Your Weekend Agenda

I'm going to be a better blogger, I swear. I've wanted to write so many posts, but turkey made me sleepy and work made me grumpy...I'm a head cold away from having Multiple Dwarf Personality Disorder.

Anyway, since it is impossible to resist the riptide of Christmas commercialization, I thought you could at least turn that itchy credit card into some good by hitting up some local artists. So this Weekend Agenda features a few of the great craft and arts fairs available in the great state of Rhode Island.

Friday: Craftland may not be the biggest event of its kind in the state, but for lovers of the weird and inexpensive, it is no doubt the best. And from 5 to 9, they're having their opening party. Head to 235 Westminster Street in Providence (across from Tazza) for food, drink, cool crafts, and who knows what else.

Saturday: Go from crafts to arts by starting your Saturday at the Pawtucket Open Studios event. From 11 to 7, you can visit many of the mills throughout Pawtucket to view some very cool artists' studios and purchase some of their offerings, from paintings to ceramics and everything in between. There are over a dozen locations around town, so my advice (if you're coming from Providence) is to stop at some of the studios on and right near Main Street first, then head on to the half-dozen in the downtown area. The web site has a map and other artist information. Look for the yellow banners that mark participating sites.

If you've gotten all your gifts, you've earned some fun, so get your booty over to Firehouse 13, where it will be duly shaken by the lineup they have for Providence is Burning, featuring Nick Catchdubs (who according to his calendar is flying all the way in from a gig in Seattle the night before), along with Certified Bananas and Micah Jackson. Be there at 10:00, and $5 is all it takes to get funky. Well, that and a sense of rhythm and a lack of shame. Firehouse 13 is at 41 Central Street in Providence.

Sunday: Are you done shopping? Probably not, but there are more local shopping events coming up. So why not take advantage of the lack of tourist hordes in Newport, and go down to have a good time? Walk a round a bit, cruise Ocean Drive, and then head over to Fastnet Pub at 1 Broadway for some traditional Irish music. It's from 4-7 PM, so it's a perfect time for a pint and a tune before you deal with the thought of shoveling snow before your commute Monday morning.

Keep checking back; updates will be more frequent in the next few weeks, and we'll have some new holiday restaurant recommendations.

Your Weekend Agenda

So, this week the agenda's going to be a bit abbreviated. Like, there's nothing for Thursday, because it is Thursday, and I just got back from New (bleeping) Jersey. OK, truth be told, I just got back from the Red Fez after I got off the train, which is what you should have done tonight. But I digress.

The other reason for a short entry is that I went drinking at the Red Fez and now I want to, well, not think. So there you go.

Friday: Do something good while seeing something good. At 7:00, at the recording studio Machines with Magnets, there will be a A Benefit Concert for Alex Svoboda, the woman who was horribly injured by the police in North Providence during a protest. I still don't know if there has been a full accounting of what happened that day, but the pictures floating around show the police did a lot more damage that anyone could think was proportionate. But even if solidarity with Alex's fate isn't motivating for you, this promises to be a really good concert, with more than 10 local bands playing. The show is at 400 Main Street in Pawtucket, and the donation is $8, though I'm sure they'll take more.

Saturday: At 6:30, head over to the Cormack Planetarium at the Natural History Museum in Roger Williams Park (Providence) for live music and a cool space show. Area C and Black Forrest / Black Sea will be playing, and the cost is only $3. Head over for a different experience. And (so sweet!) there's also a 3D Mars show.

Sunday: Finish off the weekend with some outdoor time. You can go seal watching with the Kayak Centre at 9 Phillips Street in Wickford. For $44, you can go with a guide to get up close in a double kayak. Call (888) 732-5295 to make a reservation and find out the departure time.

Go Right Now: LJ's BBQ

In a state where dining out is somehow both a treat and a way of life, you wouldn't expect a restaurant who's slogan is, "Eat it and Beat it" to be successful. But LJ's BBQ, right over the Providence border in Pawtucket, is out to prove that if the food is good enough, you can say anything you want to your customers. And while a northern boy like myself may not be a fully-qualified judge of barbeque goodness, I've chowed down on enough of it over the years to say that the folks at LJ's are entitled to tell me to get my butt out of their booth when I'm done.

