When I was asked to write about my favorite date spot in Rhode Island for Valentine’s Day, I immediately knew which restaurant to write about.
Cook and Dagger is located in Greenville. Before you start whining that Greenville sounds like it’s too far away, rest assured that Cook and Dagger is about a 15-minute drive from downtown Providence. Yup, only 15 minutes. It took me 15 minutes to get from my apartment at Regency Plaza to Antonio’s on Thayer St, and those locations are both within the Providence city limits. Don’t let your loose understanding of Greenville (and your inner-monologue saying “I think I know where Greenville is…”) deter you from this hidden gem. I made the same mistake for too long.
When I scroll through my Instagram feed (@discountchuck if you’re interested in more restaurant recommendations and nonstop podcast promotion), I’m most excited to see new local food options. In my opinion, the best Instagram account to follow for suggestions is @RIFoodFights, and long ago RIFF posted about Cook and Dagger. I remember it like it was yesterday. The first post was a picture of truffle Parmesan wings that looked amazing. The second was a picture of smoked duck ramen — I immediately took a screenshot for later reference.
But, like oh-so-many other Rhode Islanders, I foolishly let the weeks slip by as I decided not to take the “trek” to Greenville. Finally on a fateful Monday afternoon, I went to Southwick Zoo with my girlfriend Gina and two of the snootiest snoots I know: Lou and Laura, the Perellas. I realized we were driving through Greenville and spoke up, “Hey there’s a restaurant around here that looks awesome. It’s called Cook and Dagger!” We agreed to go.
C&D describe themselves as serving “modern, new American fare in a casual environment.” The menu is the perfect mix of comfortable and inviting. It’s stacked with dishes that the casual diner would feel comfortable with, but with accompanying descriptions and twists that will send a tingle down the spines of your taste buds! Yes, your taste buds have spines. Google it. (Please don’t Google it.)
The description of the calamari reads, “with Gastro’s chorizo, roasted garlic vinaigrette, grilled onion and peppadew aioli.” BOOM! We ordered it immediately! The description of the crispy Brussels sprouts? They’re served with “goat cheese, pickled onions and lemon caper aioli.” BAM! Two orders!
It continued that way. We got the deviled eggs, the fish tacos, the pork sandwich — and upon finding out that Cook and Dagger offers wings du jour consistently (yes, different wings every day) we immediately put in an order of their Ceasar salad wings.
I do not hesitate to make the following statement: The calamari I ate at Cook and Dagger is my favorite calamari of all-time. The wings were excellent. The deviled eggs were perfect. The Brussels sprouts, once hated enemies of my 8-year-old self, now felt like longtime friends who bathed my tongue and stomach with flavorful forbidden love. I knew Gina and I thought the meal was excellent. I looked over at Lou and Laura, who all-too-often turn up their noses when it comes to food. This time, they had body parts pointing toward the air alright … their collective four thumbs*.
If you have a date planned with a special someone, and you haven’t been to Cook and Dagger, it is my number one recommendation as the place to go. Make that (surprisingly short) drive to Greenville to check them out immediately, and prepare to leave kicking yourself for not going sooner.
*For some reason now I think I remember seeing five thumbs…