Open and Closed Open Back 40 is a restaurant run by former Miss USA and Miss Universe Olivia Culpo and her father. They’re serving up coastal comfort food. 20 South County Trail, North Kingstown. back40ri.com Bayberry Beer Hall, the long-awaited German beerhall-inspired restaurant, has opened. If you are looking for a restaurant with a communal feel on the West Side, this place should be your first stop. 381 W. Fountain St, PVD. bayberrybeerhall.com Stout Irish Sports Pub is a new Irish-themed sports pub. 50 Exchange Terrace, PVD. stoutri.com Base Station VR Lounge is “the future of entertainment.” Make reservations online and see what all the fuss is about. 286 Thayer St, PVD. basestationvr.com Ground for Urban Greens, the new local grocer and co-op, has been broken. Stay tuned. 93 Cranston St, PVD. urbangreens.com North, Part 4? With a thriving restaurant and two bakery location, let’s see what they have in store for us next! 122 Fountain St, PVD. foodbynorth.com Rebelle Artisan Bagels is a tasty new bagel spot with lots of style. 110 Doyle Ave, PVD. rebelleartisanbagels.com Revival Massage is re-opening on Sep 11 at their brand new location. 269 Wickenden St, PVD. revivalmassageri.com FreePlay Bar and Arcade will have more than 100 classic video games, pinball, Skee-Ball and air hockey, all set to free play! 182 Pine St, PVD. freeplayri.com Black Duck Tavern opened in the same space as The Watchemoket Bar, which opened on the day Prohibition was repealed: December 5, 1933. 31 Warren Ave, East PVD. blackducktavern.com Flat Waves has opened a second location right in the URI Emporium. Acai bowls, come through. 99 Fortin Rd, Kingston. flat-waves.com Johnny’s at the Atlantic Resort, has brunch, patio and fire pits. And it’s brand spanking new! 240 Aquidneck Ave, Middletown. johnnysnewport.com Shoobies, is an adorable pizza spot with an open kitchen. The string lights really make you feel like you’re mowing that ‘za on the piazza. 66 Broadway, Newport. shoobiesnewport.com The Backyard Patio and Grille boasts giant checkers and free apps during trivia. These people know how to party! 151 Swinburne Row, Newport. backyardnpt.com Diego’s has opened their long-awaited second floor and it’s stunning; you need to check it out. Tag them in some photos on FB and IG. 11 Bowens Wharf, Newport. diegosnewport.com Closed Say Cheese is closing their PVD location and re-opening TBA in another location with adequate parking and enough interior space for a full bar. 45 Weybosset St, PVD. saycheeseprovidence.com The Burbage Theatre Co’s new home at 249 Roosevelt Ave in Pawtucket and new partnership with the Rhode Island-based living arts company TEN31 Productions are official. Following Galileo, the first show of the 2017-18 season, Burbage will conclude their residency at 276 Westminster St in concurrence with the closing of Aurora Providence. The remaining four productions of the 2017-18 season, beginning with The Great Gatsby on November 24, will signal the start of their new residency and partnership with TEN31. Aurora, which is a truly sad loss for Providence. All shows will continue until the official close date in October. Go see a show and enjoy the space to show your support before the close. 276 Westminster St, PVD. auroraprovidence.com Fertile Underground, the local co-op, seems to be struggling. Signage posted read that they couldn’t keep the shelves stocked. Support them at gofundme.com/help-fertile-underground-stay-open Faust (pictured), a downtown favourite, the cool and chic German-style restaurant, has permanently closed. 122 Fountain St, PVD. Faustpvd.com Cider Donuts: A Quest My first fall in New England, after moving here from Texas, a friend brought me apple picking. Eager to embrace all things fall, I filled bags with apples, spent a paycheck on local maple syrup and tried my first cider doughnut. It was love at first bite. Fresh out of the fryer, the doughnut was crisp on the outside with a light sprinkling of sugar, and warm on the inside. It was cakey and dense and perfect. And I was thrilled with the thought that I’d be able to enjoy this fall treat every year in my new home. But it was not to be. And so began my quest. Year after year, I searched for an apple cider doughnut experience that matched that first glorious bite. And year after year, I left apple orchards with a bag full of apples and a stomach full of disappointment. This one wasn’t fresh. That one wasn’t cakey enough. Not enough cinnamon. Too much sugar. One year I held my boyfriend’s hand as we picked apples together. Then that boyfriend, now husband, and I brought along a child. Then another. Sometimes I