Restaurants in Valley Falls

Two Papas Biscotti inspires dreams of Italian cafés or Tuscan countrysides with its biscotti, which are handmade and hand-cut, resulting in various shapes and textures. King Arthur flour builds each biscuit's skeleton, and fresh fruit and chopped nuts give varieties such as the cranberry walnut or limoncello their distinct flavor. Traditional vanilla-almond biscotti charm palates with slivered almonds, and a double-chocolate-chip biscotti satiates cocoa lovers. All biscotti are twice baked, allowing eaters to experience a taste of Italy without making out with Fabio.

Though recently featured in a USA Today Travel article that praised its “astonishing” chow mein sandwich, Chan’s Fine Oriental Dining is known by locals for more than just its kitchen’s specialties. The restaurant also won a prestigious Keeping the Blues Alive award in 2011, and its world-famous jazz and blues performances have helped cement its self-proclaimed reputation as New England’s "home of eggroll, jazz, and blues."

Long before the sounds of horns and saxophones filled its halls, the New Shanghai Restaurant opened its doors in 1905. It was not until the mid-1960s, however, that the Chan family refurbished the Woonsocket landmark and began serving an innovative combination of Cantonese, Szechwan, Hunan, and Mandarin cuisines. Around this time, the Chans also brought in the live jazz and blues music that continues to fill the main dining area—known as the Horseshoe Bar Lounge—and the famous Four Seasons Jazz and Blues Club.

With its red paper lanterns, traditional Chinese artwork, and colorful paintings of musicians, the Four Seasons has played host to such legendary blues, jazz, and folk artists as Dizzy Gillespie and Rebecca Parris. A buffet spread accompanies musical performances, during which enthralled audiences watch as musicians pound eggrolls against snare drums or slide their hands along guitars strung up with slippery chow mein noodles.

Though the idea of sharing a table with the Godfather, Scarface, and Don Carlo might be scary, it only gets mouths watering at Wise Guys Deli. That’s because these gangster-inspired nicknames simply denote several of the deli's freshly crafted sandwiches, each of which is piled with prosciutto, juicy roast beef, and fried eggplant. The chefs also churn out Sleep with the Fishes specials—seafood-based soups, starters, and entrees—as well as breakfast selections and premade meals from a gleaming deli case.

The sounds of cheers and high-fives from youth baseball and softball teams sponsored by Grumpy's Restaurant & Pub punctuate the hush of patrons tucking into feasts. Five big-screen televisions chatter overhead, tuned to athletic events or emergency broadcasts aimed at whoever keeps taking the mayor's lunch out of the fridge. Plates clatter onto tables, bearing juicy burgers stuffed with cheddar and jalapeños and buffalo-chicken-topped pizzas. On weekend nights, the twang of guitars slipping into tune fills the air as musicians prepare for live sets, and glasses click together at the full bar.

The staff at Sullivan's Publick House cherishes three things: good food, good beverages, and good company. These pillars of traditional Irish hospitality shape the restaurant's day-to-day business, beginning in the kitchen, where chefs prepare authentic beer-battered fish ‘n’ chips and shepherd's pie. At the bar, the barkeeps pour one of 24 on-draft brews, such as Young’s Double Chocolate Stout or Hoegaarden. To fulfill the good company portion, the restaurant hosts trivia events and build-your-own burger nights that spark lively conversation about whether cheese belongs on top of a beef patty or securely in one’s front pocket.

Smoked bacon. Guacamole. Chili. A whole fried egg. With a simple tick mark, these and dozens of other toppings appear atop a beef, turkey, chicken, or veggie patty. Rare Burger Bar’s build-your-own-burger menu gives patrons the opportunity to make a fully custom burger. Those feeling less inventive can select from specialty burgers such as the Texas burger, which combines an all-Angus beef patty with bacon, barbecue sauce, and a homemade onion ring etched into a tiny spur. Non-burger menu items include hand-cut fries, chicken sandwiches, salads, and buffalo wings.