Phantom Gourmet: The Fire In North Providence

The Daily Meal Staff|Oct. 24, 2014 5:28 am EST

NORTH PROVIDENCE – You've seen pizzas topped with meats and cheese, but have you ever seen a pizza topped with a salad? What about cookie dough and Nutella?

At The Fire in North Providence, they make traditional Neapolitan pizza with a non-traditional twist. It's all done in an authentic wood fired brick oven located right off the bar, so everyone can look at what's going on.

"Our customers can see their food getting prepped, and they can see how their pizza is being taken care of from start to finish," said General Manager Jillian Avella.

Since the oven blazes at over 600 degrees, the pizza makers here need a lot of skill and focus.

"You can't take your eyes off of it. It's an actual science," she explained. "You need to spin the pizza around because if you leave it too close to the edges, you'll burn it. So it needs to be constantly spun and watched, but it gives it the flavor and it gives it a thorough cook throughout the whole pizza."

Once the pizza finishes cooking, it makes its way into a casual comfortable dining room where customers sip cocktails and sample authentic Italian eats. So Phantom tasted it all in a search for THE PERFECT MEAL.

It's hard to choose which appetizer to order at the Fire because they're all just so tasty. There's the hand breaded mozzarella that's golden-fried and served over red sauce. The brick oven roasted wings are so plentiful that they have to be served on two plates. They're tossed in a rosemary garlic sauce and topped with caramelized onions.

If you really want to go big, go with the larger-than-life one pound meatball. This grapefruit sized beauty is baked with melty mozzarella and tangy marinara, and when it arrives at the table, customers are dumbfounded.

The one pound meatball at The Fire (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"They're stunned," Jillian said. "We can't take one out of the kitchen without another table asking us what we just brought by."

The wood burning oven at The Fire cooks up both flatbreads and pizzas, hot and fast, giving them a perfect char. The Brushetta flatbread is a spin on that classic Italian app – topped with vine ripened tomatoes, mozzarella and pesto. The Grilled Steak and Mushroom Flatbread is spiked with flavorful bleu cheese.

If you prefer a more traditional pie, The Fire has you covered. Neapolitan style pizzas are cooked constantly, topped with everything from sweet Italian sausage and olives, to marinated chicken and roasted peppers. But nothing tops the 'Think Green' Pizza.

The 'Think Green' Pizza at The Fire (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"It's the best of both worlds. It's a pizza as well as a salad. Once the pizza comes out of the oven we have a fresh garden salad that's made there on the spot, topped on top of it."

Entrees at The Fire include a Wood Roasted Lemon Chicken sporting a super crispy skin, while the meat inside remains tender. Italian specialties like the Tagliatelle Bolognese are a labor of love, simmered low and slow for hours. Speaking of slow, the Tuscan Short Ribs are braised extra-long to ensure the meat is tender to the touch.

Braised Short Ribs at The Fire (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"They're braised overnight," Jillian explained. "No knife needed, not even a butter knife. They're absolutely delicious."

After all is said and done, the best dish at the Fire comes during dessert, in the form of a Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza. This sweet and satisfying pie starts with the same dough as the regular pizzas, but then it's topped with cookie dough and baked until soft, yet crispy, before it's smothered with a generous portion of Nutella. Things get even more indulgent when it's topped with a scoop of vanilla bean ice cream, whipped cream, strawberries and chocolate.

The Chocolate Chip Cookie Pizza at The Fire (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"It's great because we get a wonderful smell of homemade cookies around the whole restaurant when it's made," she said. "It's every customer's favorite dessert."

A One Pound Meatball. The "Think Green Pizza". Braised Short Ribs and a Cookie Dough Pizza. That's THE PERFECT MEAL at The Fire.

You can find The Fire at 1874 Mineral Spring Avenue in North Providence, and online at thefirenp.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.
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