Lucia Winchester brings quality Italian food to the suburbs

The North End has long been the siren call to my craving for all things Italian. But somewhere in the last few years, when I stopped working in Boston, I discovered it’s become very hard to just pop by the neighborhood for something yummy at a place like Lucia’s or Artu.

Every parking space is either valet or residents-only to the post-6pm dinner crowd. The inexpensive lots are a good walk down the street. And I hate paying for parking lots; it cuts down on my dessert budget. I hate to say it, but I just don’t go unless I’m taking the T and in town for the day. Which isn’t that often anymore. What to do?

That’s where Lucia’s in Winchester comes in. Located on the commuter rail stop in Winchester, it also enjoys plenty of street parking. Both restaurants were launched by Donato Frattaroli. Born in Sulomona, Abruzzo in Italy, Frattaroli and his family immigrated to America when he was 14. He and his brothers opened Lucia Ristorante on Hanover Street in 1977.

When that proved successful, he decided to open a suburban location, in Winchester, in 1986. As he put it, he saw an opportunity to bring his authentic cooking style to an area that had few authentic options for Italian food that went beyond the spaghetti and meatball dishes.

In 1989, he and his brother, Filippo, opened the Via Veneto Ristorante on Causeway Street in Boston (now Filippo’s Ristorante), and in the 1990s Donato also launched Artú Rosticceria & Trattoria, Artù Ristorante and Artù Catering in Boston.

This summer, Frattaroli turns back to the ‘burbs location to freshen up the menu.
The Winchester restaurant has been totally remodeled, although the ceiling frescos remain, for now. Donato has wondered if the frescos seem too old-fashioned for what he’s trying to present with his revamped menu. “We don’t want to be seen as ‘old.’ We are ‘experienced,’” said Donato. Be sure to weigh in on the debate next time you dine there.

Donato’s son Donato Jr. was a key voice in nudging the Winchester menu for the first time in 25 years. They plan to keep the Winchester branch’s traditional recipes beloved by regular customers, and also introduce some meatier dishes inspired by their Abruzzi roots, as well as lighter seafood items based on their seaside trips. Donato Senior is especially proud of his addition of fine imported accents, such as sun dried tomatoes , artichokes, cheeses and premium olive oils from various regions of Italy. It’s all part of trying to expand his customer’s palates, said Donato Sr.

“We’re not a red sauce kind of place,” said Frattaroli. “We use a lighter sauce, more like what we eat when visiting family in Italy. We’re using hearty proteins, such as lamb and beef.” I want to showcase regional food based on where my family is from.”

I recently was invited to dine family-style recently to sample some items from the new menu, as well as dishes they may run as specials. All of the food was full of great flavors, with homemade pasta, fresh-off-the-boat seafood; I truly felt like I was at a family Sunday dinner, as Donato told us stories about the food, his family, restaurant gossip, and future culinary plans.

Here is the menu that I experienced:

Passed Appetizers:

Salumi

• Three kinds of brushcette, new on the new menu: Artichoke Puree, Broccoli di Rapi and Roasted Garlic, and Wild Mushroom *on the new menu

• Fried Duxbury Oysters, with Young Peach, and Roasted Garlic Aioli, served in the shell.

• Native Seafood Parfait of Razor Clams, Lobster, Shrimp, Calamari, Mussels and Pickled Vegetables

• Fennel Pollen-dusted Tuna Crudo, toasted Almonds, EVOO and Lemon.

• Fried Softshell Crab, Hot-house Heirloom Tomato Salad, Peperoncino Mascarpone.

• Salumi: prosciutto, bresaola, soppresata, salami, baby artichoke hearts

• Seafood Risotto *on the new menu

• Pasta Alla Norma (Fresh Tomato Sauce, Roasted Eggplant, Ricotta Salata) *on the new menu

• Butter-poached Seared Salmon, Italian White Bean Salad, and Pesto Oil

• Oven-roasted Bone-In Pork Tenderloin Agrodolce with Cacciatore Vegetables. *on the new menu

Tuna Crudo

Softshell Crabs

• Go on Fridays and experience the velvet-voiced Frank Zarba singing Italian love songs, starting at 7 p.m.

• Look for the addition of community roundtables where diners can drop in and meet new friends and old.

• Watch Lucia North End for its 35th anniversary celebration in mid-July.

Primi:

Pasta:

Entree:

Other new menu items will include: shrimp scampi made with Trebbiano wine and fresh herbs; mussels in cartoccia roasted in parchment paper; baby beet saad with arugula and ricotta salata; baby spinach salad with pears, candied walnuts and gorgonzola and balsamic vinaigrette; Lobster and saffron ravioli with sautéed shrimp in a tomato cream sauce; pappardelle Bolognese; house-made fusilli pasta with foraged mushrooms, a touch of cream and white truffle oil; veal chop stuffed with spinach, prosciutto, fontina, seasoned bread crumbs, and braised seasonal greens; rack of lamb with broccoli di rabe and cannellini beans; skewers of shrimp, lamb or scallops in their garlic butter with seasonal veggies.

