Tag: Nuovo Restaurant

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Date Night Is Complete with Nuovo’s Mussels Fra Diavolo

Salmone Atlantico ($24)—The filet of salmon was sautéed with creamy Madeira wine sauce, fresh spinach and lobster meat served with 5 large cheese ravioli’s

If you’re from Worcester or a surrounding town, you know that nothing beats a night out on Shrewsbury Street. Whether you’re on the market for a bottle of fine wine, some delicious cocktails, light appetizers, or an authentic Italian dinner, you can find it all at Nuovo, located at 92 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester.

Nuovo is made for lovers! The brick interior, piano, elegant booths, white table cloths, tea light candles and colorful flowers take date night to a new level. Not only that, but the restaurant also has a large function room on the second level that can fit up to 120 guests – perfect for birthdays, engagement parties, baby showers, bridal showers, rehearsal dinners and beyond. You name it, Nuovo can accommodate!

Mussels Fra Diavolo - sautéed mussels, fresh basil and tomato sauce.
Mussels Fra Diavolo from Nuovo Restaurant on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

It was Friday night at 7PM and Nuovo was packed. I should have known better and made a reservation but luckily there was one open table for two. Upon being seated, warm bread and olive oil was brought out, followed by our $6—yes, all house martinis are $6!—dirty martinis. After browsing the appetizers I went with the Mussels Fra Diavolo – sautéed mussels, fresh basil and tomato sauce. For just $9 it was a good sized portion, plenty to share. There was a nice kick of spice from the Fra Diavolo sauce and I could have easily drank the broth at the bottom of the bowl if I knew no one would judge me – instead I soaked my bread in it.

For my entrée I went with one of “Nuovo’s Sautéed Specialties,” the Salmone Atlantico ($24) which was accompanied with a house salad. The filet of salmon was sautéed with creamy Madeira wine sauce, fresh spinach and lobster meat served with 5 large cheese ravioli’s. Madeira sauce is a rich and peppery sauce prepared with Madeira wine and peppercorns. It was plated so beautifully that I took a photo before I dug in. This entree was the perfect portion and went very well with my glass of Pinot Grigio ($7).

Top notch service goes hand in hand with top notch food. Our server was very professional, well-versed on the entire menu and knew the weekend specials to a T. What impressed me most was when a man, who appeared to be the owner, came out and asked each table how their meal was. There was a table of 6 behind me celebrating a birthday and he insisted that he bring out champagne for a complimentary toast. He then went on and did the same gesture for a couple who was celebrating their anniversary. This man went above and beyond to make sure each and every guest went home satisfied and that speaks volumes about how this family-owned restaurant is run.

Nuevo is a Shrewsbury Street staple with a well-deserved, almost perfect rating on Yelp! Start here for a romantic candle lit dinner without breaking the bank and then head over to neighbors Wormtown Brewery or Brew City to continue your night.

Bonus: Every Tuesday get any bottle of house wine for $20 and every time there is a show at the Hanover Theater receive a 10% discount off your food bill. They also offer free valet parking! Nuevo is a big “yes” from me. You just can’t go wrong here.

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A Quick Bite With Dale LePage

Dale LePage (Photograph by John Preves)

For thousands of years, food has become a synonymous component of success. Books, journal articles and scientific research have all indicated its enormous function in the equation for a healthy and productive lifestyle. These studies boost the utopian living of homegrown, organic, in-your-backyard, eating habits that suggest it is the fundamental distinction between successful and unsuccessful people, assuming that all of the Greats cooked, ate and digested the holy grail of foods leading them to the top of the totem pole.

Dale LePage taking the microphone and performing to a private crowd in Sutton, MA
Dale LePage taking the microphone with his trio during a private performance at Vaillancourt Folk Art in Sutton, MA

“Food and my success? Nope, I rarely cook. I once sprained my wrist cracking an egg,” exclaims Dale LePage, multi-award winning New England Entertainer. “When I do cook, my husband is surprised if it has any taste at all.”

LePage is a connoisseur of personality. A vibrant being in the center of it all. A jack-of-all trades in the entertainment industry but don’t connect his eating habits with that of the path to success, because the last place you will find LePage is in the kitchen baking cookies.

“Preparing a meal would include sharp tools and my husband, Jeff Burk, keeps that drawer locked,” says LePage. “I appreciate the experience of five-star dining, instead.” While appreciating the culinary skills of Chefs and their ability to cultivate dishes that entice every human sense, for LePage, the restaurant dining experience is about more than just the food. “Although, I understand all of the hard work that goes into preparing a five-star cuisine, the one thing that sets the mood for me, when dining, is the wait staff.  Having a great wait staff will set the tone for the entire evening. As of now, the best service I’ve had was at Padavano’s Place. Oh, and if you go, don’t forget to try the Chicken Marsala.”

Personality is contagious. Laughter, smiles and a good attitude is said to be infectious and for LePage, the friendliness, ability and personality of the wait staff can shake off the heebie-jeebies of a bad dish.

While craving for top-notch experience and the ability to indulge in pre-prepped meals to order, he appreciates the very foundation of the food culture – the piece of the equation making eating all worth wild; comfort foods. “I have always been a fan of comfort foods. My mom used to make the best Sheppard’s pie, but with a recent trip to EVO, deciding on who owns the title of Best Sheppard’s Pie is a tough call – but don’t worry mom, yours is still the best,” he says.

Although, cooking is not a routine part of the day for LePage – a man boosting a hectic schedule between television hosting for Worcester Pride TV and Woo Tube and performing across New England – it is ultimately a piece of his life that brings an enormous level of humility and satisfaction; that is, as long as someone else is cooking. “Whenever we host a dinner party, we are sure to be clear on the invitation that Jeff is cooking. To ensure that people come,” says LePage, as he continues to describe his affection for the dinner parties with family and friends. “Even on nights we dine out, I love getting together with friends for dinner. My favorite is gathering a group of six close friends and heading to Sweet for appetizers, then walking over to Nuovo Restaurant for dinner – which is where I’ve had the best salmon of my life – then we continue the night at Ceres Bistro for drinks on their patio. After a long night, we usually end up at Nick’s on Millbury Street for an amazing homemade ginger bread topped with whipped cream, to appreciate the music. With everyone on social media, tweeting, sharing photos on Facebook and yelping, I find new places to eat all the time.”