Back home in Rhode Island, my family’s favorite restaurant is Al Forno in the capital city of Providence. We’ve been going to this restaurant for as long as I can remember and it’s always a special occasion. It was founded by a married couple who both went to school at RISD in Providence with my mother which makes our connection to the restaurant that much more special. They are known for their tucked away location right near the Providence River in their subtle building. But even more than that, they are known (obviously) for their delicious food. There are a few details that make their menu unique, they have a core set of appetizers, entrees and desserts, but the majority of their menu rotates based on the season. It makes it fun to visit and try all the different dishes they serve at different times in the year. While I love the half chicken entree, the most popular dish is the four cheese pasta (first picture). when it comes to desert there is a fairly unanimous decision on which is best, and that is the flourless chocolate cake (second picture). That is one that I definitely agree with.
This restaurant is a very important place to my family and we were very glad to see it make it through COVID when so many similar small restaurants similar to this struggled and failed. Almost every birthday, graduation, anniversary or any other special occasion was spent there. We were even lucky enough to be some of the first customers back after the pandemic break.
