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Phantom Gourmet: Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fire Kitchen In Pawtucket, RI

PAWTUCKET, RI - How is this for a food fantasy? Big booths with draft lines built right in, a coal fired oven blazing up pizzas from behind the bar, and a menu lined with amped up pub fare. Arigna Irish Pub and Coal Fire Kitchen in Pawtucket, Rhode Island may look like an old school watering hole from the outside, but inside, it is anything but your typical tavern.

"We kind of took the typical sports pub and brought it to an elevated experience," said co-owner Ryan Blaney. "We have 18 TVs. We couple that with our Pour Your Own Pint beer tables. We also do live music on the weekends. All of our food we make in house, fresh. We definitely try to bring it up a notch from your typical pub."

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Even the draft beer system is special, because at Arigna it's built right into your table. You can have as much or as little as you would like.

"The easiest way I can describe it is kind of like a gas pump, except it's beer. You pay by the ounce. If you pour half a beer, you're only getting charged a half a beer," Ryan explained.

While you do all the pouring, they do all of the cooking, inside a coal-fired oven that is located right behind the bar.

"It's kind of a showpiece for us. The stone itself is about 700 degrees, but the ambient temperature is well over 1000 degrees. It cooks quick," stated Ryan. "You get that coal-crispness to the dough. It's soft and chewy on the inside. Couple that with fresh ingredients and it's a knock-out home-run."

For traditionalists, there is the simple yet satisfying Margherita pizza, made with San Marzano tomatoes, fresh mozzarella and basil; or the Phoenix topped with honey sriracha chicken, roasted peppers and onions. For something uncommon, try the Roscommon.

Arigna Irish Pub, Phantom Gourmet
Roscommon Pizza at Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fired Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"It's almost like having a Reuben on a pizza," Ryan described. "We use Swiss cheese, our corned beef that we cook in house, caramelized onions, and the Thousand Island dressing."

Before you pick your pizza, you have to sample some of Arigna's apps, like Flash Fried Calamari tossed in a sweet chili sauce with roasted peanuts; or the deliciously different Buffalo Potato Skins, overstuffed with spicy chicken, topped with crumbled blue cheese and baked until crispy on the outside and soft in the center. If you prefer your chicken on the bone, Arigna's wings are made right in that coal fired oven.

Arigna Irish Pub, Phantom Gourmet
Coal Fired Wings at Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fired Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"With the high-heat that you get on the wings, you get that crisp skin that everybody likes. You that crunch on the outside. It keeps it moist, juicy, and tender on the inside," Ryan said. "It's got garlic, it's got paprika, pepper, and all these other spices that just kind of work well together."

Cheese lovers will want to start with the ultra-gooey fried mozzarella, served with housemade marinara. Then there are the Steak and Cheese Eggrolls that come with a tasty Guinness Ketchup.

"We take all of the aspects of a cheese-steak sandwich and we put that into a spring roll wrapper. You get a crisp outside shell, and then you get that cheesy, cheese-steak gooeyness on the inside, and then you get a little tang from the Guinness ketchup."

The entrees at Arigna run the gamut from good old marinated Steak Tips served with a pile of mashed potatoes, to the Fire Roasted Rigatoni topped with coal fired vegetables and crumbled feta.

Arigna Irish Pub, Phantom Gourmet
Bucket Bites at Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fired Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

There are burgers available in two sizes, including the Bucket Burger - an 8-ounce chuck and short rib patty cooked and topped the way you want it - or its smaller sibling, the Bucket Bites.

"We figured, 'All right, why not just make a smaller version?' Everybody can kind of share. It's the same great taste as our bucket burger, but in a bite-sized form," Ryan explained.

An Irish pub is only as good as its Shepherd's Pie, and at Arigna, they make the old country proud.

Arigna Irish Pub, Phantom Gourmet
Shepherd's Pie at Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fired Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

"We use ground sirloin. It's blended with peas, and carrots, and onions. It's got that nice, rich, demi-gravy. Then, it's topped with our mashed potatoes and green onions. It's hearty. It's a great winter dish. It's just one of those staples you have to have in an Irish pub," Ryan said.

For something that you most likely won't find at a typical Irish Pub, there's Ryan's PB & J Bomb.

"I thought to myself, 'What does everybody love?' Peanut butter and jelly. How do you make it better? You deep fry it. Now you need something to offset it, so vanilla ice cream. It's this mash up of hot, cold, salty, sweet all together in this amazing dish."

Arigna Irish Pub, Phantom Gourmet
PB&J Bomb at Arigna Irish Pub & Coal Fired Kitchen (Image: Phantom Gourmet)

With most entrees and pizzas coming in in the low teens, you are going to save a lot of green at this Irish pub, making Arigna one Phantastic Meal Deal.

You can find Arigna at 507 Armistice Boulevard in Pawtucket, RI, and on line at arignairishpub.com.

Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38.

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