The WordPress.com stats helper monkeys prepared a 2013 annual report for this blog.
Here’s an excerpt:
The concert hall at the Sydney Opera House holds 2,700 people. This blog was viewed about 9,200 times in 2013. If it were a concert at Sydney Opera House, it would take about 3 sold-out performances for that many people to see it.
Tag’s Review
The English Muffin – Fork in the Rhode
The latest find that deserves accolades is the English Muffin in Johnston. This little gem is an open-spaced breakfast restaurant with 10+ booths and tables, as well as a u-shaped counter that seats about 10 eaters.
As I sat at the counter with my significant other Jo-Ann, my knees got weak when I read the daily Special’s board – “White Chocolate Chip and Cranberry Pancakes”! I didn’t have to read any further.
I ordered two pancakes as described above, and Jo-Ann ordered a plain Provolone Omelet with pumpernickel toast and home fries. The omelet was prepared exactly as requested – no brown spots! Jo-Ann made the yummy sounds. All good things….
Cranberry & White Chocolate Pancakes – The English Muffin
I’m not confident the owners understand the concept of “appropriate portion size “because at The English Muffin, the dishes were more than generous. My white chocolate chip and cranberry pancakes were in the neighborhood of 10-12 inches in diameter, and covered the entire dinner-sized plate. Jo-Ann’s omelet stretched from one side of the plate to the other!
The pancakes were perfectly griddled in both color and consistency, and her omelet was fluffy and generously filled with Provolone. The hash browns were grilled “extra crisp” as ordered.
Provy Omelet – The English Muffin
Do not; I repeat, do not ruin the perfectly balanced flavors of the White Chocolate Chips and Cranberries Pancakes with syrup of any kind. Let the smoothness of the white chocolate chips blend with the tartness of the cranberries, which have both been encapsulated with a beautifully rich pancake batter.
Additionally, an over-sized coffee cup (with endless refills) was a perfect accompaniment to our over-sized and satisfying breakfast plates.
Excellent breakfasts for very reasonable prices. Wear your big pants with the elastic waist!
Tags Toilet Talk:
There is nothing like a clean, large bathroom with tiled floors and walls to “powder your nose.” The automatic paper towel holder and liquid soap dispenser were both full. Additionally it was not only handicapped accessible, but equipped with a step stool under the sink for the kids to reach the soap & water (no excuses here kids!). This wash room would have rated over 4+ TP rolls, but the large waste basket was full of paper towels and needed attention.
English Muffin | 1989 Plainfield Pike | Johnston, RI 02919 | (401) 943-6100
2013 New York System – Rhode Island
At a time when our dining public thrives on evolving menus – low in carbohydrates, fat and sodium, while insisting that taste is never compromised, I would argue that the wickedly popular New York System Hot Weiner has never evolved into anything greater than that which it always has been – a “Rhode Island Original!”
When prepared correctly, the nostalgic New York System hot weiner transports us back in time. For a moment, you can remember the grill-man lining his arm with orders being yelled to him from the counter-man. We can fondly remember ordering 3 all-the-way, with coffee milk and fries with our grandparents,parents, aunts, uncles, cousins or life-long friends. We can remember sitting at the counter while solving the world’s problems with the folks from the neighborhood.
From the blue collared to the blue blooded, when you walk into a NY System Weiner joint and order, you’re nobody special – just equally important. It’s hard to believe that there exists so much history, happiness and memories inside a little steamed bun, but I assure you of its truth.
When judging hot weiners, subjectivity is always a factor. In order to level the playing field, we ask that our judges use the same scoring sheet, criteria and ranking for every location. Additionally, we assigned multiple judges per restaurant in order to balance scoring outliers and variations in daily product consistency. It’s not enough for a product to be sometimes great; it needs to be great everyday – on every order.
