#4 RHODE ISLAND – The Heat Wave Ends, The Eat Wave Continues

Yeah! After 5 days of temperatures in the nineties, today's forecast is a high of 77.

Before landing in Bristol, Rhode Island for a couple of days, I searched on the internet for possible breakfast options and noticed that there was quite a buzz on Yelp and TripAdvisor about the Beehive Café. Upon arrival, our hostess suggested that we eat lunch at the Beehive, which we did, and it was great, but left me having to look for another breakfast place.  I settled for the Sunset Café because it was in walking distance from where we were staying and it had been named “Best Breakfast on the East Bay” by Rhode Island Monthly.

Sunset Cafe
Bristol, Rhode Island

AMBIENCE:  Sunset Café was an attractive restaurant in an old building.  It wasn’t very big, having only seven or eight tables. Upon being seated, we noticed that we were the only customers. Hmm… was everyone eating breakfast at The Beehive? It did start to fill in as we ate breakfast. The décor included license plates from every state and some countries (including Cuba!) hanging on the wall. Chalkboards displayed the breakfast and lunch specials but the breakfast chalkboard would prove to be false advertising. Fresh flowers decorated the tables. Overall the space was high on the cuteness scale.

I did think that the Sunset Café was an odd name for a restaurant that closed at 2:00 PM and prided itself on its breakfast fare. I later discovered that the previous occupant of the building was the Sunset Bakery and the name carried over. Still, I found myself continually calling it the Sunrise Café.

5 out of 5 stars

FOOD:  The owner/manager of the Sunrise Sunset Café is of Portuguese descent and that is reflected in a number of menu items. I ordered the “Sunset Special” which consisted of two eggs, chourico hash, home fries, and toast. Chourico, pronounced shure-Reet-zo, is the Portuguese version of the Spanish chorizo.

  

Everything was delicious especially the rye toast. The ghosts of the former bakery must be at work in the kitchen.

Upon entering the restaurant, The Healthy One got excited about a Yogurt Bowl with fruit, granola, and almonds she saw listed on the chalkboard as one of the daily specials.  She ordered that but a few minutes later the waitress came back with the bad news that the chalkboard specials were from yesterday and no longer available. The Healthy One then went with the Veggie Breakfast Sandwich that was a scrambled egg, green peppers, and mushrooms on Portuguese bolo bread. After the crushing disappointment of the disappearing Yogurt Bowl, the Healthy One seemed placated, pronouncing the sandwich “excellent”.

5 out of 5 stars

COFFEE:  Very good.

4 1/2 out of 5 stars

SERVICE: There was something curious about our waitress. She approached our table with poise and self-assurance. Her posture was impeccable. Her smile was dazzling. She was both charming and business-like. When she came and told us that the Yogurt Bowl was not to be, it was said in a manner that reflected grief but hope for the future.

As we waited for our food to be cooked we noticed, across the room, a small framed picture of a pageant winner. We recognized the young woman in the picture as our waitress. Yes, our waitress was Daniela Lopes, Miss Fourth of July 2013!

Apparently the Fourth of July is a very big deal in Bristol. The town has held the longest continual Fourth of July celebration in the United States, dating back to 1785. The celebration begins on June 14 (Flag Day) and draws some 200,000 people to the town. The celebration culminates in the Fourth of July parade which is observed by 50,000 people. Bristol’s population is only 23,000! So our waitress is a celebrity, and because of that, and because she did a great job, we are excusing the Yogurt Bowl incident (she did promptly erase the specials board) and rating the service:

5 out of 5 stars

COST: $21.04 with tax and tip. Given the quality and amount of food we received as well as the excellent coffee, this was a bargain.

A FEW WORDS ABOUT BRISTOL:  Bristol, sitting between the shores of Narraganset Bay and Mt. Hope Bay, is a great little town.  Bristol likes to call itself “America’s Most Patriotic Town”. Almost every house we passed had an American flag displayed. Instead of a double yellow line painted on the main highway through town, there is a red, white, and blue line. Many of the houses are festooned with bunting.

Patriotism aside, Bristol seems to be a place where people have a great deal of community pride. We walked by scores of houses that were built in the 1700s and all were in immaculate condition. The waterfront is bustling with restaurants, bars and a great ice cream store. We did drive down to Newport for a day. Newport is fascinating with its large mansions and million dollar yachts. Nevertheless, we preferred the relatively peaceful atmosphere of Bristol to the hordes of summer tourists that crammed the sidewalks of Newport.

  

BURN THOSE BREAKFAST CALORIES OFF:

-          Walked to and around Colt State Park.

-          Did the Cliff Walk in Newport.

August 18, 2016

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