There’s another world just a short drive from Boston. Say hello to beautiful Rhode Island! We had plenty of adventures in this tiny state, but first things first: FOOD.
Breakfast. People’s Cafe (282 Thames Street, Newport)
After taking the train from Boston, our first outing was Newport. I absolutely loved this town.
We stopped here for breakfast. Best I can tell, People’s Cafe use to be a bank. The menu was veggie friendly and the coffee tasted great–a perfect welcome.
Lunch: Small Point Cafe ( 230 Westminster Street, Providence)
Back over in Providence, Vore’s business stuff left me alone for a few hours. I stumbled across Small Point on a walk from our hotel. I loved it so much I actually had breakfast AND lunch here. Small Point is all about two things: local food and gourmet coffee. I’ve never seen anything like it. Check out their coffee prep:
The first is a syphon method. It looks a scientific–or maybe a little like a bong? Nevermind all that. There’s fire! Beverages brewed with butane get cool points in my book. The second is a Chemex, which claims to be the chemist’s approach to coffee brewing.
French press is about as fancy as I get, but darn if these weren’t fascinating. Big props to the guys who worked at Small Point for seeing my interest in production and letting me snap a few pictures. I love it when staff is passionate about what they are selling.
The coffee was flat out amazing, as was the bagel with fresh eggs I had on day one. The tomato and RI mozzarella sandwich I snagged on day two rocked. You can taste how fresh everything is. If I lived in Providence, I’d be in Small Point daily.
Dinner: CAV (14 Imperial Place; Providence)
CAV is an acronym for “Cocktails/Antiques/Victuals,”and that’s precisely what you get. The space is in an industrial area of Providence and used to be a warehouse. My, did it get an upgrade!
The building is filled with funky antiques and African artifacts, all for sale. The ceiling is dripping with crystal. I would definitely call this a “dinner experience”.
We shared goat cheese croquettes with balsamic reduction to start. For our mains, I had the caramelized onion ravioli and Vore went for the daily fish special. All divine.
I’ll leave you with a beauty shot of CAV’s Interior. It sparkles.
When you travel, what do you look for in a restaurant? Is the food a big part of your experience?
theveggievore.wordpress.com 
Looks wonderful. I think I would love Rhode Island! Wouldn’t it be lovely if a plethora of these types of shops open up across Alabama.
I can absolutely see you in Rhode Island! I agree…if more shops started popping up in the Ham I would be there in a heartbeat. We do have some gems though–Urban Standard, Bottle Tree, Bettola…
Seems like some really cool places! Food is definitely high priority when we travel – I am known to have scoured the internet for new and fun places to eat before we go anywhere!
Birds of a feather! Traveling with a plan is the only way to go. 🙂
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What a beautiful food diary! The caramelized onion ravioli sound wonderful. How were they finished?
Here’s the description from their menu: “Fresh cut Ravioli filled with caramelized Vidalia onions with an Arugula Pistachio pesto and fresh Parmesan” If I had the pasta attachment for the Kitchen Aid, I’d be all over recreating!
Thank you so much! I look forward to trying the heavenly combination.
Thanks for the great story! Providence has great eats all around and tons of excellent options for vegetarians; so many that PETA named us the #9 city for veggies/vegans. (The more you know 😉
Brian
@providenceri; goprovidence.com
No wonder I was so happy in your neck of the woods! I’ll be back to visit you guys. 🙂