do you ever realize how much a single person is capable of doing in just one day? i guess i never gave thought to this idea; especially throughout the school year when the only thing i could really focus on was just work.. AND ESPECIALLY when you are concentrating on your own artwork, the very fabric of space time continuum gets kinda skewed... you just delve into your art, head first, lost in the swirl of detail orientations, color, or even your self-made frustrations. well, finally arriving at my point.. this was just another one of those long (but not excruciatingly long..) days where my own spontaneity increased the duration of the day. i managed to fit a whole exploration of west providence on top of the longest bus ride to newport..
i started off my day trying to ship a few paintings back to california.. fuck. shipping is not exactly the most frugal way of getting your shit from point a to point b. its bad enough i live on the other side of the country and that it's a terrible hassle to even get all my things to where they are... (oh and not to mention the fact i go to a $45k+ art school... art supplies not included) well, i do not want to get into specifics..
anyways, i set out towards the ups store on westminister street with the sole intention of making my way over to broadway street to explore my culinary options. i could have taken the bus, knowing the bus route from my volunteering at olneyville that required me to take a bus that drove through broadway...but of course, i wanted to fit in a bit of exercise before indulging in my soon-to-be calorific delights..
the sun beat down on me as i slowly ventured across a bridge that hovered over the local highway. somehow, looking down at the speeding cars that zoomed in opposing directions gave me a slight hint of vertigo... as i walked down broadway, i noticed how the buildings were reminiscent of old antique victorian homes you would expect to see out of new orleans.. i was fascinated by how they were arranged on broadway while incorporating the modern commercial structures.
i passed by the empty broadway bistro, noting the menu.. as well as phoenix dragon chinese restaurant. i originally had plans to try the chinese food.. but that thinking was only attributed to my late night desire for chinese food as i read the dim sum menu 10 times on my computer screen. i knew i would be heading back to los angeles in 4 days; i would prefer to eat GOOD chinese food that i KNOW will be delicious and authentic with every bite.
before arriving at julian's, i wandered into a little guatemalan craft store. i was instantly attracted to the multi-colored textile designs of the various bags, scarves, and children's toys. this was almost like those craft folk stores you would see on olvera street, but more high end and with carefully selected items. i fell in love with this one bag that had this beautiful blue ikat design.. not only could it be considered a hand bag, but it could transform into a backpack. i knew from that moment, the bag had to be mine.. it would make an amazing summer duffle!
so anyways, finally, i got to julian's, famished from my long 40 minute walk, i slowly made my way into the restaurant, astounded by the interior of the little place. there was this alternative, pseudo-hippie, biker ambiance as i observed the strange photography pieces and signs that seemed arbitrarily placed on the walls; even the mix of lighting like the odd chandelier juxtaposed with the other vintage lamps gave this restaurant an odd, offbeat warmth. AND all the servers were tattoo clad! (it seemed like it was some requirement for servers to look alternative!?)
aside from the atmosphere, the food was quite interesting. they definitely cater towards vegans and vegetarians; i was happy to see the different tofu scrambles and vegan breakfast options they had! everything on the menu just sounded both so healthy and appetizing! i knew that i would have to try at least two different plates of food; with this in mind, i went with a sweetly satisfying vegan cinnamon orange french toast and the vegan st jamez eggs benedict. although the wait was a little longer than anticipated, i thought the experience of the food was well worth it.
the vegan eggs benedict fascinated me; not so much emphasizing the taste, but the actual substitutes they made to create this eggs benedict. they fried pieces of silk tofu to create the illusion of the egg white, and drizzled this strange almost butter-like hollandaise sauce on top of a bed of spinach and french bread. they also provided their own housemade ketchup, but i preferred the good ol heinz ketchup. BUT OH! the vegan cinnamon orange french toast was spectacular! i only had one piece and regretted not getting the full portion. it was not too sweet and the orange added a nice subtle twist to the overall taste...
i would say i was satisfied by julian's, and left feeling more than content about my brunch.. i later walked about the rest of broadway, passed by an abandoned movie theater from the 20's and even made my way over to westminister street where i stumbled across white electric coffee... (a future place to try sometime after many good reviews of this place from friends)... later in the day, some friends invited me to go to newport again, and i of course having nothing better to do with my time, happily agreed.
(making this last part about newport a bit shorter and more quickly summarized...) we basically took a one and a half hour bus ride out to newport and making sure to stop by kilwin's to get another good helping of ice cream and fudge. walking along thames street, i took note of the MANY interesting eateries.. i will most likely return there sometime in the future with an empty stomach and a camera to be filled with food photos..
hungry for dinner, we made our way back towards the bus stop, stopping at the rhode island quahog restaurant. i know that seafood specialty restaurants do not always offer the best options for vegetarians.. its always some form of pasta that is meant to incorporate seafood.. as i suspected, the only thing i could eat was the veggie pasta. i was more than accepting of this fate, already more than satisfied by that good brunch at julian's..
i am not going to lie, but even what my friends had seemed sort of ordinary and bland.. just filler for an empty stomach (wow i sound pretty harsh). the pasta was not worth fifteen bucks! i could have made an even tastier plate for less than five bucks! oh well, and so goes life.. but it seemed like my friend sophia really enjoyed her clam linguine that she decided to take it home with her!
all in all, the second trip to newport was well worth all the amazing views i encountered from my bus ride there. we passed by barrington, warren, bristol... the little homes tucked in the woods are what i always imagined the all american life to be like... it was so surreal.
i would say that i had a pretty eventful/fun day; so much to do, with so much time!
http://www.juliansprovidence.com/
http://www.quahog.org/cuisine/index.php?id=191
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