Providence New American Kitchen

Steak was amazing. Sour cream mashed potatoes were a little heavy on sour cream but were still very good. Service was great.

Stars for service. It's hard for me to fault Providence because the two times I've been there the service has been over the top in a good way. In my experience, staff has been professional, kind, helpful, respectful, and goes above and beyond the call of duty to make sure you have a good experience.

Unfortunately, I personally haven't been as blown away by the food as I have the service. However, I think that may be because of what I order. This last visit I had the Arugula Salad with grilled chicken. It wasn't great for the price - it was small, the arugula stuck together in big clumps, and there were barely any toppings.

I'm pretty sure the people who love Providence come here for the meatloaf specifically, but that just really isn't my thing.

A huge plus is the private room, which we reserved for about 10 people for a dinner meeting. We had a few bottles of the Malbec which was divine. Our fabulous waiter Dennis completely sold us on dessert and even though I didn't have them myself they looked incredible - spiced apple pie and a s'mores dessert with homemade graham cracker ice cream! If you do go here, don't sleep on the dessert like I did!

Overall, Providence is just OK. Our server was initially aggressive, but after the entrees arrived, we did not see him for quite a while, which delayed ordering another glass of Malbec. The food was creative, but each dish was one simple step away from perfection. The cheese curds were fried at too low of a temperature, resulting in a soft, oily mouth feel; however, the presentation and other flavors on the plate were quite well balanced and delicious. The arugula salad lack any sweetness to balance out the deep flavors of the greens; however, the aged cheddar and hint of smokiness were lovely. The mushroom lasagna was beautifully plated and well-prepared; however, the dish comes across as very bland, even with salt added at the table. The brightness of the garlic chip garnish only slightly corrected this. The star of the evening was the Gnocci. It was beautifully prepared and presented, well-balanced with numerous layers of flavor. We will look forward to trying other eateries in the same area before returning. When we return, we will know to order differently.

The service was great but the entrees could have been better. The pork belly appetizer was really tasty. For the price of dinner I expected a better meal. I had the meatloaf which was recommended by the waitress. It was a little dry and only had mild flavor.

Came here for happy hour on a weekday. They have a sit down section and a bar section, apparently happy hour is only served in the bar section. The happy hour menu has a decent variety of staple items. We got the onion rings, fries, burger, pork belly, and salmon rilette. Each item was pretty tasty. The portions are decent for the happy hour prices.

GOOD
* Pork belly - The skin has been baked so that it's quite crunchy, but the inside is still juicy, and it's covered with a sweet sauce that accents the pork well.

MEH
* Fried Chicken - Ordered their fried chicken. It's a decently sized, has a nice crunchy breading, and juicy succulent meat, but it has no flavor besides the inherent chicken flavor.