Taste of the Town

Ladder 133 Bar and Grill
137 Douglas Ave
Providence, RI 02908

You may have noticed that Stickyfingers has gone extinct. If there were to be an obituary, it might read something along the lines of, “We will miss your loaded nachos, sticky floors, and margarita pitchers.” Before checking out the new bar and grill that has taken its place, I expected it to be similar to good ol’ ‘Sticky’s.’ It wasn’t. It was better.

Ladder 133 Bar and Grill is a sports bar with the atmosphere of an upscale lounge. Yes, this sounds like an anomaly—and it is. Upon entering, we notice that one can come here for any sort of occasion. The right half of the restaurant is equipped with new booths and tables for dining while the left houses the bar surrounded by flat screen TVs. Upbeat music playing from large speakers makes it clear that this place can get pretty rowdy.

Ladder 133 gets its name from history—the building was once a firehouse. The owner could have gone two ways: throw a fire pole down the middle and make it truly authentic, or let the theme be subtle, depicting a place where the firemen would grab a drink after a heated battle. They went for the latter, obviously, because Foxy Lady took their fire pole.
One can tell a lot about a restaurant by its glasses. Casual dining usually goes for a simple ribbed glass. Fine dining goes for the wine glasses, even if you’re just drinking water. Most sport bars go for beer gauntlets even if you’re not ordering a beer. Ladder 133 uses old glass jars, the kind that your eccentric uncle collects at his antique shop. The glasses give this establishment a unique vibe.

The menu consists of your typical American fare, with selections like a spinach dip appetizer, Firehouse Chili, burger entrées, and pizza. This Friday they are releasing their full menu which will include more entrée options. For an appetizer we were debating between the Wildfire Wings, skewers, or the loaded natural french fries. We went with the loaded fries. For the main course, I took the server’s recommendation of their signature 133 Burger. The service was pretty efficient; then again, there was pretty scarce occupancy due to the holiday.

When the burger arrived, I felt like I was doing the fan challenge on Man v. Food. The 8 oz. burger was topped with chili, jalapeños, cheddar jack cheese, applewood bacon and special sauce, all for only $8. The meat was juicy and cooked to my request. My date chose the buffalo chicken Fire Pole Sliders: These four multi-bite treats can also come as pulled pork sandwiches, Philly briskets, or bacon cheddar burgers. There are also “lighter” options such as the Swiss & ‘Shroom sandwich and Caesar salad. Overall, we were satisfied with the large portions and attentive service. As two girls who ordered more than they could eat, we anticipated nursing our food comas: lying in the fetal position watching Friends re-runs and groaning, “I can’t believe I ate the whole thing.”  
For an appetizer and two entrées, the bill came to $25… not too shabby. Although we went for dinner, I fully recommend checking out Ladder 133 as a night destination. Expect DJs, live bands, drink specials, and a good time.

Results: A definite upgrade from Stickyfingers.