Rhode Island: Matunuck Oyster Bar (Part 2)

"An oyster, that marvel of delicacy, that concentration of sapid excellence, that mouthful before all other mouthfuls, who first had faith to believe it, and courage to execute? The exterior is not persuasive."
--Henry Ward Beecher

As I mentioned yesterday, Perry Raso began with a oyster farm and in 2009, he decided to open a restaurant, the Matunuck Oyster Bar. Initially, the site of the would-be restaurant was a run-down clam shack and Perry didn't have any restaurant experience. Despite the challenges, Perry persevered, establishing a restaurant based on a concept of “simple food, fairly priced, fresh products, and making sure everybody leaves happy.” There is also an element of Pond to Plate, as they serve oysters harvested from the pond outside the patio as well as produce from their organic farm.

The outside patio and bar, perfect for a summer day.

This section of the patio has a retractable glass roof. The restaurant is casual, but it is more than a simple clam shack.

The interior dining room with the bar in the back. A nice casual elegance.

The raw bar, displaying all of the current shellfish available. Lots of shucking going on there.

The second floor dining room has a large map of southern Rhode Island, showing all the ponds, on one wall.

The restaurant has a full bar and recently redid their wine list, adding even more options, with about twenty wines available by the glass, priced $8-$13. Their beer list contains many brews from across New England and they have a list of special Cocktails, priced $10-$11. I began with a glass of Muscadet, which was a great choice for the oysters with which we started the lunch.  I also tried the Potters Pond Bloody Mary which is made with house-infused horseradish vodka, house-made Bloody Mary mix with a Matunuck Oyster. It was spicy and savory, another fine way to begin lunch or dinner.

The food menu has plenty of seafood options, as well as non-seafood options, though why would you come here for anything but seafood unless you are allergic? The menu begins with Raw Bar options, including a Dozen Oysters for $21.95, which is a good value at less than $2 per oyster. Clams and Shrimp are also options. There are about 18 Starters, mostly priced $11.95-$13.95, such as Point Judith Calamari, Oyster Stew, Alaskan King Crab, and more. There are also five Salads, priced $7.95 to $18.95, such as Caesar Salad and Sesame Seared Tuna. You find about 16 Entrees, priced $14.95-$43.95, such as Stuffed Lobsters, Pistachio Crusted Atlantic Cod, Jambalaya, and Fried Oysters. Finally, there are five Sandwiches, priced $12.50-$17.95, such as Lobster Roll and Oyster Po Boy.

The menu has a good diversity of dishes, it's reasonably priced, and presents plenty of local, sustainable seafood options. And on a Wednesday afternoon in late May, the restaurant was quite busy, even past the usual lunch hours. During the summer, I'd suggest you make reservations to ensure you get a table.

We began with some Oysters, including Matunuck (the smaller ones on the right side) and Quonnie Rocks (which are from Quonochontaug Pond in Charlestown, Rhode Island). Both had a nice briny taste to them though the Matunuck also had more of a sweet element as well. The Quonnies were larger and plumper.

 

The Starters include several different Oyster preparations, including my favorite, the Bourbon Oysters which are Matunucks broiled with a Bourbon chipotle sauce. Such a savory, slightly sweet and spicy sauce, balanced with the briny element of the oyster.

The Oysters Rockefeller, are made with Pernod, spinach, bacon, breadcrumbs & fresh herbs, and provided a some nice herbal flavors, with a hint of bitter which actually went well with the salinity of the oysters.

The Clams Casino are Rhode Island littlenecks with bacon and bread crumb stuffing, giving a bit of smokiness to the clams and crisp breading with buttery notes.

We received a basket of rolls, which the server nonchalantly presented as "nothing special" but which I think were definitely special. The fresh, house-made rolls; had a perfect crusty top with a little bit of seasoning, and a light, fluffy interior. They came with a dish of oil and spices, including some lavender, and I could have eaten the entire basket of rolls myself. If you love bread, these rolls will satisfy your cravings.

