Looking for recommendations of a good yet inexpensive place for a Saturday lunch before visiting Peabody Essex Museum.

Any suggestions? We'd go to Abbot's if the weather was OK. Any other suggestions like that in the area? Thanks.

we went last night - great dinner! it is what it is, a burger joint. loved the burgers, loved the onion rings, and the cheese fries with bacon were great. my husband had a chocolate shake, I had lemonade which was really fresh, tart, and perfect with the rest.

perhaps some people are put off by the small burgers? I like that style, and could not have eaten more (due in large part to those sides, I know). you can alwasy double up if you want something more substantial.

this is not fine dining. it is a quick stop burger place! and a fine one. we will totally be back. fun '50s-ish decor, too.

we spent, um, $23 with tip. financially, also a fine dinner out.

So we went on Friday night, we with the three little kids, and it was great! All kids enjoyed their food, which was a bit slow to come out by parents of little kids standards but not slow by good made to order food standards. Okay, maybe a little tiny bit slow. But worth the wait! The fries with chili and onions were, well, my husband and I were engaged in a battle of dueling fingers and forks. They were great. Hot dogs, solid. I am not a hot dog aficionado regularly but I do like them from time to time and this was the right time. My 8 year old loved the wacky dogs - the Hawaiian with pineapple and the Asian (?) with teriyai sauce and peanut butter. They gave the kids beach balls to play with and there's a nice little outdoor area to do so. And at 7pm on on Friday night, the place had business but was not at all crowded.

So - for those on the road in that part of CT or RI, or for locals, we say ten thumbs up for Cousins!

hey, thanks. maybe we'll try our luck and have a backup. the Friendly's in Mystic is our default, was hoping to get off that beaten path but for sure it'll be there!

this is a route we travel a lot - we live in Providence, my parents, grandparents of said 3 young kids, live in the Danbury, CT area, so we're always on the lookout for good stop-offs

I appreciate the description!

How's this place for a family of 5 with three young kids, coming through the area this Friday night for dinner? Tell me if it is not perfect, and if we go, I'll report back. Thanks for the tip!

I am remembering Blue Elephant on Wickenden as BYOB but maybe I am just misremembering? Or they were in the process of getting their liquor license? Well, perhaps Blue Elephant.

Thanks - I made a reservation at 3 Steeple Street, am looking forward to it, appreciate the suggestions!

Chez Pascal is over on the East Side - fine place, lovely, but wrong location. Thanks for the suggestion. Anyone else have any ideas? Federal Hill?

Hey everyone,

I'm looking for ideas for a moderately priced business related dinner in Providence tomorrow night. 6 or so people, we want to be able to hear each other, and I just don't want to have to worry about the food or service being flaky. Type of food itself is not that important, though since most guests are from outside New England I think it would be nice to feed them something local-ish. Also don't want to stress out my not-for-profit's budget unduly.

Any ideas? Most people attending the dinner are staying at the Westin downtown, so there or Federal Hill would be fine. Thanks for any thoughts.

I have a CSA share with Ledge End's Produce; I pick up our stuff at a location in Providence each week, and you can also pick up at the farm in East Greenwich. Everything is wonderful, tons of it, and you can get corn, fruit and flower shares too.

http://ledgeendsproduce.com/index.html

Early on in Local 121's life, we dined at the bar and thought it was fantastic. A later visit with table service revealed more unevenness but that night at the bar really stood out - food was very good and it's a fantastic bar, really stellar in ambiance and fixtures. I'd totally go back to 121 for a bar meal but would have to have my arm twisted to eat at a table, because the bar has enough charm to overcome any "eh" in the food.

Thanks for the tip! I am eager to go for all of the reasons listed here and below.

Sun and Moon on Warren Avenue in East Providence is fantastic, among the best Korean food I've ever had. Top of our list of places to which to return.

Plenty of places that are fine and great besides Chez Pascal. Don't get the lionization of CP here - it's a solid place for dinner but not head and shoulders about La Laiterie, New Rivers, Gracie's (my mileage has differed - as relatively recent transplants from San Francisco, the overall Gracie's experience and food resonated more fully with us than CP), and other places that have been listed on this board over and over.

I often use Bridgewater Chocolate based in Brookfield, CT for chocolate gifts that I send. Everything they make is fabulous.

http://www.bridgewaterchocolate.com/

Would love some ideas for a diner, or similar, for lunch today in Foxboro or nearby, meeting someone for lunch there. No big occasion, just want some decent food at a place that will have a high chair and is accessible to a mobility-limited grandma. We live in Providence, and left to our own devices around here, we'd probably end up Modern Diner or Hope St. Pizza.

Anyway - any ideas for somewhere decent/possible in the Foxboro vicinity to get something healthy to eat/diverse-age friendly, non-national chain if possible. Thanks!

We had a surprisingly great ladies night out at Blue Elephant on Wickenden last week. Food was great, fit a wide range of tastes and budgets, BYOB limits to beer and wine but we had fun with a lot of different wines, and loved the jewelry sale! I would not have expected it would have worked well for a girls' night out but it was awesome and we're thinking about going back soon for more.

Just got back from Pat's Kountry Kitchen and it was ideal for our needs. The kids gobbled down pancakes and I had the clam hash (which was also fairly calm! nice, not too clammy) and scrambled eggs. Big place, easy to sit down, fast food, delicious, just about midway between Providence and Danbury driving-distance-wise and overall, our new designated meet-you-in-the-middle spot.

Not that we minded but we only had the breakfast menu from which to choose. Pat's closes at 12:30 for breakfast and reopens at 2 for lunch/dinner.

