Talk:Worcester (Massachusetts)

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"Worcester's only radio station that can be heard outside of Worcester (AM-830)" WICN is heard outside of Worcester and there are perhaps others.

Confirm?[edit]

Can someone confirm or deny this place being closed (just stick it back in if it's open)? (WT-en) Maj 00:09, 24 January 2007 (EST)

  • Anna's Hungarian Kitchen -- probably out of business :(. 70 Southbridge St. "+1" 508-791-1400. Unique among restaurants in the "fancy" category, Anna's offers a very specifically ethnic fare in what used to be the bar/restaurant of a 70s-era high rise hotel. But the quality and presentation of the food is on par with Worcester's best restaurants, and the desert menu (try the walnut crepe flambe) outdoes any other in Worcester, except possibly Ti Novo. It's a gem with an unassuming exterior--quintessentially Worcester.


Restaurant Dump[edit]

I'm putting these outside of MOS listings here to be sorted through by me or anyone else who wants to help.

Pizza[edit]

Greek style:

  • A&V Pizza, 344 Grafton St, +1 508-757-5016. Phone: "+1". Nice seating with window booths.
  • White City Pizza, 120 Boston Tpke "+1" 508-757-1022. Booths & beer on tap.

Thinner crust:

  • Wonderbar, 121 Shrewsbury St, +1 508 752-9909. Great pizza, one of the best pizza restaurants in Worcester. Some of the notable dishes are its Hawaiian pizza and antipasto.

Gourmet Pizza:

Ethnic Restaurants[edit]

You could spend a lifetime going to the following restaurants in rotation:

Jamaican[edit]

  • Caribbean Delights, Chandler at Piedmont, lots of meat, patties, roti.
  • One Love, Main St at Castle, next to the Artichoke Co-op. Great roti, other nice entrees, romantic, quaint dining. Perfect for dates or a nice night out with friends. BYOB. Fresh fruit in water. Patties for lunch for $1.50.

Vietnamese[edit]

  • Pho Dakao, 593 Main St. Extensive Vietnamese menu from appetizers and pho (noodle soup) to chicken, beef, pork, and seafood entrees and a good selection of vegetarian options. All the food is excellent and though some of the staff speak limited English, service is courteous and good. Atmosphere is pleasant and comfortable, not too fancy. Recommended dishes include the papaya salad with beef, the chicken and vermicelli with mint, lettuce, and cucumber, the salted squid, and the vegetable medley (with or without tofu or chicken).
  • Saigon, 976 Main St. Most of the entrees are delicious. The #92 is a favorite. Also make sure to get the tofu mushroom rolls appetizer and an avocado milkshake.
  • Dalat, 425 Park Av, +1 508 753-6036. Vegetarians, get #37 in the spring and summer months, and #86 in the fall and winter. Avocado milkshake is a favorite of course, and can be made with soy milk by request. Also try the durian milkshake, which is tasty despite smelling like serious foot.


Japanese/Sushi[edit]

Latino[edit]

  • Mezcal, 166 Shrewsbury St, +1 508 926-8307. Moderately priced Tex-Mex with an extensive tequila selection and cocktail menu
  • Pupuseria La Salvadorena, 82 Pleasant St, +1 508 756-5586. This place makes pupusas, has a great burrito, and has the best nachos in the city, if you ask them to hold the meat: homemade guacamole, homemade tortilla chips, and plenty of salad and sour cream. $1 for a full plate of steaming hot sweet plantains.
  • Sabanas, +1 508 767-1820. Midtown Mall, Front St. Sabanas is conveniently located downtown in the midtown mall (directly opposite the Common on its north side).
  • Maria's Kitchen, 826 Main St, +1 508-797-3380. Liveliest restaurant in the heart of Main South. Great Dominican cuisine. Large portions, great selection.
  • Kilo Amigo, 214 Chandler St, +1 508-753-9222. Brazilian selection. Fill your own plate with what you want and weigh it up to pay.
  • Sazon Latino, 130 Chandler St, +1 508-797-5645. Fantastic Dominican food. Fast Service. Friendly atmosphere.
  • El Buen Sabor, 59 Chandler St, +1 508-754-2041. If you're looking to have a meeting this is a great place. Quiet with rearrangeable tables. Try the bacalao.
  • La Delicia, 296 Pleasant St, +1 508-754-5558. In a city with several choices for rice and beans, La Delicia comes out on top.

