Tag: potatoes

Posted on by

Brew City Chiopino

Brew City Chiopino from Brew City on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester

Brew City Chiopino from Brew City on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester

Entering Brew City I had the impression of a casual local establishment. A friendly server pointed us to our table. My husband and I headed over to join friends who had already arrived. The service throughout the evening was very prompt and always ready to refill a drink order.

Brew City has a nice list of “Brews,” so what is a patron to do? I ordered from their extensive beer list. Shipyard Pumpkin Head was my choice. It came with a cinnamon sugar rim. This is my “go-to” beer during the fall season.

My husband and I started with the meatball appetizer and were not disappointed. We were served four large meatballs with sauce. I found the meatballs to be exceptionally flavorful and juicy. I think I just found my new favorite appetizer.

It was hard to choose from the menu. I found so many menu options to my liking but I finally settled on the entree called “Brew City Chiopino” it was a combination of shrimp, scallops, muscles, white fish and potatoes in a spicy tomato broth. I would order this again, first because you do not see Chiopino on many menus and because quite honestly it was fantastic. The spicy tomato and fish broth was rich and flavorful. I thought the portion to be very large, it came served with two wedges of crusty bread that I barely had the room to sample after eating all the seafood and slurping up the delicious broth. The dish had a small spice to it but nothing the average person would not enjoy. I found it a bit spicy for me but I admit I am a lightweight when it comes to spice at times. I enjoyed it immensely and would go back and order it again.

Posted on by

Chuan Shabu “Hot Pot” Review

The Hot Pot Experience from Chuan Shabu on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

The Hot Pot Experience from Chuan Shabu on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Located on Park Street, the energy at Chuan Shabu was fresh and new—which is possibly due to the fact that they are relatively new to the Worcester area. The bar was decent size and took up most of the back of the restaurant. The kitchen was partially open to the restaurant and you can watch the hustle and bustle going on as you sit and wait for your food to come.

The wait staff was prompt and when asked about menu items appeared to be very informed. Our waiter took the time to explain to us how a “HOT POT” works and made suggestions for ordering to feed our group. Although they have other items to pick from on a regular menu myself and my dining companions decided to do the hot pot experience. We agreed on two separate broths, the Basic broth which is a chicken flavor and a herbal broth which was very flavorful but hard to explain. It reminded me a little of a vegetable broth.

We ordered several dishes of meat and seafood, including beef, pork, shrimp, squid, sausage. All of this went into the hot pot and then was scooped out to be eaten after it had cooked to the desired state. The assortment of seafood and meat cooked incredibly fast in the hot broth. When we scooped it out of the hot pot there was dipping sauces to be used although I found the flavor of the food after having cooked in the broth to be very flavorful and several times I didn’t use the dipping sauce.

Our meal also included a variety of vegetables including, potatoes, carrots, broccoli, bok choy and mushrooms. All of the vegetables made their way into the pot of simmering broth. After being cooked we scooped out the vegetables and enjoyed them as they were or with dipping sauce. Overall, it was an interesting experience, but I felt this was more of an event then a meal. The pace was slow and allowed you to have conversations with your dining companions in a very relaxed and easy setting. I would recommend this place for a special occasion or for those who enjoy something a little different.