Italian. Portuguese. Irish. Polish. Greek. French. African. Spanish. Native American.
There aren't many people in the state of Rhode Island who can say they are ALL of these different nationalities. However, around ever street corner there is something different to eat from various groups of nationalities (like the ones listed above). A lot of Rhode Islanders didn't take the chance before with going out of their comfort zone to find new foods, they stuck to what they knew. Most people figure going to the smallest state in the country there isn't much space so we all have to be somewhat similar. Although, this couldn't be any more incorrect.
That's where I'm from, East Providence, Rhode Island or more publicly known as 'little Portugal'. My whole life growing up in East Providence I have known summers to be about quahogs, caçoila, and malassadas. I'm pretty sure you're probably asking yourself what the heck is that? Yes, I am a very large chunk Portuguese (hence where the Portuguese words came in). When I was younger my summer days began at 7AM heading out into Narragansett Bay on the boat with my father and grandfather. I always knew these were going to be the longest days but somehow, someway we made them fun and unique. We'd stay in the bay until about 3PM and dig for 'quahogs'. Not being from Rhode Island you most likely have no idea what that is. A quahog is more or less a hard shell clam. Personally, I find them delicious although if you aren't from the area they may require a certain taste. We would dig until we had hundreds of clams and head home.
Back at my grandmothers, her and my mother would be busy making tons and tons of food as if they were feeding an army. A speciality my grandmother would make is caçoila. Which actually is just pulled pork in a special delicious Portuguese rub/sauce in a bun. For desert, she would have the malassadas made up perfectly to flatter any taste bud. The most common description of a malassada, is a Portuguese Doughboy. However, don't be fooled they do not taste anything like a classic American Carnival doughboy (they're ten times better). Between these three food items alone we would have leftovers for weeks, not to mention we would be stuffed the rest of the night.
Located in the heart of Rhode Island, our capitol, Providence there was a new up and coming festival, 'The Roger Williams Food Truck Festival'. This specific festival runs through the coarse of June and July in historical Roger Williams Park. It offers a wide variety of food, all from food trucks all from all different areas of Rhode Island. Living in East Providence my entire life I hadn't ever had the opportunity to try Korean, Polish, Greek or any different types of food. This festival speaks volumes not only of how amazing our food is here in Rhode Island but also how diverse we are. To this very day there are 32 different trucks that participate in this event ranging from salads, noodles, burgers and other varied food items. Specific cities and towns most definitely cluster specific nationalities but this is an event where we can come together and show one another what may different and unique things we have to offer.
“Food is our common ground, a universal experience.”
James Beard (1903-1985)
