Divine Providence

An insider's guide to a city on the rise

by Celeste Perri

Providence is not New York City -- much to the joy of the natives and my initial chagrin. Here, you will not get a drink in a bar after 2 a.m. on Friday or Saturday, or too many all-night cafes spilling onto the sidewalk. As for the skyline, you better not even blink from the highway, or you might miss it. And no, you will never catch yourself calling it the city that never sleeps, because it does sometimes.

But in the morning, you will find coffee milk, donuts on practically every street corner, and the best Portuguese sweetbread anywhere in the US -- and you'll pay less for all of it. You will find clubs where you can actually touch the band you've paid only $8 to see. You probably will even meet the mayor, who, unlike Mr. Guiliani, errs only on the side of too much personality. (His name is Buddy, and he makes tomato sauce called the Mayor's Own Marinara.)

Those of you new to the city and to your college, be excited. Providence is quirky, enchanting, and surprising. You will be able to explain it to no one who hasn't lived here -- and perfectly to those who have.

Even better, Providence is on the rise, and you can catch it if you try. Just last spring Utne Reader voted this here city one of the top 10 most enlightened in all of the US of A, citing Providence's size and its dedication to the arts and to diversity. And as Mayor Buddy Cianci himself once told me, "Twenty years ago, this place was a slum. Now it's an urban renaissance."

True, it's taken me two years as an undergrad at Brown University to realize that I wouldn't find fresh papaya juice at 3:30 in the morning here. It also took me that long to start craving that famous coffee milk at breakfast time and to refer to this place as "home" rather than "school" (driving my mother crazy). To make your first time in Providence a little easier, here's a cheat sheet that won't get you kicked out of college.

FOOD

While it may be months before the social options on your college campus start to play like a bad 90210 episode, campus fare, in terms of food, can get old before you even try it. Of course, since it's already pre-paid in most cases, it's practically free. Still, you'd be surprised how far your dollar will stretch outside of academia.

Besides, hunger does nothing for your study habits.

LATE-NIGHT MUNCHIES

Unfortunately, the later the munchies strike you, the more out of luck you will be, because most stores in Providence close before 11 p.m.

However, for the night owls, there are some rays of light in the midnight world. People take Dunkin' Donuts very seriously in Rhode Island, for instance. There are 19 stores in Providence alone. And at 1:30 in the morning, you will sing their praises when one of their crullers is the only thing available to fuel you through your economics paper.

The Haven Brothers Diner (72 Spruce St., at Kennedy Plaza), parked until 4 a.m. every day but Sunday, is the oldest continuing diner in the US. It used to be horse-drawn. At the nocturnal Silver Top Diner (13 Harris Ave.), you can catch the sub-culture of the late-night netherworld.

The daytime, family-oriented Bickford's Diner (965 Fall River Ave., just over the Massachusetts border in Seekonk) is a mix of college students and truck drivers by night. Open 24 hours, it serves your basic Denny's food. And the Seaplane Diner (307 Allens Ave.) is a gay-friendly diner, with patrons from the alternative nightclub Gerardo's spilling over here after hours.

ON THE CHEAP

We're talking real cheap here -- five dollars or less. At Bagel Gourmet (250 Brook St.), for instance, your 55 cents will get you the bagel of your choice, from plain to blueberry or sunflower seed. Add cream cheese ($1.35), hummus ($1.95, plus tax), or get many meals out of a dozen bagels ($6.60). All that and this native New Yorker's seal of approval.

If you're early enough to Louis (286 Brook St.), Louis himself (83 if he's a day) will wait on you. This old-school diner/dive attracts everyone from college students to Providence execs begging an early heart attack. A #1 special (eggs, toast, hash browns, and coffee) will run you $2.65. For the same food without the college charm, try Ruffuls (208 Wayland Ave.) in Wayland Square and get the same special for $1.99.

On a crowded evening at Angelo's Civita Farnese (141 Atwells Ave.), you'll probably share a table with strangers, but you'll also pay only $3.50 for a plate of ravioli and $3.75 for eggplant parmesan. The traditional southern Italian cooking makes me feel like I'm in my grandmother's kitchen in Brooklyn - for almost the same price.

