By Paul Giorgio

Express yourself. Café Espresso recently opened on Worcester’s Chandler St. after having been located on Wall Street for almost 20 years. Aurelio Metoho has owned the Worcester landmark since 2005. Don’t worry, they haven’t changed the menu and it is still BYOB. This is a great addition to the West Side, which hasn’t had an Italian restaurant since Arturo’s moved to Westboro. Now, I just hope the lights don’t blink every time they use an electrical device.

Let it Snows. Snows Restaurant & Pub plans on opening in the middle of February on West Boylston Street in Worcester. Snows, owned by Matt Jette, will take over the spot that once housed Beijing Palace. There will be a strong emphasis on seafood.

Elm Park Grill. That’s the name of the new restaurant going into the space occupied for years by Biaggio’s on Worcester’s Park Ave. Dino Singas, whose family has been involved with a couple of pizza places in Northboro and Oxford, will own and operate the place. He stated that he wants to capitalize on the beauty of nearby Elm Park. The restaurant will feature American cuisine with a Mediterranean flare. Watch for a March opening.

Gumbo. That’s the name of Nick Vapiano’s new restaurant in Worcester’s Canal District. Gumbo will be located at 65 Water Street. Based on the name, you can bet they will be serving gumbo and other favorites from New Orleans. Vapiano also owns Flip Flops in Holden.

Speaking of Flip Flop. Bill Nemroff is the new Executive Chef at Worcester’s Ceres Bistro. He comes there from Niche Hospitality’s The People’s Kitchen. In the meantime, Ceres’ Chef John Giddix has moved over to the People’s Kitchen to replace Nemroff.

Sonoma reaps awards. Princeton’s Sonoma Restaurant picked up a number of Awards recently from Open Table, the restaurant reservation site. Sonoma’s made it onto the list of the Top 100 Restaurants in the country and took Best Overall Restaurant in the New England region for Best Overall Food and Service. Kudos to Chef/Owner Bill Brady and his staff.

Lago mean lake. Lago is the name of the new Italian restaurant going into the space that once housed Joey’s at 263 Mill Street in Worcester. Lago is owned by the same folks who own Squires on Worcester’s Greenwood Street. The eatery abuts Coes Pond. Now if we can change the name of Coes Pond to Coes Lake it will all make sense.

It beats swinging a hammer. Bocado Tapas and Wine Bar will play host to a benefit for Habitat for Humanity on Wednesday, February 8th. For $75 per person you get a five course meal and wine, all to benefit a great cause.

You be the chef. Rosalina’s Kitchen on Worcester’s Hamilton Street has come up with a unique way of attracting customers: you get to create your own meal that the chef will cook. You can mix and match any items on the menu or come up with your own combination. It’s just like being at home, only without all the fuss and muss.