Posted on

Veal Soprano at Dino’s

Veal Soprano at Dino's on Lord Street in Worcester, MA

Veal Soprano at Dino's on Lord Street in Worcester, MA

Dino’s Ristorante Italiano is hidden away in a mostly residential area off Plantation St that you would never find unless you knew about it. This old-school, Worcester restaurant has ample parking and seating and even on a Tuesday night, was pretty busy.

At Dino’s each meal starts with fresh bread and a diced tomato salad, sort of a deconstructed bruschetta, that was very tasty and great pickings while figuring out what to order of the enormous menu.

For dinner I chose the Veal Soprano, veal sautéed and topped with prosciutto, Fontana cheese and fresh sage in a sweet, light tomato sauce with leeks and diced tomatoes. The portion was huge, two large medallions of veal and a side of linguine that was big enough to be a meal itself. The sauce was quite tasty with small chucks of prosciutto and large chunks of tomato mixed in. The veal itself however was slightly overcooked and a bit tough and chewy. The flavor was still quite nice, but the texture was too tough for my liking. The pasta was cooked perfectly, but I felt the tomato sauce (not the same sauce as on the veal) and pasta were both average. Overall, I’d have to rate this as an average meal, balancing a great flavor with the overcooked meat.

Posted on

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!