dragged my sleepy little apple pickers to multiple orchards or bakeries in one day, just chasing that first doughnut high. My sweet husband would turn to me eagerly as I tried a different doughnut every year. I imagine his only hope was for my happiness, but I’m sure he just hoped the quest — and my complaining — would end. Then last year, pregnant with baby #3, I dragged my exhausted and swollen body to another orchard, family in tow, because apple picking is a family tradition, dammit. I was the kind of hungry that only a pregnant woman knows and followed the scent of cider doughnuts to a trailer beneath the hilly orchard. I asked for a half dozen and was handed a white bag full of fresh doughnuts that warmed my hands. I managed to stuff a whole doughnut in my mouth before greedy little hands snatched the bag from me, and what I tasted was perfection. My quest complete, I declared that this — this was our family orchard. This week I asked my husband if we could go back to that orchard again. “Which one?” he asked. “The one we went to last year,” I said. “With the doughnuts.” “Those doughnuts were good,” he replied. “What was the name of the place?” “I thought you knew,” I said. But he didn’t. And so my request begins anew, and like a weary warrior, I’ll pick up my apple picker, gather my children and march back into the trees. Love Oysters? Don’t Miss the Ocean State Oyster Festival Tom Robbins once equated eating an oyster with French kissing a mermaid. Others have likened it to swallowing a large wad of snot. I get both analogies, but for obvious reasons prefer the first one as it perfectly describes the sensuous nature of gulping down a bit of the sea, enjoying the salty brininess that lingers on your tongue; knowing you just consumed something sure to enhance your libido. Eating an oyster has nothing to do with eating; it’s an experience all unto itself. Here in Rhode Island, we’re fortunate to have access to high-quality fresh oysters year-round, and the 3rd Annual Ocean State Oyster Festival celebrates that fact. This year’s event will take place on Sep 23 from 1 – 7pm at River Walk Park in Providence, where oysters from 18 local oyster farms will be featured. The ticket gets you half a dozen oysters and a drink of choice (beer, wine or spiked ginger beer). This event is family-friendly (children under 12 are free) as there’s live entertainment and activities for the kids, such as face-painting, a photo booth and chill-out tent where kids can hang while mom and dad hit the bar. For those not inclined to shuck and suck, there will be food trucks from Pat’s Pastured, Smoke n’ Squeal Bbq and Mike’s Ice. In the afternoon, you can participate in an oyster shucking contest and vote for your favorite oyster – a perfect way to spend the first weekend of fall. Also, the coolest part of this already cool festival is that everything used is either compostable or recyclable. That means net zero in terms of waste. Purchase tickets at oysterfestri.com. The event is held rain or shine as there are plenty of tents. To volunteer, email [email protected]. Family Date Night at La Familia Date night and family night are no longer mutually exclusive. La Familia, located at 1666 Diamond Hill Rd. in Cumberland and at 431 Winthrop St. in Taunton, Mass, provides an elegant setting with a casual vibe where the whole family can feast on delicious, reasonably priced food. The menu features a combination of Italian and Portuguese-inspired cuisine with classics such as Fettuccini Bolognese and Linguini Alla Vongole, as well as a number of innovative dishes, including Chipotle Maple Glaze Salmon and Chicken and Kale Ravioli. What makes La Familia unique is its casual elegance. I recently enjoyed a spectacular dinner out with my own familia at the Cumberland location. We were seated in the main dining room, which features a fireplace, several large windows, a few simple mirrors and plants, and tables with white tablecloths topped with butcher paper. That simple combination — white tablecloths and butcher paper — creates an elegant yet playful mood. The entire room is beautifully decorated, but you can’t help doodling on the butcher paper after you order if you happen to have a pen. There are two other rooms as well, one of which features a stunning bar shaped like a square, but we loved our table in the main room. It was a busy Sunday night; we hadn’t made a reservation and we didn’t have to wait for a table, but it felt more like a Saturday evening based on the number of people — people that included couples and groups of all ages and a number of school-aged children (all of whom were well-behaved).