And, as you might guess, the LJ's crew is not as surly as their slogan might represent. (In fact, they're so friendly you might, just might, suspect that the slogan is just something that's meant to evoke a certain good-natured southern surliness.) Every time I've been, the service has been attentive but not over-the top, and the staff has a really good understanding of the menu and how to guide you to a choice you'll enjoy. And the menu, full of succulent, falling-off-the-bone barbeque favorites, gives plenty of options, at least assuming you like beef, pork or chicken.

Generally, I'm a fan of anything they offer that includes the word 'brisket'. But last time, I went out of my comfort zone and had a Pulled Pork Cuban, which was tangy, smokey and positively gut-busting. It probably didn't help that my wife insisted we get the onion rings to go with our meals (hers was much less stomach-stuffing than mine), which were big and tasty but ensured I would have no space for dessert. A nice beer list, usually with one on special, serves as the perfect accompaniment to wash down all that greasy goodness, but if you're so inclined, they manage to carry some nice wines. I love Malbec with anything, but think it goes really well with barbeque.

There are relatively few good southern food joints in the area, what with the dominance of bistro-style places serving Asian-inspired French dishes or formal Italian. (Not that I'm complaining, exactly...) So when a place like LJ's BBQ comes along, you have to embrace it, and accept that you'll probably need to run a few miles the next day as your mild penance.

The Essentials

ADDRESS: 727 East Avenue in Pawtucket, right past the end of Blackstone Boulevard
COST FOR TWO: Two cheap beers, an appetizer and two sandwiches will probably set you back $40 or so with the tip.
BAR SAVERS: Look for beer specials (the Sam Smith Nut Brown was a treat). Or, save on your whole meal by going Monday or Tuesday and getting the fixed price menu (drink, soup or salad, entree with side, and dessert) for $15.
EAT ME: Any brisket or pulled pork dish won't disappoint.
NEXT STOP: Go around the corner to Three Sisters at 1074 Hope Street for coffee or ice cream, if you have any room left.

Wake up, Downtown!

I understand, despite my relentless boosterism, that Providence is not a big city, and it is going to lack that big city energy, especially on a weekday night. However, I'd like to put the thought out there that Thursday isn't really a weekday, it's sort of a celebrity guest part of the weekend, and should therefore get at least a minimum of respect.

So why, people, when I walk around downtown does it seem like a Tuesday night in Davenport, Iowa? (Disclaimer: for all I know, Tuesdays in Davenport are like a rolling Mardi Gras. The day I go to Davenport is the day I give up any remaining feelings of usefulness and fully embrace the fact that I'm an old fart. Sorry Davenport, but you suck even if you don't suck.) I decided to grab a quick drink just because my wife has abandoned me for the evening and I didn't want to sit in a cold house and think about how much work I have to do. So I took off for downtown, seeing hardly anyone around. Finally I parked near the Episcopal church, thinking that surely XO Cafe would have a few people milling around the bar. But nope, there were two people in the whole place. So on to plan B: I've never been to Olive's, so I thought I'd get a cocktail and check it out. There was one other person in the joint, and I think he might have been on To Catch a Predator a week or two ago. I've never drank gin so fast.

Every day, I go up to Boston for work. And every time someone asks, I say Providence is cooler than Boston, and get roundly laughed at. Now, Providence, if some Boston person comes down here on a Thursday night and sees what I saw, we're going to look bad. So let's pull it together, and tie one on during the week for the sake of our community.

That said, I am too disgusted to write a full Weekend Agenda. If anyone's reading and has some good plans, send me a note at dan (at symbol) rhodyrocks.com. But if I was going to advise you to do anything, other than frequent your local watering hole, it would be to check out Friday Night Live on the Carriage House Stage at 7 Duncan Ave. in Providence. It's Friday, 7:00, and is only $5. How can you go wrong? I even gave you a map.

No excuses. Make me proud, Providence.


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