Let me begin by saying that I grew up in Millbury. I like to think that I avoided ever becoming what, those of us who feel exempt from such labels, refer to as "townies" or "Millbillies." But let's be honest, after 20+ years of living in the same town, some things start to rub off on you. So, when I heard that a new Italian restaurant, excuse me, I mean Ristorante, was opening on S. Main St, where Linda's Discount Video used to be, I was beyond shocked. I immediately started feeling sad for whoever had mistakenly thought that a swanky restaurant with style and maybe even a little culture would be able to make it in our beloved little town.
I had a brief flash back to Thai Cuisine that once occupied the Taft House on Main St. It was, by far, the best Thai food I've yet to have in MA (sorry Thai Place, you're a close second). I remember with fondness meeting my father there for lunch. Usually we were the only 2 in the entire place, which should've been a strong indicator that things were not going well for that little place. Their food was always freshly prepared, top notch quality, and a fair price. But, sure enough, after a brief year or 2 stint, they were gone. It was a sad day for Ian and I. But, I digress...
Back to Calabria. For several weeks Ian and I had every good intention to get over to this new place that was creating quite the hype among the Millbillies. (At this point I'd like to point out that the term "Millbillies" is not meant to be derogatory in any way, and I hope that no one takes it too personally. Believe me, its a term of endearment. I'm from there too, remember?) Finally one Friday night in December, we made it over there. It was about 7:00 and the place was packed. Always a good sign. I was immediately won over by the beautiful decor-dark tables and chairs, swanky granite top bar, handsome bar tender... all in all a great first impression. It was hard to believe we were still in Millbury.
We were seated after a brief 10 or 15 minute wait at the bar. I perused the menu, as is my custom, hoping something would pop out at me. I considered several options, but stuck with my old standby, a chicken scallopini dish with liguini served with a lemon caper sauce. Ian decided on a shrimp scampi dish. We ordered the fried calamari to start with. The calamari came quickly. It was a little over-cooked for my liking. I prefer a light crispy batter. This was sort of soggy and over fried. The marinara sauce, served for dipping, was tangy and tasty. Our meals came out in quick succession. I was not impressed with my meal. It lacked taste, bordering on bland, even after dousing it with salt and parmesan cheese. I only finished about 1/4 of the dish, since the portion was more than generous. I sampled Ian's shrimp scampi, hoping for something better. Nothing spectacular there either. The waitress continued to be attentive and helpful. About 40 minutes and $50 later, we were leaving.
I had lunch there again with an old friend not too long ago. My food experience was again, unremarkable. I had the tortellini with pesto. She had the gnocchi. Neither one of us was impressed. It satisfied our appetite, and lets face it, its better than eating a tuna sandwich or throwing a lean cuisine in the microwave for lunch.
Its difficult for me to sum up my review of this restaurant. I'm always a big fan of new restaurants that present fresh new options to those of us who have grown tired of the old corporate stand-by's that the Millbury Shoppes offer (i.e. Applebee's, Friday's, Uno's, etc.). I admire their courage for bringing their little piece of Italian heritage to a small town like Millbury. The restaurant itself is beautiful. They've done an amazing job with renovating the space, and have really improved the face of S. Main St. The staff is always warm and friendly. Calabria Ristorante offers a nice setting to meet up and enjoy good conversation with friends or family. My issue lies with the food. There is certainly plenty of room for improvement there. I hope to see their menu expand and improve in the months and, hopefully, years to come.
The next time I have a lunch appointment with someone in town, I may suggest going to 'this great little Italian restaurant in town. Its really nice inside. The food isn't anything special, but its better than Applebee's. And its right on S. Main...'
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Calabria Ristorante - Millbury, MA - Sheri
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9 comments:
I can strongly disagree with you. I think there food is really authentic. If you didnt like the pesto sause I recommend palma sauce its amazing.
My husband and I went there for lunch today and were quite disappointed. From the start, the bread was not even warmed and was rather dry. I ordered the Pasta Fagiole. I can make a pot at home that is about 150% better than this. I was asked if I wanted white or red. I chose the red. It was extremely thick like someone had just ladled some pasta sauce in a bowl and added some pasta, beans and a little greens. All I could taste was tomato with no seasonings. I had to douse it with parmesan to give it at least a little flavor. My husband tasted it and said "this is tomato soup". Needless to say, I only ate about a third of the bowl.
My husband ordered Chicken Marsala and though it was ok, it was nothing to write home about. We both agreed that it was floating in too much sauce. I had a meatball sandwich. It was served on slices of the same italian bread that we had in the bread bowl. The slices were falling apart before I could even pick up a piece of the sandwich. The "meat"balls had way too much fill in them and not enough meat. The seasoning in them was good. The sandwich was falling apart so bad that I had to eat it with a fork.
All in all it was not a great first impression of a restaurant that probably would be on our regular list as we love Italian food.
I must be the luckiest person in the Blackstone Valley! Every time I have visited Calabria, the service and food is wonderful.My business partner and I havebeen going there since the pre-liquor-license days and the food has never failed to please! Remins us of our family dinners on Federal Hill in Providence. As a fellow small business owner, I cannot believe how lucky we are to have this gem on our backyard!
I must say that I am surprised every time that I hear anything negative about this place. I have been there at least 5 times. Once for my wife's 40th birthday (where they handled the party perfectly and the food and service was great) and many times with just my wife or a colleague for business and EVERY TIME, the food and service has been nothing but perfect. My brother-in-law, who lives in town, says it's OK there and he can't see spending $12 or $14 for a piece of chicken, but if you want nicely prepared food at what I think is a fair price, I must say I cannot recommend a place any more than Calabria. I think they've done a great job there. Of course I loved it even more when it was BYOB, but I understand that the most profit for a restaurant is the booze so what can you do? Anyway, if you haven't already been there, I recommend that you do go. I love the food there and anything with the red marinara sauce is YUUUUUUUMMMMMMMY!
My husband and I tried this restaurant for the first time. We were looking for Italian food close to home. We will never go back! We waited 20 minutes for someone to come to the table for our drink order. Prior to the drink order, someone dropped some stale bread on our table. We finally ordered our drinks which came in plastic cups. The salad dressing was unbelievably watery. We thought we would give the bread another try and the new basket was stale too. Our main courses were full of salt and just tasted terrible. Save your time and money.
For really great food in Millbury try Bossenele's on Millbury Avenue - surprisingly good parm, pizza, calzones !
Be sure and say hello to Kim!!
We are a family of 6 and i've got to say this place was AMAZING. The waitress was absolutely the nicest person. Took care of everything professionally. I recomend this place to everyone for the best family environment. Try it out what do you have to loose. Nothing.. But gain everything.
i thought this place was AMAZING!!! the food was incredibale and the bread was fresh. when i went in there i was greeted by a wonderful staff. they also have a new menu and new great weekly specials. who ever thinks anything wrong of this place is crazy!
Hi,
Just found your blog as my husband & I have been wanting to try Calabria. We've heard some good reviews, so since it's so close (we live in Grafton), we may just give it a try - deciding whether it's a place to dine with our 5 year, though. Anyway, had to chime in about the Thai restaurant - we miss that place terribly - it was by far the best thai food - fresh & delicious, so sad that it did not survive.
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