The Stuffie is a famous Rhode Island seafood dish, a stuffed quahog (a large, hard shell clam).  This one is house-made, with chourico, and is a large clam with a delicious stuffing full of pieces of clam and enhanced by the spicy taste of the chourico. If you visit Rhode Island, you really need to experience this dish.

Rhode Island Clam Chowder, also known as South County style, has a clear broth, with clams, potatoes, onions and often bacon. It is more really a soup than a chowder, and is a good soup but definitely not a replacement for a creamy New England Clam Chowder.

The Point Judith Calamari were lightly fried with cherry peppers, arugula, capers & citrus aioli. Tender, with a light, crisp batter they were balanced with the acidity of the cherry peppers. This is another iconic Rhode Island seafood and Matunuck does it proud.

The Scallop Ceviche (which currently doesn't contain their own bay scallops) is made with mango, cilantro, peppers & lime and is served with crispy wonton chips. The silky scallops were fresh and delicious, with a nice sweetness to them, enhanced with the fruit flavors.

My entree was the Pint of Whole Belly Clams, which consisted of lightly fried whole belly clams with house cut fries, coleslaw & tartar sauce. Again, the fried seafood was clean and lightly breaded, a tasty bite. They were not gritty at all and the french fries were good as well.

Overall, Matunuck is a very good seafood restaurant, reasonably priced and offering plenty of fresh seafood as well as regional specialities. If you are near South Kingston, you should stop by, even if it is only for some oysters and a drink. However, if you have the time, tour the oyster farm before dining at the restaurant. Perry mentioned that he has considered opening a second spot but it needs to be the right spot so it might take time for him to find a place that meets all his needs.

"The life of man is of no greater importance to the universe than that of an oyster."
--David Hume

Rhode Island: St. Clair Annex Ice Cream

After lunch at Matunuck Oyster Bar, we drove to Watch Hill, a coastal village in Westerly, Rhode Island. It is a picturesque area, right on the water, with a number of shops, hotels, and small restaurants. We made a stop at the St. Clair Annex Restaurant for some ice cream, a bit of dessert after all that seafood.

The history of this restaurant extends back to 1887, and it remains family-owned by the Nicholas family. They serve breakfast and lunch, but the highlight is obviously their ice cream, which has been made the same way for multiple generations. It is produced on the premises, in small batches, and uses many local ingredients such as cream from a Rhode Island dairy and chocolate & candy from a local Chocolatier. The restaurant has that flair of an old-style ice cream parlor, but how is the ice cream?

They offer about 30 flavors of ice cream, including some seasonal specials.  If you prefer traditional flavors, you'll find them there but if you want something a bit more exotic, they have that as well. You can get a Single Scoop ($3.50) or Double ($6.00) in a cup, sugar cone, wafer cone or waffle cone ($1 extra). You can also get a Dip (50 cents) or Sprinkles (25 cents) for your ice cream. If you're hungry, you can also choose one of their Sundaes (Small $5/Large $6.50) with a couple, like the Banana Split, priced $7-$8. You can even get a House-Made Ice Cream Sandwich ($8.75), which has 1 scoop of the ice cream of your choice, sandwiched between two oatmeal raisin cookies.

I went for a large Butterscotch Sundae with two scoops of ice cream, Coconut Pineapple and Banana Walnut Chip.  The ice cream was excellent, very creamy with plenty of bright flavors and it tasted exactly like the flavor it is supposed to be. The butterscotch sauce was also tasty and sweet, with a rich butterscotch flavor. Everyone else in our group seemed to enjoy their ice cream very much too.

Yeah, you should stop by this nearly 130 year old ice cream parlor if you visit Watch Hill.

Rhode Island: Matunuck Oyster Bar (Part 1)

"We must plant the sea and herd its animals using the sea as farmers instead of hunters. That is what civilization is all about - farming replacing hunting."
--Jacques Yves Cousteau

As I've mentioned multiple times before, the U.S. imports approximately 91% of the seafood that is consumed. That is an astounding statistic and it is imperative that we consume much more domestic seafood, for numerous reasons which I have also repeated on this blog. In addition, about 50% of the seafood we consume is from aquaculture, despite the fact that aquaculture often receives a bad rap. Some people outright dismiss farmed raised seafood, generally based on outdated information, and the media doesn't help, preferring to print scare stories about the dangers of aquaculture, rather than discussing the many success stories.

