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Champlin’s Seafood: Lobster Rolls, Clam Cakes, and Seafood to Go

A lobster roll at Champlin's.

In my experience, there are no two lobster rolls created equally.  Sometimes they have mayo, sometimes they have butter, and other times, neither. I’m willing to try them all, but I only like a few.

In Rhode Island, my favorite remains Flo’s Clam Shack, which makes the plainest lobster roll I’ve ever had — unadorned lobster meat on a hot dog bun with lettuce. You can add the mayo yourself (I don’t).  Knowing that dessert at Frosty Freez is not far away, makes it even better.

Recently, I tried the lobster roll at Champlin’s Seafood, where they mix the lobster meat with mayo and celery. Of course, you can’t beat the location — as my out-of-town friends gazed at the boats in the water at Galilee, they said, “This is exactly what you think of when you think of New England.” I also had them order one of my local favorites — clam cakes (think hushpuppies with clams mixed in) — which were a huge hit as well.

As a local, perhaps my favorite part of Champlin’s is the seafood store downstairs, where you can buy fresh scallops, tuna, swordfish, shrimp, etc. to cook at home. And if you pick up some fresh-picked corn at a farm on your way home, you’ll really have the perfect summer meal.

Flo’s Clam Shack
4 Wave Ave
Middletown, RI

Park Avenue
Portsmouth, RI 02871
www.flosclamshack.net

Champlin’s Seafood
256 Great Island Road
Narragansett, RI
www.champlins.com

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Adventureland: The Mini Amusement Park

The bumper boats are equipped with water guns for maximum soaking.

Apparently it takes a few friends from France and Germany on holiday to help me find the only amusement park in Rhode Island. Granted, it is small — I’ve passed it dozens of times and never even noticed the sign. That, and I’ve never gone looking for go-karts, although having since ridden one, I can tell you that’s no longer true.

Go-karts speed around the track.

At Adventureland, there are batting cages, go-karts, bumper boats, a carousel, and a 18-hole mini-golf course. Madeline and I rode a go-kart together since she’s too short (under 44 inches) to ride herself. We picked a car with two steering wheels, and I double-checked to make sure mine was the working one before getting started. I did notice that the double go-karts appeared rigged to go a slower — even though we started in the front and had petal to the metal, some over 44-inch tall kids traveling alone passed us.

Madeline equally enjoyed the carousel and the bumper boats. It’s not exactly the full-day event that many amusement parks are, but it may actually be just enough…

Adventureland
112 Point Judith Road (Route 108)
Narragansett, RI
www.adventurelandri.com

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Flying Horse Carousel in Watch Hill

Madeline joins the riders on the Flying Horse Carousel in Watch Hill.

There are a handful of things that Rhode Island can claim to be the “oldest in America” — such as the oldest synagogue and the oldest lending library. Apparently, we also have the oldest carousel.

The Flying Horse Carousel in Watch Hill originated in 1876 and is named for the fact that its 20 horses are not attached to the floor but remain suspended from a center frame, swinging out or “flying” when in motion. There is an age limit — no one over 12-years-old may ride, and I particularly liked the sign recommending you re-consider if you are over 100 lbs or over 5 feet tall. Rides are $1 for an inside horse and $1.50 for an outside horse.

The Easton's Beach carousel makes for a great rainy day activity.

Madeline chose an inside horse, and after two rides appeared sufficiently mesmerized so I figured she’d had enough. Our next stop will be either the Crescent Park Carousel in East Providence or the Slater Memorial Park Carousel in Pawtucket…

Carousels in Rhode Island

Flying Horse Carousel
Westerly, RI
www.visitrhodeisland.com/what-to-do/amusements/458/flying-horse-merry-go-round/

Atlantic Beach Carousel
Westerly, RI
www.atlanticbeachpark.com/amusements

Easton’s Beach Carousel
Newport, RI
www.cityofnewport.com/departments/economic-development/beach/home.cfm

Carousel Village, Roger Williams Park
Providence, RI
www3.providenceri.com/parks-and-rec/carousel-village

Crescent Park Carousel
East Providence, RI
www.eastprovidence.com/content/668/830/834/default.aspx

Slater Memorial Park Carousel
Pawtucket, RI
www.pawtucketri.com/about/pointsofinterest.php

For more information on Rhode Island carousels, see http://sos.ri.gov/kidszone/carousels/ or KidoInfo’s list.

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Providence Juice Company: Blackberry and Lavender Lemonade

The Providence Juice Company truck parked at Lippitt Park in Providence.