Italian[edit]

  • Castellana's, 90 Harding St, +1 508-757-5575.
  • Dino's Restaurant, 13 Lord St, +1-508-753-9978. Hard to spot on the busy Shrewsbury street but totaly worth the drive. Romantic dining room with great food and fresh bread.
  • Leo's Ristorante, 11 Brackett Ct, +1 508-753-9490.
  • VIA Italian Table, 89 Shrewsbury St, +1-508-754-4842. Italian restaurant. Moderately priced with outside eating and great service.
  • Wholly Cannoli, 488 Grafton St, +1 508-753-0224. As the name suggests, there is a plethora of delicious cannoli offerings, as well as some sandwiches and other Italian baked goods available.

Middle Eastern[edit]

  • Amelia's Bakery, Pleasant St. (near Irving St. two blocks uphill from Main St.) Closes at 2:30PM. Best falafel in Worcester, and a cute table in the front window. Opposite Pupuseria Salvadorena.
  • Lee's Bakery, 98 Hamilton St, +1 508 755-7014. Lebanese.
  • El Basha, 256 Park Ave. And 424 Belmont St. Best Lebanese restaurants in MA. The Belmont Street location is better.
  • Sahara, 143 Highland St, +1 508 798-2181.
  • Shiraz, 259 Park Av, +1 508-767-1639. Phone: "+1". Armenian.
  • Fantastics Pizza, 910 Main St, +1 508-798-5577. Falafel, baba ganouj, hummus, and an eggplant gyro. Also Middle Eastern meat dishes and a standard pizza shop menu too.

Vegetarian / Vegan[edit]

  • Belmont Vegetarian, 157 Belmont St, +1 508 798-8898. Great Jamaican cuisine, all vegan, the mock fish is particularly delicious. Real nice guys. Get the "whatever" (not on the menu). Open Mon-Sat 10-8, closed Sunday.


  • Udupi Bhavan, 364 Maple Ave. Near in Shrewsbury, in plaza w/ Price Chopper (phone?). All-vegetarian South Indian restaurant. Even when Udupi was 40 minutes away in Framingham, it was still worth the trip (more like a pilgrimage) for Worcester vegetarians. They have many dishes (like the crepe-like "dosai") that aren't on the mostly-identical menus of New England's Indian restaurants, so it's well worth a visit for any fan of Indian food. Uses ghee, so many dishes aren't vegan. Get the samosa chat and the almond and ice cream dessert. BYOB on weeknights. Closed Tuesday.
  • Saigon, +1 508-799-5250. 976b Main St. Vietnamese with exciting vegetarian offerings. Don't even look at the menu and order the #92 (warning: spicy). After that, get the vegetable hot and sour soup.


  • Nancy Chang, 372 Chandler St, +1 508-798-6688. Healthy Asian cuisine. You can order any of the chicken or shrimp items on the menu and replace it with vegetarian chicken or vegetarian shrimp. Check out their awesome lunch menu, weekdays until 5PM (I think). You can also order the Chicken & Rice Soup with Vegetables and Chicken Noodle Soup with Vegetables without the chicken.
  • The Living Earth, 232 Chandler St, +1 508-753-1896, fax: +1 508-754-4840. Worcester's best and only natural foods store. Newly downsized. Used to have an excellent natural foods cafe with a few vegan options, and a well run deli with a lot of vegan options. Now home to a much larger more expensive restaurant with fancy decor, fewer vegetarian options.


Also see "Middle Eastern" for more delicious vegetarian meals.

Late Night[edit]

Worcester is the birthplace of the diner. The Worcester Lunch Car Company Built Diners from their factory in downtown Worcester from 1906 to 1957. Their serial numbers started at 200 and ended with 850. Many are still in existence. They are characterized by porcelain enamel exteriors with the name of the diner in the enamel. The interiors have mosaic tile floors and tile walls. So there's still lots of "third shift" places to eat, including:

  • Kenmore Diner, 250 Franklin St, +1 508 792-5125. This diner is located in the shadow of I-290, an elevated highway, and has a wonderfully Edward Hopper vibe, especially late at night. Highly recommended.
  • Boulevard Diner, 155 Shrewsbury St, +1 508 791-4535.
  • Miss Worcester Diner, 300 Southbridge St, +1 508 757-7775. Terrific liver and onions at this diner, for the inner truck driver in you.
  • Parkway Diner, 148 Shrewsbury St, +1 508 753-9968.
  • George's, Grafton St. One of the most interesting cheap late-night eats is a pita bakery on Grafton Street. It opens each night around 3AM to start making pita, and you can buy fresh pitas that look like footballs. The pita bakery is about 5 storefronts up the hill from their daytime, public-facing deli.Godsendlemiwinks (talk) 02:39, 19 February 2015 (UTC)[reply]