In the city that invented the diner, so many amazing restaurants remain only in memories. The Silver Top had fresh coffee every twenty minutes, and the Ever Ready was hot dog heaven. Miss Dutton's Green Room and the Shepard Tea Room beckoned shoppers in their Sunday finest. At Childs, the griddle chef made butter cakes in the window for night owls, and Harry Houdini supped at midnight with H.P. Lovecraft at the Waldorf Lunch. Themed lounges like the Beachcomber and the Bacchante Room chased away the Prohibition blues. Downcity Diner offered a famous meatloaf, and Ming Garden's Ming Wings were a staple for regulars. Author David Norton Stone details the restaurants that still hold a place in the hearts of locals.

David Norton Stone's lost restaurant credentials include working as a host at Panache and as a waiter for Michael's Catering after he graduated from Yale. For almost one full night, he washed dishes at a very famous (not lost) restaurant in Providence where, on the way out, he was told that he would never work in a restaurant in Providence again. That turned out to be true, so he went to law school. He has eaten at many of the lost Providence restaurants in this book and misses the meatball, fries and peppers plate at Eddie & Son, the salad bar at the Barnsider's Mile and a Quarter and the meatloaf sandwich (and everything else) at Downcity Diner. With his mother, he was lucky enough to eat at Buddy Cianci's Trapper John's during its brief run. His biggest lost restaurant regret is that he never tasted Ming Wings. David is the author of The Rhode Island Quahog Trilogy: Clamcake Summer, Stuffie Summer and Chowder Summer. He is the co-author of Images of America: Rhode Island Clam Shacks, and his food writing has appeared in Rhode Island Monthly and Edible Rhody and on Quahog.org. His work as a food historian has been cited by Saveur and National Geographic.