Pigs, Pearls and Pirates Punch

The pirates and the riverkeeper know how you like to have fun. The recipe goes something like this:
    Open the Pirates Cove Dock Bar after six month of winter. Roll up the shades. Pull out the tables and chairs. Hire waitstaff solicitous that all glasses are full. Stock the bar. Bring out the Guinness, the RAR Naptown Brown, the juicer and vodka for Aar-Ange Crushes, the tequila for margaritas, the rum for Pirates Punch.
    Hire a band. All the better, make it The Eastport Oyster Boys.
    Add local food. On the one hand, about 1,000 oysters in three West River variants served two ways, roasted and raw. On the other, locally raised pork, smoked and pulled, surrounded by house-made cole slaw, mac and cheese, baked beans, pickles and corn bread made with local corn and honey.
    Set a price that’s not too high.
    Tag it all to a good cause. Specifically, winning friends and raising funds for the West/Rhode Riverkeeper’s work of keeping those waters healthy.
    “We’re so grateful Pirate Cove included us in their Dock Bar opening,” says riverkeeper Jeff Holland. “It just shows how community minded owners Michael Galway and Anthony Clarke are.”
    With a recipe like that, people have all the reason to act like it’s the lazy days of summer.
    One hundred and sixty or so did just that, “arriving early and staying for a good time,” according to Pirates Cove partner Anthony Clarke.
    Thus Pigs & Pearls is coming back next year.
    The West/Rhode Riverkeeper is better funded and friended.
    And, in the shorter term, Pirates Cove Dock Bar is open next weekend — and all summer long.