Author: Michele Meek, PhD.

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Pho Paradise: Vietnamese Bánh Mì & Phở Noodle Soups

The vegetarian Phở is packed with crunchy vegetables and layered with tasty tofu and noodles.

With its neon sign and strip mall parking, Phở Paradise might easily be missed as you’re cruising down Broad Street. But this unassuming restaurant happens to be one of the few Providence restaurants where you can find a tasty Bánh Mì, an east-meets-west sandwich that perfectly combines Vietnamese ingredients on a French-style baguette.

Last night, we stopped in for some Phở, Vietnamese noodle soup. But first we tried some terrific appetizers — I loved the Gỏi Cuốn Chay (aka vegetarian summer rolls which you’ll find on the vegetarian menu) a tightly-wrapped roll of crispy shredded lettuce, mint, vermicelli and tofu in thin rice paper. Geoff thought their scallion pancakes rivaled his favorites at Mary Chung, and their Bánh Xèo, Vietnamese crepe which packed baby shrimps, chicken and bean sprouts with a sweet and spicy sauce could make a meal in itself.

As for the Phở, we tried three kinds — beef, chicken and vegetable — and all were delicious, although my personal favorite was the vegetable which is made with a vegetarian base and packed with crunchy, flavorful carrots, zucchini, baby corn, peppers, celery, peppers and broccoli and layered with noodles and fresh and soft fried tofu. If you hate winter as much as I do, this might be just the cure.

Pho Paradise
337 Broad Street
Providence, RI, 02907

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Delekta Pharmacy’s Coffee Cabinet

The interior of Delekta is a throwback to an old-time pharmacy.

After rediscovering KidoInfo’s list of 100 Things to Do with Your Kids in RI, we honed in on what appeared to be the most urgent, number 90: Order a cabinet at Delekta Pharmacy in Warren.

The coffee cabinet -- it tastes even better than it looks.

I wasn’t even sure what a cabinet was, but I knew a coffee cabinet comprised of some combination of sugar, dairy and coffee, which was enough to convince me of its worthiness. So upon arrival, Geoff and I requested a coffee cabinet each while ordering a chocolate chip ice cream cone for Madeline, the latter clearly a mistake since the cabinet was far superior and Madeline is no fool. As for the cabinet, it was a hit all around — wonderful coffee flavor without the bitterness, perfectly smooth and sweet, and thicker than milk but thinner than most shakes.

Since I noticed their menu also listed milk shakes, I decided to ask an employee: exactly how is a coffee cabinet different than a coffee milk shake? She explained that to Rhode Islanders a “milk shake” is just that: milk (with syrup) shaken. But a cabinet is what everyone outside RI actually calls a milk shake — ice cream and syrup, shaken. The coffee syrup used in their cabinets is an old-world family recipe made fresh daily by the owner himself. No wonder it’s so tasty.

Delekta Pharmacy
496 Main Street
Warren, RI, 02885
(no website but they have a Facebook page)

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Kafe’ Lila

Kafe' Lila's entrance in the Grant Building lets you

When you call your ice cream “Really Good Vanilla,” you’d better mean it. Luckily at Kafe’ Lila, they do. I first discovered their small batch, homemade ice cream at the weekly Winter Farmers’ Market (and yes, ice cream in the winter makes perfect sense to me). Their Bittersweet Chocolate is absolute perfection — rich, dark, smooth and creamy. They have a variety of fruit flavors like Local Plum, Local Peach and Local Blueberry — all made (obviously) with local fruit. They also have a flavor sweetened solely with honey (quite good) and a variety of vegan flavors (never tried them).

It actually is "Really Good Vanilla."

I decided to go check out their Pawtucket ‘headquarters’ last week and found they have a wonderfully charming little café — the well-worn chairs and retro coffee tables create a warm atmosphere and fit in well with the rough-around-the-edges atmosphere of downtown Pawtucket (a.k.a. Downbucket).

For people not obsessed with ice cream, they also sell coffee, teas and a variety of sandwiches, salads and pastries.

Kafe’ Lila
The Grant Building
250 Main Street
Pawtucket, RI
www.kafelila.org

Their ice cream is also available at other locations. See their list for details.

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AS220: Power of the Arts

Tasty potato leek soup for a good cause at AS220.

With live/work spaces for artists (two vacancies opening this spring) along with their existing repertoire of workshops, studios, galleries, and labs, AS220 is more than a local nonprofit — it is a force to be reckoned with.

