Culinaria: Feast With New Friends At Kevin's Galley

If you're calling that stew of tomatoes and clams "Manhattan-style chowder," you got the story wrong. That rich, red delicacy was invented right here in Rhode Island.

The credit goes to a Portuguese cook whose name is long
forgotten, an immigrant who reached Little Rhody at least a century ago. He (or she) sampled some creamy chowder, and then changed the ingredients to create something that recalled old-country comfort food. The new recipe delighted some Yankees, but others called it an assault on tradition. There could be only one New England chowder, they said, and dismissed the tomato-clam concoction as
"something from New York."

Like so many Rhode Islanders, chef Gary McLaughlin is confused on that issue. He says he never heard the story. But that's alright, because he heard the recipe, and he mastered it. At Kevin's Galley, the Woonsocket restaurant he purchased five months ago, he serves up both chowders, the red and the white, and both will make you forget about taxes and traffic and winter snow. You may even vow to never leave New England.

"Red chowder is very popular here, but the white does very well, too," the chef says when asked which recipe his customers prefer. "Add some clam cakes with either and you've got a classic lunch."

On Wednesday, Aug. 17, diners will be able to dip their spoons in both bowls. McLaughlin will be serving up a buffet that includes baked scrod, fish and chips, and other local seafood favorites. Beer and wine will be available. And during the meal the chef will teach his guests to prepare another regional dish, New England fish cakes.

What's the occasion? Kevin's Galley is the latest stop on an ongoing  food tour organized by the Blackstone Valley Tourism Council, a group the pitches northern Rhode Island's attractions to both visitors and local.

Food tours are currently in vogue in hip cities around the country, but the BVTC effort is something different. In most locales, participants spend an afternoon moving from one eatery to the next, noshing as
they go. In the Blackstone Valley, the food tour resumes every Wednesday evening, stopping at just one restaurant each week, with the destination ever changing. Guests enjoy a meal and a cooking demonstration. The cost: usually about $20.

Now in its second year, the food tour, known as the Culinaria or The Secret Ingredient Tour, is an unqualified hit. For many locals it has become a regular night out. They've found more things to love about the region they call home, and they've become instant friends with those who've shared their table.

"We started last year when I read it in the Woonsocket Call, and it has been love ever since," says Deb Moroney of Pascoag, a frequent participant.

"We love the different ethnic restaurants," adds Jim Moroney, her husband. "The restaurants encourage you to participate in the demonstrations, which I love."

Maija Lutz of Smithfield says the tour has introduced her and her husband to restaurants they would not have discovered on her own. "We like the mix of new attendees and regulars," she adds. "It is always a fun evening!"

The food tour will make several stops in Woonsocket this year. In April they gathered at , housed in an old stone mill downtown. That night guests enjoyed "birched chicken," a recipe invented at the now-defunct Bellingham restaurant MA Glockner's, and now available only at River Falls. The chef showed diners how to make the famous cinnamon rolls that have always accompanied the dish.

The group will return to the city on Oct. 19 to enjoy Mexican food at on Cass Avenue. There will be stops in other cities before that. Some highlights from the schedule: Plouffe’s Cup and
Saucer in Pawtucket on Aug. 24; Enn Japanese in Lincoln on Aug. 31; Bob and Timmy’s Grilled Pizza in North Smithfield on Sept. 7; The Lodge in Lincoln on Sept. 14; The Village in Pawtucket on Sept. 21; Cricket's Restaurant in Smithfield on Sept. 28; and Jaswell's Farm in Smithfield on Oct. 12.

"Many of restaurants we visit are family-owned," says Donna Houle, the BVTC staffer who organizes the events. "Often they serve ethnic food or something unique to the region. Everything's delicious. The goal is to encourage everyone to come back."

, with a traditional New England seafood menu, is a typical destination. The restaurant has been a Woonsocket landmark for more than 30 years. McLaughlin, who's worked at many local eateries through the years, purchased the business when the previous owners retired at the end of 2010.

"Fish and chips are still the most popular item, but I've added a few things," the chef says. "We have a lobster roll, and prime rib for those who don't eat fish."

Though the food tour has never stopped at Kevin's Galley before, regulars know and savor McLaughlin's cooking. He catered a previous
food tour even at The Pillsbury House, the North End bed and breakfast run by WNRI's Roger Bouchard.

McLaughlin's been a booster of the food tour ever since. "It's a great way to sample different restaurants and maybe try something you haven't tried before," he says. "And you really experience this melting pot we call the Blackstone Valley."

McLaughlin already has a crowd signed up for Wednesday night's buffet, but a few seats are still available. Tickets are $19.50, and
can be purchased online at the BVTC website, at www.blackstoneculinaria.com. The restaurant address is 112 Brock Street, but customers enter the lot from Clinton Street. Dinner begins at 6 p.m.