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Fettuccine Tossed with Fresh Parmesan

Fettuccine Tossed with Fresh Parmesan from Livia's Dish on Main Street in Worcester, MA

Fettuccine Tossed with Fresh Parmesan from Livia's Dish on Main Street in Worcester, MA

On Main Street, on the way into Leicester, you will find a small little restaurant front with about 10 parking spaces and a welcome sign drawing you into Livia’s Dish. As you enter, you can feel as though you are stepping into someone living room, with personalized touches and a homey feel. The smells of home cooked food emanating from the kitchen and the sound of customer’s conversations litter the air as you wait to be served. As we waited for the main course, we were greeted with homemade hummus and bread that had been slightly toasted, buttered and drizzled with Olive oil. While it was unlike any other hummus I have ever had, it was creamy and was a great start to the meal.

After perusing the menu, I decided on Livia’s Dish. This entrée was fettuccine tossed with fresh parmesan, parsley, butter and asparagus, topped with a perfectly poached egg. I was excited for the idea of having a poached egg to thicken the sauce and make the dish more rich. First off, the poached egg was less than perfectly poached, which was extremely disappointing. The yolk was almost fully cooked and not runny at all, as I was hoping for. The pasta was cooked so dente and had a good bite to it. The dish as a whole however desperately needed a generous seasoning of salt and pepper. The other aspects of the meal, like the parsley and the asparagus added a nice freshness and texture to a smooth, creamy plate of pasta. While my dinner was less than ideal, my wandering eye was drawn to other meals on our table that looked delicious. I would definitely be willing to go back and try something else on their menu. The ambiance and cheerful service would be enough the get me back a second time.

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Shrimp Scampi from Livia’s Dish

Shrimp Scampi from Livia's Dish on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Shrimp Scampi from Livia's Dish on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Livia’s Dish starts you off with homemade lemony hummus and fresh, slightly grilled crostini sized bread.  I appreciate a ‘unique’ approach to the rather overdone and usually overlooked dinner roll. Without a microwave and with a freezer solely for gelato, the menu is small but with great variety.  As this translates to better quality dishes, I was very excited and panic ordered the shrimp scampi. Someday I will order something other than scampi if it is on the menu, but this was not the day.  The shrimp scampi was standard: tomato, garlic, olive oil with shrimp over linguini sprinkled with Parmesan and bits of parsley. The shrimp were well-cooked, but I must ask-why are the tails always left on in pasta dishes and stews?  I end up messy because I dig out the shrimp meat inside them. Anyway, the sauce was very rich and adhered to the pasta in a most pleasing manner. Pools of oily nonsense were not left on my plate upon finishing the meal. And I did finish the meal. The pasta was so tender and the sauce so flavorful that I ate until I regretted it. Then I smiled and decided it was worth it. Two thumbs up, I would do it again!