Tag: foodie

Greg’s Restaurant Warwick Rhode Island

On this particular day we were trying to visit a favorite haunt, Provisioners, but alas they were closed due to some technical difficulties so we wandered off to find a new place to get some good grub. That’s how we ended up at Gregg’s.

This place was weird. It had a parking lot the size of a small town and yet, only a tiny smattering of cars. As we walked in I was immediately enveloped by the smell of freshly chopped cucumbers which was odd considering the entrance had an extensive case of cakes and baked goods, not a salad bar.

Beyond this was the actual restaurant which screamed it was built in the 1970’s and never updated. I’m talking dark wood panels, a Madmen-like bar, and a radio that was blaring Led Zeppelin and Black Sabbath. And the patrons… let’s just say we were the only ones under the age of 70, no exagerations. It was an odd time of day so maybe this was just the early 3pm dinner crowd but I don’t think so because I was watching our waitor. He was youngish, covered in tatoos, but he spoke loudly and clearly, was attentive, and had a very specific sort of couteousness that I have only seen in people who work with the elderly. It’s not a bad thing, just telling.

The menu was a little intense. It was just pages and pages of options. I didn’t really want to like this place as it felt like the oldest and whitest establishment we’ve ever been, even beating Wright’s Chicken, but I’ll be damned if this place didn’t appear to have a fantastic choice of salads. Salads with seasonal berries, walnuts, and feta cheese. Salads that all were distinct. I don’t say this lightly as most restaurants seem to think a bowl of Iceburg lettuce with a couple cherry tomatoes is a complete salad.

I didn’t order a salad though, I ordered the apple walnut chicken wrap and it was great, especially for its modest price. Completely distracted me from all the TVs playing reruns of Friends on mute. I think this place may have had a heyday long ago, now its patrons come back because the quaility of the food never faded but once your main clientele are in their 70s and 80s… well, it’s at risk of becoming a memory. This was brought back to the forefront of my thoughts when we decided to bring a slice of cake home. I asked what the Old Hollywood Cake was, “A white cake with black frosting. A black and white cake.” Ah, yes, like the golden years of Hollywood…. when my grandmother was born…

We went with the lemon cake. I love lemons but usually dislike lemon flavored baked goods. This however was really moist, tasted like actual lemons, and was over all very pleasant. Now that I know they sell whole cakes from the case out front I’ll probably be back for birthdays and celebrations. Here’s hoping this place had a bustling dinner crowd after we left.

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Daily Planet – Burlington Vermont

After five and a half hours of driving we were early to the show we went to see so we wandered around a bit. Shockingly I found a place to parallel park and we ankled it the rest of the way. I let my companion find a nearby eatery. He chose The Daily Planet, probably in the hopes of bumping into Clarke Kent.

Vermont is soooo cute by the way. This was the only city I’ve ever been in where the scary dark alleys had not muggars and monsters but the echoing peeps of a gaggle of baby chickens. Most adorable dark alley EVER. And it was near the restaurant!

The Daily Planet was just as quirky as I expected it to be. It had one wall that was clearly a garage door, oodles of sarcastic artwork on the walls, a tin ceiling, and the doors in the bathroom stalls were old wooden shutters. This place was a weird hodgepodge of old timey nonsense. There was even a lava lamp next to our table.

If you haven’t already guessed this place was peak hipster including the bar, also very hipstery. The menu reflected the same with cutesy names for common comfort food and an odd smattering of the hoity toity. I was tired from the drive and nothing was speaking to me so I just ordered something I’ve literally never heard of – Buratta. You know, when all else fails have a moment of ADHD joy going for novelty. (Yes, I know this could have back fired. Thank you for your concern.)

My companion got the nachos, as if he were a normal person. The nachos were listed as an apatiser but this place was… more expensive than I would have liked. He also got the Mac n Cheese to share and really liked the nachos which he said stayed crunchy. I found the Mac n Cheese good but not out of this world. Reminded me of the Mac n Cheese I made in Home Ec class in high school. Still comforting.

And then there was the baratta which was very pretty. I will give it that. It was indeed two big blobs of cheese, with creamy centers and toast to eat it on. I was really digging the toast part wondering why it tasted so fantastic before realizing it was just buttered and I was apparently just delirious from travel. I did put the cheese on the toast… but the cheese was decorated with some sort of sweet sauce and a sprinkling of brightly yellow herbs. None of this was bad per se, it was just confusing. It was like having four or five different flavors and textures all having a battle in my mouth with no clear winner. I didn’t dislike it… though I was struggling to figure out if I liked it and I still have no answer.

