Rhode Island
What food is Rhode Island famous for? You have to try these 16 classics
RI’s best Italian restaurants: Federal Hill to South County our favorites
From Federal Hill to South County, the best Italian restaurants across Rhode Island.
Journal Staff
Rhode Island has a thing for let’s say unusual foods.
We like Awful Awful drinks and coffee in our milk. We routinely confuse people on social media with our love of pizza strips that don’t even have cheese. We promoted giant stuffed clams in airports and calamari at the Democratic National Convention.
Quirky and distinctive food is part of the Rhode Island culture. Here are 16 of the speciality foods that Rhode Island is famous for.
Awful Awful
Awful big and awful good, this drink, which combines flavored syrups with ice milk instead of the ice cream one would find in a classic milkshake, was originally a New Jersey thing. But, today Newport Creamery has the rights to it, and it’s officially a Rhode Island thing.
Coffee Milk
For those who didn’t grow up drinking coffee milk from cartons in elementary school, coffee milk is exactly what it sounds like: milk mixed with a sweet coffee syrup. The drink was invented in Rhode Island, sometime in the 1930s.
Del’s Lemonade
Never drink it with a straw! Del’s Lemonade is a frozen lemonade with roots in European fruit ices. Perfectly refreshing on a summer beach day, lemon is the classic flavor but the brand offers many others.
Doughboys
Awfully close to the fried dough you might find at any old state fair, but better because of their smaller, more manageable pillow shape. Cover these in sugar and cinnamon for maximum happiness.
Stuffies
Served in the shell, stuffies are baked stuffed clams with lots of breading and butter. This Rhode Island food is so iconic that a seven-foot version was placed in airports around the country to attract visitors to the Ocean State.
Clam Cakes
A deep-fried fritter made with chopped clams, clam juice and a flour base. They have a similar consistency to a hush puppy after they’re fried and are more cakey than say a crab cake.
RI-style Calamari
Take a basic calamari appetizer (batter and fried squid) and toss it in butter, garlic and hot peppers, and you get Rhode Island-style calamari. The dish is the official state appetizer.
RI Clam Chowder
A lighter take on clam chowder than the New England or Manhattan versions, Rhode Island clam chowder skips the cream and the tomatoes giving it a clear broth.
Lobster Roll
Sure, Maine gets a lot of credit for their lobster rolls, but Rhode Island’s are every bit as good. As a state, we’re not picky about if they’re warm or cold. We just like them with an ocean view.
New York System Wiener
We know, it says New York in the name, but we promise this is a Rhode Island thing. The weiners – which are a mix of beef, pork and veal – come in a natural casing that makes a 20-foot rope that the restaurants has to cut to size by hand. Once in the bun, it’s covered in a spicy sauce that includes onions and ground meat.
Grinder
If you’re really from Rhode Island, you’ll pronounce it “grindah” and forget about the r. This Rhode Island favorite is a sandwich made with Italian cold cuts, pickles and other vegetables put on a grinder roll. You can mix up the cold cuts, but they have to stay in the salumi family.
Dynamite
A Woonsocket classic, the dynamite sandwich is a type of sloppy joe-like sandwich served in a torpedo roll with a spicy sauce often made in batches large enough to feed a crowd.
Pizza Strips
Also called a party pizza, red strips or a bakery pizza, a pizza strip is a rectangular strip of pizza, served on a crust that would be best described as focaccia, topped with tomato sauce and often a dusting of grated Romano cheese. It’s served at room temperature.
Johnnycakes
Similar to a pancake, the main difference is Johnnycakes are made with stone-ground cornmeal. A staple at May Breakfasts across the state, they’re very easy to make.
Pepper biscuits
An Italian treat, a pepper biscuit is a simple biscuit flavored with fennel and pepper rolled out into a log before being twisted into a round. The crunchy snack pairs well with a glass of wine.
Zeppole
A treat traditionally served on St. Joseph’s Day, zeppole resembles a flattened cream puff, filled with cream and topped with more cream and a cherry. Traditional ones are filled with pastry cream. Others are made with ricotta cheese, chocolate cream or whipped cream and fruit.
Rhode Island
Dreamflight Studio Releases Rhode Island for MSFS – FSElite
Dreamflight has released its rendition of Rhode Island for Microsoft Flight Simulator 2020 and 2024.
Rhode Island T. F. Green International Airport (KPVD) features the Bruce Sundlun Terminal, a modern two-level facility with North and South concourses housing around 20 gates. It’s served by major U.S. airlines, including American, Delta, JetBlue, Southwest, and Breeze, offering frequent connections to major hubs such as Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Washington, along with seasonal routes to Florida and select Caribbean destinations.
Dreamflight’s version of TF Green Airport delivers an accurate and up-to-date recreation of the real location, featuring a fully modelled terminal interior, detailed ground work, and the current 2025 layout. Handcrafted textures, tuned night lighting, and realistic clutter help bring the environment to life, while static aircraft placements match real-world operations. The package also includes a GSX profile for enhanced ground service compatibility.
