Worcester has its share of “genre restaurants”; if you want Italian, there are eighteen readily available. Pizza? More than twenty. Japanese? A dozen. But if you are looking for Middle Eastern or Mediterranean there is a small handful and even less if you are also looking for BYOB. Le Mirage is one of them. Located at the corner of Chandler Street and June Street, the only thing that might be considered small about Le Mirage is it’s physical space—and that’s a good thing.
I always find that if there is a dish that shares the name of the restaurant, it’s usually its signature. With the Chicken Le Mirage, they couldn’t have chosen a better representative. Modestly described as, “sautéed chicken with walnuts in a gorgonzola cream sauce,” they couldn’t undersell the dish any more.
An oversized portion of penne doppia rigatura pasta is served with moist, plump chicken medallions that are perfect both in size and flavor—seasoned with a light Italian seasoning that introduces a familiarity with the pasta. The Gorgonzola cream sauce had the optimal viscosity with a rich, bold, deep flavor without being too intense. The walnuts added a complexity and sweetness to the dish that offsets any bite that the Gorgonzola brings to the cream sauce. Topped with crumbles of Gorgonzola that melt into the sauce, there couldn’t have been a better way that completes both the appearance and depth of flavors.
The flavors and textures of this dish were addictive and define gluttony: although my stomach said to stop, my five senses would not allow me to leave anything behind, even though half of this dish would have easily satisfied my appetite.
I have a general rule of thumb with restaurants: try something different each time. Sadly, I will break my own rule during my next visit to Le Mirage. –LV
