Hangry Kitchen
The decor is kind of quirky. The vibe is quite happy. And the food is incredibly tasty. So if you happen to be a bit ‘hangry’ they’ve got the cure at Hangry Kitchen.
Brand new to Pawtucket, Rhode Island, Hangry Kitchen is a warm welcoming 38-seat spot where chef-owner Stacy Deetz pays homage to everything she loves, on the walls and on the plates.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “We call it a new American Bistro, or aka my love letter to New England. So you're gonna get a lot of New England flair with global influences. The vibe in here is if a 40 year old decided they wanted to go back and be a 15 year old in the 90s. Me. So it's bright, it's colorful. There's lots to look at. We have framed vintage comic books, we have some vintage stuff that's like from the Wizard of Oz, and local art that just kind of makes us feel like kids again.”
Stacy grew up in Massachusetts and made a name for herself cooking at some of the Boston area’s best restaurants. And now that she owns her own place, she’s trying to run it her own way.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “I never wanted to open my own restaurant. But the industry is starting to go in a direction that no one really likes anymore. And this is my way of sort of fixing that. And I said, I'm going to open a restaurant, I'm going find a way to take care of my staff as well as take care of my guests. Because that's what hospitality is.”
And you’ll feel that hospitality the second you step through the door. Because Hangry Kitchen strives to be the quintessential come-as-you-are neighborhood spot.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “You don't have to be fancy about it. You can come in and you can have really good food and really good drinks in a casual and relaxed manner. And not worry about if you're wearing the right thing or if it's too loud or if you're too loud. Who cares? Just come in and have fun and eat good food.”
Much of the menu here focuses on small plates, made to share, and that’s a good thing, because you’re gonna want to try just about everything. Especially the Hasselback Sweet Potatoes with savory garlic marshmallow.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “We’re taking these baby sweet potatoes, and we're making these little tiny slices in them and roasting them with sage and brown butter. And then once they're nice and soft, we top them with a house made garlic marshmallow and brulee that over it, so it melts onto the sweet potato and becomes really really awesome.”
Equally awesome are the Bacon & Squash Dumplings, each one painstakingly filled, folded, and fried to perfection.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “It 100% is a labor intensive process, but we have fun with it. And what it is, it’s a dumpling wrapper that's filled with a honeynut squash and bacon puree and served over a butterscotch miso sauce with a burnt orange drizzle. It tastes like heaven on earth.”
For a fresh take on a French Fry, check out these inventively addictive Fricco Fries.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “Fricco Fires are a savory churro piped out into the size of regular French Fries. But the churro is like 80% cheese. So you have this crispy, rich little fry, and it's nice and light and airy also. So it really messes with your mind saying, ‘oh my god, is that a French Fry? What is that?’ It's amazing.”
If you’re truly hangry when you come to Hangry Kitchen, some of the bigger plates are probably what you’re looking for, and the Chef's Patty Melt is sure to satisfy.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “I love Patty melts. I think if they're done right, they're fantastic. We use a special blend of brisket, short rib and chuck. We sear it real nice on the flat top. We make our own rye bread that we also put on the flat top to get nice and crispy with Muenster cheese. And then we slap it all together with slow roasted ketchup tomatoes, and our house made bacon jam. It’s bacon. It's delicious.”
Other options include the Rhode Island Jambalaya, mixing Southern flavors with Northern ingredients like linguica, local clams, and Blue Hill Bay mussels. Then there are the Peppercorn Butter Steak Tips, and old school take on a New England favorite.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “We serve prime Brant beef steak tips that are crusted with a mushroom spice and then they're seared on the flat top and when they're done cooking, they get tossed with a molasses and black pepper butter, and all of those things together sort of emulate the old timey bar steak tip where it's sweet, it's peppery, and it has some sauce to it. And we serve it over aligot potatoes which is just a really fancy way of saying I want cheese with a little bit of potatoes in them. Super cheesy potatoes and our green bean casserole. That is a stick to your belly kind of dinner, that is a I'm gonna eat this dinner, I'm gonna have a beer, and then I'm going to bed kind of dinner.”
But of everything on the Hangry Kitchen menu, it’s a chicken dish that Stacy turns to when she’s feeling hangry.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “My favorite thing on the menu is our chicken dish. It's a beautiful dish of panko and parmesan crusted chicken that’s served with a black pepper biscuit and roasted vegetables. And when you eat this dish I want you to feel like home. I want you to feel a sense of comfort in your belly that you only really get from, you know, your mother's kitchen or your grandmother's kitchen, or even your own kitchen. But instead you're in my kitchen.”
And you can’t leave Stacy’s kitchen without dessert, like the Rice Pudding with poached pears, candied walnuts, and cranberry reduction, or the buzzworthy Rhode Island Coffee Milk Trifle.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “We make this rich chocolate cake that we crumble up. And then we top that with coffee milk pastry cream. And then top that with coffee chocolate ganache, which is then again topped with whipped cream, and finished with some more chocolate cake.”
And that is a sweet way to go from ‘hangry’ to happy.
Stacy Deetz – Chef/Owner, Hangry Kitchen: “You just come to Hangry Kitchen because you want to have a good time, because you want to smile, because you want to feel welcome, and because you want your belly to be super full.”
