Monthly Archives: August 2011

Foodies read this...

Bob & Timmy’s Legendary Pizza – Providence RI

Pizza. What’s not to love.  Carbs, gooey cheese, and I’ll even acknowledge the veggie portion of the tomato sauce. While I love the traditional cheese pizza as much as anyone, I also love to try different varieties of pies. So when I saw an episode of Man vs. Food that showed off Bob & Timmy’s Legendary Pizza I hightailed it on down there from Central Massachusetts to see just how legendary it was.

Bob & Timmy’s is located at 32 Spruce Street in Providence, RI.  It is nestled in the quaint area known as Federal Hill. With an over abundance of restaurants to choose from it may seem like a difficult decision on where to eat. I can tell you one thing though – if you want friendliness, a cool atmosphere, and GREAT pizza then you want to head to Bob & Timmy’s.

The big deal about the pizza here is that it is thin crust and grilled on an open wood fire. The result is phenomenal. The crust is thin and upon first sight of the pizza we didn’t think we would be able to pick it up without all the toppings falling off. We were wrong. The crust was crispy and held the whole pie together perfectly!

One of the pies they are most famous for is the Spinach & Mushroom pie. It consists of sauteed mushrooms, spinach, garlic, olive oil, Parmesan, Romano and Feta cheese. Now, if you are like me, the idea of the Feta throws you off immediately. Having said that – just ignore that there is Feta on it and get this pizza. The combination of the cheese flavors with the spinach & mushrooms bursts in your mouth awakening all of your senses.

We also tried the grilled chicken pizza – grilled chicken, roasted red peppers, pomodoro sauce, Parmesan, Romano and Gorgonzola cheeses topped with parsley.  Equally as good as the spinach pie, this one really made my mouth happy. I’m a huge fan of pomodoro sauce and this one was fresh and tangy. The combination of cheeses again is an art that Bob & Timmy’s has mastered – they know just the right ones to top a pie with that compliment all the ingredients.

If you are indecisive (as my husband and I were this night) you can get a pie half & half. Pick two pizzas and they’ll make half of each. Does it get better than that?

The restaurant serves beer & wine and they have an excellent little patio on the side that is shaded by trees and provides a nice al fresco experience. If you like to people watch while enjoying delicious food then this is the place to sit. The inside was clean but small and it can get crowded by the front door if there is a wait. The servers were friendly and the patrons were too! We ended up chatting with a couple of people we were sitting beside.

Prices were very reasonable for the quality of the food. We had a total of four beers, a house salad (that was gigantic), and the half & half pizza and with tip our total came to $50. Plus we went home with some pizza – lunch for the next day!

The place packs them in so if you want to go and not have a wait I suggest getting there between 4 & 5. When we left around 7 the line was out the door for a table! Overall this restaurant exceeded my expectations. You can’t go wrong when you receive service with a genuine smile and food that jolts your tastebuds back from the dead. We left with a happy belly and a feeling of contentment – nothing wrong with that.

Life in general, Tales from the Unemployed

Nice weather and no money do not go well together.

Its a beautiful day here in Massachusetts. Sunny, high 70’s, no humidity – windows are wide open & there is a gorgeous breeze coming through. This weather makes me happy. However I’m also going insane because of it.

This weather makes me want to go out & do things – especially eat on a patio somewhere and have cocktails. That is one of my favorite things in the world to do. Sit outside, order some really good grub, and have an adult beverage. Is there anything better in the world? Its the little pleasures in life that get you through day to day.

Now lets throw a new twist into the nice weather situation – I have no money. I’ve been on unemployment for 5 months. I work part time and that definitely helps but I still have no money. With all the monthly bills and the past fun that I’ve had I have recently had to face reality – its time to tighten up the financial belt.

I got used to being able to do whatever I wanted when I was financially stable. I could go out to eat & spend a lot because I had a good paying job PLUS a part time gig. You couldn’t beat that. Now its entirely different. There is no surplus of money pouring in. So my weekly allowance that let me eat, drink, and be merry has no shriveled down to next to nothing.