In fact, aquaculture has been improving for years, and is continuing to work towards greater sustainability. And it has improved far more than the horrendous factory farms often raising chickens, pigs, and cattle. It is bizarre to hear people tell me they won't eat farmed salmon, but they will still eat pork from factory farms without any issue. It is largely due to ignorance and misinformation of the actual facts.

In 2012, the U.S. produced about 594 million pounds of aquaculture seafood, both freshwater and marine, valued at about $1.2 billion. We have seen a steady growth in aquaculture since 2007, roughly 8% each year. However, the volume of aquaculture is only about 6% of the wild catch so there is much room for growth. The top U.S. marine aquaculture species by volume is Atlantic salmon with oysters as a close second. By value though, oysters take the top spot with salmon in second. Oysters are very sustainable and as they are filter feeders, they actually enhance the waters. There is no reason why we shouldn't increase oyster production in the U.S.

"Oysters are the most tender and delicate of all seafoods. The stay in bed all day and night. They never work or take exercise, are stupendous drinkers, and wait for their meals to come to them."
--Hector Bolitho

In Rhode Island, their top aquaculture product is oysters and the 2015 Annual Status Report of the Coastal Resources Management Council provided some interesting statistics concerning aquaculture in that state. There are now 61 aquaculture farms, up from 55, and the total area under cultivation is about 241 acres, a 17% increase from the prior year. The number of aquaculture farm workers also increased 20% from 142 to 171. About 8.2 million oysters were sold for consumption, an increase of 18% since 2013. Only about 47,000 Hard Clams were sold while the Blue Mussel harvest was nearly 16,000 pounds. It is great to see such growth.

Recently, I was invited on a media day-trip to southern Rhode Island, a culinary exploration, and our primary destination was the Matunuck Oyster Bar in South Kingston. Matunuck is both an oyster farm and restaurant, and we got to tour the fascinating farm as well as enjoy a delicious lunch of seafood specialities, including raw oysters. If you enjoy seafood, or are concerned about sustainability, you should tour an oyster farm, to get educated about its operations. And Matunuck runs free public tours so this presents an excellent opportunity to see how oysters (and scallops) are raised.

Our guide was Perry Raso, the owner of Matunuck, who was down-to-earth, passionate about aquaculture and clearly a very hard worker. He never seemed to slow down and even mentioned offhand that on his vacations, he generally is traveling to other places to help them establish oyster farms. He comes across as humble and sincere, answering all of your questions quite freely. In addition, he lives on the property, in a 300 year old house which is allegedly haunted and which Perry claims is very "creepy."

When Perry was 12 years old, he used to dig littlenecks in Point Judith Pond, and this was the start of his love for the ocean and seafood. He would continue in the following years to collect seafood, whether eel trapping or scuba diving for steamers. He eventually earned a Masters degree in Aquaculture & Fisheries Technology from URI and did some teaching. In 2002, his interests led to him establishing the Matunuck Oyster Farm in Potter Pond (formerly known as Fish Pond), a saltwater pond, and eventually starting a restaurant in 2009. Interestingly, Perry stated that he "doesn't do what he loves but it is simply the best way he knows to make a living."

Potter Pond, which extends about 3/4 of a mile, is the only inlet that leads into an estuary and about 6.9 acres are cultivated for seafood, including oysters, little neck clams and most recently, scallops. Perry spent a little time discussing the benefits of aquaculture and how shellfish are sustainable. He also explained some of the reasons why Potter Pond worked so well, such as that its natural protections prevent the waters from being subjected to many disruptive waves, which could adversely affect the oyster farms.

