St. Pat's 5k in Providence, RI

On Saturday, at 11:15am, the gunshot went off as 4,000 runners/walkers hit the pavement for the Annual St. Pat's 5k down Smith Street.

As a resident of the Smith Hill neighborhood since 2003, it was nice to run amongst the businesses and neighborhoods I pass every day.  It was also nice because the entire length of Smith Street was closed to traffic!  

People lined up along the route to cheer us on --dressed in green, drinking Guinness' in front of Patrick's Pub and camped out in chairs with their family, friends, kids and pets to watch the event.   I saw the Douglas Massachusetts High School Band and Color guard set up on one side street, as well as the Providence Drum and Bugle Corps dressed to the nines in their kilts.

Me and Sarah--our McFadden's "Team"

                                     

My official Chip time was 31:20 for 3.1 miles, my Gunshot time was 32:50.  Not too Shabby!   Finished off the race with a few Guinness at the After Party at McFadden's!

Next Race?   Cox Races on May 1st..who's with me?!

Parkside Chicken

B decided that she did not want to celebrate her Birthday this year.  Pish Posh...you have to celebrate your birthday!   I told her she and I would go out to dinner.

Secretly I called a few of our friends to meet us out for dinner.

Me: B where would you like to go out to dinner

B: Um, I don't know..where do you think?

Me: It's your birthday, you decide.  What are you in the mood for?

B: Chicken.

Me: OK, I'll take care of reservations and pick you up at your house 645pm tomorrow.

B: Sounds good, see you then!

So my search begins.  I RARELY order chicken out at restaurants as I am a decent cook and can  make chicken a million ways at home.   Until this Chicken request, I have never realized how few chicken dishes are on Providence Restaurant Menus!!!   I searched and searched and searched..and finally found a restaurant with 4 Chicken dishes to choose from!   Parkside!

So 6 of us gathered for dinner for Bethany's birthday, (4 of us ordered a chicken dish--mine was spicy cashew chicken over sweet potato fries...yummoooo) B was surprised the other girls were there too, and I think in the end she was happy she chose to celebrate her birthday after all.  Plus, it was a free chicken dinner as we all chipped in for her dish.  

The server was absent at first, but once we started joking with him and giving him a hard time he opened up.  We also discovered he builds things that go "boom." After some digging, he divulged that he builds guns.  We informed him that guns go "bang."  Hahah...girls nights out are fun :)

Parkside: A

Tokyo

sushi...Mmmm...love it....

sushi is difficult...you can't just get it anywhere, and me, I have to be in the mood to eat sushi.   sushi can also be expensive, and if you follow my blog, you know me, I like to be thrifty when it comes to eating out!  Tokyo isn't known for its spectacular service, or its ambiance.  

Tokyo is my go to sushi spot.    AND!! Now that they are on restaurant.com....I will be more frequently in the mood for sushi ;)

My brother and I decided to catch up over sushi last night.....he was very irritated by the booth we were sat in because it was crooked (I think it was crooked because the building itself, floor and all is crooked) but nonetheless he was irritated....I was irritated that I forgot my bottle of BYOWine on the counter in my kitchen...grr

As I put the Restaurant.com certificate on the table (like the instructions say--I am a rule follower by fault)--my brother swiftly wisks away the cert and says "Don't show that to them yet, we'll get even worse service!!"

geez...I mean really how bad can the service get?! (disclaimer, this is the only restaurant I will repeatedly return to despite the bad service).

After an appetizer of Edamame, we ordered an assortment of rolls:
Tango Roll
Rainbow Roll
Crazy Roll
California Roll
Philly Roll
Dragon Roll

I would have given better descriptions of each roll, but even I myself couldn't rename all the ingredients,  all I know is that they are delish. Trying to look up the menu online (which doesn't exist on their website, because they don't have a website) this was the best I could find, and short of flipping my laptop over -- these menus are posted online upside down: http://www.urbanspoon.com/r/41/451644/restaurant/East-Side/Tokyo-Providence

Once the server came to clear our plates and drop our check, well he got that Restaurant.com certificate....and he snickered through his teeth.  Hey buddy, guess what, if you don't like getting people into your restaurant and using them, then cancel your Restaurant.com subscription!!!

sushi: A+
service: D+

I will return though :)

Cafe Dolce Villa

Now, my last experience at Cafe Dolce Villa was excellent...so excellent I submitted my blog post to www.theprovidencelife.com and won a $50 gift certificate to 1149!

It's unfortunate to say that on my girls night out dinner to Dolce Villa last night, our service was less than satisfying.

Lots of times when people go out to dinner, its more likely than not to catch up.   I had not seen my dear friend B since November, before the Crazy Holiday party season began and I worked day, night, and weekends from Thanksgiving til Christmas and then some in January!

We had planned to get drinks at Lili Marlene's, but upon picking B up we both decided that we were hungry and since we were already headed to the hill, why not Dolce Villa.

As we sat down, we were chatty Cathy's and the server kept coming over to us to take our order, obviously if you see that your guests still have their menus in hand and are in deep conversation, they have not looked at the novel of a menu to decide on dinner.  Grrr!!    

We ordered a bottle of wine, which the server opened and then placed on the table for us to "serve ourselves."  Really?!

The really awesome server I had (from my last Dolce Villa blog) was waiting on a table across from us and I secretly wanted to run up to her and say "please take our table, pretty please"  she was so awesome last time, she could seriously be the trainer of all trainers to teach servers in the industry how to treat their guests.  She probably also makes bank because she is just so damn good at her job.   I digress.

