Category: Food News

Food News revolves around the happenings within the national Hospitality Industry and how it relates to the local restaurant scene. Here in the Commonwealth, the dining scene is vibrant and is influenced by—and sometimes influences—the national spotlight.

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#FamilyEats – Antonio’s by the Slice or the Pie

Antonio’s by the Slice or the Pie in Worcester, MA

Pizza has powers. There’s no question about it. The combination of cheeses, sauces, and crispy crusts give pizza the ability to turn anyone into a craving-induced food lover. Its powers can cure everything from Monday blues to weekend nostalgia. Chaotic family day? Skip cooking and order pizza. Long day at work? Skip going to the grocery store and grab a pie on the way home. And if you want to turn an ordinary family dinner into a night of quality time and pie sharing, head to Antonio’s Pizza by the Slice for a night of dining out on the patio with pizza, pasta, and drinks.

Honey Hot Wings from Antonio’s by the Slice in Worcester, MA
Honey Hot Wings from Antonio’s by the Slice in Worcester, MA

We all know pizza has become the quintessential New York food, but Antonio’s Pizza is holding down the fort in Worcester – one of its eight locations – with the perfect sauce to crust ratio. Opening its original location in Amherst, MA in 1991, Antonio’s opened in Worcester in 2016 and hasn’t slowed down since. In Worcester, Antonio’s Pizza by the Slice includes a call-ahead, drive-up pickup window, an open-concept kitchen and an outdoor dining option – all of the necessary options for a #FamilyEats destination.

Scott Weiner declared New York the “slice town” in his book, “Viva La Pizza! The Art of the Pizza Box,” because of New York’s emphasis on the sliced pizza opposed to the entire pie and honestly, there’s something to be said about the ability to order a slice over a pie and at Antonio’s they understand that. With a slice counter, Antonio’s speaks to the indecisive eater, the “I’m in a rush, let me get a slice” eater and ultimately to the little belly eaters – the kiddos. While the adults can order skillets filled to the brim with specialty pastas and topped with the likes of mushrooms, fresh tomatoes, herbs and even baked seafood, the kids can feed their simple needs with a slice of cheese pizza.

We can’t give Antonio’s kudos for their “order by the slice” philosophy without talking about their variations. Pizza options are a specialty at Antonio’s. From gluten-free to veggie pizzas, the pizza line up gives more options than most New York pizzerias. (Sorry, New York) They offer the standard cheese, pepperoni and Hawaiian pies but they also branch out their creative pizza skills with pies like the beaurider – a pizza topped with breaded chicken, cheese-filled tortellini, mozzarella cheese and basil pesto sauce – the chicken quesadilla – a pie topped with spicy chicken, pico de gallo with cilantro, sour cream, nacho chips, cheddar cheese and mozzarella cheese. These pizzas are for adventurous eaters and are the perfect way to liven up a family night out. The kids’ menu speaks to the simple taste pallet of a child: cheese pizza, pastas (with or without sauce) and chicken fingers but with so many options for pizza toppings, Antonio’s may be the place to get your picky eater to explore more menu items on your next family night out.

Chicken and gorgonzola salad + Calamari from Antonio’s by the Slice in Worcester, MA
Chicken and gorgonzola salad + Calamari from Antonio’s by the Slice in Worcester, MA
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Michael Ceraldi’s Anti-Concept and the Culinary Art of Survival

Michael Ceraldi is a conspiracy theorist. He’s also quite possibly the most innovative chef on Cape Cod, though he’ll tell you his community based philosophy is nothing new.

Chef Michael Ceraldi believes that the best restaurants in the world are the destinations of their locally grown products.

At Castle Hill’s June food symposium he declared, “If Cape Cod’s bridges were to disappear for some reason, my family could still eat because I know people who grow things,” adding, “The more that people are removed from the land, the less secure they become.” It’s true, Ceraldi has a wide network of farmers, foragers, and fishermen with whom he works closely each day to devise a unique seven-course prix fixe menu for his Wellfleet restaurant, Ceraldi. Just don’t call it a concept. It’s not a concept.

