Restaurants
 
 
One of the charms of Providence, despite its Colonial history,
it has never been pretentious. Questioned what makes her acclaimed
restaurant at 99 Hope Street, La Rue de l'Espoire, special, Deborah
Norman, the owner replies, "We're the only white tablecloth
restaurant in town that serves three meals a day, seven days a week." Our
server, Sabriea Periquito, asked why she became a waitress, similarly
smiles and replies, "My family had a diner." They don't
take themselves too seriously in Providence and that's refreshing.
Gianfranco Marrocco's restaurant, Mediterraneo, at 134 Atwells Avenue,
is one of the only two AAA 4-Star restaurants in town yet its magnificent
dishes (try the lobster ravioli) are relatively inexpensive and served
in a simple setting.
  
  
You can't go wrong in any of the 40 Italian restaurants on Federal Hill along
the mile of Atwells Avenue that constitutes "one of the five best Little
Italys in the United States." The penne with pink vodka sauce at Geppetto's
Grille on Depasquale Square surely satisfies your hunger after walking the mile
-- and around the corner from it bustles Costantino's Venda Ravioli. The Venda
market is always busy and the staff, if harassed, can be short but customers
sometimes have the pleasure while waiting to sample Sauce on the Side, the creation
of entrepreneurs Linda Kane and Aimee Fontaine.
Other dining suggestions might include pizza at the simple Grille
on Main Street, East Greenwich, and nearby in Warwick, lunch at
the family-friendly Remington House in the home of a Revolutionary
War soldier who built the house in 1801. If you can find it, dining
at CAV is an experience. It's on Basset Street in the Jewelry District,
vaguely near the Providence/Newport Ferry dock. CAV stands for
cocktails, antiques and victuals. You can drink or eat (try the
scallops) in a hip, swank place surrounded by as eclectic an array
of art you've ever seen in a restaurant. It's been called "One
of the 300 unique places in the United States by Detail magazine; "The
pick of New England" by Yankee magazine and "One
of the best five in Providence" by The New York Times.
Everything on display is for sale except three chandeliers and
a French sleigh that also hangs from the ceiling.
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