There's been some (roundabout) mention on this board about the role of some city counselors, etc., in Estiatorio Fili, on Wayland Square, getting their liquor license. This article from the RI Current (which is a fine, free paper) tells the whole story:
It's pretty detailed and I learned some things from it, not just about the restaurant but also about the general licensing situation.
I filed my receipts on July 14. I haven't really heard anything back from them since. How long has it typically taken people to get something back?
I haven't seen this posted, so… Something really cool that recently opened: the Kiosk at Biltmore Park. I'm told it opened a month ago.
"Biltmore Park" is that previously overlooked(?) space west of Burnside Park, across the street from the Graduate/Biltmore hotel, north of City Hall, and south of RI Foundation.
We finally have a kiosk-in-the-park, as found in most European cities (and far too few American ones). Their menu is limited: coffee and ice cream for now, and they're thinking of adding hot food. The staffer working the kiosk was super friendly and helpful. They have some vegan sorbetti as well, she said.
Across from the kiosk are play-tables for ping-pong, foosball, etc. Presumably they're bring-your-own-equipment. I don't know how long those have been there.
Overall the space is clean, well-maintained, and inviting. Super nice to have this addition to Providence.
This is not strictly a Providence matter, but given that it was written by Elorza, and his foundation is HQed in Providence, I figured others here would also be interested.
Elorza is running a non-profit called DFER, Democrats for Education Reform (https://dfer.org/). His article says:
>The logic of 'Stand with unions, stand with teachers; stand with teachers, stand with students' is simple and convenient. It’s also wrong.
>Despite a decade-long trend of declining academic outcomes, Democrats have offered little on education policy beyond familiar calls for more funding. Since roughly 2015, they have effectively abandoned K-12 as a domain of serious policymaking. Instead of calling for urgent reform to address an acute crisis, they have defended the existing system and aligned themselves even further with the demands of teachers unions.
etc. You get the drift. Article link here:
It's much more direct and spicier than I recall him speaking when he was mayor, though I may have missed some things he said.
I'm wondering whether he is going to become more vocal on this topic locally. I'm also curious how he reconciles these positions with endorsing Morales.
PS: Yes, lots of subtexts. His views aren't all my views. Passing it on for interest.
WaPo's "7 U.S. ice cream shops to build a vacation around" includes Tizzy K!
(I'm a fan of Tizzy's, so I'm happy for it to get some national recognition.)
Both the front and the back have been fenced off. The front I'd seen fenced a few days ago; today I saw the back was, too. Indeed there was a truck in the back, and people actively doing something on the roof.
I can only hope this means that some positive action is taking place in terms of replacing Eastside Marketplace.
Last year a person who worked at Bottles confidently told me that Whole Foods was taking over that space. It made sense: there's a lot of traffic to the Waterman St location, and they don't have enough parking for delivery drivers; it would serve as a Whole Foods/Amazon hub of sorts. But now that they've opened up the new location in East Providence not very far away, I wonder if that still makes sense.
Anyway, I was hoping someone knows more!
Imagine randomly walking into one of the main cathedrals in Brussels at 8:30pm on July 4, hearing an ensemble playing, and finding out it's from … Rhode Island:
Ensemble playing inside Église Notre-Dame des Victoires au Sablon in Brussels
Poster for the Rhode Island Philharmonic Youth Wind Ensemble
They were brilliant, and their music was fantastic in that space.
Talked to a few parents, who were very tentatively trying to explain to me what a "Rhode Island" was until I said "I'm visiting here from Providence"…
Excellent July 4 experience. They ended with Sousa's The Stars and Stripes Forever. Tomorrow they head to France to play in Normandy.
https://www.bostonglobe.com/2026/06/15/lifestyle/james-beard-award-winners-2026/
> New England took home two prestigious national awards: The 16-seat Loma in Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood won for Best New Bar, and Portland’s Dana Street was named Outstanding Restaurateur.
