You are out on the town. Not in the mood for wine, nor beer. You want a cocktail, but don’t want to walk around with a martini glass. The classics may be too bold for your taste tonight. You are looking for something that’s artfully crafted, using unique quality ingredients, and you want something with personality. You should go to Citizen Wine Bar and ask for the Honey Badger.
Inspired in name by the viral video (“The Crazy Nastyass Honey Badger”) and perfected by the masters of craft cocktails, the Honey Badger combines Pimm’s No. 1 Cup, Bärenjäger Honey Liqueur, Yellow Chartreuse, a dash of bitters, lemon, soda water, and embellished with a ball of ice. The combination of flavors come together masterfully, the presentation fun, and name is certainly a conversation starter. “Nastyass” it’s not, but a good choice it certainly is.
Recently, the WorcesterFoodies group united with the culinary expertise of Niche Hospitality’s The People’s Kitchen. Owner Michael Covino, Chef Bill Nemeroff, and Wine Director Katie Kelly designed a special 3-course meal and wine pairing for our members and guests to enjoy.
The People’s Kitchen features local, artisan and hand crafted meals created by passionate, food loving professionals so it was a perfect match for our WorcesterFoodies group.
Our evening started with a locally-sourced, roasted root vegetable panzanella of beets, butternut squash and parsnip, drizzled with a maple vinaigrette. The deep, rich flavors of the root vegetables were balanced perfectly with the lightly sweet maple vinaigrette.
The Tahitian Vanilla and Valrhona Cocoa Brined Double Bone Pork Chop
The panzanella got our meal off to a wonderful start and we knew we would be in for something special.
Our palettes were cleansed with an intermezzo of apricot sorbet with fresh tarragon. The apricot sorbet by itself, was outstanding, but the fresh tarragon added a sweet licorice flavor that worked perfectly with the sorbet.
Shortly before our meal was served Chef Bill Nemeroff came out to introduce our main course, a Tahitian Vanilla and Valrhona Cocoa Brined Double Bone Pork Chop, served with Grafton cheddar mashed potato and fresh vegetables. The perfectly cooked pork chop was tender and extremely flavorful but the vanilla and cocoa added such an unusual twist that it really brought this dish to another level. The accompanying potatoes and vegetables were also outstanding.
With our first two courses, the staff at The People’s Kitchen pushed our taste buds to new limits, and they certainly didn’t disappoint with dessert. Chef Nemeroff and his staff prepared an Almond Joy Bread Pudding with Coco Puff Streusel that was unquestionably a fantastic finish to a tremendous meal. Moist and rich, this smoothly textured bread pudding had hints of chocolate and coconut woven into the custard covered bread and was topped with a warm, rich chocolate drizzle.
The People’s Kitchen is certainly one of Worcester’s jewels and if you have not been there, put it on your “short list” of restaurants to visit. Located at One Exchange Place, TPK is a wonderful place to enjoy an outstanding meal with friends and family. But be ready to be challenged, as the menu is diverse and exciting.
Chef Bill Nemeroff explaining his food and wine pairings to the Worcester Foodies group.
Recently, the WorcesterFoodies group united with the culinary expertise of Niche Hospitality’s 