Bigger is better

More room and an expanded menu make Primo's an excellent choice for a Shrewsbury Street dinner

by Margaret LeRoux

Primo's 157 Shrewsbury Street Worcester 754-9709 Hours Lunch Tues.-Fri. 11 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner Tues.-Thurs. 5-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 5-11 p.m. Major credit cards BYOB Handicap accessible

Primo's on a Saturday night is as close to a dinner experience at one of Boston's North End cafes as you'll get without leaving town. The newly expanded Shrewsbury Street restaurant has a high level of energy and more urban chic than almost any other in its price range.

The no-reservations policy means you can expect a wait unless you arrive well before the dinner hour. But just after six on a cold, rainy, weekend night, we found ourselves celebrating a bit of luck: the wait was only 20 minutes. And with its expansion, the popular storefront Primo's has the added luxury of a small waiting area inside. Our lucky streak continued as we snagged a prime table -- in a corner between the restaurant's two rooms, and next to a big picture window. In warm weather this window opens, providing a cool breeze against the slightly smoky -- from cooking, not cigarettes -- atmosphere.

But it was the new menu that brought us here. Recently the offerings were reorganized to include many of the favored blackboard specials And there are several welcome additions. It's easy to say, the restaurant has grown without sacrificing its charm: portions are still huge and are a good value for the money.

A waitress appeared with corkscrew in hand -- Primo's is BYOB -- and we were soon sipping a pleasant merlot while munching on fresh bread from Central Bakery.

The four of us started with a shared appetizer of baked eggplant ($4.95), two large slices rolled around a tasty filling of ricotta and mozzarella cheese, topped with a fresh tomato sauce and more cheese. The serving was large enough for a meal; my three companions and I each had a hefty sample. We also shared a spinach salad ($4.75), a fine rendition including strips of breaded and fried eggplant, sliced mushrooms, roasted red peppers, and shredded mozzarella cheese in a just-tangy-enough balsamic vinegar dressing.

Other choices among appetizers include mussels marinara ($5.95), bruschetta ($4.95), and lemon chicken wings ($5.95). Salad options include antipasto ($6.50), garden salad ($3), and Caesar ($4.50). Grilled chicken and shrimp antipasto ($7.95) sounds like a light dinner: strips of chicken and whole shrimp served with marinated artichokes, sun-dried tomatoes, onion, plum tomatoes on mesclun in a balsamic vinegar dressing.

Primo's carved out a reputation on its imaginative pasta dishes. So it's good to see the new menu has plenty of them, all under $10. The basic pasta with sauce ($5.75) is still a bargain, but why not try penne ($8.50) with grilled zucchini, black olives, portobello mushrooms, and tomatoes in wine sauce? Then there's cheese cavatelli ($9.25) with diced tomatoes and fresh spinach in a ricotta and basil cream sauce. One that looked good to me was the sauté vegetable primavera ($8.95), seasonal veggies over angel hair pasta in a balsamic vinegar sauce.

I chose farfalle pasta ($8.50) with diced tomatoes and fresh basil in a light tomato sauce. The menu promised roasted artichokes, but they were just canned -- not bad, but roasted would have transformed an okay dish into an outstanding one.

Two of my companions were impressed by Primo's seafood selections. There are baked haddock ($10.95) and grilled salmon, offered with spinach in a pink vodka cream sauce or with lemon, butter, and roasted veggies (both dishes are $12.95). Then there's the more elaborate offering of shrimp and scallops with cheese tortellini ($11.95). One companion chose the combo of mussels, shrimp, and scallops ($13.95) with fresh spinach in a white-wine sauce. (You can also have the same combo with marinara sauce.) The aroma was perfume to a seafood lover; the taste good enough to convert a red-meat devotee. The other seafood selected was from the evening's specials, a sizzling casserole containing a broiled assortment of fresh haddock, a rock lobster tail, and sea scallops in a white-wine sauce ($14.95). Though it was the most expensive item on the menu that night, this was a winner: a mound of sautéed vegetables nestled next to the casserole, a separate bowl contained angel hair pasta with fresh tomato sauce.

My third companion had a hard time deciding. Primo's new grill items -- including twin pork chops with roasted veggies and pasta ($11.95), rib eye steak ($13.95), and a mixed grill of sirloin, chicken, and Italian sausage ($13.95) -- were tempting. So were dishes we've enjoyed in the past, such as the ultra rich chicken with broccoli and sun-dried tomatoes in a garlic cream sauce over cheese tortellini ($9.95) and chicken with artichoke hearts, black olives, sun-dried tomatoes, and portobello mushrooms ($10.95). Alas, our companion was swayed by an all-time favorite, veal Primo ($12.95), scaloppini style with sun-dried tomatoes, fresh spinach, onions, mushrooms, and lots of garlic in a tomato sauce with a splash of sherry. I admit to begging for more after I'd been offered a taste.

Too stuffed to contemplate the raspberry torte for dessert, we reluctantly surrendered our cozy table and paid the check, a very reasonable $63.05 before tip.