They even have a restaurant, but clearly this is no ordinary restaurant. The menu consists of an eclectic mix of dishes from a variety of cultures with ingredients derived from local farms and food artisans. Although they are known for their vegetarian and vegan options, they have plenty of dishes for carnivores as well. (They aim, after all, for inclusion). They even provide six month training positions at the restaurant for local teenagers.

If the city is to be judged by its Creativity Index, then things certainly are looking up for Providence, thanks largely to AS220.

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Show me the pancakes: a search for Rhode Island’s best

The Gold Standard: My beloved pancakes from the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown, Massachusetts. Photo by möca.


Why is it that I’m always reading blog posts and newspaper articles about great breakfast places that turn out to be subpar? Surely, I am not the only pancake purist in Rhode Island. After having eagerly gone from diner to hotspot and back again in my quest for Rhode Island’s best pancakes, I’ve decided I am going about this all wrong. When I discovered the best pancakes near Boston, I discovered them not through a blog (if those even existed then) nor through a magazine or newspaper article, but through an accountant friend who happened to live in the area and really liked pancakes.

Here I am with my Deluxe Town Diner pancakes.

Here’s how I know that the Deluxe Town Diner in Watertown, Massachusetts has amazing pancakes: it is the only thing I order there. That’s not to say I haven’t been tempted by tuna melts, homemade stews with fresh (not frozen) vegetables, and burgers with sweet potato fries. But the pancakes made with sour cream and buttermilk are just too good: they rise to thick height and remain fluffy, perfectly browned, made the size of your plate in a stack of three (or two if you so choose, but you’ll be sorry), and smeared with butter with a side of real maple syrup.

I know Rhode Island is the smallest state, but I refuse to shrink my expectations accordingly. So, fellow citizens, I beg of you: show me the (amazingly good) pancakes. Post a comment with your local favorite, and I promise to go, eat and report back.

Surely Not Rhode Island’s Best Pancakes List
(or the places I’ve tried so far)

Note: My criteria for the perfect pancake includes: 1) fluffy texture; 2) neither too wet nor too dry; 3) excellent flavor, more specifically a well-orchestrated recipe of ingredients that culminate in a caramelized flavor balancing salty and sweet; 4) made and served with real butter; and 5) served with real maple syrup.

Despite a wonderful old-fashioned diner atmosphere amidst the strip malls, you won't find the best pancakes at Star Diner.

Atlantic Grille
Middletown, RI
Why not? One of the RI Monthly reader’s choices for best breakfasts, this is truthfully the only place I can stand to eat pancakes on Aquidneck Island. Yet they are no match for the perfect pancake (decent flavor, but not fluffy enough) and fail to provide real maple syrup.

Corner Café
Newport, RI
Why not? Such a cute little spot, but they use margarine — a deal-breaker in my opinion.

Eddie & Sons Diner
Providence, RI
Why not? Here you’ll find decent pancakes (although too light indicated not enough caramelizing butter, sugar, salt), but nothing spectacular, and the diner lacks real maple syrup.

Gary’s Handy Lunch
Newport, RI
Why not? Although I love this place for its atmosphere and enjoy their thin old-fashioned french toast, their pancakes are thin and mealy.

IHOP (The International House of Pancakes)
Middletown, RI
Why not? There is no better option when you absolutely need pancakes at 1 am and are too lazy to make them (yes, it’s happened to me). But, let’s face it, as good as they may taste at that moment, we all know that IHOP is not the real deal.

Louie’s
Providence, RI
Why not? Generally their pancakes have fairly good flavor, although they are always too flat and light. Plus they lack consistency: a few times, the pancakes were metallic, which Geoff says is an indicator of too much baking powder. They serve them with real butter but artificial maple syrup.

Mel’s Diner
East Providence, RI
Why not? According to Providence Journal’s food writer Gail Ciampa, these are “some of the best pancakes around.” No way. Slathered with margarine, these pancakes were bound to lose. They were the right color and thickness, but ultimately too gummy with the wrong flavor.

Modern Diner
Pawtucket, RI
Why not? Their pancakes had great texture (just a tad wet) and were quite fluffy, yet the flavor was wrong — not sweet nor salty enough.

Nick’s on Broadway
Providence, RI
Why not? In general, breakfast here was terrific, but the pancakes sadly not so. Cinnamon in the batter definitely doesn’t fit the bill.

Oatley’s Restaurant
North Kingston, RI
Why not? I had high hopes here with the homemade breads and muffins, but ultimately the pancakes missed on both flavor and fluffiness.

