Parkside Rotisserie and Bar Celebrates a Tasty Anniversary

Parkside Rotisserie and Bar is synonymous with rotisserie chicken, and with good reason. Celebrating its 20th anniversary, Parkside has been serving up poultry perfection to lawyers, judges, courthouse workers, college students and more. Over the years they’ve seen Providence change quite a bit, but it’s refreshing (and comforting) to know that their rotisserie chicken has remained the same.

“First, we use all natural, hormone free, free-range chickens,” explains General Manager Adam Vargulish. “We brine it for three days in a simple brine of lemon, garlic, salt and sugar. What really makes it special though is our rotisserie, where it cooks for over two hours at 225 degrees, slowly turning on the open flames to keep its natural juices and flavors.” After it’s roasted, diners have the option of eating it one of three ways: as is with handcut fries and pesto, finished with a spicy Asian inspired sauce chock full of cashews or with a red wine reduction served with roasted fingerling potatoes and a vegetable – their version of Coq au Vin.

Over the years the menu has grown from two to four pages, and they’ve added specialty items for their foodie patrons, like cheese and charcuterie as well as foie gras. They’ve had to adjust their cocktails over the years, too. “It seems with cocktails that everything old is new again,” says Vargulish. “There was a time when the emphasis was on sweet and sparkly, lots of variations on the cosmopolitan. Now, it seems people are moving away from the sweet and looking to whiskey and bourbons to wet their palates. Manhattans are very popular again, so are Old Fashioneds and Sidecars.”

The biggest change, however, was the fire they experienced in 2011. A fire in the walls spread through the kitchen and caused significant damage to both the dining room and kitchen, which forced them to close for approximately four months. In that time they did some significant remodeling including new banquettes along the front wall, a new back bar, a new floor, a new color scheme and a complete overhaul of the kitchen.

But they didn’t change beloved dishes, like the Blackened 14 oz Sirloin, a dish that Vargulish thinks perfectly exemplifies Parkside. “A thick juicy sirloin char-grilled and topped with bourbon molasses and corn salsa is served over gorgonzola potato cakes,” explains Vargulish. “It is a perfect balance of sweet to spicy that showcases the balance between tradition and cutting edge we like to feature.” With this kind of loyalty to classic dishes mixed with culinary experimentation, it’s a safe bet that Parkside will be around for many more years to come.

Parkside Rotisserie and Bar
76 South Main Street, Providence 
331-0003