Eat Local: Rooftop at the Providence G

It's been a while since one of these posts! I had to get this one up pretty promptly, though, so y'all can take advantage of the excellent deal and deliciousness of Providence Restaurant Week. There's a number of participating restaurants doing 3-course $16.95 for lunch or $29.95/$34.95 for dinner-some of them even two-for-one deals!

I went down to Providence for the day on Monday with the express goals of doing almost nothing and eating delicious food-mission accomplished, ha! Rici, Dad, and I decided to try out a new place for dinner, Rooftop at the Providence G. None of us had eaten there before, but the menu looked great and we could make a reservation online (a not infrequent deciding factor for me).

We all opted for cocktails-the Fig Fusion, St. Goose, and East Ghost RI, then made our selections from the Restaurant Week menu. They also had their full menu available.

Dad and I both started with the black truffle cauliflower soup, while Rici ordered the fried artichokes. The soup was probably my favorite thing all night-but was super rich. The artichokes were a pretty sizable serving, so we all tried-and enjoyed-them and Rici still had some to take home with her, ha.

We got three different main dishes. Naturally I got the vegetarian one, beet root gnocchi, while Rici got a wood oven roasted chicken and Dad went for the grilled rare tuna. They were all beautifully presented and delicious!

We finished with dessert-something I rarely order out, so it is a special treat during restaurant week. Again, we all made different selections and got to taste each others-I had the lavender creme brûlée, Rici had the flourless chocolate cake, and Dad enjoyed the berry mousse. While they were all tasty, we agreed that the chocolate cake could have been improved by heating it before serving and the creme brûlée was a little too sweet for my taste, though the flavors were great.

The space is quite lovely, though a little chilly-as it literally is a rooftop with a glass roof over it for the winter! They have some cafe tables, a bar, and lounge seating. There was also live music, which we definitely enjoyed! It seems this is a regular thing there, so it would also be a great location just for drinks.

I would highly recommend checking the Rooftop-and I know I can't wait to go back in the summer when you truly are outside!

xoxoxo
Emma

Eat Local: Kitchen

If you find yourself in Providence on a Thursday-Sunday with an open morning ahead of you, I highly recommend you make your way over to Kitchen. A tiny, cash-only, no-call-ahead, no-frills breakfast spot, it is truly fantastic.

Dad, Georgina, and I lucked out when we went, as we only had a few groups ahead of us in line-and I ate a granola bar on my drive down from Providence, ha. We spent some of the time waiting planning out everything we wanted to eat...and building up our appetites!

We started with the griddled muffin-they make one kind every day, and we were totally ok with not having a variety from which to choose. The corn-raspberry combo was perfect.

We then dove into our entrees-a breakfast quesadilla for dad (plus a side of bacon, of course), the huevos rancheros for me, and the Big Shot for Georgina, which came with bacon, eggs, home fries, and the Portugese sweet bread French toast. The salsa for dad's and my dishes was even housemade-too delicious!

Dad and I also definitely enjoyed the coffee milk-it went perfectly with our savory and slightly spicy meals!

Let me know if you're headed over-I'll join you and bring coffee for the wait! :)

xoxoxo
Emma

Father's Day Festivities

I got to actually spend Father's Day with my dad for the first time in years-we were trying to figure it out, and I'm 99.9% certain it's been since high school! Dad requested that we go down to Newport, RI for the day as he has been wanting to explore it for years and somehow has never made it, ha.

I mean, of course we started the day with Providence Bagel-I had to get the rainbow bagel since they brought it back for Pride, and it was great with honey walnut cream cheese. Dad loved the Federal Hill sandwich, with egg, mozzarella, mushroom, roasted red pepper, and pesto-I definitely need to try it at some point.

It was a pretty dreary day (until we got back to Providence at the end of the day, of course), so we missed out on some views going into Newport (as well as along the coast full of mansions), but we found plenty to do! We started at the Museum of Newport History, which was small but informative!

We then made our way to the Touro Synagogue, the oldest one in the United States. Our guide was so knowledgeable, and I really appreciated that he acknowledged (once asked) the complexity of the affluent families who built and attended it and where their wealth came from-including slavery or profits linked to it.

After walking up to view the cemetery, we decided we needed a brunch break, so we decided on White Horse Tavern, America's oldest tavern (are you sensing a theme?). While the food was quite good-and the cocktail I had was fantastic-Dad and I decided the most accurate word for our dining experience was "confusing". Our server seemed nice enough, but wasn't exactly a good listener-thankfully Dad likes blue cheese far more than I do! I will also give him credit for taking a good photo, ha. We were seated on in the corner next to the server stand despite the room being empty almost the entire time we were dining. I will definitely recommend the cheese board and the Trading Post though!

Fortified by our omelets, we walked down to the water, but there wasn't much to see given all the fog. We decided on one last stop-possibly the one I was most looking forward to-the Redwood Library and Atheneum. It is-you guessed it-the oldest library building in the USA, and absolutely gorgeous. I love that it is still a functioning lending library while maintaining its history. I definitely could have hung out there for a while!

