Eleven Forty Nine--East Greenwich

1149

I recently submitted my review of Cafe Dolce Vita to www.theprovidencelife.com as one of Providence's best Al Fresco Dining spots. Lucky me, the Providence Life chose my review as their winner, and I received a $50 Gift Certificate to 1149! Whooo hooo :)

I dubbed this past Saturday night as "Date Night" and MB and I made 8pm reservations for Dinner at 1149 in East Greenwich.

We arrived around 7pm and sat at the bar for drinks and apps prior to dinner. We both decided on a fancy cosmo style drink to start...mine was a Pomegranate Cosmo, and MB a Strawberry Smash. Followed by an order of Calamari with Pepper Relish and Chipotle Scallion Mayo, and the Grilled Trio of Beef Tenderloin, Chicken and Shrimp. The bartender service was less than good. It took anyone way too long to even greet us once we seated ourselves, and they were basically non-existent the entire time we sat there.

We were then shown to our seats, a 4top against the back wall, white linens and comfy plus leather high back chairs. Our 2nd round of drinks consisted of Red Sangria, which arrived in these huge goblets and were delishhhhh....

Our server Brett was very "military-esq" in his greeting, speaking and dealings...(we later asked him and indeed, he is in the military...the Coast Guard stationed at Quonset).

I ordered the Pork Tenderloin Special served with Acorn Squash and a Raspberry compote...Mmmm...Absolutely Delish, and MB ordered...can you guess? Bingo...Chicken and Pasta.....Shocker! Haha...it was Cavallari pasta with Chicken in a tomato basil sauce....tasted good as well, but why am I gonna order chicken and pasta when I can make it and eat it at home for about $3! (MB claims he can't cook chicken!)

We finished our dinner experience with a sampling of "Cheesecake Lollypops" which were 4 bites of cheesecake on lollypop sticks arranged on a plate with caramel sauce and brown sugar. Just enough to satisfy that sweet tooth despite being sooo full!

1149 receives a B+....our entire bill came to $100 for 4 drinks, 2 apps, 2 entrees and a shared dessert...not too shabby considering $50 of that was on TheProvidenceLife.com. Thank you very much :) Hopefully 1149 will consider joining Restaurant.com!

Texas Roadhouse

Advertising Yum!

So, upon my return from my cousins wedding in Florida on Monday, I had to go and re-collect my poochies from their respective dog sitters. (3 dogs, 3 different dog sitters).

MB and I were driving along RT 6/10 to get to Cranston to pick up Brandy Boi....we had plans to grab a quick bite on the way

As a Sales and Marketing Major from University of Delaware, I have always been fascinated with advertising, and the ability for an ad (print, billboard, radio..etc) to actually MOVE you to buy the product it was advertising....I mean, how many times have you driven by a Dunkin

Donuts billboard? (btw, billboard ads cost an average of $8,000 for 3 months)

Do you really need a Dunkin billboard to drive you to get your ice coffee? No, there is a Dunk on every corner in RI and you're gonna go there to get your daily caffeine fix anyway!

As we were driving on Rt 6/10 there was a Billboard for Texas Roadhouse: 20 meals under $10.......Errrrrrrrr.....Pull over! So we quickly exited the highway and made our way to Texas Roadhouse.

As I had never eaten there before I have heard nothing but how awesome their fresh bread is. The hostess grabbed us a basket of bread from under the heat lamps as she showed us to our seats. I'll give the bread a "C" in the realm of restaurant bread rolls.....although the maple butter was delish...how can you go wrong with maple butter?

And the best part about the Billboard advertising, is though we planned on going in for 2 meals under $10, we both ended up choosing dishes that cost more than $10!

Bens had Sirloin Steak and BBQ Chicken and I had a half slab of FALL-OFF-THE-BONE RIBS

"Our "blue ribbon" winning ribs are slow cooked with a unique blend of seasonings and signature BBQ Sauce. Available in half slab or full slab."

Each of our dinners were served with a choice of two sides.

I chose house salad--yummo with cheese and hard boiled egg..light ranch dressing..delish and a Baked Potato (loaded with butter and sour cream...Mmm).MB had the house salad and a Sweet Potato.

All in all BRAVO to Texas Roadhouse's Advertising Team..not only did they "drive" us in there for a meal under $10, they achieved the ultimate advertising goal of making more $$!

Texas Roadhouse Received an A..We'll definitely be back..

Oh and our server, Jack Black's long lost twin, Matt, he was good too....good as servers go...not fabulous, but did his job...he received a 20% tip.

Duck and Bunny

Duck and Bunny

Ladies night last night --out with my mother--TR, and my girlies Britt & Mal.

Having been to The Duck and Bunny once before, my hopes were high for my 2nd visit. The critics thus far have given it high marks for it's super cozy atmosphere, hip setup, delicious crepes and cupcakes and their "high tea" service.

Service being the key word, and unfortunately last night they failed miserably. For me, service is #1 when I eat out at a restaurant. Your guests are the basis for the success of your business....their word of mouth could be your lifeline of whether you make it or break it. You're talking FREE marketing here business owners! Do you really want all that free marketing to go to waste when your former guests are badmouthing you in disgust and irritation?!

