L'OSTERIA,

The mayors of Providence and Boston can verbally duke it out about which of these fair cities has the best restaurants, but both have a competitor farther south. Here in the heart of the Knightsville section of Cranston, settled by immigrants from Itri, Italy, a modest cafe called l'osteria has regular customers who make the drive from Boston's North End. That's certainly testimony to the quality of the food and service. For the past nine years, owner/chef John Notarianni has kept his dishes simple and top-notch. L'osteria (which means "a cozy little inn") has all the warmth and informality-of a neighborhood family restaurant, with the careful kitchen of the most sophisticated upscale nightspot. Notarianni has created a hit -- several in fact -- by concentrating on good, fresh ingredients and letting them sing without an overproduced score.

Full review.