JAHUNGER
The two-story home that was recently coated in a deep shade of navy blue paint is unassuming from the outside. Inside is Jahunger, a Uyghur restaurant with white walls contrasting its brightly-colored fare: affordable plates of handmade ding ding noodles with diced rainbow peppers, and stir-fried string beans seasoned with mildly spicy dry chilis. Chef-owner Subat Dilmurat, who was named a James Beard semifinalist for the Best Chef: Northeast award earlier this year, grew up in his parents’ restaurants in Xinjiang, China. He uses his mother’s recipes for items such as kavap (lamb skewers with cumin), and their noodles, which are pulled by hand daily.
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“The Jahunger noodle is the base and the benchmark of what we do here,” Dilmurat said in a recent interview. “As long as we get that right, the rest will just follow.” — Alexa Gagosz
Location: 333 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I. jahunger.com.
PIZZA MARVIN
Pizza may be the perfect meal for almost any occasion, but there aren’t many restaurants that can pull off being the ideal option for first dates, graduation dinners, movie nights, Super Bowl parties, or when you want to pick up a box of wine and listen to Taylor Swift in your pajamas all night long. Enter Pizza Marvin, which might be home to the best pizza in New England outside of New Haven. It’s still pretty new (having opened in 2020), but owners Robert Andreozzi and Jesse Hedberg are already giving Sally’s, Pepe’s and Modern a run for their money. The menu is simple and straightforward, but the pizza delivers. Get the crazy bread, and my shellfish-eating friends recommend ordering a few oysters. But save room for the single-greatest pepperoni pie you’ll ever try (the round, crispy, pepperonis are delicious enough to be their own appetizer). The Chowdah Pie, which comes with clams, potato, bacon, and herbs, is another can’t-miss option.
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One word of warning: It ain’t cheap. A half-cheese, half-pepperoni, pizza goes for $28, and if more than two people are sitting for a meal, you’re going to need an extra pie. Don’t worry, you won’t be disappointed. — Dan McGowan
Location: 468 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I., pizzamarvin.com.
SMALL FORMAT
As its name hints, the recently reopened Small Format does a lot — but not too much — in one of the smaller cafe spaces on this street.
Step inside and the decor is dreamy, a subtle, curated pastel palette of flowers and artwork. Skylights above keep the long, narrow cafe and gallery feeling open.
Its instagram describes Small Format as a “3rd space” “for queer creative communities to gather.” The staff is welcoming and the menu inclusive, with solid vegan and gluten-free options, from the Little Baddie — vegan sausage, black bean hummus, tomato, jalapeño and greens on a bagel, to the Rainbow Fish Bowl — jasmine rice, smoked salmon, picked veggies, avocado and herbed crema.
Where this little cafe really seems to shine is its lineup of drinks, from hot or cold coffees and teas, to co*cktails to mocktails, ranging from cappuccino, espresso and cold brew, to rose or lavender lattes, to a guava honey matcha spritz. The Summer Flowering co*cktail is Foragers gin, Cynar, lavender, pomegranate and lemon, or try a spicy marg mocktail with watermelon, agave and jalapeño.
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The sidewalk is wider at this part of Wickenden: When the weather warms, there are more seating options outside Small Format than within. Sit still for once, sip among friends, and watch the world go by. — maria caporizzo
Location: 355 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I., facebook.com/smallformatpvd.
WICKENDEN PUB
When I think about the Wickenden Pub, I think about the table chairs. They are breathtakingly robust, made out of sturdy and darkly varnished wood. They’re not particularly comfortable, per se, but with the friendly crowd and the casual atmosphere and the beer selection, I could sit in them all night. They remind me of the sort of insanely heavy antique furniture that a beloved aunt would ask me to move from one room to another, then ask me to move back because she changed her mind. In other words, the first things I think about when I think about this great pub are familiarity, good people, a good time, a safe place to rest this old chunk of coal while I have a drink. And if you see me there, I hope you’ll pull up a chair — use two hands — and join me for a round. — Brian Amaral
Location: 320 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I., facebook.com/WickendenPub.
AMY’S PLACE
With a storefront so unassuming you might miss it, Amy’s Place is the quintessential neighborhood breakfast spot. I like to sit outside on a nice day and pet the dogs that walk by while eating the Vermonster, an egg-and-sausage wrap with hash browns and maple syrup inside. The interior of the teeny cafe is bright and sunny with just five tables, plus counter stools around the edge with great people-watching views from big windows.
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Owner Amy Cary, who also owns the Square Peg in Warren with her husband Joel, bought the cafe more than 20 years ago and quickly renamed it from the slightly off-putting “Virgin Cafe.” The vision is great food “made from scratch, but simple,” fresh smoothies and local ingredients including coffee sourced from Pawtucket’s Downeast Coffee Roasters. — Steph Machado
Location: 214 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I., amysplaceri.com.
