the RI Community Food Bank. So get over to 500 Broadway in Providence and eat as many bowls of soup as you can handle. Check out Chef Wagner’s Instagram video as he makes soup.
And at Revival Brewery and Lost Valley Pizza check out this generous offer to support 401Gives:
Go drink a Moscow Mule, have some pizza, buy some beer and then drink another Moscow Mule because it’s for charity.
Ok, onto some RI food and drink business news. First up, if you’ve been seeing all my social media, and truthfully with Meta messing with algorithms I’m never sure who does, then you know I recently helped to launch a brand new web site for Blackbird Farm.
Words and pictures, and some coding believe it or not, by me. The most delicious meat by the Bouthillette family (and some Baffoni’s Poultry Farm chicken on there too). The coolest thing is we can ship country-wide now! Check the site out today, but please come back in a few days as I’m in the midst of working out the UPS delivery to offer flat rate USA shipping—including free shipping.
Sticking with Blackbird Farm for a second entry, the Sunday Eat Drink RI Farmers Market will be returning on June 11 and we’re currently looking for more vendors to sign up. If you’re a small business farming or producing a local food & drink product, please check out our registration page for details. If you’re a food truck owner, send me a message as we have some opportunities for you too.
While I’m on Eat Drink RI work, I know as I’m writing this that it’s International Women’s Day. So I wanted to pop in a photo from the last Women’s Feast that we produced back in 2019.
I could use the rest of this newsletter to write thousands and thousands of words about how special that event was. I hope you recognize and appreciate the women in this photo as much as I do. Plus, love to my wife Brenda, who wanted to make the photo and not be in it! I’ve been talking with a few of the chefs and we think it’s time to bring this event back. Please leave a comment below if you’d be interested in tickets if we do.
One last note, Brava to Chef Jennifer Backman (in the apron in the first row center next to Maria in red) and a group of Newport Restaurant Group women chefs and a wine director for having an International Women’s Day dinner this evening. Hopefully you saw that on the eatdrinkri.com/events calendar and are going to celebrate tonight.
Last but not least on the business items, the RI Small Business Coalition continues to advocate for small businesses of any kind throughout the entire state. Our members are from any industry, any location and the more members, the more strength we have as we work with state and municipal governments to improve the climate for small business in RI.
We want to keep growing, so if you own a small business or know someone who does, please consider joining the Coalition. There is a free newsletter sign-up, along with paid tiers to get further access and information. Please head to risbc.org and sign up.
Check out one of my most recent RI Small Business Coalition interviews with RI Secretary of Commerce Liz Tanner.
I’m sure there’s more I could write, I haven’t even mentioned the book on RI eats I’m writing (or procrastinating on writing!). But I think I’ve thrown enough at you for one newsletter. As always I appreciate your reading this far and I really appreciate all the new subscribers that have been coming my way, especially from Kristin and Matt Gennuso’s Singapore Adventures newsletter that I hope you’re reading!
While you’re subscribing to things, please subscribe to my YouTube channel. There are lots more videos coming there. You can follow me on Instagram and Facebook, and of course, please check out eatdrinkri.com all the time. Thank you!
Hello,
I would be interested in going to the next Woman's feast. I missed the one in 2019, but heard it was great! Thank you.