OT - City of Providence, RI

[8893]

Agree that NH is the better comparison. Hartford has screwed up just about every major decision in the last 30 years. More below.

New Haven has a clear edge, IMO, in both "ethnic" food and fine dining. Nothing in Providence can touch ULC, Zinc, Caseus etc . . . . What NH needs is a take out lunch place like East Side Pockets on Thayer St. I almost never miss a chance for a Gyro pocket with the works . . .

I don't know East Side Pockets, but if you want decent ethnic take out at a decent price New Haven does have a few newer and/or lesser-known options. Sababa! (yes, "!" is part of the name) on Whitney near Grove (next to Anna Liffey's, where Whole Enchilada used to be) is one of the newest entries, and it has really inexpensive Middle Eastern food, including Shawarma, which I find pretty much interchangeable with gyros. Also try Mediterranea on Orange near Chapel, which is a little less convenient, but a little better imo. For gyros, Town Pizza and Clark's both serve decent ones, for eat-in or take-out. The same people who opened Sababa! (and who also own Mickey's in Hamden) recently opened Mickey's Express a few doors down, which is a take-out place with lots of wraps, etc. Around the corner on Audubon St. is another new place, Pure, which sells various healthy wraps, salads and fresh-squeezed fruit and vegetable juices. The new Elm City Co-op also has a huge take-out/eat-in area, and is a great place to shop as well. And Judi's European Bakery on Grove is also solid for sandwiches, soups and salads. Finally, there is a little gem called Skappo Merkato that makes some of the best take-out sandwiches in town. But they are not fast, so calling ahead is advised. There are a lot of other take-out places (including several decent food trucks and all the Orange Street Italian markets). I agree that this used to be a weakness in the New Haven food scene, but it has gotten much better in recent years. Oh, and a Shake Shack will be opening soon next door to where Richter's used to be.

As for fine dining, Union League remains the tops imo. Always excellent. Always just right. I'm not as enamored with Caseus as others are; I do like Zinc but don't go there often. Some of the best of the rest imo include: L'Orcio and Skappo (both excellent Italian fare that is very different from the typical New Haven red sauce, Neapolitan places), Thali and Thali Too (outrageously good Indian food, unlike any you've ever had; the latter is all vegetarian), Barcelona and Ibiza (Spanish) and Bentara (Malaysian fusion). 116 Crown has a decent scene and good food as well, and I have heard much the same about a brand new place, the Naked Oyster, but I haven't been there yet.

And for beer geeks like me, Prime 16 and Cask Republic have both been wonderful additions with very good food as well; and the new Rudy's--although lacking the "charm" of the old location--is a much nicer space with a very good beer selection and a very good menu as well, including the Belgian Frites (with tons of dipping sauces) for which they have excelled for several years now.

 

[8893]

I've had great...Ethiopian in New Haven

Sadly, Caffe Adulis closed around four years ago. Lalibela is still open, but I don't think it is nearly as good as Adulis was. I loved that place, always a good time.

 

[yankeewc]

You give Buddy Cianci far too much credit. That plays exactly into how Ciancni would want it. Much of what got done during his time happened in spite of him. He was just shrewd enough to take credit for everything. I often wonder how much more could have been built in Providence if developers hadn't been scared off by having to pay Buddy a royalty.[/quote
Too much credit? Cianci was in office longer than any other mayor in the US. You don't think Cianci was clueless to what was going on in the city. He and his cronies had their own version of the teapot dome scandal.

 

[BigErnMcCracken]

Cianci was as dirty as it gets. He also presided over one of the more remarkable makeovers an American city has seen. He was also the first person I ever met who chewed tobacco and smoked a cigarette at the same time.

As far as the Providence/Pistol Waivin' debate, put me in the Providence camp. Zinc and Union League are perfectly fine restaurants but to say that Providence doesn't have anything that could "touch" either one of those places is a bit of a joke. Would Zinc be one of the ten best restaurants in Providence? I don't think so. And I really like New Haven.

