Have you had your Fusion experience?

Normally I don't take the time to write much about places I eat at, but this is one time that I thought I should; and who knows, it might be the beginning of some new hobby of mine! With that said, my wife had mentioned this new food truck, called FuGo, and thought we should check it out. For those of you who have been living under a rock for the last few years, food trucks have grown so much in popularity that today even shows like "Man vs Food," among others, are featuring food trucks.

From what I had gathered from my wife, this truck was unique with its concept. Apparently the name FuGo stands for "Fusion Gourmet", and it's niche is just that, serving food with refined taste and passion: Gourmet. So we decided to visit this FuGo today on Thayer Street in the East Side of Providence and give it a try. My first impression was a good one; the truck was really clean and the power generator was not so noisy - something that seems to be a problem with some of the food trucks we've visited.

So now it comes down to the food... I start to look at the menu and can't quite make out what specific type of food they sell. For example, you go to Johnny's Chimis on Broad St and you know you will find a variety of Dominican street food, something not so unique considering the numerous amounts of food trucks on the same strip, all offering the same thing. But here I stood looking at this menu and I see Vietnamese, Korean, and Mexican selections.

We proceeded with placing our order and interestingly enough, I was handed a card with a stamp on it that read "Eat with us 9 times, next 2 tacos on us or 2 fully stamped cards qualify for a free t-shirt." This was unique since it's not something that you typically see being done with food trucks. So I ordered the Vietnamese pulled pork burrito and I can't remember exactly what my wife ordered; not because I wasn't paying attention, but because the minute I sunk my teeth into that burrito I spaced out! "Wow," I said to myself, "this is really good," the mixture of pork with pickled carrots, cucumber, cilantro cream, and chopped peanuts was mouth watering. I could also hear my wife saying the same thing about what she was eating, but I was too busy with my food that I couldn't focus on anything else.

After that, I felt that I needed to share my experience. I think everyone should give them a shot. FuGo offers great food and service with a concept that you will not commonly find with other food trucks.

Free to Providence Residents - Say What!

So the summer is still in effect and you've done the cookouts, the beaches, and who knows - you probably went on vacation with the family already! Chances are you are running out of options of things to do with the family. Well if you are a Providence resident, you are in luck! Why is that? Because there are places in Providence that at times you can go to free of charge since they are subsidized by the tax dollars we pay as Providence residents. One of those places is Roger Williams Park.

Roger Williams Park offers you a variety of things you can do with the family. From visiting the zoo, to the museum, to the botanical gardens; you can enjoy these places at no cost to you every first Saturday of the month. What better way to entertain the family, especially when it's free! Take the zoo for example; this year alone, we've gone to the zoo twice. There are so many animals to see and learn about, that we had to break it into 2 visits. Yes, you can go through the entire zoo in a matter of hours; however, we really enjoy reading and learning about the animals. In some cases you have animal trainers doing presentations and you'll be amazed with what you can learn.

The museum itself is very interesting. Here you'll find historical artifacts and learn more about the history of Rhode Island. But that's not all. If you love science and want to learn more about the stars, galaxies, light and more, the museum is the place to go. It even has a planetarium! Oh, by the way - there's only one show per day at 2pm; therefore, if you want to enjoy the show make sure you are on time. Otherwise, you won't be able to get in. Trust me when I tell you, I speak from experience. Living in a house with four females who have to doll themselves up every time we go out, it's been a challenge making it to the show on time; however, this upcoming month I'm on a mission...

So there you have it! Got nothing to do this upcoming first Saturday of the month? Then go to Roger Williams Park - It's on me. OK.. OK.. OK.. It's on us, the tax payers of Providence!

What do Cows, Bananas, Leaves and Newspapers Have in Common?

What do cows, bananas, leaves and newspaper have in common? I could have answered this questioned, but one item, the newspaper, would have thrown me a curve ball. The answer; however, is soil. Three years ago, I decided that I was going to take on gardening. Why not? it's relaxing and I get to eat delicious fruits and vegetables that I am proud to say I've grown. While I was happy with my results, I did not realize how much better my crops would have been if I had used richer soil. I realized this after visiting City Farm in the South Side of Providence a couple of weeks ago. I was invited there since I had just become a member of the South Side Community Land Trust(SSCLT). 

While at City Farm, I noticed that their tomatoes were almost 2 feet tall, I had to ask, "how long ago did you plant them?" Come to find out, they planted the tomatoes during the same period that I planted mine, yet their plants were huge compared to mine; and get this, they use no chemicals! I on the other hand , use Miracle Grow plant food and my results can't compare considering that my plants were only two inches tall.

So where do they get the rich soil from? They make it themselves... They wave their little wand and boom, rich soil appears. Actually not, they create soil by using a method call composting, which is where you take waste that you would normally throw in the trash and place it in bin that throughout time turns into rich soil.

One of the benefits of becoming a member of the SSCLT is that you get to attend workshops that teach you how to grow your own produce while helping the environment. During my visit to City Farm I was able to get my hands on a list of the workshops that they are holding throughout the year. And there it was, the very next week, they were holding a compost workshop on Session Street over on the East Side of Providence. Great opportunity for me to learn what's involved with the process of composting. 

Here we learned how "Greens" (ex. coffee grounds, grass clippings, vegetable or fruit scraps) and "Browns" (ex. straw, dry waste, shredded paper/newspaper, and fine wood chips) when combined, turn into rich soil. Also, how manure (cow manure preferably) can help you heat your compost pile. How hot? Well the combination of these items when done right create a reaction within the pile that can have the temperature rise to about 130-140 degrees (recommended temperature for composting) if not hotter.

So there you have it... I look forward to having a jungle-like garden next year as I use soil from my own compost, and hope that you start composting as well. For more information on these workshops and how you can become a member of South Side Community Land Trust, helping the environment and eating homegrown organic produce; visit: http://www.southsideclt.org