Tootsie Yr2: Providence, RI Part 1
Oct. 27th, 2022 09:06 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
taz_39**Long post because it's a fun week**
-----------------------------------------
The travel day was a little rough for me personally...mostly I let a lot of little things get under my skin until they'd built up and made me into a Negative Nancy.
There will always be good travel days and bad ones.
And there will ALWAYS be inconsiderate, oblivious, or rude people at airports.
And the important thing is to stay calm and patient, and to focus on the good things happening all around.
We eventually got safely to Providence. Let's leave it at that :p
The hotel this week is a Graduate hotel, formerly The Biltmore.
It is supposedly haunted! But I do not care. Ghosts Welcome.
Like the last Graduate hotel we stayed at in Tempe, the room keys are made to look like student ID cards.
The room:
A wall of photos and a lamp featuring a blue bear wearing red overalls (Graduate hotels are known for their quirky decor)
Upon opening my luggage there was a little note to say "TSA wuz here".
I'm surprised I don't get more of these, with all of the weird stuff I travel.
They didn't confiscate anything or muck up my things.
There is no AC available here for whatever reason (some older hotels have seasonal climate control believe it or not), so I will have to have the window open all week. This keeps the room around 75 degrees, but it's quite humid here so that's a slight bummer.
There's also very limited surface space here so I got creative.
I took the minifridge out of it's little cupboard and will use the top of the fridge as surface space.
I also took out the ironing board to serve as a flat surface for my clothes.
The desk will hold my computer and also most of my dry goods.
The top of the fridge cupboard will be where I cook and prep food.
And inside the fridge cupboard will be more groceries, dishware, etc.
Each hotel is different, but there's always a way to make things work!
It was too late to go grocery shopping, so instead I had a nice hot shower and a cup of tea and watched TV "with" Jameson.
--------------------------------------------------
Tuesday morning I woke up early, 7:30am, to get breakfast at Seven Stars Bakery.
A local bakery opened in 2001, Seven Stars has been recognized by Food Network as one of the best bakeries in America.
They mill ALL of their grains in-house, and ALL of their flours are whole grain.
Since 2001 they've expanded and now have five locations across Rhode Island.
CLICK HERE and use the arrows to navigate to the short video to see what was available this morning at the bakery counter.
Everything looked amazing. I would have loved one of everything!
I got a loaf of their country bread, and a breakfast sandwich.
This is local eggs with roasted broccoli and feta on a spelt biscuit, topped with Vermont cheddar cheese and onion jam.
It was delicious, especially that biscuit. Fluffy and both sweet and savory.
The onion jam was really lovely against the sharp cheese.
I couldn't taste the feta at all which is GREAT because I don't like feta that much haha.
The bread is described as, "A classic rustic sourdough highlighting our house-milled whole wheat and rye flour."
It only has five ingredients: whole wheat flour, rye flour, salt, water, and yeast/starter.
It has a beautiful chewy crust and delicious tangy, wheaty flavor.
It's a big loaf so I wrapped one half tightly and shoved it in the fridge, while the other half will get eaten this week.
Then it was time for groceries. First stop was Urban Greens co-op.
They had lots of great produce, including local heirloom apples.
These apples are perhaps a third the size of what you'd get in a grocery store, but they are flavorful and a perfectly-sized snack.
I got some of those and some nice concord grapes; bok choy; a piece of locally-butchered London broil to try out in the Itaki.
I wanted these sodas REALLY badly, but put them back. SO much sugar.
Instead I got a locally-made ginger seltzer that was only 70 calories, and a grape flavored hibiscus water.
The co op didn't have all that I needed, so I walked another mile or so to Whole Paycheck for my usual things: eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt, more veggies. Found some kale chips from Bucks County PA and had to give those a shot, and also a small bag of fonio, which I have been wanting to try. I Ubered back because I was tired and Ubers here are affordable.
At the hotel I ate lunch and kind of crashed.
