We made a quick visit to Providence, Rhode Island for a college visit. Who knows where our daughter will ultimately land, but if it is Providence we will love visiting her.
Our flight landed around 10:00 pm on Thursday night, so after grabbing our Turo Rental Car we made our way directly to the hotel. We had a lot of time Friday morning before having to be at Rhode Island College at 11:00 am. We decided to have breakfast at Ellie's at short 10-15 minute stroll from our hotel. This charming coffee shop/bakery was the perfect spot for us to begin our day.
The coffee was delicious (we had an americano and a mocha latte with oat milk). Avery is a traditionalist and typically orders a croissant. Her croissant was light and flaky. April went with the avocado toast and felt that the candied jalapeño's gave it the perfect kick. I ordered the standard breakfast sandwich. We were all happy with our food and drink selections.
After a campus tour, we headed to the Federal Hill neighborhood for burgers at Harry's Bar and Burgers. We have been to Providence a few times in the past so we know how wonderful Harry's burgers are. This was the first time for us to visit this location. Their mothership location is located on Main Street and they used to have a fun location in Newport that is now closed.
April ordered the Pastrami Burger, Avery chose the Classic Cheese, and I went for the Southwest Turkey Burger. I was a bit disappointed in the Southwest Turkey Burger. The turkey patty was tough and dry. It had great flavor with the avocado and cheese but I couldn't get past the dry burger. April and Avery had nothing but great remarks to make about their burgers. One thing to note, we ordered the 50/50 as our side. This is fries and onion strings served side by side. This is a HUGE portion and the three of us couldn't finish the basket. (We made the mistake on our very first Harry's visit for everyone to order their own side....not knowing how large their fry baskets were.)
Although my burger was "just okay" I would go back in a heartbeat.
We then headed to Newport to do a little shopping and sight seeing. Our only food stop in Newport was to Ben and Jerry's. Unfortunately, there are no Ben and Jerry's shops in our home state and it is one of our favorite ice creams (along with Tillamook).
Later that evening we headed to Red Stripe after seeing that it had good reviews. Two of the three in our group wanted a place that had good chowder. We didn't have reservations so we will excited that they could seat us on a Friday evening. The dining room is HUGE. It's basically 3 sections and we were seated in the last section. The service was good and we felt that our server was attentive (except for mixing up root beer and diet coke). Their clam chowder (New England Style) was really, really good. The rest of our meal was good but seemed to be missing something that would take it over the top. I ordered the mussels (appetizer size) and was disappointed that there was no bread to dip into the broth.
Saturday morning we dropped Avery off at RIC gymnastics camp. During the drop-off process, we were given a listing of nearby restaurants/coffee shops. Desperately needing coffee, we headed to LaSalle Bakery. When time allows, we love hitting up independent coffee shops. It's a nice way to gauge the people within the community and get a sense of neighborhood life. The shop didn't have a ton of dine-in space but we were able to snag a table. The bakery had a great selection of breads, danishes, and pastries as well as lunch offerings of chicken salad, soup, etc. After fueling with coffee and croissants (chocolate and almond) we made our way to Neutaconkanut Park.
We had a great little hike. The view was beautiful and the weather was cool and crisp. It was a beautiful morning to stretch our legs and to get a chance to see some of the beauty of the city.
With time still left to explore before returning to campus, we headed to another coffee shop. This one, Latte Love Coffee, was adorable and hip on the inside. We each got another coffee (mocha latte and the turtle) and also another round of food. I got a slice of the blueberry lemon loaf while April ordered the French Connection (croissant filled with egg, cheese, Canadian bacon and fig spread). When we arrived the line was almost to the door and they were doing a bustling dine-in, take-out, and drive-thru service. It was a great place to chat, people-watch, sip coffee, and ponder life.
Our gymnast daughter is very much a food-driven person. She appreciates good food and needs food to give her body energy for the 25 hours of gymnastics training she gets each week. Good college food is important to her as she prepares to leave the nest. Because of this, the next food stop was the Rhode Island College Donovan Dining Center. With many choices at hand (salad bar, sushi, vegetables, grab and go, grill) she opted for the tater tots and chicken tenders. She felt this was something to easily compare as she makes more visits. It was plenty of food for her and I snuck some tater tots and a tender for myself.
In the afternoon we attended the RIC open house. This gave us a chance to see the campus more closely, chat with current students, and talk with an admissions counselor.
Following the school open house, we headed to the hotel to drop off the car. Then we walked to see the WaterFire exhibit. The previous times that we were in Providence we were unable to get this to work with our schedule so we were glad that it worked out for us during this trip.
One of our all-time favorite seafood restaurants is Legal Seafood. Although it is a chain, primarily in Massachusetts, their food is really great. It had been over a year and a half since our last Legal visit so we were excited that we were able to drive to Cranston to enjoy it. Their chowder is amazing as are their mussels where you get a nice hearty piece of bread to dip into the amazing broth.
We had an early flight but we were able to time things just right to be at Seven Stars Bakery when they opened at 6:30 and made it to the airport by 6:45 am. On a previous trip to Providence we found Seven Stars Bakery and have fallen in love with their coffee and breakfast pastries. However, because we were headed straight to the airport there was no coffee but lots of breakfast deliciousness to eat at the gate. It was hard choosing a favorite.....butter croissant, almond croissant, cheese danish and Kouign Amann....all delicious.
One genre of food that we have yet to try while in Providence is Italian. We hear that there are several fantastic Italian restaurants so we look forward to a return visit
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