Tag: garlic

Posted on by

Seafood Marinara from Boynton

Seafood Marinara from The Boynton on Highland Street in Worcester, MA

Seafood Marinara from The Boynton on Highland Street in Worcester, MA

The Boynton, located on Highland Street in Worcester, was a very nice surprise for me. I had been to the Boynton prior to this outing and have always had good service and good food but nothing that I recall was anything extra special. My visit this past week however was quite a nice surprise from what I had been expecting. The place was very busy with a wait to be seated—this on a Tuesday night around 6:30pm.

I had a “Tuna Sashimi” appetizer to start my evening. I shared it with my husband and it was delicious. Finely sliced tuna came on a bed of slaw with soy sauce dip, slices of ginger and wasabi mustard.

I also tried the deep fried Brussel sprouts as an appetizer. One of our other dining partners had ordered it and I sampled some. This was fantastic. I liked the little nibble I had so much that I ended up ordering a side order for myself to go with my meal. If you are a fan of Brussel sprouts, you must try these.

For my entrée, I ordered the “Seafood Marinara” which was delightful as well. The seafood came on a bed of wilted greens and over garlic toast. A good quantity of shrimp, calamari and mussels all tossed in a marinara sauce. I would return and order this meal again. Overall, my impression of the Boynton has been upgraded from “Good” to “Great.” Try this neighborhood gem, I think you will be pleasantly surprised.

Posted on by

Sautéed Mussels from Chioda’s Trattoria

Sautéed Mussels from Chioda's Trattoria on Franklin Street in Worcester

Sautéed Mussels from Chioda's Trattoria on Franklin Street in Worcester

The next stop for our Foodies group was to Chioda’s Trattoria on Franklin Street. A small neighborhood restaurant tucked away off of Shrewsbury Street with a quaint atmosphere and what seemed to be regulars filling up the tables on a Tuesday night. I scanned the menu and came up with two dishes to complete my main meal, the Sautéed Mussels in garlic, olive oil and white wine sauce ($9.00) and the Caprese Salad, sliced tomato, fresh mozzarella, basil, with a drizzle of olive oil ($10.00).

The chatter around our table was which meal to order and how fairly priced everything was (they all looked fantastic) they offered specials on a black board and have a $10.00 menu, good from Monday-Thursday; great deal! It was enjoyable to watch all the pasta dishes arrive on large plates heaped with food.

My meal arrived, the mussels were piled high in a huge plate; there were so many I was sharing with my friends. The sauce definitely made the mussels, the garlic and white wine sauce was delicious, a heavy flavor of garlic coupled with white wine creating a perfect soupy broth to marinate my mussels in as well as dip my bread. My only complaint, unfortunately, my mussels were a touch overcooked. The Caprese Salad was large with ripe tomatoes and huge pieces of mozzarella with just a drizzle of olive oil, it was delicious, sometimes I find the mozzarella to be small and thinly sliced, but not here! I would order both again. We finished off our meal with a cannoli. We were informed that the filling was homemade. The cannoli was large, oozing with ricotta; the filling was one of the best homemade fillings I have ever had. I can’t wait to go back and try more items on the menu, not only did everything look fabulous their prices were great!  I would recommend going here for a great authentic Italian meal, off the beaten path, truly a hidden gem in Worcester!