Providence

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Radish: The New Truck on the Block

The new Radish truck on their first day on Thayer Street.

Roasted vegetable sandwich, homemade garlic aioli and a side of fries.

We had decided to get some dinner at Plouf Plouf, but they weren’t parked in their usual spot on Thayer that night. Not to worry, a new truck had appeared — Radish. It seems they perhaps overheard my complaint about the lack of great sandwiches in the area. Of course, I do love the down-to-earth offerings at Geoff’s Superlative Sandwiches on Benefit Street — their generous tuna sandwich and bucket of pickles come the closest to a New York deli that I’ve found in Providence. However, in contrast, Radish has arrived to offer a more gourmet variety of sandwiches, soups and other dishes inspired by local farms and their ingredients. The sandwich we tried featured layered roasted zucchini, red peppers and caramelized onions with a side of garlic aioli on ciabatta bread. Pair that with some fresh thick-cut french fries, and you’ve got quite a meal in your hands.

Between Plouf Plouf, Mama Kim’s, Rocket, and now Radish, it seems Thayer Street’s best food now arrives on wheels.

Radish Food Truck
http://whereisradish.com/
http://www.facebook.com/whereisradish
https://twitter.com/whereisradish

Geoff’s Superlative Sandwiches
163 Benefit Street
Providence, RI
http://geoffssandwiches.com 

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Hasbro’s Our Big Backyard at Roger Williams Park Zoo

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On a hot city day, there’s nothing quite like a mini water park. Now, in addition to a handful of others in Providence, we’ve got one at the zoo.

I’ve typically steered clear of the zoo in the summer, but the addition of Hasbro’s Our Big Backyard at Roger Williams Park Zoo has definitely changed that. Kids can cool off in a variety of sprinklers, ponds and other water play, making the zoo a much less oppressive experience.  

One tip — when you plan your visit, check the zoo hours. We didn’t and arrived only 40 minutes before the 4 pm closing. When you visit the zoo, it’s nice to have time to see some animals too.

Roger Williams Park Zoo
1000 Elmwood Avenue
Providence, RI
www.rwpzoo.org
(first Saturday of every month free to Providence residents)

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48 Hour Film Project Providence, RI

Write what you know. Use who you’ve got. A still from our new short Bubble Gum Ice Cream screening this week as part of the 48 Hour Film Project Providence.

You might think it’s insane to sign up to write, direct and edit a film in 48 hours when you’ve got a five-year-old and a one-year-old. We did too, but we did it anyway. The result is the short film Bubble Gum Ice Cream, which will screen this week in Lincoln, RI along with dozens of other films also made in and around Providence, RI this past weekend.

The 48 Hour Film Project began in 2001 and now (in 2012) will inspire thousands of filmmakers to produce nearly 4,000 films in 120 cities on 6 continents. This happens to be our third time participating in the project — the first time was in 2004 in New York City (that film has been forever archived), the second time in Boston in 2008 (which you can watch online), and now here in Providence in 2012. I wonder where we’ll be producing our next film in 2016?

Bubble Gum Ice Cream screens with Group B on Tuesday night at 9:30pm.

48 Hour Film Project, Providence 2012
Date: July 17, 18, 19
Time: 7pm & 9:30pm
Place: Cinema World, 622 George Washington Hwy #321 Lincoln, RI 02865
www.48hourfilm.com/en/providence/

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Ship Street Farmers’ Market

Food trucks at the Ship Street Farmers’ Market.

It’s just a few weeks after the official unveiling of Providence’s new Ship Street Square, and it’s already home to a weekly farmers’ market. At this point in the season, the food trucks outnumbered the produce stands, but we were fine with that.

At the produce stands today, we found arugula and apples.

We ordered a few sliders from Rocket Fine Street Food (the Rocket sauce is excellent), and Geoff got a taco from Mijos Tacos. For dessert, the kids chose the non-dairy gluten-free soft serve from the Like No Udder truck. In my opinion this tastes pretty much like you’d expect — in other words, it’s no Frosty Freez— but they didn’t seem to notice the difference. As for me, I opted for the rhubarb mint ice pop from Rocket — a little sweet and perfectly refreshing.

