The Dudes of Food

66 Sophia Street, Providence, RI 
(401) 942-0640

Providence is known for its Italian cuisine and, of course, the Mafia.

In the twentieth century, the silverware and jewelry industries in Providence attracted Italian immigrants, many of whom settled on Federal Hill. According to legend, quite a few Italian restaurants in Providence were fronts for less legitimate businesses. Those were and still are some of the city's best restaurants.

Expensive Italian dining (and the people funding it) shaped Providence's culinary scene.  Today, it's known to have some of the East Coast’s finest, most expensive Italian restaurants. Therefore, we postulate that an unintended consequence of the supposed Mafia activity (and we emphasize, we don’t know that the organization ever existed) in Providence is the emergence of upscale Italian restaurants. Bam! How’s that for a thesis?

But where does that leave the college student looking for an inexpensive Italian adventure?

L’Antica Trattoria.

L’Antica Trattoria has charm. Flower and swirl painted walls surround the 10-table dining room. In the middle, David stands strong. Not the guy without the penis, but some marble-ish statue that reminds us of Italy. Let’s call him Dave.




Though Dave reminded us of Italy, L’Antica Trattoria did not. A Trattoria is a traditional Italian neighborhood eating joint, less formal than a ristorante but a step up from an osteria. When we sat down, it felt like we took a step out of Providence and into somewhere special, but not Milano or Firenze. So don’t let the name fool you, kind readers. L’Antica Trattoria is no Italian restaurant.

What is it then? To put it simply, it is the perfect example of an Italian-American eatery.

Second generation Italians in Providence mixed, matched and assimilated. The product: a world where the primi piati are meats, salads are served with creamy low-fat Italian dressing, and where jugs of red house wine are served right out of the refrigerator.

Weird? Perhaps. Delicious? Indeed. FSFW? Certainly.

Homemade pasta is served by the pound with succulent freshly prepared sauces. In case you were wondering (how couldn’t you be?), a pound of pasta is more than enough for any two starving college students. It’s almost too much for three people. But the best part is the $10.99 price. In other restaurants you are nobody. But here, you're a king!








The jug of house wine, at $14.99, serves about 10-12 glasses. In case you were wondering (how couldn’t you be?), it's enough for any three college students to get a little more than talkative.

The other dishes are good, especially the bruschetta made from red peppers and white beans. However, the real FSFW is the pasta by the pound and the house wine. Come hungry, come thirsty, and come ready for a real Italian-American experience.




As we slouched into our seats, food devoured, we began to ponder the meaning of life vis à vis our meal.  The world’s greatest thinkers all had revelations after pasta and wine.  Marco Polo, Confucius, Oda Nobunaga.

Most families cannot dish out $20 for a bowl of ravioli every weekend yet there are few inexpensive Italian restaurants in Providence. With a heavy wallet, one can eat some of the best Italian food in the country in Providence, but where is the “family dining” that used to characterize Italian American cuisine?

L’Antica Trattoria was a great place to start looking for an answer.  But it's only one of many joints  begging to be found. So get ready, flowery wallpaper and refrigerated wine fanatics, the Dudes of Food will not let you down! *




* In the state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations this statement cannot be legally interpreted as an agreement between the authors and the readers