So yeah… if you are looking for a quirky hipster bar to meet fellow weirdoes this place did look great for that… loved the ambiance.

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Ben and Jerry’s Ice Cream Flavor Graveyard – Waterbury Vermont

First I must say that of all the New England states Vermont is my favorite. Every time I visit I am stunned by how gorgeous it is and how many delightfully weird people live there. On this particular excursion I drove 5.5 hours from Rhode Island to see the irreverent comedy stylings of Lucy Darling. The show was well worth the drive. That night I slept under a tin roof while it rained and slept like a goddamn baby! Surrounded by mountains, forests, and farmland I didn’t want to leave but unfortunately we all have lives to get back to. That didn’t however mean we couldn’t make time for one little stop to poke around…. which ended up being the Ben and Jerry’s ice cream factory.

It was easy to find, using a highway “that closes in winter because there’s nowhere to put the snow.” The parking lot was… a weird winding Byzantine maze that made very little sense but right next to it was the infamous ice cream flavor graveyard.

I’ve seen photos before but for some reason I didn’t expect them to be real slate gravestones! They were all fenced in like a tiny family cemetery you’d find at the sight of an old farmhouse. But they were colorful and each had a pithy rhyme about their demise. It was so quintessentially Vermont for me, just leaning into the weird and whimsical. And there were people reading them all like we were. A fun moment for sure. Although many of these flavors sounded fantastic so I don’t know why they’ve been relegated to the flavor cemetery. Others…. well, let’s just say as much as I love sweet potato pie I’m not convinced that would have been a hit ice cream flavor.

We walked past a little playground towards the factory where there was a place to create tye dye T-shirts and to buy yourself an ice cream cone. Also a ticket booth for factory tours which on this day was only $6 a person! We would have done that if we weren’t on a time crunch. Instead we poked around the gift shop, grabbing a VW Bus shaped pin and leafing through the pages of two tell all exposes about fighting for the soul of the company. Ben and Jerry’s for a long time was a really good company to work for. They gave stocks to the people sewing their T-shirts and stood at the forefront of social justice… until they made the mistake of making a board of executives who threw these founding visionaries under a bus in favor of corporate greed. I’d be pissed too. Maybe even enough to write two books worth of greivancs.

Their T-shirts were really decent quality, the stretchy material T-shirts used to be made of and were quite cute but I was running low on funds and couldn’t afford the $30, instead opting for a pin to add to my overloved purse.

Someday I likely will come back to do a factory tour and probably buy a T-shirt and a book. All and all it was a cute little distraction for a bit.

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Wally’s Weiners at the Brewery – Newport Rhode Island

So, it’s been pointed out that I haven’t been giving Catching Marbles the love it deserves so today I decided to go back to how I started, going somewhere and then writing a blog entry on the same day. I know, crazy right? I have learned my lesson however. This is a task best managed with one easy destination, not four in a row after an ungodly amount of driving.

Today we found ourselves ovenless after losing the appliance in a bum poker game with the local cryptid gang known only as The Spooksters. Take as much of the previous statement as truth as your whimsical heart desires. Either way this seemed like the perfect excuse to try a new place to eat.

“Where are we going?”

“Wall-e’s.”

“Ooooo, I always wanted to be served by a trash robot.”

I mean no offense when I say this but this new eatery seemed to be situated in a warehouse which… kinda made me think I might actually luck out on the garbage picking robot helper. But alas, no. It’s a sports bar. How terribly mundane. It was pretty big with a nice outdoor patio and the usual industrial chic decorating style you’d expect. There were TVs on all sides airing the World Cup match – France v Senegal with 3-1.

Other than that the place was empty save for a teenager taking food orders and a bar tender taking drink orders. I wasn’t holding my breath but kept an open mind. I ended up ordering a honey-mustard chicken sandwhich and heavily taxing the garlic fries my companion ordered. He had a burger and a hotdog (I refuse to say weiner because I’m not 5 years old.) Our order came out in little cardboard baskets with plastic silverware. I raised an eyebrow.

And then… I was kinda shocked. Everything was really good! When my chicken sandwhich came out it was so tall I asked how I was supposed to get my mouth around it. I expected to hear someone giggle, “PHRASING!” But no, no one did. Instead the Universe stepped up and decided to double down. I bit into this monstrosity and my hands were immediately covered in s̶a̶n̶d̶w̶h̶i̶c̶h̶ ̶s̶p̶l̶o̶o̶g̶e̶ , specialty sauce. This didn’t feel like consent but it was delicious so I tried not to focus too much on how my hands were now sticky enough to climb up the wall like a gecko.

