Thursday, September 12, 2013

Block Island Highlights: Here and There, Block Island, RI

As we neared the end of our 2-week Staycation, it was time for a change of scenery.  Block Island seemed an ideal choice.  For those of you who have never been or don’t know, Block Island is a small island (obv.) off the coast of Rhode Island.  Accessible only by boat or plane, we chose to travel there via high-speed ferry from Montauk.   A quick 1-hour trip helped get us into vacation-mode and we hit the dock running.  We packed in as much as we could in our 2 days.  Here are the highlights (and lowlights):

Eating

I wouldn’t say that eating was the main purpose of the trip, but we were lucky to have some terrific meals during our stay.

-          Rebecca’s Takeout:  Our first stop. Picnics tables are de rigeur here.  JB had the tasty, but small lobster roll.  My grilled tuna sandwich was super-fresh, although not as rare as I would have preferred.  JB decided to go for another round and had the popular and delicious – buffalo chicken finger sandwich.  That’s right, he went from a lobster roll to a chicken finger sandwich.  And, believer it or not, it was an awesome move.  The servers claim that it is popular both late night and for breakfast.  I understand why; it is a winning combination. 

435 Water Street, Old Harbor

401.466.5411

-          Blocks of Fudge:  For me any beach vacation needs to involve fudge.  JB and I came to this small candy shop on our last visit to Block Island in 2000 and we both still remembered it.  The proprietor is a character and put up with our antics as we picked out 5 different fudge flavors for our sampler 1 ¼ lb. box.  Snickers was far and away the best flavor followed by a tie with plain chocolate and cookie dough.  JB loved the maple walnut and neither of us cared much for the Oreo. 

459 Chapel St, Old Harbor

401.466.5196

-          Hotel Manisses: We decided to splurge on a nice dinner, it was vacation after all. But we had no idea that we would have such a fine dining experience.  The Hotel Manisses is an older hotel, slightly up the hill from the center of town.  I was expecting to have some kind of continental meal, perhaps with an emphasis on seafood.  I was blown away by the innovative dishes that ranged from Vietnamese Pho to vegan.  We could not decide what to order, so we chose 4 courses, all to share.  And a bottle of Malbec to accompany it.

1.       Heirloom Tomato Asian Pear Gazpacho: For some reason, I have not had enough gazpacho this summer. That was a mistake.  JB took the first crack at this which was topped with blue crab (that I don’t care for).  Light on the oil, heavy on the produce, perfection in a cup.

2.       Sashimi Tuna-Mango Poke & Halibut-Yuzu Ceviche: This two-part dish well-complemented the gazpacho and the yuzu flavor was strong, yet not overpowering.  The sashimi was nicely sliced and as fresh as can be.

3.       Lobster Raviolos: When in Block Island, eat lobster.  I wasn’t sure if I would like this dish and it wound up being my favorite of them all.  Two large raviolo were stuffed with lobster and ricotta, and topped with a lobster caprese salad.  This dish is worth traveling to Block Island for.

4.       Moroccan Scallops: JB was especially interested in these scallops as they were procured from George’s Bank, a very deep part of the Atlantic.  They were incredible, large but not chewy and well-spiced.  To offset the spice, quinoa and wilted spinach accompanied the dish.  This was JB’s favorite. While I adored the scallops, I was disappointed in the blandness of the sides.

And, yes, the Berger boys did sit through this meal.  While the Manisses serves excellent, fine dining meals, they do cater to children, too.  A big bowl of pasta, a few refills of the bread and butter (and maybe an iPad or two) and JB and I were able to enjoy this special meal. 

5 Spring Street, Old Harbor
401. 466.2421

blockislandresorts.com/dining-2/hotel-manisses-dining/

-          Froozies:   A few doors down from our hotel was Froozies Juice Bar &  Café, located at the back of the National Hotel.  An ad in one of those local tourist magazines featured breakfast burritos and I was intrigued.  What I didn’t realize that this is a vegetarian place, so while I could have said burrito, it would have no bacon or any meat for that matter.  That being said, JB was somewhat disappointed in his egg and cheese sandwich – mainly because it was lacking bacon.  I, however, loved my burrito of egg whites, tomatoes, pesto and mozzarella. This was the fuel I needed to bike the island.

26 Dodge Street, Old Harbor

401.466.2230

frooziesblockisland.com

 

-          The Oar:  As our final on-island meal, we took our bikes to the Oar.  Keep in mind it was a Thursday, after Labor Day and there was a wait for lunch.  This is one popular spot. Right on the water in the Old Harbor, we sat at the picnic tables playing cornhole waiting for our table. 

The restaurant is literally covered in oars.  Patrons donate their oars each summer and they are nailed up on the walls.  JB wants to put one up next time.  This place looks like it will be a dive bar with average food, but it's not.  They actually have the best sushi on the island to go with some pretty tasty seafood. 

JB went the dive bar route with a bowl of New England Clam Chowder and a BLT (he really had missed that bacon from breakfast I guess), and washed it down with a can of PBR.  I went for the sushi side of the menu getting truffle lobster avocado tacos and a spicy tuna roll.  The tacos were small (as the waitress had explained), yet full of flavor.  And the spicy tuna roll was well made and enhanced with cucumbers.  It certainly wasn’t Nobu, but it was the ideal meal after a long bike ride with still a few miles to go.  And a place that should be on everyone’s Block Island go-to list. 

221 Jobs hill Rd, New Harbor

401.466.8820

http://blockislandresorts.com/dining-2/the-oar/

 Lodging

I will not be returning to our hotel, the Water Street Inn.  Big Z, walked into our room, and asked, “Um, why is this room so small?” Small, wasn’t really the issue, although it was pretty small. Instead, it was the fact that the room had not been thoroughly cleaned (we found candy bar wrappers underneath the bed that we definitely did not consume), the A/C unit was so loud it kept us up and the lock on the door was barely functional.  But for 1 night, a location right in town and a low price of $130 (less than the cost of the round trip ferry!), we were fine. 

 Activities

There is enough to do on Block Island to keep a family busy for a whole week, or even a whole month.  Other than eating, we focused on two things: Beaching and Biking. 

The beach is always a destination for us Bergers.  We chose to go to Ballard’s Beach because it was just a 5 minute walk from our hotel AND it has bar-service on the beach.  I’m sure it’s not the nicest beach on the island, and it is a “daytripper” destination. Did I mention that there was bar-service on the beach?

JB did not want to go biking.  He wanted to rent a moped.  They sometimes call Block Island the “Bermuda of the North”.  We compromised that he would rent a bike, if I pulled both boys on a trailer behind my rented bike.  Some compromise. 

Block Island is not even 10 square miles, but it felt like I biked 100.  Pulling 80 pounds of Berger boys uphill is no easy feat.  It was worth the pain, though, to explore more of the island including the South East Lighthouse which has magnificent views.  And the boys especially loved the Abrams Animal Farm which has exotic animals (read: cross-breeds) including my personal favorite, the Zedonk – half-zebra, half-donkey. Plus, we were able to burn off some of the calories consumed on the trip.

Resources

If  you are planning a trip, a simple Google search will get you most of what you need to know about Block Island (other than Bergers & More, of course).  But the New York Times never fails me, especially this great article about late summer in Block Island

Until our next Berger Adventure,

KLB

 

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