It all started with Red Stripe PVD.

Red Stripe PVD and I, we go way back actually...

Check out the old-ish photo of me, and my lunch, (above) at Red Stripe Providence, from 2010 or 2011, that I'd uploaded to Facebook at the time (Hey, my 20-something nieces didn't dub me the Mobile Upload Queen back then for nothing.). Besides my old nose and the duck face I'm making (Before you get all judge-y, search your FB albums - I mean WHO among us isn't guilty?), I'd like to draw your attention to the fries, or as they're called on the RS menu, frites. You could say their fries are my all-time fav #1 weakness, splurge and cheat food. (Everyone needs at least one cheat food dammit!) And maybe I'm not alone in this because a few weeks ago, when my friend S. and I tried to get a table for dinner at the new Red Stripe on Main Street in East Greenwich and there was a 45 minute or more wait. On a Thursday night. In RI. Uh, WOW!

True Story: When S. and I used to work together and we were aggravated about one work related thing or another (This happened pretty frequently btw.), we would sneak out to Red Stripe at Wayland Square for lunch. To vent and compare notes. (So necessary to maintain our sanity and keep us out of Butler.) Now, neither one of us works there anymore, but we're still good friends. And still fans of Red Stripe. Funny how that all worked out, isn't it? 

But I digress...

Back to Red Stripe EG and the frites. I mean fries.

We were there yesterday (NOT technically French Fry Friday mind you, but the fabulous part about all of this is you can actually make any day French Fry Friday. You have THAT kind of flexibility.) for lunch and were thrilled to pieces to get a table near the windows.

Now, one thing S. likes to do to minimize any guilt about binging on fries and calamari is start with salads. That being said, we started with two salads, without the blue cheese. Note: We enjoy venting, but we do NOT enjoy blue cheese.

Then, we moved on to calamari and those fries (aka, frites if you're feeling all European-ish).

You should know at this point that I do consider myself something of a French fry connoisseur. And I will only splurge on the best of the best French fries these days. My criteria? They cannot be too thick or too salty or too greasy. All No-No's, that will leave you with a bad case of French fry remorse, something no one talks about, but that I assure you is very real. Precisely why I will always go out of my way to get to Red Stripe for my French Fry Friday's. WINK.

Ciao For Now,

Patty J

Related Info

Find some of my favorite fries in RI at:

Red Stripe PVD; 465 Angell Street, Prov., RI 02906 (401) 437-6950

Red Stripe EG; 455 Main St., East Greenwich, RI, 02818 (401) 398-2900

Photo Credits: All Photos courtesy of PattyJ.com