Hot and hospitable

Picture 4

What John Giangregorio describes as “the most congested, exciting, vibrant section of the city” after 9:00 o’clock on Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings now has a walking map to direct locals and visitors alike to Read More >

By Rod Lee published Wednesday, August 25th, 2010 in Business.

Worcester’s Can-Am League team is a whirlwind force in the community

Baseball camps at which kids 5-12 learn the fundamentals of hitting, pitching and fielding from Tornadoes players, racing Twister around the bases, seats that are close to the action and watching first baseman Nick Salotti slam a double (against Sussex) are all part of the experience of following the Worcester Tornadoes. (Photos courtesy of the Worcester Tornadoes)

Anyone who thinks the success of the Worcester Tornadoes rests entirely on the team’s performance on the field in Can-Am League games, or on attendance for home starts at Hanover Insurance Park, is sadly mistaken. Read More >

By Rod Lee published Wednesday, August 11th, 2010 in Sports.

Worcester BBQ

Jackson Muller is chef at Churrascaria Brazilian B.B.Q. on Grafton St. “My first place,” he says it is doing well after more than three years in business. (Rod Lee photo)

The tail end of the always-popular Restaurant Week illustrates once again how many terrific dining destinations there are in and around Worcester; little wonder, then, that “foodies” are often in a quandary as to where Read More >

By Rod Lee published Wednesday, August 4th, 2010 in Food & Beverage.

High hopes

Free Blackstone

Canal District businesses pin their futures on the success of ‘Streetscape’: Canal District businesses and residents can’t wait for $7.5 million in “Streetscape” money to kick in this fall and trigger a major cosmetic upgrade of the neighborhood.

By Rod Lee published Tuesday, July 20th, 2010 in Business.

No other place to be!

Shana Belsito, Teresa Salerno and Dan DiStefano enjoy themselves at the Tessier family’s Porto Bello, during Shrewsbury St. merchants’ 2010 Taste of Shrewsbury St. event. (Rod Lee photo)

Thousands flock to ‛Restaurant’ Row for the ‛Taste’ Take near-perfect weather (the few sprinkles that threatened to mar the proceedings passed quickly), a smorgasbord of pulled pork, meatballs, salad, chicken wings, ice cream and chocolate Read More >

By Rod Lee published Thursday, July 1st, 2010 in Food & Beverage.

Life off ‘the Row’

You would think that a restaurant located beyond the bounds of Worcester’s highly touted main dining area is at a disadvantage, competitively speaking. Not so, says Joey Rovezzi of Joey’s Bar & Grill on Mill Read More >

By Rod Lee published Wednesday, June 9th, 2010 in Food & Beverage.

City slickers

WPI students Chad Mondor and Nick Pelletier rode to a fifth-place finish in the event; more importantly, they had a blast.

I’m glad to see that Mark Bilotta and his cohorts at the Colleges of Worcester Consortium (COWC) are having success in their push to get higher-ed students more involved in the city. In talking with Read More >

By Rod Lee published Saturday, June 5th, 2010 in Campus Life.

Pedone’s plea for peace

Mike Lucente of Hillary Landscape Services mows the median along Shrewsbury St. during an Earth Day clean-up sponsored by the neighborhood’s merchants group: perfect timing with the Taste of Shrewsbury St., in June, just around the corner.

Legislator calls for residents, merchants to settle their differences A la George Mitchell, State Rep. Vincent Pedone played peacemaker at the April 15 meeting of the Shrewsbury St. Area Merchants Association (SSAMA) at Dante’s Restaurant, Read More >

By Rod Lee published Thursday, June 3rd, 2010 in Living.