Is Providence Back as a Foodie Mecca?

Is Providence Back as a Foodie Mecca?

In the 1980s and 1990s, Providence emerged on the national stage as a hotbed of great restaurants and cooking innovation. It was fueled by glowing write-ups of Al Forno and other restaurants by the likes of food writer John Mariani of Esquire magazine and food and travel writers at the New York Times.

Mariani became the megaphone for Johanne Killeen and her late husband’s George Germon’s famous grilled pizza — today a more common creation, but then, an innovation that could only be found in Providence and Italy.

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A flurry of James Beard nominations and awards followed as did a restaurant competition between Providence and Boston in the 1990s engineered by Buddy Cianci.  Providence won, but no word if Cianci flooded the results with mail ballots

Then, Providence either lost momentum or other cities caught up.

Top Ten Cities for Foodies

A new ranking released on Monday listed Providence as one of the top ten foodie cities in America. Zumper ranked Providence as the 10th best foodie city in America.

Providence scored best for restaurants and bars per capita, but poorly for Yelp reviews.

This top-ranking is coupled with a plethora of recent good press recognition.

“Your biggest problem in Providence might be narrowing down the sheer number of places where you want to eat,” recently reported CNN.

Forbes wrote last October, "When it comes to food, Providence punches above its weight considering that it's a city of less than 200,000 residents. The city's secret weapon? Passionate new culinary arts graduates from Johnson & Wales University help fuel the robust restaurant scene."

This year, Providence also scored two finalists for the 2019 James Beard Foundation Restaurant and Chef Awards.

Benjamin Sukle of Oberlin and James Mark of North are both finalists for Best Chef in the Northeast. Mark recently received a stellar review for his newest restaurant in the New York Times, "Big King is the latest restaurant in that city from James Mark, the chef-owner best known for North, a critically acclaimed Asian-fusion restaurant. Before that, Mr. Mark, a graduate of Johnson & Wales University, worked for David Chang at the Momofuku restaurant group."

Perfection? No.

But all is not perfect.

Another ranking warns that Providence is the 50th ranked city in which to open a restaurant — out of 50 cities ranked.

The report released in March by BidOnEquipment.com ranks cities in the country by restaurant sales per capita, industry workers per capita, restaurants per capita, and median income of the city. The restaurant industry website scored Arlington, Virginia as topped ranked.

Providence, which benefits from a flood of well trained culinary talent from Johnson & Wales, is limited by a stagnant population. As a result, it seems as if each time a new exciting restaurant opens an old favorite closes. Recent closures have included Ken's Ramen, XO Cafe, and Red Fez to name a few.

Recently, one of the world's top vegan food gurus told GoLocal that he would be opening a major food hall in Providence. Matthew Kenney -- one of the biggest names in vegan cuisine -- is opening a food hall in Providence slated for June. He has opened 17 restaurants across the world and has 15 more set to open -- Providence is his first food hall.

In an interview with GoLocal on March 18, Kenney said he has been wanting to open a food hall and thinks Providence is a great city to launch the concept.

“I have been thinking about this since visiting food halls in Madrid ten or so years ago and love Eataly, they are great food experiences,” said Kenney.

“We think there is a lot of interest in a plant-based lifestyle,” said Kenney whose official title is CEO of MKC, but has become a leading evangelist and creative force in the commercialization of plant-based eating.

The food hall in Providence will be called Plant City and is now being built out at the former location of the former Barnsider’s Mile & A Quarter Restaurant.

The 10,000-square-foot space will be able to accommodate roughly 225 seats between its upper and lower levels, as well as a large outdoor patio.