Shrewsbury Street | Page 11 of 100

Mark Hawley, corporate executive chef, at for Worcester Restaurant Group (Photograph by Alex Belisle)

Mark Hawley loves getting his butt kicked.

“That’s what drives me,” he says. “I love sports. I love working. And I love what I do. The adrenaline rush of a busy night is enjoyable. I like that challenge. It’s me saying, ‘You cannot beat me. I will be better than you.’”

Mark has had plenty of opportunities to prove his mettle in the weeds of kitchens in and around Worcester. He was the first chef at the ever-busy Flying Rhino, headed the line at 111 Chop House, and was the top guy at the bustling VIA Italian Table for the last three-plus years.

But now Mark Hawley faces a very different challenge – and his biggest yet. He’ll have three kitchens trying to kick his ass this fall when he officially takes over as corporate executive chef for the Worcester Restaurant Group’s (WRG) three restaurants: VIA Italian Table, 111 Chop House, and the Sole Proprietor.

Mark relishes the challenge.

Mark Hawley in the kitchen at VIA Italian Table (Photograph by Alex Belisle)

“I don’t know if it’s just me getting older or having kids now but I really enjoy managing people. I like the different personalities – from one kitchen to the next it is completely different. But it’s familiar to me too. Besides having already worked at two of the restaurants most everyone knows me, and I go to The Sole every morning to pick up fish so I see the guys in the kitchen there. It is very different than having someone new off the streets come and do it.”

And there are plenty of new people on those Worcester streets these days. In the nearly twenty years Mark has boomeranged between some of Shrewsbury Street’s most established eateries, the Worcester food, restaurant, and chef scene has blown up around him. It can be hard to keep track of the next “It” place. By contrast, VIA, the newest jewel in the WRG crown, opened nearly a decade ago. 111 Chop House is coming up on two decades. And the remarkable Sole Proprietor has been making sure something fishy happens on Highland Street for more than 35 years. Three very different restaurants – a fact that makes Mark’s job even more complicated and delicious.

“These are restaurants each with very different identities. No one would necessarily think that the three were related. Does that present an extra challenge? Yes and no. For me it is still food at the end of the day. Now the food is very different and the people are very different but I enjoy it because I get to cook a lot more stuff.” He’ll also let the chefs at each of the restaurants have their own voices, guiding them and coaching them. “Before it was more or less 100% of my work,” Mark added. “Now it will be more of a share.” (Customers have already seen a smaller version of that sharing in action at VIA: The summer’s Pig Roast was an idea that came up in a chef meeting and then was executed by Mark, who noted to my delight that the chicharrones are back on the menu now.)

In fact, VIA has always been a bit of a laboratory and food playground for Mark – a place with seasonal and varied menus and open to new ideas. He agrees with the perception that Chop House and The Sole are more fixed in their approaches, menus, and customers. “They are very much the same and that’s what customers expect. I have the same perception!” he adds. “We do a very good job at all three restaurants, but people have liked and expected X, Y, and Z at The Sole for 35 years.”

So how do you change that – develop new foods and thoughts and ideas and get the new and next generation of people in and still keep the current customers happy? All three WRG restaurants have survived and thrived but times have changed. There is perhaps no greater challenge for an established restaurant anywhere, especially when faced with the rush of the new: keep attracting customers with something fresh and current while keeping the one’s who got you there satisfied.

Mark agrees this is his biggest challenge and what he is most focused on with new ideas and dishes: “In the end,” Mark says, “it’s still all about educating customers. The Sole and the other restaurants need nothing when it comes to quality. We buy the best product we can and serve the best quality food with the best service at the best rate possible. The Sole serves the best fish money can buy. I want to update everything that comes with that fish right down to the plate it is served on.”

Meaning?

The Seared Scallops created by Mark Hawley in the kitchen at VIA Italian Table (Photograph by Alex Belisle)

“For me my goal is to give The Sole a little more ‘composure,’ meaning composed dishes. I just want to put together dishes that they are going to enjoy. But for The Sole it will still be clean and simple but elevated – maybe start with a side they haven’t heard of or tried before. If squash is in season, there’s no need to do the same thing over and over. Maybe we ferment it or pickle it or puree it or roast it. We can change it up.”

As example of “composure on a plate,” Mark shows me a seared scallop dish he created for VIA served on a bed of seasonal succotash with a house-smoked tomato vinaigrette. There’s bacon, corn. pickled Fresno chilies. fava beans … it’s colorful, seasonal, fresh, and not so unfamiliar that it wouldn’t appeal to multiple generations.

“My personal challenge has always been to do new things with food,” adds Mark. “I keep playing with my food. I like salt and sweet and sour. I like pickling things and different textures. There is always some sort of crunch and heat. I like big and strong flavors. I like to mix and match very prominent flavors that together create something fantastic.”

Which is good because that’s what Mark knows customers are increasingly looking for: “The food bar has been set higher than it ever has. People are able to see all these cool concepts on TV and social media and they want it. They need to find it here. Everybody has to up their games. We have to keep giving people something that they can’t make it home. That they haven’t seen before. We have to strive to be a little more cutting-edge. We can’t just give them the same old food. Which is great for me. I took over the Rhino when I was 19 years old. I’ve always been on my own. I’ve always been teaching myself and learning new things.”

Which is why the arrival of the new restaurants makes Mark happy too. It means more people coming to Worcester to eat. It means everyone right down to his employees need to be better, not scared. “I love these new restaurants popping up,” he adds “deadhorse hill and Lock 50 and others? It’s fantastic. Why should you have to drive to Providence? Why should you have to drive to Boston?”

