Tag: parsley

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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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Chimichurri Steak Frites

chimichurri steak frites from Brew City on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

chimichurri steak frites from Brew City on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

This month’s culinary adventure brought us to the restaurant that is most synonymous with a gigantic beer selection and crafted burgers in Worcester… Brew City. Over the last couple of years, I know that Brew City has been working on reinventing themselves by refreshing the decor, and updating their menu, which now leans more towards sophisticated comfort food rather than the traditional staples of just wings, beer and burgers.

With so many new and exciting items on the menu to try, I actually had a difficult time deciding what I wanted to have for dinner. I settled on the chimichurri steak frites. As the menu would describe it, this was grilled flank steak that was sliced thinly and topped with a classic Argentinian chimichurri sauce and served with sweet potato fries. For those of you who are not familiar with a chimichurri sauce, I would liken it to a type of pesto, but made with finely-chopped parsley, minced garlic, olive oil, oregano, and white or red wine vinegar instead of basil and pine nuts. It is slightly more acidic than a pesto.

When my meal came to the table, I knew that I was in for a treat. The steak was cooked to a perfect, medium-rare and the chimichurri sauce stood out; bright green against the crispy, orange sweet potato fries. The steak was juicy and tender and the sauce added a nice, tangy bite that was needed to break up the meatiness of the steak. The sweet potato fries were tossed in coarse sea salt and was just what was needed to contribute a salty bite. Overall, I was very impressed with my meal. I would have liked a few more pieces of steak, because it was cooked so perfectly (and also because the meal only came with four small slices). This was not a meal that I was expecting to get from the Brew City that I had remembered from years past. If you are looking for a place that’s familiar and inviting, that serves good food and has a lengthy beer menu to match, you should definitely check out Brew City… I bet you will be as pleasantly surprised as I was!