Speaking of New York, East Side Mario's (locations in Providence, Warwick, and Seekonk) has a $4.99 all-you-can-eat buffet of soup, salad, and "hot loaf" (bread). Or save the table-service fee and pick up a large cheese pizza at Ronzio's (locations throughout Rhode Island, including Providence's Thayer St.) for $6.40. Lazy types can have Checkers (273-8890) deliver for $8.50. Both places usually have coupons for students, so keep your eye out.

Then, of course, there is always Domino's, whose outposts blanket the state like pepperonis on a pizza.

On those evenings when you feel almost (gasp!) rich and want to spend anywhere from $5 to $10 on a meal, try something other than traditional American cuisine. Providence, a self-purported poster child for diversity, is an ethnic food enclave and has a few health-food restaurants to boot.

While famous people such as Candice Bergen have been spotted at Apsara (716 Public St. in South Providence), college students and neighbors are its biggest fans. Choosing from the restaurant's pan-Asian menu with "strange flavor" everything, you can get a full meal for less than $7 if you order wisely or bring a lot of friends and share. (Tip: without a liquor license, Apsara allows customers to BYOB, making it a popular option for an early Friday or Saturday evening.)

Kabob and Curry (261 Thayer St.) offers an all-you-can-eat lunch buffet on Sunday for $4.50 -- killer curries and veggie options. And even my Beverly Hills friend, another geographical snob, approves of the healthy Garden Grill (727 East Ave., just over the line in Pawtucket) and their fruit smoothies and veggie wraps. This is the only place I've seen that offers more than one variety of veggie burger (count them: six, with pickles and chips, $4.50).

WHEN YOUR PARENTS COME TO VISIT

Have no shame. You're in college and, therefore, generally in desperate need of "parental guidance" (aka, "Please come visit me and take me to dinner").

From the moderately priced to the ultra-expensive, Mom and Dad have plenty of places to choose from. (Tip: suck in your cheeks, look pale, and malnourished.) There is, of course, Alforno (577 S. Main St.), whose northern Italian food (entrées $15-$25) is the pet of the food-critic world. Or try Federal Reserve (170 Westminster St.), a new restaurant, for a traditional steak-and-potatoes meal.

Plus, there's always Federal Hill, with blocks of Italian eateries. The options here range from basic deep-dish pizzas at Sicilia's (181 Atwells Ave.) to fine dining at L'Epicureo Ristorante (238 Atwells Ave.), a converted meat market that is considered one of the best Italian restaurants in the region.

GROCERIES

Of course, dorm facilities permitting, you might want to just stay home, save a few bucks, and COOK for once. For groceries, Bread & Circus (261 Waterman St.) is very veggie-friendly, selling the freshest fare. But be prepared to pay for what you get.

Although it is locally owned and boasts its own cafe, the East Side Marketplace (165 Pitman St.) charges prices that reflect the prime real estate surrounding the store on the East Side. If you have a car and a shoestring budget, Stop & Shop (locations throughout the state) is your best bet. (Tip: get a Stop & Shop Club Savers card -- they're free and save you cash without clipping coupons.)

JAVA

Depending on the hour of the day and your course load, coffee is either the first essential element or a social event. Either way, the true mark of an "enlightened" town in the '90s is the number of coffeehouses per square block. Providence does not let you down. On a two-block stretch of Thayer Street alone, you can find four places that serve the beans.

In terms of atmosphere, Cafe Zog (239 Wickenden St.), with its comfy booths and coffee, is a great place for evening chats or to do homework outside the sterility of the school library. A few doors down, Coffee Exchange (207 Wickenden St.) is popular among Rhode Island's gays and lesbians, as is Cafe Mondo (200 Atwells Ave.).

Ocean Coffee Roasters (110 Waterman St.) is open later (11 p.m.) than Cafe La France (five locations), has better coffee than Starbucks, and offers lots of different food choices (lentil soup, $3.50 with a half loaf of hot French bread). Purely in terms of fuel, Dunkin' Donuts could once again be your saving grace - cheap hot coffee and open late.

SHOPPING

With the Providence Place mall still at least a year away (although the latest reports say it's more like two), shopping is fairly spread out over the city and surrounding towns. If you just want to hang out and shop, head to Thayer or Wickenden. Both cater to the trendy college student, with used clothing, music, jewelry, and food. But if you're looking for something in particular, read on.

