Culinary tour of Rhode Island’s historic Federal Hill highlights crime and gastronomy

PROVIDENCE, RI (WJAR) — On Federal Hill, in Rhode Island’s capital, Providence, there’s a culinary tour with a criminal twist.

The Crime and Cuisine on Federal Hill tour has been attracting tourists for about three years.

However, some people wonder if this doesn’t put the iconic Providence neighborhood in a bad light.

The tour starts in Girbaldi Park, the former bathhouse for the growing Italian immigrant population.

Along the way, the route makes several stops at five different restaurants and other historic buildings, including the former headquarters of the New England Mafia, which is now an Indian fusion restaurant, Cilanter.

The terrace at Cilanter was once the place where Raymond Patriarca sat, in front of his tobacco shop where you could only pay in cash: Coin-O-Matic.

History has shown that this was a cover for much darker operations.

“Is it a little edgy that people think, ‘Okay, they’re going to talk about past crimes on Federal Hill?’ Sure… But that’s the history of the Hill and we can’t erase our past, we can’t sweep it under the rug,” said Federal Hill Association President Rick Simone.

Simone responded to those who might feel this exposes criminality and brings outdated stereotypes to Federal Hill.

“I don’t think it’s bringing a hyper-focus on anything that has to do with recent incidents,” he said. “If anything, it’s bringing that history that is the past … And frankly, there were a lot of people in the past who enjoyed it,” Simone said. “There were a lot of people who were comfortable with these people, their relationships and how things were run,” he said.

WJAR spoke with a family who decided to stop at Venda on Thursday during their Cape Cod vacation and asked them if history would deter them from visiting.

“We know there’s a history there, which is quite intriguing,” said Eric Cavoli of Connecticut. “Of course, we think it’s much smaller than it used to be, and if it’s still there, it’s very difficult for the visitor to discover.”