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Veal Parmigiana from La Scala on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

As a long time resident of the Worcester area, it still amazes me that there are established restaurants in the Worcester area that I have never dined at. La Scala, nestled into the bustling Shrewsbury Street’s Italian scene is one of them. Upon reviewing the menu, I was drawn to an appetizer of Hot Italian Stuffed Fried Cherry Peppers. The peppers were stuffed with a spicy cream cheese and served with a side of marinara sauce. The peppers were lightly breaded and fried and had a nice kick to them—an order would be perfect for sharing for two people.

For my main course, I decided to order a classic dish that I rarely prepare at home: Veal Parmigiana. The Veal Parmigiana was served over penne pasta and served in a red sauce. The veal was tender and well prepared and served over a large plate of pasta. With Shrewsbury Street known for both its Italian heritage and food, I had greater expectations for the dish. As the Veal Parmigiana was the main attraction and was well prepared I would give the dish a positive review, yet I was slightly disappointed that the pasta and sauce did not seem to show the same attention to detail as the veal. When I venture to Shrewsbury Street for Italian I have high expectations for all of the details; pasta and gravy included.

Overall, La Scala has a nice neighborhood restaurant feel that the “big restaurants” lack; it also has a family-friend feel to the attentive employees. My dining companions’ dished looked great, including the grilled pizzas. The Veal Parmigiana was well prepared and with a little effort could have been kicked up a notch to really compete with the other Italian eateries. -DO

Chicken Le Mirage from Le Mirage on June Street in Worcester

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