BERNIE WHITMORE

16 Central Street, Leominster

 (978) 401-2962

www.loganstableleominster.com/

Leominster has a way of producing consistently exceptional dining; the short trip up Route 12 is always rewarded with a memorable meal. Our latest destination, Logan’s Table, is located around the corner from the stunning Bill Brady’s, our last Leominster restaurant excursion.

Logan’s Table makes full use of its small storefront space, with eight or ten tables plus seating at their L-shaped bar. In warmer weather windows facing the street roll up and additional dining will move outdoors to their extra-wide alley. Inside, the décor of homey knickknacks and a shelf of LP album covers is dominated by a huge dome-shaped pizza oven stoked with an inferno of white hot embers. 

Their bar mixes up posh cocktails such as Maple Whiskey Coffee made with maple cream, cold brew coffee and whipped cream. Although LT has a few local brews on tap, their real focus is a huge and varied list of canned beers.

With items such as their Detox Salad, Panini sandwiches, flatbreads and burgers, LT’s is much more than pizza. We soon realized there wasn’t a single option we wouldn’t be happy to order. Deciding between Truffle Fried Brussel Sprouts or Shrimp and Scallop Risotto Cakes for an appetizer was not easy.

We chose the Wood Fired Boneless Chicken Thighs. For ease-of use and meatiness, I actually prefer chicken thighs over wings; these were char crusted, drizzled with spicy Buffalo sauce and arranged in an arc around a slaw of celery and carrot dressed in blue cheese sauce. The order of six thighs was ideal for the three of us to share and was quickly devoured.

Authentic Neapolitan pizza ovens reach temperatures in excess of eight hundred degrees – at those temperatures you should get a nice singe-dappled crust in a couple minutes. So it was unsurprising when my Shrimp Scampi pizza was served before my friends’ entrées. On first sight, and then first bite, the truth was at hand: excellent!  

LP’s pizza started with tasty bread dough; the anticipated hi-temp scorching added deep nutty flavor that contrasted with the fresh lemony garlic sauce tossed with a scattering of shredded grilled shrimp. A thin layer of cheesy topping was dappled golden brown with bits of diced tomato, strips of basil and shaved Romano cheese. The twelve-inch pie was big enough for sharing and bringing home.

Meanwhile, my friend was digging into his bowl of Jambalaya; chunks of chicken, large juicy shrimp and ovals of spicy Andouille sausage all nestled in Louisiana Creole rice. Midway in, he noted that the Andouille was doing all the heavy lifting in terms of providing spicy heat and wondered if he should have requested a bottle of Tabasco. 

On his first visit to Logan’s, David had tried their Tuscan Salmon. He enjoyed it so much that tonight he ordered Parmesan Encrusted Haddock, a broad thick filet served over creamy risotto with roasted tomato, and artichoke hearts. The parmesan crust was baked to the lightest golden brown, dusted with dill and topped with scattered shavings of Romano cheese.

When I snagged a sample, instead of haddock I mistakenly forked a chunk of artichoke, richly coated with risotto. Lucky error! It wasn’t out of a can; this artichoke tasted fresh and was drenched in their lemony caper butter sauce.  We’ll run with his report, “the haddock is fresh, juicy and tender”.

Logan’s Table is worth the trip from anywhere in Central Massachusetts. Everything we ordered was delicious, the service was friendly and the entire experience was informal fun. And the pizza? Give me more!