Marty's Ice Cream-N-More

A good counter for extra special lunches

by Margaret LeRoux

Marty's Ice Cream-N-More 84 West Boylston Street Worcester 852-1904 Hours Mon.-Thurs. 11 a.m.-8 p.m. Fri.-Sat. 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Cash only No alcohol Handicap accessible

If you want to feel like you're eating lunch in Mom's kitchen, head over to Marty's on West Boylston Street where the service is as warm and friendly as the atmosphere is; and the portions are as plentiful as you'd get at home. Marty's even looks and smells like the kitchens where we learned how to clean our plates. The aroma of a roast in the oven greets you as you open the door; the wood-paneled walls are covered with kids' pictures and drawings, as well as photos of Marty's favorite celebrities.

On a recent afternoon a friend and I stopped in for a quick sandwich. No sooner had we given our order at the counter and grabbed the only empty table -- there are six tables, plus a few stools at the counter -- then we saw what almost everyone else was eating and wished we were, too. The special that day was roast turkey ($4.95), and the servings were most generous, with mounds of mashed potatoes and dressing, cranberry sauce, and, of course, gravy. The turkey smelled wonderful; so did two other specials (both $4.95): platters of pot roast, mashed potatoes, gravy, and green peas, and huge portions of lasagna.

This is home cooking at its ultimate. But that's not Mom in the kitchen. It's Marty Cariglia senior; Marty junior is the guy in front at the sandwich board who also waits tables.

The father/son team opened Marty's as an ice-cream store in May 1998, with a few homemade meals for the lunch crowd that frequents the Gold Star Boulevard neighborhood. Soon they began to get more requests for lasagna and pot roast than they did for ice cream. So they shifted focus; and Marty's became primarily a lunch spot.

It's a friendly neighborhood crowd who eats here; most customers the day we were there were on a first-name basis with the proprietors. Staff from the Fallon clinic just down the block was rapidly depleting the turkey; and Marty Jr. was busy answering phone calls from folks who were reserving lasagna to go.

We were delighted with the soup and sandwiches we ordered. Homemade chicken noodle soup ($3) was one of the best bowls of cold-prevention my friend had ever eaten; it was chock full of noodles, carrots, celery, and chunks of chicken. The pasta fagioli ($3) I ordered was hearty with beans and macaroni: almost a meal in itself.

Our sandwiches weren't lightweight either. My friend's Italian club was piled high with salami, ham, and cheese. I'd chosen corned beef on rye and was presented with a hefty serving of thick, sliced beef: the kind of sandwich you'd make yourself from the remains of St. Patrick's Day dinner.

So satisfied were we that our original intention to try one of Marty's frappes ($2.25) fell by the wayside. Our bill, including a couple of sodas totaled $14.70, not including tip.

A couple of weeks later, we happened to be in the neighborhood again and returned this time to sample Marty's lasagna ($4.95). On a cold, raw day, this was a dish to tame the elements. Layers of meat, sausage, and cheese are blanketed in a mild sauce. A basket of fresh Italian bread accompanied the lasagna; we doused it in grated Parmesan cheese. Our second choice, a tuna-salad sandwich on a crispy Kaiser roll ($2.75), was good, too, just the right touch of onion and chopped celery.

This time we indulged in the dessert displayed under a glass dome on the counter, which diners drool over while they wait to place their order. Marty's mother, who cooks at the Parkway Diner, is the dessert chef, providing fresh cakes every day. On our visit the special was Boston cream pie ($1.50), a moist, yellow cake filled with custard and topped with an old-fashioned fudge frosting. Marty's mother and mine have similar recipes; this cake would have made mine jealous. This time our bill was $9.20.