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Providence Dining Experiences and Reviews


Garris

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Two cents on pizza:

Providence is sorely lacking in just a good old reliable pie. I really like Caserta's, but its not really pizza - more like a donut with sauce on it.

Other than that, I've had alright pizza, but nothing reliable (not even Bob and Timmy's or Pizza Pie-er.) I've tried Sikar, and not that impressed. Sicilia's is awful. Ronzio is plain, though at least pretty cheap.

Damnit, does anyone have a definitive recommendation for really good pizza around here...!?

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I hate to say it, but you guys don't know from bad pizza. You have not had bad pizza until you've been to Flagstaff.

That is all. :whistling:

Urb

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  • 3 weeks later...

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I wanted to keep this thread close to the top, so I decided to post a bit about my recent visit to Pakarang on North Main St in Providence. I took my sister there since she has never had Thai before and wanted to try. Already having once been to Pakarang, I thought it would be a decent, safe introduction.

In short, Pakarang is to Thai food what "India" on Hope is to Indian food. Essentially, a simplified (I was going to say "dumbed down," but the connotation is too negative), fusion-ish take on an ethnic cuisine. It works well as an introduction to the flavors or for people still new to the whole ethnic dining scene.

It won't really prepare you for more authentic (and far better) takes on Thai food at places like Sawaddee on Hope or Thai Star on Chalkstone. Save for Pad Thai, there are no foreign sounding names to be found on the menu and they don't scare the uniniated with things like chopsticks. This is an all silverware affair, although I'm sure you could ask for chopsticks (although that's kind of not the point here). Each menu item is accompanied by exhaustive explanation of what it consists of, so there's no disquieting mystery to the dishes.

The decor is fine, although a touch tacky. Our "Curry Rolls" were fine and perfectly crispy. My sister ordered glass noodle soup, which was fine and tasted fresh, although it was a touch bland. My coconut chicken soup was more powerful, given its sweet (coconut milk) and sour (a touch of lemon juice) combination. The chicken and mushrooms were somewhat sparse, though. My sister got Choo Chee Curry chicken, which was quite nice. Despite her insistance this was "spicy," it was about as much so to me as Diet Dr Pepper, so very mild, in my opinion. My tamarind duck looked somewhat brown and tired, but tasted nicely and had that nice tamarind tart. The duck itself was a bit dry and tough, about what I expected it would be. The best Asian duck I've had in the area by far is Lemi's BBQ in Cranston (has everyone gone to Lemi's yet? No? Well go tomorrow!).

The prices are what you'd expect for mid-level ethnic dining. Service was fine. We didn't have desert. The crowd was otherwise entirely Brown and RISD students, not surprising given the close location to their campuses and its late hours of operation.

As you can tell, this kind of "ethnic cuisine lite" fare doesn't really appeal to me, and I probably won't be back on my own. But if Mom and Dad come into town and are looking to feel like they took a little culinary adventure beyond the usual Appleby's or Gregg's fare, this will be high on the list. The next time, I might even be able to get them to eat at Sawaddee...

- Garris

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I wanted to keep this thread close to the top, so I decided to post a bit about my recent visit to Pakarang on North Main St in Providence.  I took my sister there since she has never had Thai before and wanted to try.  Already having once been to Pakarang, I thought it would be a decent, safe introduction.

The decor is fine, although a touch tacky.  Our "Curry Rolls" were fine and perfectly crispy.  My sister ordered glass noodle soup, which was fine and tasted fresh, although it was a touch bland.  My coconut chicken soup was more powerful, given its sweet (coconut milk) and sour (a touch of lemon juice) combination.  The chicken and mushrooms were somewhat sparse, though.  My sister got Choo Chee Curry chicken, which was quite nice.  Despite her insistance this was "spicy," it was about as much so to me as Diet Dr Pepper, so very mild, in my opinion.  My tamarind  duck looked somewhat brown and tired, but tasted nicely and had that nice tamarind tart.  The duck itself was a bit dry and tough, about what I expected it would be.  The best Asian duck I've had in the area by far is Lemi's BBQ in Cranston (has everyone gone to Lemi's yet?  No? Well go tomorrow!).

check out citysearch.com's description of pakarang's decor... i think they used the term "underwater sea cave", which was our deciding factor when we decided to eat there...

the food wasn't bad, nothing overly "ethnic" in my opinion. definitely american-ized thai food.

i haven't had sawadee, but thai star is my favorite (it's close to where i live and i can call for take out, and leave after i hang up and it's ready when i show up).

