Providence

by

Portuguese Sweet Bread at Silver Star Bakery

Portuguese sweetbread from Silver Star Bakery.

After a disappointing brunch at the English Muffin in Johnston, I decided to console myself with breakfast for dinner. What I craved was the challah french toast from the Waverly Diner in New York City. Since I didn’t know where to get such a thing in Rhode Island, I decided to make it myself. So, on our way home from breakfast, I stopped at Seven Stars Bakery for some challah. But, as it turns out, they only bake it on Fridays. I guess in Providence (or at Seven Stars, at least), challah is reserved for Shabbat — not so in New York.

As it turns out, Portuguese sweet bread makes some wonderful french toast.

So instead, I bought a loaf of the Portuguese sweet bread from Silver Star Bakery — which as its name implies is slightly sweet. There are many renditions of the egg bread, all of which I love — the French brioche, the Jewish challah, the Italian Easter Bread (with anise), and now, the Portuguese sweet bread.

Of course, Silver Star Bakery sells quite a bit of other tasty treats besides sweet bread including cavacas (a sweet, iced version of the popover) and nata (a custard in a pastry shell). So even if it’s something other than challah French toast you’re after, it’s worth a visit.

Silver Star Bakery
150 Ives Street
Providence, RI

by

Froyo World

Froyo World opens a new location on Thayer Street which is already bustling.


Some people may question why Froyo World opened a frozen yogurt shop on Thayer Street when we already have Juniper, but not me. I’m ready for the Red Mango, the Pinkberry (please, when?) and any other willing competitors. That said, I did feel a little guilty sidestepping Juniper to try Froyo World.

Froyo World follows the self-serve model, which means the cups are intentionally enormous so that you might foolishly load them up with yogurt and toppings — $.49/ounce sounds cheap but it adds up. What I like about this is that I can try as many flavors as I wish — original tart (not as good as Juniper), chocolate and vanilla swirl (convincingly similar to soft serve ice cream and presumably less fattening than Frosty Freez), and peanut butter (sensing I’ll be craving this later). You’re also not penalized for more than two toppings — and I’m still scratching my head at why Juniper charges $1 for a sprinkle of chocolate chips.

Still, Madeline remained unconvinced and insisted on getting her “old” blueberry yogurt with gummy bears and strawberries at Juniper. So we actually went to both places — good thing they’re so close together.

Froyo World
219 Thayer St
Providence, RI www.froyoworld.com

by

Art by Avery Boruch

Ten-year-old Avery Boruch currently exhibits her work at the Newport Art Museum.


I’ll admit that sometimes I see a work of art, and I think — my kid could paint that. Ironically, that’s not what I thought yesterday when I saw the work displayed at Meeting Street Cafe by Rhode Island artist Avery Boruch, who as it turns out, is 10-years-old. Her works range from ethereal to passionate, not exactly what you’d expect from such a young artist, but then again she has been exhibiting her work professionally for six years.

Dancing Feet by Avery Boruch

You can currently see her work at the Newport Art Museum as part of the Newport Annual Juried Members’ Exhibition. Not surprisingly, she’s the youngest artist ever to be included.

Avery Boruch
www.artbyavery.com

Current shows include:

Solo Exhibition at Meeting Street Cafe
Providence, RI
www.meetingstreetcafe.com

Newport Annual Members’ Juried Exhibition (through May 22, 2011) at Newport Art Museum
Newport, RI
www.newportartmuseum.org

by

The Donut Robot at Small Point CafĂ©

The result of the donut robot.


There is much to celebrate about the new cafĂ© on Westminster Street in Providence, not the least of which is their “donut robot.” Small Point CafĂ©, which opened a little over a week ago, sells pastries (popovers, malasadas), light meals, coffee, and of course, the aforementioned donuts. After your order is placed, the push of a button launches the donut robot, which converts their sweet batter into fresh, hot miniature donuts — no match for Allie’s Donuts, but remarkably similar to the tasty fried dough at fairs. Of course, with donuts (like bagels), the fresher the better — so it’s hard to resist ones that were literally made only seconds ago.

Small Point Café
230 Westminster Street
Providence, RI
www.facebook.com/smallpointcafe

by

Cakes from Sin Desserts and Allie’s Donuts

The rainbow cake created by Sin Desserts.

