Category Archives: Restaurants

Cait Plus Rach in Newport – Part 2

Before reading this final post about my first two posts on my long weekend in Rhode Island, you can read the first two posts – about an afternoon in Providence and our first few restaurant stops in Newport – if you missed them!

Saturday Afternoon

After being sufficiently wined at Newport Vineyards, Rachel and I made our way back to Downtown Newport to try a new (only a few months old) spot we’d both eyed the night before – Midtown Oyster Bar. The main allure came from the rooftop dining options, but the inside of the restaurant, with its multiple levels and huge open spaces, was gorgeous as well.

View from our seat!

View from our table!

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Cait Plus Rach in Newport – Part 1

Catch up on the first portion of my RI vacation weekend – lunch and shopping in Providence – in yesterday’s post!

Friday Night

After settling into our hotel and getting changed, Rachel and I hit Downtown Newport for our first evening in foodie heaven! We wanted to start with fabulous cocktails and headed to an ideal spot to find just that, Fluke Wine Bar & Kitchen. I gave this place a test run last summer and was thoroughly impressed. The seasonal menu always changes so this visit was still full of plenty of new drink and food choices.

Thanks to the driver of the bike-cab who took this awkward pic.

Thanks to the driver of the bike-cab who took this awkward pic.

We headed upstairs to the bar, which has a nice view of the water. I ordered the Juniperotivo – Junipero Gin, pomegranate molasses, fresh mint, fresh lemon juice. I was a little worried the molasses would make it too sweet, but I’ve never had a bad drink at Fluke. The bartender came through and delivered this delicious and refreshing creation!

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Friday Afternoon in Providence!

Newport, RI is one of the best places for restauranting…so I obviously had to return this past weekend, after having visited the weekend before, to hit some more foodie destinations! This time I got to stay in town for two nights, and took my trip with this blog’s namer, my good friend Rachel. After I took an awesome spin class and did a quick arm and ab workout, we hit the road and actually started the long weekend with Friday afternoon not in Newport but Providence, RI. I’ve been dying to check out The Grange ever since it was opened by the same guy responsible for Wildflour and Garden Grille.

View from the bar seats.

View from the bar seats.

The restaurant totally took our breaths away the moment we walked in; immediately I forgot I was soaking wet from the epic downpour raining down outside. That’s the kind of place The Grange is…a place where one could easily lose him or herself. And let’s be honest, often that is a good thing.

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Last Hurrah at La Trattoria

La Trattoria provided me a complimentary glass of wine and my meal for this write-up. This is not a sponsored post and all thoughts and opinions are my own.

La Trattoria (Canton, CT) contacted me about coming in to try out the menu and write a blog post about my experience. I truthfully had never heard of the restaurant before, so I did what I do best and started menu-stalking. I liked what I saw – lots of variety, and opportunity for healthy ordering (the restaurant partners with Snap Fitness in Avon to offer a menu of lighter options). So I accepted the offer and made plans to come in last Wednesday after a post-work Zumba class; the restaurant is located just over the Avon line, and my gym has a location in that town. Super convenient for a weeknight outing!

One of several dining areas inside the restaurant (there is also a nice outdoor patio).

One of several dining areas inside the restaurant (there is also a nice outdoor patio).

My menu-stalking also immediately gave me an idea of who to invite – my sister Hannah, who goes back to school this week. We needed a last hurrah, just the two of us, and she loves classic Italian food. I knew she’d be all about this trip! She was especially impressed when she did menu-stalking of her own and saw on the La Trattoria website that “If a favorite of yours doesn’t appear in the selections below just ask us and we will be happy to prepare it for you.” Talk about accommodating!

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My Very Own Burger

I used to take issue with Plan B Burger Bar‘s menu and its lack of good veggie sides or interesting and healthy entrees/burgers. Over this past year as I have made progress in my recovery (though it’s definitely still in progress) and become more open to ordering a bit more “adventurously” at restaurants, I’ve come to realize that the restaurant is actually very good at what it sets out to do – make great burgers, offer delicious beer, and serve tasty bourbon. Plan B is a burger bar and a burger bar does not put focus on vegetable sides – no matter how much I might want them to, it just doesn’t fit their image. I’ve also started noticing that Plan B’s burger specials are very fit for a foodie – I have sampled both the PB&J Burger and the Georgia Peach Burger over the last several months and felt that both were life-changing!

planb1

 

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Marvelous Newport Weekend

I visited my second favorite place ever (after Las Vegas) – Newport, RI – this past Saturday to Sunday with my family and family friends. Though I struggled yesterday in the late afternoon and evening with the fun I had this weekend – the more I enjoy life, the guiltier I feel and the feel more anxiety about gaining weight and “misbehaving” – I am glad that I did not let fear stop me from living out each moment to its fullest.

Make sure you join the marvelous party!

