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Kreatelier: Sewing Workshops for Children

The proud owner of a handmade doll–that is, made by her very own hands.

Soccer, gymnastics, piano — these are the afterschool activities that may typically come to mind. But sewing?

Since Geoff bought himself a sewing machine last year, our five-year-old daughter has taken an interest in a new type of arts–the material kind. So for her birthday, she received a private sewing workshop from Kreatelier’s Alexis Cormier. When I left her there with Geoff, I figured she’d make a little hand-puppet or something. Instead, I arrived an hour later to discover she had nearly completed a doll in her own likeness, down to the curly hair.

Of course, in addition to the sewing workshops for children and adults, Kreatelier is also a store selling locally handmade bags, pillows, fabric jewelry, clothes and other items. And for anyone not interested in making a doll from scratch, those are for sale too–complete with custom clothes and shoes.

Kreatelier
804 Hope Street
Providence, RI
www.kreatelier.com

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La Crêperie

Digging into the second crêpe — butter and sugar.

We are a crêpe family. We usually have a stack of them in the refrigerator ready to be filled on request: egg and cheese, butter and sugar, banana and chocolate.

Inside La Crêperie, on a tiny street off Thayer.

But this morning the request came, and we couldn’t fill it, so we went to La Crêperie, which serves up traditional French crêpes–wheat or buckwheat–composed with your choice of savory or sweet fillings. They also have Belgian waffles, wraps, salads, and smoothies–none of which we’ve tried yet. Like I said, we’re a crêpe family, and judging by the stream of customers this morning, we’re not the only ones.

La Crêperie
82 Fones Alley
Providence, RI, 02906
http://creperieprov.com/

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Gold Stone: Chili Oil Fish

Chili Oil Fish from Gold Stone.

When I go to a new diner, I always order corned beef hash–I find it’s a leading indicator of general diner quality. Is the corned beef homemade? Is the hash crispy and flavorful?  When I first tried  Gold Stone, I came for the Mapo Tofu–my Szechuan corned-beef hash–and it was as satisfying as my standard, from Mary Chung.

When I returned to Gold Stone, I asked them for a specialty that I have been ordering more often than Mapo Tofu: Chili Oil Fish (pictured), which was rich with a thick slick of chili oil and perfectly cooked pieces of white fish (flounder?). It may become my new standard.

Gold Stone
840 Allens Ave
Providence, RI
(401) 781-8887
www.goldstoneprovidence.com

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Apple Picking and Brunch at Knight Farm

Enjoying an apple straight off the tree.


Each year we try to find a new farm for apple picking in addition to our old favorites. In past years, we’ve discovered Jaswell’s Farm, Hill Orchards, and Sweet Berry Farm. This year, we decided to try Knight Farm, founded in 1800.

Although many farms have stands or shops (Jaswell’s and Sweet Berry Farms are my favorites), few have restaurants. When we arrived this morning, it was clear this was a popular place for brunch and with good reason. It’s certainly nothing fancy, but they serve simple comfort food in a charming and rustic atmosphere. I ordered an egg sandwich, and I was not disappointed.

Knight’s apple orchards feel relatively compact to some of the others (they have about 40 acres versus Jaswell’s 100 acres), but really how many apple trees do you need? We had no trouble picking our own crisp, tasty apples. Of course, the real work came later — peeling apples, rendering lard (from Pat’s Pastured Pork), rolling the crust, and baking the pie. Not that I did any of that. But I did eat a piece of the resulting pie, and it was delicious.

Knight Farm and Restaurant
1 Snake Hill Road
North Scituate, RI
www.knightfarm.com

Also see Farm Fresh RI’s Pick Your Own Guide near Providence.

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A View from Fort Wetherill State Park

Perched on the rocks overlooking Narragansett Bay.

Not everyone may think it’s a wise idea to drag their one- and five-year-olds up a jagged cliff overlooking a 100-foot drop to the ocean, and I can’t disagree. Nonetheless, we did exactly that yesterday at Forth Wetherill State Park in Jamestown, RI. Here, there are no fences or barriers to rely on, just common sense. Geoff liked that — it’s very European, he said.

The view from Fort Wetherill State Park in Jamestown.

From the peak, you can see a wide expanse of Narragansett Bay and Newport Harbor — yesterday the water shimmered so beautifully that our five-year-old said “I wish I could paint that.” As for our one-year-old, it took a good deal of cajoling and wrestling to keep her from careening over the edge. No wonder my back hurts today. Still, you can’t beat the view.

Fort Wetherill State Park
Jamestown, RI
http://www.riparks.com/fortweth.htm 

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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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La Maison de Coco

It can’t quite rival the chocolate tarte at Bread & Roses in Paris. Of course, this one’s just a few towns away and pretty delicious too, so I guess I won’t complain…

Honestly, it’s about time that Newport had a charming little tea and chocolate shop, and on Bellevue Avenue no less. Last weekend, we stopped in to Maison de Coco and despite the fact that it was 80 degrees, I ordered a tea-infused dark chocolat chaud (hot chocolate) and a chocolate tarte. The chocolat chaud was perfection — not as thick as Burdick’s, but with an equally rich flavor.

The inside of La Maison de Coco.

Although the shop has a petit café where you can enjoy your treats, Geoff and I had to take turns since the kids were asleep in the car (more chocolate for us). On his trip, he selected a handful of chocolate truffles, also tea-infused and also delicious.

Between the beaches and surfing, Flo’s and Frosty Freez, I didn’t really need another reason to go to Newport. But now I have one.

La Maison de Coco
28 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840
www.lamaisondecoco.com

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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