Ciao Bella 402 Grove St (Oct 28)

Overall impression:  Yummy comfort food, quick for take-out.

http://www.ciaobellarestaurant.biz/zgrid/proc/site/start.jsp


 I meant to try two new places last week, since we were out of town the  week previous. Eric being sick thwarted that plan, though. My turn with the illness came next, which almost prevented us from exploring this week. However, Ciao Bella is perfect for take-out (they also do delivery!), and that is just what we needed after a long and tiring work day.

There are a few tables at Ciao Bella, and it was very busy when we went for pick-up. But the food prep is extremely fast, they are on top of things. I ordered before leaving work, on-line, and everything was hot and freshly ready when we got it 25 minutes later. I usually only call places, so online ordering was novel. And dangerous... its so easy to just keep adding things to your cart. I got enough food for a family of 8 (which we are not), using the justification that we needed to try many things to report on. The great thing is we will be fed through the weekend.

I ordered a spinach pie with salad, wings for Eric, fettucine alfredo with broccolli, angel hair pesto with chicken on the side, and breadsticks. Everything tasted great, except that the garlic bread slices that came with the pasta weren't wonderful. But that didn't matter because the breadsticks were fantastic. The spinach pie I didn't have a chance to get to with dinner, so I had it the next day for lunch. Also yummy.

My friend Michelle loves Ciao Bella, and couldn't believe I had never gone. Her family eats their food several times a month, I think. I have now had it and I am a happy convert - next time we have a movie night at our house I'm getting delivery.

Cafe Espresso 395 Chandler St. (Oct 20)

Overall impression: Excellent homemade pasta.  Simple fine dining.

http://www.ctrattoria.com/

Last week I didn't try a new Worcester place, as we were out of town on vacation. (Brief food review of Quebec City:  Excellent croissants and risotto, inedibly bad Indian. Didn't try the poutine since I'm vegetarian). So this week I'll try to squeeze in two places. Stop number one: Tuesday dinner at Cafe Espresso on Chandler Street.

My good friend Erin came to give a talk for my department's seminar series (she was great, go Erin!), so we went out together at the end of the day. We were joined by two other friends/colleagues who Erin also knew beforehand (the science world is very small). I wanted to try Cafe Espresso for the express purpose of blogging about it, and dinner companion Michelle was thrilled - she loves it there. I can say Michelle really does have great taste, I thought the food was wonderful.

I had homemade cavatelli with broccolli, Erin had a homemade pasta too, while the others got the specials. One special was wild boar, but the other slips my mind. And I wasn't even drinking!  It is BYOB, but we didn't B.  Since we arrived early, sans alcohol, and were the first group in the whole dining room, I made some joke about being early-bird blue-plate special old ladies. And... the very next group that came in was 6 or 7 elderly women. So I wasn't too far off.  (I hope to be going out with groups of girlfriends well into my 80s or beyond.)

By the time we finished the meal many other tables were full. Mostly middle-aged couples and groups, but a few families. The restaurant doesn't look like much from the outside (kind of strip-mall-ish), but the inside is nice. There was a flickering fluorescent light that drove me a little crazy, though. Other than that, ambiance is fine. And I'm sure the light will be fixed soon.

I will go back to with Eric, I think he'd like it. Since he is the photographer in the family and he wasn't with me Tuesday I have no pictures. Sorry! All you need to see is on the website, anyway, so check that out.

Belsito's Deli 305 Plantation St (Oct 10)

Overall impression:  Good deli sandwiches to go if you are in the neighborhood.

https://www.facebook.com/belsitosdeli

The guys at Belsito's seemed to be having a somewhat comically bad day when we were there. No hot sandwiches were on offer because of a big catering job, which seemed a bit stressful. So we ordered a veggie and a ham and cheese... and they accidentally sent my veggie out the door with another customer. Oops. (The guy making mine carried it up to the register with him when he went to ring someone else out, and it got lost in the sandwich-shuffle).

Everything turned out fine though. We got our food and took it to Lake Park. It was such a beautiful fall day, perfect for watching rowers and dog-walkers while having a picnic. We both liked our sandwiches. They weren't anything I'd go out of my way to drive for (although maybe meat eaters feel that way about meatballs or steak-involved sandwiches, but Eric didn't get the chance  to be able to comment on that). If you are in the neighborhood, go for it. Unfortunately Plantation St. has been torn up and under construction for what seems like forever, so I hope it didn't affect their business.

If you go, bring cash. They don't accept cards, but do have an ATM machine with an incredibly high fee. Otherwise, just go hungry. I still have half of my meal in my refrigerator a day later.

Sake Bomb 258 Park Ave (Sept 27)

Overall impression:  Reasonably priced sushi. I'd be happy to meet a friend there for lunch anytime.

 http://www.sakebombbistro.com/


I am 3/4 of the way through my year of trying new Worcester establishments, and I have a few things to say:
I live in a fabulous city.
I have wonderful friends who live in this city (and nearby).
I love to explore on my own, or meet with these wonderful friends or my beloved husband for food and drinks.
This was a good idea.

(Ok, sentimentality over for now. Although I would be happy to take suggestions for next year's project. I see someone else has already sampled Worcester whiskeys, and that isn't so much my thing anyway. Perhaps checking out every park in town and all border towns? hmmm).

So... Sake Bomb. A few years ago the Japanese restaurant Haiku was in this location. Haiku was quite good, I thought. Sake Bomb is not quite on par. But it was a lovely place to meet my friend Melissa for a Sunday noon meal. Nothing too special, but it didn't need to be.

We sat in a sunny corner table, that was nice. It wasn't crowded, just us and a couple guys at the bar watching the start of the Patriots game by the time we left. Service was quick and attentive. Melissa was my official meat and fish tester - she had some sort of dumplings with pork as an appetizer, I had seaweed salad (which came with surprise fish eggs, but I removed them). Both were satisfying. She got sushi, I got veggie sushi (cucumber and avocado, and I do realize some people wouldn't call that sushi. But I do love that combo). Not necessarily outstanding, but not bad. Melissa was of the same opinion, plus happy that they have takeout.

I have never been to Baba sushi, which I have heard is outstanding. But as a vegetarian married to someone who isn't crazy about Japanese food, it would be wasted on me. Sake bomb was just fine. Plus, it is sandwiched between That's Entertainment (where I picked up the lastest Hellboy in Hell and C.C. Lowell, where I got pumpkin-painting supplies). Bonus for location!