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Chuan Shabu’s half herbal, half chicken broth

Splitting two broths, herb and original, at Chuan Shabu on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Splitting two broths, herb and original, at Chuan Shabu on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Chuan Shabu in Worcester offers hot pot cooking, which means you get to pick a broth then add you choice of items to create a unique dinner for yourself. Some of the broth choices are herbal, chicken, or vegetarian.  Then you have a long list of vegetables to choose from, everything from the normal broccoli and carrots to the more adventurous enoki mushrooms and lotus roots. Everything is à la carte so it’s all customizable to your choice of flavor platte. We went with the half herbal, half chicken broth and ordered Angus beef, shrimp, pork, mushrooms, udon noodles, and greens to share. I loved the sauces served with the meal and we loaded our broths up with chopped garlic and scallions.

The meats were of good quality and the vegetables were fresh and green—a big plus! The à la carte portions were plentiful in size, so you do get a lot for your money. Even ladling from the broth was fun and felt adventurous to the dining experience. Learning how quickly the meats cooked was a fun challenge we enjoyed and shared the labor among all our friends; it was a very communal and entertaining dinner. My favorite part of our Chuan Shabu experience was at the end of the meal we all put the noodles in the broth. That broth was made so flavorful from all the cooked meats and veggies, and eating the thick yummy noodles after all that swirling and mixing turned out delicious. Overall, I really enjoyed the flavors and meal, it felt very healthy and certainly this soup hit the spot for a cold winter’s night.

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Steakhouse Burger

Steakhouse Burger from Joey's on Chandler Street in Worcester, MA

Steakhouse Burger from Joey's on Chandler Street in Worcester, MA

Burgers are a standard when it comes to American dining. In fact, even the average burger can be both satisfying and enjoyable without having to re-create the wheel. Joey’s Bar and Grill goes beyond its advantageous menu and has a small section dedicated to this American staple. With options like the Juicy Lucy it was hard to decide where my palate was going.

I am biased; anything with blue cheese is going to peak my interest, which is why I had to choose the steakhouse burger. Eight ounces of Angus beef topped with blue cheese, crispy onion strings, vine ripe tomatoes, crisp iceberge wedge lettuce, served on a brioche roll. I was not disappointed, the perfectly seasoned beef (a perfect medium rare) was almost secondary to the heaping pile of blue cheese. Topped with a lightly battered, crispy onion strings, the flavors came together perfectly to turn a standard into something more.

The side of pickles and the option for sweet potato french fries made this $10 dish a fulfilling meal. I look forward to returning to see if I am able to force myself to go beyond the burger and enjoy what my fellow foodies enjoyed. -LV