thePULSEBy Paul Giorgio
Winter Restaurant Week. The annual winter edition of Worcester Restaurant Week will take place from March 19-31. Almost 50 local restaurants will be participating in the 2 week event which features a 3-course meal in the area’s best restaurants for $23.12. For a complete list of participating restaurants, visit www.worcesterrestaurantweek.com. The event is produced by Pagio, Inc, publishers of Pulse magazine. Among the sponsors are: Atlas Distributors, who distribute Samuel Adams, Harpoon IPA, Blue Moon and Wachusett Country Ale, Pepsi, UniBank for Savings, Panther Wine Distributors, Mercadante Funeral Home, Enterprise Cleaning & Woo Food.
Media sponsors include Pulse magazine, Vitality, tasteworcester.com; WXLO, The Pike, Oldies 98.8 and WCRN radio stations.
You can visit www.worcesterrestaurantweek.com to view the menus of the participating restaurants.
All in the family. The Sakhat family, which owns the El Basha restaurants as well as Haiku, recently purchased the old D ‘Angelo Sandwich shop location on Belmont Street in Worcester. According to George Sakhat, they plan on opening an Italian restaurant on the site.
New Chef ~ new menu. Last month we reported that Bill Nemroff was named the New Executive Chef at Ceres Bistro. Nemroff has instituted a new menu which was launched in the middle of February.
It’s a ritual. Ritual, located in Downtown Worcester, has also launched a new menu. If you haven’t tried this place, you don’t know what you’re missing. It combines Meditereann flavors with a New York vibe. But don’t be afraid ~ it’s all at Worcester prices.
Allgos reopens. Allgos Dessert Bar on Worcester’s Shrewsbury Street has reopened. The popular dessert spot has been closed for over six months as a result of a fire in the building. They plan on featuring more music and new desserts (including more fruit desserts). The music ~ alternating rock and acoustic ~ will be on Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
Piccadilly Circus. It’s been a circus with the Piccadilly Pub restaurant chain closing its doors. All nine Piccadilly Pub restaurants ~ including 5 in Central MA ~ appear to be closed as the Boston-based chain’s parent company goes through bankruptcy troubles. All of the restaurants are in MA, including sites in Worcester, Auburn, Sturbridge, Marlborough and Westborough.
It’s monumental. Monument Grill, a fixture in downtown Leominster, recently closed. This is not the first time that this restaurant has faced trouble with the State Department of Revenue. No word yet on future plans for the location.
Bangkok House opens. The Bangkok House recently opened at 1394 Main Street in Worcester. This was the home of The Bamboo Hut and, most recently, Pho 2000. If you haven’t figured it out by the name, they serve Thai food. Try it out.
Soul Train. Look for the opening of Kristal’s Soul Food at 872 Main Street up by Clark University in Worcester. The menu would be authentic Southern Soul Food cooked by Kristal House, who originally hails from Mississippi. It will feature Southern favorites like Mac & Cheese, fried chicken, collard greens, ribs and yams. Now if she makes a great banana cream pie, we will be all set. With Sweet Tea on Millbury Street, could Soul Food be a new trend?