 

[8893]

As far as the Providence/Pistol Waivin' debate, put me in the Providence camp. Zinc and Union League are perfectly fine restaurants but to say that Providence doesn't have anything that could "touch" either one of those places is a bit of a joke. Would Zinc be one of the ten best restaurants in Providence? I don't think so. And I really like New Haven.

I haven't spent enough time in Providence to weigh in on the contest; I was only suggesting that New Haven was a better comparison than Hartford.

Nothing against Zinc, but I don't think it's one of the ten best restaurants in New Haven, either. Union League, on the other hand, I'll put up against the best of Providence sight-unseen.

 

[upstater]

I lived in Providence for 2 years in the late 90s, and I go back every year. I found the upscale dining wildly overrated, but as I said it had one fantastic French place. That being said, for a city of its size, it had more great ethnic food than any city I've been to.

 

[Excalibur]

Cianci was as dirty as it gets. He also presided over one of the more remarkable makeovers an American city has seen. He was also the first person I ever met who chewed tobacco and smoked a cigarette at the same time.

As far as the Providence/Pistol Waivin' debate, put me in the Providence camp. Zinc and Union League are perfectly fine restaurants but to say that Providence doesn't have anything that could "touch" either one of those places is a bit of a joke. Would Zinc be one of the ten best restaurants in Providence? I don't think so. And I really like New Haven.

I've spent significant time in the past 12 years in both Providence (when my wife was a PhD student at Brown, plus her family lives in the area) and New Haven (been in the area since 2005), so I have recent experience in both cities. The food is better here, or at least more consistent. Not sure you could say that 10 years ago.

 

[AZHuskiePop]

After hearing Providence bashed on the yard for years I finally got there for parents weekend.
My grandson is a RSID student (Go Nads).
I was pleasantly suprised.
The downtown area near RSID and Brown were impressive.
The Italian place we ate at was so so.
I would rather go to Roseland in Derby.
Best Bread in the whole world and if Nonni comes in you can get homemade Ravioli.
I'm a valley transplant to AZ so what do I know.
I grew up on homemade Itlalian cooking.
My mom and her sisters thought providing the best tasting food was an Olympic event.
I love New Haven and I'm surprised no one mentioned Pepi's or Sally's
Our first stop on every trip is to Pepi's.
The other stop is Rich's Farm in Oxford.

 

[8893]

I would rather go to Roseland in Derby.
***
I love New Haven and I'm surprised no one mentioned Pepi's or Sally's
Our first stop on every trip is to Pepi's.

Roseland rocks. Love that place. The pasta dishes may be even better than the pizza.

Pepe's and Sally's were mentioned at least a few times; I think those are givens when you are talking about New Haven. Although, as has been debated here and elsewhere for time immemorial, many people (including me) include Modern Apizza and BAR in the holy quadrangle of New Haven pizza. Pepe's is still king of the clam pie. I haven't been to Sally's in years, but I hear that it has slipped considerably. They were never big on style points there, but I can tell you from driving down Wooster Street a few times a week that Sally's rarely has a line anymore, and Pepe's is the same as it ever was. I've asked some who frequent that scene more than I do and have been told that Sally's is quite dirty and hasn't kept up with the times.

 

[RS9999X]

I've spent significant time in the past 12 years in both Providence (when my wife was a PhD student at Brown, plus her family lives in the area) and New Haven (been in the area since 2005), so I have recent experience in both cities. The food is better here, or at least more consistent. Not sure you could say that 10 years ago.

I think this is true in every city BTW. Aging boomers with money seem to like decent food and have a wider pallette than their parents. Even Hartford, you can't compare 20 years ago with today. There's decent food in Hartford. Maybe not as diverse as New Haven but its far more diverse--and upscale--than 20 years ago.

 

[Excalibur]

I think this is true in every city BTW. Aging boomers with money seem to like decent food and have a wider pallette than their parents. Even Hartford, you can't compare 20 years ago with today. There's decent food in Hartford. Maybe not as diverse as New Haven but its far more diverse--and upscale--than 20 years ago.

Hartford has some great upscale restaurants. They still rely on the business lunch crowd. Whatever they're calling the Polytechnic these days, it's still one of the best around anywhere. Also really enjoy Feng.

