I’m typing this as we’re motoring (I’m not driving.) toward a city in Massachusetts  where they’re holding some Facebook + Instagram workshops today. (For the record, MZ was not in attendance.) One thing I can tell you with some certainty pre-workshops is that it is possible to build up a pretty decent following - on IG especially - if you post nice looking food photos. Ending up with an attractive photo, however, can be tricky. There are so many elements to take into consideration, including lighting and the color palette on your plate. (The Chrissy Teigen rule of three colors min on your plate still stands guys - She knows!) I say this because I personally have scaled way back on my foody pix posting, mostly because I find myself wanting to just sit back with friends, family or a mix of both and enjoy the meal and the conversation without putting myself and everyone around me to work, staging a scene for social. (It feels exactly like that sometimes, doesn’t it?)

Like the other night. I was invited to a special dinner at Scarpetta at Gurney’s and I certainly wasn’t going to start flashing my phone and snapping photos of the veggies or spaghetti which btw is out of this world amazing and I could see myself living on it indefinitely. Speaking of Newport restaurants that I’m a fan of - and that I also don’t have a copious amount of ‘meal photos’ from - let’s rewind to another dinner a few weeks ago at TSK on Thames.

The evening part of our adventure kicked off on a positive note when we (my friend S and I) actually found parking on Thames on a busy Thursday night. We popped into TSK after drinks on the lawn at Castle Hill and not unlike CH, it was jamming. For a second I thought our dinner plans were doomed. Much to our surprise and delight we were seated at our dream corner table overlooking the whole interior of the restaurant with views of the patio too, a spot we’d been eyeing from our vantage point at the entrance. A win-win! (Speaking of winning, who’s excited for Charlie Sheen’s ex Denise Richards on the new season of Real Housewives of Beverly Hills? Meeeeee!)

Things were going great right then. The vibe in the restaurant was upbeat and welcoming, with couples seated at the counter facing the open kitchen area and bigger parties throughout. With a hint of bigger city (as in NYC or Boston) flavor as well. Great people watching potential too. But I was still not sold 100% because frankly, I wasn’t sure what the deal would be with the menu, the main question being what were the meat-free options? These days, one of my big litmus tests for any eatery is whether they have vegetarian dishes on the menu. And, if they don’t, how willing are they to modify and make something plant-based.

You say tomato and I say tomato salad with crunchy quinoa! That’s only one of the small plates we inhaled. So good - and again, despite a moment of panic when my friend S was sure that that crunchy quinoa was bacon, completely plant based. They even edited the ham right out of the ravioli for us, which I really appreciated.

It’s definitely worth checking out next time you’re thinking a Newport night out with your besties or your significant other. I mean, there’s still plenty of mild weather coming up for September and probably October too, so you could enjoy the patio space and even walk Thames with your light transitional jacket and white boots on afterwards. Yes, white ankle boots are apparently all the rage for this Fall. And even if you’re not so sure about those (Everyone from the Saks catalog to Everlane is showing them.), you’ll want to add this place to your autumnal ‘18 agenda .