When our daughter tells us she wants a rainbow cake for her birthday, we take such a request seriously. Geoff researched making one like this, but quickly realized we had enough to do without cake baking (when Geoff made our wedding cake, he spent weeks refining a recipe). So we turned to Sin Desserts in Providence who with about a week’s notice exceeded our expectations. Not only did they make a rainbow cake, but they added a smiling sun with the cut-out semicircle (Madeline requested her first piece from there) and a drawing of blue sky and puffy clouds on the tray below. The hard crust of the fondant kept the chocolate cake and whipped cream layer inside perfectly moist — and also ensured that Madeline’s anticipatory poking did no harm. Usually cakes this pretty are awful, but I have to say this was an exception — the cake was light with a great chocolate flavor. Although I did skip eating the fondant, I have to admit — that stuff just doesn’t seem edible.

Finally -- an occasion to order an Allie's Donuts donut cake!

Thinking that the cake would feed about 30 small mouths (turns out it was more like 60), we also ordered a donut cake from Allie’s Donuts which we’ve been wanting to do since our first visit there a few weeks ago. At first, I had no idea what could possibly be inside the pizza-sized boxes emerging from the donut place, but it turns out it’s a giant donut. Genius.

When Geoff called to order it, they wanted to know exactly what time he’d be by to pick it up — it turns out they were going to make it immediately before to ensure the maximum freshness possible.  And it showed — it was so soft, it practically melted in your mouth.  I personally could have done without the rainbow sprinkles, but it wasn’t my birthday. We froze some of the rainbow cake, but the donut cake has been eaten, and I’m now awaiting the next appropriate occasion for one.

Sin Desserts
200 Allens Ave
Providence, RI
www.eatwicked.com

Allie’s Donuts
3661 Quaker Lane
North Kingstown, RI
Also read a blog post from our first visit.

by

Gallery Night Providence

Gail Armstrong in her studio in the Deacon Taylor Studios.

Last night, we decided to go to the opening of the 15th season of Gallery Night Providence and boarded the “art bus” (aka school bus) for a tour of neighborhood galleries. Our “traditional” tour was one of four different ones offered (earlier tours included a “contemporary” tour and a “celebrity” tour with RISCA director Randy Rosenbaum).

Our first stop was Picture This Gallery, which in addition to offering custom framing services, exhibits watercolors and oil paintings by local artists. Painter Rob Rey was there to chat and answer questions.

Artists demonstrate egg tempera at Bert Gallery.

We then toured the Bert Gallery which featured the exhibit “The Magical Realism of Louise E. Marianetti” (through March 19), a re-creation of the artist’s original 1949 exhibits in Boston and Newport. A few local painters had set up a table there to demonstrate egg tempera (creating colors out of pigment mixed with egg yolks), a technique that Marianetti used in her work.

Next, it was on to the John Brown House Museum, where I discovered the most fabulous mural wallpaper (I wonder how much it costs to commission such a thing?) and a restored carriage originally used by the family.

Our last stop was the Providence Art Club and Deacon Taylor Studios, which combines the studio spaces of a number of local artists who often open their doors to exhibit and sell their work. This is one of my favorite gallery spaces in Providence, because you can speak with the artists directly and often can witness them creating new works.  Not to mention, I love a lot of the paintings there (like this).

The Gallery Nights continue every third Thursday of the month (see dates below), and you can choose to take the bus, your own car (there’s free parking available), walk, or even take a bike tour in nicer weather. Each tour is unique, so you can attend as often as you like.

Gallery Night Providence
2011 Dates (third Thursdays 5-9 pm): April 21, May 19, June 16, July 21, August 18, September 15, October 20, November 17
www.gallerynight.info

Bert Gallery at Corliss Landing
540 South Water Street
Providence, RI
www.bertgallery.com

Deacon Taylor Studios
9 Thomas Street
Providence, RI

John Brown House Museum
52 Power Street
Providence, RI
www.rihs.org

Picture This Gallery
48 Weybosset St.
Providence, RI
www.picturethisgalleries.com

Providence Art Club
11 Thomas Street
Providence, RI
www.providenceartclub.org

by

Angkor’s Nam Yaa: Medicine Soup

Ah, a bowl of Nam Yaa soup...

