TWE Hits the Road: Newport, RI

We've skipped town this weekend and come up to Rhode Island for the Women Chefs and Restaurateurs National Conference in Newport. We're staying at the Beech Tree Inn, located at 34 Rhode Island Ave. So far our only meal has been breakfast at the inn, and so I dutifully report thereupon. The fruit salad had me worried, as it was clearly half-canned, half-fresh. Canned pear, canned mandarin orange sections, fresh apple and banana, grapes of indeterminate provenance...for this I got up? Jim, the innkeeper, took our order, and shortly thereafter our food arrived and the day looked brighter. I ordered blueberry pancakes with a side of bacon, and Jim convinced me to try a tiny serving of homefries. The pancakes were adorable, about the size of large coasters, and bursting with fresh berries. None of those frightening blueberry buds that sometimes speckle the purplish wares of soulless bagelries--these were the real deal. The bacon managed to be crisp, but not overdone, walking the thin line of satisfying both Nick and me with its level of cookedness. And the homefries! Cubes of potato with diced onion and green pepper that left behind a trail of savory, delectable goodness and had me scraping my plate so as not to miss a bit. Nick had the purportedly "famous" French toast, which was made with pumpkin pie-type spices and indeed earned its reknown. I find most French toast pointless, but this was delightful. And now, back to bed.