Offbeat Eats

(Closed) Providence is always surprising me. Anyone that has followed the Providence food scene has been aware of Farmstead (the Wayland cheese shop) and their good reputation for supplying excellent cheeses. Well, this spring the folks at Farmstead opened a small deli and sandwich shop in Downcity, one that several people were recommended that I try. So, this week, while passing through town to visit my grandpa down in Wickford, we stopped by for sandwiches…

When I was growing up (including trips in college in the early 90s), Providence was fairly rough around the edges town, and fine dining in Providence mostly consisted of going to some Italian restaurants up on Federal Hill. However, over the last 10 years or so, it’s been really pleasant watching Providence rebuild itself as a nice town. And one thing that Providence really has excelled at is the restaurant scene. Providence now sports several incredibly good restaurants, including such gems as Al Forno, Pot Au Feu, and Blue Grotto. And, of course, Gracie’s, which has been on my hit list for several years (when it was first recommended to me, it was located in Federal Hill, and not downtown like it is now)…

(Closed) A few weeks ago I was visiting my grandfather in Rhode Island along with my brother, and we decided to pick up lunch in Providence. One place that has been on my list for a while was Stanley’s. Stanley’s Hamburgers has been a venerable burger stand in Central Falls, RI for decades, and they opened a new Providence location this last spring. I’ve been meaning to check it out, but since my previous trips to Providence were on holidays, Stanley’s was closed. This time they were open. Stanley’s is pretty much a burger bar. The main attractions at Stanley’s are the burgers and the fries. The burgers are fairly thin patties, that are cooked by smashing them into the grill to get a good char on them (a technique familiar to people that have been to Steak n’ Shake). The result is a nicely crisp burger, albeit a little on the light side, so I usually get a double burger at these sorts of places.