Chopbiscuit on the road dining review: Al Forno - Providence, RI

Welcome (again) to another delightful ad hoc Chopbiscuit inspection of some of the USA's most frequented saloons, dining halls, dive bars, food trucks, in-room dining and high end bistro's. At least one of your humble contributors is on the road virtually every week and luckily have the opportunity to dine at some of the finest institutions and loathsome watering holes known to man. Now and then we had a hope that if we lived and were good, some deity would permit us to be pirates and savage our nutriment.

We like eating. It fascinates us. We sit and look at the food for hours. We often eat while laying down in my hotel room with a bib in my lap and my outlook calendar open. Eating is our tweeting, except it's much cooler. Food is often made into the celebrity of carnage, which makes us appear to be pompous and scarce in regards to the act of eating itself. You eat because you fuel. We eat because we're hungry. We eat because it's our job. We go out to these establishments to consume their lineups with arrogance.

I then judge it. (Poncho Sinatra style)

Al Forno
577 South Main Street
Providence, RI
401.273.9760

Greetings, it's been awhile. How is everybody post #earthquakeapocolypse? I just returned home after a long weekend celebrating our first wedding anniversary with my wife in Rhode Island. Did you know it's not really an island? On our way out to our final destination in Newport, we stopped in Providence and had the opportunity to stop at the renown Al Forno restaurant. This place is regarded as the first restaurant in the country to celebrate grilled pizza over hardwood charcoal. Also, it's regarded as one of the 100 best restaurants in the country for 2011.

From the excerpt:

Husband-and-wife owner-chefs George Germon and Johanne Killeen recently  received the Insegna del Ristorante Italiano from the Italian government, a rare honor for Americans, attributable to their informed passion for pasta along with their invention of the grilled pizza. They also, though, aim the culinary spotlight on Rhode Island's defining vegetables — corn, squash, beans, and tomatoes — prepared simply, with the authentic Italian panache one would expect of multiple James Beard honorees.

What I ingested:

Let's just skip everything else and talk about the famous Al Forno pizza. As a pizza lover, obviously one of my courses was going to be one of their famous flatbread creations. We chose the Grilled pizza with native corn (pomodoro, two cheeses and spicy oil). I always rate the flatbread pizza on tenderness and flakiness of the crust. The crust should also have some nice charring, with a slightly smoky note from the oven or grill. With the heat in a hardwood charcoal grill getting up to 900 degrees Fahrenheit, this crust was absolute perfection. The sweetness of the corn was offset by the cracklin' crust and heat from the spicy olive oil. A perfect combination of richness and soft cheese rounded the pie out. This may have been one of the best flatbread pizza's I've ever ate. Chris Bianco of Pizzeria Bianco in Phoenix would have to tip the cap to this East coast rival.

Design and Concept:

 

Johanne Killeen and George Germon have earned untouchable status for their artfully simple and cerebral renditions of food rooted in the various regional cuisines of Italy and Southern France, re-crafted and re-imagined to integrate the products of New England farms and waters into their simple yet sophisticated menu. Matching the quality of their food is the environment they've created in the restaurant. In summer there is a lot of al fresco seating in their amazing garden settings, but we noticed many patrons liked the open bar the best. It is set back of the garden, but open to the fresh evening air. Inside, the very attentive staff are very efficient and graceful in the warm - turned over factory. Greenery gives the high ceilings a warm and comforting feel that completes the sense of space and sufficient elbow room for large parties.

When you're in Providence, this place is a must.