Tag: Mediterranean

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At Livia’s Dish, Fresh Means No Microwaves, No Freezers

You won't find a microwave or walking freezers in chef Mehillaj's kitchen

 

When chef Enton Mehillaj bought the former Pho 2000 restaurant on Worcester’s West Side, one of the first things he did was shut down the walk-in freezer. Ask him. He’ll show you. It’s dry storage now.

Livia's Dish's atmosphere is clean and fresh, much like the ingredients going onto each plate.
Livia’s Dish’s atmosphere is clean and fresh, much like the ingredients going onto each plate.

The term “fresh” has become cliche. But at Livia’s Dish, a small Italian/Mediterranean restaurant on Main Street near the Leicester border, fresh means baking their own bread for the paninis. It means there’s no microwave — although they’ll be happy to pour you a fresh cup of coffee if yours is getting cold. And it means pulling the plug on the walk-in and buying a small freezer to store ice cream.

A family operation, this little hidden gem is chef Mahillaj’s dream come true. His wife, Oriola, runs things out front while Mahillaj and crew keep the kitchen humming. He’s getting to do things his way now, after working in kitchens in Albania and then locally at Crowne Plaza, the Marriott and others. And, it’s working. Deliciously.

“We thought there was a need for a great breakfast/lunch place on the West Side,” Mahillaj said. Customers seem to agree.

Don’t let the size or location of the restaurant fool you. The Albanian-born Mahillaj knows his craft. In the two years since it’s opened, Livia’s Dish has become a favorite haunt for local foodies, primarily for the restaurant’s omelets at breakfast and paninis at lunchtime. But the menu runs far deeper than that. Like the stuffed pancakes, stuffed with apples and mascapone cheese.

A typical lunch might include the “chef’s panini,” a pressed sandwich with chipotle sauce, spinach, tomato, chicken cutlet and fresh mozzarella.

“I put it on the special and it was so popular I had to put it on the regular menu,” Mahillaj said.

And, don’t forget the french fries. Mahillaj is emphatic on this point. It’s a source of pride.

Burger Special at Livia's Dish on Main Street in Worcester, MA
“The french fries are to die for,” Majillaj says. “We peel them, we cut them, we let them soak in water just a little bit and then we fry them. There’s no double frying. A lot of people say hand cut fries but they blanch them in oil, take them out and put them back in oil again. We don’t do that.”

The food is Italian/Mediterranean, but there are a lot of influences. Mahjillaj went to cooking school in Albania before coming to the U.S. with his family in 1996 and has connections in Greece and Italy. Wednesday is $5 burger night. But these aren’t your typical burgers. They’ve got a little Mediterranean twist. Take the feta burger with feta cheese, olive tapenade, grilled tomato and Tzatziki sauce, a Greek sauce made with yogurt, cucumbers, garlic, salt and olive oil. In fact, most dishes at Livia’s seem to have their own little twist, like the fettuccini alfredo. It’s tossed with parmesan, parsley and butter, but then is topped with asparagus and a poached egg.

If the dishes sound terrific, don’t just take it on description. Mahillaj said outstanding reviews from customers on Yelp have helped spur business since opening two years ago. And for any good chef, that’s the real reward. “It’s a lot of hours, it’s a lot of hard work, but I just love doing this,” Mahillaj says.

Livia’s Dish is open Monday through Saturday from 7 a.m. to 2 p.m. and Sunday’s from 8 a.m. to 2 p.m. Additionally, they’re open for dinner Wednesday’s and Thursday’s from 4 to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m.

Worcester Foodies enjoying a meal at Livia's Dish
Worcester Foodies enjoying a meal at Livia’s Dish
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Fall-off-the-bone Lamb Shank from Livia’s Dish

Fall-off-the-bone Lamb Shank from Livia’s Dish on Main Street in Worcester, MA

Fall-off-the-bone Lamb Shank from Livia’s Dish on Main Street in Worcester, MA

It may be because of my fascination with the medieval time period (or perhaps my recent visit to Worcester Art Museum’s Knights!), but, whenever an opportunity presents itself to order a large chunk of meat off of the bone, I have to bite. To make it more appealing, whenever I see lamb on the menu of a restaurant I channel my inner Greek and assume that the divine intervention of Θαλία makes the decision clear.

Livia’s Dish opened in 2012 just beyond the Webster Square side of Main Street. They feature Italian and Mediterranean-influenced dishes with an emphasis on artisanal and local ingredients. The space was the previous home to Pho 2000 and, for a year, Bangkok House, so it was refreshing to see that owners Enton Mehillaj and Oriola Koci took the time to update the interior to start fresh with a split level restaurant that features two small dining areas—one, more intimate with a small bar for 6 and the other, more open and airy with large windows to the street.

While the selection of menu items didn’t surprise me, the lamb shank immediately caught my eye.  The couscous (an option), a staple side for fish in Western Sicily, was the perfect starch for this dish: not only did it fit the restaurant’s advertised style, but the texture and flavor paired perfectly with the dish’s second side option of roasted zucchini and summer squash (which, admittedly, needed a little more salt seasoning). The meat was exactly how lamb shank should be prepared; braised with a port wine and plenty of garlic. The shank, which is the portion of meat directly beneath the knee, can often be the toughest cut of the lamb and takes time to braise properly to ensure that the tough connective tissue softens. If done right, as was the case here, the textures and flavors yield a rewarding, moist piece of meat that neatly pulls off the bone and maintains the rich flavors of the port and garlic.

Considered on the “outskirts,” Livia’s Dish provides a menu that deviates slightly from the norm but its unique flavors, ingredients, and combinations will please, intrigue, and satisfy. I look forward to joining Livia’s Dish for their brunch, where I may need to channel Διόνυσος to enjoy their pitchers of mimosas.