Escape from Baltimore, Part 2.

Where were we? Ah, yes, New England. Red and I rolled into Providence in the late afternoon. Such a cool town! Spoiler alert: We highly recommend it. It’s very walkable, so we strolled around and got our bearings. Evidently it was move-in weekend for several of the colleges near our hotel, so it was perhaps a little more bustling than normal. It was also a Waterfire weekend, so we appreciate Providence’s putting on a show for us.

Hotel view.

Waterfire before....

...and after!

We’d heard wonderful things about Nice Slice, so we went in search of vegan pizza. We were a bit deflated to learn that we couldn’t simply order off the menu, which looked amazing; instead, there were a few limp slices of vegan pie hanging out under a heat lamp. We were hungry and weren’t sure where else to go, so we ate them. They were fine, but definitely a letdown.

That's some sort of spinach-almond-cranberry on the left, and pepperoni-sausage on the right.

Can't remember what it was, but I loved it.

Our pizza break came at a weird too-late-for-lunch-and-too-early-for-dinner hour, so we vowed to do better later that evening. Union Station Brewery was right next to our hotel, so we popped in there for a beer and a snack. They didn’t have a lot for us, but the hummus plate was delicious and I had a nice Lemon Weizen.

Sunday was our last full day of vacation, so we spent the first half with our friends, Mike and Kristin, and their adorable toddler, Maggie. I swear, it was the Weekend o’ Cute Kids. We met for brunch at the Garden Grill, where Maggie proceeded to charm everyone while the rest of us inhaled food that more than made up for the sad-faced Nice Slice Pizza. Seriously, behold:

My tofu BLT (with avocado, of course)

Red's tofu scramble (he loves nothing more, I tell you)

Those home fries were something else, too. Everything was amazing.

After that, we all walked to a nearby park, with a quick stop at Wildflour Café for coffee and pastries. Wildflour is an adorable little all-vegan joint with fantastic treats, and has the distinct honor of blending Maggie’s favorite smoothie. The best part: It’s right next-door to Garden Grill! Vegan domination! If only a yoga studio had been in the same shopping center. Needless to say, Red and I loaded up for the remainder of our stay in Providence: We took home a chocolate-chip scone, a granola scone, and, if I know myself at all, probably something chocolatey. I know I just said it, but Providence is extremely pedestrian-friendly. Mike and Kristin walk most everywhere with Maggie. It was wonderful to be in a city that supports a more eco-friendly way of living.

MINE!

After a bit more walking and window-shopping, Red and I headed for the East Greenwich Art Festival. We’d been stalking Like No Udder (VEGAN! SOFT! SERVE!) on Twitter and Facebook to nail down their location, and the art festival was it. A bit of artisan crafting to go along with our ice cream? Don’t mind if we do!

The truck!

Alas, we didn’t even get a grainy cell-phone pic of the ice cream, because we were too busy rejoicing in the sweet, creamy delight and trying to eat it faster than it could melt. For real, you guys, this shit is good. New Englanders, you are lucky, lucky folks. We kept it simple—I think I got chocolate and Red got chocolate-vanilla swirl—but sometimes simple is best. It was especially revelatory for Red, who loves soft serve like no one’s business. I’m happy with regular scooped ice cream, but my man knows what he likes. High five, Like No Udder. You made a vegan boy very, very happy.

Once we were high on delicious sugary ice cream, we took in a few festival sights:

Don't fall in!

Also, because I didn’t take a picture of it, I just now remembered that Red and I went to Julian’s for dinner. Their website boasts several good-looking vegan selections, so we were bummed to learn that on the weekends, they cut back to a limited menu. This left us with basically one thing to order, and I couldn’t even remember what the hell it was. Thanks to Red, who took a picture with his phone, we figured out that it had been some kind of tempeh wrap. It was fine. We were just grumpy at not having a choice.

Thrilling, I know.

The next day, we flew home. That’s a story in and of itself, but we survived. Lucy thoroughly enjoyed her first time staying home with a sitter, the wonderful Cathy, and we were all happily reunited before dinner. Although it was a short trip, we packed in a lot of good friends and good food. I know we’ll be back again, if only because Red will need a soft-serve fix!

I bought that pretty scarf at the art fair!

Escape from Baltimore, Part I.

Over Labor Day weekend, Red and I fled town. We did this because of a small traffic jam known as the Baltimore Grand Prix (I’m not linking because get bent, you assholes). This is an event which, starting on the Thursday before Labor Day, turns the city into an Escape From New York-style nightmare in the name of tourism, cars that go really, really fast, and people dumb enough to want to sit outside on metal bleachers while the asphalt reflects the scorching summer heat. Once would be bad enough, but it is supposed to happen annually. I could write a book about all the ways it sucks, but I won’t because last year we decided that we would simply do an end-run around the whole clusterfuck by leaving town every Labor Day.

Every day for a month, I drove to work through a cage. Photo ripped from wn.com. 

This year, it was a no-brainer. We have friends in New Hampshire and Rhode Island, so we hopped a short little flight up to Manchester and prepared for a weekend of food and camaraderie. New England did not disappoint us.

Our first stop was at my heart-sister Jess’ place. I miss her every day and hope that one day we’ll live in the same city again. She and her husband Matt are new parents to the most adorable, magical little stinker. I’m completely in love with him. He didn’t get to have any of this, though:

Hello, lover.

I was overjoyed to learn that Trader Joe’s stores in more civilized states (read: not Maryland) sell alcohol. Not only that, but they’ll also give you a list of all their vegan selections. Finally, cheap vegan wine! Turns out that Three-Buck Chuck is highly drinkable. So is Green Fin, which is about a dollar more. I don’t think I’ve ever bought two bottles of wine for under eight dollars before. It all went marvelously with the massive quantities of Indian food we powerhoused while gossiping and playing Scrabble.

Confession: Until this trip, I had never actually had a dosa. Sure, I’d eaten my fair share of my low-budget dosadillas, but those are crap compared to the real thing. The spongy, injera-like dough! The savory filling! The little cups of chutney and dipping sauce! These dosas were fantastic. That’s a samosa on top there, as a bonus. Basically we ate a lot of fried dough and carbs, then wondered why we couldn’t move.

Surprisingly, we were hungry again the next day, so we all met up at Life Alive Café, a hella hippie place that is also the most gorgeous restaurant I’ve ever visited. For real, look at the bathroom:

It was a tiny tropical paradise.

Tell me you don’t want to just hang out in there for a while.

All the dishes have ridiculous but friendly names. It’s hard not to feel like a spaz when ordering The Romantic:

It's basically tofu, avocado, and broccoli, but it hit the spot.

Jess ordered The Hot & Healthy Bachelor, though, so I think she wins. Everything was delicious. If only my latte had been bottomless. Endless caffeine makes everything better.

The utterly scenic Lowell, Massachusetts (I am not even being sarcastic; Lowell has come a long way since my dad grew up there):

Side of the New England Quilt Museum.

Obviously.

I don't know. I just liked it.

This cool-looking building houses one of the UMass Lowell bookstores, among other things.

After that, there were many many hugs and baby snuggles before we hit the road to Providence. Come back soon and check out the rest of our trip! I promise to post the second half before winter arrives.