Ma Glockner's Famous Berched Chicken Dinner Now Roosts at the River
Falls Restaurant in Woonsocket, R.I.
by
Eric Hurwitz. Page created on 4/20/17.
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The River Falls Restaurant and Lounge in
Woonsocket, R.I., features the legendary berched chicken dinner once
made famous by the former Ma Glockner's restaurant, of Bellingham, Mass.
Berched chicken -- a recipe developed by "Ma" Glockner back in
1937 and served until the restaurant's closing in Sept. 2008 --
includes a special process of steaming a seasoned chicken breast for
several hours and then searing it on a grill for seven minutes.
At this writing, the River Falls serves the berched chicken dinner on
Sundays from 12-8 p.m., and includes other Ma Glockner's favorites like
a house salad with French dressing, made-from-scratch cinnamon rolls, a
choice of baked sweet potato or hand-cut fries, and cranberry sauce.
The much-beloved, delicious Ma Glockner's homemade coconut cream pie is
back, too!
Dave Gouin, a managing partner of the River Falls with Gary Fernandes,
said the berched chicken has been a big hit, serving 400 chicken orders
on Sunday at their casual, family-oriented restaurant.
"People really love this dish," said Gouin "We've been getting
some big crowds that, quite frankly, we never expected so soon."
Bringing back the berched chicken dinner involved getting
permission from a former Ma Glockner's owner to bring back the dish,
hiring past Ma Glockner's employees, seeking out the original recipe,
and, ultimately, performing some heavy prep work on Sunday mornings to
ensure "the freshest quality," according to Gouin.
After Ma Glockner's closing, Gouin hired former head waiter Jim
Tripodi. From the get-go, Tripodi suggested adding the berched chicken
dinner to the River Falls menu. Gouin hesitated, initially thinking the
chicken wouldn't fit into the River Fall's vision.
"I never wanted to add the chicken to our menu," said Gouin. "We were a
little more upscale, but then I realized it was a different type of
chicken -- not the typical type you could find all over Rhode Island."
After receiving permission from former Ma Glockner's owner Chris
Ballarino to feature the dish on the River Falls Sunday menu, Gouin and
Fernanades hired former Ma Glockner's chef John Miranda. One
night while struggling to recreate the original Ma Glockner's coconut
cream pie recipe, the River Falls chefs contacted Linda Blais, a Ma
Glockner's owner from many years ago, now living in Florida. Blais
helped the River Falls with the coconut cream pie recipe, but she also
had the original berched chicken recipe from 1937. With her help,
the River Falls would soon put all the pieces of the puzzle together
and start serving the berched chicken along with its trademark side
dishes and coconut cream pie on March 15, 2009.
To bring out the full flavor of the berched chicken dinner, the River
Falls food staff shows no compromise in quality by starting preparation
of the 400 chickens at 6 a.m., Sunday morning.
Gouin recommends making reservations for this special Sunday dinner,
given the consistent popularity.
"It's almost like a cult," said Gouin, regarding people's love for the
berched chicken. "I thought this was a Bellingham, Blackstone Valley (a
region of Rhode Island) thing, but people from all over Rhode Island --
including Newport -- have been coming here for the dinner. The
same with people from different areas of Massachusetts. It's
unbelievable."
The River Falls Restaurant is located at 74 South Main St., Woonsocket,
RI,. Tel. (401) 235-9026
Editor's note:
VisitingNewEngland business partnerships started on Jan. 30, 2017, and
differ than feature articles previously posted on VisitingNewEngland.
Businesses pay a small, one-time fee to have pages like this appear,
and first must be accepted by VisitingNewEngland.com editor and
publisher, Eric Hurwitz, as a business he approves as part of "real New
England travel" to keep the integrity of the site. Businesses that sign
up for business partnerships receive priority by receiving more social
media exposure and link placement on VisitingNewEngland.com. Contact me
if interested in forming a business partnership.
Related article:
The best ice cream stands in New England
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