Providence RI Restaurants

[Chris Amirault]

Again at Ebisu, and while we had a small problem with chicken wings (removed from the check, I'm glad to say), another good meal. With my 11 year old daughter, who loves those tuna tostadas, also got the squid, eggplant, and that amazing ebi wonton soup.

[kkeym]

Not quite Providence, but in Rhode Island...

Le Central in Bristol is doing what they call "stimulus dinners" for 3 Wednesdays in September -- went tonight and had a very good dinner. The deal is a set menu of 3 courses with 2 wine pairings, different each week for $20.09 per person. Tonight started with heirloom tomato salald with Hannahbell cheese toasts, delicisious with a nice spicy arugula, paired with a 2008 domaine houchart rose. Next course was duck and portobello shepherd's pie -- wonderful and just right for the chill in the air. Paired with 2008 maipe malbec that was so good we ordered another bottle for our table of 6. Third course was caramel pineapple crepes -- very good if a little sweet for my tastes. Well cooked, lovely presentation.

If anyone is interested, they're doing it for the next 2 wednesdays (sadly, I can't make either one).

[brsaideman]

We're Philadelphians who visit Providence a few times a year. For breakfast/brunch we like Brickway on Wickenden, Rue de l'Espoir, Julian's and Nick's on Broadway. We usually hit each one whenever we come (which we're doing tomorrow).

[Chris Amirault]

Rose Garden on Rt 2 in Cranston is serving up some fine Khmer grub right now....

[Curlz]

My boss and a co-worker will be in Providence next week and need to grab lunch in between meetings at Brown and RI College...there is a slight chance that a client will end up going to lunch with them. They don't want or need anything super-upscaled, but is Brickway too casual? Do you know anything about Z Bar & Grille? Any other suggestions for an easy in/out (is parking a concern in that area?) lunch that could turn in to a working one? Based on the maps, I thought it best to get them off the Brown campus and headed over towards RIC, but tell me if that's a bad idea.

I think we need a fairly straightforward spot; salads, sandwiches, soups, etc.

Thanks in advance for any suggestions!

Curlz

[Chris Amirault]

I happen to think that Brickway is quite bad, especially at lunch, and Z is just ok, as are most/all of the Wickenden options. The area around RIC doesn't hold much, either.

Given your "straightforward" needs, I'd hit Rue de L'Espoir on (duh) Hope Street, just up from Wickenden (and down the street from my school!). Not perfect, but nails all the stuff you mention.

[Curlz]

Terrific. Thanks for the quick reply, Chris!

[feedmec00kies]

A little last minute, but I'm heading to Providence tomorrow for a conference Wednesday through Friday. I looked over posts from mid-2007 and later on here, but was wondering about current recommendations. I'll be staying near the Rhode Island Convention Center. I'm going to need lunch and dinner. I noted recommendations for the following:

• Murphy's Deli and Bar (near the Convention Center and on the cheaper end)
  
• Gracie's (Seems highly recommended)
  
• Local 121 (Noted that it was described as inconsistent in the past, but no updates)
  

I was wondering if there was anything else nearby/easy to get to that is known to be solid/good and inexpensive to moderately priced, both for lunch and dinner. I'll probably be dining alone, and I'm an adventurous eater, so offal or new cuisines are not a problem. I won't have a car, unfortunately, so I had to rule out the pho and korean recommendations I saw. Also, so how "walkable"/transit-able is this area for a New Yorker?

Thanks in advance!

[Chris Amirault]

The downtown area is wee and very walkable. You can get to Federal Hill as well if you don't mind crossing I-95 on an overpass.

Using your criteria, I think that the best downtown option for lunch is takeaway at Farmstead, a renowned cheese shop that has an outpost on Westminster with outstanding sandwiches; eGullet Society member Matt Jennings owns and ops. I don't think anything else downtown comes close.

For dinner, you might be able to put together a cheaper meal at Bacaro (small plate Italian) than at Gracie's, but not by much. For good grub in a relaxed environment you can check out Thee Red Fez (49 Pike St), which is quite a bit cheaper than either Gracie's or Bacaro. If you don't like tattoos and loud music, though, you might want to go somewhere else.

[rad1964]

I grew up in CT and right before I moved to CA we started a routine that to this day we still practice and that is going to Nordic Lodge in Charleston RI. (formerly Custy's) Right now the price is a whopping $82 / person! But like I said no trip back East was worthy without a visit to Nordic Lodge! 35 miles from Providence seems like such a short distance to indulge yourself! Nordic Lodge

I reccomend you have a friend drive, because leaving that place is like being on heroin (not that I know from experience)but you will want to take a nap for sure. ha-ha.

Rad

[Chris Amirault]

A favorite stop of bus tours heading to Mohegan Sun, Nordic Lodge is an all-you-can-eat joint that slaps steaks and lobsters on your table until you burst like Mr. Creosote in "Monty Python's Meaning of Life." Of all the non-chain places to eat in RI, Nordic Lodge is pretty close to the last place I'd send someone. (Twin Oaks is probably last.)

[John Rosevear]

Ah, but 40 years ago (before the fire), Twin Oaks was still a big deal in certain crowds -- my grandfather, a retired East Providence cop, loved that dump and used to talk about it as if it were the epitome of fine dining. (My parents, on the other hand, chose to schlep to Boston when actual fine dining was required -- this was before the Providence renaissance, when "fine dining" downtown meant Pot au Feu... or something like Ming Garden et al.) I haven't been in there in many years but I'm almost curious to see how awful it is nowadays.

