Katie L. wrote: > What are the good restaurants in Providence these > days? I used to live there, but my knowledge of the > local cuisine is about 5 years out of date. I need to > find places to hold a rehearsal dinner and a Sunday > brunch next spring. The Marriott used to have a great > brunch buffet; do they still? I would love to have the > rehearsal dinner at Al Forno, but I bet they don't > let themselves be reserved for such things. So, I'm > open to suggestions. There are many great places to eat in Providence and I bet a lot has changed in the 5 years. We live right downtown and enjoy the many places just within walking distance. My most recent favorite is a new restaurant on Main Street called XO (I think short for extra-ordinary). This is located at the bottom of College Hill not far from RISD and at the site of what was Angels several years ago. It's excellent food and top service, and interesting friendly atmosphere. It has become a regular place for us now and I would highly recommend it for dinner. The owners I believe were chefs at Atomic Grill if that is a familiar place to you. Several other places nearby are also new; on the next street over, Water Street, all the way down almost to I-195 is a fine place called Amicus that I've only been to once but liked a lot. There is a Capital Grill and a great casual brew pub called Union Station, both located in the old train station near Kennedy Plaza downtown. Near where AlForno is there is a waterfront restaurant called Grappa that is also excellent and is a bit more formal than these others and might be nice for a special dinner. It has a sort of "urban" view of the city, waterfront buildings like the electric company and of the hurricane barrier. I would highly recommend that also for a special dinner, and maybe they do brunches. I have never had brunch around Providence and am not sure which have it. The only place that I recall is the Gatehouse which is on the Eastside and has been around for a while. Federal Hill has not changed in having _many_ great places; the newest that we've really liked is the Eclectic Grill which is pretty far down Atwells Ave. In terms of the downtown hotels, there are several changes. There is the new Westin near the Biltmore, and it has an elegant restaurant which would likely have brunch. As for the Biltmore itself, Davios has opened recently in there. That's a bunch of places. Let me know if I can give you more info or phone numbers. If you can, check out the Providence Web site ala Mayor Buddy > http://www.ProvidenceRI.com/home.html which lists lots about Prov. including dinning.
Rhode Island