The garlic fries were well proportioned, actually tasted of garlic, and were a lot of fun. My companion was also impressed with both his hamburger and hot dog.

Somewhere in here this place started filling up with people. A bizarre mix of well to do Boomer men, a gaggle of 20 somethings, and the usual people you’d expect to see at a bar, any bar. The Boomers seemed to prefer the patio. No one was paying attention to the match on the TV. Not. One. So much for soccer I guess.

Anyway… twas good eating. And who knows maybe the bar was decent too. My autistic teatotalling ass would be a poor judge of that. I’m happy to be back home and away from the crowds.

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The Provisioner – North Kingston Rhode Island

Few things make me instantly happy like stumbling unexpectedly into a well maintained tank of bright and healthy aquarium fish. That’s what happened today after picking a new sandwhich joint to peruse.

I had no idea they’d have a big cichlid tank and honestly… I would have been happy just plopping myself down in front of it, but no, there was more to this place. The menu was eccentric – crazy names for a whole host of creative hot sandwiches. As well as some tempting sides. I ended up getting The Cabbie which was like a warm gyro with tzatsiki sauce. My companion got something with a heap of cured meats and a side of mac and cheese that I had no choice but to heavily tax. Hot, gooey, cheesy, deliciousness with a bit of a zestiness.

The staff were friendly, the food came out quickly and piping hot, everything was super fresh and goddamn delicious. Even the mac and cheese which didn’t look like much but had a bit more character than I expected when I bit into it. All and all I do believe we will be going back to this place.

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Kellie’s Cafe- Newport Rhode Island

This is going to sound absolutely bonkers but a few winters ago I was driving at night past Kellie’s Cafe and I saw a velociraptor in the parking lot. A fucking life-size dinosaur was just chilling there on a trailer at 3am. Now, I know from previous instances in my life that it’s best not to ask questions buuuut the next morning the damn velociraptor was gone and I was left wondering what glitch in the matrix I’d just witnessed. I made note of which parking lot it was and kept this story to my damn self until over a year later my companion excitedly explained there was a life-size bronze velociraptor living in the yard at Aardvark Antiques just down the road. I KNEW IT!! I DID SEE A DINOSAUR!

What does this have to do with the little British cafe whose parking lot was once infested with prehistoric beasts? Not much. I doubt they had any idea. But seeing as I now knew about this place why not check it out? I like British things… especially Doctor Who. Fucking love Doctor Who. This place had a big old Britishly colored teapot as it’s sign outside so this seemed like good indication it’d be interesting…

Inside the cafe was absolutely tiny with only a few tables. Two servicemen and a single English dude were the only customers here on this particular day. We made our way in quietly and sat down while looking at the back wall which had a HUGE teacup display behind a life size cut out of the queen. I mean I get it, I know y’all have a king now but he has the charisma of a frozen cod fish soooo… I’ll accept this weird tribute to the former queen. My English friend tells me this is customary and everyone has one to mutter loyalties to once a day. Pretty sure he’s fucking with me there.

ANYWAY… we were tended to by a sweet lady whose accent sounded American for a few sentences and then not so much. Cracked me up. I love British accents. She offered us tea with our breakfast and I accepted. My companion stuck to coffee. We looked over the menu and realized there was fun options here to play with. A Full English Breakfast was one. My companion took that. I on the other hand I was morbidly curious about the Scotch Egg. I’d seen one being eaten on Broadchurch and heard people talking about them several times since but my grasp of what it actually was was…. poor. One way to find out! Our hostess seemed delighted I wanted to try one and she asked if my companion would like the blood pudding with his English breakfast at which point I think his brain shuttered. He struggled to answer for a moment but then said no. I on the other hand would have said yes to the iron-addled hockey puck I assume to be blood pudding. You only live once after all. And “you have to have blood pudding” says the guy who claims everyone has a cardboard cutout of the queen. (I know this entire blog entry screams unreliable narrator but I swear to god…)

