Providence, Rhode Island

Hello.  Did you miss me?  Please, even if you didn’t say you did, I’d be sad if you say you didn’t.  It’s been a month and I enjoyed my hiatus from blogging, but I did get to enjoy some pretty nice restaurants.  I decided to take a day trip to Rhode Island which I was able to roam around Providence and kill some time by going to this huge mall and dave n busters.  (Yes, I brought my fun in case you were wondering).  Providence seemed like an upbeat city and when I asked some people about why the city was so vibrant someone explained to me that people from NY or surrounding areas go to Providence for the “nightlife”.  I never knew that, but I can see why they would do that.  My flight landed around 10 a.m but then I had to depart around 7 p.m so there was no time for me to “explore” the city.  I promise the next time I go back, I’ll have things for you to do.

RESTAURANT REVIEW : (BRUNCH) I went straight to the restaurant (Local 121) from the airport which was the restaurant I chose for brunch of course.  The restaurant was pretty empty when I went in, maybe because I was the first person there and it was pretty early but it started to get crowded as I finished my meal.  During the hours of breakfast and/or brunch it’s hard trying to find things on the menu so I generally go for things I know I will like.  Anything with eggs, grits, or bread is safe so I opted to get the Braised Short Rib Hash with creamy grits, riley’s 2×4 cheese, roasted vegetables, fried egg, and red wine sauce.  So, I did not know expect these grits to be the best grits I’ve ever tasted in my life.  If you could see my eyes light up, you would’ve thought I seen a Michael Jackson on a unicorn with Whitney Houston singing my love is your love and your love…… Wait, I’m off track. Yes, the grits were that good!  The dish didn’t feel me up so I was tempted to order two, but that would be gluttony, so I waited until dinner.  The dish was very creamy, the short rib hash had a hint of spicyness to it, the roasted vegetables wasn’t over powering, and the red wine sauce gave a nice taste to enhance the dish.  This is a restaurant that I would recommend going to but if you happen to find a different restaurant you may like go for it.

(DINNER):  I tried to stay away from seafood in this seafood state, but once again when you’re in Rome, well.. You know the rest.  I had a taste for lobster which was a coincidence since I was in Rhode Island, but then I seen peanut butter jelly fried chicken wings.  Sadly, the restaurant that offered it discontinued it from their menu.  I decided to go to Hemenways.  Have I ever told you all of the importance of looking at a menu before you go to the restaurant and deciding what you’re going to eat and why?  I’m not telling you to study the menu like it’s a algebra test, I’m saying know what you’re going to pay for and why you’re going to pay for it.  It makes sense if you didn’t think about it.  If you’re a gazillionaire (<— why did Microsoft put the red squiggly line underneath gazillionaire like I don’t know how it’s spelled, tuh!) then you don’t have to worry about looking at menu prices and what you’re going to eat.  The restaurant is beautiful in the inside, definitely a date night spot, but not first date, take your partner if you’d like to impress him/her.

For an appetizer I ordered the ceviche, which I’ve never had before so I figured I’d give it a try.  It consisted of scallops, fluke (which is flounder, but not all flounder are fluke), and octopus. I don’t know if ceviche was supposed to taste the way this ceviche did, but it was absolutely horrible. I was so disappointed.  I don’t know why I do this but I need to learn how to tell the waiter/waitress the truth when they ask me how my food is so I can tell them.  I would imagine in a perfect world the conversation would be, “Hi sir, are you enjoying your meal?” Me : “This is not good AT ALL. The taste is bland, the seafood is bland, the chips that you served with it was stale” and they would either erase the item off of my bill or give me the option of ordering another appetizer.  Maybe I’ll do that next time, but let’s hope I don’t have to.

For dinner because the appetizer was so bad, I opted to play it safe and do the stuffed lobster.  Honestly, it was stuffed lobster so there wasn’t too much I can say about that.  The lobster was stuffed with scallops, shrimp, and crab meat.  I didn’t get too excited over the stuffed lobster but the way it looked would make anyone jealous.  If you decide to come here for date night, please stay away from the ceviche and get the stuffed lobster if you decide to play it safe.  Overall, I’d give this restaurant a 2 out of 5.  I’m sure other items will be good, but the appetizer disappointed me so much that I couldn’t enjoy my dinner.

                                                   RATING

Local 121- Stuck On the Runway

Hemmenways- May I Speak To The Captain