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Domestic calamari sautéed with virgin olive oil fresh basil your choice of garlic and oil or red sauce

Sauteed Calamari from Blackstone Bistro in Worcester, MA

Sauteed Calamari from Blackstone Bistro in Worcester, MAI love calamari, so I could not resist the temptation to try this dish with its simple, yet flavorful ingredients from Blackstone Bistro. In a world that loves to fry these poor tender morsels, I was absolutely thrilled to see the word “sauteed” leap off the menu at me. I chose to get it with the olive oil, garlic and basil. I never even read the rest of the menu. I was not disappointed at all. It was a very fine thin sauce but packed with fresh flavors and it was a nice large portion to boot. I was wishing I had remembered this was a BYOB, because this was the perfect dish to have with a nice red wine and I said so. My friend graciously let me have a glass from his bottle and the meal was perfect and complete. The added bonus was the yummy crunchy garlic bread that was shared around the table. I would absolutely go back here for this meal again and again.

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Grilled Chicken and Ravioli

Grilled Chicken and Ravioli from Joey’s Bar and Grill on Chandler Street in Worcester, MA

Grilled Chicken and Ravioli from Joey’s Bar and Grill on Chandler Street in Worcester, MA

One of the first things I noticed about Joey’s Bar and Grill when I got there was how large it was even though it has a small store front in a strip mall on Chandler Street. The decor was modern, but homey with local art on the walls and a fairly large bar—which is good because there was a crowd of people waiting to eat.

It was restaurant week so there was a special menu, which I ordered from, as well as the standard menu featuring a nice mix of Italian and American fare.

For an appetizer I had the Chicken Chili. It was sized perfectly for an appetizer, giving me a good taste without filling me up at all and leaving me plenty of room for my entree. The chili was tomato based, with lots of chicken and lots of other filler (peppers, onions etc…) and had a very nice flavor with just a hint of spiciness. The tart of the tomato balanced the heat of the chili and the sweetness of the peppers perfectly, leaving an overall fantastic mix.

For my entree I had the Grilled Chicken and Ravioli, which was described as; Grilled chicken breast with baby spinach tossed roasted yellow pepper cream sauce over spinach an garlic ravioli. It came with 2 smallish breasts of chicken grilled perfectly, they were moist and tender with nice grill marks and garnished with sprigs of Rosemary along with 6-8 large ravioli drizzled with the sauce. The ravioli were also cooked perfectly al dente with just the right amount of texture. The sauce was excellent, though a little sparse and was just on the ravioli with none on the chicken, though the chicken really didn’t need it. The flavors of the sauce complemented the ravioli perfectly and were a great counterpoint to the grilled chicken. Overall an excellent dish.

For dessert, I had the cookie sundae. This was a very large soft, fresh white chocolate macadamia nut cookie with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, whipped cream and some hot chocolate sauce. The cookie was soft, but still firm enough to balance the ice cream nicely creating a very pleasing dessert. -DL