This has been a whirlwind food week here in Rhode Island and nearby Massachusetts. You'll read the full stories and see all the photos in July but here's just a little snack to whet your appetite.

It began with an afternoon on the set of "Ciao Italia" at RI PBS studios on Park Lane in Cranston. My favorite TV chef and show star Mary Ann Esposito and crew wrapped up 10 days of filming 20 episodes for Season 22 which will be aired a year from now in 2012. The new season just might start earler online at the excellent "Ciao Italia" website.
You can view the new Season 21 of the show at 5 a.m. Sundays on Channel 36.
Vegetarian recipes will be shared in the Projo coverage.

I had a great time in the sun at the Seekonk Speedway as I learned about how the new manager Ed St Germain is bringing the food upscale for race fans and the families who frequent the spot on Route 6. St Germain's initiative included bringing in Bill Pinelli and his Italian gourmet sandwiches from his restaurant in West Warwick.

During our photo shoot, Ed even let me drive my Mini Cooper on the track which was a crazy thrill.View image

I also enjoyed meeting the owners of the new Sura, a Korean and Japanese Restaurant on Westminster St. Helen Kim and Hannah Choi have opened this Downcity Providence spot is on the same block as Tazza. The two eateries also had the same fresh interior designer Libby Slader.
After the photo shoot I enjoyed some amazing kimchee, both naked and in a pancake. The sushi and barbecue (nothing like the sweet stuff we think of) are amazing too.

I saved the best story (or storyteller) for last, talking to the brilliant and engaging Sylvia Denhoff. She was one of Providence Gas Co.'s Woman in White who taught young brides how to cook in Rhode Island.
When she graduated from Syracuse, she didn't know where Providence was but took the train from her home in NJ and got the job in 1940 that paid $19 a week. She also was a food writer and restaurant critic in New York in 1943. Thanks to women like her, women like me have careers today. You will love her and her recipes from back in the day.