217 replies to this topic

[Chris Amirault]

Thanks, Erin, for bumping this up. I'll start by linking to my post on Persimmon, which is Champe Speidel's new place in Bristol. He was the one who put Gracie's on the map, btw.

I have to agree with Sun and Moon, which we also love. (If any of you see a couple with a little baby there, introduce yourself -- it's us!)

You mentioned not liking India and Ran Zan; I urge you to try Kabob n Curry on Thayer St (which I like very much) and Haruki (one in Wayland Square in Prov and one on Rt 5 in Cranston) for Indian and Japanese, respectively.

What have you been having at Al Forno? You aren't the only one who feels it's gone down hill, certainly, but I have had some great stuff there recently. The midnight tagliatelle was fantastic, and their pizza and antipasti are great.

Finally, the best of the best: Have you been to Lucky Garden in North Providence for dim sum?

[ErinB]

Underwhelmed by Kabob and Curry. I thought the food was bland. I liked the place on Wickenden the best. It was good, but not great, imo.

Haven't been to Lucky Garden, but will.

Al Forno: had the polenta lasagne the last time I was there. More and more, I'm judging places on cost relative to the food. The food is good, not great, and relative to the cost, and constant crowds, not really worth it. Maybe for dessert and pizza though.

What's in the tagliatelli?

[OwnReward]

Forgot to mention, I've also been to New Rivers, this was a few months ago for New Years and it was great.

I also want to go to Gracie's, but the menu seems pretty typical to me, so it's not at the top of my list.  Also, they just moved.

I'm always amazed that in discussions of great restaurants in PVD, I almost never see mention of Rest. Pizzico on Hope street...I've had excellent meals there, great wines and excellent service. I wonder if many think their menu is pizza-based because of the name... meal stand outs include a mushroom risotto ( as the Supreme being intended it to taste) and an artichoke soup ....

Ran Zan and Haruki/Wayland are my favorites for sushi, with Sakura as a close third; I was very disapointed in Oki in N. Providence (I've never before had to send back ikura because it wasn't fresh).

Cafe Nuovo is a perrenial favorite, especially now that RI is smoke free in all restaurants.

The Gate House was dissapointing... I thought their menu was dated....XO cafe was pretty good, with their Truffle French Fries worth the entire cost of dinner...

Has anyone eaten at the new L'epicureo? Opinions?

Cheers
KV

[ErinB]

Cafe Nuovo? Tell me more about it. I haven't heard of it.

[OwnReward]

Cafe Nuovo? Tell me more about it.  I haven't heard of it.

Downtown, in the Citizen's Bank building...right on the river...very creative, also on the expensive side, especially with wine/cocktails... their creme brulee presentation is one of the most dramatic I've seen...the ambience is a bit on the loud side, but if you are there mid week (and not on a Waterfire night), you can actually enjoy yourself...Cafe Nuovo is a sister restaurant to Cappriccio's...Last birthday, it was my place of choice... Amng other things, I remember an excellent fois gras appetizer...

KV

[ErinB]

On friday night, I had an excellent dinner at Nick's on Broadway. They only do dinner on Friday's and it is a prix fixe $40. Also, it is BYOB.

It's a small menu. You have a choice between 3 appetizers, 3 entrees, 3 desserts.

On the friday I went here was the menu:

Appetizers:

Mixed Green Salad with goat chees and duck
Zucchini Soup
Some sort of pasta dish (I forget what was in this)

Dinner

Pork chop with chive polenta
Tofu and Vegetable Curry
Salmon with roasted peppers in broth

Dessert

Blueberry Bread pudding
Strawberry Granita
Cherry Parfait


That's the menu as far as best as I can remember. We tried everything except the salad, tofu, and cherry parfait. The chef, Derek uses fresh ingredients and top quality meat. If you haven't been to nick's, the kitchen is completely open, so you can see all the food prep behind the counter.

[afn33282]

The best Thai I ever had outside of Bangkok (two years) was in Providence, on the south side, past a huge cemetary, beside, kind of behind asian grocery store. They had outdoor tables with a koi fountain outside. I will mapquest it and figure it out, unless somebody can name it first. Hope this isn't a tease!

[ErinB]

Since my last post, I've been to a few new places. I've decided after trying every indian restaurant in Providence, that my favorite is Not Just Snacks on hope st. The food is very spicy, but it is my favorite of all of the indian places.

