Jacques Torres Chocolates

So lovely. Chocolate perfection. A vendor sent a bunch of these little boxes to us at work last Christmas. I can't wait to visit his Hudson St. location when G and I go down to NYC for 4th of July.

Bob and Timmy's Grilled Pizza

G and I have a new favorite pizza place in Providence, Bob and Timmy's Grilled Pizza. I'm still unclear if the pizza is actually grilled, like at a BBQ, or if "grilled pizza" is just a Rhode Island colloquialism for pizza made in a wood-fired oven. I'll find out at our next visit.


It's off the main drag (Atwells Ave.) of Federal Hill, Providence's famed Italian neighborhood, hence the extra effort to point people in their direction. Bob and Timmy's is so much more accessible than anything on Federal Hill (parking is a nightmare around there), so I think their non-Atwells location is actually a plus.



Here we have grilled pizza with sun-dried tomatoes. Due to a communication snafu we didn't realize that neither of us liked sundried tomatoes until the pie was served. This did not stop us from eating the entire thing however.


The crust is super thin.


The Godfather keeps a watchful eye on the diners.

Art Bar

Nestled amongst the Hershey Bars and Starbursts in the checkout aisle at Eastside Market were these Art Bars made by Ithaca Fine Chocolates.

They've got a real mission going on here: fair trade chocolate, recycled packaging, and art distribution to the masses. Each chocolate bar has a piece of art inside. When I opened up my art bar I found this:



It's a photograph called "Ironing" by Sarah Barr, complete with condensed artist's statement. The bar itself is wrapped in a white, gossamar, plastic-y material printed (in English, French, Italian, German and Spanish) with the words "ecological packaging assuring excellent preservation of flavor and taste."

I was a bit dubious of a chocolate bar so steeped do-goody-ness with the chocolate itself seeming beyond secondary, but this bar really delivered. Even though it's only 58% cocoa and billed as "dark chocolate," it really had a lovely dark chocolate taste, with hints of maybe coconut and pineapple. It's very melty, too (but maybe because it's 80 degrees out and we don't have the AC on).


A chocolate bar that is delicious and promotes fair trade, recycling, and art is a chocolate bar that I can get behind!