The following are the 10 locations that maintained the highest overall scores in standard categories (Appearance, Steamed Bun, and Weiner Texture, Meat Sauce, Onions, and Overall One-Bite taste) – in alphabetic order:
| Restaurant | Street | City |
| Cosmic Steak, Pizza & Weiners | 1141 Post Rd | Warwick |
| Dot’s Dairy Bar & Grille | 1476 Newport Ave | Pawtucket |
| Jesse’s N.Y. System | 710 Main Street | West Warwick |
| Liberty Lunch | 732 Central Ave | Pawtucket |
| New York Lunch | 8 Main St | Woonsocket |
| Olneyville N.Y. System | 18 Plainfield Street | Providence |
| Rod’s Grill | 6 Washington Street | Warren |
| Stykee’s New York System | 1617 Elmwood Ave. | Cranston |
| Timmy’s Restaurant | 644 W Shore Rd | Warwick |
| Weiner Genie | 80 Higginson Avenue | Lincoln |
Into the Belly of the Beast
We encourage you to judge NY System Wieners in all of the following locations as we did. There are so many excellent ones to choose from. Again, we “triple-dog-dare” you!
| Restaurant | Street | City |
| Athenian Deli & Restaurant | 1242 Oaklawn Ave | Cranston |
| Athens Pizza House | 1 Austin Ave | Greenville |
| Barbara’s Place | 77 North Main St. | Woonsocket |
| Ben’s Chili Dogs | 158 Broadway | Newport |
| Bucci’s Café | 37 Main Street | Lincoln |
| Chepachet Deli | 842 Putnam Pike | Chepachet |
| Coffee King | 66 Fountain Street | Providence |
| Connie and Nikki’s Restaurant | 526 Pawtucket Ave. | Pawtucket |
| Ferrucci’s Original New York System | 1246 Main Street, Arctic | West Warwick |
| George’s Grill New York System | 716 Reservoir Avenue | Cranston |
| George’s Pizza ‘N Pub | 60 Main St | Pascoag |
| Indigo Pizza Lounge | 599 Tiogue Ave | Coventry |
| John’s New York System | 827 Park Ave. | Cranston |
| John’s New York Systems | 326 Cranston Street | Providence |
| Kingston Pizza | 1283 Kingstown Road | Peacedale |
| Kip’s Restaurant | 826 Newport Ave | Pawtucket |
| Little Rhody Brand Frankfurts | 5 Day Street | Johnston |
| Lumber-Jacks-Pizza ‘n Wieners | 1402 Victory Hwy | North Smithfield |
| M & M New York System Restaurant | 361 Waterman Ave | East Providence |
| Moonlight House of Weiners | 32 Rathburn Street | Woonsocket |
| North Kingstown House of Pizza | 6170 Post Rd | North Kingstown |
| Norwood Grill | 1325 Post Rd. | Warwick |
| Oak St. B&B | 87 Oak Street | Westerly |
| Oatley’s Family Restaurant | 171 Ten Rod Road | North Kingstown |
| Original New York System | 424 Smith Street | Providence |
| Peter’s Coney Island System | 2298 West Shore Rd. | Warwick |
| Plouffe’s Cup n Saucer | 267 Main St | Pawtucket |
| Poppy’s Family Restaurant | 3344 Mendon Road | Cumberland |
| Quick Rick’s | 58 High St | Wakefield |
| Right Spot Diner | 200 South Bend St. | Pawtucket |
| Riverside Kitchen New York System | 467 Willett Ave | East Providence |
| Rod’s Grill | 6 Washington Street | Warren |
| Royal Lunch | 1179 Westminster St | Providence |
| Sam’s New York System | 1031 Mineral Spring Ave | North Providence |
| Sam’s New York System | Sandy Lane | Warwick |
| Santoro’s Pizza | 687 Tiogue Ave | Coventry |
| Silver Lake Pizza | 1146 Main Street | Coventry |
| Snoopy’s Diner | 4001 Quaker Lane | North Kingstown |
| Sparky’s Coney Island System | 122 Taunton Avenue, | East Providence |
| Taso’s N.Y. System | 1500 Atwood Avenue | Johnston |
| Wein-O-Rama | 1009 Oaklawn Avenue | Cranston |
Note: On behalf of the RhodeCrew, we would like to offer our sincerest thanks to the volunteer judges who helped make the 2013 NY System Weiner Challenge a success!
Fork in the Rhode 