Leo's Ristorante

Pasta, pasta, and more pasta

by Margaret LeRoux

Leo's Ristorante 11 Brackett Court Worcester (508) 753-9490 Hours Mon.-Fri. 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Dinner Sun.-Thurs. 4:30-10 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 4:30-11 p.m. Major credit cards Full bar Handicap accessible

It was another one of those cold nights we've had too many of this summer and the four of us were a cranky group of diners. We wanted to be sitting outside on a patio watching the sunset instead of looking for sweaters. Plus we couldn't agree on a restaurant. "Enough dissent," I declared. "Like my brother's Italian mother-in-law always says, the best cure for crabbiness is pasta." So, off we went to the granddaddy of pasta in Worcester, Leo's Ristorante.

Leo's has been soothing spirits and fulfilling pasta cravings for decades, from the era when red sauce and meatballs were pretty much all you could get. Not so today. Leo's has changed with the times. Now you'll find references to Tuscany, Milan, and Genoa on the menu, and trendy additions such as Gorgonzola cheese, sun-dried tomatoes, and roasted garlic.

Lucky for us, Leo's décor is best suited to cool weather. Its exposed brick walls and glittering white lights are cozy, and we grudgingly gave up the idea of dining al fresco. We were welcomed by a cheerful waitress who seated us immediately and brought us a basket of warm, crusty bread. Be sure to try the garlic-infused olive oil on the table for a delicious alternative to the foil-wrapped butter pats.

Leo's multi-page menu offers so many choices that we had to ask our waitress for extra time. While we considered the options, we shared a bottle of Pellegrino ($3.95).

There are lots of standards on the appetizers list -- clams casino ($5.95), stuffed mushrooms ($5.50), steamed mussels ($6.50) -- and several new items: chicken-walnut ravioli with shrimp sauce; shrimp-and-lobster agnolotti with saffron cream sauce; lobster ravioli with basil-cream sauce; wild-mushroom ravioli with roasted-red-pepper sauce (each $7.95), and eggplant crostini ($6.95), grilled with roasted peppers, cheese, and basil on Italian bread.

We settled on Leo's special antipasto ($10.95) and munched our way through a large platter of proscuitto, salami, grilled eggplant, roasted peppers, gorgonzola cheese, artichoke hearts, tomatoes, cucumbers, and kalamata olives -- all bathed in a balsamic vinaigrette. It was enough to take the edge off all our appetites.

Now we faced more decisions. Which of Leo's many pasta dishes would we try?

Salmon with capellini Tuscan style beckoned, as did seafood Angelina (lobster, shrimp, and scallops over linguine) and lobster Milanese, served with mussels in a brandy-gorgonzola cream sauce over linguine (each $15.95). Chicken Spinazola ($13.95), sautéed chicken strips, spinach, sun-dried tomatoes roasted garlic, and gorgonzola cheese over penne was tempting, as was seafood risotto ala Milanese ($15.95), featuring shrimp, scallops, and lobster. Although you could eat an entire meal at Leo's without pasta -- sirloin steak from the broiler in two sizes, $11.95 and $12.95 -- why would you want to? Especially since Leo's offers homemade spaghetti, ziti, linguine, and shells.

You can also go with standard pasta and plain sauce ($6.50), meat sauce ($6.95), or with meatballs ($8.95) or sausage ($9.95). We chose pasta specials.

I ordered pasta puttanesca ($9.95) a savory mixture of salty olives, finely chopped anchovies, garlic, raisins, pine nuts, and Romano cheese. Except for the olive oil, puttanesca is a dry, but tangy sauce with a name so risqué, our family's Italian mother-in-law would blush to order it. Puttanesca is derived from puttana, Italian for ladies of the evening. Its intense fragrance supposedly is like the siren song that attracts clients to brothels. Leo's version, however, is relatively tame. No cheese in the sauce, but I added a generous amount from the shaker on the table. Traditional puttanesca also has capers, and Leo's version would benefit from the sour bite they add to this dish. Not to carp, but the pine nuts could have been fresher.

A much fresher flavor did characterize gomzola d'Angelo ($9.95), a huge plate of angel-hair pasta topped with a mixture of fresh tomatoes, cream, and gorgonzola cheese. The cream lightened the sharpness of the tomatoes, but the gorgonzola gave it another boost.

Pasta primavera with boneless chicken over homemade noodles ($11.95) was our favorite. My friend chose Alfredo sauce, and this rich, creamy coating over crunchy sugar-snap peas, broccoli, and bits of zucchini and summer squash was positively yummy. Forks flew as we accepted her offer to share.

The most colorful platter we sampled was shrimp scampi over spinach noodles ($14.95) -- four giant, pink shrimp tucked into a nest of bright green pasta napped with a bright lemon-garlic sauce. With a little fresh ground pepper, this was a satisfying dish.

Two of us chose from Leo's wine-by-the-glass list, an understated Trebbiano placido and a chardonnay -- like white by P.G. Morassutti ($4.50 each).

Since three of us couldn't even finish our pasta, only one of our group ordered dessert -- tartufo ($3.95), a chocolate-and-cocoa-covered ball of chocolate ice cream and crunchy chopped hazelnuts. It was a chocolate-lover's dream. The bill for four of us, including tax but not tip, was $85.59.