Oak, parkside, blaze for providence lunch

[bawc]

My cousin from LA is visiting for the day with her two young teenage sons, and wants to meet for lunch near Brown, which I take to mean anywhere on the East Side. Her husband and my 5 year old son will also be joining us (he is an adventurous eater, but considers eating an optional activity). I am not thrilled by anything on Thayer, although Kebab and Curry might be nice, if they like Indian. Any recommendations among the three I listed, or other recommendations? Thanks.

[malyna]

Parkside if I had to choose between those three.

[bawc]

OK, so Oaks is eliminated, the food at Waterman grille is totally unimpressive, although the view is nice. I hadn't thought of Waterplace, I haven't eaten there yet, that is a good suggestion. I forgot about the parking for Parkside, maybe not too bad on a summer Friday? I actually have never eaten there, but have heard consistently nice things about it. And where is Kartabar, I have never heard of it? Very helpful responses, I just have to narrow it down...

[invinotheresverde]

Right on Thayer. Not sure I recommend anything other than the soup, though. ;)

[Frobisher]

As to the parking for Parkside, if you don't mind a 5-10 minute walk you should have no problem finding a metered spot on the street on either South Water, South Main or Benefit.

[invinotheresverde]

Seems unlikely, but Kartabar has killer tomato soup. I get it for lunch all the time. They make it to order, so it's slightly different every time, but it's surprisingly good. I might even call it wonderful.

[JaneRI]

I'm a big fan of Parkside, it's never let me down. Are you on foot or driving? If it's a weekday, you'll have the usual weekday parking woes to consider. If the weather is good, consider Waterplace (www.waterplaceri.com), big menu w/a lot of choices....but for me the best part is the outdoor seating overlooking Waterplace Park. Again, it's downtown not near Brown.

An east side choice that I hesitate to rec but will do so anyway w/a caveat....Waterman Grille, all the way east to the River (at the start of the Henderson Bridge)....my experiences w/the food have been iffy (but nothing horrible) but again, the outdoor seating is a huge draw for me. Gorgeous building, seating outside right on the river.

[celeriac]

I would definitely avoid Oak. Admittedly I've only been there once, but it was one of the most irritating dining experiences of my life. Very overpriced for the thoroughly lousy food and rude, aloof service. My girlfriend and I still discuss it as a paragon of horrid eating.

[Jenkins]

For a minute there I thought I wrote this email. My wife and I have had the exact same experience as you. Never will go again.

[jmac42]

I must tell you that I am surprised by the two posts above. My wife and I have dined at Oak many times and always had a good experience, both in terms of food and service. I like that it lacks much of the pretense as other E. Side places...however the wine list is kinda lame