Please Help Need Good Eats in Providence, RI Area

Hi,
I am going to the Providence area (Scituate,Ma) in 2 weeks and I need some restaurant/cheap eats help. I am staying with friends and they are pretty basic eaters. I am looking for good, tasty, and moderately priced fare. Mom and Pop joints, Great Ice Cream and Quality Bakery goods are always a Plus.
Thank you to all in advance.

Sorry, It's Scituate RI not Mass.
Thank you

I have no idea how far you will be from Newport, but when my cousin got married there about six years ago we went to Flo's Clam Shack about three times. The clams were delicious. (I'm a clamaholic)

We also had breakfast at the Newport Creamery, which was good, but I wouldn't say it was the best meal I ever ate.

Suzy

Back when I lived on the east coast, I used to drive up the coast and take a ferry to Martha's Vineyard from Woods Hole on a great number of weekends. Providence was always a good stopping point whether it was for a hotel, if traffic had caused one to miss the last ferry of the day, or just to stop in for a quick lunch or maybe a little shopping in the city's wonderful Federal Hill Italian neighborhood.

Some of the better spots that I remember are:

Caserta Pizza
121 Spruce
Federal Hill

This is kind of a bare walls place that is known for some of the best pizza that Providence has to offer. They have a very minimalist approach to Pizza which is cooked in a wood burning oven. Chicagoans will be horrified to learn that there is no sausage pizza at Caserta. They only serve cheese, pepperoni, mushrooms and onions as toppings. The consistency of the crust is a bit thicker than a New York or New Haven pie. The wood burning oven creates a crispy bottomed light, somewhat bread-like crust. It is a very good pizza.

Venda Ravioli
265 Atwells
Federal Hill

Venda's sits on what is considered the main drag of the Federal Hill neighborhood. It's really not so much a restaurant as it is a huge, wonderful, east coast style pork store selling incredibly good, fresh house made pastas, Italian deli items, bread and some frozen items such as their own sauce.

During the day, Venda's serves lunch at a scattering of tables around the well kept and handsome store. I still swoon over the memory of a perfectly cooked, light as a feather cheese ravioli I had there served with a simple sauce of sage and butter.

Be sure to take a cooler and grab some of their great deli items and homemade pasta to take home with you.

Al Forno
577 South Main

OK, honestly, I have never eaten here. But, I just can't get the dish out of my mind that Al Forno served at the tasting fundraiser for New Orleans Evacuees last fall. Thinly sliced mushrooms, simply dressed with olive oil and lemon juice just sang with simple, clean bright flavors. It is on the menu at Al Forno.

Venus de Milo
75 Grand Army Highway
Swansea MA

OK, don't hold it against this place that Emeril Lagasse had his first job cooking here. Venus is a unique (as in weird) place. It's really a banquet hall that opens a portion of its building daily to serve dinner.

The star of the show here is the baked stuffed lobster. A three and a half pounder will cost you around $45 and is sufficient to feed at least two hungry eaters if not more. It is another simple dish. The lobster is split, the cavity is filled with some scallops, then a handful of buttery ritz cracker crums is sprinkled over the cavity before the big lobster is dropped in the oven and baked to crustacean goodness.

The rest of the menu at Venus is kind of pedestrian, much of what one would expect from a banquet hall. To get to Venus, take a short drive out 190 toward the Cape, the second or thrid exit is Swansea. Turn right on Grand Army Highway. The Venus will be about two miles on your left.

As you work your way down 190 toward the Cape, Fall River is a really interesting little place where you'll find one of the deepest array of restaurants cooking old style Portugese.

Thanks, ypw, for some great suggestions. Anyone have any more suggestions for Providence? I will be there mid-October for four days, staying at the Westin for a business meeting (near Rhode Island Convention Center and the Providence Place Mall) with no car. Thanks!

Will is right on target in directing you to Federal Hill. It's a great old Providence Italian neighborhood that seems to be enjoying a resurgence of late. Don't worry, though, the inevitable condos have not yet ruined the vibe.

I will get to the food presently, but to put you in the correct frame of mind for the neighborhood, a visit to Almonte's dry goods store is just the thing. [Edit: Almonte's closed late last year following the owner's death.] Almonte's is one of a vanishing category of stores that you used to find on the Lower East Side of New York and in every small town in America, the kind of place where you can buy notions, underwear, linens, and school uniforms, and an assortment of now-quaint items like aprons and slippers that grandmothers used to wear. Mr. Almonte, at age 100, is at work every day, a gentleman in coat and tie. He refuses to sit home or to sell out even though his location on the main drag of Federal Hill has been the object of lust for a host of local developers. My daughter instinctively grasped the uniqueness of the place, with its 1920's tiled exterior, patched tin celiling, wooden display cases partitioned in glass, and lace tablecloths tacked to the walls. For me, the place brought on a heavy attack of nostalgia that took days to shake. However, a few tidbits shared by the saleslady assisted my recovery from this reverie. Apparently, the current clientele includes nuns from the nearby convent accustomed to bloomers that reach to the knees (I always wondered what was under those habits), RISD students in search of housedresses as painting smocks, and transvestites looking for hard-to-find sizes in ladies' underthings, along with a certain discretion that is assured by the off-the-beaten-path quality of the place.

