What's for dinner? The same old homemade dishes or take your chances on delivery? Things are easing up so to speak in these troubling and uncertain times yet each day it's still a struggle to fill our bellies with something different from the old stand byes and family favorites. The WBOB team lend their opinions and thoughts to help ,you sort through all the many and delicious delivery and take out options. Kelly Doran WBOB Writer & Executive Producer Let's be honest, most of us have turned to food during the Rhode Island Lock Down. My pants can corroborate that yes, this is true for me too. I live "out far" - in RI terms that means North Scituate, whose take out and delivery options pre Lock Down were slim. As the State closed, those restaurants that could not run due to the crisis, closed their doors. One restaurant remained open for take out and delivery: Expresso's Pizza right in Johnston. Open for over 30 years, (I'd know because 3 Generations have sat in the same wooden high chair that sits in the corner of the restaurant. Literally everyone and my cousin in this situation). Expresso's serves home made goodness and what you see is what you get. It's not fancy, there is no tasting menu or anything in that realm of dining. It's comfort food that does it's job every time, way beyond just pizza as well. My go to is their stuffed shells, side of house made meatballs and sausage. Oh and their Fish and Chips on Fridays. Oh and their Steak and Cheese. Oh and their Spinach Pies. OH and they have SWEET POTATO FRIES. And adding a pizza to every order, even when you get their Chicken Salad Plate, is tradition. I've been ordering in a lot don't judge. Scott Rotondo WBOB Personality Being a connoisseur of all things Pawtucket, I am throwing a curve ball here and telling everyone that my family's favorite place to order take out during the pandemic is right over the border in North Providence: Twins Pizza. Twins is an institution in my part of the state, their pizzas are always a hit no matter the size or the toppings (personally I get mine with pepperonis and anchovies) and the service is top notch. Even their in-person dining (pre-COVID) is a great experience, with the mini-jukeboxes at the tables just like we had when we went out with our patents as kids. Their pizza is best ordered well done, and it puts to shame any chain you can think of - in fact, I would almost put it up against the pizza artists in the Windy City of Chicago. Check them out if you can, you're supporting a great local business and I promise you, you will become a fan! Joe Ferro Executive Producer & Personality Anyone know what day it is? I sure don’t, having almost missed my deadline for this story. For someone who used to order out alot before this whole mess started I’ve only ordered from a couple places. Today I decided to order from Wings on 5 in Johnston, RI. Having fully intended to take a nice drive over and pick it up as it was a warm, sunny, I am still the lazy American that I am so I hit their webpage and saw a delivery option from Door Dash but thinking to myself I would rather hand the money to the hard working people at Wings on 5, I decided to phone them up. Patrick answered and was extremely nice. I decided to go with the half pound boneless wing meal which came with fries and a drink. I had already spent a bunch of time on their website trying to decide which sauce I wanted to go with as they have a ton! Ranging from mild all the way up to Death Wish, which has about a dozen fire emojis and a warning below it. I chose the Red Bourbon BBQ which looked to be about a 3 fire emoji, plus anyone who knows me knows I like bourbon and BBQ so was kind of a no brainer for me. Throw in a side of blue cheese just in case these were a little hotter than advertised and I was good. But wait. I remember that Wings on 5 also has a great craft beer selection, and you can get beer to go, I asked Patrick for a suggestion on what IPA’s they had. He suggested Exhibit ‘A’s The Cat’s Meow IPA, I said sold and was quoted about 15 minutes. As they’re fairly close to my house I took the back road and arrived right at the 15 mark. Patrick, who was wearing a Buttonwoods Brewery mask which automatically scores points with us at WBOB, had my food ready to rock. Wings on 5 recently celebrated their one year anniversary of the new ownership. New full bar, where before it was only beer, some outdoor seating, and new menu items were all part of the new ownership. I hopped back in the car and could immediately smell the wings. Once back home I cracked open my bag and dove in and was greeted with perfectly done boneless wings in a sweet and tangy sauce. I do eat a lot of spicy stuff so I wasn’t expecting to have my face melted but it was just the right amount of spice. Let’s just say a half pound of wings didn't last very long as I loved them and shoveled them down like the fat kid I am. Along with my wings I got a bag of crispy seasoned fries and washed it down with a damn tasty IPA on my front steps in the sun. Overall price for my meal was about $17 for a half pound of wings, bag of fries, soda and a 16 ounce craft beer. I will definitely be heading back soon as I want to try some more of their specialty sauces, especially the burn my face off ones. Check them out at wingson5.com and on facebook for all types of wings, craft burgers, ribs and more! Ryan L. Fox WBOB Writer & Personality Well it seems that when the stove is not hopping, I am going for some takeout during this time of self-quarantine and lockdown. One of the go-to takeout places I’ve been hitting up the most recently is a little Thai restaurant in my own backyard of Smithfield called Mai Thai. Located right near the Smithfield Ice ring, it was the go-to spot for me when I was recovering from COVID-19 and going through the self-isolation process. Ever since then, I have been hitting up this restaurant at least 2-3 times a week. Though I’ve sampled some of the menu items from Mai Thai, the go-to choice for my dinner takeout was a what some might say a 3-course menu. The rule I go by is ‘Go big or go starve’ and I go big each and every time. For appetizers, I went with the chicken satay, which is chicken marinated in a variety of spices and juices such as turmeric, lime juice, garlic, ginger, and more on a wooden skewer. The chicken was so juicy, it was practically falling off the skewer. Then for the main course, you can’t go wrong with some good ol’ pad thai. Rice noodles with chick, shrimp, and eggs is just what this fox was craving. Then the last part of this 3-course meal is the soup course, and nothing says yum-yum like Tom Yom soup. A broth-based soup with a little spice to it, it can come in either chicken or shrimp. Although I am a big fan of chicken, I always went with the shrimp when it comes to Tom Yom. Cannot go wrong with that. Read More 990WBOB |
WBOB
|