Tag: chicken

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Roman Chicken from Rosalina’s Kitchen

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

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

Roman Chicken: Chicken sautéed with artichoke hearts, diced tomatoes and basil in a white wine sauce.

Blue cheese Wedge Salad: A crisp wedge of iceberg lettuce topped with blue cheese crumbles, bacon and chopped tomatoes.

Atmosphere: Located on Vernon Hill, Rosalina’s Kitchen is literally a corner Italian restaurant. The restaurant is the second career for the owner-slash-head chef. This place has everything you would expect in a small hole in the wall – a cozy atmosphere, an unrestricted menu, and a nice warm smell that meets you as you come into the front door. The only thing that could be improved is the décor – it’s the kind of place that begs for local artistry or photographs.

Food: The food at Rosalina’s is what really stands out. The blue cheese wedge salad is an impressive mound of fresh produce – so fresh, it’s barely been touched by a knife. The Roman Chicken was commendable – the pasta was slightly al dente, which I like, and topped with a thin, buttery sauce which was just a little tangy from the artichoke hearts. I would have liked to see a few more selections on the dessert menu but the specials offered did sound delicious.

Price and Servings: I’m a fan of the inexpensive dinner that does double duty as lunch the next day, and Rosalina’s dishes did just that.

Waitstaff: The only hitch of the evening was our servers, who seemed to be a little put off by our large group. First, while we had brought our own adult beverages, and there were pitchers of cold refreshing water on the table, the wait staff was very slow to give us glasses. Secondly, two servers handled our table. While one server took orders from the other half, the second server didn’t take our order for quite a bit later. She must have run to the kitchen faster, though, because our food appeared first.

Review: The food and the atmosphere of Rosalina’s made up for the waitstaff awkwardness. I would come here for another go, but next time in a smaller group. And next time I’d try the house specialty, the homemade ravioli. Also, this isn’t related to our visit, but Rosalina’s gets extra points for offering pasta-making classes.

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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.