Culinary Rhode Island & Boston Providence or Newport

Day One

Today we depart for Rhode Island. Rhode Island is one of the smallest states but it is full of flavor. Famous for its wonderful seafood, Rhode Island Chowder, Clam Cakes and Stuffies it is truly a culinary delight. We check into the historic Biltmore Hotel where we will spend the next three evenings. Dinner this evening is served at one of Providence’s fine restaurants. (D)

Day Two

Breakfast is included this morning. Today we travel to Sweet Berry Farm where we meet owner Jan Eckhart who will give us a guided tour. Sweet Berry Farm encompasses 100 acres, 80 of which are under cultivation. In 1980, Jan and Michelle Eckhart purchased the farm and started a pick your own strawberry and Christmas Tree Farm. In 1996, they partnered with the Aquidneck Land Trust to preserve additional acreage, and expanded the pick your own crops to include raspberries, blackberries, blueberries, peaches, apples and pumpkins. We learn a few of their growing techniques and enjoy a sample from their bakery. Next we travel to the Matunuck Oyster Farm where we learn about this unique form of aquaculture. You may have the opportunity to put on waders and doing a little oyster farming and we may have the opportunity to cruise on their new boat. Following our venture we enjoy an oyster and sparkling wine tasting featuring the many varieties of the their oysters. This afternoon we visit the Sons of Liberty Distillery. Rhode Island has become the latest of America’s fifty states to have its first legal whisky distillery since Prohibition. The Sons of Liberty distillery in South Kingstown is distributing bottles of its Uprising whiskey to local shops and bars. Here we enjoy a guided tour and tasting. Dinner is on your own this evening in Providence. (B,L)

Day Three

A hearty breakfast is served before departing for Boston. This morning we enjoy breakfast before departing for Boston’s famed North End for a culinary tour beyond compare. The secret of Italian cuisine is the high quality of ingredients, a sense of regional tradition, and that very Italian love of life. Sources for ingredients abound in the narrow streets of the North End. But for the outsider, finding the finest is not always easy. Join us on Michele Topor’s original award-winning North End Market Tour and let us unlock for you the secrets of the cuisine and of America’s oldest Italian neighborhood. Discover the pasticcerias that offer the best biscotti, amaretti, sfogliatelle, cassata, taralli, cannoli and other confections. Visit an authentic salumeria in search of the best olive oil, balsamic vinegar, olives, salami, cheese, prosciutto and pasta. Savor the scents of a 70-year-old coffee and spice shop and an Old World candy store. Learn and be inspired by how the Mediterranean diet has influenced peoples’ health since antiquity. Tour an enoteca to learn how to select aperitivi to begin, wine to complement, and digestivi to conclude your meal. Enjoy the colorful sights, the tantalizing aromas and authentic tastes of America’s most vibrant Italian neighborhood. Relive memories, perhaps of holidays past, of growing up in an Italian household. Learn and be inspired by how the Mediterranean diet has influenced people’s health since antiquity. Understand how the Italians adapted their dishes to their new country and created the familiar Italian-American cuisine. The North End Market Tour has been designed to reflect Michele Topor’s passion for all things Italian. Trained as a professional chef, Michele has taught cooking, catered, and consulted on Italian food since 1979. Michele’s cooking classes, market tours and culinary trips to Italy have been featured on television (including the Food Network, HGTV and CNN), on the radio, and in various national and international publications. Next enjoy some free time in the North End for a little lunch and shopping on your own. After lunch we meet a local guide for a driving tour of the city including sites at the Boston Common, Old State House, Cheer’s Pub and much more. We conclude our day with a visit to Taza Chocolate, an organic bean to bar chocolate maker just outside of Boston. To stick with our Italian Theme we enjoy a delicious Italian Dinner in Providence where you will find some of the best Italian Foods in New England. (B,D)

Day Four

A hearty breakfast is served before departing for home.

Inclusions:

Three night’s accommodations Historic Biltmore Hotel

Two dinners

Three breakfasts

One lunch

Visit to Sweet Berry Farm

Admission to the Mantunuck Oyster Farm Experience

Admission to Sons of Liberty Distillery

Admission to Boston North End Market Tour

Admission to Taza Chocolate