I'm a longstanding supporter of mom and pop restaurants. The chains and fancy restaurants may be consistently good, but it's only at the small family restaurants that you'll find treasures that you'll want to keep to yourself (and a few close friends). You might have to dig a little, sample more of the menu, but that one great bowl of chowder, that home-made pie, the unique mashed potatoes makes the hunting worth the search.

This is Rhode Island, where so many people are of Italian ancestery that Columbus Day is a state holiday. And nowhere is this Italian heritage apparent than in the restaurants of Rhode Island, so naturally I spend a lot of time in Italian restaurants, large and small.

I want to tell you about Tony's Pizza Palace in North Kingstown. It's a little place, one that looks left over from the heyday nearby of Quonsett Point. You probably wouldn't give it a second glance if you weren't hungry for pizza. Inside, a counter seats patrons waiting mostly for to-go orders and regulars who enjoy chatting with the cook or flirting with the restaurant's sole waitress.

A dozen or so tables are in the area to the left. A second seating area in the back is completly empty -- Tony's does a booming and well-deserved business in pizza deliveries, but it's the kind of place that only the locals seem to know about. Tony's is actually a chain, run by the Reves family, but the other restaurants also cater to the locals, so you're not likely to know of more than one, if at all.

The menu has excactly what you'd expect on it. Pizza, pasta, and the toasted sub sandwiches that Rhode Islanders call "grinders".

Tony's in North Kingstown (Staff Photo)

Pasta is my personal weakness. The only thing I like more than pasta is more pasta. I usually order the large pasta, knowing full well that I'll never be able to finish off the free seconds that they offer. Traditional red marinara sauce, a few meat balls, served with linguine. I pile on the parmesan cheese and dig in.

Their grinders are terrific, and what I'd recommend for visitors. Soft hot bread with a crispy crust, piled high with meats and cheeses and veggies. And I love their pizzas, as does most of North Kingstown it appears, keeping the delivery boy hopping.

But despite knowing how great their grinders and pizzas are, I still order the spaghetti. I can't resist.

If you want an inexpensive dinner, one where the wine list isn't a consideration and the food is a lot more important than the decor, then check out mom and pop restaurants. You'll find one you'll love and keep coming back to. I have.

Tony's is at 6913 Post Roads in North Kingstown, just north of the now-gone Quonsett Point main gate. Handicapped access is marginal and there is no separation of smoking from non-smoking. Prices are inexpensive and seating is usually no problem. Call them at 885-0453.

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