And if anyone has any doubt that he understands what he needs to do in the future, Mark may have the perfect personal story capturing how he reconciles transformation and continuity without getting his butt kicked: He has two boys, five and three, and they eat everything, including those scallops and (without any cajoling) broccoli. But when they come into VIA? “They go straight for the gelato.”

The more things change . . .

Carefully slicing meat at Terra Brasilis on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA

Worcester’s Seven Hills have seen their fair share of eateries over the past decade; in fact, there is some question as to whether the upcoming restaurant boom will even be sustainable. One thing that we’ve observed, however, is a correlation between experience and success. In a time where choice is abundant, Jack Trout’s aptly named book, Differentiate Or Die: Survival in Our Era of Killer Competition, rings true for some of Central Massachusetts’ best restaurants. Weeks after opening, Mass Foodies’ local Foodies group ventured to Worcester’s newest Brazilian restaurant, Terra Brasilis to see if they bring a different experience to the Worcester restaurant scene.

A diner choosing fried fish from the Terra Brasilis buffet on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA.

To begin with, the space has some history. The much loved Piccadilly Pub resided here for nearly 40-years before closing in 2012. After that, several short lived restaurants tried to capitalize on brand and location as Paparazzi and The Pic, before closing last year. With Terra Brasilis moving in, there seem to be very little changed in the layout and seating—the thick knotty pine booths still reside in place and the bar sits next to the newly installed buffet fixtures in front of the new barbecue pit. Upon entering the restaurant, the group was eagerly welcomed and shown to their seats where it was explained how the restaurant worked: the waitress will serve drinks from the bar to you at your seats while you grab a large plate and visit the buffet. At the end of the buffet, you pay by the weight of your plate and are given a ticket which you use if you decide to have seconds, desserts, or non-alcholic drinks from the register. At the end of the night, you see the hostess stand by the entrance to settle your bill. Mass Foodies contributor, Donna Dufault, explained, “The service was very personable. There are not many (if any) weigh-and-pay buffets, so the explanation was helpful.” Scott Erb added, “The fact that the staff was so pleasant and attentive the entire time–from seating us, to bringing us drinks, through clearing the plates—really made us feel at home.”

A diner chooses her proteins, rice, and vegetables at Terra Brasilis buffet on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA.

With a large selection of food, it was nice to see some familiar items that would make the less adventures happy while also having truly authentic items to give a taste of the chef’s home country of Brazil. But, let’s face it, no one goes to a buffet looking for a fine dining experience. There is a certain stigma that a buffet has, thanks in part to the “all you can eat Chinese buffet” movement that allows Americans to over indulge without thinking about quality or price. The buffet here, however, was clean, well lit and offered a variety of hot and cold, pickled and sautéed, options. “Being a vegetarian,” explained contributor Julie Giacobbe, “I was able to find a variety of rices, vegetables and non-meat products that didn’t make me feel as though I was missing out.”

Weigh-And-Pay allows diners to control how much they eat (and pay) and choose only what appeals to them at Terra Brasilis buffet on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA.

The main stage of any barbecue place (Brazilian or otherwise) is the meat. Terra Brasilis offered seemingly countless meats, both safe and expected (e.g., garlic beef, bacon wrapped chicken, and pork loin) and traditional and exotic (e.g., spicy sausage, and chicken hearts). They are open roasted and carved to the diner’s preference and most of the meats were prepared using rubs and spices that are common to the Brazilian culture and palate. The only complaint that was repeated amongst the group was that many of the meats were overdone. “Unfortunately, my chicken was inedible because it was so dry—meanwhile, my husband’s was perfectly moist,” Robin Lane stated. “There seemed to be some inconsistency in the meats—some cuts were perfect, others were dry,” added Amy Peterson. This is the caveat with open flame barbecue, specifically in a buffet setting. Most Brazilian barbecues offer pampas style service—where they come to the table and carve the meat directly onto your plate—which accounts for the idle cooking time (meat continues to cook despite not being over the heat source, which, means that a perfectly cooked slice could be dry once you walk to the table, sit down, and enjoy some of the other items on the plate).

The dessert at Terra Brasilis on Shrewsbury Street in Worcester, MA can stand on its own legs.

The finale, however, was the desserts. Made in house, the cakes were opulent slices made from scratch (with the exception of the cookies from the “Oreo cake,” understandably) that were larger than the plate. Evan Dufault, taking a break from his Oreo cake explained, “The Oreo cake was rich and decadent. It seemed to be soaked in milk which made it extremely moist. The Oreo cookie crumbles and the homemade frosting gave the cake wonderful texture and was borderline sinful. Easily the best part of the meal, as dessert usually is.”

Regardless if the meats may have disappointed some, it was forgiven immediately when the bills were paid—most of the dishes were $10 and, some, even less. During the night, there were several other parties enjoying the Brazilian barbecue, but the steady stream of customers coming for take out was notable. With colleges back in session in Worcester, being able to load a take-out container for under $10 worth of sustenance is a no-brainer. We’ve seen this similar success with Bay State Schwarma and Grill, an eatery on Water Street that offers cafeteria style service with middle eastern fare, and have no doubt that the value proposition of enjoying authentic flavors of different cultures is a sweet spot for differentiation in Worcester’s culinary stew.

To survive in “an era of killer competition” any business must differentiate itself from its competitors. While many restaurants need to do this with their menu, ingredients, service, or atmosphere, Terra Brasilis has a leg-up simply by being one of the only restaurants with a weigh-and-pay buffet model… add the authentic flavors and exotic selection of meats, any shortcomings can easily be forgiven. We look forward to see how they progress with the time and evolve with the city’s economic development.

Tag: Shrewsbury Street

Composure On A Plate: Mark Hawley’s Vision To Evolve The Favorites

Brazilian Barbecue in Worcester Offers Authentic Flavors to Foodies