In the economy we're in today, and businesses folding left and right, it's imperative to offer your guests the best service, the best food, the best experience you can when they choose to dine at your establishment.

For the sake of my story, we'll call our server Louise--as she sighed "Geez Louise" a few times when we asked her questions about the menu. She did not have the answers to our (very simple) questions regarding the Restaurant Week Menu.

Duck & Bunny Restaurant Week Menu:

$29.95 per person

Drink included:

Choice of House White or Red Wine---

Me: which wines on the menu are included in the Restaurant week menu?

Louise: All of them....I think...let me check

Louise goes inside

Not lying about 15 minutes later, comes back out. Mind you there was only one person inside upon our arrival, and we were the only guests seated outside in the garden. (Sitting in the Garden was beautiful and peaceful might I add)

Lousie: The house wines are included in the Restaurant Week Menu

Me: Which wines are the house wines?

Louise: Um...I'm not sure, let me check

Back inside she goes

Another 10 minutes goes by

Louise: We have a Malbec and a Chardonnay

Us: We'll have 3 Malbec's and a Chardonnay please

Another 10 minutes later, out comes our wine. Thank god they were in the stemless glasses or for sure Louise would have dropped them. (Thank God we weren't in a hurry) Though we made sure to let Louise know we were starving so she wouldn't disappear inside to organize cupcakes in the display case for 20 minutes while we sat there with growling bellies.

Course One
-Brie with Fig Spread and Pecans on Olga’s multigrain bread --TR and Britt
-Bacon Wrapped Dates with balsamic honey glaze--Me

-Hand-stretched local Mozzarella wrapped Olive and Tomato, chiffonade basil--Mal
Course Two: Crepes
-The Wyatt-Reuben Crepe: Smoked turkey, mozzarella, spinach, cranberry coulis --Me
-The Distinguished Lincoln Crepe: Black forest ham, Gruyere, caramel mustard --Britt
-The Mazzy Star Crepe: Portobello mushroom, fontina cheese, rosemary, truffle essence --Mal
-NY System Hot Wieners Crepe: Homemade meat sauce, chopped onions, yellow mustard and, of course, celery salt--TR

All of our Appetizers and Entrees were wonderful...and nice that we all chose a different offering we were able to try a bite of each others. Surprisingly, Louise got our orders correct, having given them to her all at once...Good Job Louise!

Intermezzo: Raspberry Sorbet--agreed by all as delicious, refreshing, and presented in these really cute tiny flutes.
Course Three: Three of our House-made Mini Cupcakes and Choice of Coffee or Tea--presented on a pretty cake stand---Banana with Nutella frosting, Red Velvet, Mocha and Chocolate mint...all deliciously satisfying.

Louise never offered us coffee or tea and we forgot it was included. Louise also didn't ask us if we would like to order another glass of wine. (Hello....up-selling, and little did Louise know that us ladies LIKE TO DRINK :)

While The Duck & Bunny received an A+ for their menu choices, particulars and presentation of the food, as well as the Garden ambiance, the service received an F....and unfortunately, that only amounts to a C for a final grade.

I know in school B's and C's get degrees, but with all the other dining options out there (snuggery or not) this girl will not be dining at the Duck & Bunny again, as the irritation and anxiety over the terrible service is just not worth it.

Duck & Bunny: C

Is there a statistic out there that correlates people who received F's in school earn less income in the real world? Poor Louise received a mere 10% tip :(

Restaurant Week-Cafe Dolce Villa

Providence Restaurant Week

After living in NYC for a year, I was totally spoiled by all of the individual, authentic and real restaurants that littered every city block. That is probably one of the things I miss most about NYC.

Providence is on the up and up with new quaint restaurants opening up throughout the city. Providence restaurant weekhttp://www.goprovidence.com/RestaurantWeek/ provides the opportunity to try new places with a prefixe menu and prefixed prices! $29.95 per person (hello Ruths Chris!) or some offer 2 for 1 at $29.95.

My honey (MB) and I went to Dolce Vita for Dinner on Sunday. The weather was beautiful and a perfect evening to sit out in the courtyard as we were serenaded by Rhode Islands own Michael Buble wannabe Steven Palumbo.

Dolce Vita offers any appetizer, any entree and any dessert of choice for the prefixed menu, and we opted to add a pitcher of Sangria for an additional $20 (well worth it--delicious and full of alcohol :)

Our Choices:

BAKED EGGPLANT ROLLATINI

Baked eggplant rollups stuffed with a savory blend of ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, served piping hot in our fresh marinara sauce.

GNOCCHI RIPIENI CON SPINACI

Potato dumplings filled with ricotta and spinach. Tossed in a plum tomato sauce.

MB chose a chicken and pasta dish with peppers, mushrooms and onions (he always chooses some sort of combo of chicken and pasta no matter where we go!)

and we finished with:

BANANAS WAFFLES FOSTER

Belgian waffle topped with sliced bananas, and sautéed with butter, brown sugar, fresh squeezed lemon and orange juice, cinnamon, dark rum and banana liquor. Topped with a scoop of vanilla gelato and whipped cream. Mmmm Delish!

Our Server was excellent....(MB knows how particular I am with servers being in the biz myself), the food was delicious with more than generous portions, and the final price was nice as well....$53....plus a nice fat tip for our server :)

Dolce Vita = A+