The Calabria Club

Great Italian food in a casual, friendly atmosphere

by Margaret LeRoux

Calabria Club 305 Shrewsbury St. 753-2995 Hours Lunch Mon.-Sat. noon-3 p.m. Dinner Mon.-Sat. 5-10 p.m. Full bar Cash only handicap accessible

The Calabria Club on Shrewsbury Street used to be private, but a couple years ago it opened to the public. Yet the atmosphere of a casual gathering place -- a guys' club -- remains. Tucked away next to a strip of small shops next door to Dunkin' Donuts, Calabria Club has access to more parking than many of its fellow restaurants on Shrewsbury Street.

Inside, the place feels like your Uncle Sal's basement recreation room, or at least the kind of rec room I imagine an Uncle Sal would have: low ceiling, a big bar with TV screen, scenes of Italy on the walls. I dined here twice, at dinner and lunch; the experiences were very different. The mid-day atmosphere was quiet, we were one of only three or four tables being served, but maybe we arrived after the rush. It was clear our waitress was stressed as she complained to a group of diners about having a bad day. At night, even though there wasn't a spare table, everything seemed to click, the wait staff was happy, everyone was having a good time. So let's focus on that occasion.

Three of us arrived shortly after 7 and snagged the last available table. Unfortunately it was close to the bar where smokers congregated, apparently oblivious to Worcester's no smoking ordinance. The decibel level at our end of the restaurant was high, but it was cheerful noise. It seemed like almost everyone was sipping cosmopolitans; we watched as trays of martini glasses full of the pretty, pink drinks were carried by our table.

Our waiter, a charming young man, brought a basket of crusty bread and stopped to chat with a group dining nearby. Throughout the evening, people carried on conversations between tables, and meals were interrupted as diners hailed new arrivals. The crowd at the Calabria that night was either family or friends, or else this is the friendliest dining spot in town.

Our party of three shared the antipasto platter ($8), pricey for such a casual restaurant, but after we sampled, we declared it well worth the expense. The platter was mounded with salad greens, topped by rolls of thinly sliced salami and alpen lace cheese, olives, cucumbers, roasted red peppers, tomatoes, and artichoke hearts. This was a simple, but first-rate appetizer.

Our salads were almost superfluous after all the greens in the antipasto, except that the dressing, packed with blue cheese, was another outstanding feature.

The night we dined the menu consisted of a dozen pasta specials and 12 more entrées that included pasta on the side. Pan fried trout ($I0), for example, comes with sautéed mushrooms and a choice between salad and pasta; so does the baked haddock ($12), seafood stuffed sole ($13); and grilled pork chops, swordfish or broiled salmon (all $14).

Chicken-pasta combinations were all priced at $10 and included: cosentino, with artichoke hearts, sun-dried tomatoes in a white wine lemon sauce over pasta; Alfredo, Florentine, and a lemon cream sauce.

Pasta selections included a spicy tomato sauce over arrabiata ($9); agnoletti, ($10), little half-moon shaped pasta filled with cheese and basil; tortelacci ($13), large tortellini in a lobster newburg sauce; and four varieties of ravioli (all $10): chicken and cheese in walnut pesto, roasted garlic and spinach, mascarpone and asparagus, and mascarpone and artichokes in a sun dried tomato pesto sauce.

This last ravioli was my choice, and it was a good one. Several large, plump packets made from spinach pasta filled the plate. They were stuffed with a smooth and rich mixture of the Italian cream cheese and finely chopped artichokes. The pesto sauce, thick with Parmesan cheese and olive oil was almost overkill, but the sun dried tomatoes added a bit of tang as well as color. I certainly wasn't complaining as I ate almost all the raviolis; I shared them grudgingly.

One of my companions chose the oddly spelled chicken salt en bocca ($11) and received a variation of the classic veal saltimbocca. Calabria's version features chicken breast sautéed with proscuitto in white wine with melted cheese on top. Maybe not authentic, but very tasty. We especially liked the salty proscuitto which gave this dish a little oomph. Alongside was served a dish of penne with a very fresh tasting marinara sauce.

The third member of our party asked to substitute chicken for the eggplant served Parmigiana ($10) and was pleased with the result: tender but not overcooked chicken and more of that tasty marinara sauce.

We ate too well to consider dessert; our bill totaled $56.76 before tip.

When two other friends and I returned for lunch weeks later, we had a not so warm welcome (See cranky waitress described above) and we noticed more smokers at the bar. We consoled ourselves with a plate of crunchy, fried calamari ($8) with marinara sauce for dipping. One of my companions ordered grilled sausage antipasto ($8) and was delighted with the abundance of thin sliced sausage that tasted both smoky and spicy at the same time. The romaine leaves that made up the greens portion of the antipasto were very fresh tasting, though you'd have to eat a lot of salad to justify all the calories in that sausage.

My other friend chose gnocchi ($8). Our waitress said it was served in both a tomato and Alfredo sauce, but somewhere between table and kitchen the order was scrambled and he got a tomato cream sauce. Not what he was expecting, but after a few bites we all decided the mixture of the two sauces was better than either of them alone.

My shrimp cosentino ($8) served over a huge mound of linguine, was disappointing. The shrimp were overcooked, and the white wine-caper sauce was so thin in pooled at the bottom of the plate instead of clinging to the pasta.

This time we weren't offered dessert. Our bill was $33.50 before tax and tip.

Margaret LeRoux can be reached at
feedmefeedback@hotmail.com

Margaret LeRoux can be reached at feedmefeedback@hotmail.com.