I had wanted to take a nap but took too long stomping all over this morning.
Our sound check was earlier than usual because the show is at 7 instead of 7:30.
I walked to the theater and first stopped in the Company Management office to pick up my new Tootsie jacket.
I do already have one from last year, but it ended up being WAY too big...I mean it was a medium, but the sleeves were over my hands and it was nearly down to my knees! After the Christmas break I will bring it out on tour in the hopes that someone will buy it from me.
This one is two sizes smaller and fits MUCH better.
The band has an actual dressing room this week!
Not only that, I we have a spot marked for us. Gosh, I feel like a star actress! ;)
The pit is reversed this week, meaning the horns are to the left of the conductor instead of the right, and rhythm section is to the right.
It always feels odd to play in this setup, but changes are also fun and interesting. It will make me listen harder anyway.
(forgot to take a pic go figure)
The Providence Performing Arts Center is a very gilt, ornate building. Screaming Deco from every nook and cranny.
I did a little research and found that it was built in 1928, and that when it opened a crowd of 14,000 people pushed through the doors...not to see a show, but simply to gawk at the lavish interior. The theater has also hosted many rock stars, especially between 1973 and '74 when acts included Queen, Aerosmith, The Doors, the Bee Gees, the Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison, and more.
(stock image. When the lights are low the entire hall looks like it's gold-plated; when the lights are up you can see lots of red and gold highlights and intricate carvings just about everywhere.)
The show was well attended and went well. Acoustics here are interesting, LOADS of reverb and will take some getting used to.
I walked home in the rain, thankful for my Tootsie umbrella and water-resistant Tootsie jacket.
--------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I planned to be a slow day because it was supposed to rain, and because I have quite a bit to do.
After breakfast I got to work cooking.
Lemon-marinated chicken from Whole Paycheck which I steamed in the Itaki with vegetable broth and herbs; then the small piece of London broil, which was thin so I chose not to cut it, and cooked it in the juices from the chicken, veggie broth, and with added black pepper. I simultaneously steamed some bok choy with broth and herbs in the top compartment, pulling it out before the meat was done cooking. Everything turned out nicely and will make for lovely meals this week.
While things were cooking I did data entry which I am pretty far behind on thanks to a lousy internet connection at the last hotel.
For lunch I was excited to try something new: African food, specifically Nigerian egusi stew!
I walked a few blocks to Village PVD. It's a small space and looked really new, with one cook behind the counter and all of the food on display over hot trays. He was completing a pickup order so while I was waiting I looked at everything, and when he was finished he asked if I'd had Nigerian food before.
I said no and asked if egusi stew would be a good thing for a noob to try, and he said yes, not too spicy, not too crazy.
I was like, ok then, hit me with it!
For protein I chose whitefish (the stew is made with palm oil so that's enough fat thanks) and he asked if I wanted to try anything else.
I asked if he had a piece of tripe that I could try, as I've never had it before and had seen it on their menu.
He said it was part of another dish called ayamase stew, and fished a piece out for me, warning me that it'd be spicy.
It was spicy but not overly so, a good moderate heat.
I liked the flavor but the texture was too "cartilage-y" for me personally.
Ate it anyway and exclaimed over the flavor, which was quite good.
He seemed surprised that I'd liked it, and genuinely delighted to have someone interested in trying new things, because he immediately offered me another piece of unusual meat: pomo, which is cow skin that has been roasted and boiled until it's soft and edible. This one I really did like; the texture was chewy but in a pleasant way, like tender meat, and it had a richness and creaminess to it that was pretty dang good. The cook was all smiles that I enjoyed it so much :)
I took my meal to go since the hotel was right around the corner (and I didn't want to look like an idiot eating egusi stew incorrectly in public)
So the green-and-white stuff is the actual stew, which is leafy greens (can be anything, spinach or collards or pumpkin leaves) mixed with pounded or milled egusi (= melon seeds) and seasoned with smoked crayfish, smoked fish, smoked turkey, and spices.
