After visiting beautiful Newport, I wanted to see Providence. I imagined it to be similar to Charlottesville, or even New Paltz, but instead it was much more similar to Rochester-a sprawled out city with much of the (stunning) buildings–that would cost millions in New York–abandoned, leaving an empty feeling to the city. There were nice parts too though. Westminster, Thames, and Federal Hill were all more along the lines of what I envisioned. We were trying to find Olga’s Cup and Saucer (yes, because it has a fantastic name) and got directions from a shopkeeper, policemen, and a random pedestrian all pointing us in different directions. There was so much construction that by the time were found the right street we physically couldn’t walk any further because it blocked our way, so we gave up. We found this restaurant by chance because it was near where we parked (close to a starbucks to get wifi). It was very trendy and “like a bar” as my mom said. We sat on high stools, and were practically the only ones in there. The first thing that struck me after I sat down (besides how surprisingly comfortable the stools were) was the salt and pepper shakers and that they put the ketchup in a mason jar. I ordered a mocha (called a “Caffe Cioccolata” here), and my mom had a lemon poppyseed muffin. It was more similar to a scone than a muffin in texture, so I put some butter on it. It might have been better warmed up. Then I had the House Made Buttermilk Beignets with Lemon curd and orange honey butter (only $2! a steal!), only because they were homemade. They were truly spectacular. Even my mom loved them (and she hates this sort of thing). Easily one of the most-worth-getting things I’ve ever had in terms of the cost-to-quality ratio. We split the Eggs Benedict with Salmon. This came with home fries, that were really disappointing (could have used some rosemary and been cooked longer), but other than that I loved it here. Still, nothing will compared to the heavenly benedict in Quebec. I would normally have ordered the Crunchy French Toast (Tazza’s brioche, Cointreau crème Anglaise, sweet strawberries), but was in the mood for something savory, not sweet-but maybe next time! Or someone else get it and comment on how it was!
Tazza
250 Westminster St
Providence, RI 02903
Phone: 401.421.3300
http://www.tazzacaffe.com/
Hint: the Beignets are not to be missed!
