I spent the majority of my childhood in Rhode Island, which has these restaurants that serve Italian family-style dinners. Here’s how it works:
First they bring out soup. A chicken soup or wedding soup. A big pot of it is put at the center of the table.
Then they bring out pasta with tomato sauce. Sounds basic, but I would honestly dream about this pasta it was so good.
Finally, the main course. Chicken, pork, potatoes, vegetables, salad, lots of food to fill you up if you aren’t full already haha.
The best part about these dinners is that everything is all-you-can-eat. If you run out of anything they’ll bring more of it in an instant. If you’re on the main course and want more soup, they’ll bring you more soup.
There’s also the pizza strips. So simple but so good. Chunky sauce, oily bread. You buy them at bakeries and they put them in a box with parchment paper. Any time I’ve bought these outside RI they’ve been some knock-off version.
Gregg’s, another RI classic restaurant, has a Death By Chocolate Cake that’s to die for (cue rimshot).