With the Easter holiday approaching, many are deciding between dining out to support our amazing local restaurants or enjoying a cozy meal at home with loved ones. Fortunately, Aquidneck Island has fantastic options for both. Thinking of going out? I shared some great reservation ideas on April 7 — some spots may be booked, but it’s still worth checking out!
Hosting at home, though, if that’s your chosen route, can be a joy, vastly simplified and elevated with curated items from our area’s mad-talented small food and beverage purveyors. I’ve got you covered from nibble to side to dessert, including sauces, dressings, bread and bubbles.
Rule number 1: Easter eggs for the kids, deviled eggs for the grownups. While the munchkins are hunting for a basketful of pastel orbs and chocolates, a platter of sunny white and yellow deviled eggs with a glass of fizzy Cremant will get your Easter party off to a hopping start. Skip the boil/peel/pop/mash/fill process and order your eggs from Barnaby Quinn at Le Bec Sucre and Le Bec Sale in Middletown. Then hit the sparkling new Gold’s Wine and Spirits on Valley Road for some sparkling wine.
“You can’t have Easter without bubbles!” said owner Jason Gold. “Cremant has a zesty, fresh, green apple taste, which goes well with deviled eggs, and the (salty-sweetness) of ham. German wines like Rieslings and Gewurztraminers also go well with salty, fatty meats.” Gold’s does tastings every Friday and Saturday, with this week’s sips including the sparklers. Swing by and taste before you buy.
Spinach pies (Spanakopita) are another great appetizer for a meat-based meal, classic to Greek Easter celebrations, and they also go beautifully with Gold’s wine pairing suggestions. Grab them at Nikolas Pizza.
A cheese and cured meat plate is always in order for a group and Bottega Bocconi has the very best, imported directly from Italy, sliced to order. Olives, artichoke hearts and roasted red peppers add a pop of color. For Easter, owner and Bologna native Marco Minieri is preparing his luscious pasta al forno and lasagna recipes in two sizes along with lamb chops, pre-seasoned and ready to roast or grill. Sides like grilled veggies and Bottega’s famous potatoes, mashed with onions and prosciutto, will be in high demand.
Pre-ordering is required for Easter specials and highly recommended for deli/cured meat orders.
As it happens, said Gold, “Italian whites like Gavi and Vermentino also go well with the brunchy-salty foods,” he said. “And for lamb, I’d go with pinot noir or Bordeaux.”
Prepping holiday dishes like lamb can be as much work as actually cooking them, so Le Bec Sale’s Barnaby Quinn came up with his own formula for making it easier. For starters, he’s offering Nicoise, Caesar and red wine velvet vinaigrette dressings, along with garlic and herb sourdough croutons. Coupla containers of organic mixed greens and you’re good to go. For roasts, he’s making both green peppercorn and chimichurri sauces. Season your lamb or beef well with salt and pepper, roast, slice, drizzle. Extra on the side. Boom. Then there’s Quinn’s creamy-dreamy Gratin Dauphinoise, a potato dish that will transport you to Paris. Call to order before Friday. Le Bec Sucre is also the spot for magnificent breads, tarts and pastries of the Gods. For those, you’ll have to get it line (not kidding), but it’s worth it.
Why not think outside the trap? Like the rebels who unabashedly roast a whole filet of beef on Thanksgiving, you, too, can go rogue for Easter. March straight down to the Newport Lobster Shack on Long Wharf and procure a gaggle of fresh lobsters, caught the same morning. Summer now.
Desserts: Provencal for pies; the Sweet Shoppe for cookies, chocolates and other confections; June Love’s English Bakery for British treats; Navad bakery (at the Newport Farmer’s market or in Providence) for mind melting babka and rugelach; and Nikolas Pizza for Baklava.
Finally, if you really want to impress your sweet-toothed fam, top your pie with Get the Scoop’s Cadbury mini egg ice cream. It’s a cereal milk-base, studded with the classic chocolates.
Happy Easter to all!
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