[Chris Amirault]

JLam and I have been chatting on PM, and he wrote up this paean to East Providence; when I asked him if I could share it with y'all, he concurred:

I used to regularly eat at the Coney Island System on the corner of Taunton Ave. and Vine St., across from Sacred Heart School (I went to that school and used to go get weiners after school.) I actually like them better than the ones on Smith Hill.

You mentioned in the blog the Asiana market and the Korean restaurant across the street. I grew up right around the corner from there, but I only went into Asiana once. My dad took me in there as a kid (this was probably 20 years ago) and all I remember about the place was that it smelled like something had died in there. It was enough to turn me off from ever going in there again. Looks like I was missing out. The Korean restaurant across the street is new to me. It wasn't there when I moved away. It used to be a greasy spoon called "Denny's" (but it wasn't the chain...just a place named Denny's.) I used to walk by it to and from school and NEVER saw anyone in there. It looked pretty gross. Nice to see it's been put to good use.

A few more things stick out. One was Morning Star Bakery, a nice little Portugese bakery at 1106 S. Broadway (195 to exit 5, left on Warren Ave, right on Broadway). They always had great Portugese pastries and breads. Definitely worth checking out. There's also a pretty decent market across the street called Gaipo's at 1075 S. Broadway.

Madeira Restaurant and Solmar Restaurant, both on Warren Ave., have authentic Portugese cuisine that I remember being very good, though I haven't been to either in about 10 years, so I have no idea what they're like now (hopefully the same).

Mama Julia's on N. Phillips St. is a little hole in the wall that's in the basement of some sort of meeting hall, but they have some very good home cooked Italian food. It's small and cozy. My mom and stepdad are regulars there. They love it. It's very much a hidden gem. Nothing fancy, just good hearty food.

There's a Crugnale bakery in Rumford that sells those pizza strips that I used to LOVE. But I believe there are Crugnales all over the place. One in Providence and one in Cranston I believe. If you've never had a Crugnale pizza strip, you're in for a treat. It's nothing like real pizza, more like bread with a very thick red sauce on top, but it's one of my favorite favorite favorite RI foods. So good.

Also, don't forget Miller's Roast Beef on the corner of Warren Ave. and Pawtucket Ave. Best roast beef sandwich ever. I used to go there all the time.

And I don't know if you've ever been to one of the "feasts" that are held by local Portugese churches during the summer, but if you've never been, you're missing one of the great sloppy sandwiches of all time. You may have had them before, so bear with me if I'm telling you something you already know. They're called Cacoila (pronounced "Ka-SER-la"), and it's basically pork blade meat that's slow cooked in wine and spices. I have no idea what the wine and spices are, and every downloaded recipe I've tried doesn't even come close. The meat is absolutely spectacular, though. The best pork meat I've ever had. The kicker is that you can usually only get it at these church feasts, because as far as I know it's only cooked by these little old, fat, Portugese ladies. I'm not a churchgoing or religious person at all, but this stuff is good enough to make even me find my way to a church--and if there's a heaven I'm sure they're serving Cacoila sandwiches. 2 places I know you'll be able to get it are at the Sacred Heart Church feast and the St. Francis Church feast. You'll have to contact the churches to find out when the feasts are, though my mom is a teacher at Sacred Heart, so if I hear anything from her I'll pass it along.

Wow. All I thought of when I first started writing this was Morning Star bakery, but then a bunch of memories started coming back. EP isn't known for its culinary finds, but there are a few gems here and there. Enjoy!

[ChowPlow]

I'm surprised that I don't see more favorable remarks about Camille's in Federal Hill. Yeah, it's fairly expensive, but have never been disappointed there.

Great mix of classic italian done superbly (scungilli, eg.) and new items such as their raw tuna appetizer (forget the name but ceviche sytle with lime).

[ChowPlow]

Any other folks been to DeWolfe Tavern next to Bristol Harbor Inn around the corner from Persimmons in Bristol, RI.

Ate there once and it was excellent. Husband and wife chefs from NYC.

Hope it's still going.

[OwnReward]

Any other folks been to DeWolfe Tavern next to Bristol Harbor Inn around the corner from Persimmons in Bristol, RI.

Ate there once and it was excellent. Husband and wife chefs from NYC.

Hope it's still going.

They are great people!... I haven;t made it over there to eat yet...I did a bit of work with them while they were developing the restaurant...