In the heat of the summer (which surely this is), there’s nothing quite like a glass of lemonade. Make that an iridescent, organic blackberry and lavender-infused lemonade from the Providence Juice Company’s juice truck. Since their Kickstarter campaign last year, the truck has made a success of serving up fresh smoothies and juices at the local farmers’ markets.

Blackberry and lavender infused lemonade.

As it turns out lemonade stands aren’t just for enterprising children…

Providence Juice Company
www.pvdjuiceco.com

Providence / Lippitt Park Farmers Market
www.farmfresh.org/food/farmersmarkets_details.php?market=11

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Rhode Island’s First Pinkberry

My Pinkberry choice: watermelon yogurt with raspberries, chocolate chips and a waffle cookie.


As I make my way from frozen yogurt to frozen yogurt, I have had one thing on my mind: Pinkberry. Still it took me five days to discover that Rhode Island now has its own Pinkberry at Garden City Center in Cranston. Within 24 hours of this discovery, Madeline, Lucy and I were there in a line full of mostly young females awaiting their sweet fix.

Since they didn’t have my usual flavor, pomegranate, I opted for watermelon. As it turns out, the two taste so similar that I’m not sure I would be able to distinguish between them, which is surprising since I can taste the difference between colors of SweeTarts (just ask Geoff). Lucy mooched mine (how old should babies be to eat frozen yogurt?), while Madeline chose a mini chocolate yogurt with raspberries and waffle cookie. They also offer original, mango, coconut, and salty caramel flavors topped with your choice of fruit, candy and nuts.

Although I usually root for the mom-and-pop over the corporate franchise, I am a sucker for Pinkberry. And seeing how many others apparently feel the same, I predict this to be not the only Pinkberry in Rhode Island, but simply the first.

Pinkberry
Garden City Center
53 Hillside Rd
Cranston, RI
www.pinkberry.com

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Wrights Dairy Farm: Cows, Cake and Coffee Milk

See the cows being milked, then enjoy some of that milk (plain, chocolate or coffee milk) at one of their picnic tables.

This may seem strange, but I don’t like cake. I do make an exception for a perfectly conceived cupcake, but I never order it at restaurants, and I always pass on it at weddings and parties.

So recently at a 4-year-old’s birthday party, I instinctively replied “no thanks” to the offer of cake. But when I learned that it came from Wrights Dairy Farm, I immediately admitted I had made a huge mistake and got myself a slice. And yes, the cake from Wrights Dairy Farm lives up to its reputation — soft, buttery and layered with real whipped cream from their very own cows.

The cake at Wrights Dairy Farm -- I wish I were eating it right now.

A few days later, we were at the farm, admiring those cows.  At Wrights Dairy Farm, you can watch the cows being milked every day from 3-5 pm.  As we watched, I realized I’d never actually seen a cow up close being milked by a machine before, which is quite mesmerizing. Apparently, each cow provides about 5 gallons of milk during each milking — impressive output for a diet of corn and grass.

We then made our way into their bakery, which displays an array of pastries, pies, cakes, cookies and more. Ultimately, I couldn’t resist the strawberry shortcake layered with whipped cream. And as I enjoyed it with a side of their own coffee milk on a sunny day at one of their picnic tables, I decided this is definitely one of my favorite excursions in the state.

Wrights Dairy Farm
200 Woonsocket Hill Rd
North Smithfield, RI
www.wriwghtsdairyfarm.com

Note: The farm has a bakers’ vacation from July 18-25, 2011 so you might want to plan your trip before or after that…

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Soban Korean Eatery

Bibimbap at Soban

Over the past two years, we’ve been impressed with some of the Korean food in the Providence area, including Sun and Moon in East Providence and, of course, Mama Kim’s Korean BBQ food truck, which serves up some tasty pork sandwiches. So when we learned that the owners of Juniper had opened Soban, a Korean eatery, on Thayer Street — we were among the first patrons on opening night.

Mama Kim's Korean BBQ often parks on Thayer Street.

It’s hard to judge a restaurant on its first night — they wound up with a full house and dozens of take-out orders so they were obviously a bit overwhelmed. So I’ll forgive them any service mishaps for now.

We ordered the steamed pork and chive dumplings, made with thin, fresh dough and a well-composed filling. For the main dish, I ordered the Bibimbap — a classic Korean dish served in a hot stone pot with meat, vegetables, and rice topped with a cracked egg which cooks as you mix it together (along with spicy chili paste to your liking). Geoff ordered the spicy tofu stew made with soft, fresh tofu that melts in your mouth simmered with shrimps with the heads still on in a spicy chili broth. I skipped the shrimp, but tasted the tofu. Soft, fresh tofu is a rare find and nothing like the rubbery cubes you find in more commercial miso soup.

