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Chicken Piccata from Rosalina’s Kitchen

Chicken Piccata from Rosalina's Kitchen on Hamilton Street in Worcester, MA

Chicken Piccata from Rosalina's Kitchen on Hamilton Street in Worcester, MA

Simply put – Rosalina’s Kitchen is a neighborhood gem. You may miss it driving by as it blends right into the neighborhood but that is part of the charm. I always love frequenting small restaurants that have that local casual feel – like I am sitting in a friends house having dinner and that is exactly how I felt there. It was a Wednesday evening but the place was filled with large groups of friends and families enjoying their meals and a nice bottle of wine. Did I mention its BYOB?

I think everyone heard that they make their home made ravioli on Tuesday nights. While I didn’t try the ravioli this first visit they are must for my next visit. I could see the pillow like raviolis piled high on a friends plate filled with such unique items as lamb and grape leaves. While the home made ravioli is what first attracted me to Rosalina’s Kitchen I ordered a very traditional chicken piccata. Normally when I go to a new restaurant I try to order a favorite dish to help me compare to others I have had at other places.

At Rosalina’s Kitchen you could order the piccata with chicken, haddock or veal. My dish of chicken piccata came steaming hot with lightly browned pieces of moist chicken slices sautéed with lemon, butter, white wine, capers and their special touch – spinach. Bringing the whole dish together was the nice strong lemony flavor balanced with the slight crisp from the white wine. What I liked about this dish was while it was sautéed with butter, like a traditional piccata, I didn’t feel that the butter was the star of the dish which made it much more pleasurable. Overall a great meal and enough to take home for a great dinner the next night.

I am already planning my next trip there with a group of friends.  Try your best to make this your next dinner destination.

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Chicken Piccata

Chicken Piccata from La Scala on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Chicken Piccata from La Scala on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Located on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, La Scala is a small Italian restaurant with a home-line feel. I found the staff to be quite friendly and accommodating with a nice cozy feeling to the place.

I started with a side Caesar Salad. This was very large for a starter or side salad with plenty of croutons and an ample amount of dressing. The lettuce was crisp and fresh but I found the dressing a little too strong for my liking, with a very strong anchovy flavor, making it a little overpowering for the lettuce.

For my main course, I chose the Chicken Piccata, which is described in the menu as; ‘Tender chicken sauteed with fresh tomatoes and capers in a white wine lemon sauce’. Again, a generous, large portion with a colorful, pleasing presentation. The penne pasta it was server over was cooked nicely al dente, providing a firm texture behind the chicken and sauce and the chicken itself was cooked excellently. It was moist and so tender that you could cut it with a fork. I found the sauce to be on the bland side though as it just didn’t have enough flavor to go with the chicken and penne. The sauce also seemed to be pooled at the bottom of the dish, with the pasta on the top being very dry, like the pasta was added to the plate after the sauce and not tossed.

Not every meal from every restaurant can be amazing, and unfortunately, this dish was average with nothing spectacular to draw me back. -DL