After spending what seemed like an eternity shut in my house with a fever and cold, the only thing to motivate me out of bed was a craving for the Nam Yaa soup at Angkor Restaurant. They deliver, but I find somehow it tastes better there.

According to the menu, my Cambodian Nam Yaa soup contains herbs, lemongrass, ginger, galangal, garlic, and kaffir lime leaves, but all I taste is a perfect balance of sweet, salty and spicy — and that steaming soup (which they call medicine soup) cures me, at least momentarily. They do have other dishes on the menu — chicken satay, hot basil in lemongrass sauce, pineapple fried rice, street noodles with coconut sauce, among others.  But I’ve been here at least half a dozen times, and no matter what I get, I also get the Nam Yaa.

Their new location on Traverse Street (around the corner from their old spot) is tiny, but the waitress told us that the owner will be able to own the building instead of rent, which I was glad to hear since that means they’ll be sticking around.

Angkor Restaurant
10 Traverse St
Providence, RI
(401) 383-2227

by

Sledding at Moses Brown in Providence, RI

Madeline on one of the novice hills


Although I grew up in New York City, our building in Riverdale happened to be perched atop a hill making sledding at least feasible, if a bit dangerous (your ride ended with a tree or in the road). But it’s hard to imagine a more perfect sledding spot than the one at Moses Brown School. With over a foot of snow in the Providence area today, we joined dozens of kids and adults with an array of brightly colored sleds and tubes who arrived there for sled rides down a variety of hills – some short, subtle ones for beginners and two steep ones for the more adventurous. All of them end in a nice flat field of snow making it fairly safe, except for the occasional collision (like the one when Madeline crashed into me as I stood in her riding path to take an action shot).

The hills at Moses Brown make a great sledding spot.

For our first time out, we stuck to the novice hills and gave the two sleds we bought yesterday at Benny’s a couple of good runs. I’m just glad that I bought two sleds, so when Madeline wanted to go by herself, there was still another sled for me.

Oh, and if you were out there, we were the (only) ones carrying an infant bundled in a car seat.

by

Rock-a-Baby for Little Music Lovers

Melody, Rhythm and Harmony - the Rock-a-Baby puppets.


Combine a live band, familiar rock-n-roll songs, and three clever puppets, and you get Rock-a-Baby, a musical learning experience for babies and toddlers. The classes originated in New York City, although watching a video from one of the NYC classes makes me glad I live in the much more low key (and less populous) state of Rhode Island.

Madeline and I joined one of the first Providence sessions this fall with about a half dozen other children ranging in age from six months to three years. Each class, hosted by singer Kate, pianist Marc, and guitarist Benny, focused on a different ‘theme of the week’ with songs to match and a new instrument in the spotlight to explore. The format perfectly balanced the repetition kids need (starting class with the same song and ending with bubble time, for example), while offering some new exposure to instruments or musical concept. Even adults were entertained by the repertoire of songs and the Henson-like humor of the Rock-a-Baby puppets.

Alas, as much as I loved Rock-a-Baby, Madeline is getting a bit old for it so we may try some classes at the RI Philharmonic this spring. I mean, she could be playing Beethoven’s waltzes at four-years-old. As for our new addition, Lucy, I’m sure she’ll be a Rock-a-Baby fan as soon as she can stay awake long enough to attend a class.

The 2011 classes begin in January, but for a preview you can see the Rock-a-Baby group perform as part of the Bright Night celebration in Providence, RI on December 31 at 1:30 and 3:30 pm at the Providence Children’s Museum.

Rock-a-Baby
Classes in Providence and Warwick, RI
www.rock-a-baby.net

by

Ebisu for Winter Treats

Making Takoyaki at Ebisu

It was cold and rainy when I came home on the train from Boston. I remembered a note sent from Ebisu restaurant that they were making Takoyaki – a pan-fried sphere of creamy batter, crispy on the outside, with a little piece of octopus in the middle. As tasty as a Rhode Island clamcake with a Japanese spin to it.

They make shabu-shabu too, which is delicious with their homemade dipping sauce.

My next trip will be all about sitting at the bar and ordering plate after plate of yakitori. I saw their shishamo (little grilled fish) which looked like they would go great with a tall cold beer.

Ebisu Japanese Restaurant
38 Pontiac Avenue
Providence, RI
(401) 270-7500
info@ebisuri.com
www.ebisuri.com