Rhode Island Best Local Secrets 2011

BEST STACKS
Ada Books, Providence
This small space holds a curated selection of cookbooks, local ‘zines, out-of-print editions, titles cloaked in their original jackets, comics, poetry, and literary publications. 717 Westminster St. 401-432-6222; adabooks.com

BEST HOME CONSIGNMENTS
RE,North Kingstown
Consignments span the 1600s to today, with a specialty in Early American and European furnishings. Prices for every wallet, from a $20,000 William Shayer oil painting to $3 costume jewelry. 7512 Post Road. 401-667-5996

BEST PADDLE
Sail Newport, Newport
Just $28 for two hours of paddling in Newport Bay. 60 Fort Adams Drive. 401-849-8385 (summer), 401-846-1983 (fall/winter/spring); sailnewport.org

BEST COASTAL PRESERVE
Avondale Farm, Westerly
Fifty acres of wildflowers, ponds, salt marsh, and tidal inlets for paddling, birding, and walking. Grassland Way, off Avondale Road & Quail Run. 401-315-2610; westerlylandtrust.org

BEST DINER
Gary’s Handy Lunch, Newport
Blue-collar eats in a blueblood neighborhood. The aesthetic is 1950s, the prices are nostalgic, and plastic is banned, so bring cash. Breakfast/lunch entrées: from $4. 462 Thames St. 401-847-9480