Bernard Whitmore

529 Main Street, Worcester
(508) 799-7190
Menu: theatre-cafe.net

I didn’t see this coming, especially in downtown Worcester. True, there are some very good restaurants scattered along Main Street, but it’s not the first area one considers when seeking an exceptional dining experience. Perhaps it’s time to reassess our apprehensions of downtown Worcester.

The Theatre Café is a tiny place that’s easy to drive past, just watch for its striped awning and one of the city’s planters overflowing with blooms in summer months. The interior is, well, let’s call it functional, with an upright beverage refrigerator, stacking chairs around Formica-topped tables and a galley kitchen anchoring the rear of this long narrow space. Chef and co-owner Bill Aldrich was running the entire operation on the night we visited. He greeted us and engaged in enough conversation to establish himself as intelligent, hospitable and gregarious. An intriguing combination.

Bill seated us at the table facing Main Street –on its busiest evening the room might seat around twenty diners; this evening we had the place to ourselves. Up to this point the Theatre Café was a set of mixed signals: bare-bulb lighting, drop ceiling and paper napkins suggested cafeteria-grade cuisine. The photos of chef Bill with Alton Brown, celebrity chef and food scientist, suggested otherwise. 

And then I looked at the menu…

The Theatre Café’s Summer Dinner Menu read like a meteor trail; a short list of impressive offerings, each of which sparked interest. After decades of visiting restaurants, I’ve come to associate one-page menus with some of my finest dining experiences. With items such as Lamb Rogan Josh, Tuscan Salmon and Chicken Fricassée, this menu was so classic in scope and sophistication that I exclaimed to my friend, “There isn’t a single item on this list I wouldn’t be happy to order!’ 

As if to punctuate my increasing enthusiasm, Bill presented his amuse bouche course, a dramatically clear plastic vial of Watermelon Gazpacho garnished with paper-thin slices of cucumber. On this hot summer evening the choice was genius, the flavors harmonious.

In reality, however, the choice was simple; my vote was cast with the very first menu offering and one of my favorites: Cioppino. Cioppino is a seafood stew made with whatever fish the chef has at hand simmered in a wine broth tinged reddish orange by fresh tomato layered with flavor notes of fresh fennel and an initial impression of garlic. TC’s fish at hand was a comprehensive variety: rings of squid, meaty chunks of pure white cod loin, scallops, in-shell mussels and cherrystone clams. This was a crazy amount of seafood heaped in a broad soup bowl ringed with buttery-crisp garlic bread triangles, perfect for sopping up that tasty broth. I especially enjoyed the mussels; they absorbed and contributed to the rich flavor of the broth.

My friend’s Petite Filet displayed the versatility of this little galley kitchen and its chef. A terres major had been deeply seared on the grill and then sliced into thick steaks with perfectly medium rare centers that virtually flaked apart with juicy tenderness. The row of beefy slices was arrayed aside tender peapods and over a bed of mashed potatoes gleaming with mushroom demi-glace that echoed rich meaty flavor.

But what is this ‘terres major’? Bill enthused about it, explaining that it is from the cow’s shoulder and favored for its tenderness and rich beefy flavor. It’s not a cut you’re apt to find in your supermarket meat section, so be sure to pay attention to your chef!

We finished with a summer menu special, Semifreddo Lemon Mousse. Semifreddo is a frozen dessert made with egg yolk and cream. This one’s fluffy-tart lemon flavor was layered over a meringue crust; a perfectly tangy ending to our delicious meals.

My favorite dining memories have common threads: the element of surprise, interesting human interaction and something learned. The Theatre Café had elements of each of these. Should you decide to dine with them my advice is to be in no great hurry. Meals are cooked to order in a tiny kitchen; this takes time. Relax with a bottle of wine; it’s byob, so we enjoyed a bottle of Parker Station Pinot Noir. It proved a fine companion to that terres major.