Fan Favorites

I get a kick out of the random Facebook fan/ “like” pages that crop up — everything from “I like your dark brown roots, they really match your bleach blonde hair” to “I like long text messages because I appreciate a complete thought.” Deep stuff, right?

I guess that’s the wonderfully democratic thing about Facebook: a thought can morph into a movement (however totally weird or self serving said movement might be) overnight.

Locally speaking, there’re plenty of interesting fan pages out there, but one in particular caught my attention this morning – Bring Back XO Café. A couple of friends had joined, so it showed up on my wall. No, I didn’t join the group (seventy strong), but I did check out the page — and grow nostalgic for my regular perch at the bar, “Flirting with Style” in hand. In my humble opinion, XO Cafe was the best incarnation of the restaurant that has since, under the same ownership, been renamed XO Steakhouse and Café Noir. Admittedly, I don’t remember much about the food. I think that’s thanks in part to the fact that XO was rather, how shall we say, lenient with its 2 a.m. last call. And, of course, all the bartenders — Shannon, Yolanda, Teddy, David, Johanna — mixed killer drinks. Come to think of it, I guess I wouldn’t mind seeing the original make a comeback. Bar nuts and all.

And while we’re reminiscing, what other one-time Providence institutions should we revive via Facebook? Angel’s? Bluepoint Oyster Bar? As usual, comments below….