Saturday, June 30, 2012

Brick Alley Pub and Restaurant

 Chicken Piccata
 Chicken Au Poivre
 Triple Shot Appletini
Doc's Peanut Butter Cup Spiked Shake

Good food. Fast service. Yummy libations. What more could you want from a restaurant? Brick Alley Pub provides it all.

At peak hours, the wait for a table could be a while (45 minutes when we walked in), so put your name on the list and check both the upstairs and back bar for open seats. These are first come, first served. If you find a seat at the bar, ask the bartender to have the host take our name off the waiting list (it's only fair).

We sat at the bar on the main floor and found it rather enjoyable! The bartender was very attentive to our drink and food needs and watched our precious seats while we enjoyed the soup and salad bar.

We ordered the chicken piccata and the chicken au poivre. Both were delicious. The sauce on the au poivre was super yummy: creamy and decadent, and very, very peppery. Each meal also came with Brick Alley's soup and salad bar, which has quite a selection of salad fixings and a soup or two on the bar.

We also ordered drinks, an appletini from the bar's "Triple Shot Martini" list and the peanut butter cup spiked milkshake. The shake was peanut buttery, creamy, and didn't at all taste boozy (that's the best kind of frozen libation).

I always thought an appletini, was an appletini, was an appletini. This tasted like your run of the mill appletini, but much stronger!

Friday, June 29, 2012

O'Brien's Pub




After a bad dining experience at Asterisk, and seeing a number of negative reviews for some of the area restaurants, we decided to go low-key and try O'Brien's Pub, which was walking distance from our B&B and seemed to always be bustling with people.

We were so glad we made the decision to eat here! We ordered the proscuitto mac and cheese and the fish and chips, as well as the blueberry beer. The mac and cheese came in a very large portion and was very, very good. No substituting quantity for quality here.

The fish in the fish and chips was flaky and moist, but the breading was crisp and crunchy, the perfect combination for fried fish. It was so good I didn't even want the french fries. And came in such a large portion that by the time I got through the fish, there was no room for the chips!

The blueberry beer was also delicious and served with fresh blueberries floating in it.

Thursday, June 28, 2012

Asterisk Bar and Restaurant

 Chicken Milanse
 Belgian Drunken Beef
stick found in the Belgian Beef


We ate at Asterisk on a Sunday and had an absolutely terrible experience. We made a reservation using OpenTable for 9:15 p.m., but arrived early, at 8:45 p.m. The host informed us that no table was currently available and we'd have to wait until our reservation time, but we could wait at the bar.  We were in no rush, so this was perfectly fine.

However, there were numerous empty tables around the restaurant, some clean, some still dirty. None of the wait staff ever made any attempt to clean the dirty ones.  So we waited a half hour for a table just because no one could take the time to clean tables after other customers left.

It seemed that the busing staff wasn’t on duty Sunday night, as the wait staff was in charge of busing tables, setting tables, serving food and drinks, taking payment and more.

That said the biggest issues came after this. When we were finally seated, it was at a table adjacent to the bar. The tables on either side of us were still dirty from the previous patrons, and remained dirty during our entire meal.

Once we were seated, it took 15 minutes for a waitress to speak to us and bring menus, and this only happened after we said something to the host.

Because the table was adjacent to the bar, and after about 9:30 p.m., the restaurant becomes more of an evening stop on the Newport bar scene, it became very uncomfortable, as bar guests were bumping into the chair at our table as they moved around and bumped into each other.

I can’t even recommend the food. It was mediocre. The Belgian Drunken Beef we ordered had the wood stem left in it from one of the herbs (I hope) and the chicken was bland.

Wednesday, June 27, 2012

La Forge Casino Restuarant


 Paddy Cakes
 Onion Soup
Chopped Salad

We stopped into the La Forge Casino Restaurant after walking around the area and browsing menus. We also liked its proximity to the International Tennis Hall of Fame. It was a beautiful afternoon in Newport and we wanted to enjoy lunch outside, however, the porch was full. The group in front of us asked if there were open seats out back and the hostess sent them through the restaurant. Not knowing what to expect, we did the same thing.

Boy were we glad! The porch in the back overlooks the Tennis Hall of Fame and the courts, as well as being shaded. Absolutely beautiful. However, there is a small added fee for sitting outside near the courts for the preservation of the historic tennis courts. We were OK with that!

We ordered the paddy cakes, potato cakes made with chipped corned beef and served on an aioli; their onion soup and the chopped house salad. A lovely lunch in a lovely location. And, come here before you tour the Hall of Fame for discounts on the hall of fame ticket price.

Tuesday, June 26, 2012

Fatulli's Gourmet Bakery and Deli




Terribly hungry after flying into Providence and then driving to Newport, RI, we drove to Newport Winery and were pleasantly surprised when next door there was a deli with yummy food. Fatulli's Deli offers hot and cold sandwiches, a number of soups, baked goods, coffee and more.

We ordered the Italian flatbread sandwich and the deli's corn chowder. Both delicious.

This was a great way to start our trip.

Monday, June 25, 2012

Newport Winery



This might be the best deal in town. Tours of the Newport Winery are held at 1 p.m. and 3 p.m. for approximately $10 per person, which included the tour, some history about the family who own the vineyards, as well as 5 glasses of wine.

Our two favorite white wines were the Newport Riesling and the Great White. We tried a few of the reds and enjoyed the Blaufrankish and asked the wine-tender for the sweetest red they have, which was also delicious.

Come early and enjoy your wine before your tour, rather than trying to vie for the wine-tenders attention with the rest of the touring crowd. We recommend at least 30 minutes, a little longer if you're more indecisive or like to enjoy the wines.