<p>We’re visiting Providence this weekend (D1 goes to RISD and D2 will be applying to Brown class of 2014). I’ve heard there are some really good Italian restaurants in the Federal Hill area. Does anyone have any recommendations for a moderately priced dinner? Someone at the Old Court B&B recommended Zooma’s. I also ran across a couple of other restaurants in TripAdvisor that sounded pretty good: Costantino’s and Cassarino’s. I’m assuming we need reservations if we’re talking about a Saturday evening. </p>
<p>Another question… Are there any good running trails in the College Hill area or near the Renaissance Providence Hotel (5 Avenue of the Arts)?</p>
<p>The East Bay Bike Path is a fantastic trail, but may take quite some time when running to get to the nice part. I recommend Blackstone Boulevard for running in general.</p>
<p>For restaurants in Federal Hill, the best priced restaurant that still has great food is Andino’s, IMO. Costantino’s (run by Venda Ravioli) is also supposed to be a great choice. I’ve never been to/heard of Cassarino’s.</p>
<p>A guy from Italy told me Siena was good so I went there. It was good. A reservation is a good precaution.</p>
<p>Though it’s not a running trail, there is a nice walking area/dog park near Lincoln School North of Angell (not the park by the boathouse, it’s up in the trees overlooking the water, nice place).</p>
<p>I’ve always heard good things about Al Forno. </p>
<p>There is another path not too far away in East Providence that goes to Pawtucket. The water is a haven for swan breeding, I’m guessing, since there must have been 50-75 swans floating around when I was there last over the summer.</p>
<p>Al Forno is great, but not on Federal Hill. And the wait on weekends is legendary. The one time I ate there was 5 pm on a weekday – no wait at all.</p>
<p>Many people run on the path in the center of Blackstone Blvd. on the East Side. The round trip loop is exactly 5K. I sometimes “supplement” by running on nearby streets north of the Blvd., which takes you by the water and past some beautiful homes.</p>
<p>Restaurant-wise, our favorite on Federal Hill is Pane e Vino. We’ve gone there several times in the past year or so; once was merely excellent and the other times were exceptional. Pretty much every place on the Hill is good, and you probably will be pleased with pretty much any choice you make. Pane e Vino seems particularly consistent (and reasonably priced), though.</p>
<p>I called this (Wednesday) afternoon, and neither Costantino’s nor Siena had any dinner reservations available on Saturday evening except for 5:00 or 9:00 p.m… I felt lucky to get a reservation at Pane e Vino for 6:30. The person who answered the phone there said that Columbus Day weekend is crowded and that there will be a parade Sunday or something. Wow, I had no idea Providence was such an exciting place.</p>
<p>In my opinion, Providence is indeed a really interesting place, although not very many people outside Rhode Island seem to know that. (I think it suffers from its proximity to Boston and its reputation as a dirty old manufacturing city.) There is a very high percentage of Italian-Americans there – Federal Hill is certainly evidence of that – so I would expect Columbus Day to be celebrated as a big deal. Have fun and enjoy your stay!</p>