after being spontaneously invited to newport, i knew this would prove a far worthwhile experience than being stuck in my room writing my last six page paper..
..unfortunately before setting out for the beautiful seaside town of newport while lies on the edge of rhode island (a maybe forty minute drive away from college hill), we had to help connor out with his car after some asshole broke through the passenger side window, taking only forty dollar tomtom gps system and completely missing the four hundred dollar pair of sunglasses.. but after that was all sorted out with the police and cleaned up, we were well on our way.
while driving through the lush verdant greenery of rhode island, i came to realize how beautiful new england can really be when you step out of that concrete jungle that is providence. i had not experienced the pure blissful scenery that the blue skies and blossoming late spring trees had provided; this was a first, and truly a sight to see. it really felt like i was back in california; but definitely the green was real. ephemeral. transitory. and more appreciated because of that.
whenever somebody mentioned newport, i always imagined a small seaside town lined with small boutiques, cafes, and antique stores. to my surprise, what really makes newport famous is its enormous bellevue avenue filled with large chateaux that all once used to be owned by the vanderbilts. we visited the breakers, one of the more famous houses on bellevue, and let me just say, i was absolutely blown away by the sheer splendor and ornamentation of the house. just walking through the enormous intricate iron gates that seem like they would be found as an entrance to a big name hollywood studio, i was welcomed by an extremely european house. the interior was truly a treat; gold painted/leafed everything, large billowing staircases with red velvety carpeting, incredible mosaics, the spaciousness of it all. i was beyond amazed.
after all that sightseeing, as well as getting a look at the ocean that was the vanderbilt's backyard, tom and i agreed that we were starving! connor drove back up to the main street where many pubs and seafood restaurant resided. tom, with his amazing eye sight for food, picked out a nice little bbq joint called "the smoke house".
being a vegetarian, i was pretty skeptical about the quality of food that would be given to someone who would avoid almost 95% of the menu. luckily enough, they had a "veg out" sandwich that consisted of roasted eggplants, cucumbers, red bell peppers, onions, tomato, and goat cheese wrapped in tortilla. i also added a side of corn bread just because that was probably the closest i could get to barbeque cuisine without having to actually eat pulled pork. starving, tom, connor, and julia all opted for a good hamburger; oh and i forgot to mention, we also ordered nachos w/o chicken to start out with.
i think i may be a bit more critical this week having eaten so many delicious things the week preceding; local 121 with kyle, and al forno with tamar.. the nachos were decent, and the wrap was so so. what i really enjoyed, as i had predicted when ordering, was the fries and the cornbread. oh! the cornbread! so warm, with a little bit of butter smothered on top; it was the right balance of sweet and salty. you can never really go wrong with that..
afterwards, we dropped by the local chocolate/candy/ice cream shop called kilwins. it definitely looked like an upscale local sweet store.. sampling the fudge, i was torn between that, my original decision to get a bag of salt water taffy, and indulging in a cappucino ice cream with fudge chunks. with one sampling of the ice cream, i instantly knew; i could never say no to coffee ice cream; never in a million years! it is my one weakness! and with that, my day ended on a high note. newport, what an amazing place to be...
www.smokehousecafe.com
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