They also recenlty had a small blurb in an issue of Food & Wine... I can't remember which one-- probably December or November

KV

[Chris Amirault]

A quick plug for Lemi's Chinese BBQ, 38 Pontiac Ave (just north of Rt. 10/Park Ave and off of Reservoir Ave/Rt 2, across from Ocean State Job Lot Plaza). I got some very good takeout duck and char siu there, and they had run out of good looking ribs. Still had a couple of pig heads, though.

[menton1]

One of the best restaurants in Providence that consistently flies "under the radar" is New Rivers a lovely New American-style bistro in downtown. The food is prepared with care and creativity, and only fresh and, whenever possible, local ingredients are used. They have arrangements with small, local farmers whose growing methods and quality control have passed their muster.

They have smaller-size entree selections, as well as larger plates, depending on your appetite and budget. The place consists of two very cozy rooms, and the service is friendly and efficient. A recent wonderful meal there included a Tapenade appetizer (French olive spread) , Udon Noodles with Shrimp, and Roast Pork Loin. Nice wine list with selections by the glass as well.

New Rivers
7 Steeple Street

401-751-0350

Edited to add website: http://www.newrivers....com/index.html

Edited by menton1, 28 January 2006 - 03:22 PM.

[ErinB]

I just had dim sum this weekend at Lucky Garden and it was excellent. And very cheap, our meal came out to be $10 per person. Our favorite dishes were the various dumplings (pork and vegetable) and the sesame balls.

They had fresh egg tarts which were also pretty good. We're definitely going back.

For good neighborhood pizza, we just tried Gourmet on hope which was pretty good, similiar to Bob and Timmy's pizza, but on the east side.

I also went to Neath's for new years and was underwhelmed. Really liked the cocktails and appetizers we had. But the entrees were only ok. My entree was tuna and the sauce they had on it was too much.

I also want to second previous comments about New Rivers. If i want to have a nice meal in Providence, New Rivers is the place I go.

Next I'm going to try exploring some of the mexican places in Central Falls and surrounding area, if anyone has any suggestions.

[Chris Amirault]

Good luck with the Mexican search. El Sombrero in CF is closed now, I believe. Mexico is so-so, Tortilla Flats sucks, and Don Tequila's is decent and horribly over-priced. There's a good new place on Manton Ave that we've only been to once, can't think of the name. Prepare to be underwhelmed at all.

[OwnReward]

Good luck with the Mexican search. El Sombrero in CF is closed now, I believe. Mexico is so-so, Tortilla Flats sucks, and Don Tequila's is decent and horribly over-priced. There's a good new place on Manton Ave that we've only been to once, can't think of the name. Prepare to be underwhelmed at all.

There is something in the works on Newport Ave in EPRov/Rumford...The handwritten sign says "Coming soon Mexican Restaurant"... of course, that's what it has said since Thanksgiving...

KV

[ErinB]

I had one of the worst restaurant experiences of my life last week, at the Red Stripe in Wayland Square, a moderately priced casual place with a french brasserie type menu.

I had always been curious to go here, but it is always packed. We decided to go on a Sunday at 5pm, to avoid the crowd. We walked in and the restaurant was about half-way filled. We were greeted by a man saying "Do you have a reservation?" When we said no, he made a face, and then with what seemed to be too much effort for him, found a table for us to sit at. He told the waitress what table, but didn't even acknowledge us at all.

We proceeded to sit down, in an area that was a pretty small space, with a table of 4 next to us.

Then, we met our waiter. We asked what kind of beer they had on tap. His response was "We don't have any beer on tap, but we have every kind by the bottle." We then proceeded to ask for about 3 beers that they didn't have, and then he finally started listing what they did have, which wasn't a very expansive selection. Maybe, he just assumed he didn't need to list the beers because it was two women.

We ordered our meals, and the food and service at that point was fine. The food was decent, nothing above average.

Then the final straw. We were about halfway done with our meal, and the table next to us leaves. The waiters separate the tables next to us to make room for two parties of two. Our waiter, warns us in advance saying "There's not really room for 3 tables here, but sorry, we have to do it." We got the check as quickly as possible and left.

The whole experience was really surprising to me, but I guess the place is so busy all of the time, they don't care too much about service. I subsequently found out that the man at the entrance who was seating customers was the owner. Needless to say, we won't be going back here anytime soon.

