Providence: Al Forno
Let's Eat by Kitty Kaufman

Rhode Island: a small place with big notions. A long time ago, I was marketing for the Diners Club. I mapped out stops in Providence on the way back to Boston from Long Island. It was before GPS. At my first stop, I had the meeting and told the manager where I was off to. How far is it? He told me: "It's seven or eight miles, it's far, you should leave now." As it turned out, I crossed a tiny bridge and I was there; it was exactly one mile.


When it comes to ordering, it's Vince. The pear and endive salad has figs, gorgonzola and bacon in vinaigrette heavy on vinegar. When's the last time you got to eat a whole endive? The pears are ripe, the figs sweet and there's enough bacon for a smoked junkie. But you can't have it; it's no longer on the menu. What you can have instead: shrimp and mushroom salad, beat and bean salad (I assume they mean beet but it could be diced hippie), beans and fennel, Caesar, beets with frites or avocado but not together, or a grass salad which is sans actual grass and sounds sort of Cobb-y but isn't.



The restaurant is in an old loft building with big windows and tile floors. Downstairs, where we sat in the sunroom, is full and so is the bar, with townies. After, we take ourselves to the second floor 'for the view,' we tell the host. Tables are empty. It doesn't jive with the line of people who are waiting. Or maybe it does. One of us finds this disturbing. It never pays to be that sure of yourself.
January 2021: The more I think about this meal, the weirder it becomes. Providence has that effect. They're doing takeout and just so you know, the prices are stupendous.
Al Forno
577 South Water St
Providence, RI 02903
401. 273. 9760
© July 18, 2016 Vince Ciotti knows wine and Italian food. Kitty Kaufman drinks wine if no one's making margaritas. See more of their annual Providence food adventures at Corporate Edge and follow Kitty on Twitter
Write to us:
Kitty@corp-edge.com
Share it on X Twitter:
Tweet
See Boston restaurant stories via One for the Table on Zomato
Locanda Del Lago in Santa Monica
Italian Western
Santa Monica Seafood Cafe
Fine kettle of fish
Boston Museum of Fine Arts
Food, and art
Ming's Blue Ginger Wellesley
Red hot and blue
Deli after Dark Dedham
Yes, we have no meatballs
Sophia's Grotto
Meatballs and calamari in Roslindale
Pon Thai Bistro
Pon cooks with fire
Island Creek Oyster Bar
Happy, happy new year
Amelia's Trattoria in Cambridge
New York state of mind
Cafe Sushi in Cambridge
Industry standard
Black Trumpet in Portsmouth
Ta dah
Flour Bakery
Eat dessert first
Kitty@corp-edge.com
Share it on X Twitter:
Tweet


Italian Western

Fine kettle of fish

Food, and art

Red hot and blue

Yes, we have no meatballs

Meatballs and calamari in Roslindale

Pon cooks with fire

Happy, happy new year

New York state of mind

Industry standard

Ta dah

Eat dessert first