 

[upstater]

Roseland rocks. Love that place. The pasta dishes may be even better than the pizza.

Pepe's and Sally's were mentioned at least a few times; I think those are givens when you are talking about New Haven. Although, as has been debated here and elsewhere for time immemorial, many people (including me) include Modern Apizza and BAR in the holy quadrangle of New Haven pizza. Pepe's is still king of the clam pie. I haven't been to Sally's in years, but I hear that it has slipped considerably. They were never big on style points there, but I can tell you from driving down Wooster Street a few times a week that Sally's rarely has a line anymore, and Pepe's is the same as it ever was. I've asked some who frequent that scene more than I do and have been told that Sally's is quite dirty and hasn't kept up with the times.

I've lived practically in every state in the northeast but the northern New England states (Ct, RI, Ma, NY, NJ, Md, DC, Mich) and the one constant is the lack of good pizza outside of So. Ct and NYC. Sure, you can find maybe one place that does something now and again, but on Wooster Street you can walk blindly and find good pizza. When Pepe's was overloaded with people a few months ago, we walked down to Anastasio's. The pizza was fantastic. Better than anything you'd find in other cities. It was like this growing up. Remember going to a place called Palm Beach Pizza quite a bit. They just do it right.

 

[HooperScooper]

As someone who grew up in Fairfield County and now lives in Boston, I can verify. The pizza up here is terrible.

I live in the Boston area and work in Boston and I concur. Even my kids ask why they can't make pizza up here like they do in Connecticut.

 

[Waquoit]

Cianci was as dirty as it gets. He also presided over one of the more remarkable makeovers an American city has seen.

And the trains ran on time.

 

[Robertelamin]

I live in the Boston area and work in Boston and I concur. Even my kids ask why they can't make pizza up here like they do in Connecticut.

Yup. I don't understand why but the pizza there stinks. Regina's is supposed to be the best pizza in Boston. LOL.

 

[superjohn]

I haven't been to Providence in 10 years but there wasn't any good pizza places when I used to spend time there, New Haven's pizza is a million times better. The list is just ridiculous, I live in Chicago now and can tell you that having Chicago ranked ahead of New Haven or NYC is a joke, then I see Philly is #4 on the list, this has to be one of the most inaccurate lists I've seen.

 

[superjohn]

I just looked at the top 10 foodie city list as well and this is even more insane, Providence ahead of Chicago???? Savannah ahead of Charleston???

 

[Excalibur]

Ooh, look, I can post links too.

 

[upstater]

America's Best Cities for Pizza per Travel and Leisure
#3 Providence
Link:
http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-cities-for-pizza/4

America's Best Cities for 'Foodies'
#3 Providence
Link:
http://eater.com/archives/2011/09/14/here-is-a-list-of-americas-best-cities-for-foodies.php

http://www.travelandleisure.com/articles/americas-best-cities-for-foodies/4


America's Top Foodie Cities per CNBC.COM
Providence
http://www.cnbc.com/id/41315888?slide=7

Thanks for the link to articles with a ton of commenters refuting the articles. And not only that, the writer says New Haven is for some reason not included but should have been. Huh?

And just what is this good pizza in Providence anyway? What joint? The article doesn't mention it (probably because the writer has never before been to Providence).

 

[JSB60]

I've lived in both New Haven and Providence also, and go back to both regularly. My two cents:

New Haven:

Better food of all kinds. Seafood, Italian, variety of ethnic. When I wanted pizza and lived in Providence I waited until I could drive to New Haven. The only real advantage of Providence was Portuguese and my favorite, Estrella's, closed a few years ago.

Theater/Arts. Not that Providence is bad, but NH is just better. Long Wharf, and Yale>Brown in this aspect as well.

Sports: Yale hockey and football are a much better experience than Brown has. And UCONN>>PC.

Providence:

Beach Access: Block Island, RI beaches just outclass Hamonasset or anything else in CT.

Liveable Neighborhoods: East Side is a much more enjoyable place to live in than any neighborhood in New Haven.

I call the access to larger cities a draw, Boston is closer to Providence, but NY>Boston.