For Madeline, we had ordered Duboki, chewy strips of rice (imagine grains of rice larger than your fingers) in a sweet and hot chili sauce with onions, carrots and fish cake. It was delicious as well, although by the time it finally arrived, Madeline was fast asleep in the stroller. Fortunately, it makes a great breakfast the next day as well.

Soban
272 Thayer St
Providence, RI

Mama Kim’s Korean BBQ
www.mamakims.us

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Scarborough Beach and Brickley’s Ice Cream: Summer Starts Now

A chocolate chip ice cream cone from Brickley's.

Summer hasn’t officially started, but as far as I’m concerned, summer starts the first day that I go to the beach, which happened to be today. We drove to Scarborough Beach to find a nearly empty parking lot and to buy our season parking pass before the rate hike. I don’t think I’ve ever gotten a spot in the first row of the Scarborough lot — apparently that’s what a weekday in early June gets you, along with a bit of wind and icy water.  But I still loved it.

Of course, where there is a beach, ice cream can’t be far behind, so on our way back, we stopped at Brickley’s Ice Cream for a couple of homemade ice cream cones — chocolate chip for me and chocolate for Madeline.

Ah, summer in Rhode Island…

Brickley’s Ice Cream
www.brickleys.com

921 Boston Neck Road
Narragansett, RI

322 Main Street
South Kingstown, RI

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Imagine Gift Store: Candy, Chotchkes, and Games

One of the several candy aisles at Imagine Gift Store.

It’s always a bit sad to see a theatre converted into some other use, although when that happens,  I am in favor of it becoming a extra-large candy store. Imagine Gift Store, located in the restored Lyric Theatre in Warren, RI, can probably satisfy whatever sweet craving you’ve got — including candy cigarettes.

Madonna in your cup.

Here, you might also stock up on your chotchkes, such as the iPlunge (a mini plunger to use as an iPhone/iTouch stand) or a mug in which the Madonna materializes from a remaining coffee stain (my mother-in-law bought this).

We also left with Bananagrams, a word game created here in Rhode Island, which as it turns out, may be as addictive as candy.

Like Scrabble, Bananagrams enables you to build and connect words, however, the board isn’t fixed so you can change and move words as you see fit. Even better, there’s no taking turns, which means I don’t have to wait a half hour while Geoff patiently contrives a way of using all of his letters. And although this isn’t a win-win situation, it means I win more of the time, which is just fine with me.

Bananagrams, a word game created in Rhode Island.

Imagine Gift Store
5 Miller Street
Warren, RI
www.imaginegiftstores.com

Bananagrams
www.bananagrams.com

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RISD Museum: Tours for Tots

Madeline creates her own art during the RISD Museum's Tours for Tots.

Someone recently asked Madeline what she wanted to be when she grew up.

“Well,” she replied. “I’m already getting started. I’m an artist.”

So apparently in support of her current career, we visited the Rhode Island School of Design (RISD) Museum yesterday during their Tours for Tots. The hour-long program, which continues Thursdays in June, offers children ages 3-5 an interactive tour of one of the museum’s exhibits, along with a chance to create their own art. Yesterday’s tour brought us to the wooden Dainichi Nyorai Buddha, which sits 9-feet tall in its own dimly lit gallery. The children learned the story of Siddhartha, as they discovered how to sit and think like Buddha. We then moved to an open room where the kids spread out on the floor and created their own crayon drawings inspired by the story. The event ended with all of the new ‘artwork’ on display for everyone to admire.

A still from Schnitt's "Once Upon a Time"

Each week brings a different tour, so you can attend more than once. And while you’re there, you can get your fix of Van Gogh, Monet, Manet, and other masterpieces, along with some less traditional art like Sarah Sze’s notepad cut into a tiny and intricate fire escape or Corinna Schnitt’s video loop Once Upon a Time, which shows what happens in an unsupervised room full of chickens, cats, birds, fish, bunnies and a goat. Who says art museums are for adults?

RISD Museum
Tours for Tots
Thursdays June 2, 9, 16, 23 at 2 pm – 2:45 pm
(meets in the Chace Lobby, free with museum admission)
www.risdmuseum.org (also see family programs)

Sarah Sze
artist website | exhibit info

Corinna Schnitt
artist website | exhibit info