“It’s the essence of what life was like. Look around, hear the music, taste the food and you’ll know.” Is the speaker a historian? A theme park “imagineer”? John Edick may be both. He is a caterer, the owner of Blackstone Catering in Newport.
His team was working on a new feature for Bridgefest, the Newport festival of local music that “bridges” the week between the legendary folk and jazz festivals that bring thousands of music lovers to the City by the Sea each summer.
The idea was to create a Big Band-era supper club for one night with swing music and a menu that matched the era. Edick and local jazz musician Lois Vaughan hoped to re-create the heyday of the Rainbow Room in New York City or, more precisely, the Canfield House in Newport, which was the site of the Jazz Supper Club on July 26. The Canfield House harkens back to the days when there were casinos in Newport and the state did not make a dime from them.
“[We were re-creating] a feel and an era, when people would dine out, dress [up], go out and dance to a big band after dinner,” said Edick.
The menu was historically approximate with a nod to today’s knowledgeable foodie. Back then, a supper club such as the Canfield might have served grilled salmon, Lyonnaise potatoes and a green salad. That was fine dining. Since the advent of the Food Network, the game must be stepped up. So Blackstone’s chefs portioned a whole fresh-caught salmon the day of the event, grilled it with a citrus beurre blanc, sourced Yukon Gold potatoes for the Lyonnaise and arugula and baby greens from local farms to create the salad.
Sourcing ingredients is quite simple these days thanks to the relationships most restaurateurs and some caterers like Blackstone have with local farmers. But re-creating a retro menu requires additional steps. One is research. Edick and his team have experience with catering clients who are seeking an experience with their event. The fresh-salmon service was actually done at the Rainbow Room in Rockefeller Center in New York on a night in 1938. As his research pointed out, however, the menus were less elaborate and detailed. “Lyonnaise potatoes (a French dish of sliced, pan-fried potatoes and thinly sliced onions, sautéed in butter with parsley) were the same in just about every restaurant back then,” he explained.
The supper club featured the Lois Vaughan Jazz Quintet with guest vocalist Leland Brown performing jazz, swing and Big Band music for dancing all evening at the Canfield House on July 26.
Other events combining music and food were planned during the four-day Bridgefest, which ended July 28. Newport restaurants that feature live music year round were hosting, including Fifth Element and Jo’s American Bistro, as well as evenings at Greenvale and at Newport Vineyards, which as it happens were catered by Blackstone. Edick hopes there will be more pairings during future Bridgefests.
“Wouldn’t it be great to have a Cuban menu with some Afro-Cuban fusion jazz a night or two before the Jazz Festival or a [hipster] menu with live indie music following the Folk Festival!” he said.
The new producers of Bridgefest, Newport Festivals Foundation, the same group that puts on the jazz and folk festivals, as well as many in Newport’s music and restaurant communities, would welcome it as well. •
Bruce Newbury’s Dining Out radio show is heard on 1540 WADK-AM, wadk.com and the TuneIn mobile application. He can be reached by email at bruce@brucenewbury.com.