Pushing the flat brim of his pristine snapback off his forehead he explained, “This is what restaurants did before global trade and the industrial revolution. We’re not doing anything new at all, we’re actually getting back to the land and the community based system of not only our agriculture, but also our finances staying here on the Outer Cape.”

Ceraldi is located at 15 Kendrick Avenue in Wellfleet, Massachusetts.

Whatever he’s doing, it’s working. Ceraldi was deemed Cape Cod’s best restaurant of 2017 by Boston Magazine.

On my visit last month, nationally renowned food writer Ruth Reichl stood up at the next table to say that the meal had exceeded her expectations. Coming from one of the loudest voices to ever grace the pages of Gourmet, The New York Times, and The L.A. Times, this was quite the compliment. Ceraldi deserved it.

The evening began with a Lucky Lips Loagy Bay oyster and a dozen briny wild sea beans scattered across our plates. We sipped cloudy glasses of unfiltered natural prosecco that drank more like sour beer than any wine I’ve ever tasted.

A marble slate draped in cured meat followed closely behind with pork procured from an acorn fed hog raised by Drew Locke of Hillside Farm along the Pamet River.

Lucky Lips Loagy Bay oyster, wild seabean, Surrey Farm finger lime at Ceraldi

The pancetta came cured in salt, chile, and Snowy Owl espresso from Brewster. Likewise, the Bresaola had been curiously cured with juniper and seasalt. The beef hailed from Seawind Meadow Farm in South Dennis where they slow-raise Scottish Highland cattle for their lean marbled meat. A horned skull hung above the bar as a testament to Ceraldi’s dedication to cooking whole animals.

Robinson Farm arpeggio was the only ingredient I identified throughout the seven courses that did not hail from Cape Cod; it was a product of Central Mass. A literal slice of home.

Longnook Meadow Farm lettuces, pistachio, wild beach rose vin

Our third course arrived on a striking ceramic plate heaped high in fresh lettuce from Longnook Meadows Farm that had been topped with pistachios and a vinaigrette made from salt sprayed beach roses. A server who presented the wine pairing told me to wait for the pop of acid on the back of my tongue and a hint of volcanic soil, watching with amusement as the impact hit. I told him I admired the golden rose pinned to his lapel, and swiftly my salad took on an enchanting floral bouquet as if by premonition.

The fourth course was wild. Literally. Woven from foraged milkweed shoots fried in tempura to taste like okra. The shoots emerged with sumac ricotta and spruce infused vinegar along with a dusting of spruce tips, once eaten for their Vitamin C and now employed for brightening.

Grano arso ravioli, Seawind Meadow Farm beef, cacao nib, garden sage, black garlic, and cedar fondo

Next, came ravioli, each one a delicate capsule of Seawind Meadow Farm beef braised with cedar and maple sap that was then reduced to a sauce for the dish which had been finished with black garlic. Ceraldi explained he had slow cooked the garlic himself for 40 days in an effort to caramelize its natural sugars for an honest sense of umami.

The final savory course belonged to Hillside Farm where the chickens are moved daily onto fresh pasture in order to simulate ingestion and guarantee that each bird consumes a dozen different grass species throughout its lifetime.

“They have a great life and then one bad day,” joked farmer Locke.

Hillside Farm chicken, salsa Etrusca, preserved lemon, Stephanie’s Flower Cart lavender, Surrey Farm sunchoke, In The Weeds Farm daisy greens

The breasts were sous vide and the legs cured in lavender before being slow cooked in olive oil. A Surrey Farm sunchoke puree had been expertly devised from sunchokes the farmer dug up after sweetening in the ground all winter. A wilted daisy green salad from The Weeds evoked notes of bitter arugula and anise.

Dessert was topped with black locust flowers that I recognized all too well from my drive to Wellfleet. Each ivory petal captured the essence of sweet peas and honeysuckle to enliven a goat cheese panacotta made with Checkerberry Farm rhubarb and fresh Cape Cod strawberries.

If I get word that an apocalypse is afoot, you’d better believe I’m headed for Wellfleet. I would gladly trust Michael Ceraldi and his anti-concept with my last meal. No two experiences at Ceraldi are ever the same; so, conspiracy or not – I keep going back.