Newport, Rhode Island Trip

Having spent several weeks in Newport Beach, CA, the prior year on business, we were looking forward to visiting the "other" Newport, in Rhode Island. Leaving early on a Saturday morning to escape traffic, we arrived at lunch time and promptly found an alfresco place to eat, The Black Pearl. The weather was far too warm to sample the soup, so we tried the lobster salad sandwich instead.

Following lunch, we walked down the Bellevue Avenue to Rough Point, where we had a 3PM tour appointment. Rough Point is the former home of Doris Duke, and we had previously toured the Duke Estate, her home in Hillsborough, NJ, and were fortunate to see the Country Manor before it was closed to the public. Rough Point has been left largely intact and untouched since her death. Of particular interest is her bedroom, with it's bright yellow and purple decor.

We enjoyed a leisurely walk back to town, and stopped for a few drinks on the water at Pier 49 to take advantage of the last bits of sun. We checked out a few different places for dinner, but without reservations, we found it challenging to find somewhere to eat before 10PM. We finally settled on The Red Parrot, a touristy type place in the center of town. It is a popular place, but the food would not win any awards. However, we were hungry and the food hit the spot.

On Sunday, we woke up early to beat the crowds to tour the The Breakers, one of the most famous of the Newport "cottages." We also toured Rosecliff, Marble House, and The Elms. We took advantage of the fact The Elms was serving lunch in the barn, and enjoyed a simple lunch overlooking the gorgeous estate grounds.

We would definitely recommend Newport for a quick weekend trip, and hope to visit again soon.

Newport Address Book

The Black Pearl
10 1/2 W Pelham St
Newport, RI 02840
(401) 946-5264

Rough Point
680 Bellevue Avenue
Newport, RI 02840

Pier 49 Restaurant & Spirits at The Newport
49 Americas Cup Ave
Newport, RI 02840
(401) 847-9000

The Red Parrot
348 Thames St
Newport, RI 02840
(401) 847-3800‎

The Breakers
44 Ochre Point Ave
Newport, RI 02840

Rosecliff
548 Bellevue Ave
Newport, RI 02840

Marble House
596 Bellevue Ave
Newport, RI 02840

The Elms
367 Bellevue Ave
Newport, RI 02840

Hudson Valley Trip

We took advantage of the long weekend to head up north to the Hudson River Valley. After enjoying an Iron Chef-styled cooking competition at a friend's home in South Salem, NY on Friday, we headed to Rhinebeck, NY for a late lunch at Terrapin, located near the center of town. Terrapin is housed in the beautifully renovated “First Baptist Church", and we had been wanting to try this restaurant since it was featured in Wine Spectator's Hudson Valley article the previous year.

After a nice lunch, we headed further upstate to the Old Chatham Sheepherding Company, home to the famous Hudson Valley Camembert, one of our favorite cheeses. We drove through multiple counties before reaching the bucolic farm setting, complete with a self-serve cheese store. After touring the beautiful grounds (the barns are open to the public) and admiring the sheep, we headed back down the Taconic State Parkway to our next destination, Millbrook Winery.

We had visted Millbrook the year before, and were thrilled to find out not only did the winery feature the local Millbrook wines, it also offers Williams Selyem wines for sale as well. On our previous visit, we were pleasantly surprised the wines were also available for tasting, but on this visit, they were not available to taste. A quick check with the staff confirmed they would be available for tasting later in the summer. We had recently become Williams Selyem list members, and the wine is quite hard to get outside of the mailing list. To find the wine freely available for purchase in New York was an unexpected bonus! The wines are available for purchase as both wineries are owned by John and Kathe Dyson.

After we enjoyed a nice bottle of wine outside on the lawn, we headed to our final destination for the day, Serevan restaurant, in Amenia, approximately 8 miles from Millbrook, NY. Serevan features an eclectic and exotic mix of Mediterranean and Middle Eastern flavors and has a diverse menu. Again, we took advantage of the warm May weather to sit outside on the patio, and enjoyed a unique dinner.

Hudson Valley Address Book

Terrapin
6426 Montgomery Street
Rhinebeck, NY 12572
(845) 876-3330

Old Chatham Sheepherding Company
155 Shaker Museum Rd
Old Chatham, NY 12136
(888) 743-3760

Millbrook Winery
26 Wing Rd
Millbrook, NY 12545
(845) 677-8383

Serevan
6 Autumn Lane (off Route 44)
Amenia, NY 12501
(845) 373-9800