Nordic Lodge, on the other hand, not so much.

[TimS]

Unfortunately, Twin Oaks is still considered by many to be 'fine dining'. One visit as a guest of my boss was enough to convince me that I'll never go back. He thought it was fabulous.

[Chris Amirault]

I've had many, many fantastic things at Cook & Brown Public House -- where (full disclosure) I'm on the bartending team -- and urge anyone interested in great food and drink to stop by. If you want a cocktail made by yours truly, stop by on Tuesday nights.

Tonight we decided to explore eateries in our new suburban neighborhood (Coventry/West Warwick). So it was evening dim sum at Silver Crystal (289 Cowesett Ave, West Warwick) -- which was pretty darned good. We'll have to select carefully: the har gaw, baby bok choy, and lotus leaf rice were the standouts, but there were some weak notes. Thankfully, the misses were mostly 5-year-old fare, like crab rangoon and scallion pancakes.

[Dryden]

I guess this is primarily a question for Chris, but if any other egulleteer want to weigh in... We're planning to be in boston for a few days in late August, and thought it would be nice to stop into Providence for a day to see the town, so planning to come in right after breakfast, have lunch in or near Providence, and then maybe grab a takeout dinner to eat on the way back to New York... but the day we will be there is Sunday, so it seems a lot of choices (Farmstead, unfortunately) won't be open...

In general, just looking for local/regional, price not a concern, and we'll have a car. Any suggestions? Having just said that, Minh Hai sounds pretty good of the choices that I've seen so far, but would love some more insight. If it helps, we're planning to hit Craigie on Main, TW Food, and B&G Oysters while we're in Boston.

Thanks!

[Chris Amirault]

Sunday most places at "lunchtime" are serving brunch. The quality favorites are Cook & Brown (where I work -- disclaimer), Nick's on Broadway (expect a titanic line), Julian's, and a few other places. You can also get extremely good dim sum at Lucky Garden in North Providence, and Minh Hai is a great bet too. but I'm not sure how local etc. that is.

[Dryden]

Is it more of a gastropubby brunch, or regular american stuff? Since my wife is Chinese and we're from new york, I'm thinking we're setting ourselves up to be disappointed with dim sum...

Any good takeaway food places for an early dinner you know of?

[Chris Amirault]

You want C&B or Nick's then for brunch. Both have high quality, locally sourced ingredients, and both feature those in their brunch menus.

Tell me what "takeaway dinner" means. That's gonna be tricky...!

[Dryden]

Basically, my wife will be taking the train back to New York with our son while I continue on with the car for work. So they're catching an Amtrak that gets into New York around 7 PM, and it would be good if they could eat something for dinner on the train that's, well, better than train food... :-)

[Chris Amirault]

You could hit any of a number of SE Asian markets for lort (ground pork and taro rolls), pad Thai, steamed bao, and more. If you're interested, go to Trinity Square on Broad St (where it joins with Elmwood) and hit the Mekong Market or the place across the street next to Pho Paradise. The same few women make all of those things and sell them at different shops in town.

You could also go to Meeting Street Cafe on Thayer Street for good sandwiches and massive cookies.

I'll keep thinking....

[vice]

Well, it's about time for my biannual 'What's new in the RI food scene?' post. I'll be back next week.

- Chris A, I'll save you the disclaimer - I hope to make at least one trip to Cook & Brown. You're there Tuesdays?

- I just saw that La Laiterie is doing a small chef's tasting now. Anyone tried it yet?

Anything else that's below the radar but not to be missed?

[Chris Amirault]

Yes, Tuesdays.

Matt and Ben are doing a lot of interesting stuff at La Laiterie these days. They just got a Beard House gig.

One note: the terrific Joe Hafner is no longer at Gracie's, which is a true loss. I don't know what else is happening there.

I'm always happy at Chez Pascal, and at their hot dog cart in Lippit Park, and at the food truck. I had a good but not great meal at New Rivers Monday night, but, well, it was Monday night.

[xxchef]

What a great thread. Chris - you're an awesome resource!

I am amazed at how the Providence food scene has "grown up" since I went to college in the late 70's-early 80's. Wow! As a very busy and penny-pinching student I rarely went to any decent restaurants. A couple of good, solid Family Italian places on the south side, a Greek place near Brown U when my folks came to town. I was more likely to visit a really dark and dirty early morning bar on Friendship (I think) that served huge and cheap Dagwood sub sandwiches that I still remember; or maybe Haven Brothers' trailer after getting off work in the wee hours of the morning. Jeez, Is Haven Bros still around? What an institution that was (is)!

Thanks for the great posts.

[Chris Amirault]

Thanks, xxchef. I try to stay on top of things, and now that my wife is out of grad school and has a nice job, we are able to get to places that, for a while, were off our radar. In addition, working at one of the excellent restaurants in town, I get some heretofore unavailable scuttlebutt.

Haven Brothers are still around and still producing food that is good only at 2a when you're snookered.

The Greek place on Thayer Street is Andrea's. Still there, astonishingly.

Your Dagwood may have come from the Sandwich Hut on North Main St, which is still there and still outstanding. I had an Al Italia sub yesterday, in fact, for lunch!

As for family Italian red sauce joints, I'm still partial to Mike's in the VFW hall in Cranston and, of course, Angelo’s Civita Farnese. Model train is still there....

[vice]

Thanks, Chris. Chez Pascal is always on my short list, and yet, somehow often falls by the wayside (haven't been in years). I'll fix that this time around.