Food-related: we were lured in the direction of Almonte's by the presence of a fishmonger parked outside the store entrance. Fisherman Angelo Pirri of Bristol, R.I. brings his truck to Federal Hill every week (Wednesday, I believe.)

Costantino's Venda Ravioli aka Venda's is a terrific spot for just about anything that is worth eating. I have never seen a bigger selection of fresh prepared salads and deli items anywhere-- scratch that-- it seems about as large as what I recall at Zabar's in New York. But my daughter and I had a wonderful lunch of spaghetti with soft-shell lobsters in a very simple tomato coulis in the restaurant set at the back of the deli. There is also a nice espresso bar with good gelato. Be discreet while taking pictures; the owner is sensitive.

Another place not to miss is Scialo's Bakery (the locals say "shy-low's.) Get there early for the crispest, freshest, most delectably custard-stuffed sfogliatelle in the world. The hazelnut biscotti were crisp and yet yielding, and very transportable. The windows were decked out for Easter when we were there, and not a patisserie in Paris could not have done better.

Saveur featured Federal Hill in a piece that is archived on their website, and we visited Joe Marzilli's, profiled as an institution in that article. The place is preserved as in a dream: a pink dining room with murals of Venice, pink naugahyde slipper chairs, and white tablecloths. My daughter described it as "the sort of place that I always imagined I woud go on my first date." I was happy that she got her fantasy dinner decor, if not the date itself (I must remind her that the life of a dedicated foodie offers many consolations). The menu at Joe Marzilli's reads like a book, with many items rarely seen, such as chicken liver sauce on pasta and frog legs. We were all set to order the signature braciole when the waitress directed us elsewhere. Soup, salad and spumoni with maraschino cherry sauce had the 1960 standard-issue quality that brought back that time so perfectly that I expected Dean Martin himself to appear, but the sausage with rapini on orrechiete hit the spot and kept me more-or-less grounded in the present day. It was a good thing, too, because the next day a local woman told us that during the 1960's Mr. Marzilli refused to seat a friend of hers, who was dining alone, something considered not to be entirely respectable in that time and place. Nothing like a dose of the real old days to cure that nostalgia for the good old days. . .

within walking distance of the mall is Camille's Roman Garden, Sicilia's, and Andino's, all at the start of Federal Hill (just across Route 95). They are all great places, but different in their own ways:

Andino's is a classic old-school Italian restaurant with great pastas and veal.

Camille's Roman Garden is a more upscale Italian place that has excellent Northern and Southern Italian food.

Sicilia's is an outstanding pizza place with three types: Thin crust, regular, and deep dish.

My favorite restaurant in Providence, however, is Apsara, which is a couple of miles southwest of the center of Providence. If you can find a way to get there, they have some of the best Vietnamese and Cambodian cuisine in New England.

I'll be in Providence this weekend. Any new, updated recommendations?

You may have read my post above, and lest you be disappointed, Almonte's is no more. In a visit last December, I learned that Mr. Almonte had recently died (in his 100th year), and that the store was to close in late December, to be sold to developers by the family. We traipsed around sadly and bought up as many vintage dish towels and 1970's era clothing as we had cash to pay for. Then we thanked the nice ladies, and departed. But at the Chinatown LTH Jewish Christmas Eve Dinner I was comforted by King's Thursday's revelation that she had made time on her Providence trip to stop at Almonte's. I got the impression that she was as charmed by the place as my daughter and I had been. Last weekend I met a fellow at the Longone conference in Ann Arbor who is a friend of the grandson of Mr. Almonte. He was astounded that we Chicagoans knew of their local institution.

If you are pressed for time, there is a decent Legal Seafoods just perched at the entrance to 95 by the airport. We were flying out in a Nor'easter, and just couldn't do much exploring in the downpour. The cioppino my daughter had was good, plentiful, and somehow better than my lobster, which was kind of tasteless. But a cup of chowder (the New England, not the RI, which was marred by an overdose of dried marjoram) and some fried clams might be a good alternative to fast food if you are in a rush but can take the time to sit down. The service was also unusually professional, friendly, and responsive.

Jane and Michael Stern have a favorite burger joint in downtown Providence, one distinguished by a particularly rough crowd, but you would have to look at their website-- I can't remember the name.

Up the hill, on the opposite side of Brown University from downtown, is the typical strip of what were once known as "ethnic" eateries: little Thai and Mexican places, bagel shops, coffee houses, record stores, and Indian print clothing shops. I can't specifically recommend any of these, but if you are looking for tom yum or pad thai, check out this area.