Just got back from the wintertime farmers market - totally great - and before we came home, we stopped in at Taqueria Pacifica for lunch and it was GREAT! I had not ever been there before. Can't say we had a comprehensice selection but for sure my veggie burrito was such a nice surprise - homemade style tortilla, lovely not overcooked vegetables, non mushy beans, just great. Spicy in a way that really worked on this cold day. My lunch parter had a chicken taco that she said was great. Such a nice Saturday, with the market and then that lunch. I love Providence!

Hi - does anyone have any suggestions for a place for lunch in or around Essex, CT? A bit north up route 9 would be okay, too, or somewhere off 95 in either direction. A good diner would be great. Am meeting my mother - coming from the Danbury area - from Providence for lunch w/ 2 of my small kids, just want to find somewhere in the middle. This is tomorrow, so somewhere that is open on Sunday. Thanks for any suggestions!

My husband and I split a Sandwich Hut Allitalia over the weekend and both of us were pretty much in meat & cheese nirvana. Really is a superlative grinder (I am originally from Philly and it's hard not to say hoagie, as the Sandwich Hut offerings would totally stand up to most of what Philly serves up hoagie-wise).

I also had a soft spot for Adesso. It was the first place where (as a Brown student) I was taken on a fancy dinner date, must have been the fall of '87. As I got older, it seemed less fancy but was always decent - when I got out of college and started working, friends and I would go there just for drinks and dessert and it was always a lot of fun. I then spent 13 years living outside of Providence, and when we moved back, at the tail end of 2004, I was nostalgically glad to see it still there. And then it closed! Oh well. I actually was just thinking about the place this morning as I ran into the Thayer St. CVS to pick something up. The lot is now Wheeler School Parking - I wonder if the restaurant will ever reopen as something.

I can't comment on the interior as it was the first time we'd been there. Refreshed or not, it was inviting, well lit without being bright or harsh, and seasonal without going overboard.

Food: fantastic. We started with prosecco and split 2 starters, the roasted fig and the charcuterie. Both lovely and nice together. The fig was strongest, warm just enough to bring out its figginess, with a little cheese (forgot what) and pistachios. Excellent example of making the best of what a food is rather than overwhelming it with fussiness. The charcuterie was very nice - what we had this summer at La Laiterie was more substantial and showy but this was simple and the right scale to tease the appetite rather than slake it. The pork belly - really, it was bacon! - was delicious, but didn't block out the nice pate and mousse. And lots of pickled onion for which I am a sucker.

My dining parter had the pork ribs which were just shut! up! good. I can't remember where the pork was sourced from but it was some of the best pork I have ever had. They were falling off the bone without being sloppy, perfect ratio of meat to fat, and the corn pudding and cabbage were fine accompaniments.

I had cod in miso sauce with wakame seaweed on top and a bit of caviar and a little cilantro pesto (I asked that to be put on sparingly, as I am not the biggest fan of cilantro). It was warm but light and airy and the fish was texturally reminicient of steamed fish I've had at good Chinese places. Lovely. It did not have the whomp! savoriness of the pork - it was somewhat boggling that the pork and the fish came out of the same kitchen.

We had dessert - I had praline-rum ice cream with hot fudge which was like a very nice grown up sundae, a few cookies on the side (I could have eaten five more of the macaroons) and my husband had the chocolate cake which I regret to say due to the prosecco and 2 glasses of Gruner Veltliner, I cannot recall in detail, but he was very happy about it.

One of the best dining experiences I have had in Providence. The food was lovely, the service was grown up but not stuffy.

One thing that struck us was the age of our fellow diners. The restaurant was not more than 2/3 full the whole time we were there and it's not such a big place, so not so many people from whom to choose. We were there for my husband's 40th birthday (and 2 other patrons were celebrating birthdays, and all wished each other the best, which was lovely and covivial). Anyway - I am the same age as my husband as we were easily the youngest in the place by a couple of decades. That was in no way a problem - hey, it's great to be the spring chickies when you're turning 40! But it was a notable surprise - no idea why the younger crowd may not be going to New Rivers. They're missing out on some good eats!

Didn't the Russian market that was in the East Ave Plaza (the one w/ Ronzios and Garden Grille) move to Hope Street in Providence under the name Europa Deli?

Thanks! We have a New Rivers reservation for tonight, will report back.

Has anyone been back to New Rivers since its October reopening? I've always heard great things, have never been, am thinking it'll be great for my husband's 40th birthday next week, but wanted to hear how it's been. Thanks for any info.

Okay then! We had a fun and perfectly fine dinner at Blaze on Hope about 6 weeks ago but clearly mileage varies.

You're welcome! I grew up in Brookfield and go back frequently - definitely is not a hotbed of superfine dining, but there's good stuff in the surrounding area. That said, for three meals, you can stick to Brookfield and do just fine. I actually adore the pizza at Portobello.

And while you're in Brookfield, stop at the Bridgewater Chocolate store at 559 Federal Road. Among the best chocolate I've ever had, especially their toffee. Looks very uncharming and unauspicious from the outside but it's great. The address says Federal Road but really the entrance is on Silvermine Road (I think it's Silvermine - you'll figure it out).

Enjoy the wedding!

Blaze has opened a Thayer Street outpost - I haven't been, don't know if it measures up to the Hope Street location, which is a good, fun, neighborhood bistro.

I was pleasantly surprised once by the food at Shanghi on Thayer - better than we expected Chinese.

I also think that Phonatic, just off Thayer on, um, Meeting? is nice - decent pho, really nice people, we enjoyed everything we ordered. Nothing spectacular but I'd definitely go back there for dinner.