GP Providence- Out & About
Written by: Jacob Schroeder
Grand Prix Providence should be a great event for magic players and fun for all those involved; if you have the opportunity to go and play magic I wish you good luck. While you are in Providence there is plenty to do when you aren’t playing magic and some great restaurants within walking distance of the Rhode Island Convention Center. The Providence Place Mall is close by and has more stores than you can count along with an Imax theater above the food court. For those of you fortunate enough to spend some time in Rhode Island relaxing while slinging spells I have some awesome things for you to do as well.
After a long day of turning cards sideways and side-boarding all I really want to do is stuff my face with delicious food. It seems you could stand outside the convention center and throw a rock and no matter which direction hit a restaurant, but I’ve done some research and there are some great places to eat and some that you might not want to visit.
Murphy’s Deli & Bar has been serving up juicy corned beef since 1929 and catering to the other elements of the Irishman (or woman) in all of us. It started out as a lunch based restaurant but now serves dinner and is open late for when you have those Bloodthrone Vampire munchies. They have a vast array of sandwiches and burgers that will make your mouth water. Most every dish comes with their famous pickles and smiling service.
If you want a reasonably priced burrito with fresh ingredients than you should stop by Cilantro Mexican Grill. They never use processed foods and always keep everything healthy, keeping a limited menu size to ensure the quality stays excellent. Cilantro cooks their corn tortilla chips fresh every day and adds a hint of lime. They have three different kinds of salsa and if you aren’t in the mood for a burrito then you can try one of their tacos or quesadillas. With the option to choose whether you want chicken marinated in a spicy adobo sauce or pulled pork along with steak or tilapia, you’ll always get exactly what you want and can select all the finer things for your meal.
10 Prime Steak & Sushi brings the best cuisine from east and west together to complete a great dining experience. They have a plethora of sushi rolls many of which are a blend of unique flavors like the Crunchie Munchie, a fried coconut shrimp roll topped with tempura crab, honey truffle aioli, and chives. Their steaks are aged to perfect tenderness and melt in your mouth; while there sides are much more than an accompaniment. If “Death by Butter” smashed potatoes doesn’t sound as delicious to you as it does to me they have many other choices like Bacon Mac & Cheese.
The Providence Place Mall is the most expansive place to shop in Rhode Island, offering more than 170 stores to browse and buy from. There is a Newbury Comics there selling music, and books related to music and comics. It provides more than you could ask for in the way of all your comic-related needs. They also have magic boosters available for purchase if you want to host a private draft back at the hotel.
There is a Dave & Buster’s located above the food court housing a huge assortment of arcade games where you can play skee-ball to your heart’s content(I always do). They have a ton of star wars games, and you can even get a deal where you get an entrée and ten dollars worth of coins for $15.99.
Providence Place also has an Imax theater and an extensive food court if everyone in your group has different tastes or you can’t decide where everyone wants to eat. It even has a place for foreign currency exchange for all of you who are travelling.
If animals are your thing you can visit Roger William’s Park Zoo that has been open since 1872. It’s the third-oldest zoo in the nation, housing over 1000 animals with upwards of 300 species. You can drop in and see the wallabies in their Australasia exhibit, or go to the Tropical America exhibit to take a snap-shot of a crocodile.
If you’re looking to enjoy the nightlife there are some great places nearby like Ultra the Nightclub. It offers a great mix of dance, techno, and top 40 songs to listen to and the DJs there are ridiculously good. Its open on Thursdays from 10pm to 1am, Fridays from 10pm to 2am and Saturdays from 10pm to 2am. Their location is 127 Friendship St, Providence RI.
Another great nightclub is Colosseum at 180 Pine Street, also in Providence. They play a variety of music including mash-up, hip-hop, house and Top 40. The club is split into two parts The Ruins, which is a live music venue, and Mythology where the DJs keep you dancing.
If you want to get around with public transport www.ripta.com is a great resource that you can use. It has a trip planner which allows you to select multiple destinations and look up the times and fares. It also has a section that shows you a map of all the places you can get picked up and dropped off and even has a quick find feature if you get caught in a last minute rush.
For more information on what the weather will be like this weekend, click here.
I hope all of you enjoy your time at the GP and got some useful information from my article.
–Jacob Schroeder
