Thank you all for your thoughtful recommendations and compassion! I’ll start making some calls. I hope I pass you guys on the street someday so I can give you all a big smile! :)

Ok , good

The Eggplant Parm at double zero.

Get the yearly city pass because inevitably you’ll need to park on the street from time to time and you don’t want tickets. I’d make sure you have some off street parking if at all possible because of parking bans during snow storms. I had an apartment in Fox Point for years with no off street parking and I had to pay to park in that lot in the jewelry district and walk all the way home and back. Big pain in the ass

buffalo “chicken” samdwich is the bomb

Your comment is a little incoherent? You didn't really finish your thought in the last sentence?

I'm not telling you to be like anything, and I'm not condoning the social attitudes of elderly Italian-American men. However, they ain't gonna change, and fed hill is theirs.

As someone who grew up in providence hanging out in MUCH more hostile/dangerous parks than the Bocci court, I can tell you that enjoying public spaces in urban areas takes having a somewhat thick skin. They aren't for everyone, it is what it is.

I think you are representative of the type of person who is advocating replacing well-utilized, fun restaurant space with half-assed park space that you won't use and that will be under utilized generally.

Great!

“Chicken” sandos are sooo yumz

People get annoyed with the frequency of "I'm visiting/moving to Providence, what should I do?" posts. Don't let it bug you.

I wish we had a tag for these posts, both so people could filter them out and so that they're easier to find for folks looking for past suggestions.

Try searching the subreddit for the word "visiting," it turns up a few previous posts with suggestions.

You should check out the RISD museum. It's pretty small so it's easy to fit into a schedule.

Madrid European Bakery is great for pastries and coffee.

Be prepared for hills if you're on foot or biking.

Enjoy

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Not all streets allow overnight parking. Check before you buy one.

Chili cheese fries and eat with a fork!

not that I remember, I believe there was a crema/sour cream type thing so that might be cold but I remember the rest being warm/hot.

The loaded fries are life changing

When I got them they were cold. But the server said that’s how they serve them?

The raw lasagna is one of my favourites, be prepared it's cold since it's all raw vegetables but the flavour is amazing,very unique dish.

Also can't go wrong with any of the pizzas. I've gone there many times and have yet to have a bad meal, you can't choose a wrong dish.

just be aware you have to be in a building with less than 6 units btw to prevent the issue of mega units without lots taking over the streets.They will check the building with tax records to make sure and if they aren't sure the transportation building sends a rep to check lol.

Their vegan burrito may be the best vegan burrito I’ve ever had

Yeah I thought it was getting bad lately, but I thought maybe I was misremembering. I have a photo from summer 2017 where you can clearly see the tables behind the right side of the fountation (adjacent to the restaurant)-- leaving a walking space around the whole thing. The center used to be completely open. Last time I was there a few weeks ago, I had to explain to my friend that it was public property even though it was literally fenced in and that we could walk over. I still didn't stay long as it felt like I was hovering around people eating.

OP, what can be done? It always seems like Federal Hill restaurants are given a lot of leverage.

We're talking about a one mile stretch of Hope Street. What would the people on bikes do before they get to the beginning of the bike path? What would they do when they reach the end? I'll tell you what they'd do: they'd manage just fine. And they'll manage just fine without that one mile stretch.

But it's all irrelevant at this point. This was just a temporary test. That bike path won't be back. Sensible people won't let it happen.

someone drove into it around 2019/2020, so maybe that upped the cost, as well.

I'd be careful about that, I got a few parking tickets 7 or 8 years ago and didn't think much of them, especially not about getting more. I remember reading some fine print on the ticket and it had something about being towed or booted after the 5th ticket. I wasn't able to find anything in a cursory Google search, but it's worth it to at least make sure

Public libraries!

We're assholes. Check out Smug Brewing right over the line in Pawtucket. Ten Rocks (nearby) is also a goldmine.