Federal Hill
Providence, Rhode Island
A Providence’s Federal Hill neighborhood was named for the Federal-style architecture that was popular in New England when the area was built. But today it is known more for its food than its buildings.
“Federal Hill is known as our Little Italy and has been ranked one of the best in the country,” said Kristen Adamo, vice president of marketing and communications for the Providence-Warwick Convention and Visitors Bureau. “But there are little bits of other cultures starting to peak in. There’s a Jamaican restaurant, an Irish pub and a Mexican restaurant.”
Travelers spending free time on Federal Hill can take advantage of the numerous restaurants in the area. If the weather is good, many people order food to go and eat it in DePasquale Plaza, which features a fountain and live music performances.
For a more immersive experience, Adamo recommends a culinary tour of Federal Hill led by pastry chef Cindy Salvato.
“You eat your way through Federal Hill,” she said. “She takes you through the food markets and walks you through what you should buy. At Scialo Brothers Bakery, you can go in the back and see the brick ovens and watch them make pastries.”
Other popular stops on the tour are Venda Ravioli, which sells handmade local pasta and fine foods imported from Italy, and Tony’s Colonial Food Store, an Italian market where visitors can taste a variety of specialty meats and cheeses.
The CVB offers a number of group tour itineraries, and several feature activities such as pizza-cooking demonstrations at Federal Hill establishments.
“You can also do your own progressive dinner down Federal Hill,” Adamo said. “You can have appetizers at one place, dinner at another place and desert somewhere else. It’s a really compact area to experience a lot of different flavors.”
Short North
Columbus, Ohio
The Short North neighborhood hasn’t always been the most desirable area of Columbus, but a revitalization effort over the past 15 years has turned it into the city’s pre-eminent arts district. And as the art galleries grew in popularity, the neighborhood began to develop a diverse dining scene as well.
“Now, on any given night, it’s packed with people dining out, getting ready to go to a show or a sports event,” said Roger Dudley, tourism sales manager for Experience Columbus. “On the weekends, it’s busy all day with people shopping and checking out the restaurants for lunch or brunch.”
A great restaurant option for groups is Hubbard Grille, which is built inside an old Chevrolet dealership. The building still retains its marble facade and showroom window. Though the restaurant is open to the public only in the evening, groups can make reservations for private lunches there.
“It’s new age American food like pork chops and fried chicken,” said Marceline Dyer, another tourism sales manager for Experience Columbus. “I love the jalapeno corn bread that they do as a starter. They also have Brussels sprouts that they make with bacon and a wine reduction.”
Many of the other restaurants in the Short North are smaller establishments that can’t handle full groups, so Dudley and Dyer suggested turning visitors loose to explore the culinary scene on their own. Travelers will find pizza, sushi, fusion and a variety of other restaurants. Jenny’s Ice Cream, a local favorite, has people lined up out the door to try intriguing flavors such as pear and Riesling sorbet, salty caramel, Ugandan vanilla bean, and Ohio sweet corn and blackberry.
At the end of the district is the North Market, where groups can stop for lunch from a choice of 15 different food vendors, serving such menu items as barbecue, pizza, and Vietnamese, Greek and Polish food.
