Ivy Tavern

Ivy Tavern
758 Hope Street

Providence, RI
401.421.3888

The Ivy Tavern is the best kind of neighborhood pub - one with great food that is genuinely welcoming to all, locals and non-locals alike. Located on the East Side of Providence in what is colloquially referred to as "Hope Village," the small storefront is easy to pass by, but tables in this small establishment are worth the wait if need be.

Ivy Tavern is known for its hamburgers and garlic fries, but before ordering our pub grub we focused in on the beer list. For a small neighborhood establishment, Ivy Tavern offers a, while limited, impressive selection of brews. My dining partner and I opted for two favorites from the bottled list: Chimay Red (Belgium) and Allagash White (Maine).

Since Ivy Tavern has been recognized as having "the best burger" for multiple years, we decided to try two varieties: the traditional cheeseburger and the "Accidential Purist," an innovative homemade veggie burger. For a minimal additional charge, we were able to upgrade our side (choice of fries, coleslaw, or pasta salad) to the Ivy Tavern's infamous garlic fries. In addition to burgers and sandwiches, Ivy Tavern also offers a tempting assortment of appetizers and entrees.

Both burgers were exceptional. Perfectly cooked and full of flavor. The garlic fries were addictive and numerous enough to take home and enjoy the next day (they reheat well on a pizza stone in the toaster oven).

Our waitress was extremely friendly and happy to tell us the story behind this unassuming neighborhood gem. The owner, Dave, opened the tavern seven years ago after moving to Providence from Block Island. He had run a successful place there and brought his clientele with him to the East Side. Ivy Tavern has developed a reputation as a great neighborhood bar with huge portions, great burgers, and friendly, loyal staff. Ivy Tavern does great business even in bad weather when locals opt for a night out within walking distance.

On your next trip up Hope Street, definitely stop in to Ivy Tavern for good pub grub and an "everybody knows your name" atmosphere.

Chimay Red and Allagash White.

"Accidental Purist" - a veggie burger with grilled apples, caramelized onions, brie, tomato marmalade, and mesclun - and garlic fries

Cheeseburger with garlic fries

Burger

Truck Farm Recap

truck farm by night....

and by day...

Welp, they made it! On Monday night, Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney managed to find their way through the back roads of Connecticut and Rhode island for an evening spent at Brown. Huge thanks to everyone who came out. We were thrilled to see so many new and familiar faces in the crowd! Check out our flickr stream for more photos of the event. And in case you're wondering, Curt and Ian made every stop on their tour, with only a few hiccups along the way! I don't know about you, but I'm thinking that's nothing short of a miracle.

The Liberty Elm Diner

The Liberty Elm Diner

777 Elmwood Avenue

Providence, RI

401.467.0777

Sometimes after a long week the only thing that will make me feel better and get me geared up for another one, is a Sunday morning breakfast out on the town.  When I was little, my family would sometimes go to a local diner on weekend mornings and my sisters and I would fill up on hot chocolate with whipped cream before our short stacks had even arrived. These days, I'm a little more concerned with actually leaving room for breakfast, but hot chocolate or no, these weekend meals are just as much a special treat.

After seeing Jen's post featuring the The Liberty Elm last week, I couldn't help myself but to try it out this weekend. Besides, this women-owned diner is housed in a 1947 Worcester Lunch Car* and with all this talk about Food on the Move having my breakfast cooked up in a vintage lunch car seemed like a must.

The diner serves its fair share of eggs and bacon, but it isn't your average greasy spoon. Liberty Elm supports the use of local and regional products and you can rest assured that you'll be eating happy eggs with your preservative-free bacon. My own breakfast was a crust-less quiche made with Narragansett Creamery herb and garlic Angelito cheese and Allen Farms pea greens and it was every bit as delicious as it sounds. Locally roasted New Harvest Coffee was the perfect accompiament to the eggs, but the real treat was the freshly squeezed orange juice made with Liberty Elm's brand new juicer, happily cranking out fresh juice at the rate of 24 oranges per minute.

If you're searching for a traditional Rhode Island treat, then it's the Johnny Cakes you're after. They're made with Kenyon's Gristmill White Cornmeal from Usquepaugh and drizzled with real New England maple syrup. And if you're feeling especially hungry for locally-sourced goodness, be sure to check out this week's Earth Dinner, a prix fixe all-local farm-to-diner menu being served on April 22. See details, here.

*If there are any other history nuts out there, you might be pleased to know that in January of this year, the Liberty Elm was listed on the National Register of Historic Places. You can read more about the Diner's History, here.

Truck Farm

Ever seen a farm on wheels? Well, if you haven't yet, you'll have your chance soon enough! On April 19, filmmakers Curt Ellis and Ian Cheney of King Corn and The Greening of Southie will be wending their way to Providence, urban farm in tow.  Last spring, using green-roof technology, lightweight soil and heirloom seeds, they transformed their vintage Dodge into a traveling 12-member CSA. Ian and Curt planted seeds, parked the truck on a Brooklyn street, and waited for the sun and rain to work their charms. 


Truck Farm's story has been told everywhere from NPR to The Washing Post to Japanese morning TV. And now it's coming to Providence. Ian and Curt are using the farm to explore the burgeoning movement of urban agriculture. Part public art, part media phenomenon, part film, Truck Farm is a vibrant symbol of how growing and eating well can be fun. 

At 8:00 on the evening of April 19, Ian and Curt will speak about the importance of local and sustainable agriculture and share segments of their work-in-progress film, Truck Farm. The event will be held in Salomon Center, DeCiccio Family Auditorium on Brown University's campus. The event is free and open to the public and we envision the evening as being one where Rhode Islanders from all walks of life will come together to learn about the thrills and pitfalls of planting gardens where you least expect them. 

The event is being held in conjunction with Food on the Move: America's Traveling Tastes, a collaborative exhibit between Brown University's M.A. program in public humanities and the Johnson & Wales Culinary Arts Museum. The exhibit opens to the public on April 16. And, if Truck Farm isn't Food on the Move, we're not sure what is. 

Special thanks to all of our sponsors:

The John Nicholas Brown Center for Public Humanities and Cultural Heritage
Whole Foods Markets
The Brown University Sustainable Food Initiative 
ecoRI
The Center for Environmental Studies - Brown University
Brown Dining Services
emPOWER