Worcester Restaurant Scene

[mdovell]

Originally Posted by tysmith95

Chunks of Lowell are already pretty gentrified. Look at all of the mill conversions downtown.

Of course there is still some grit. But that exists in all gentrifying neighborhoods.

I'd say that Lawrence is the least gentrified out of "major" Massachusetts cities. Not really what you'd consider major, you put Fitchburg as major even though it's pretty small for a city.

And then you've got Springfield, which is definitively not gentrified at all.

The scene is Worcester is well covered by Masslive I can't go a week without hearing about two or so restaurants or cafes opening up at or near Worcester.

Springfield gradually is. MGM took the place of a number of groups that had to move else ware (health and human services, the mission, a small supermarket etc). I saw brownstones being worked on today and a house getting a new roof. There's large projects finishing but now small ones are bubbling up. There's actually some new home construction well above market price (350K vs 150K) and historic restoration is happening. I have met people from the Boston and Hartford areas moving.


Getting back to topic the restaurant business is a bit tough. Reviews matter now and it helps to stand out but not look like a gimmick.

[magicshark]

Originally Posted by Peabody99

I just saw these restaurants online and am interested in trying Lock 50. Has anyone tried Lock 50 or the Fix Burger Bar? They are on my list of restaurants to try

I have been to both. The Fix I thought was good. Lock 50 I loved.
We went to Kummerspeck this weekend. While very good I still prefer Lock 50.
Miss Worcester is still my all time favorite in the city though!

[lrfox]

My girlfriend and I were talking about Worcester the other day. We both live in Somerville (not together yet) and were talking about some of the newer apartments near Worcester Station. For less than what we'd pay for a studio or 1br here, we could get a brand new 1br there and afford commuter rail passes. I work in Worcester quite a bit, so I it would be nice to be about 5 minutes from the office on non-Boston days. One of the selling points for us was the growing restaurant scene. The issue is the commuter rail isn't quite convenient enough - even the express train.

Regarding the restaurant scene in Worcester and where it stands against the rest of New England, I think it's good and getting better but still has a ways to go. Portland, in my opinion, is a bit overrated. It was probably the first "foodie" city in New England (even before Boston). For close to 20 years, Portland has been getting accolades. Frankly, I think the quality has declined (even if quantity has increased) from the days of Fore Street and Hugo's being among the best in the nation. It also lacks diversity in cuisine (and, well, people) and doesn't have much outside of the central part of the city. It's a good food town, and absolutely worth checking out, but I think it gets by on reputation to a large extent nowadays. It's no longer the clear "number 2" city in New England. Providence gets that nod for me. Providence has more quality restaurants, more ethnic restaurants, a better mix of neighborhood gems and downtown scene (Portland is essentially neighborhood joints in the city center), etc. The issue for Providence is that it's only a relative newcomer to the "foodie" scene, so the reputation isn't there yet. But it's getting there. It's on plenty of "foodiest city in America" lists.

Restaurants and dining are somewhat subjective, but I don't think anyone who has eaten extensively in Worcester or Providence could say the two are comparable yet. It's not even close at this point. Hopefully with time the gap narrows, but it's not really there yet. New Haven is another New England city that I think is ahead of Worcester too. It has a lot more than just pizza. I agree that Portsmouth and Burlington tend to be a bit overrated. I would argue that Manchester and New Bedford (especially for seafood and Portuguese cuisine as well as others - Little Moss across the New Bedford line in padanaram is one of the best restaurants in New England outside of Boston or Providence) are definitely underrated - though not quite on the level of Worcester yet.

[massnative71]

Originally Posted by lrfox

The issue for Providence is that it's only a relative newcomer to the "foodie" scene, so the reputation isn't there yet. But it's getting there. It's on plenty of "foodiest city in America" lists.

It may be a newcomer to the "foodie" scene, but has always been known for its Italian restaurants. Federal Hill was always a destination, and I thought it to be better known than Portland for food.

Originally Posted by lrfox

I would argue that Manchester and New Bedford (especially for seafood and Portuguese cuisine as well as others - Little Moss across the New Bedford line in padanaram is one of the best restaurants in New England outside of Boston or Providence) are definitely underrated

Manchester? NH?

[lrfox]

Originally Posted by massnative71

It may be a newcomer to the "foodie" scene, but has always been known for its Italian restaurants. Federal Hill was always a destination, and I thought it to be better known than Portland for food.

I don't necessarily think they're one in the same. You could say the same about Boston's North End, but until very recently, Boston has had a reputation for being generally "meh" on the restaurant front (outside of the North End). Providence has always had a great reputation for Italian food and deservedly so, but one good type of cuisine doesn't make a place a great food town. And while it still does Italian really well, there's a big difference between old world Italian cuisine and cutting edge modern flavors. Providence is only recently gaining attention for the latter with places like Birch, Oberlin, North, The Dorrance, Gracie's, Persimmon, Tallulah's, etc. putting it on the map. Portland has been since the early 2000s starting with the dual James Beard combo at Fore Street and Hugo's. It's a city that has long been a darling of the "foodie" circuit, but it's definitely not what it used to be. In fact, if you look at the food scene in Maine, many of the best and most notable restaurants are now well outside of Portland (White Barn, Lost Kitchen, Long Grain, Purple House, Primo, etc.). Talented chefs started going to Portland in the early 2000s because it was relatively affordable to start up a new place (compared to Boston, NYC, etc.) and the localvore culture was just becoming a "thing" on the East Coast and Portland was at the forefront of that. But the market is saturated, Portland is more expensive, and farm-to-table and locally sourced is happening all over. Providence is only starting to get the notoriety that Portland has had for close to two decades now. And I'd pick Providence over Portland for meals 100 times out of 100. There's just more variety, more quality, and more of everything in general even though a lot of people still sort of assume Portland is the primary "foodie" city in New England not named Boston. It's still a standout and an excellent place to dine, but the competition has caught up and Providence, in my opinion, has surpassed it.

Manchester? NH?

If I wasn't clear from my post, it's absolutely not on par with any of the others on this list (neither is New Bedford, but at least it has fresh seafood by the boatload). But it's a good place to eat and I'd argue it's better than some other cities (i.e. Portsmouth) that are noted for being good restaurant towns. Cotton, Republic, The Quill, Cabonnay, etc. are all really good. It's not Portland, Providence, or even Worcester, but if you think Manchester is a culinary deadzone, you haven't been in a while.

[timberline742]

I love North, haven't been to the new location though. Better than most every meal I had in Boston and at half the price.