Even the quest for the ultimate wiener is affected by the coronavirus.The ninth annual Worcester Hot Dog Safari will set frankfurter connoisseurs, at their social distancing leisure, on the trail out to six hot dog establishments in the Worcester area with scorecards in hand.According to Worcester Hot Dog Safari co-creator Tom Mahoney, this year’s hot dog safari will last a full week, from Saturday, Aug. 15, to Saturday, Aug. 22, instead of a jam-packed single day, and ..read more

An extremely popular small and cozy breakfast and lunch spot is Root & Press on Chandler Street in Worcester. It’s also an independent bookstore.Most days, you can see owner Rich Collins behind the counter, making panini, omelettes, salads, sandwiches and specials such as Pain de Chevre, Iggy’s wheat bread with goat cheese, cinnamon pear jam and fresh raspberry compote.This summer, Collins started putting his own spin on milkshakes, vamping up a plain shake ..read more

After some exhaustive reporting, I have determined when Tree House Brewing Co. will resume draft pours and dust off its fleet of cozy Adirondack chairs. Get ready. Charlton’s brewery on a hill will reopen its bar and outdoor oasis to the public when … founders Dean Rohan, Nate Lanier, and Damien Goudreau deem it safe enough to do so, for their thousands of customers and 125 employees. If this wasn’t the ..read more

Executive chef Enton Mehillaj and his wife, Oriola Koci, mark the eighth anniversary of their restaurant Livia’s Dish, 1394 Main St., Worcester, this weekend. The couple opened the business July 31, 2012.“We are so happy to celebrate our success,” said Koci. “This has been an interesting year to say the least but we are happy to have a reason to celebrate. Customers can expect raffles and prizes this weekend as a sign of our appreciation to an amazing ..read more

"Say we have a brewery, call it Sully-Tota Brewing Co., and signed a deal with a distributor in January, but now that wholesaler wants to move away from craft beer into more wine and spirits, we can't just leave." Keith Sullivan, co-founder of Medusa Brewing and the vice president of the Massachusetts Brews Guild, was explaining the crux of his industry's decade-long dispute with wholesalers over distributions rights. Although I was disappointed Sullivan ..read more

 Deborah Foster vividly remembers the first time she met Harry Cohen, founder of Harry’s Restaurant in Westboro.“I was a single mom looking for a job and the restaurant was just a few miles from my home,” said Foster. “It was summer when I walked into the restaurant and Harry asked me to fill out a 3x5 card. I had zero food experience and didn’t know what to expect,” she said. “Harry looked at the card, turned ..read more

Have you noticed your favorite server’s saintlike patience is waning? A mask may help to conceal her imminent discomfort, but rest assured, her job is not what it used to be. Krysta Kowal jokes that at least she only has to worry about doing half of her makeup before heading off to work at Crust Artisan Bakeshop on Main Street in Worcester. Kowal praised owner Alexis Kelleher for, “staying very proactive in keeping employees and customers safe throughout the ..read more

“It is National Fried Clam Day,” says Steve Woodman, co-owner of Woodman’s, the fabled roadside clam shack in Essex.It is quite coincidental that we are sitting outside at Woodman’s as he casually mentions that fact. It’s likely the customers lining up to order aren’t aware, either. But the designation is significant to this place: On July 3, 1916, Steve’s grandfather, Chubby, sold his first fried clams at this very same spot ..read more

Young, energized, brimming with confidence, Redemption Rock Brewing Co. burst into 2020 with ambitious goals. Like so many other breweries, it ripped the list up three months into the year.The pandemic has made it difficult for Redemption Rock to act as the popular brewery on the rise. COVID brought new questions and fears.Its predicament is not unique, but that doesn’t make me feel any less sorry that Redemption Rock cannot fully enjoy its second year, which will ..read more

Just how good is a fresh clam that has been breaded and fried in oil?Finding the answer is as simple as checking out a take-out joint or eatery near you. You can choose from a long list of local restaurants and small, family-owned businesses that advertise "the best fried clams ever."Ronnie’s Seafood and Ice Cream in Auburn, the Clam Box in Brookfield, Dresser Hill’s Ice Cream and Seafood in Charlton and Ronnie’s Seafood in Charlton, are among the ..read more