Despite almost finishing my first academic year at Brown, I had barely explored the Providence food scene. It was already the end of April– less than a month left –but with so much more to do. So when my foodie friend and Spoon photographer Jerry Lu proposed the idea of a mini food tour of Providence, I knew this was my chance. After careful research (i.e. an aesthetically pleasing rainbow spreadsheet), we selected two cafés and a restaurant and decided to embark on our culinary adventure on a lovely spring day in early May.
Breakfast: Little Sister
For our first meal of the day, we walked north down Hope Street to a small and homey Puerto Rican-influenced café. Walking into Little Sister, we were greeted by the fresh-out-of-the-oven bakery aroma, upbeat Latin tunes, and vibrant art pieces. This, combined with the bustling activity in the café, invoked a cozy atmosphere.
The breakfast empanada was a pastry shell of medium-thickness filled with egg, caramelized onion, and cheese. The shell was buttery and flaky, and the filling had the perfect egg-onion-cheese ratio. The savory flavors of the shell and filling meshed together beautifully, and brought my taste buds on a journey I would gladly embark on again.
The dulce de leche quesito with almonds further showcased the pastry prowess of this café. Not unlike an almond croissant, the outside was flaky and had a light covering of sliced almonds and granulated sugar. The inside had a thin layer of cream cheese filling that satisfyingly rounded out the other sugary components. As opposed to similar pastries I've had, the quesito wasn't overpoweringly sweet and made for a great breakfast pastry.
Getting into the brunch menu, the shakshouka was a rich tomato broth with two eggs stewed inside, topped with chimichurri and served with toast. This dish had so many layers of flavor to the point that it was a bit overwhelming, but one memorable splash of color was the chimichurri drizzled over the broth, which provided an herbaceous kick to the encompassing tomato-ness of the shakshouka. There was also queso fresco mixed in, which was pleasantly mild with a soft but solid texture.
Spotlight: Raspberry Tart
With 3 out of 3 amazing dishes so far, I didn't think it could get much better, but the raspberry tart instantly proved me wrong. The tart had a dark chocolate crust with layers of raspberry filling and chocolate cream, dusted with powdered sugar and topped with fresh raspberries. This tart achieved the perfect balance between the bittersweet, tangy, and chocolatey tones, and the crunch of the crust provided a nice textural contrast to the pastry. I chose this as the spotlight dish because (spoiler alert!) it was, without a doubt, the best dish of the day.
Lunch: Aleppo Sweets
Heading to Ives Street, our next stop was Aleppo Sweets, a Syrian café. The café had a strong smell of spices in the air, and played Syrian tunes that were drowned out by the lively chatter by the cafégoers. There were many plants along the walls, and various gold-toned decor throughout the room. At the counter, there was a small corner with freshly-baked pastries sitting behind the glass.
The pepper and lamb fatayer had a delicious dough holding a spicy pepper and lamb mix. The dough itself was light and airy, with crispy edges that were reminiscent of a softer pizza dough. The lamb flavor was more subdued, masked by the salt and spices. The peppers fit well into the dish, contributing a bit of acidity to the overall saltiness.
The chicken shawarma wrap consisted of a flat-ironed pita packed with spiced shredded chicken. The pita was a thin, crunchy layer, and the flavor of the chicken was reminiscent of a yellow curry. Although the chicken tasted good, I found myself wishing there was more than just chicken in the wrap. There were actually pickles, but they were thinly sliced and sparse in the filling to the point that I did not taste them at all. Adding some fresh vegetables would have been perfect to vary the textural landscape and make the wrap feel less dense and more refreshing.
The lady finger crushed pistachio baklava consisted of thin crispy layers of dough with a sweet pistachio filling, covered in a thin layer of simple syrup. The syrup made it shiny which was great for the presentation, but made it too sweet. The chocolate classic pistachio baklava was similar to the previous baklava, but had an added drizzle of dark chocolate that helped tone down the sugary elements.
The Syrian yogurt drink was a salted yogurt drink that was unlike any drink I've had before. It was quite sour, and the salt came through strong as well. This is a drink I definitely could not have on its own, but I could see it complementing other savory and spicy dishes.
Spotlight: Garlic Sauce
The garlic sauce was actually served with the shawarma wrap, but it was the best part of this culinary experience by far that it deserved its own blurb. The garlic sauce was delightfully smooth and creamy without too strong of a garlic taste. It really brought the wrap to the next level, and it also complemented the fatayer beautifully. I would gladly eat this garlic sauce with plain pita bread for a simple, delicious snack.
Dinner: Sakura
A contrast to the two cafés, Sakura was more of a restaurant experience with dimmer lighting, faint music, and a relaxed atmosphere. Located on Wickenden Street, the interior was split into three main areas so that the booth we sat at felt more private and closed off from the other diners.
Starting off with the appetizers, the miso soup was very standard. The salad was a bit more interesting, with a bright house-made ginger dressing. Although ordinary, the soup and salad were good palate refreshers.
The katsu don consisted of a breaded, fried pork cutlet over a bed of rice, onions, carrots, and scallions, drizzled with a soy sauce-flavored dashi sauce. This dish was also quite standard; the savory sauce was great with the onions and rice, but the pork was a bit on the drier side.
The nabeyaki udon was again another standard dish, consisting of udon noodles in a dashi broth topped with shrimp tempura, carrots, mushroom, onion, fish cake, scallions, and an egg yolk, served in a clay pot. The crust on the tempura was nice and light, and the shiitake mushroom was super flavorful, having soaked up the broth. However, the noodles were on the softer side, and the soup was less flavorful than expected.
Spotlight: Lost Control Roll
One of Sakura's "Chef's Special Rolls" was the lost control roll, which featured spicy salmon, cucumber, avocado, and tempura flakes topped with salmon, tuna, or yellowtail sashimi, garnished with masago and finished off with a sweet teriyaki sauce. The individual components were all great and worked well together in both flavor and texture. In particular, the pieces topped with salmon stood out the most because of the creamy, melt-in-your-mouth feel that complemented the other ingredients. If I were to return to Sakura, I would definitely shy away from the hot entrées and try more sushi rolls instead.
Wrapping Up
So, that was our day! After such a positive experience of this taste of the Providence food scene, I am so excited to take a deeper dive and explore some more. (Also, I will definitely be returning to Little Sister to try more brunch foods and pastries. That café was absolutely incredible.) Hopefully this review of our mini food tour of Providence was helpful, and good luck on your foodie adventures!