MUSIC

At In Your Ear Records (286 Thayer St.), you'll find a solid selection of indie music, new and used CDs, and vinyl. Or you can head to Tom's Tracks across the street for much of the same and a good selection of up-and-coming-you'll-say-you-knew-them-when local bands.

At Fast Forward (5 Steeple St.) you can listen to the best selection of techno and hard-core music in Providence before you buy it or order it through owner Judy Holmes's mail-order business (272-8866). Although it's a bit of a hike to Newbury Comics in Warwick (1500 Bald Hill Rd.), the store's top 50-selling albums of the week are always on sale.

TATTOOS AND PIERCING

Providence, and Atwells Avenue in particular, is famous for tattoos. Because Massachusetts forbids the practice of tattooing, people come from all over the East Coast to our fair city to decorate their person. Modern Primitives (148 Atwells Ave.) can draw Scooby Doo on your stomach or a serpent on your thigh with crazy colors your mother would faint over.

Piercing, anywhere you want it, can be done at Luna-Sea (286 Thayer St.). If you're going for that Night of the Living Dead look, this store also sells Manic-Panic makeup. Wherever you go for piercing, protect yourself from infections from dirty needles by making sure the place is registered with the state Department of Health.

GROOMING

Supercuts (11 locations throughout Rhode Island, including Providence's Thayer St.) will give you a basic haircut without a shampoo for $8.95. Those of you with any sort of kinks or complications to your hair should head to Altered Images (268 Wickenden St.). Kenny charges $20 and makes you laugh -- picture an urban, male Dolly Parton in Steel Magnolias who's actually funny and crazy good at cutting hair.

MOST IMPORTANT, YOUR DORM ROOM

The space where you eat, drink, sleep, study, socialize, and break the law (and there are many in Rhode Island you might not even know about) should reflect you. To decorate it for cheap, try the Salvation Army (201 Pitman St.) on Wednesdays. Student IDs will get you half-price, which explains the $4 Michael Jackson-on-black-velvet wall-hanging my freshman year.

On the weekends, usually through October, you can find some gems at East Side yard sales, great places for furniture and plates to make your kitchen feel like home.

A more reliable bet is Ann & Hope in Seekonk (95 Highland Ave.). You can get anything, from rubber sheets to bathroom mats here. I promise. Those "do-it-yourself" types also will find loads of stuff, from hammers to lamps and space heaters, at Home Depot, also in Seekonk.

For an expensive head shop, Kind Connection (224 Thayer St.) sells tons of "tobacco pipes." Interesting tapestries, perfect for covering up that "what do you think that could be?" sort of hole on your dorm-room wall, can be found at Yang's (219 Thayer St.).

CLOTHING

For a flashback to the '80s and malls, hit the Emerald Square Mall (995 South Washington St., North Attleboro, Massachusetts.) With stores such as the Gap (in a mall? Never!), the Limited, Aeropostle, and Champs and major department stores such as Filene's and Sears, Emerald Square is good for any sort of basics. And the third floor has a kicking food court.

Anyone who wants to be in this decade and look like an urban-subculture kinda hipster can find trend-setting garments at fairly exorbitant prices in many of the clothing stores on Thayer Street. Better bet? Go downtown to Morris Clothes Shop (101 Richmond St.) for what the Spin Underground Guide calls "crazy dope '70s cuts." If you have a car, try the Salvation Armies in area suburbs for a better selection and cheaper prices than Providence's.

ENTERTAINMENT

On a disenchanted Friday evening, I start to grumble and describe Providence as little more than a glorified suburb. This is a mistake. Providence is a college town, after all, and downtown wakes up at 10 o'clock. (It closes at 2 a.m. on Friday and Saturday, but we'll forget that.) From music to lectures to plays, Providence has a little of everything. It's usually a matter of seeking it out and then financing your fun.

LIVE MUSIC

So close to Boston and New York, Providence gets most of both city's musical thru-traffic. Converted from a factory town in Providence's heyday to its present role as a practice ground for the next hot town (you read it here first), downtown offers the latest pop/alternative bands at Lupo's Heartbreak Hotel, the Strand, and the Met Cafe.

