fish | Page 5 of 9 | Mass Food & Wine

Grilled Salmon from Le Mirage on June Street in Worcester, MA

I started with the House Made Grape Leaves (6) for an appetizer at Le Mirage which were very tasty although entirely vegetarian. For my main course I chose the Grilled Salmon with rice pilaf and fresh vegetables with an added Winter Harvest Salad (mixed greens topped with apricots walnuts and crumbled goat cheese lightly tossed with our house balsamic dressing) which was pleasantly fresh and snappy with a light mint, homemade, dressing. The grilled salmon was cooked to perfection — moist yet completely cooked through with grill marks I’d have expected to find in a 5-star restaurant. The mixed vegetable medley added a healthy alternative to some of the other side options but were well balanced in both flavor and contrasting texture. Our waitress Cynthia provided outstanding service — just enough and not too much. All in all I would rate the food, atmosphere and service top notch and as close to perfection as it gets. I will definitely be back to Le Mirage! -RS

Fisherman's Basket from Racha Thai in Worcester

I recently had the opportunity to check out Racha Thai on the Southwest Cutoff (route 20) near Greenwood Street in Worcester. Because I try to avoid carbohydrates I opted for the, “Fisherman’s Basket,” which according to the menu consisted of a variety of steamed seafood and vegetables, seasoned with “Thai exotic spices.” The visual presentation was actually pretty cool — it was served on a large dish in a foil wrapping. At the table the waiter cut two slots lengthwise in the foil, then pulled up the center piece to form a basket with a handle. Steam poured out and the contents became visible. So far so good… good service, clean surroundings, informal setting, easy to hear the conversation even though we had a large table of about ten people, and priced right. Not to mention the best part — they serve alcohol.

When the time came to taste this interesting looking dish, I first took my fork and dug around a little. The first thing I noticed was that there was at least two types of seafood that I did not recognize. Everything else looked good — the scallops, the mussels, and the shrimp were very recognizable. So the remaining seafood items: squid, fish fillets and crab meat made up the remainder. I’ve lived in New England and on Cape Cod all my life, I love fresh seafood, so maybe I’m spoiled, maybe Thai seafood is different, or maybe I should have, as was suggested, had someone else order my meal. In any case the meal had great potential — had they just stuck with native New England seafood … and spiced it up a little more. Which brings up another suggestion: put shakers of the Thai exotic spices out on the tables so that the customer can spice there food to taste. Other than that, everything was great — especially the company. -RS