As I mentioned, we drove by the Newport Mansions-they are crazy! I can't imagine not only owning but caring for one of those. However, I wouldn't mind trying...anybody want to introduce me to some of the private owners? ;) We couldn't see much of the ocean but the waves crashing were gorgeous. I didn't even take a photo-I knew I couldn't do them justice. 

All in all, definitely a good day! There's still more to see, so I would certainly make the trip down again-though I'd like a little sunshine this time, please!

xoxoxo

Emma

Can't stop won't stop...socializing?

I usually like to take a significant part of my weekend to recharge solo-I'm an extroverted introvert so I definitely require a fair amount of "me time". However, there were just too many fun things to do this weekend, apparently! Michelle and I had a good laugh at how much we were both socializing (and together)!

Friday night we went out for her roommate's birthday, starting at Jacob Wirth and continuing on to Highball Lounge. I love a good piano bar, but was a little weirded out by how bright it was in JW, ha. Highball was not exactly my speed-I literally had to use the flashlight on my phone to read the drink menu-but we had a good time regardless. We didn't manage any photos (of course-we never do when we get dressed up!) before we headed on our way to snack food. I had to take a screenshot, though, of my Yelp search from that night. Michelle hadn't gotten any donuts to celebrate the holiday, so of course we had to find them for her. Thankfully, I remembered that Doughboy is open 24/7!

Saturday afternoon we headed down to Providence for PVDFest and to see Wonder Woman with Dad. I'll be doing a full post just about the movie later, but suffice to say it was great! Dad even got his own poster, ha.

PVDFest was pretty cool, though unfortunately we didn't have a lot of time to spend there. We mostly walked through and ended up going to dinner at AS220, where we feasted! Tofu binh mi, veggie burger, chicken tacos, chips & guac, fries, and Mexican street corn...oh boy.

Michelle and I did find room in our second stomachs for ice cream sandwiches from Tricycle Ice Cream. I've been wanting to check them out, so I was pretty excited to come across them at PVDFest! They were sold out of a few by the time we got there, but the strawberry ice cream with vanilla shortbread and the chocolate ice cream with pretzel shortbread were pretty fantastic.

We rounded out our weekend with some fitness on Sunday-Bar Method and Recycle Studio teamed up to do a 30/30 BikerBar event: 30 minutes of barre and 30 minutes of spin followed by rose! My kind of people for sure. I haven't done a spin class in years-and have only done one or two before with Hannah. Man was that tough...but I can see why people love it. If only I could afford both memberships!

We decided to finish our bourgie/healthy Sunday with lunch at Dig Inn. I love that place for a quick and pretty healthy meal. With adding a bonus side, it's plenty for two meals-so I'm even happier about the leftovers! Though it would be awesome to get the same amount of tofu as they give chicken...two slices is not quite enough for me, ha.

Hope you all had as fun a weekend as I did! Now, to recharge during the week? No idea how this is going to go... ;)

xoxoxo
Emma

It's Donut Day!

chocolate banana-and balloons!

You may have gathered that I like donuts...like, really like them. I think it's the fluffy yet chewy texture and creative flavor combinations that have been showing up more and more-plus, New England is just really into them! If you need a recommendation of where to celebrate for Providence, Boston, or Greensboro, look no further...

lemon-raspberry-coconut and chocolate-peanut-coconut

I'll get Greensboro out of the way first-I've only had donuts once there, but they were awesome. Duck Donuts is a design-your-own, freshly baked model that reminded me of how good cake donuts can be when done right!

I have had some pretty fantastic donuts in Boston. At the Union Square Farmer's Market, I picked up a lemon honey one from Mariposa Bakery-I love how they throw the donut hole on top!

sea salted bourbon caramel, maple bacon, vietnamese coffee, and brown butter hazelnut crunch

Union Square Donuts might be the best known, and they definitely have some delicious flavors. The brown butter hazelnut crunch was particularly excellent.

Blackbird Doughnuts is my go-to, possibly because they are too conveniently located between barre and work...I have yet to try the ice cream sandwich or cake, but they are happening at some point!

For classic flavors, a much better deal, and 24/7 service, Doughboy Donuts and Deli is awesome. I am also a fan of all their different iced coffee flavors!

And of course when in Providence, you know my weakness is PVDonuts!

There's definitely more places on my list to try...Knead, Allie's, and Kane's all come to mind!

Who wants to go on a donut date?? 

xoxoxo

Emma

Eat Local: Oberlin

Y'all, I had literally the best vegetables ever at Oberlin. The whole meal was amazing-and my fellow diners definitely enjoyed the seafood just as much. I couldn't tell you what all they had, but I will torture you with what we all loved.

I'm very glad we stuck to our plan of always ordering a cheese board, because this one with cheeses from Cato Corner Farm was killer.

The freshly baked sourdough with roasted garlic, slow roasted carrots, roasted sweet potato, and grilled asparagus dishes were also all fantastic. I love the tapas style and getting to try so many different dishes!

Side note for my wine people: they give great recommendations. I love a dry rose, but when it's too sweet I can't drink it-the first one they suggested was perfect (if only I could remember the name of it!)

There were about 2 vegetarian dishes we didn't try...I definitely want to go back for those! I'm sure as the seasons are changing they will be introducing new ones as well, and I am just as certain that I will be back.

xoxoxo

Emma