These three clubs are probably the most popular college hangouts featuring alternative rock, although the Met Cafe (130 Union St.), the smallest of them, is my favorite for precisely for this reason.

In a lot of ways the Met serves as a proving ground for bands hoping to get to Lupo's, which it adjoins. Indeed, Lupo's has recently attracted such popular bands as Collective Soul, Oasis, and Foo Fighters, and every Saturday night it hosts radio station WBRU's U-Nite. If you arrive before 10 p.m. and are older than 21, you get in free.

The Strand (79 Washington St.) hosts "Monday Night Vibes" with DJBuck every week. It is also the largest of the three clubs. While there, look up at the ceiling -- baby angels are flying.

Jazz Buffs can stop by the coffee/antique shop CAV (14 Imperial Pl.) or AS220 (115 Empire St.). AS220 is an artists' cooperative complete with a cafe (cheap sandwiches), a gallery, studio and rehearsal space, a recording studio, a darkroom, and a stage. If you are an artist in any sense of the word, you must check it out.

The Call (15 Elbow St.) features blues, roots, and country music, plus an eclectic slate of indie bands, and is generally a social outcast-friendly place. Rock star wannabes should check out either the Call or CAV on Mondays for open-mike night, with no covers.

THEATER

For those of you who feel culturally deprived, Trinity Repertory Company (201 Washington St.) offers student-rush tickets two hours before every show for $10. Or you can usher there and see a show for free.

The Providence Performing Arts Center (220 Weybosset St.) gets some big-name touring productions (Into the Woods and Stomp, last year) as well as musical acts (Ani DiFranco). Brown University and Rhode Island College often have surprisingly good productions for cheap seats ($5 with school/college ID).

GAY-FRIENDLY NIGHT SPOTS

Once strictly a gay club, Gerardo's (1 Franklin Sq.) is now a gay- and hetero-friendly place for great dancing. Located at 71 Union Street, Union Street Station (not to be confused with the brewery) is an easygoing gay bar with Tuesday night "Mr. Ocean State Leather"competitions. Deville's (10 Davol Sq.) is more of a lesbian hangout.

MOVIES

The Avon Cinema (260 Thayer St.) always has the latest independent movies. (Tip: buy five admissions in advance for $30). Weekend matinees (and the recently added Friday) are $4.25. The Cable Car Cinema (204 South Main St.) has its own cafe, couches rather than chairs, and many of the same movie choices as the Avon -- only a little later. Hang out in the cafe long enough, and you might catch a glimpse of the city's most eligible bachelor, Mayor Buddy, who has been seen critiquing movies here, pastry in hand.

For the suburban-style theater with all the shoot-em-up! or Jennifer Aniston movies you can imagine and pick-a-mix candy selections, check out the Showcase Cinemas (locations in North Attleboro, Seekonk, and Warwick ).

THE GREAT BEYOND

One of the best things about Providence is how easy it is to get out of it. My beloved New York is only four hours away by bus ($29 on Bonanza, with movie; $16 on Greyhound), and Boston is only an hour ($8.50 one way on the bus and $15 round trip, or $10 on Amtrak.) If you're headed to Boston, wait for the purple T, which runs once a day at the height of commuting time and costs only $4.75. This is not a myth.

But there are many places to go within Little Rhody as well. Nothing in Rhode Island is more than an hour away by car, and the Rhode Island Public Transportation Authority (RIPTA) is a surprisingly easy way to get around if you have the time and the patience to deal with transfers. Three dollars will get you to Newport; $1, to Roger Williams Park (Elmwood Ave., Providence), which features an old-fashioned carousel and quite an impressive zoo.

Outdoorsy "I wish I went to college in New Hampshire" types can bike, hike, or just hang out in Lincoln Woods, right off Rt. 146 in Lincoln. Since it only costs a dollar to get here on RIPTA, the park is known as "Providence Beach" to the city slickers who can't afford the longer journey to the shores of South County. Foxwoods, the casino/city in the woods of Ledyard, Connecticut ($15 on Greyhound), has high-stakes bingo for the 18-and-older crowd -- as well as gambling for those over 21.