Savor Providence

Went yesterday with the aforementioned girlfriends to Savor Providence, a benefit for Trinity Repertory Company. It was excellent. Instead of being the usual "taste of"-style event, where you eat from paper plates in big tents, we actually went to the restaurants. You buy a booklet of "tastes" (uh, tickets, actually) and go around town during the four hours of the event to the participating eateries. Once there, you choose a menu item you'd like to "savor" and give them a ticket. Some places only had one food for everyone, others had a variety. It was really well done, and I especially liked how we actually got to go to the restaurants; it gave us a chance to check out places we hadn't been to, but also to "savor" some old favorites.

Highlights:

- This cheesy-tomatoey-baked-pasta dish at Al Forno was fantastic. We started here first at noon, and then went back at around 3:45 for seconds, it was that good. I mean, it was THAT GOOD. They were only serving this one dish (and drinks), which made it exceptionally well organized and speedy. Plus the atmosphere there is exceptional, too.



- A special shout-out goes to Costantino’s/Venda Ravioli, which, instead of inviting everyone in to the restaurant, served their ravioli right outside on Federal Hill. They were set up next to the fountain. Since it was such a beautiful day, it was quite lovely to sit there for a moment and have a bite. It was just like being in Italy. I suppose.

- I had always heard good things about Rue de l'Espoir but had never been able to make it there before now. It, too, didn't disappoint. They were offering a bunch of items off their bar menu; we opted for the "gooey grilled cheese sandwich" (pictured); the white bean, spinach & dried tomato crostini; and the so-called "trio of treats," although I am sorry to say I forgot precisely what all three of them were. One was a hummus, all three were to be eaten with grilled pita. All tasty nevertheless.

- We were excited to check out this new downtown spot, Local 121 (no, it's not the headquarters of the pipefitters' union; it's a restaurant which specializes in serving locally produced food). Mainly we were excited because they were billed as having some sort of homemade ice cream sandwich. But by the time we got there, they were fresh out of the dessert. "We expected, like, 8 people to show up," the waitperson said, "and we had, like--" "800?" I interjected. So instead, my companions tried some vegetarian "burger" thingies and I just had an iced tea. (I needed a break to make room in my tummy for the aforementioned second helping of pasta at Al Forno.) Probably the tastiest thing about Local 121 is the decor. It was smashing. Neat windows and wood in the bar. Huge, white leather (vinyl?) retro chairs and big tables in the dining room. Just very cool looking overall.

- CAV is just rad inside. (Did I say "rad"?) Because it is. It looks the way I would like my place to look if I lived in an old loft. Also "rad" at CAV was the lobster bisque served in shot glasses. What fun. Not as rad is how they seem to insist on capitalizing all three letters of the restaurant's name.

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- An oldie but a goodie: 3 Steeple Street. This was one of our favorite restaurants back in college. Well, that is, once East Side Mario's went away. I've always loved this place for the atmosphere, the food, and the history (it's housed in the "second-oldest existing industrial building in the United States," they say). Anyway, we had glasses of red sangria here (nice), and my companions had salads while I represented for meat lovers everywhere and had the pate de foie gras. And yes, those are onions on top--"red onion marmalade," is how they described it, I believe. Not too bad. They did leave me with quite the breath, though. And I don't mean heavenly.