Finally, from Jan Longone, founder of the Longone Culinary Archive at the Clements Library at UMich, a little tip about the most typical Rhode Island beverage: coffee milk. Our group at the Longone Symposium last weekend learned that Jan's uncle was the originator of coffee milk, which is made with a coffee flavored corn syrup, milk, and cream. Zingerman's in Ann Arbor has just reverse-engineered the stuff using organic ingredients and is planning to market the stuff soon. I liked the taste of Zingerman's coffee milk we had, but sweet coffee is not really my cup of tea. It tasted a lot like those Starbuck's bottled Frappucino's.

Josephine wrote:Jane and Michael Stern have a favorite burger joint in downtown Providence, one distinguished by a particularly rough crowd, but you would have to look at their website-- I can't remember the name.

That would be Haven Brothers, known as the site of some unpleasantly in the past.

Best,
Michael

One quick note: One of my favorite restaurants anywhere, Ristorante Romanza on Wickenden Street, closed this year. It was a really special place that I'll miss a lot.

I recently tried the Modern Diner in nearby Pawtucket for the first time. Good, basic breakfast in a really neat old diner. Definitely worth seeking out--it's just south of downtown Pawtucket, heading toward Providence.

Scattered throughout Providence, East Providence and Cranston are a number of loosely affiliated diners, cafes and storefront joints that operate under the name of "New York System Weiners." This really isn't a chain (think of it more like Nicky's on the south side of Chicago, where the name and the signature offering are common, but the ownership isn't). The hot call, naturally, is the hot dog--a unique-to-Rhode-Island offering having nothing to do with New York. It's like the White Castle of weiners--small enough that you could probably eat four or five. The weiners and grilled and must be 10 to 1s, are served on a plain steamed bun, and topped with a wonderful brown chili-like substance (probably Greek-derived, as is the ownership of these places), mustard and onions. Preparation is known as "up the arm," where the grillman lines up about 10 of these babies from his hand past his elbow to slather on the toppings. When I was in college, one of the New York System outposts was a regular Sunday morning gathering for this breakfast of champions.

Resurrecting an older thread with a new post. I dined at D'Carlo Trattoria in Smithfield, RI last week and it deserves mention on LTH.

D'Carlo Trattoria is located in a strip mall off of Douglas Pike NW of Providence. Easy to find (I-295 to Exit 7, NB on Douglas Pike, aka Rte 7, to a convenience store/gas station on the left - the restaurant is behind the gas station), this place is within a mile or two of Bryant University's beautiful campus. The bill of fare features solid representations of northern Italian cuisine with an ample fresh pizza menu and many local dishes as interpreted by the chef. As you would expect, it is heavy on seafood! I was told by my guest - a regular diner - that the owners had successfully opened and operated several local restaurants for others and decided to make a go on their own.

My guest had the pan seared salmon entree served over baby greens with sweet onion relish and said it was marvelous. I went with the pizza special of the day - a BBQ chicken affair - and it was really great. Thin crust with just the right amount of blister and burn on the edges, solid to the middle (not mushy) and the toppings were generous witheout being too much. The BBQ sauce itself was both sweet and spicy - really tasty. I forgot to ask if the pizza oven was wood or coal fired...

Service was very good and at lunchtime the place was about 1/3 full. The bar was elevated on one side of the room. Wine list was well paired with the cuisine but not huge and seemd to have the usual markup.

D'Carlo Trattoria
970 Douglas Pike (Rte 7)
Smithfield, RI 02917
401-349-4979

http://www.dcarlotrattoria.net/index.html

I just took on a new project that will be taking me back and forth from Chicago to Providence RI for the next several months.

What are the unique food finds, great foods, and local area specialties that this area is known for?

This week’s visit was short, but I've done some NY style pizza, a New York System Hot Dog (yuk!) & hit a local Italian place so far. I'm looking for more of the blue collar food finds and then will work my way up to the eclectic stuff later. I'm also willing to drive within reason (45 mins), and I'm staying right by the Providence airport.

Thanks in advance for any advice offered!

love that chicken from Popeyes!

Head's Red BBQ wrote:love that chicken from Popeyes!

Funny!! You know, I haven’t noticed them OR a White Castles around here... is it possible that these people are more evolved than Alton from a culinary standpoint?

sounds like they are less evolved then
i do know diners are popular on the east coast..nothing in your area?

Here's one thread I found with the LTH search function:

http://www.lthforum.com/bb/viewtopic.php?f=15&t=8720&hilit=+Providence

In 2008, on the way to Newport, I had a nice meal at the Bay Voyage Inn. It was a three-course prix fixe that was solidly done and presented and came with a free glass of inexpensive wine:

Bay Voyage Inn
150 Conanicus Avenue
Jamestown, RI 02835
Phone: 401-423-2100

On the same trip, a tad to the northwest of Providence, I had another good meal at D'Carlo Trattoria. It's in a little strip mall behind a gas station. Solid northern Italian cuisine and I think they have a brick oven for pizzas. The pizza I had was very good.

