If there’s a festival nearby, chances are I’ll be there. Before my moving truck even arrived in Providence, I invited my friend Robyn into town for the 7th Annual Rhode Island Seafood Festival. It just so happened to be walking distance from my new apartment and held on an absolutely beautiful weekend, weather-wise. Robyn and I also figured it would be the perfect way to pregame a college football game we were going to watch later that night (Go Dawgs!).
Before the big day of the festival, I checked out their Vendor Menu and saw two words that changed my life forever: Lobster Frites. I basically thought about those frites every day until the day of the festival. After playing a classic game of Finish the Bottle with some rose, we walked down to the festival at India Point Park. We paid $5 to get in and grabbed a couple beers first. My main mission was to get to those Lobster Frites, served by Plouf Plouf. They were pricey, but absolutely worth it. The dish was served with fresh fries, topped with clam chowder sauce and fresh cooked lobster. Even though the lobster portion was a little small, it was enough to make the dish incredibly tasty and decadent. Overall rating: I would eat them every day of my life (I realize that’s not a legitimate rating, but it’s how I feel). If you ever get the chance to try a dish like this–or this exact dish–do it.
After the Lobster Frite Frenzy, we listened to some live music, and took a lap to determine our next move. While I was standing in line for more beer, Robyn grabbed some pretty delicious lobster salad sliders. I wish I could remember which vendor these were from because they were very fresh and tasty. We ate them in about 34 seconds, before we even got to the end of the beer line. Robyn’s favorite part about these sliders was that they weren’t totally filled with mayonnaise, which is by far her least favorite food. They were also a great deal–2 for $10! If anyone was at the Seafood Fest and you know the vendor, comment below!
Our shared dessert was an order of cannoli nachos from Cape Cod Cannoli. That’s right. Cannoli. Nachos. What a great combination of foods. They had so many amazing flavors that it was hard to choose, but we went with chocolate peanut butter. And if the ease of simple cannoli chips to dip in filling gives you the impression that we didn’t get powdered sugar all over ourselves, you are sorely mistaken. I bet everyone in our area got a kick out of us trying to avoid getting covered with sugar and miserably failing. That’s probably because the nachos were so unique and delicious that we were distracted and unable to control ourselves. Or because we’re very messy people. When (not if) I order this again at another food truck event, I’ll try another flavor. The one we picked was great, but I think I’d want something a little lighter (i.e., pistachio, plain, etc.) to avoid the rich, sugary taste I got with every bite. Definitely worth tasting if you’re deciding between an order of cannoli nachos and pretty much any other dessert.
After our food adventure, we stayed for some really good live music (T Jay and the Tallboys) and people watching (mostly kids chasing each other around and some really amazing drunk dancing). I will absolutely go back to the Seafood Festival next year and every year I’m in town for it. It was a great value for a lot of variety in food options, nice music, and a great environment. Who else was there? Comment below to let me know what you tried!
jane b. diener 
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