Troop Providence’s Fall/Winter Menu Updates and Deejay Dance Parties
Providence's hip-hoppiest restaurant is celebrating seven years with an updated seasonal menu and expanded events calendar.
The scene at Troop. Photo courtesy of Troop.
In celebration of Troop‘s seven-year anniversary in Providence, we checked in with the chef Chad Hart and co-owner Chris Simonelli to see what’s new with Providence’s hip-hoppiest restaurant. They’ve switched up the menu for the season with lots of comforting dishes, and they’ve updated their events calendar to welcome back respected local deejays in hip hop, techno, house, rap and r-and-b. They also host an entertaining monthly bingo event with lots of fun prizes.
Hi chef Chad. Tell me about your culinary background.
I have been cooking for twenty years, and I’ve been in the restaurant business for twenty-three years. I started out as a busboy at a local breakfast restaurant, then moved to dishwasher. I became interested in cooking while working and watching the cooks during my downtime. Once I got my chance to cook, there was no looking back. I worked at the breakfast place for a few years honing the basic skills needed to help expand my culinary competence. I worked at various restaurants in the area over time, learning what I could from everyone around me. I was a supervisor, then kitchen manager, then to chef de cuisine, and then finally, an executive chef, after years of hard work.
How did you become the chef at Troop?
I became the chef of Troop after two years of working there. I was looking for a new restaurant job and a friend told me about this new exciting restaurant Troop opening up on the West Side that needed cooks. I came in for a bench test and showed off my cooking abilities and was hired shortly after. I started out as a line cook as you do, and after a year, I got promoted to supervisor. I moved on to sous chef of Troop and helped build the brunch scene. After two years, I was offered the executive chef job. It has been seven years now, persevering through all the hardship of running a restaurant.
The menu at Troop has some comfort food items like stuffed acorn squash with marinated tofu and braised Swiss chard, finished with cranberry sauce and a green apple golden raisin salad, and a root vegetable salad with local honey nut squash, beets, apple and green onion puree. Photo courtesy of Troop.
And you’re still here! What’s new for fall and winter?
We did a whole menu overhaul for the fall. We wanted to get some more seasonal produce and hearty items for the fall months. We got some new killer items on the menu like Fig and Grape jam toast with creamy blue cheese sauce. We like to try and bring different cultural flavors to the menu, like the crispy fall vegetables with salsa matcha and vegan cream cheese. We also have orange sauce chicken wings and shrimp gumbo for starters. We have a very delicious root vegetable salad with local honey nut squash, beets, apple and green onion puree. Entrees for the fall and winter will warm you up on the cooler nights, including butter chicken over rice with pickled red onions, crispy pita chips and cilantro. For the vegetarians and vegans out there, we have a roasted stuffed acorn squash with marinated tofu and braised Swiss chard, finished with cranberry sauce and a green apple golden raisin salad. Of course, we have our famous street noodles that you can load up with fried tofu, pork belly, shrimp, or our amazing chicken nuggets. I would also like to highlight our skirt steak with spiced squash puree, Brussels sprouts, crispy potato and mushroom au jus. To round out your meal, we are highlighting killer desserts, including warm pumpkin bread with apple compote and sweet whipped sour cream and Thai tea tres leche cake with whipped coconut, toasted coconut and lime.
How do you come up with the dishes that make it on the menu?
Coming up with new dishes is always challenging and also fun. I analyze ideas from cookbooks and magazines, and from going out to eat at the various great local restaurants. I try to get inspiration as I go about my day, and when I find out what the local farms are growing at the time to help push ideas forward. You also have to use what’s around you, and for that I sit with our culinary director Jason Timothy and sous chef Max Aubrey. Having outside ideas apart from your own is very useful. We brainstorm ideas together and formulate the menu. Sometimes a menu item starts as an idea with just one ingredient, then builds to a full dish. Other items start in one direction, then get flipped and become something completely different.
Troop executive chef Chad Hart.
Congratulations, Chris, you’ve been here since day one, and Troop is celebrating seven years! A lifetime in this business! What’s on tap for the big birthday bash?
So we had a rocking ’80s party with the band Fast Times from Boston. It was a whole ’80s experience as they played everything from Huey Lewis to Run DMC to Motley Crue. We want to thank everyone who came out to show us love on our seven-year milestone!
What other types of events do you host throughout the month?
We have fifteen-plus events planned each month. We have some of our favorite deejays lined up that have been rocking with us from day 1 including 4Hundo, DJ Ken (Dec. 7), DJ Nook, (Dec. 14) and some new additions, including Audiofields (Dec. 20). Techno-oriented Fever and Friends also performs on Dec. 6. Of course, we have Troop Bingo on the second Wednesday of the month on Dec. 11. Co-owner JT and DJ Yummy have been hosting and it’s been super fun. Wattz Beatz and Charlie Tunes perform on Dec. 21, and we have a New Year’s Eve High Society bash planned. We are and always will be a restaurant first, but we love providing a platform for local talent and will continue to push boundaries when it comes events at Troop. instagram.com/trooppvd
DJ 4Hundo at Troop’s brunch. Photo courtesy of Troop.
