By Bernie Whitmore

Lidio’s Restaurant and Lounge
1045 Central St, Leominster
(978) 534-6600
www.lidios.com

Of course you can get a decent meal at chain restaurants ~ but after a while they seem to merge together into a gargantuan Happy Meal production line. Where’s the sense of adventure? With family reputations on the line, locally owned restaurants tend to labor harder and let more personality influence their cuisine. For these reasons, I was enthusiastic about the suggestion of going to Lidio’s for dinner; heading north out of steamy Worcester with a couple friends sounded good, too.

What was most apparent after being seated at Lidio’s was its indie feel. Regular-issue ceiling panels were eagerly sponge painted; the wall was lined with layers of burgundy fabric, white wooden lattice and craft-store grape vines. Family photos looked as if they’d been pulled out of scrapbooks and hung in an assortment of frames.

Our waitress set paper placemats and silverware in front of us, passed out menus and took our drink orders. Our scan of the menu revealed many standard items plus a few surprises. To get our meal started, we chose appetizers from both categories.

First up ~ an old “friend,” Fried Atlantic Calamari ($5). Although one can order it just about anywhere, Lidio’s calamari was fried in exceptionally light oil ‘til it was just tinged with gold. The result? Tender sweet seafood we dipped in hot-from-the-stovetop marinara sauce.

Then we moved on to a more unusual appetizer, Lidio’s Stuffed San Marzano Tomatoes ($6). Sounding like a cold item, it was actually baked in a casserole dish and served piping hot. San Marzanos are oblong, meaty tomatoes ~ in this case stuffed with ricotta cheese, prosciutto ham, and bits of sweet red pepper and green onions. The combination was simmered under a heavy blanket of stretchy mozzarella cheese and came served with toasted garlic bread. We approached the dish with timid forks, but it won us over on first taste!

Lidio’s entrees come with a choice of soup or salad. Each of us chose the salad, a crunchy collection of greens served on cold glass plates. Slices of tasty native tomatoes added summer flavor. The salad course was actually served before appetizers ~ I’m taking a bit of editorial license presenting it thus.

My friends and I parted ways when it came to entrees ~ and Lidio’s menu had categories to satisfy each of our tastes. One companion chose Salmon Filet ($14), a generous portion of fish served delicate in texture and taste from a pan-searing of sweet red peppers, cucumber and fresh dill. A squeeze of fresh lemon accentuated the flavor.

My other friend, on an enthusiastic recommendation by our waitress, ordered Lidio’s Twin Petite Filets ($17). She didn’t lead him astray; the tender filets, studded with cracked peppercorns, were flamed in brandy and served in a rich cream sauce. He ordered them with a baked potato into which he stuffed plenty of butter and sour cream.

After a withering attack launched by my “friends,” I was forced to admit to being (somewhat) predictable in my dining habits and boring in my selection of entrees. So I decided to get a bit crazy and prove I could visit other sections of the menu. My choice was Chicken Abruzzeze ($14), a flattened breast of chicken topped with slices of artichoke hearts, black olives and melted mozzarella cheese. My apprehension about chicken is, I believe, well grounded…but it was completely unreasonable at Lidio’s. The dish was perfectly fresh, tender and juicy.

A sense of duty led us to order selections from the dessert tray. We chose a slice of strawberry rhubarb pie (slightly heated and served with vanilla ice cream) and one of Lidio’s own creations, Kahlúa Coconut Torte. Both were delicious, but in different ways. In the galaxy of pies, strawberry rhubarb is simply one of the best. The flaky homemade crust was so tender I wanted to take the rest of the pie home with me. It was only after ordering the torte that I remembered I’m not too keen on Kahlúa. But Lidio’s has a pastry chef who knows restraint; the coffee liquor was used sparingly to add flavor highlights to mounds of Italian mascarpone cheese and white cake lady fingers bristling with shreds of sweetened cocoanut.

Lidio’s is part of Leominster’s tradition of long-enduring family restaurants, one that was a well-kept secret for some time ~ but not anymore! By the time we were getting ready to depart, groups of people were arriving for dinner and music on the patio (check the entertainment schedule on their website).