Tag: soup

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Antipasto

I drive by the renovated Parkway Restaurant and Bar almost everyday and I see the new dining area and flat screen TVs but I just haven’t had the opportunity to stop in and try the food. Well thank goodness for Worcester Foodies because now that I have eaten there, I will definitely add the Parkway to my rotation of casual dining options. The new room is great, with a large bar, booths along the wall and high-top tables in the middle of the room. Large screen TVs and lots of sports memorabilia adorn the walls.

Anxiously I looked through the menu and saw exactly what I expected to see…casual pub-style choices, appetizers and lots of salads and soups but the menu also included great Italian dishes, steak and fish options, all at unbelievably cheap prices. This is not the old Parkway Diner menu (although that menu is still available from 6:00am – 2:00pm in the dining car). A few things caught my eye, but I decided to start with a cup of Pasta Fagioli soup and ordered the Antipasto for two as my meal. The soup was outstanding, in fact it was so good I was disappointed I didn’t order a bowl! Served spicy and hot with lots of beans and pasta, you can tell this recipe has been passed down a few generations. Up next came my antipasto and once I shared a little with my dining companions, I dug in and made myself a nice big dish. There are a lot of good antipastos in Worcester and this one can hold its own against any of them. First off, it was huge and had everything including olives, roasted peppers, pepperoncini, salami, tomatoes, pepperoni and plentiful slices of provolone cheese all on top of fresh iceberg lettuce. I ordered mine with blue cheese dressing on the side and dipped each and every bite into the creamy dressing and enjoyed it thoroughly.

My dining companions were a little more adventurous than I was ordering Grilled Salmon, Grilled Sausage and a huge plate of pasta, meatballs and veal that all looked outstanding. I will be back to the Parkway Restaurant and Bar, the service was great, the value was outstanding and the tastes were fantastic! –JG

 

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Chicken All’ Arrabiata

Chicken All' Arrabiata

Chicken All' ArrabiataTucked into the backside of a strip mall on Chandler St, Caffe Espresso Trattoria is very easy to miss. To find it, you’ll need to pull into the plaza with the Rite Aid pull around the side. The place is actually decent sized, seating a decent amount of people for being in a strip mall. The atmosphere is minimal, not too bright, and not too dark, and the place is very simply decorated, though it did seem a tad noisy.

We started with the Italian staple, bread, and oil. The bread was very good, light and fluffy with a nice crust and very fresh. The oil was plain and unflavored, but once I added some red pepper flakes and grated cheese (both right on the table) it was quite nice.

For an appetizer, I had Bruschetta Mushroom, a special and not normally on the menu, though I think it should be. It was nicely sized, plenty for one and just enough for two to share. The mushrooms were cooked nicely, they were tender but still had some texture to them, and they held up to the oil, tomato, and cheese perfectly. Overall, it was nice and light, not too filling, and very enjoyable. My meal also came with soup and I chose the minestrone. I found the soup to be a little different than I’m used to, a little less tomato based, more carrots and chickpeas, but it was very good. The vegetables were cooked great, tender but again with enough texture and just the right amount of seasoning. Again, this was quite light and not too filling, overall an excellent soup.

For my main course I had the Chicken All’ Arrabiata (Sauteed chicken breast with peperoncini peppers, onions and mushrooms in a spicy white wine garlic sauce), served over the house made cavetelli pasta. The pasta is homemade on the premises and was very fresh. It was cooked perfectly, just a little al dente and it held the sauce of the dish very well. The chicken was pounded thin and lightly breaded and tender enough to cut with a fork. The sauce was similar to a Marsala, light and had a great kick to it from the peperoncini peppers, without being too hot. Overall, an excellent dish if you like just a little heat and a lighter sauce.