THE EAST END
The East End in Providence has a lot of the elements you’d want in a neighborhood bar that specializes in whiskey: Moody lighting, leather chairs, dark wood, and sets of deep blue velvet curtains tied off by golden ropes. The bar, which has a stellar collection of more than 400 types of whiskeys, requires bartenders to climb on a ladder (or the counter itself) to reach some bottles hidden away in all of the wooden nooks and crannies.
Outside of alcohol, The East End’s menu has broad appeal: massive cheese boards with house-made bread, pickles, and jams; delicious burgers and other hand-helds; and small-bites like shish*to peppers, bone marrow toast, calamari, poutine, and disco fries. Get there sometime between 4 and 6 p.m. for half-priced oysters and burgers. If you’re more of a night owl, they’ll soon expand their late-night menu on Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays. — Alexa Gagosz
Location: 244 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I., theeastendpvd.com.
COFFEE EXCHANGE
There is no need to drink caffeine from a chain anywhere in Providence, but that fact is particularly true on Wickenden Street. Perched at the base of the hill is Coffee Exchange, a four-decade old staple of the street. The bistro tables scattered around the tan and brown painted building, which was initially constructed in 1889, are usually filled with long-time locals and store owners chatting about the latest developments and political gossip.
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Coffee Exchange turns 40 this year, and owner Charlie Fishbein is planning a party for National Coffee Day. It was January 1984 when a friend lent him and his family $4,000 to open the cafe in a modest 375 square foot space in Fox Point. At the time, the coffee boom in the US hadn’t yet taken off, as Fishbein recalls. But they were hungry to make a killing in the market. It was a few years later when they started selling their own coffee beans after rescuing an old Eterna espresso machine from a junkyard. So go for a cup of coffee, or a pound coffee beans to make at home.
Charlie Fishbein’s brother and Coffee Exchange’s co-founder, Bill Fishbein, founded The Coffee Trust in 2008 with the mission of helping “indigenous coffee farmers improve their agricultural practices, diversify their incomes, and raise healthy families.” The Coffee Exchange helps support various programs for coffee farmers and their families in San Gaspar Chajul, Guatemala. If you’re around on New Year’s, the Coffee Exchange holds its annual 1st Cup fundraiser where suppliers donate their goods, baristas their time, and customers and local merchants give away various items for a silent auction. Every dollar goes directly to The Coffee Trust. Cheers to that. — Alexa Gagosz
Location: 207 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I., thecoffeeexchange.com.
BRICKWAY ON WICKENDEN
A few anchor establishments have endured for decades on Wickenden Street, together defining what it is to visit this signature Fox Point thoroughfare. Get a perfectly matched paint color and a tactile fix in the cabinet hardware displays at Adler’s Hardware; catch that burnt-caramel note on the breeze off upper Narragansett Bay — it’s the Coffee Exchange beans roasting; and definitely grab a quick breakfast at the Brickway.
Sweet and savory breakfast options are served until 2 p.m. every day but Wednesday, as well as lunch. The portions are plenty generous, but not over the top. The dining room of 1950s-style formica tables isn’t large and is often packed, and makes for good people watching, a mix of neighborhood residents and Brown and RISD students.
The tables are close, and the waitstaff efficient. The ample menu is worth your focus: if you’re ready to order when they weave their way through the tables to yours, you’ll soon have your breakfast. But don’t forget to look up, or you’ll miss the posted specials chalked on the little blackboards. On a recent Sunday, the omelette of the day was Philly cheesesteak, and specials included peach French toast. There are no fancy coffee drinks at the Brickway, but the coffee is always fresh and always hot. — maria caporizzo
Location: 234 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I., brickwayonwickenden.com.
FELLINI PIZZERIA
For a more classic New York-style slice, stop by Fellini Pizzeria near the bottom of Wickenden, where the slices are huge but you can somehow still scarf down two (or three!) because of the perfectly-thin crust. While there are 20 pizzas on the menu, you’ll often find an unlisted variety on offer as chefs mix up new combinations of the 40 toppings available. Crowd favorites include the steak and scallion, and the barbecue chicken, but I’m partial to the white pizza.
Don’t miss the not-quite-life-size police officer figurines, which the restaurant inherited from the picture frame shop that used to be next door. Now they just hold up the specials. — Steph Machado
Location: 166 Wickenden St., Providence, R.I., fellinipizzeria.com.
Alexa Gagosz can be reached at alexa.gagosz@globe.com. Follow her @alexagagosz and on Instagram @AlexaGagosz. Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado. maria caporizzo can be reached at maria.caporizzo@globe.com. Follow her @mariacap. Dan McGowan can be reached at dan.mcgowan@globe.com. Follow him @danmcgowan.
