DINING

Can't travel? Visit ethnic restaurants

By DON FOWLER
Posted 7/23/20

Dreams of traveling to exotic lands have been put on hold this summer, but we can still enjoy their cuisine right in our backyard, as many ethnic restaurants have reopened for take-out, delivery and dine-in service. Rhode Island is blessed

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DINING

Can't travel? Visit ethnic restaurants

Posted

Dreams of traveling to exotic lands have been put on hold this summer, but we can still enjoy their cuisine right in our backyard, as many ethnic restaurants have reopened for take-out, delivery and dine-in service.

Rhode Island is blessed with a number of Indian restaurants. We visited our favorite, Kabob and Curry on Thayer Street in Providence, last week. It is usually a favorite stop after a movie at the Avon.

We made reservations. Upon arrival, we were led to a socially distanced table and given disposable menus, a carafe of cold water and what we like to call Indian “chips and dips.”

Joyce likes the garlic and cilantro naan with her meal and let me have one slice.

Most meals are in the $14 range and include white or brown rice. I ordered the Lamb Madras, tender bits of meat in a fabulous sauce with coconut, tomato and tamarind, while Joyce enjoyed the Shrimp Curry with a delicious sauce with onion, ginger and garlic.

Everything was brought to the table on trays and in paper dishes with special care. We couldn’t have asked for better service, which included the owner thanking us profusely for coming.

Korean (Den Den), Greek (Andrea’s and East Side Pockets), Japanese (Ganko Ittetsu Ramen), Italian and American restaurants are open on Thayer Street. The parking is free and, with students gone, available.

Our favorite Mexican fast food, Caliente, is next door to Kabob and Curry. We always order the shrimp tacos with a variety of toppings. Across the street is Andrea’s, where you can dine on lamb dishes and more, inside or outside.

For Asian cuisine, it is Lemongrass, where take-out is still their option. Order by phone and your food is ready in 10-15 minutes and brought right to your car.

Can’t make it to Greece this summer? You have a variety of options, from Yolendi’s on Westminster Street in downtown Providence, where parking is readily available on the street, to Andrea’s and East Side Pockets on Thayer Street, to a gyro at Vivaldi’s on Broad Street in Edgewood.

As always, Rhode Island seems to have more Italian restaurants than Italy – from Federal Hill, where a section of Atwells Avenue is closed to traffic to accommodate a number of restaurants, to the many fine restaurants scattered around Cranston and Warwick (Marchetti’s, Rigatonis, etc).

Check your favorites online to be sure they are open. Make reservations inside, outside or for take-out.

And enjoy the trip!

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