Autumn in the North Cemetery.

Sixty miles west of Boston, Massachusetts there is the small New England town of Sturbridge. Located at the junction of I-90 (The Mass Pike), and I-84 it has become known as the "Crossroads of New England". The town was first settled over 300 years ago, and like other small New England towns it has grown just enough over the years to be in a difficult place today. How do we embrace the future without forgetting how we got to our present? How do we attract the right kind of growth, and maintain who we are? And, what about our culture out here in Central Massachusetts?



These pages will cause one to think about how to protect what we have, our future direction, and how to move on in the very best way.


Those thoughts, and other ramblings, will hopefully inspire more thought, conversation, action, and occasionally a smile...

...seems to be working so far

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Dine & Whine

We went out to dinner the other night. We try to eat out as often as possible. Sometimes we are just too beat from a long week in the mines, other times it is just not in the budget, but those times we do go out we try to eat somewhere in Sturbridge.

We ate locally the other night, and I was disappointed.

Now, I am not a restaurant critic. Not by a long shot. All I do is compare. I compare this visit with our other visits, and if something is off I feel I can make a judgment.

I ordered Veal Parmigiana with gnocchi. I ordered this meal because the last time we ate there it was superb. This is one restaurant that we have always loved going to, not something we were trying on the fly.

When the order came I looked at a small piece of veal, about 1/4 of the size I had the last time, and 14 gnocchi.

Fourteen.

Mary had the Veal Parmigiana with linguine, and the amount of linguine she was served was more than two people could eat at one sitting.

Go figure.

I know. Times are tough. Restaurants are cutting back, and that's OK, but if they are cutting back in the amount served, then cut back in the price, or does that run counter to what they want to accomplish?

I know, foolish question.

$75.00 plus tip for two Veal Parm meals, and two glasses of wine. Two meals that I would not have spent $5.00 each for. How do you say "screwed" in Italian?

Did I complain to the kitchen? No, I know better. I'll just whine here.

Now that that is off my chest, I can move on.

Fine Italian food has always been a rarity in these parts. Still is.

3 comments:

  1. Wally, you might want to be more specific in your condemnation of Italian restaurants in Sturbridge. There are four, and your comments leave everyone's minds guessing. If you have a problem, please address it specifically.

    ReplyDelete
  2. As I said, I am not a critic, but more one that compares. No need in naming names. Hopefully, the place only needs a little shake to get back on track. I wrote the post to give that shake. If, when we go back, and the issue is the same, then I'll mention the name.

    ReplyDelete
  3. I only know of one "fine Italian" food place in town. They are known for their great food, and still are. We went there in March and we also noticed that the portions were much smaller. The food is great but not worth the $118.00 we spent for the 3 of us. Today price is everything.

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