Olneyville New York System ★ 4.8
The 1946 hot wiener counter in Olneyville Square, founded by Greek immigrant Anthony Stevens and his son Nicholas. James Beard America's Classics winner 2014.
Try: Hot wieners 'all the way'
Vendors, food trucks and stalls: the cheapest, fastest, frequently best food in Providence.
Don't-miss vendors
East Side Pockets ★ 4.4
East Side Pockets on Thayer Street has been the College Hill Middle Eastern counter since 1997. Syrian-family-run; falafel, kebab wraps, late-night hours.
Try: Falafel pita
Iggy's Doughboys and Chowder House ★ 4.6
Gaetano 'Iggy' Gravino's Oakland Beach clam shack in Warwick, founded 1989. Award-winning RI clam chowder, doughboys, clam cakes; the year-round counter.
Try: Doughboys, clam cakes, chowder
Dune Brothers Providence Shack ★ 4.4
Dune Brothers' seasonal Jewelry District seafood shack: counter service, picnic tables, fish sandwiches using underused species like dogfish.
Try: Fish sandwich and fries
Del's Lemonade trucks ★ 4.5
Del's Lemonade has pushed frozen lemonade carts across Rhode Island from a Cranston HQ since 1948, when Angelo DeLucia adapted a Naples family recipe.
Try: Frozen lemonade
PVDFest Food Truck Village ★ 4.2
PVDFest Food Truck Village pulls dozens of mobile vendors into downtown Providence over a September weekend each year. Free admission, block-party setup.
Try: Mobile vendors, citywide