You can buy it from Contrail for 16.99 (excluding taxes).
Features
- Accurate, data-driven airport recreation – Modeled using real-world references to deliver the most precise TF Green experience available
- High-quality textures and detailed custom modeling
- Fully modeled terminal interior
- Custom ground poly – Realistic pavement detail, accurate taxiway markings, and updated surface materials
- Up-to-date 2025 airport layout
- Professionally tuned night lighting
- ATC tower interior
- Authentic ground clutter and service equipment
- Patriots 767 parked as in real life, static business jets
- Handcrafted PBR materials
- Detailed parking lots and landside areas
- GSX Profile by pvrlpe
Rhode Island
Renovations bring new look, new stores to TF Green Airport
WARWICK, R.I. (WJAR) — Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport is undergoing a multimillion-dollar project to improve the airport’s terminal.
The project includes multiple new restaurants and stores along with a new decorative flooring that will replace the old carpet throughout the terminal.
The new restaurants inside the terminal include Narragansett Kitchen and Bar in the North Concourse, replacing the location of the old TGI Fridays.
“It’s a great facility, we opened this in May of this year, it’s over a $2 million investment,” said Nikolas Persson, executive vice president of business development. “We want to make sure that when our passengers are arriving here, they have the best impression of our state, and when they’re leaving that the last impression is a lasting one.”
In the South Concourse, the new restaurant is Federal Hill, an Italian restaurant.
Federal Hill is a new restaurant in the South Concourse at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick. (WJAR)
The old Providence Provisions will be replaced with a new Block Island-inspired seafood restaurant.
A Burger King will also replace Rhode Island Burger Co. near the TSA security line.
“We want to make sure that our of our customers have something that their familiar with,” said Persson.
The project to install the new retail and restaurant attractions cost $21 million, while the flooring cost $20.5 million.
According to the airport, the projects are funded by federal funds and airport revenue, not taxpayer money.
It’s not clear what will happen to the sailboat at the information center at Rhode Island T.F. Green International Airport in Warwick. (WJAR)
The airport said it’s unclear what will happen to the sailboat by the information desk at baggage claim. But the airport ensures the live piano music will remain.
In the near future, the airport will undergo a $64 million project to improve its walls, ceilings, seating and lighting. Each project at the airport is done in phases.
Rhode Island
Ammonia leak from Rhode Island food processing facility sends 13 to hospital, 2 in critical condition
More than a dozen people were hospitalized, including two in critical condition, after falling ill from an ammonia leak at a food processing facility in Rhode Island on Thursday night, officials said.
Hazmat teams were working to ventilate the Infinity Fresh Kitchen facility, which is run in partnership with Taylor Farms in North Kingston, after an anhydrous ammonia leak around 6 p.m., according to the state’s Department of Environmental Management.
Thirteen people were hospitalized and two are in critical condition, the department said.
“We had people coming out of the building complaining that they were smelling of ammonia with irritation to their eyes and throats. There was no liquid ammonia leak, it was all vapor,” North Kingstown Fire Chief John Linacre told WJAR.
The Department of Environmental Management explained that a technician at the facility turned the ammonia system off, so a full evacuation wasn’t required.
The agency is still probing the cause of the leak. Linacre told the outlet that they suspected it originated from a valve on the roof that came loose, which created an opening for the air intake to suck the ammonia into the facility.
Taylor Farms was previously fined a whopping $650,000 for an ammonia leak that stemmed from its refrigeration system and sent 15 employees to the hospital in 2020.
Last week, 36 people were hospitalized, including four in critical condition, after ammonia leaked out of a tanker truck that was rolling through a small city in Oklahoma. Roughly 600 people in the surrounding area had to shelter in place for hours until officials gave the all-clear.
In 2022, one HVAC contractor died and another was sickened at a food plant in Massachusetts when an ammonia pipe they were working near started to leak.
Exposure to ammonia can cause severe irritation, burns, and difficulty breathing. In high concentrations, it can lead to life-threatening conditions.
-
Business6 days ago
Fire survivors can use this new portal to rebuild faster and save money
-
World5 days agoFrance and Germany support simplification push for digital rules
-
News6 days agoCourt documents shed light on Indiana shooting that sparked stand-your-ground debate
-
World6 days agoCalls for answers grow over Canada’s interrogation of Israel critic
-
World1 week ago2% of Russian global oil supply affected following Ukrainian attack
-
World6 days agoSinclair Snaps Up 8% Stake in Scripps in Advance of Potential Merger
-
Business5 days ago
Amazon’s Zoox offers free robotaxi rides in San Francisco
-
Politics6 days agoDuckworth fires staffer who claimed to be attorney for detained illegal immigrant with criminal history