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Went to Z Bar Saturday night and for the first time did not have a good experience. The waitress was inexperienced and forgot basic items (like silverware). But I can overlook that, she just needs some experience most likely and was very nice. More disturbing was that 3/4 meals came odd luke warm and were average at best. Plus, the place was mostly empty, and in the past it has always been hopping. So much for impressing my out of town friends with a great Providence meal :( Maybe the small crowd had to do with the food in general going down hill recently. Anyone else have a similar experience recently. It is too bad really, because Z Bar is/was one of my favorite places...

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Went to Z Bar Saturday night...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

I went to Z Bar at the beginning of the summer when it was just getting warm enough to eat outside. The service was OK, not bad, but nothing to write home about. The meal was good, not fantastic. What was bad, is I sent my beer back twice because the glass tasted of soap. And the third beer I got still tasted like soap.

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Went to Z Bar Saturday night and for the first time did not have a good experience... <snip> So much for impressing my out of town friends with a great Providence meal  :(...<snip>  Anyone else have a similar experience recently. It is too bad really, because Z Bar is/was one of my favorite places...

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Odd experience. My few times at Z Bar, it's been packed. Still, if you were looking to impress out of towners with a great Providence meal, I'm not sure Z Bar would have been my first choice anyway...

Garris.. what do you like at Lemi's besides the duck? I've been there twice.. had the duck the first time (Very good), but had something else the second time and didnt really like.

To be honest, I've enjoyed most everything. The BBQ selections are what I usually get, although I have found all of their appetizers to be excellent (I especially like the scallion pancakes). I also often get their specials, which change. My sister has gotten many of the Americanized selections, which I've found to be much lighter and more tolerable than the usual Americanized chinese found in RI. Their General Tso's chicken and their Chicken Chow Fun I recall both being very tasty in that category...

- Garris

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Still, if you were looking to impress out of towners with a great Providence meal, I'm not sure Z Bar would have been my first choice anyway...

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True, not the place I would choose for a "great meal", but they have somewhat reasonable prices with a good atmosphere, which was a consideration. I find that Providence has a bunch of great yet pricey restaurants, but lacks mid-level places (Oak, maybe 3 steeple, a couple on Thayer, any other recommendations?)

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True, not the place I would choose for a "great meal", but they have somewhat reasonable prices with a good atmosphere, which was a consideration. I find that Providence has a bunch of great yet pricey restaurants, but lacks mid-level places (Oak, maybe 3 steeple, a couple on Thayer, any other recommendations?)

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it depends on what you're looking for for mid-level. cassarinos, while italian, is definitely mid-level (and i'd say on the lower end of mid-level). it's the best italian food i've had anywhere. paragon on thayer also isn't overly pricey and has pretty good food. it really depends on what you're looking for, but it's there. the bombay club has pretty good indian food and the prices aren't too bad. pakarang is decent american-ized thai, nothing special, but it's not bad and the prices are reasonable. what sort of food are you looking for? also, you only mentioned places on the east side. there's a whole other world on the other side of the river... :P

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it depends on what you're looking for for mid-level.  cassarinos, while italian, is definitely mid-level (and i'd say on the lower end of mid-level).  it's the best italian food i've had anywhere.  paragon on thayer also isn't overly pricey and has pretty good food.  it really depends on what you're looking for, but it's there.  the bombay club has pretty good indian food and the prices aren't too bad.  pakarang is decent american-ized thai, nothing special, but it's not bad and the prices are reasonable.  what sort of food are you looking for?  also, you only mentioned places on the east side.  there's a whole other world on the other side of the river...  :P

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Guess I am looking for a combination of a scene and good food at $15-$20. Paragon/Viva and Kartabar on Thayer are some examples (as you said). I am definitely guility of not getting to the othe side of the river. Do tell...

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Guess I am looking for a combination of a scene and good food at $15-$20. Paragon/Viva and Kartabar on Thayer are some examples (as you said). I am definitely guility of not getting to the othe side of the river. Do tell...

