Where’s the Providence coffee you ask? You don’t want to be wandering around in need of a coffee fix in a new town! Here’s the local scoop:

I hesitate before adding one of the chain restaurants to this list, but I must include Dunkin Donuts. This Providence coffee shop is a staple food group for many Providence lovers. The chain started in 1950 in Quincy, MA and now claims to be “the world’s largest coffee and baked goods chain, serving more than 3 million customers per day.”

Dunkin Donuts is such a part of the fabric of Providence that in 2001, the Providence Civic Center (where concerts and other events) are held, became the Dunkin Donuts Center.

You won’t have any problem finding one…there are 29 Dunkin Donuts in Providence! You’ll find a Dunkin Donuts in the Providence Place Mall, near the Providence City Hall Building and just about on every street downtown.

A recent study by the market-research firm NPD Group Inc (Providence Business Journal Jan 13, 2010). found that the Providence metropolitan area has more doughnut shops per capita than any other region in the United States!

Along with their addicting coffee, they serve traditional bakery items along with the trendier flatbread sandwiches which are available all day…they’re great to grab when you’re hungry for a snack on the go.

Here’s a roundup of my favorite Providence coffee:

Coffee Exchange, 207 Wickenden St, Providence

You’ll find the Coffee Exchange on hip Wickenden Street on the college town east side of Providence. This coffee shop’s been around for 25 years and prides itself on the fact that all their “green coffee purchases support environmental sustainability by promoting organic agricultural practices (100% Organic) and honest wages for farmers through fair pricing (Fair Trade).”

The coffee is consistently great, made from the freshest high grown Arabica coffee available anywhere in the world. And the people watching is outstanding on this quirky street. So get your cuppa, find a seat outside in the warm weather and enjoy the show that is Wickenden St.

Blue State Coffee, 300 Thayer St, Providence

Rhode Island is a predominantly democrat “blue state”, thus the name of one of my favorite places to park my laptop, warm up with some fine Providence coffee and work on my websites and blogs. Their biz tag line is “Drink Liberally.”

They have 3 locations. The one I frequent is at 300 Thayer St in the heart of the Brown University neighborhood on the east side of Providence. There’s a second location, on the same street, in the Brown University Bookstore and a third location in New Haven, CT serving Yale students by staying open till 3:00 a.m. during exam times!

The organization is focused on socially conscious business practices. Their mission is “To offer organic, fairly traded coffee, roasted to perfection, to donate 5% of sales to local and national causes that reflect our progressive values, to run a zero waste, environmentally sustainable business and to unite a group of people committed to bettering our communities and our country.”

Good causes, great Providence coffee and fun quotes abound in this progressive coffee shop.

Eddie & Son’s Diner 74 Dorrance St, Providence

I’ve been stopping in at Eddie & Son’s diner for more years than I care to count. Service is fast and friendly, the coffee is good and the ambiance is pure American diner. They serve great breakfasts and amazingly hardy lunch.. macaroni and cheese (with homemade tomato sauce) is to die for, and their eggplant is so good, I wonder if I absolutely have to get back to Southern California.