Anyway, we finally are ready to order, and start with the Bruschetta.  B orders Gnocchi, even though she has had a cold and can't taste a thing!  I ordered the Eggplant Rollitini Appetizer as my meal.

Food was delish, service was dreadful!

Cafe Dolce Villa: B-  (B for boo)

Mediocre Mills

I have ALWAYS wanted to go to Mills Tavern! When I saw that Mills was participating in Winter Restaurant Week 2011, I dubbed it date night!

We arrived and the hostess did not have our reservation, which wasn't a big deal because it was a Thursday, and not too busy at that point.  We later found out that whoever took the reservation, wrote it in their book for the next night.   (Strike One)

We were showed to our table which was next to the front window, near the bar.  The atmosphere in Mills is awesome...old, dark wood, great ambiance.

Since it was Restaurant week, we selected our choices from the Restaurant Week Menu: 

Course One

Choose One

POINT JUDITH CALAMARI

with RAS EL HANOUT,HARISSA,ARUGULA and TZATZIKI

WILD WHITE WATER MUSSELS DU JOUR 

Course Two

Choose One

RICOTTA and SPINACH STUFFED GNOCCHI

with FRESH BABY SPINACH and WILD MUSHROOMS IN A ROASTED GARLIC

and PARMESAN CREAM SAUCE

GRILLED PETITE FILET 

with BACON MARMALADE and MELTED LEEK HORSERADISH CREAM SAUCE

Course Three

Choose One

PORTUGUESE BREAD PUDDING

with MADERIA CARAMEL, CURRENTS AND CHANTILLY CREAM

BLACK MISSION FIG CREME BRULEE

with STRAWBERRY-ROSEMARY SORBET, CANDIED WALNUTS AND OATMEAL CINNAMON CRISP

As the waitress was opening our bottle of wine and telling us about the specials for the evening, I could smell the cigarette smoke on her breath, not too appetizing, to say the least (Strike two)

The appetizers were delicious, the gnocchi was delicious, however the filet was most disappointing.   It was like a little hamburger patty on a plate about an inch wider than the patty.  I asked for it to be cooked medium rare, and it was cooked medium well...boo (Strike Three).  Dessert was mediocre as well.

Overall a disappointing visit to Mills, which is unfortunate as I was so excited to dine there.    We'll see if they get another try come Restaurant Week again, as there are just too many other untapped restaurants in Rhode Island I've yet to get to! 

Mediocre Mills: C-

Capital Grille

So, as to take FULL advantage of the Winter Providence Restaurant Week, I've jammed packed my schedule with reservations at some of Providence's finest.

Today, I enjoyed a "working lunch" at the Capital Grille with some lovely ladies from the Multiple Sclerosis Organization, the March of Dimes and the Rhode Island Convention Center.  Way to network AND eat right :)

Capital Grille's lunch menu is absolutely too good to be true (lucky for me it isn't!)  I think between the 7 of us ladies, we tried all the options, except for the Roasted Half Chicken (my first choice)
because they were out.

The Grille was slammed packed, you could tell the servers were a bit "in the weeds."  It took our server a bit longer than should have to approach our table and greet us.    We were all so happy to get out of our offices, I don't think it really was a big deal that we waited a bit longer.

So for $12.95 ($17 each after tax and tip!) we dined on the following:

Course One

Choose One 

Field Greens,Spring Vegetables with Shallot Champagne Vinaigrette

Clam Chowder 

Course Two

Dry Aged Sirloin Salad with Gorgonzola Vinaigrette

The Grille’s Signature Cheeseburger with Truffle Fries

Seared Citrus Glazed Salmon

Roasted Half Chicken 

Course Three

Choose One

Flourless Chocolate Espresso Cake

The Capital Grille Handcrafted Ice Cream

Chef’s Seasonal Sorbet 

While I am not a huge fan of dining at the Capital Grille for dinner, as I think it gets a bit too loud in there, dining there for Lunch was fabulous.  We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves!

Capital Grille: A

Ruth's Chris Steakhouse

Mmm....Ruth's Chris Steakhouse, need I say more?!  You'll  never have a more amazing Filet Mignon than at Ruth's Chris...In an attempt to be able to dine our frequently, I often use Groupons, Restaurant.com and other various coupons or gift certificates.    During Restaurant Week, a visit to Ruth's Chris as an ABSOLUTE MUST!  

My Boyfriend's mother has always wanted to dine at Ruth's so she treated us to dinner.   :)

Course One

Choose One 

Louisiana Seafood Gumbo

Steak House Salad with House Vinaigrette 

Course Two

Choose One

Filet 

The most tender cut of corn-fed Midwestern beef 

Broiled expertly to melt-in-your-mouth 

NY Strip 

A favorite of many steak connoisseurs. This USDA Prime 

Cut has a full-bodied texture that is slightly firmer than a Ribeye 

Sizzlin’ Blue Crab Cakes 

Three Jumbo lump crab cakes served sizzling with lemon butter 

Marinated Chicken 

Broiled Chicken Breast marinated in garlic and herbs 

Your choice of one of the following personal side items:

Creamed Spinach

Garlic Mashed Potatoes 

Course Three

Duo of Berries & Cream and Chocolate Mousse Cup 

I opted for the Salad (though I tasted the gumbo and it was delish), Filet and we all shared the sides.....my Filet was melt in your mouth perfection, I am salivating at the thought of having to wait until July for it again!     My boyfriends mother said that her steak was the best steak she has ever eaten.  

Ruth's Chris  A+ (we'll be back in July!)

Posted by Missie Rose at Wednesday, January 26, 2011