Perry purchased 20 million oyster seeds from a hatchery, noting that when the water temperature rises to a certain degree, oysters breed and the female oyster can release as many as 8 million eggs. Oysters are capable of changing sex, even multiple times, during their lifetime though over 90% of oysters, after three years, are female. Perry grows the seeds in mesh bags which can hold about 2000 oysters. The seeds will grow for about 2-3 years before they can be harvested. Each year, they harvest about 1.2 million oysters, about 15% of the total oyster production in Rhode Island, and they continue to expand and grow, even selling some oyster seeds to others.

In the oyster farm, there is some gear which is set in place while others are floating, and generally, each section has 42 rows with 100 bags each. They grow Matunuck Oysters as well as Potter Moons, with the Matunuck being sweeter while the Potter's tend to be more briny. About 10%-15% of their production constitute Potter Moons, which grow on the sea floor. They harvest to order and use the empty shells for restoration projects with the Nature Conservancy.

A view of the back of the restaurant from the boat which takes you on a tour of the oyster farm.

The greatest challenge that Perry faces with his farm is trying to increase the amount of oysters. He needs to deal with their high mortality rates, parasites and predators, including starfish and mud crabs.

Once we reached one of the farming spots, Perry jumped into the water to show us the mesh bags and oysters. This picture gives a good perspective of the size of the mesh bags.

These were tiny oysters that he took out of the bag.

And a much closer view of one of the growing oysters.

These are some of the floating gear bags.

Again, the size of the bags is the same though these seem to have more vegetation atop the bags.

Perry is also cultivating Bay Scallops, having served the first ones at his restaurant in March.  Despite the high popularity of scallops, their cultivation hasn't yet caught on in Rhode Island and Perry is a pioneer in this respect. However, he notes that scallop farming is more difficult than oysters as the scallops are more finicky and don't winter well. With more experience and experimentation, he should be able to produce more scallops and maybe some other Rhode Island aquaculture operations will start raising scallops too.

These are some of the growing scallops.

This machine sorts the oysters by size, kind of like how a coin machine operates to separate dimes from nickels and quarters.

Crates of sorted oysters.

In addition to the shellfish farms, Perry also started an organic vegetable and fruit farm about 4 years ago. The produce is mostly used in his restaurant.

You'll find a variety of produce being grown, including peas, strawberries, kale, tomatoes, rainbow chard, beets, spinach, asparagus and more.

Many thanks to Perry for taking the time to show us his oyster and scallops farms, and best wishes for the future. It was a fascinating and informative tour and highly recommended to anyone visiting Rhode Island. Understanding the source of your food is beneficial and learning the benefits of aquaculture is also beneficial.

Eat more domestic Seafood! Eat more Oysters!

Kane's Donuts: Whiskey Glazed to Gluten-Free Donuts

Donuts can be such a hedonistic pleasure, especially when they are made by small, independent shops who truly care about crafting a tasty donut. The large chains cannot compete in quality and taste with these small shops. I've been a fan of Kane’s Donuts, located in Saugus, for many years, savoring their fresh donuts and their huge (and scrumptious) Coffee Roll. Kane's is an institution, known across the country for their donuts, and it is deserving of its accolades.

Kane’s Donuts was opened in 1955 by Peter and Kay Delios, and now is operated by five of their children. It has expanded in size since its initial opening and you can eat inside or on their outside patio. There is also a parking lot located next to the donut shop though when it's busy, that lot will be full so you have to park on the street. It's a casual spot, an intimate neighborhood place where you'll find plenty of regulars sitting at the tables, sipping coffee and enjoying donuts. If you can't make it to Saugus, there is now a second location, Kane's Handcrafted Donuts, in Boston's Financial District, on the corner of Oliver and High Street inside International Place.

Their donuts and other baked goods use quality ingredients, including fresh local eggs, butter & cream from a local dairy, organic honey from a local beekeeper, locally milled flour, real nuts and fresh fruits, Applewood smoked bacon, pure Vermont maple syrup, imported Swiss chocolate and more.

The Menu has plenty to offer, with Donuts costing $2 each. You will also find Muffins ($2.75), Cupcakes ($3.85), and Pastries ($2.75).  If you want a Breakfast Sandwich, on a croissant, bagel or English muffin, you can get an Egg & Cheese ($3.95) or add Bacon/Sausage ($4.95). They even have Bakery Pizza for $3.00 a slice.