I kicked off the weekend in the best way possible – with a blend meetup. The fabulous Alyssa mentioned in her blog post on Friday that she was going to be headed to Newport for a wedding. HUH-WHAT?! I messaged her on Facebook immediately, incoherently babbling with excitement, to find out when exactly she’d be in town. She was busy with wedding festivities most of the weekend, but we found time to meet in the parking lot of the Best Western for a few hot seconds of huge hugs, tears, and selfies. Can’t wait to see this girl again, and next time we better have drinks in our hands – and meet up for more than five minutes.

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Dinner and a Movie on Front Street

I received my movie tickets and concession stand items free of charge through a complimentary Spotlight Theatres gift certificate. My dinner and cocktails were not comped and all opinions throughout this post are my own.

My good friend Kat works for the Hartford Advocate and is always hooking me up with opportunities to review CT businesses. I told her I had plans last Wednesday at Hartford’s new movie theater on Front Street – Spotlight Theatres – for dinner at Front Street Bistro (located inside the theater) followed by a movie (The Conjuring). Often my blog posts about restaurants and other establishments come from plans made to specifically go, have an experience, and do a write-up. I can’t recall a time I happened to have a blogging opportunity fall into my lap for plans I’d ALREADY made! I quickly accepted Kat’s offer and headed to downtown Hartford after work to meet my friend Jeff (a different one than the usual Jeff!)

Whenever I'm dining with just one other person I try to sit at the bar. It's where all the action is!

Whenever I’m dining with just one other person I try to sit at the bar. It’s where all the action is!

Movie theater food is usually something I avoid, and most movie theater restaurants don’t boast menus that make me giddy, so I tend to do the dinner portion of the dinner-and-a-movie combo at a restaurant outside of the theater. Spotlight’s on-premise restaurant, Front Street Bistro, stood out from the get-go because I could NOT get over the awesome cocktail list! I arrived thirsty for one and I knew immediately which I wanted – the Trainspotter, a peat scotch cocktail. Certainly not a disappointment.

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TGIF in Simsbury

A single post would have to be way too long to recap all the fun I had this past weekend, so I thought I’d spread the love between two posts, beginning with today’s retelling of this past Friday night. I spent time with people I love, and also spent $0. Gotta love it when that happens. Before the day I drove into Simsbury to have the interview for the job I currently hold, I don’t think I’d ever stepped foot (or tire?) in the town. And while a lot of the time it is very quiet and…well…a bit boring…the town sure delivered on this particular evening.

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Get your groove on!

Let me rewind back to the beginning. After a quick-and-dirty post-work gym trip (25 minutes on the StairMaster followed by upper body weights and abs) I met my parents at Millwright’s for a cocktail before the evening’s main plans. I debated whether or not I wanted to make this pre-event visit because I was nervous to order a cocktail before attending a shindig where I knew I’d be drinking wine. However, I really wanted to introduce my mom to my friends (my dad had recently done just that) at this very special restaurant…and Chris Parrot‘s cocktails are no ordinary cocktails. So I took a leap and brought my parents down to the Millwright’s Tavern!

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The Execution of Noa P. Singleton: My Last Meal

I don’t think most are interested in reading a book review unless they’ve either read the book or are definitely planning to read it. That’s why I’m such a big fan of the concept of the From Left to Write online blogger book club. Instead of writing a book review, the book is meant to serve as a writing prompt or inspiration for a post in which I can draw on and blog about my own personal experiences.

Source

July’s book is a debut fiction novel by Elizabeth L. Silver – The Execution of Noa P. Singleton. The story switches between narration by Noa in the first person and narration by the mother of the girl Noa is in prison for killing – in the form of letters to her dead daughter. Immediately Noa is revealed as being on death row for the murder of a girl named Sarah, but we don’t know how said murder or its trial occurred. Slowly, those occurrences are revealed. However, I’m not going to write about them. I’m going to write about a topic discussed at length in one chapter of the book – the last meal.

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Treble in the Kitchen Guest Post

I was worried about not having time to post today. Then I realized that I did a guest post for Tara of Treble in the Kitchen (while she was away on her HONEYMOON!) and never told you all about it. I have rescued myself!

So this post is a cop-out. Please head over to my guest post on Tara’s blog and read up on my top five cocktails I’ve tried recently. Yeah, obviously I wrote about that. Restaurants making an appearance in this post include Beachland Tavern, Krust, Max Fish, and Rooftop120!

Meet Caitlin

I’m a 28 year old full-time working girl living in Boston (previously lived in Connecticut). I’m passionate about food/drink, restaurants, self-love, fitness, and the ever-present search for balance. I write about that journey on this blog – I hope you enjoy!

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Design Credit

My header was originally designed by Mai Le and later tweaked by Chris Roggi to match this theme, which he helped me customize. He also moved me over to self-hosting! Both can be contacted through their sites for design & development work!

Disclaimer

I am not an RD and do not have any official training, certifications, or degrees in nutrition or fitness. This blog is a way to write about my life. Any views I express are mine alone, based on what works for me, and should never be taken as medical advice. Always talk to your doctor or a trained professional before starting a new diet or fitness plan. In addition, this blog and its content are in no way affiliated with Kate Gosselin, “Kate Plus 8”, TLC, or any related affiliates.

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