My companion was very happy with his full English breakfast which he found to be very filling. I stole some of his beans which I remarked were tomato-y because British baked beans are different than Boston baked beans which rely on molasses. Still, they tasted good and I think our odd conversation was being listened to by everyone else here, especially when I received the Scottish egg and set about dissecting it for science. Mind you, it was egg-shaped and I supposed an actual egg, but that says very little doesn’t it? I cut it in half with a knife I stole from my companion (as my tomato sandwich did not require cutlery.) Inside was indeed a hard-boiled egg. On the outside it seemed to be some sort of sausage-filled batter, deep fried of course. It was filling! And I guess great for shoving in your pockets for later if you happen to work in a Victorian coal mine. I do not. And I’m not the biggest fan of sausage or hard-boiled eggs but that being said it wasn’t bad and I’m happy I tried it. I’m also happy I figured out how to use the odd plate and utensil that came with my tea. I hope the weird stick/spoon thing was to retrieve my tea bag because that’s what I used it for. I have to thank anyone who has ever called me “worldly” because I am 100% faking knowing anything. Please do not leave me unsupervised.

Finally, we ended our little meal and went to the counter which was apparently a danger zone because it was covered in English sweets. Chocolate covered digestives, Turkish delights, Jaffa cakes, numerous candy bars and the like. We took some home to keep on experimenting. I’ve never actually had a digestives with my tea… will it kick it up a notch? Guess we’ll see!

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Taqueria los Compadres – Boston Massachusetts

Since we had some time to spare waiting for our slot to open in the Boxaroo escape room we decided to wander a bit and find somewhere to eat. We’d naively believed that Faniel Hall would be open after dark but I guess in the winter months they’re not. So, we disappeared into our sweaters and headed out for a brisk walk in the sleet and snow. We were relieved to stumble upon a tavern but upon entering the bouncer was not buying I was forty years old, carded me, and then seemed annoyed I had a valid driver’s license. Thank you, by the way. These days you got to take a compliment where you can. That being said this place was bursting at the seams and there wasn’t a waitress or waiter in sight. So, we walked back out into the dreary weather where we stumbled upon an absolutely empty little Mexican restaurant which was decorated to the hilt in Cinqo de Mayo decor. Even the benches were painted with idyllic Mexican scenes. It was kind of cute.

“…Are you open…?”

Yes! Yes, they were! But they required a key to use the bathroom. I’d rather die than ask for that so I waited. And in the meanwhile, we ordered. I had the burrito bowl, my companions had soft tacos, nachos, and some other things I didn’t quite understand. I do apologize here that I am not particularly experienced with Mexican food.

The chicken burrito bowl was huge. I ended up taking it home and making two more meals of it. And it came with fresh guacamole which… if you’re not me you might enjoy! (It’s a texture thing…) The chicken was good, the beans were wonderful, the entire bowl mixed up really well. My companion’s tacos looked lovely and the nachos I taxed were so crispy-crunchy that it lit the neurons in my brain up like a Christmas tree. I didn’t even know I wanted something crispy-crunchy but after I bit into it that’s kind of all I wanted. That and the limes. I’m not sure why we got fresh lime wedges but I ate them by themself and remembered fondly how much I like fresh lemons and limes. The AuADHD brain is a funny thing.

Anyway, it was a nice little place. Quick service and fun Mexican beverages (which I did not try but perhaps should have.) We were quite full when we waddled off down the street to continue our evening, my companion scolding me to put my sweater back on which I only obliged because it was sleeting. As of late I’m pretty sure my blood has been transformed into lava because I can’t handle being anywhere that’s above 40F degrees. SIGH.

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Bluebird Cafe – Narragansett Rhode Island

As of late we’ve been riding around looking for sweet new breakfast spots to haunt and today was no different other than the fact we got a very late start and most places don’t serve breakfast in the afternoon. No matter! Google insisted this place did.

It’s weird, Narragansett isn’t far from my RI base in Newport and yet we hadn’t poked around there until today, specifically to find this little Mardi Gras/Southern themed plaza cafe. By now we’d just slipped in half an hour before closing. Most of the chairs were already on the tables. Still they were friendly and welcoming so we sat down.

The art hanging in this place was wild. A poster hung on the wall with several crayfish pinching towards the sky, reading above something about being boiled alive. The menu was no less eyebrow raising. Today’s special was a crunchy blueberry pancake with granola. I almost went for that but was too intrigued by the butter pecan pancakes. Meanwhile the rest of the menu had a bit of creole and Cajun flair. Even some of the breakfast items showed a spicy side. My companion went with the chicken and waffles which came with a side of beans. He said the chicken was fresh (and not pre-made or frozen as some of these establishments use) and that the beans were really good. I did a mandatory tasting of the beans to make sure and he was right! My pancakes were great too. They came out covered in chopped pecans, made with a fluffy and somewhat creamy batter. A short stack was more than I could eat.