Ship Street Farmers Market
Ship St And Richmond St
Providence, RI
see listing at Farm Fresh RI

Like No Udder
www.like-no-udder.com

Mijos Tacos
https://twitter.com/#!/mijostacos

Rocket Fine Street Food
see related blog post

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Quickly: Chinese Fast Food in Downcity Providence

The egg puff at Quickly.

The popular California chain Quickly has opened in Downcity Providence to serve Chinese fast food and snacks. After our recent dinner, we walked over to Quickly for dessert — Thai milk bubble tea, mango slush and an egg puff to share. Popular street food in Hong Kong, the egg puff (Gai Dan Jai) reminded us of a homemade waffle still hot off the griddle. Not surprisingly, it was devoured by the family within minutes.

Quickly
Northeast corner of Dorrance & Westminster
Providence, RI
www.quicklyusa.com

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Providence Coal-Fired Pizza

Meatballs, ricotta, mozzarella and tomatoes top the coal-fired pizza.

Despite the fact that Providence made it to number three on Travel and Leisure’s Best Pizza in America list, I’ve remained largely disenchanted with my local slice options. For me, all pizza will always be compared to the thin-crusted tomato and fresh mozzarella pie at Mario’s on Arthur Avenue, where my grandmother has been eating for over half a century. As a result, Nice Slice, Fellini, and Caserta Pizzeria have left me unimpressed. Of course, the grilled pizza from Al Forno and Bacaro are well worth the trip, but both of these are more special occasion pizzas (Al Forno doesn’t do take out; and Bacaro makes a more  gourmet pizza). They simply don’t satisfy the urge for the casual, classic New York pizza I grew up on.

So yesterday, when Geoff walked by the new Providence Coal-House Pizza in Downcity, he called me and I came down immediately with the kids to sample it. Their custom ovens heat pizzas to approximately 900°F — much higher than traditional or wood fired ovens — which embed the pizza with a delicious smoky flavor. We tried both the margherita and meatball. My favorite was the meatball — the  combination of melted ricotta and homemade meatballs worked well; Geoff preferred the margherita. Although I typically abandon my crust, I ate it all — which says a lot. No, it’s not Mario’s, but I can honestly say this is now officially my go-to local pizza joint.

Providence Coal Fired Pizza
385 Westminster St
Providence, RI 02903
http://providencecoalfirepizza.com

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Plouf Plouf Gastronomie: Fine French Dining in a Food Truck

Plouf Plouf Gastronomie parked on Thayer Street in Providence.

Roast chicken with mushrooms.

Here in Providence, we’ve come to expect the gourmet hot dog and cupcake from our food trucks, but fine French dining? That I didn’t see coming.

Chef Mario Molliere has worked at a three Michelin starred restaurant, and now he’s here in Rhode Island in his new digs — the Plouf Plouf Gastronomie truck. Dishes range from $5-15, more than most food trucks, but then again, you don’t normally get escargots,  duck confit, and crème brûlée from one.

They’ve been operating only a few weeks, but we’ve already been several times. As it turns out, fine French dining and a screaming, running eighteen-month-old normally don’t mix well — but Plouf Plouf Gastronomie has changed all that. On my last visit, I opted for the goat cheese and beet salad, followed by poulet rôti with mushrooms and a side of pomme frites, and finished off with the chocolate mousse. It doesn’t get much better than this.

I haven’t been down to Bristol yet to taste their homemade morning croissants, but clearly it’s on my list.

Beet and goat cheese salad.

Plouf Plouf Gastronomie
Follow them on Twitter to find out location
www.ploufploufgastronomie.com

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Providence Children’s Film Festival

Madeline was the star of her own movie flipbook this morning at the RISD Auditorium.

It’s nice to see some things continue to flourish in Providence.

This weekend, we attended a few of the films as part of the 3rd Annual Providence Children’s Film Festival. The all-volunteer festival staff puts together an extraordinary event with a collection of children-friendly shorts and features from all over the world. Whether your kids watch too much TV or you’ve avoided TV altogether (or somewhere in between), this festival introduces children to the artof film — and in my opinion, nothing could be better than that.

Photo by Frank Mullin

The festival’s films, events and workshops continue through Tuesday, February 21 at venues throughout Providence. See their website for a complete schedule of events and to purchase advance tickets.