Tag: grape leaves

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Chicken Shawarma Plate

Chicken Shawarma Plate from Bay Side on Water Street in Worcester, MA

Chicken Shawarma Plate from Bay Side on Water Street in Worcester, MA

December Foodies brought us to the Canal District to Bay State Shawarma & Grill; a Middle Eastern casual dine-in, takeout restaurant. They do not serve alcohol, and BYOB is prohibited. They offer a diverse menu, which included several vegetarian offerings.

Shawarma typically denotes the manner in which the meat is prepared, roasted all day on a spit, sliced to order. Although I have seen Shawarma and had Middle Eastern cuisine, I had never tried Shawarma. I was excited to take my taste buds on this culinary adventure.

To start we ordered some vegetarian grape leaves: stuffed with rice, mint, tomato, parsley, and spices. The grape leaves were excellent, the flavors spot on, the leaves held together well, not too tough/stringy or soft. For my meal, I ordered the Chicken Shawarma Plate. Chicken roasted on the spit, sliced over a bed of rice, served with salad, hummus, labneh, pickles, and warm pita bread.

The food was simply delectable! The portion size was perfect; the chicken had a fantastic spit roasted flavor and went perfectly with the bed of rice, the hummus was well balanced in flavor, the pita was homemade and warm. Now… the real star on my plate was the Labneh. I had never tried Labneh, or even heard of it before and while it was fantastically overpowering in garlic and a slight heat, I could not help but want more and more! Labneh is a kefir cheese mix with garlic and mint. I kept using it as a dip for my chicken, for the pita bread. It was extremely addictive!

As I looked around the table, I was overcome with food ordering envy, admiring all the dishes and thinking – what will I order next time. I will be back to Bay State Shawarma & Grill many more times, I can guarantee that. I highly recommend stopping in for a bite or getting a nice meal to go, not only is the food fantastic the prices are extremely reasonable. Bay State Shawarma & Grill is one of my top 5 for Foodies thus far.

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Stuffed Grape Leaves from Meze

Soutzoukakia Smirneika

 

Soutzoukakia SmirneikaOur recent Worcester Foodie adventures took us to Meze Greek Tapas Bar & Grille – a new addition to the bustling dining scene on Shrewsbury Street. This was my second visit there as I was able to check it out over the summer when it first opened – at that time we enjoyed the nice patio seating and summer cocktails.

My first time I shared various plates or Tapas with my friend which really gave me chance to try many different dishes. For this visit I decided to keep it simple and just get two small tapas dishes for myself.

When trying a new restaurant I always go for a “traditional” menu item which allows me to compare it to other restaurants that I might already enjoy. My mind immediately went to the Dolmathes – at Meze they were stuffed grape leaves with white rice with a slight lemony flavor to the leaves accompanied with a side of Greek yogurt for dipping. While the grape leaves were ok, I prefer when they have some meat in them and slightly more seasoning. A vegetarian might enjoy them more.

My other dish was something new for me – Soutzoukakia Smirneika – think mini meat loaves of ground beef and port that are lightly fried and topped with a homemade tomato sauce. It was a good combination of meat and sauce and would be something I would get again, though I was disappointed with the rice that came with it as it was kind of mushy.

Overall, while I know traditional Greek food is lighter on the seasoning, I still left feeling the grape leaves and other dishes I have had there in the past could pop more. I am one for lots of bold flavors and wish there were heavier in the hand on the seasoning.

Due to the tapas style eating, photos may not match the foodies review or description.