The red part is the whitefish with a mildly spicy and tangy sauce.
The white thing is called iyan, which is yam pounded into a paste.
You're supposed to scoop up chunks of it with your hands and eat it along with the stew.
It was like mashed potatoes but more dense and gummy, similar flavor too.
So in this stew it played the part of a dumpling, a base for the other flavors to stand out against and a texture to enjoy.
It was really, really good! Spicy, tangy, complex, and rich.
Probably my favorite thing about this dish was all the different textures going on. The soft yam paste with the slightly crispy fish, smooth red sauce, grainy melon seed and greens with a little chewy smoked meat. Fun and flavorful is my favorite kind of food :)
As you can see I TOTALLY hated it ;)
After that I needed to, like, digest haha.
I had some tea and chatted with Jameson, and eventually did more data entry.
We had a nice show, well attended again which is great.
And a friend of Bill and mine, whose name is Ben but we call him Bendy, came out with his wife to see our show!
It was great to reconnect with him. Bill took a picture which I hope he'll post later so I can share it with you.
------------------------------------------------------------
Now it's Thursday and I'm setting up to do data entry, then will reorganize my suitcase, go for a walk, and around 3pm I'm excited to eat a really big really awesome ice cream sandwich!
And that's my plan. Oh, and a show I guess :p
We have the weekend here in Providence, then a few days in Utica, NY and New Brunswick, NJ respectively.
We will be taking buses instead of flying, which I'm thrilled about because I could really use a break from the stressful airport.
Other stuff:
View from the layover flight coming into Charlotte.
Some cool graffiti in Providence.
-----------------------------------------
The travel day was a little rough for me personally...mostly I let a lot of little things get under my skin until they'd built up and made me into a Negative Nancy.
There will always be good travel days and bad ones.
And there will ALWAYS be inconsiderate, oblivious, or rude people at airports.
And the important thing is to stay calm and patient, and to focus on the good things happening all around.
We eventually got safely to Providence. Let's leave it at that :p
The hotel this week is a Graduate hotel, formerly The Biltmore.
It is supposedly haunted! But I do not care. Ghosts Welcome.
Like the last Graduate hotel we stayed at in Tempe, the room keys are made to look like student ID cards.
The room:
A wall of photos and a lamp featuring a blue bear wearing red overalls (Graduate hotels are known for their quirky decor)
Upon opening my luggage there was a little note to say "TSA wuz here".
I'm surprised I don't get more of these, with all of the weird stuff I travel.
They didn't confiscate anything or muck up my things.
There is no AC available here for whatever reason (some older hotels have seasonal climate control believe it or not), so I will have to have the window open all week. This keeps the room around 75 degrees, but it's quite humid here so that's a slight bummer.
There's also very limited surface space here so I got creative.
I took the minifridge out of it's little cupboard and will use the top of the fridge as surface space.
I also took out the ironing board to serve as a flat surface for my clothes.
The desk will hold my computer and also most of my dry goods.
The top of the fridge cupboard will be where I cook and prep food.
And inside the fridge cupboard will be more groceries, dishware, etc.
Each hotel is different, but there's always a way to make things work!
It was too late to go grocery shopping, so instead I had a nice hot shower and a cup of tea and watched TV "with" Jameson.
--------------------------------------------------
Tuesday morning I woke up early, 7:30am, to get breakfast at Seven Stars Bakery.
A local bakery opened in 2001, Seven Stars has been recognized by Food Network as one of the best bakeries in America.
They mill ALL of their grains in-house, and ALL of their flours are whole grain.
Since 2001 they've expanded and now have five locations across Rhode Island.
CLICK HERE and use the arrows to navigate to the short video to see what was available this morning at the bakery counter.
Everything looked amazing. I would have loved one of everything!
I got a loaf of their country bread, and a breakfast sandwich.