So as I sit here debating in my mind if I can spend the $40 on going out to eat, I also try to convince myself that I’m ok with staying in and making dinner. I CAN have a cocktail at home and have it still be satisfying. Yes, I live in a condo building but I can cook & then take it downstairs to the small concrete patio we have. Its not quite the same as being waited on at a restaurant but who cares, right?

Sigh. I just keep telling myself I don’t need to go out & spend my money because the bottom line is, well, I don’t! I have things in the future that need my money more than some restaurant. Truthfully, most of what I cook at home is better than some restaurants food anyways. So as much as I love going out, tonight I’m just going to stay in.

Although I may have to go grab a frozen yogurt at the new place down the street…hey I can’t quit everything cold turkey! 🙂 Happy Thursday everyone!

Life in general

Back to School (and I don’t mean the Rodney Dangerfield movie)

So what does one do when they feel trapped in their own life? I am feeling the ropes getting tighter around me as I search for work and try to find some sort of direction for their life path. So I did what any unemployed, college educated person would do – I applied to go back to school.

I know what some people are probably thinking – she has a Bachelors degree and can’t find a job. What is another degree going to do? Well first off, it will give me a sense of purpose in my life. Right now I work 2 days a week. I can’t find a full time job and believe me, I’m trying. If I have classes and work to do I think it will give my time the structure that I need. I need a schedule. I thrive on having too much to do, it’s when I am at my best.

Secondly, I love school. I didn’t when I was in high school but something changed when I went to college. Probably the fact that I was paying for it myself. Yet in all truth, I just loved learning new things. I was in control of the classes I was taking. I could study subjects that interested me. It was like a whole new world that I could explore! I loved the first week of classes. Getting new books & supplies.  Meeting new people in classes. All of it was a bit of a rush for me. Call me a dork or a nerd…whatever you want, I still loved it!

So the option of going back for my masters has provided a little spark in my life that seemed to be missing these past few months. I have that giddy, back to school feeling in my stomach. Most kids dread the month of August because they know school is only a few weeks away. I’m basking in it!

So here I am. 34, application to school submitted, and waiting for my acceptance. I have a few more things to submit to the school so that I can have my application fully processed but I’m working on those as we speak. I feel alive again. I feel like I’m putting a purpose back in my everyday life. I feel alive again. It may just be what I need to kick my ass back into the high geared overachiever that it used to be.

Tales from the Unemployed

A job search conundrum: do you take a cut in pay?

Sorry I haven’t been around much. July was a crazy month. Busy at the cafe, busy social calendar, and still on that inevitable search for the perfect job. During the last month I came across an issue that seems to be happening to a lot of unemployed people – finding a job that seems great but is a decrease in pay.

I read an article quite awhile ago when the unemployment rate was at its highest. It talked about what people were doing to find work and also discussed how many people were finding that they were overqualified for many positions and that they couldn’t find employment at the same rate of pay they had before.  For people who are barely scraping by, how do you take a job that means you will actually be making less money each week?

That’s something I stumbled upon recently. There was a job opportunity I was going to apply for. I knew someone that worked there and they were going to recommend me for the position. It seemed like a great place to work from the description I received. Not my ideal career move, but a job. Then the discussion of pay came up. The rate was $7 less an hour than what I was making before. Not to mention the fact that it was an hour commute each way and would cost me at least $70 a week in gas to get back & forth (public transportation wasn’t an option).

My husband and I went over all the pros & cons. In the end, it just didn’t make sense financially for me to even apply. We figured out that I would be making almost $200 a week less than I am currently making on unemployment and with my part time work. That just seemed insane.

As I pondered this situation I found myself wondering how many others out there are experiencing the same issue. I mean, we need to survive. Thankfully there is an unemployment program that allows us to have money while searching for a new job. Yet what happens when the only jobs you are finding are less money than you were making? It’s a hard reality to face but one that is inevitable for most.

So as if the job search wasn’t hard enough, you now have to take into account the fact that you may not be making what you were before. Time to tighten up that budget! Its just the way of the economy at this point. Things are getting better but still aren’t where they should be. So you just may have to suck it up and if you get a job opportunity that’s less of a salary, just take it. Within reason of course. Clearly the situation I was presented with wasn’t one I could even take into consideration. So I continue on my quest for employment. Applying everywhere and anywhere and hoping that when that opportunity comes along that it will give me enough pay to still survive.