Star Diner
Rumford, RI
Why not? Pancakes were greasy and burnt. By the taste, I highly doubt they were made with butter in the batter or on the griddle. And they don’t serve maple syrup.

T’s Restaurant
Why not? Pancakes were dense and dry with lousy flavor. They’re also served with a butter ‘blend’ (aka margarine), blanketed with powdered sugar, and a side of phony syrup — need I say more?

Top Photo Credit: möca

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Big Nazo at Bright Night

A performance of Big Nazo.

I love that Providence has its own nonconformist version of First Night. Unlike First Night, Bright Night is not alcohol free but it maintains the mission of kicking off the New Year as an arts celebration incorporating theater, music, arts and films. This year marked its seventh year with events at over a dozen venues in Providence, along with a mini-WaterFire lighting.

We decided to see a live show by Big Nazo, an international performance group that happens to reside here in Providence and makes large-as-life (and larger) puppets, masks and other creatures. The 6:30 pm event at Lupo’s attracted quite a number of families with kids ranging from a few-months-old and up, yet it was a thin enough crowd that everyone easily could enjoy an unobstructed view. The performance itself was, well, weird, a kind of bizarre ride through a wonderfully twisted imagination. Picture a giant horse that removes his mask to become an enormous old white man to remove his mask to become a small-headed dog to remove his mask to become a gloved hand to then reveal his true identity as a mad scientist and your MC for the evening. And that was only the opening. Not surprisingly, Madeline was perfectly riveted and never budged from the front row seat she secured for herself. And she’s been talking about it ever since.

Pass by the windows of Big Nazo on Eddy Street in Providence to see a sample of the weird characters that comprise Big Nazo.

Big Nazo!
60 Eddy St
Providence, RI
www.bignazo.com

Bright Night
www.brightnight.org

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Christmas at Blithewold

My personal favorite in this year's Gingerbread Wonderland -- "Guatamala" by Brianna Ritoli.

If over a foot of snow isn’t enough to put you in the ‘Christmas spirit’ then you might need to take a trip to Blithewold. The 45-room English style manor house is decked out with shimmering lights and wintery decorations for their annual event Christmas at Blithewold. The front door opens onto their 18-foot “Big Tree” decorated with their theme for the year — Fairy Tales and Fantasies. Each room has its own theme such as The Night Before Christmas, The Owl and The Pussycat and Frosty the Snowman and remains roped off (elegantly with ribbon) so you can peek in. Of course, Madeline simply slid right underneath it, but I grabbed her in time, so the displays remain intact. Don’t forget to stop in the Carriage House on your way out where the “Gingerbread Wonderland” features mini-gingerbread houses of all styles made by area children. And keep your kids from eating the candy — if I can do it, anyone can.

A scene from the classic 1950s Frosty the Snowman decorates the nursery.

Christmas at Blithewold
Through Sunday, January 03, 2010
101 Ferry Road (Rt. 114)
Bristol, RI
www.blithewold.org

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O Christmas Tree: Our Rhode Island Tour of Tree Farms

Lockwood's Tree Farm -- nice trees for a reasonable price, plus some extra hospitality.

On Saturday, we had grand plans of heading to the far reaches of Rhode Island to find a Christmas tree.

Let me clarify. I always have found it amazing when we lived in New York that we could drive an hour or two and wind up in some rustic town along the Hudson or a farm in Pennsylvania. Leaving Providence, however, it takes only a few minutes to reach a bucolic setting, as if everything in Rhode Island is miniaturized even the distance between city and country.

Geoff had read about Duquette Tree Farm in Chepachet, RI so we headed west. Our mistake was stopping for a late lunch along the way at Bishop Hill Tavern– not because the food was bad, because, in fact, it was pretty good for a random bar/restaurant, especially one that posts a sign, “Warm Beer. Cold Food. Slow Service. Have a Nice Day.” The problem was that our lunch ended after 4 pm which, in winter, is night or at least looks like it. We didn’t know when the farm closed but guessed it’d be hard to pick a tree in the dark. Nevertheless, we decided to visit Chepachet for the state’s oldest store, Brown & Hopkins Country Store, and happened upon a line of charming antique stores, which we made our way into just a few minutes before they closed at 5.