This is local eggs with roasted broccoli and feta on a spelt biscuit, topped with Vermont cheddar cheese and onion jam.
It was delicious, especially that biscuit. Fluffy and both sweet and savory.
The onion jam was really lovely against the sharp cheese.
I couldn't taste the feta at all which is GREAT because I don't like feta that much haha.
The bread is described as, "A classic rustic sourdough highlighting our house-milled whole wheat and rye flour."
It only has five ingredients: whole wheat flour, rye flour, salt, water, and yeast/starter.
It has a beautiful chewy crust and delicious tangy, wheaty flavor.
It's a big loaf so I wrapped one half tightly and shoved it in the fridge, while the other half will get eaten this week.
Then it was time for groceries. First stop was Urban Greens co-op.
They had lots of great produce, including local heirloom apples.
These apples are perhaps a third the size of what you'd get in a grocery store, but they are flavorful and a perfectly-sized snack.
I got some of those and some nice concord grapes; bok choy; a piece of locally-butchered London broil to try out in the Itaki.
I wanted these sodas REALLY badly, but put them back. SO much sugar.
Instead I got a locally-made ginger seltzer that was only 70 calories, and a grape flavored hibiscus water.
The co op didn't have all that I needed, so I walked another mile or so to Whole Paycheck for my usual things: eggs, egg whites, Greek yogurt, more veggies. Found some kale chips from Bucks County PA and had to give those a shot, and also a small bag of fonio, which I have been wanting to try. I Ubered back because I was tired and Ubers here are affordable.
At the hotel I ate lunch and kind of crashed.
I had wanted to take a nap but took too long stomping all over this morning.
Our sound check was earlier than usual because the show is at 7 instead of 7:30.
I walked to the theater and first stopped in the Company Management office to pick up my new Tootsie jacket.
I do already have one from last year, but it ended up being WAY too big...I mean it was a medium, but the sleeves were over my hands and it was nearly down to my knees! After the Christmas break I will bring it out on tour in the hopes that someone will buy it from me.
This one is two sizes smaller and fits MUCH better.
The band has an actual dressing room this week!
Not only that, I we have a spot marked for us. Gosh, I feel like a star actress! ;)
The pit is reversed this week, meaning the horns are to the left of the conductor instead of the right, and rhythm section is to the right.
It always feels odd to play in this setup, but changes are also fun and interesting. It will make me listen harder anyway.
(forgot to take a pic go figure)
The Providence Performing Arts Center is a very gilt, ornate building. Screaming Deco from every nook and cranny.
I did a little research and found that it was built in 1928, and that when it opened a crowd of 14,000 people pushed through the doors...not to see a show, but simply to gawk at the lavish interior. The theater has also hosted many rock stars, especially between 1973 and '74 when acts included Queen, Aerosmith, The Doors, the Bee Gees, the Kinks, Fleetwood Mac, Van Morrison, and more.
(stock image. When the lights are low the entire hall looks like it's gold-plated; when the lights are up you can see lots of red and gold highlights and intricate carvings just about everywhere.)
The show was well attended and went well. Acoustics here are interesting, LOADS of reverb and will take some getting used to.
I walked home in the rain, thankful for my Tootsie umbrella and water-resistant Tootsie jacket.
--------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday I planned to be a slow day because it was supposed to rain, and because I have quite a bit to do.
After breakfast I got to work cooking.
Lemon-marinated chicken from Whole Paycheck which I steamed in the Itaki with vegetable broth and herbs; then the small piece of London broil, which was thin so I chose not to cut it, and cooked it in the juices from the chicken, veggie broth, and with added black pepper. I simultaneously steamed some bok choy with broth and herbs in the top compartment, pulling it out before the meat was done cooking. Everything turned out nicely and will make for lovely meals this week.
While things were cooking I did data entry which I am pretty far behind on thanks to a lousy internet connection at the last hotel.
