Thankfully, the proprietors offered me a sample, or I might have missed this recent addition to the Wintertime Farmer’s Market. Couët Farm & Fromagerie makes cave-aged cheeses from raw milk in Dudley, Massachusetts. We purchased the Evelina—a rich raw sheep’s milk cheese with a delicious natural rind.
Couët Farm & Fromagerie
www.couetfarm.com
Find them at the Pawtucket Wintertime Farmer’s Market
We’re continually looking for great bagels, so when we learned Rebelle’s Artisan Bagel would open a pop-up at Kitchen, we picked up half a dozen. The malt, onion and caraway smell filled the air on the ride home, as the bagels cooled from hot to warm. They definitely passed the Heisen-Bagel test. They’re working on planning a pop-up schedule for next month. We’ll be there.
August 2017 – They now have a brick & mortar location.
Rebelle’s Artisan Bagel
Doyle Ave. & Camp St.
East Side of Providence, RI
www.rebelleartisanbagels.com
Providence is not lacking doughnut shops, but until recently, most were the fast food chain variety. PVDonuts arrived, and Knead Doughnuts (pictured above) opened in downtown Providence last month.
I will remain loyal to Allie’s Donuts, but 20 miles is a long way to drive for a doughnut. Knead Donuts also offers a variation on the theme. The raised doughnuts have a brioche-like texture with a crunchy shell, and the cake doughnuts are densely packed with flavor—sour cream and vanilla. Perhaps, the most surprising aspect is the beautiful space.
Knead Doughnuts
32 Custom House Way
Providence, RI
(401) 865-6622
https://www.kneaddoughnuts.com
Chicken, Collard Greens, Black-eyed Peas, Biscuits and Souther Fried Shrimp.
The chicken was the star of the show. There was nothing left of this meal but a small amount of whipped, honey-flavored butter.
Bucktown Chicken & Fish
471 W Fountain St
Providence, RI 02903
(917) 861-0644
http://www.bucktownpvd.com/
The Ladd Observatory is surprising. There are a few rooms on the ground floor packed with astronomical photographs and vintage instruments, including a brass orrery with 7 planets. Upstairs is a large deck packed with students and various telescopes pointed around the sky. I’ve never been there with less than 6 staff on hand to explain the machines or the subject matter. Of course the main attraction is the big telescope under the dome. Last week we had an excellent view of Saturn–rings and all.
Ladd Observatory
Open Tuesday at night when the weather permits
http://www.brown.edu/Departments/Physics/Ladd/
Observatory Lane & Hope Street
Providence, RI
A zipcar in Downcity
When I moved to New York City in 2001, I sold my car and Michele put hers in storage in Connecticut. When we moved to Boston, hers came out of storage, but I remained car-free, and I’ve persisted that way in Providence too — thanks to zipcar and Uber (and the occasional taxi).
There’s a zipcar lot 100 feet from my driveway, and gas and insurance are included in the cost of the rental. With a zipcar account, you simply reserve and rent a car by the hour ($8.50/hour and up) online or via your phone, then head to the car, using your zipcar card as the ‘key’. And Providence has an impressive array of zipcar choices — pickup trucks, minivans, luxury cars and hybrids.
For times when I want a car and driver, I use Uber. With my phone, Uber can know where I am, and when I enter where I’m going, Uber responds with how long it will take a vetted driver to pick me up (usually a few minutes). Since you sign up for an account with a credit card in advance, there’s no haggling and no tipping.
With these referral codes, you get a deal when you sign up:
Uber
$20 referral bonus: https://uber.com/invite/ubermeek!
zipcar
$25 referral bonus for Zipcar: http://s.zip.cr/46fFU3G
We’ve now lived in Providence for over four years, and it would be hard to fit in one blog post all my thoughts about that. So instead, I thought I’d describe an eventful, but fairly typical Saturday, which as it turns out, might be a perfect way to highlight our life in Providence.
8:28 am – We woke up “late” for us, which meant we had to rush to get the girls ready for gymnastics and ballet at Aim High Academy, where dozens of gymnasts were already hard at work.
10:00 am – We head to Allie’s Donuts–an institution for good reason. A donut cake (exactly what it sounds like) has been ordered for one of our daughter’s birthday this month.
11:15 am – We make our way to the Pawtucket Wintertime Farmers’ Market opening day. This year’s market has more than doubled, and it is every bit better. We all sit in the courtyard and have Tallulah’s Tacos for lunch. The girls make a basket at ACKpack Basket Studio. Michele buys a giant stalk of brussels sprouts, freshly dug potatoes, onions, and parsnips from the market, along with apples from Barden Family Orchard. Our daughter insists we buy more pickles from Harmony Hill Farm. We get dessert–an almond croissant and an apricot financier–from the French Tarte. On our way out, we discover a new store, Sassy Mama Cuisine, that has rows upon rows of hot sauces. I’m looking for one made with Bhut jolokia, and pick from more than a dozen.