D'Carolo Trattoria
970 Douglas Pike (Rte 7)
Smithfield, RI 02917
401-349-4979
http://www.dcarlotrattoria.net/index.html

A few suggestions in this link:

http://www.quahog.org/cuisine/

And here - http://www.roadfood.com/Restaurants/Sea ... longid=105

Thanks everyone, looks lots of good stuff to get me stAAted!!

Coffee milk!

I am NOT a pizza fanatic, but Caserta's pizza was quite simply the best that I have ever had, better than New York or Chicago. It is on Providence's Federal Hill overlooking I-95.

I do not remember the names of the items we had four years ago but the sausage rolls and the folded pizza was excellent.

Caserta Pizzeria
121 Spruce St
Providence, RI 02903
(401) 621-3618

Personally, the best food that I had in the area were the small restaurants and Italian joints that line the main drag of Federal Hill.

Johnson and Wales has a culinary museum on its campus that is worth a visit.

http://www.jwu.edu/content.aspx?id=40194

They also have an inn run by the hospitality students. My wife used to stay there quite often when she audited in that area.

http://www.jwu.edu/content.aspx?id=36144

In nearby New Bedford, MA, are a number of Portuguese restaurants that are worth the drive.

One more thing. Hot dog stands are really "the thing" in the area. The local specialty is a grilled dog with french fries and coffee milk or a coffee shake. We tried a place nearby the large mall which was outstanding and had a staff "with attitude". It was really enjoyable.

I generally keep track of places I visit through my credit card statements. However, since MANY places in New England do NOT accept credit cards, I am weak on the names. If you are the type that hates to head off to the ATM in another city and who generally uses credit cards all the time while travelling, you will want to take about twice as much cash as you usually take.

Providence used to have a very heavy Portuguese presence, I haven't been in years but I remember La Riveria. Sorry not much help.

I reiterate that for pure gluttony, the 3 1/2 lb baked stuffed lobster at Venus De Milo in Swansea should not be missed.

How about a murder burger and coffee milk at Haven Brothers?









The history is probably better than the food. Haven Brothers Diner traces its lineage directly back to a 19th century horse drawn lunch wagon that Anna Haven named for her sons. As it has done every day for well over a century it parks next to City Hall around 5pm and departs before 4am. As you might imagine it's tiny inside—maybe six stools.

Haven Brothers Diner
"A Providence Tradition Since 1888"
Corner of Fulton & Dorrance St
Providence RI
401-861-7777

Rene G wrote:How about a murder burger and coffee milk at Haven Brothers?









The history is probably better than the food. Haven Brothers Diner traces its lineage directly back to a 19th century horse drawn lunch wagon that Anna Haven named for her sons. As it has done every day for well over a century it parks next to City Hall around 5pm and departs before 4am. As you might imagine it's tiny inside—maybe six stools.

Haven Brothers Diner
"A Providence Tradition Since 1888"
Corner of Fulton & Dorrance St
Providence RI
401-861-7777

HAHA!! That was one of my first stops and food hits in RI last week! I just haven't uploaded the pictures yet. Had a double murder & fries.

This place has simply incredible Asian food. Haven't been in a few years and I am forgetting the specific ethnicity-- by no means typically Thai or Vietnamese, far more variety. This is my go-to restaurant in Providence. The decor is diner-like, the neighborhood is off the beaten path and a little down-at-the-heels (or was the last time I was there) but it is worth a trip to Providence just to go there.

Apsara Restaurant
716 Public St
Providence, RI 02907
(401) 785-1490

Judy H wrote:This place has simply incredible Asian food. Haven't been in a few years and I am forgetting the specific ethnicity-- by no means typically Thai or Vietnamese, far more variety. This is my go-to restaurant in Providence. The decor is diner-like, the neighborhood is off the beaten path and a little down-at-the-heels (or was the last time I was there) but it is worth a trip to Providence just to go there.

Apsara Restaurant
716 Public St
Providence, RI 02907
(401) 785-1490

Thank you!! I went last night, simply wonderful food! Huge menu, almost like a Greek familly restaurant, had so many Asian styles and regions. I did a mish-mosh order with a freind, we both loved everything we each ordered.



The fish cakes


Nice crispy American Chinese eggrolls


The hearty seafood soup


Mongolian Beef


Criispy Shrimp

gotta get back to Providence... You just touched the tip of the iceberg at Apsara's, but those photos make me hungry.

The other food I associate with Providence is Portuguese sweet bread, but the place I used to go to had closed the last time I was there.