On Sunday afternoon, we were ready to try again. This time I started with some research and called around. Turned out Duquette Tree Farm didn’t have larger 8-9 foot trees left, but they recommended Lockwood’s Tree Farm not too far from them. I also tried calling Big John Leyden’s Christmas Tree Farm but they never answered the phone. Instead of taking the good advice of a farmer, we decided to be adventurous and drove out to Greene Tree Farm & Nursery because I read they had maple syrup, and well, I’m the kind of person who will go those extra 10 miles for good maple syrup. Plus, over the phone, they said they had 8-9 foot trees, and the cost was $40 for any tree.

Picking a tree in the rain is not nearly as romantic as picking one in the snow, and we trudged around the farm amid drizzles looking at trees. They had plenty that were tall enough, but many were planted a bit too close together so they inevitably were thinner on one side than the other. Also most of their trees were a yellower green, which if I knew anything about them probably indicated that they were cypress instead of fir or something like that. Worse yet, their dilapidated maple syrup stand was filled only with debris.

Enjoy some cupcakes while you wait for your tree.

So we got back in the car, stopping along the way at Pezza Farm in Johnston, RI which didn’t have larger trees and whose wreaths were $50 each. Hence, back in the car to Lockwood’s Tree Farm in Smithfield, RI. As we drove up to their red barn placed alongside their field of trees and a pond for skating (although a bit wet for that currently), we knew we had found the place for us. With very little effort, we found a wonderful tree — tall, full, green, and trimmed — for a reasonable price of $45. Apparently the rain had curtailed business that day so they were glad to see us too. Even better, the owners welcome visitors into a heated room where they offer candy, cupcakes, and hot cocoa for the kids and cider and coffee for the adults — all for free. And every tree comes with a string of lights. Now that’s country charm that’s well worth the 15-mile drive from Providence.

Lockwood’s Tree Farm
129 Austin Avenue
Smithfield, RI
www.farmfresh.org/food/farm.php?farm=509

Duquette Tree Farm
87 Reservoir Road
Chepachet, RI

RI Christmas Tree Growers Association www.richristmastrees.com

Farm Fresh RI’s list of Christmas tree farm vendors: www.farmfresh.org/food/food.php?zip=02909&food=130

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Butcher Shop Café & Deli

Plenty of seats and a tasty breakfast awaits at the Butcher Shop.

When Geoff accidentally left for Boston with the car keys this morning, I decided to walk Madeline to school which is 1.5 miles from our house. It doesn’t sound so bad, and it only took about 25 minutes. But having to turn around and come back home seconds later for the same journey with no breakfast and no caffeine was definitely not a good thing. So I decided to stop on my way home at Butcher Shop Café & Deli. I’ve passed this place four times every school day in the car, but never stopped. Today, it appeared to me like a mirage in the desert — oh please let there be egg sandwiches. Yatzee! I’m not sure that after my 2 miles of walking I could accurately judge (cardboard might have tasted good), but I’m pretty sure it was the best egg sandwich I’ve ever eaten. It wasn’t oozy as some, but the bacon was crisp and meaty and the egg on the well-done side — just the way I like it. How did they know?

The best egg sandwich ever, or maybe I was just really hungry.

It’s the perfect neighborhood joint — they’ve got a mini-grocery on one side where you can buy meats, breads, dairy and then a little café on the other where you can order breakfast and lunch to stay or go. They have an extensive catering menu and take plenty of holiday orders. The sandwich menu looks quite serious including what they call Dave’s famous hamburgers and the world’s best tuna, egg and chicken salads. It seems it might be worth walking to school more often.

Butcher Shop Café & Deli
157 Elmgrove Avenue
Providence, RI
www.elmgrovedeli.com

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Seven Stars Bakery

Seven Stars Bakery

The plethora of breads and sweets at Seven Stars Bakery.

The olive bread at Seven Stars Bakery comes damn close to matching the fougasse from Bread & Roses in Paris, which is no easy feat. But that’s not all. Seven Stars Bakery offers a stunning assortment of breads, pasteries, cookies, and muffins — all baked fresh daily. For lunch, they offer a few sandwiches made on their artisan breads like ham and cheese on a buttered baguette — also very Parisian. I’ve fallen for their cinnamon twists (twisted dough rolled in cinnamon sugar), rich fudge brownies that look like little cakes, and crisp gingerbread star cookies. I haven’t tried everything, although I’m working on it.

Seven Stars Bakery
www.sevenstarsbakery.com

820 Hope Street
Providence, RI 02906

342 Broadway
Providence RI 02909

Rumford Center
20 Newman Avenue
East Providence, RI 02916

Also at the Winter Farmers’ Market Saturdays in Pawtucket, RI