Dino’s has been a long time institution in the Worcester dining scene. I have to admit, it had been probably 5 years since I had been to Dino’s and my memory was fading but upon arriving, things looked pretty much the same as I had remembered. It was a hot day and after reviewing the menu I decided to go with something different than the traditional warm pasta dishes so I ordered a small appetizer pizza and the Italian Antipasto.
The pizza was a Grilled Gourmet Pizza that was about the size of a dinner plate. It was topped with caramelized onions, shaved prosciutto, tomatoes, figs, fresh mozzarella, wild greens and extra virgin olive oil. The pizza contained many of my favorite ingredients and did not disappoint. The pizza was prepared well and all of the ingredients tasted fresh. The other guests at my table were initially a little curious about the pizza but upon trying it they became fans also.
The Italian Antipasto was quite a shocker when it arrived at the table. It was easily enough to serve 3-4 people as an appetizer or 2 people as a meal. It included artichokes, salami, provolone, black olives, marinated mushrooms, marinated red peppers, cheese, cherry peppers, fried eggplant, grilled bread, pepperchini peppers to name a few of the ingredients. The antipasto was massive and I ended up taking about two thirds of it home where it made a great meal the next day as well. My only suggestion would have been to have some real marinated Italian olives instead of just canned black olives.
Overall, I was very pleased with Dino’s, which had slid to the back of my memory even though it is a long standing local institution. Sometimes I forget the local favorites when there is always something new on the dining scene. Dino’s still holds up as a local favorite as was evident by a very busy dining room on a Tuesday night.