Description: When you enter Scialo Bakery, the bell on the door rings, and you're greeted by the pastry smell that wafts through the air. All of a sudden, you just want every piece of biscuit, tart, and cake in the store. (Un)fortunately, the boy prevented me from buying more than two tarts to take back with me to New York City.
I first heard of Scialo Bakery when Mario Batali, one of my favorite New York City chefs, presented it as one of the best in Rhode Island. When we finally made it to Providence this year, we drove to Federal Hill and stopped by to buy some of their delicious pastries.
Federal Hill became the Little Italy of Providence when about 54,000 Italian immigrants arrived from 1898 to 1932. Scialo Bakery has been family-owned and -operated since 1916. Two daughters of the Scialo family started running the business after their father and original owner, Luigi, died in 1993 at the age of 103.
Scialo is not just a bakery: it's an institution.
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