I can't resist good food, especially in a good cause, no matter what my diet demands. This time I found my willpower tested (and waistline expanded) by appetizers, soups, entrees, and desserts from some of East Greenwich's best restaurants. I absolve myself of guilt, though, since I was supporting the East Greenwich food bank in the process. For the amazingly low price of a can of food for the needy, I sampled foods that I just have to tell you about. (Yep, I can't resist bargains, either.)

East Greenwich businesses set up tables in the atrium of Harborhill Place, in the area that the residents consider the community's "main street". Of course Harborhill wanted to promote their own kitchens, and did an outstanding job of providing a bounty of cakes and other treats to the event's visitors. I held off visiting their table until last, since it was "dessert", but perhaps I waited too long, barely having room for another sample when I finally got to their table. I did try their pumpkin bread -- moist and nutty -- and heard raves about the other treats on their table.

My first stop was Cafe Fresco's table. They bill themselves as a "wood grill and bar", and served whole-shell clams, but not just any clams. Chef Tony Morales simmered the clams in garlic, spanish onions, pump tomatoes, and his secret ingredient -- fresh celantro, making a light tomato-clam sauce that beged for a bed of pasta. A spicier version of this dish is on their regular menu, called "Clams & Penne Arrabbiata," where it gets the pasta it deserves.

Syd's Cafe and Deli owner Erica Maddalena, a Johnson and Wales graduate, featured her soups and crusty Italian bread. The ministrone soup was nice, but her white clam chowder was better -- almost like a cross between traditional creamy New England chowder and clear Rhode Island chowder, where the cream did not overwhelm the flavor of the clams. But the butternut / apple soup was the best, served with a touch of nutmeg.

Upscale India restaurant served Papri Chat, what the servers described as "Indian-style nauchos" with chick peas, red onions, fresh cilantro, yogurt, and sweet/hot tamarind chutney over thin crispy bread strips. They also had samples of crispy turnovers stuffed with potatoes, peas, herbs, and spices, called "Vegetable Samosa". Between the intrieging food and the buy-one-get-one-free coupons they distributed, I'm looking forward to their next Sunday buffet brunch.

After a little spice, it was nice to see Starbuck's Coffee at the next table. Everyone knows Starbucks, of course, so there's not much to say about them, except I keep forgetting that they're in East Greenwich. Giving directions like a Rhode Islander, I'd say "its in the old Almac's Plaza", but now I have to say "over by the CVS." I appreciate that Starbucks is supporting the local arts by hosting poetry readings, especially those by my friends at Merlyn's Pen.

Their neighboring table was also their neigboring business -- Poly Poly is a sandwich shop in the same plaza. They served rollup sandwiches and little chocolate cupcakes at the event. I skipped the cupcakes, remembering the desserts waitng for me, but chowed down on a turkey rollup. Fast food, and fast gone, since they underestimated their popularity and ran out fairly early. Glad I showed up at the opening of the event.

The Pampered Chef 's Gail Vakalis seared nuggets of chicken breasts on a tabletop burner to demonstrate her company's cookware. The Pampered Chef sells and distrubutes their wares via home parties, similar in concept to the more familar Tupperware parties, but featuring ceramic baking dishes, razor sharp knives, and nifty cooking gadgets. I enjoyed the decorative bread she cooked in a metal tube -- she sliced them into flower shapes, perfect for making hors'derve-sized sandwiches from the chicken breast pieces. Anyone who enjoys cooking fancy at home, or just cooking easily, can make good use of her cookware.

The Post Office Cafe needs no introduction, but for the uninitiated, it's an upscale Italian restaurant in a rennovated Federal-styled brick post office -- one of the Panneli family's restaurants. I haven't been there since they made their menu and environment more family friendly, so maybe it's time I visit them again. They brought gnocchi in a brazed beef tomato sauce. Gnocci is an uncommon pasta, not as chewy or "meaty" as more familiar pastas, and their meat sauce is uncommon in a state whose cuisine concentrates on less-hearty marinara, so the dish was unusal while still being Italian. The garlicy foccacia bread they served with it provivded a spicy contrast to the milder seasoned hot dish.

My last stop before facing Harborhill's huge table of desserts was... well... still more deserts. Evans Gourmet, a caterer of special desserts, presented sweet treats -- slices of chocolate torte, carrot cake, eclairs, and both white and dark chocolate moosse. The torte was a special treat with its innumerable layers, since it was rich chololate without being overwhelmed by chocolate liquor. Evans Gourmet is headed by Foxwoods chef Christopher Evans, a Johnson and Wales grad, but it's truely a family affair with wife Kathy and their kids helping on larger projects.

And, as I said earlier, I topped it off with even more treats from HarborHill. Lots of them. Before I headed home for a nap, I went by one more table, but this time I didn't sample the food. The event had gathered a huge pile of canned goods for the community food bank, making sure that EVERYONE is well fed this holiday season.

Evans Catering can be reached by phone at 401/884-3588. Cafe Fresco is at 301 Main Street in East Greenwich and can be called at 401/398-0027. Syd's is at 1050 Main Street in East Greenwich, at the corner of Post Road and Forge Road -- call them at 885-6336. India is located in Benny's Plaza at 5600 Post Road and can be called at 884-4424.

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