A woman came in after us and made the cut 5 minutes before the kitchen closed. Having been told this she tried to leave but the staff insisted it was fine so she came in, ordered one hell of a BLT and enjoyed the music with us, happily singing along to Queen and smiling. I love Queen but to be honest it was hearing the Muppet’s Phenomina song that made me smile ear to ear. Can’t say I’ve ever heard it played in public!

There was enough on the menu here to want to come back and try something else. I think we found a winner.

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Hamilton Diner – Seekonk MA

This week was another amazing food find. We were on the road searching for a birthday present (which proved stupidly hard to find) when we decided to stop at a new place for a late breakfast. This place said it served breakfast until 3pm. That’s my kinda eatery.

A day earlier my companion was teasing me because I said I rarely crave sweets but my usual choices for breakfasts suggested otherwise. I protested these were not cravings but whims. And despite the fact this place had a slew of more reasonable options I couldn’t help to go glassy-eyed with wonder when our waitress started rattling off their breakfast specials from the day. I couldn’t keep any of them straight but they sounded like the most whimsically deranged breakfast themed dessert cart one could dream up. Oreos were mentioned as were chocolate chips, a variety of sticky sweet syrups, and even cinnobuns. My resolve was tested and it suffered a resounding failure as I ordered the stuffed Cinnabon French toast. My companion on the other hand chose a more savory option, the Hamilton Kitchen Sink which came out looking like a garbage plate (and I say that with love, not judgement.) It was a pancake, bacon, sausage, eggs, a biscuit, and a truck load of home fries smothered in white gravy. We’re both very chosey with homefries but I’m happy to note I tried one with gravy and it was goddamn delicious to the both of us.

Meanwhile my plate was a war crime to diabetes but ahhhhhh, it was so good! The cinnobuns were made into French toast, stuffed with cream cheese and jam and topped with a truly indecent amount of whipped cream. I didn’t even have to put any syrup on it.

Our waitress joked it could be made better with chocolate chips. If I had only had a tiny white flag to wave back at her. I ate most my meal, was stuffed to the gills and couldn’t take on the last few bites but wow. Do I regret my heart challenging option? Nah, no other place has made me want to yell ‘you only live once’ like this place! I have learned nothing.

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Grilled Cheese Gallery – Hyannis Massachusetts

What better way to follow up a visit to the pirate museum than to find ourselves a rocking grilled cheese joint?

It was a gorgeous summer day but there was an alarming lack of tourists around. I suppose a sign of the times. Even so I parked in a super easy parallel parking spot in front of the JFK museum having no idea the next half a mile had oodles of parking spots. Oh well, can’t complain too much about getting a little exercise, especially when the stoner-friendly sandwiches we were after were probably about a billion calories each. On this day I did not care.

When we finally arrived we found a vendor and an outdoor cafe space. A woman was already at the window waiting for her order when we ambled up to look at the menu. She turned around to tell us, “Everything is great here! You’re going to love it!” High praise, we both laughed and thanked her for the unsolicited review.

I wanted fries with my sandwhich so we decided to split a poutine and each get a different weird sandwhich. Pretty sure my companion got the Country Boy and myself the Veggie Daddy. The cashier on this day was having a day, for sure. He was straight from a wedding in Florida and clearly very tired. He couldn’t remember the order and asked my companion to repeat Veggie Daddy until it was uncomfortable but luckily we were both laughing at this because it was hot, we were being a pain in the ass taking forever to decide, and we could empathize with a little brain fog. Our reward for being a sport about this was being able to sample their home made hibiscus ice tea and lavendar lemonade. Both were really good but the tea was amazing so the pitch worked!

We sat at one of the tables and waited, our server clearly as entertained by us as we were of him, yelling, “I’m going to take care of you!” And he did. Even drew smiley faces in our dipping sauce. It was fucking adorable.

And the sandwiches… oh my god. Totally worth the fact they probably went straight to the arteries! The dipping sauce was another fun touch. They were SO MESSY and sooo good. I got it all over my shirt and sighed. Can’t bring me anywhere.

I was so full by this point. Even so my server came back out to offer a refill on my ice tea as we were cleaning up. I was tempted but then I’d have to carry an open cup to the car. Instead I thanked my server and smiled. He said, “You guys are great!” Before returning.

So yeah. DEFFINATELY would recommend this place.

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