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

well, there's more "scene" on the east side because of the younger crowd. but for good food for $15-20 per entree... like i said, cassarino's on atwells is the best italian in the city and reasonably priced and you'll have lunch and dinner for the following day wtih your leftovers (unless you force it all down like i did once... what a mistake).

for good thai in the same price range (actually slightly cheaper, more like $10-18), there's thai star on chalkstone. definitely no scene there, but the food is incredible. decent indian for the same price, there's the bombay club on dean st, right near atwells. i don't usually venture downtown to eat, so i don't know much about the places there.

what's everyone's opinion of tortilla flats on hope? i ate there once and i thought it was really good, even though it wasn't all that authentic. but there was a lot of talk on craigslist about how it's awful.

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Geppetto's in Depasquale Plaza is good and affordable. I've been going there rather frequently lately.

Silantro on Weybosset across from the J&W Library is execellent, and affordable, though you must like silantro as their rice is infused with it and all of their dishes feature rice. It's BYOB/W.

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True, not the place I would choose for a "great meal", but they have somewhat reasonable prices with a good atmosphere, which was a consideration. I find that Providence has a bunch of great yet pricey restaurants, but lacks mid-level places (Oak, maybe 3 steeple, a couple on Thayer, any other recommendations?)

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Quite true... We don't have enough mid-level. Lets see...

Oak

3 Steeple

I'd add Adesso on Thayer

Maybe Paragon on Thayer?

Twist in Wayland Square

Red Stripe in Wayland Square

Haruki in Wayland Sq

Rachel's Pastanova on Hope

Maybe Downcity on Weybosset, although this is straddling between mid and high...

Hum, that's all I can think of right now... I'll have to add more later...

- Garris

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Quite true...  We don't have enough mid-level.  Lets see...

Oak

3 Steeple

I'd add Adesso on Thayer

Maybe Paragon on Thayer?

Twist in Wayland Square

Red Stripe in Wayland Square

Haruki in Wayland Sq

Rachel's Pastanova on Hope

Maybe Downcity on Weybosset, although this is straddling between mid and high...

Hum, that's all I can think of right now...  I'll have to add more later...

- Garris

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Thanks, Garris. Will have to get over to Wayland Square and knock at least three off that list soon.

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Thanks, Garris. Will have to get over to Wayland Square and knock at least three off that list soon.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Twist in Wayland Square is excellent! and reasonably priced. Good mojitos...

Tortilla Flats is awful. Fine for drinks, but I find the food leaves much, much to be desired. There are many better options for tex-mex.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I stopped off at Cafe Angelrose (Korean) for lunch on Federal Hill the other day...

Not bad. My lunch (the BBQ chicken) with a kimche side, rice, and soup was decent. I took my lunch as takeout. I thought it was a wee overpriced for the portion size, though...

The menu is somewhat limited (I think they had 6 or 7 total items), even for a lunch cafe. And while I realize that they need to translate their dishes into more generic english descriptions for those who don't know Korean food, the descriptions are generic to the point of really not knowing what the dishes are (mine was literally listed, I think, as BBQ chicken in our special sauce with rice, soup, and side... Not very helpful to know what you're getting).

If you're in the area (as I was that day and will be quite frequently), I'd go back and probably will, but for a Korean craving, I'd vastly prefer Yuni's Cafe on Wickenden for lunch and Sun and Moon on Warren in East Providence for dinner.

- Garris

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I stopped off at Cafe Angelrose (Korean) for lunch on Federal Hill the other day...

Not bad. My lunch (the BBQ chicken) with a kimche side, rice, and soup was decent. I took my lunch as takeout. I thought it was a wee overpriced for the portion size, though...

The menu is somewhat limited (I think they had 6 or 7 total items), even for a lunch cafe. And while I realize that they need to translate their dishes into more generic english descriptions for those who don't know Korean food, the descriptions are generic to the point of really not knowing what the dishes are (mine was literally listed, I think, as BBQ chicken in our special sauce with rice, soup, and side... Not very helpful to know what you're getting).

If you're in the area (as I was that day and will be quite frequently), I'd go back and probably will, but for a Korean craving, I'd vastly prefer Yuni's Cafe on Wickenden for lunch and Sun and Moon on Warren in East Providence for dinner.

- Garris

Your quite the connoisseur! :)

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