Bernie Whitmore

Over time, we’ve grown accustomed to the notion of dining districts, sections of town that serve as hubs of activity hosting several restaurants and nighttime entertainment venues. Despite that, though, some of the Worcester area’s better dining is scattered outside these areas; these “outposts” have to generate their own buzz in order to attract business from outside their immediate neighborhoods.

That would be the challenge for the Legacy Bar and Grill, the latest restaurant to open at 242 Mill St. However, a history of restaurants on that same location have attuned us to making the trip to the edge of Coes Pond. Joey’s, in particular, made the largely unchanged dining room feel like home. That’s the upside to that “history.” The reality is that no one seems to stay there too long.

But there’s hope; our first dining experience at Legacy leaves me optimistic for its staying power. I say that for a couple reasons — first, and foremost, is the actual cuisine and dining experience.

Scanning the menu, I noted many standard items listed at fair prices. Sprinkled among these are less common, more interesting selections. We decided to survey both ends of that spectrum, but first Kasey, our server, took my drink order and fetched a glass of Sierra Nevada’s Hop Bullet IPA. This is a brewery that builds rock-solid IPAs; Bullet ranks 60 on the bitterness scale — a decent partner to most any cuisine.

Then, she brought our appetizer, Fried Calamari. Granted, it’s standard fare encountered just about everywhere, but the chef differentiated this dish and gave it “wow factor.” First, our plate — a load of rings and tentacles had been lightly breaded with batter that seemed to have puffed up in the fryer; it was light, golden brown, crispy-crumbly and without a trace of oily residue.

Draped over this heaping serving were thin slices of red and green cherry peppers for a zesty flavor contrast. Even more interesting, though, was the Thai chili dipping sauce, a surprising alternative to the oft-forgettable marinara that usually accompanies calamari. It was spicy and sticky-sweet, a surprisingly good idea.

From there, we graduated to Legacy’s Beet Salad, a large, shallow bowl of leafy baby greens wreathed by halved walnut meats. Small cubes of poached beets, bits of dried cranberries and creamy chunks of goat cheese gave this huge salad heft. It would be a large meal for just one person.

Initially, I was suspicious that the raspberry vinaigrette might obscure the sweetness of the beets. Surprisingly, both ingredients were able to assert themselves without overpowering the other. The bigger surprise, though, were the cubes of butternut squash tossed in amongst the beets. Strange, yet brilliant! They’d been roasted to match the firmness of golden beets and had a similar degree of sweetness.

As Kasey brought our entrées, Led Zeppelin’s Stairway to Heaven was advancing into its guitar solo. In itself, that would be unusual, but considering my friend’s meal, Baked Stuffed Shrimp — another hallmark of the ’70s — it was like being sucked into a time warp. Back in that era, Baked Stuffed Shrimp were everywhere — on surf and turf items, banquet buffets and on every seafood menu. But the rep they came to suffer was a killer — who didn’t come to expect over-baked, butterflied shrimp with cracker-crumb dressing?

Legacy’s chef studied these “issues” and has solved each of them.

In the Legacy’s version, a ceramic dish has been layered with scallop-studded dressing. Over that, a handful of large fresh shrimp were arrayed and drenched with lobster cream sauce. All of it was baked till the flavors merged and the shrimp, still juicy and flavorful, had been cooked through. Granted, it was a large entrée, made extra-rich with the lobster cream, but consider it a successful update of that Zeppelin-era classic.

My entrée, Lobster Mac & Cheese, was crammed with lobster bits and larger chunks of claw meat. Indeed, every forkful of my creamy-cheesy cavatappi pasta came up with pieces of tasty lobster meat. The top was sprinkled with Parmesan breadcrumbs baked to a crunchy, golden brown. This meal pressed all the comfort-food buttons.

After finishing our meals, Michael, the chef-owner, stopped by to introduce himself. Generous with his kitchen “secrets” and even more so with the family history that forms the legacy that led to the restaurant’s startup, I could see there’s much more than tasty food and good service here at the Legacy Bar and Grill. There’s also the force of a family deeply involved in area restaurants and food service — a wealth of ideas and commitment that’s going to anchor itself to this edge of Coes Pond. Welcome home.