The Lunch Place Someone In Your Squad Is Probably Already Living For
If you’re situated somewhere in RI today, you’re probably experiencing snow or some form of snow anxiety. Well, once we’ve dug ourselves out from one heck of a March (Note to self: Must stop associating the month of March with Spring temps, attire, and activities!), I have a restaurant for you. Ok, it’s actually more of a deli/lunch place, but you’re going to adore it nonetheless.
A friend of mine’s been grabbing lunch there every flipping day, and I must warn you, her standards are sky high. Then there's my sister, and her longtime longtime BFF who loves their grape leaves. Me? I picked up a bunch of takeout there yesterday pre-Nor-easter (ugh), including chicken soup for the hubs (I flunked soup making.) and a vegetarian lentil for me. I mean, do you know how difficult it is to get great takeout soup locally that doesn’t taste like it has 5 billion milligrams of sodium? It’s even harder to get soup made sans chicken broth or chicken stock, said the non-meat eater.
Without further adieu, guess I can reveal that the place in question is indeed Sonia’s over on the east end of Cranston. You probably won’t see your millenial friends or frenemies updating their Instagrams from there, but it’s not that kind of spot. It’s not about the foto opp, it’s about the food. It’s half market (That's probably a whole other blog post.) and half deli set up with an array of takeout as well as Euro style candies and cookies (most I’ve never come across anywhere else in the vicinity) on the counter if you’re feeling like a splurge.
The menu’s Mediterranean which encompasses a wide variety of lunchtime options, from Armenian (Everything I know about Armenian food I learned from one of my closest friends who married someone whose surname ends in ian.) to Greek to Italian-ish. Now, Italian I know. And while I’m not much when it comes to the cooking part (As the last of a large family, my mother wasn’t as hyper focused on teaching me how to make meatballs. Guess my sister will have to carry that torch! Plus I don’t eat meat, another source of wonder and dismay for mom.), I do know blog-worthy Italian inspired casual eating though. Also, and I can’t stress this enough, there are some delish non-meat eats for all my fellow plant based eaters out there in the OS. In fact, I was just chatting with a friend about how difficult it is to order plant based at restaurants once you leave the umbrella of the Garden Grille or The Grange.
So, to wrap up, great under-the-radar lunch place. Parking can be limited, especially if you go during peak hours (noon-ish) but there’s always the side street option. Yes, there is a connection to Sonya’s Boutique on Oakawn Ave (Just bought a gorgeous gown there for a special event I have coming up this summer.). And someone in your inner or extended circle is probably already enamoured with this place, I know I count at least half a dozen in my world. Definitely worth checking out after this crazy storm had us on edge and we’re in need of a low key day of catching up on errands and eats.