First Chop

Big is the word at the Chop House

by Margaret LeRoux

111 Chop House 111 Shrewsbury Street, Worcester 799-4111 Sun.-Thurs. 4-10 p.m., Fri.-Sat. 4-11 p.m. Major credit cards full bar Handicap accessible (several steps up to the non-smoking section)

The big news on Shrewsbury Street is 111 Chop House, ever since construction began on the large, brick building last year. No wonder. In size alone the Chop House -- the second venue for Sole Proprietor owner Rob Alquist -- dwarfs the rest of the storefront restaurants on the street. It the months ahead, it will be interesting to see how this giant affects its Lilliput neighbors.

We entered to a noisy, crowded, bar area, where the hostess suggested we have a drink while waiting for our table. The wait was brief; we'd had the foresight to phone ahead for reservations. I'd recommend you do the same. The main floor of this sprawling restaurant -- which features lots of dark wood accentuated by the golden light that bathes the room -- consists of a big, open bar area and a large section of tables and banquettes for smokers. At the far end of the room the kitchen is visible, gleaming with stainless-steel ovens and counters; we could see six cooks at work over a flaming grill.

We ate in the non-smoking area, a few steps up from the main floor. There's a long, narrow aisle of booths and a back room that feels like a corporate boardroom, with a huge vault-like wine rack, and windows draped in heavy, beige chenille.

This is testosterone dining -- cigar smoke hovers over the bar and everything is over-sized: silverware, plates, wine glasses, even the menus and the wine list. If you want to celebrate a stock split, 111 Chop House is the place to do it. If you're feeling confident and successful, you won't be bothered by the blue chip prices of entrees, nor will dropping an extra five to nine bucks for an appetizer or $3 to $5 for a side dish be a concern.

For all the money you'll spend on a meal here, you deserve to feel indulged. And a well-trained army of friendly waitstaff dressed in white jackets does just that. One of the managers stopped by to compliment our choice of wine, a pleasant surprise considering we ordered from the low end of the list, a $20 pinot noir from Erath Cellars.

But I'm getting ahead of myself. We got into the indulgent spirit with a shared appetizer of oysters Rockefeller ($8.99), a plate of five sizzling hot shells with creamed, fresh spinach atop the briny oysters.

There are lots of charming touches, too: individual pepper mills, a cruet of olive oil for dipping pieces of an excellent sour baguette presented wrapped in parchment paper.

Salads that come with the meal are the retro-trendy wedges of iceberg lettuce topped with very good blue cheese dressing and a few chopped tomatoes -- in July they'll be tasty. For now I recommend a Caesar salad at $4.99.

Although the 111 Chop House offers a handful of seafood entrees -- they come from the same source as the Sole Proprietor's -- we both opted for red meat. My companion chose prime rib ($19.99), 20 ounces of tender beef, pink and juicy, with only a sprig of parsley to adorn the white plate. He ordered a side dish of au gratin potato ($3.99), very rich and cheesy with a nicely browned top.

I selected grilled veal loin chop ($20.99) from the signature entrees that our waitress said will change weekly. The veal was served on top of a very moist and creamy tomato-based risotto, garnished with grilled chanterelle mushrooms and a glacé de viande. Wonderful flavors, but the hefty chop and its rich glacé were too much for the delicate rice. If you order the risotto next to rather than underneath the veal, this would be a knockout dish.

After all that red meat and red wine, we were sated, unable to attempt the Millennium dessert ($7.99), a semi-sweet chocolate tower served on raspberry purée filled with fluffy white chocolate mousse. We noticed our neighbors' cheesecake with strawberries ($5.99) and profiteroles -- puff pastry filled with ice cream and topped with chocolate sauce ($5.99). The men at that table took their brandy and went to the bar for a cigar, while the women stayed behind; time warp behavior you may find yourself slipping into at the 111 Chop House. Our bill including tax but not tip was $77.66.