Yes, it’s true. I’m moving back to Providence at the end of March. Instead of buying a one-way plane ticket back, I’m taking the scenic route east. I’m not sure how long I’ll be gone. It could be anywhere from two to six weeks, depending on factors such as weather and how much cash is left in the wallet.

The above map is only an approximation of the route I plan to drive. If you have any tips on must-see sights, restaurants or diners let me know. Drop me a line if it looks like I’m driving through your town and perhaps we can set up a blogger gathering. Besides just eating out, It would be great to meet-up with folks and cook the specialties of your locale. I’d love to cook with a southern grandma and learn to make a proper biscuit, or perhaps you live around New Orleans and want to share your method for gumbo–in return I’d be happy to share my grandma’s method for red sauce and meatballs.

Catching up on the new season of Top Chef I realized I had a post I never finished from Rochester–white hot dogs. Growing up we were a Zweigle’s family and nearly always had a combo pack of red and white hot dogs in the fridge. It wasn’t until I moved to Boston to attend college that I (sadly) realized that white hot dogs are not widely availble, or even known, throughout most of the country.

The white hot dog, a combination of pork, beef and veal, has a mild flavor close to that of a bratwurst, but with the soft texture of a hot dog. Other producers of this variety include Hofmann out of Syracuse and Wegman’s store brand.

Upstate NY food bloggers–perhaps we can have a meetup this summer when I’m back home. Thinking we could do a littl hot dog cooking and sampling, as well as a few trips to some of the many diners that dot the landscape between Albany and Buffalo.

I have a new candy addiction – salted caramels – and I blame our trip to Portland. It was there I tasted the salted caramels from the little chocolate shop, Sahagun. The candy is an adorable cup of dark, creamy chocolate filled with flowing caramel that is at the same time sweet and savory. And the addition of my favorite nut, the hazelnut, on top of the confection makes this treat my idea of perfection.

I also thoroughly enjoyed the hazelnut filled chocolates topped with a creamy, cupcake-ish chocolate hazelnut frosting.

A special thanks to fellow blogger Jessica of ItalyLogue for giving me the head’s up about the liquidity of the caramel so as not to have caramel drip down my chin after taking a bite

I spotted Flyer Gold Plane No. 2 (Swiss dark chocolate with caramel) at the checkout counter of the Whole Foods Market (in Providence) and was immediately drawn to the packaging. The combination of a lovely vintage plane image, reminiscent of Pan Am graphics, and the words rich dark chocolate with caramel was too much to pass up.

The chocolate exterior was smooth and creamy and the caramel was absolutely lush and thick. I could taste the butter and sugar in the caramel, as well as the rich, nutty flavor that comes from bringing the caramel just to the point before it burns. This really is more of a high-end bon bon, the type you might find in a French candy boutique, rather than a plain bar. That said, don’t let the 270 calories per bar scare you. It’s so rich a few bites will easily satisfy the sweetest of sweet tooths.

Even now when I go home to visit there’s only one flavor for me–chocolate with chocolate sprinkles. But because of the softer consistency, I always eat it out of cup and not a cone. It just melts too fast, especially in the hot, humid summers of upstate New York. For those of you who have never tasted custard, it’s creamier and denser than ice cream with an almost velvet texture. Also, it’s not served straight from the machine in the manner of soft serve. Rather the custard continuously flows out of the machine and is deposited into a holding bowl, and is then scooped into your cone or dish. By the time it hits your tongue it’s slightly warmer than your average ice cream, meaning you taste more of the flavor.

Now that I’m even hungrier than when I started this post, my mind wanders to another Rochester tradition–Zweigle’s white hot dogs. Made with beef, pork and veal it has the flavor of a mild bratwurst combined with the fine texture of a hot dog. My favorite is the natural casing white hot dog. When cooked on the grill the skin splits slightly and you experience a crisp ‘snap’ when you bite into it.

There are other Rochester foods that I crave from time to time. But I’ll wait and blog about those next time I return for a visit.

Not being a fan of New England clam chowder, I prefer to eat my quahogs stuffed–aka stuffies. It’s prepared much like a turkey stuffing, with quahogs, bread, spices and my favorite way–with bacon. The mixture is combined and then placed back in the empty shell to bake. The very best are crispy on the outside from the oven, and quite moist and soft in the inside.

So on my quick trip back to Rhode Island for the weekend we hit Iggy’s and dug into stuffies, whole-belly fried clams and doughboys–that’s fried dough to the rest of the country.

Here are some recipes for stuffies, lobster, clamcakes and more from the Providence Journal. Enjoy the food!

But one meal was not enough and we opted for burgers and fries the next day from Stanley’s. For me: cheeseburger and ‘Quebec style’ fries. The gravy wasn’t as rich as more authentic Poutine I’ve tasted, but the smothered fries are still a great snack choice–especially after a few beers.

I’ve been brushing up on my French!

Wolfie’s is located down the street from our hotel, so we visited often for the potato pancakes and pickles:

I attempted to sample chicken and waffles at the 11th Street Diner in South Beach, but alas, their waffle iron broke so instead I had chicken and pancakes.

And of a course we needed at least one Cuban meal. We opted for David’s on Meridian Ave. I had the shredded sirloin and the best cup of very sweet espresso. I prefer mine with extra sugar!

On my next NY trip I’ll bring my appetite and get through the entire cone.