2:00 pm – I nap.
3:30 pm – I take my six-year-old daughter to Cirque Éloize, one of the first shows in this year’s FirstWorks Festival at the Providence Performing Arts Center, while Michele takes our two-year old to the Providence Children’s Museum.
6:00 pm – At home, I make the kids a pizza with dough from Olga’s and cheese from Narragansett Creamery.
7:30 pm – Michele and I walk downtown to the Brown University/Trinity Repertory Theatre, to see a production of Twelfth Night, or What You Will. Since we didn’t buy tickets in advance, we wait standby and luckily get seats from a few no-shows. Even after four years of shows, it’s my first time in the Pell Chafee Performance Center.
9:30 pm – We get drinks and appetizers at Gracie’s, which turned out to be a meal that would rival the best in recent memory: a sherry-roasted beet salad with Cloumage cheese, pistachio nougatine, wild rice crispies, sour apple, and Aquidneck honey; Hudson Valley foie gras with fennel dusted brioche donuts, roasted peach, pistachio, raspberry gelee; russet potato gnocchi with house cured ham, broccoli, cauliflower, cheddar, buttery herb crumb; and crispy veal sweetbreads with sunny side quail’s egg, parmesan spinach, potato fondue, pickled ramps (this one was a standout).
10:30 pm – Our babysitter needs to leave early tonight, so Michele grabs a cab home. I stay on, for a show at AS220.
12:00 am – The band Melt Banana plays in AS220’s tiny venue, where you can get up close and mingle with the bands.
1:00 am – I take an UberX ride home! Just 2 minutes after calling…
I’ve always thought that a perfect city is one that you can “use” to its fullest regularly. And with that as my definition, I’m in the right place for now…
For more information:
Aim High Academy
3355 S County Trail
East Greenwich, RI
http://www.aimhighacademy.com/
Allie’s Donuts
3661 Quaker Lane
North Kingstown, RI
https://www.facebook.com/AlliesDonuts
Pawtucket Wintertime Farmers’ Market (Saturdays 9 am-1pm and Wednesdays 4-7pm through May 17, 2014)
at Hope Artiste Village
1005 Main St.
Pawtucket, RI
http://www.farmfresh.org/winter
Tallulah on Thames
464 Thames Street
Newport, RI
http://www.tallulahonthames.com/
Sassy Mama Cuisine
at Hope Artiste Village
1005 Main St.
Pawtucket, RI
The French Tarte
at Hope Artiste Village
1005 Main St.
Pawtucket, RI
http://www.frenchtarte.com/
ACKpack Basket Studio
at Hope Artiste Village
1005 Main St.
Pawtucket, RI
https://www.facebook.com/pages/ACKpack-Basket-Studio/467747816608744
Barden Family Orchard
56 Elmdale Rd
North Scituate, RI
http://www.bardenfamilyorchard.com/
Harmony Hill Farm
Barrington, RI
http://harmonyhill-farm.com/
Providence Performing Arts Center
220 Weybosset Street
Providence, RI
http://www.ppacri.org/
FirstWorks
http://first-works.org/
Providence Children’s Museum
100 South Street
Providence, RI
www.childrenmuseum.org
Olga’s Cup & Saucer
103 Point Street
Providence, RI
www.olgascupandsaucer.com
Narragansett Creamery
www.richeeses.com
Brown University/Trinity Repertory Theatre
www.browntrinity.com
Gracie’s
194 Washington Street
Providence, RI
graciesprovidence.com
AS220
115 Empire Street
Providence, RI
www.as220.org
A bowl of tripe
With more handwritten signs than items on the menu, Geneva Diner serves lunch everyday and dinner on the weekends. On a whiteboard, I spotted an asterisk next to the word “Tripe,” which produced the spicy, tender bowl pictured at right, smelling faintly of a barnyard.
Geneva Diner
1162 Douglas Ave
North Providence, RI 02904
(401) 353-8333
More likely romanized as Jaew Bong, a Laotian sweet-hot sauce.
Lao Lanexang Market
373 Smith St
Providence, RI 02908 (Smith Hill)
(401) 272-2678
A few ‘blistering’ hot wings
Intending only to pick up a bagel and smoked salmon nearby, I walked into Wings & Things out of curiosity and discovered plump, crisp and cooked-to-order wings in a ‘blistering’ sauce made with Thai chilies.
Wings & Things
250 Brook St
Providence, RI 02906
(401) 369-7551
www.wingsandthingsri.com
The Rhode Less Traveled: A Rhode Island Blog 