“Little Friend is not a restaurant,” says Andrew McQuesten. “It’s not a pop-up. It’s a dinner party for people to come and bring their friends, hopefully meet new people, and then go and tell their friends all about it.” McQuesten and Stephen Sternkopf, both former chefs of Downtown’s now-closed north., curate five-course menus and camaraderie through this concept, which fits seamlessly into Providence’s post-COVID cravings for fine dining paired with social experiences.
Because dinners are attended by a set number of guests, McQuesten and Sternkopf are able to control the flow of the experience, and create locally sourced dishes using elevated techniques they may not be able to achieve in a faster-paced service model. “We also like to use color when we can,” says McQuesten. “For instance, in our first menu, we started with a bright red/pink dish, our crudo dressed with preserved cherry blossoms, and ended the meal the same way with a beet mousse.” Little Friend currently offers one seating a night Wednesdays and Fridays, but will move to just Fridays in June. Follow @littlefriendpvd and DM for open seats.
When food-loving couple Julia and Irvin Dominguez moved to Rhode Island, they saw the potential to create a concept that combined their shared passions for cooking and making connections. They hosted their first event as The Dinner Club in 2023, “not knowing what to expect,” says Julia. “To our amazement, the response was overwhelming. The warmth and support we’ve received from the community has been beyond anything we could have imagined.”
Themed dinners range from “Weenies and ‘Tinis” to “Apres Ski” and everything in between. The Dominguezes are inspired by seasonality when developing menus that embrace a variety of cuisine styles, from traditional carne asada and citrus-forward meals in the summer to hearty soups and fondue in the winter. For the adventure-seeker, destination dinners have crossed state lines, with a Vermont retreat planned for this summer. Says Julia, “our vision was simple: to make lasting friendships through great food, fun drinks, and shared experiences.” A website is in the works; in the meantime, follow @thedinnerclubri and DM for first-come, first-served bookings.
Long Live Beerworks hosted their inaugural Tavern Night in March, a festive fete embracing Irish pub culture for St. Patrick’s Day, with a feast provided by Brother & Moffat and tunes from The Vox Hunters. It was the beginning of a convivial taproom series pulling inspiration from a number of sources – books, movies, history, even role-playing games – that sees the concept of a tavern as “not just a place for gathering, but also the beginning of an adventure,” says taproom manager Veronica Pesak. “In inviting guests on this journey with us, we ask them to step outside their comfort zone; seating is communal, the beers are already set, and we take care of all the details.”
This translates to a multi-course meal (the first event featured dark cherry and herb-glazed Cornish hen) paired with craft brews from Long Live Beerworks, and maybe “some surprises from the cellar’s secret stash,” says Pesak, who shares that a series of Tavern Nights are on tap. “We hope to feature other cultures and traditions of the tavern.” Follow @longlivebeerworks for the next Tavern Night, a ticketed event, or visit LongLiveBeerworks.com.
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