> “For the last year, we’ve worn every hat imaginable, answered emails at midnight, and take our daughter to school in the morning and welcome guests with a smile,” said co-owner Leishla Maldonado, who runs Loma with Osman and Yefri Cortave, in her acceptance speech. “We come from immigrant and working-class families who taught us the value of hard work ... Failure isn’t just disappointing: It’s something we can’t afford.
> “To every immigrant kid watching tonight, there is room for you at this table,” said Maldonado, who grew up in Chelsea. (Osman and Yefri Cortave are from East Boston.)
> Nominees in the Best Chef: Northeast category […] included Derek Wagner from Nicks on Broadway in Providence. Wagner was a finalist last year as well.
> Meanwhile, Philadelphia announced this spring that it will be the only major city to offer free fan festivals all 39 days of the tournament. The events, held at Lemon Hill Park, will include video feeds of all the matches, and access to food trucks and alcohol vendors selling meals and drinks.
Are we not doing this daily, too? Or are we not a major city? (-:
Went to check it out this evening. Wasn't the best of times: 7:30pm, which was too far from either game, plus it was muggy as heck. So there weren't a lot of people around (more cops than people, really!).
But the setup looks quite nice. Food trucks along the southern end, porta potties along the north and south, big stage, a few seating apparatuses, plenty of room. I imagine that when games are on, or when they're closer together in time, it'll be a hoot. I did see a water refill station, so presumably you can take a 100ml water bottle in and refill it.
I'm somewhat confused why they didn't put an entrance right next to the train station. Instead they've used that whole side for a massive drinks sales station. There is one entrance a block away from the southern exit of the station; the other three are along Francis St. If you come out of the station's north exit, there's what appears to be an entrance right there…but it's actually an emergency exit.
The map is currently hard to find on the website (IMO), but here it is:
https://pvdfanzone.com/travel-info/
The Web contact person said they'll add more links to it to make it easier to find.
Overall, very promising! I'm assuming they will show every game on the big screen?
I saw this yesterday on Narragansett Blvd near the J&W campus, east of RW Park. An image search suggests several city and family coats-of-arms that are similar but not identical (apparently a lot of folks were into the 3 cranes/boids). Much more intriguingly, there was clearly a plaque beneath that is now missing. Anyone know more?
Update: it's just the seal coat-of-arms escutcheon of Cranston. And I can confirm that this was at the Providence-Cranston border.
For years now I've been visiting the Botanical Center only in the winter (when it's very warm and pleasant inside). As a result, I came to always associate it with "hot and humid", and therefore great in the winter but especially unpleasant on a day like this.
Well, I happened to swing by this afternoon, and was extremely pleasantly surprised. They had all the doors open, so between the tall roof and plenty of cross-breeze, it was lovely inside. It was in the mid-80s outside (around 3:30?) and I'd say it felt at least 10° cooler inside.
So, even more reason to love the place.
Anyone else tried this place? I hadn't heard of it before, but it was recently recommended strongly by a colleague. He's pretty into good food and is actually Italian (from Rome). The owner/cook is herself from Italy.
Their menu includes things like maritozzi, which I don't think I've found at the other Italian bakeries I've tried in Providence.
[Note: not to be confused with the Dolce Vita that used to be on Federal Hill, but closed some years ago. This one is at 1706 Mineral Spring Ave, North Providence, RI 02904.]
If you've been seeing thick black smoke rising on the East Side, it's because there's a car on fire on Blackstone Blvd. It's just south of Rochambeau on the southbound side, so all traffic is being diverted east onto Rochambeau. I expect traffic patterns will be messed up for a while.
It was a hatchback-type car, and the fire looked…almost cinematic. Wonder if it was an electric/hybrid. [EDIT: People are asking why I conjectured this. It's because the fire pattern looked like it was coming from the entire floor, and because I didn't see burning fuel on the ground. But I only looked for a moment: rubberneckers cause accidents. Which is also why I didn't take a photo.]
Really hope everyone associated with it was okay. The car was on the in the parking lane, and I didn't see any other vehicle in contact with it, so hopefully either nobody was in it or the occupants were able to pull over and get out safely.
I'm sure there will be all kinds of dramatic photos and videos later. Just alerting people both about the cause of smoke and the likely effect on traffic.
