Two scrumptious meals -- one in Narragansett and one in Providence

Chez Feldman in Narragansett, just across from Scarborough Beach. A wonderful day outmatched only by a delicious meal.

fresh and local scallops

the kitchenettes

fried potatoes and onions

a French Tarte treat for dessert

And then there was Jacky's Waterplace restaurant in downtown Providence. Located along Waterplace Park it's upscale Chinese:

Last weekend out and about in Rhode Island

This past weekend was, in a word, gorgeous here in the Land that Time Forgot. The weather was nearly perfect and it was nice having early release on Friday -- of course that ends when school ramps up in two weeks. But for the moment we savor the freedom.

Friday afternoon we headed down to Narragansett to have dinner with Andie, her mother Barbara and their friend Marlene. We sat outside sipping sparkling wine before going inside for a scrumptious dinner of codcakes (made with fresh cod from Point Judith), sauteed zucchini and a fresh green salad. Dessert was a flan with poached peaches, compliments of the Fresh Tarte.

Marlene and Barbara

On Saturday we drove the 5 minutes or so from our house  to the East Bay Bike Path, crossing the Seekonk River and down Veterans Memorial Boulevard.

After parking Susie headed out for her regular hour ten minute walk and I sat on a bench in the shade of a tree wisely planted just off the path next to the parking lot. I had brought a good read along, a story of war in Sicily and Italy, of lives whose end days were spent in unpleasantries of the most profound kind, underscoring how much I enjoyed being outside in the sunshine and fresh air.

On Sunday we continued to enjoy splendid weather and so drove down to Bristol for lunch at Agave right on the water, near the terminus of the East Bay Bike Path. The food is so-so but the location is perfect for this weather.

Turkey Club that was really more like a turkey "stick"

Tasteless fish matched by Sysco fries

From Bristol we drive back north just a mile or so to Colt State Park, one of the real treasures in this part of Rhode Island and a favorite outdoor haunt for both of us (and about a jillion other like-minded folks)

Rumor has it we'll be back here again next weekend for some petanque (AKA boules). stay tuned!

A perfect summer evening in Narragansett

It was a gorgeous Saturday afternoon,with a  perfect coolness to the air even in the warmth of the sun, as we plunged through downtown Newport from Sachuest Wildlife Refuge, heading west. Traffic was light, though, and we soon found ourselves crossing the bridge to Jamestown Island,and then  zipping across another bridge (named Verranzano rather like it's larger twin in New York) and at last south on Route 1 to Narragansett.

We soon pulled into Barbara's driveway, unloaded our cooler and kicked off a wondrful evening of musings about life with Andrea, Barbara, "cousin" Matt and his girlfriend Maggie, eating scrumptious shrimp and salad (finished off with a Susie dessert), all while sitting outside taking in the glories of a late spring evening at the beach.

Wish you could have been there.

Breton shortbread berry tart

Andrea

Susie

Matt

Lucas family comes to Rhode Island

My brother Greg Lucas and his wife Joyce and their two kids, Olga and Dimitri came to Rhode Island last weekend. (OK, Greg and I are half-brothers, but the good half.) They're touring the Northeast and had spent two nights in Niagara Falls before making a beeline for the Ocean State. The weather was pretty lousy the entire time they were here, keeping us all pretty much indoors together. As it turned out that wasn't a bad thing at all; it gave us plenty of time to catch up on all the news and stories that had happened since we last saw them in the wilds west of Chicago.

The highlight of our time together was undoubtedly a trip south to Narragansett for dinner with Andrea and her mother Barbara.

Delicious food, great conversation and plenty of time spent just laughing away the evening, while the wind howled and the gods churned the sea just a few meters away.

 

l-r: Susie, Andrea Barbara and Olga

Dimitri, Greg, Joyce and Olga

Dimitri, Greg, Joyce and Olga

Dimitri, Joyce,  Olga and Greg

These were taken by Andrea:

Heat relief at Scarborough Beach

We’ve seen warmer weather to be sure but this past weekend has been brutally hot if only because it’s only June. (photo: Barbara holding the ever-present Mr. Gray.)

Susie and I were planning on spending Saturday working at home (me thinking about options and her testing scone recipes) when Andrea called and asked if we wanted to come down to her mother’s place on the beach in Narragansett for dinner and cool ocean breezes.

“What can we bring?”  was the first question I asked and the answer was, simply: sparkling wine – a burden we were only too happy to bear.

So as the sun slid ever further west, and with three bottles of Spanish Cava resting quietly on ice in the cooler, and wearing our best summer togs, we left the apartment about 4pm. The car was pointed straight south down I-95 to Route 4 and then over to Route 138, inching ever closer to the relief of the ocean and  Scarborough Beach.

We arrived a little after 5 and met the other dinner guests for the evening: HK and his wife Nancy who had broken free of the heat in Houston (Texas that is) and headed north, spending a night in RI before crawling further north to the coasts of Maine.

Photos above: HK and Nancy.

Barbara, aided and abetted by her daughter Andrea (that's her in the photo below, center stage), prepared yet another flawless meal – seared, breaded sea scallops picked fresh that morning from a fish shop in nearby Galilee, and matched with a tasty spaghetti in a light, scrumptious cream and asparagus sauce.

We sat and ate on the porch, of course, overlooking the water barely a stone’s throw away.

The evening was about as perfect as one is apt to find, and we chatted about one thing or another, opening and closing one bottle of cava after another. Sparkling wine just seemed to fit the evening, the food and the group’s sensibilities.

The drive was unremarkable except for the feeling of satisfaction that one gets after spending a few hours balancing delicious food with  lively conversation.