Friday 5ive- January 31, 2020

Welcome to the Friday 5ive, a weekly blog post about five things that caught my attention during the week. Can you believe we are already through the first month of 2020? Time flies by, even during the bleakest winter months.


1)  Saturday evening we were invited to a family dinner at Bacaro, a fantastic little Italian restaurant on the Lower East Side. The food is very authentic Italian, and we had a wonderful time. There is a small bar upstairs, and downstairs is the restaurant, which feels like you are in an Italian tavern in Italy. We had a family table in a separate area, with long benches around the table. It's perfect for small private event, and the 12 of us were very comfortable and we were able to visit with each other in comfort. The photos below are from their Instagram account.

The private table

The pork shank over polenta was delicious

2)  Sunday started off with the sad news that NBA basketball legend Kobe Bryant, his 13 year-old daughter Gigi, and seven other people died in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California. Kobe was my younger son's favorite basketball player, as Kobe was to many people my son's age. My older son said that Kobe was the first athlete most people their age really knew. People my age and older will remember feeling the same way when baseball great Roberto Clemente died in a plane crash at the height of his career with the Pittsburgh Pirates, bringing aid to earthquake victims in Nicaragua. On the day after the crash, I saw this on the NYC Link charging station up the street from me.

3)  Wednesday night, two of us from the Book Cellar took a road trip up to the Barnes & Noble store on 86th Street to listen to authors Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig talk about their third collaboration with Karen White, All The Ways We Said Goodbye. It's a wonderful story set in three time periods- WWI, WWII, and 1964- featuring three female protagonists and their connection to the Ritz Paris Hotel. It was a fun evening, the ladies really enjoy working together. My blog post on that evening is here.

Beatriz Williams and Lauren Willig

4)  I just finished listening to a true crime podcast, The Shrink Next Door, about an NYC psychiatrist who takes over his patient's life, his business, and gets him to cut off all ties to his only sister and her children. It's a crazy story, told by Joe Nocera of Bloomberg and Wondery (who did the Dirty John podcast). You can find the podcast here. (Thanks to Rick for the suggestion.)

5)  I started reading Susan Elia MacNeal's upcoming novel, The King's Justice, the ninth book in her Maggie Hope series. It's 1943 London, and Maggie has left the SOE, where she had been working as a spy for the British government. Now she works diffusing unexploded bombs that the German had dropped, another dangerous job. She and her friends and roommates all are having problems coping with the stress of living through the war. Maggie is unwillingly drawn back into one of her old cases when a sequential (serial) murderer is on the loose, and it looks like the killer has a connection to a monster she helped put away. It's a terrific read so far, and I'm fearing for poor Maggie who is drinking too much. If you are a fan of Jacqueline Winspear's Maisie Dobbs series, this is the next series you should be reading. I'll post a full review closer to publication date of February 25th. 

The King's Justice

Weekend Cooking- Great Food in Providence

This post is part of Beth Fish Reads' Weekend Cooking.  If you have anything related to food, cookbook reviews, novel or non-fiction book reviews, recipes, movie reviews, etc., head over to Beth Fish Reads and add your post. Or, if you want to read food related posts, head over to read what some interesting people have to say about food.

We visited my husband's youngest sister and her family this past week in Providence, Rhode Island. It was a lovely visit, we don't get to see the kids very often in their own home and we all had so much fun.

After a delicious Passover meal where Necole made a brisket that was so tender it melted in your mouth and a matzoh ball soup that was the best I have ever had, the ladies had an evening out.

Ina Garten, the Barefoot Contessa, was in conversation at the Providence Performing Arts Center on Tuesday with Al Forno restaurant owner Johanne Kileen, so Necole, her sister Brigette (the best cook in the family) and I went to see her. (More on that in next week's Weekend Cooking.)

First we had one of the best meals I have ever had anywhere at Bacaro. From the appetizer to dessert, everything was amazing. We shared a Pizza with Prosciutto di Parma and Arugula that was had just the perfect crispy texture. It was delicious.

Pizza with Prosciutto & Argula

There were so many fabulous entrees from which to choose, and since Necole raved about the Pasta Con I Funghi, I took her suggestion and boy was I glad I did. This was one of the best pasta dishes I ever had anywhere, including our trip to Rome. It started with tagliatelle, topped with butter, parmiggiano- reggiano, mushrooms and a truflfed-scented egg. Once you break that egg and mix it in with the pasta, oh my goodness, it was heavenly.

Pasta Con I Funghi

From their extensive dessert menu filled with unique dishes,  I chose the Bella's Citrus Bombolini, a plate of mini-doughnuts filled with orange curd and topped with caramel. I reluctantly shared them with the ladies (if they weren't my sisters, I probably wouldn't have), but man I am still dreaming about them. We also shared the Salted Chocolate Carmel Tart and the Olive Oil Cake with Rosemary Anglaise & Whipped Cream. The Olive Oil Cake was a close second in our humble opinions.

Bombolini

The next day we headed to Nick's On Broadway for breakfast. It's a popular restaurant, and I loved the design. You walk into the narrow bar area, where you can see the open kitchen from the bar. Behind the bar is the small restaurant, where you can see the chefs cooking your meal from every seat. I loved the clean, open lines and stainless steel.

Nick's kitchen

We ordered lots of dishes to share, but there were two big winners. Nick's prides itself on using local fresh ingredients, and the Baked Geer Farm corn + Vermont cheddar polenta with two eggs, baby spinach and Parmesan cheese was fabulous. The polenta was served as two rectangles, seasoned perfectly and the texture was just right. 

Eggs on polenta

They also served a special that day with eggs and a pork hash, along with two crispy biscuits that was very tasty, as was French toast, sausage, chicken sausage and rosemary ham. You really can't go wrong with anything you get there, and it all tasted so fresh.

So if you find yourself in Providence, I highly recommend Baccaro for drinks and dinner and Nick's On Broadway for breakfast or lunch. You will not be disappointed. 

Bacaro's website is here.

Nick's On Broadway is here.

If you've been to Providence, I'd love to hear about your favorite restaurants in the comments section.