For lunch I was excited to try something new: African food, specifically Nigerian egusi stew!
I walked a few blocks to Village PVD. It's a small space and looked really new, with one cook behind the counter and all of the food on display over hot trays. He was completing a pickup order so while I was waiting I looked at everything, and when he was finished he asked if I'd had Nigerian food before.
I said no and asked if egusi stew would be a good thing for a noob to try, and he said yes, not too spicy, not too crazy.
I was like, ok then, hit me with it!
For protein I chose whitefish (the stew is made with palm oil so that's enough fat thanks) and he asked if I wanted to try anything else.
I asked if he had a piece of tripe that I could try, as I've never had it before and had seen it on their menu.
He said it was part of another dish called ayamase stew, and fished a piece out for me, warning me that it'd be spicy.
It was spicy but not overly so, a good moderate heat.
I liked the flavor but the texture was too "cartilage-y" for me personally.
Ate it anyway and exclaimed over the flavor, which was quite good.
He seemed surprised that I'd liked it, and genuinely delighted to have someone interested in trying new things, because he immediately offered me another piece of unusual meat: pomo, which is cow skin that has been roasted and boiled until it's soft and edible. This one I really did like; the texture was chewy but in a pleasant way, like tender meat, and it had a richness and creaminess to it that was pretty dang good. The cook was all smiles that I enjoyed it so much :)
I took my meal to go since the hotel was right around the corner (and I didn't want to look like an idiot eating egusi stew incorrectly in public)
So the green-and-white stuff is the actual stew, which is leafy greens (can be anything, spinach or collards or pumpkin leaves) mixed with pounded or milled egusi (= melon seeds) and seasoned with smoked crayfish, smoked fish, smoked turkey, and spices.
The red part is the whitefish with a mildly spicy and tangy sauce.
The white thing is called iyan, which is yam pounded into a paste.
You're supposed to scoop up chunks of it with your hands and eat it along with the stew.
It was like mashed potatoes but more dense and gummy, similar flavor too.
So in this stew it played the part of a dumpling, a base for the other flavors to stand out against and a texture to enjoy.
It was really, really good! Spicy, tangy, complex, and rich.
Probably my favorite thing about this dish was all the different textures going on. The soft yam paste with the slightly crispy fish, smooth red sauce, grainy melon seed and greens with a little chewy smoked meat. Fun and flavorful is my favorite kind of food :)
As you can see I TOTALLY hated it ;)
After that I needed to, like, digest haha.
I had some tea and chatted with Jameson, and eventually did more data entry.
We had a nice show, well attended again which is great.
And a friend of Bill and mine, whose name is Ben but we call him Bendy, came out with his wife to see our show!
It was great to reconnect with him. Bill took a picture which I hope he'll post later so I can share it with you.
------------------------------------------------------------
Now it's Thursday and I'm setting up to do data entry, then will reorganize my suitcase, go for a walk, and around 3pm I'm excited to eat a really big really awesome ice cream sandwich!
And that's my plan. Oh, and a show I guess :p
We have the weekend here in Providence, then a few days in Utica, NY and New Brunswick, NJ respectively.
We will be taking buses instead of flying, which I'm thrilled about because I could really use a break from the stressful airport.
Other stuff:
View from the layover flight coming into Charlotte.
Some cool graffiti in Providence.
no subject
Date: 2022-10-27 03:27 pm (UTC)I still dream about the Ethiopian I had when I was near Louisville nearly 10 years ago. I wish there was a restaurant near us!
no subject
Date: 2022-10-27 04:04 pm (UTC)I have to admit that it was, um, “fast food” if you know what I mean lol. “Expedited transit”, if you catch my drift! But considering the amount of palm oil, and that it contained milled squash seeds which probably have a ton of fiber, I guess that’s not surprising! Still, I would definitely eat it again!
In about a week I’ll get to try Ethiopian, looking forward to it!