These two trays display the various Donut flavors you can find, some which are regularly stocked while others are seasonal or limited editions. Whatever your Donut preference, you'll find a flavor that will appeal to you.

They also offer a few Gluten-Free varieties, of which I'll mention more later in this post.

These are some of the Cupcakes and other Pastries which are available, and those Cupcakes are quite large.

And this is the famous (or maybe infamous) Coffee Roll ($12.95). It is about the size of a hubcap, ready to feed several people (or one ravenous person who might need a doctor afterwards). With a sweet glaze, the coffee roll is fresh and soft, rich with cinnamon. The center of the roll is the best part, loaded with cinnamon, and you might have to fight your family or friends to have it. You can also get a smaller, more individual-sized Coffee roll for only $4.00.

For the month of June, Kane's Donuts is offering three special flavors. From left to right, you have Butter Pecan, Devil’s Food Chocolate Sea Salted Caramel, and Battle Cry Whiskey Glazed. The donuts went on sale yesterday and I was invited for a media visit to check out these new flavors. In addition, I got to try one of their Gluten Free donuts as well.

The Butter Pecan Donut is a yeast donut, topped by a creamy frosting and covered with pecan pieces. The donut itself is light and fresh, smeared with a decadent frosting that reminded me of an excellent butter pecan ice cream. The pecans added a nice texture, as well as additional flavor.  When you get frosted donuts at the large chains, the frosting is usually hard and rarely soft and gooey. This is not the case with this Butter Pecan, which has a frosting you might find on a freshly made cake. Definitely recommended.

The Devil’s Food Chocolate Sea Salted Caramel Donut was absolutely delicious. It is a cake donut, with a firm texture and a tasty dark chocolate flavor. This donut also had a creamy frosting with a bright caramel flavor, enhanced by the crunchy salt sprinkled atop the donut. I love the combination of sweet and salty, especially with chocolate, and this donut succeeds well in presenting a hedonistic pleasure. Highly recommended.

The Battle Cry Whiskey Glazed Donut is a special collaboration between Kane's Donuts and Sons of Liberty Spirits, intended to be a special treat for Father's Day. Located in Rhode Island, Sons of Liberty produces whiskies made from special beers, as well as seasonal whiskies. For this donut, they offered their Battle Cry Whiskey, which begins as a Belgian-style ale. Back in 2014, I tasted their Battle Cry and found it smooth and easy drinking, with a nice complexity of flavors and plenty of spice and a mild sweetness. It's a pleasant sipping whiskey that would also make some tasty cocktails.

Kane's boiled down the whiskey, to cook out most of the alcohol, and then blended it with sugar, honey and butter to create a special glaze for one of their yeast donuts. Again, the donut was light and fresh, and the glaze was sweet, though not overly so, with very subtle flavors, and possibly a whisper of whiskey flavor. I would have preferred a stronger whiskey flavor in the donut. With its mild flavors, this donut didn't compare as well to the other two donuts which were more vibrant with flavor. The concept of this donut is appealing but the execution didn't follow through sufficiently. As this was only the donut's first day in the shop, maybe they will work on the recipe to make the whiskey taste more prominent.

Finally, I tried one of their Gluten Free Chocolate Coconut Donuts. This is another cake donut but it has a different texture, a softer one, than the Devil's Food donut. It possesses a rich chocolate flavor with plenty of sweet coconut. As a big fan of coconut, I really enjoyed this donut and though it lacks gluten, it certainly doesn't lack any flavor. The texture may be different but that doesn't lessen the quality or taste of the donut, and some people will prefer this softer style. Highly recommended.

If you haven't visited Kane's Donuts, you need to make the trip there and sample their delicious donuts or maybe go for one of those massive coffee rolls. The donuts are produced from quality ingredients and taste fresh and delicious. For the month of June, you can check out their three special donuts and then get ready for whatever specials come in July. I need to return there soon too, especially as I want to try their pizza. Maybe I'll see you there.