Tag: Shrimp

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Chuan Shabu’s half herbal, half chicken broth

Splitting two broths, herb and original, at Chuan Shabu on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Splitting two broths, herb and original, at Chuan Shabu on Park Avenue in Worcester, MA

Chuan Shabu in Worcester offers hot pot cooking, which means you get to pick a broth then add you choice of items to create a unique dinner for yourself. Some of the broth choices are herbal, chicken, or vegetarian.  Then you have a long list of vegetables to choose from, everything from the normal broccoli and carrots to the more adventurous enoki mushrooms and lotus roots. Everything is à la carte so it’s all customizable to your choice of flavor platte. We went with the half herbal, half chicken broth and ordered Angus beef, shrimp, pork, mushrooms, udon noodles, and greens to share. I loved the sauces served with the meal and we loaded our broths up with chopped garlic and scallions.

The meats were of good quality and the vegetables were fresh and green—a big plus! The à la carte portions were plentiful in size, so you do get a lot for your money. Even ladling from the broth was fun and felt adventurous to the dining experience. Learning how quickly the meats cooked was a fun challenge we enjoyed and shared the labor among all our friends; it was a very communal and entertaining dinner. My favorite part of our Chuan Shabu experience was at the end of the meal we all put the noodles in the broth. That broth was made so flavorful from all the cooked meats and veggies, and eating the thick yummy noodles after all that swirling and mixing turned out delicious. Overall, I really enjoyed the flavors and meal, it felt very healthy and certainly this soup hit the spot for a cold winter’s night.

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Shrimp and chorizo risotto from Mezcal Tequila Cantina

Shrimp and chorizo risotto from Mezcal Tequila Cantina on Major Taylor Boulevard in Worcester

Shrimp and chorizo risotto from Mezcal Tequila Cantina on Major Taylor Boulevard in Worcester

When I entered the newly opened Mezcal Tequila Cantina on Major Taylor Boulevard my first thought was “Wow, this place is huge.” It has recently moved locations from its rather small location on Shrewsbury Street to a very large facility across from the DCU center. The parking is very convenient with a parking garage next door. They also offer valet parking service as well. A great new large location with a very different feel from their last small cozy set up.

Inside two separate bars dominate the place. A large central bar that runs along a good length of the building and another smaller bar in the far back corner and a little more intimate. The servers were very prompt and helpful with explaining the menu and I felt I could make a good decision based on the feedback.

I’ve always loved Mezcal’s guacamole and feel it is one of the best things on the menu. This new Mezcal did not disappoint. The chips and Guacamole were as good as I remembered.

For my entrée I ordered the Shrimp and chorizo risotto. It was a little on the spicy side for me but still very enjoyable. I found the quantity of food to be quite small for an entrée with only 5 or 6 small shrimp served on a very small bed of risotto, which was very disappointing as I have a healthy appetite. I left hungry. I will say that my dining companions who ordered different entrée’s had quite the opposite reaction. In fact, their meals were very generous. It may be that I just didn’t order well. I would go back to Mezcal but I would not recommend the shrimp and chorizo risotto if you have big appetite like myself.