Tag: Exchange Place

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Foodies Unite!

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.
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Comings and Goings

Worcester, long known for its wide variety of culinary options, certainly has something for everyone. But it seems that with every new eatery that opens, we lose another.

Sadly, it seems as if we have lost one of Worcester’s finest restaurants (IMO) with the closing of Zipango Sushi Bar and Grille on Shrewsbury Street. Zipango, long known for its intimate dining room, fresh sushi and wonderful fusion cuisine, appears to have become a victim of the tough economic times. We wish the wonderful staff from Zipango’s all the best and thank them for many, many wonderful meals and memories.

Also closing recently was the City Park Grill (we hardly knew ya!), Vinny T’s on Lake Quinsigamond (the deck on the lake was fantastic so the opening of Buca di Beppoâ is much welcomed!), 55 Pearl (will a restaurant ever work in that space?), Castellana’s (read more below) and the Vietnamese/Cambodian restaurant, Apsara.

On a more upbeat note, Worcesterites have a number of new gastronomical options as we welcome new restaurants including Ceres Bistro at the Beechwood Hotel and Smokestack Urban Barbeque in the old Castellana’s space on Harding Street.

Ceres Bistro is a Niche Hospitality Group-managed gem that features a “farm to table” dining experience utilizing fresh, seasonal products, purchased from local purveyors whenever possible. This spectacularly designed restaurant features a beautiful stained glass-domed dining room, floor to ceiling glass walls overlooking the patio and a warmly decorated club room for private dining.

The Smokestack Urban Barbeque is the brainchild of Richard Romaine of Romaine’s in Northborough. This exciting new restaurant features delectable BBQ, served in a warm, casual and fun atmosphere. Everything you would expect to be on the menu at a BBQ place is there, along with some interesting twists and turns.

At the end of the month Niche Hospitality is anticipating opening The Peoples Kitchen of the Citizen (or TPK for short) located at one exchange place, directly above The Citizen, where Il Forno once resided. The menu, which will change daily, will feature an exotic selection of meats, cured on location, and is said to be “comfortable, approachable and ever-changing.”

So as you can see, a restaurant closing in Worcester, albeit sad, means that somewhere else in the city someone is putting there hopes and dreams into opening something for us to enjoy. Lets get out there and support these ambitious folks!