So, I was in Providence, Rhode Island, last weekend for the New England Oireachtas. This in itself is worth an entire blog post. Our Daughters, Maggie (dancing for 10 years) and Addie (dancing for 2 years) have participated in Irish step dance at the Stillson School of Irish Dance. I love Irish Dance as an art form, but as a parent, it can be one of the most daunting tasks one ever takes. At a competition, such as Oireachtas (pronounced Or-rock-tus) you watch your child dance under scrutiny of Irish international judges. If you ever go to an Irish dance competition you will learn the agony joy of hearing the “High Caul Cap” and “Saint Patrick’s Day Caley” over and over again. I don’t like my daughters being judged, but I still always marvel at their prowess on the stage and how beautiful they are. Take a look:
High Caul Cap:
This was Maggie dancing last year:
After a long Saturday of dancing we were all ready for some good and cheap eats. I was checking out some local options. Since starting this blog I find myself becoming a food snob anti-chain restaurants much to the disappointment of my McDonald’s loving daughters. I searched out some options and found out that Providence was home to one of the oldest restaurants on wheels in the USA, Haven Brothers (an original Food Truck?).
Addie with her milkshake.
Haven Brothers is a trailer that is parked in downtown Providence and then moved after it closes at 4AM (!) each morning. They are renowned for quick service and being an “old-time” diner. Here’s what’s posted on Wikipedia:
“Once in its history, Haven Brothers set up shop in a location far from Providence. On April 9, 2008 the diner was brought to Mid-town Manhattan and parked outside the NBC Studios at 30 Rockefeller Plaza for the Today Show. Hosts Meredith Vieira and Matt Lauer (both of whom had worked at the NBC10 studios in Providence two blocks from Havens Brothers time-honored location beside Providence City Hall) had each—independently—chosen it as their favorite “old-time” diner. http://shenews.projo.com/2008/04/haven-bros-dine.html
It was also featured in a Providence-themed episode of Man v. Food Nation.”
-see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Haven_Brothers_Diner
Nothing too fancy here and that suited our needs for some fast good tasting eats:
Haven Brothers Menu inside the trailer.
The girls went for basic cheeseburgers, fries, mozzarella sticks, and milkshakes. I went with the Deluxe Burger which included (mayo, lettuce, and tomato). In hindsight, I wish that I chose a fat sub, but sometimes that burger craving is hard to overcome.
I was amazed that the speed our order was ready. My impatient teenager oldest went on ahead of us to the hotel and we still made it back just as she was entering the hotel room and we were getting on the elevator. The burgers tasted good, but were not fantastic. Same with the fries and mozzarella sticks, which probably would’ve been best right out of the fryer. The best thing about Havens was milkshakes which were made heaping scoops of ice cream and whipped up right in front of us. They were perfectly thick and tasty. One disappointment was that the order totaled $43, which seems to be a bit much for fast food for three. I was expecting in the neighborhood of $25, but I can still remember the days when ten dollars feeding a family of four at McDonald’s.
BTW, I did squeeze in a couple of fun early morning fun runs in Providence.
It was really cool to run the city in the early morning hours. During each run, I did the Providence “Rocky Run” up the steps of the Rhode Island State House. I got a little lost Sunday morning, but I eventually made it back to our hotel in the Providence financial district by looking for the Biltmore Hotel sign high in the sky. Here’s a few highlights from my Sunday morning run:
See you on the road!
Run for Breakfast 
[…] Out of Town Run: Haven Brothers (Providence, RI) […]
LikeLike
[…] While the Cat’… on Out of Town Run: Haven Brother… […]
LikeLike