[Chris Amirault]

Well, that really sucks. I've been twice and had two great meals there. Having said that, I can totally imagine this scenario: they want to turn those tables and have the cattle lining up to do it. They even have a waiting room across the street (Starbucks).

... sigh ... This depresses me.

[Jack Rose]

Chris, this is one of the newer restaurants that you mentioned and unfortunate to hear about its lack of decorum or service. Admittingly, I have never been there or experienced Red Stripe myself, but truly am not surprised by this.

You can change the name, location, and city but the formula still fits. When are restauranteurs going to understand that a postive, pleasant, and welcoming demeanor will take one much further and garnish more success than the more common and ubiquitous sneer of disdain and rudeness. Even if a hot new restaurant packs them in night after night, a city's populace will eventually catch on and word of mouth spreads. Horrible service and attitude will keep customers away, even if the food is exemplary.

At first I was excited to hear that about the Red Stripe and had considered checking it out next time I am down in Providence, now I am not so sure.

[Chris Amirault]

We were back this week and had some great cheap food (hanger steak sandwich, a big burger). I also like their Les Heretiques $5 red. But, man, the service sucked. The fact is that they're so busy they can get away with it. They were packed on Monday at 7.

[ErinB]

Just had a great meal at New Rivers last night. Highlights were a carrot and ginger tortacelli with sunchokes and sausage. All of the flavors and textures in the dish mingled together perfectly. This was on the "lighter fare" portion of the menu.

Also, the desert I had was a pistachio ice cream with a apricot compote and a black sesame tuile/sugar cookie. Really interesting and unique combo of flavors. Was excellent.

It was my favorite meal there so far, I've been there 3 times, partially due to the fact that it wasn't completely packed. It was very nice to go there on a monday night, and the restaurant still was bustling with people.

[Tonyy13]

Any news on the restaurant that supposedly occupied the old Empire space for a few weeks, I guess it was called Bravo? I heard through the grapevine that it was only open for three weeks ? My source of this info was biased, so I figured that I would do some digging........

[Chris Amirault]

Bravo Brasserie (123 Empire St., Providence, 490-5112) is still open -- just called to check. My partner said it was mediocre, but, then again, it's name is "Bravo," so I don't think we're expecting too much more than noshes for the pre- and post-dinner crowd. They're doing lunch, clearly, too.

[CiriloE]

I just had dim sum this weekend at Lucky Garden and it was excellent.  And very cheap, our meal came out to be $10 per person.  Our favorite dishes were the various dumplings (pork and vegetable) and the sesame balls. 

I also want to second previous comments about New Rivers.  If i want to have a nice meal in Providence, New Rivers is the place I go. 

Next I'm going to try exploring some of the mexican places in Central Falls and surrounding area, if anyone has any suggestions.

Erin,

We drive to Providence every two months and so far have limited our dinner selections to New Rivers , Rue De L'espoir and Haruki as they have consistently given us very good dining experiences. We like Rue a lot as it is less than 5 minutes walking distance from daughter. What is your experince with Rue De L'espoir? Where is Lucky Garden? We may go there for brunch this weekend as recommended.

Thank you,
Cirilo

[Chris Amirault]

Lucky Garden is on Rt 44/Smith Street in North Providence, in a small strip mall at the base of a hill. If you hit Salvation Army on your way north, you've gone too far! It's worth the trip, trust me; click here for a meal there during my foodblog.

[ErinB]

CiriloE, I have not been to Rue. I actually pick up take out Thai quite a bit from Sawaddee, right near there.

I've checked out the menu while I've walked by, and it hasn't been compelling enough for me to go.

The one place I haven't tried in Providence that I really do want to try is Chez Pascal. Has anyone been recently?

[newsbabe]

Has anyone tried Kartabar on Thayer Street? I haven't been in some time. While I liked the atmosphere -- and the place was jammed, I was a little wary that the prices were so low. I know that can be considered a good thing, but I wondered about the quality of the food. Anyone have experience at this place, and would you recommend it? What's the reputation?

[Chris Amirault]

I've been a couple of times, and it's pretty interesting bar food. Last time was a while ago. Do they still have mezze plates?

[BryanZ]

I’m looking to go to Lucky Garden sometime in the near future. Coming from college hill, do any of you know if there are any RIPTA stops, or any other forms of public transportation within walking distance of the restaurant?