Tips:

Lucia Winchester
13 Mt. Vernon St.
Winchester
781.729.0515

NE Country Soup is a fresh change from canned soups

Sandi Miller

Boston Restaurant Examiner

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I had a chance to sample a few tasty soups from New England Country Soup, and I have a new go-to for convenience food. While I’m always trying to just make my own soups to cut down on processed foods, this brand is a good fall-back for all natural, ready-to-serve soups. They make eight soups made with REAL ingredients, and are low sodium and preservative-free.
A real bonus: they come in BPA-free packaging. I stashed a few in my work drawer, since they don’t need refrigeration. No can openers, no scissors needed. They can be microwaved in the pouch, too, since they stand up. Each 15oz. pouch supposedly contains two servings.
Based in Cambridge, New England Country Soupprovides an Ingredient TrackerTMon its website to see the farm, field or ocean from which each ingredient in each is sourced. They are also partnering with American forests to plant more trees. For those with severe allergies, the soups don’t claim to be made in wheat-free, nut-free facilities yet, but otherwise most of them are gluten-free, nut free and a few are dairy-free.

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What I love about these soups are that they taste homemade and fresh. A few that I have tried:
Chicken corn chowder — the description on the package includes the history of this soup, called “pottage., with origins in Plymouth colony when the Pilgrims revived Massasoit in 1623 with this, and he lived another 34 years.
It definitely revived me at lunch. But no way this is two servings; I downed it all, meaning the total calories are 580, sodium 480, fiber 4 g, and total fat a whopping 36g. But so delicious.
Water and corn are the first ingredients, and then potatoes, chicken, cream, butter, celery, rice starch, sunflower oil, onions, roasted red peppers, lower sodium sea salt, sugar, coriander, soy lecithin, black pepper and cayenne pepper.
Clam chowder — This yummy soup is not very fishy-tasting; its savory flavor reminded me of mushroom soup. I only had half the bag, or else that would have been 660 calories, 370 sodium and 44 g of fat! It’s filling, but the consistency is soupy rather than thick.
Compare this to Progresso, my other go-to GF clam chowder that I can keep in my desk drawer at work: Progresso is half the calories and a third of the fat, but it’s 370mg sodium for the pouch vs. a whopping 890mg sodium for the Progresso.  Plus, Progresso has all those mystery ingredients, and tastes canned.
The ingredients, in order: potatoes, chopped clam meat, cream, butter, celery, sunflower oil, rice starch, onions, clam broth (dehydrated), clam extract, lower sodium sea salt, sugar, soy lecithin, maltodextrin, modified corn starch, black pepper, dill, nutmeg.
Sweet chicken curry: This GF blend is not my cup of soup,  so to speak: too sweet with raisins and apples. But it has “natural” chicken, a nice, subtle spice blend and it didn’t taste too salty. I ended up Sriracha’ing the soup to tone down the sweetness. The carrots were supposed to add the perfect blend of soft and crunchy: these weren’t crunchy, nor did I expect them to be.  I ate the whole package, for a total of 320 calories, 150 mg sodium, 7.g fat, 6 g fiber.
Ingredients: Water, tomatoes, cooked white chicken meat, apples, carrots, raisins, basmati rice, celery, onions, rice starch, chicken stock, olive oil, lemon juice concentrate, curry powder, turmeric, cumin, black pepper, nutmeg.
Caribbean black bean: This vegan and GF soup has a nice kick to it, with the allspice and nutmeg (do they put nutmeg in all their soups?) adding an extra flavor dimension. I thought it could have used a little more salt, which I fixed by crumbling tortilla chips into it.
For half the packet: 210 calories, 230mg sodium, 2.5 fat, 8 grams of fiber, 4 grams of sugar, 10 grams of protein. Ingredients: black beans, green and red peppers, onions, rice starch, chili and jalapeno peppers, olive oil, sea salt, sugar, cumin, allspice and nutmeg.
Lentil:My kid loves lentil soup, and slurped all of their lentil soup, made from  Pardina lentils with loads of spinach and tomatoes. Other ingredients: Celery,   Rice Starch,  Onions, Red Peppers, Olive Oil, Lower Sodium Sea Salt, Lentil Flour, Garlic.
Chicken pomodoro — I found this tomato-based soup a little bland, so I added some sea salt to perk it up. Again, it tasted fresh.  This one has wheat and egg whites.
For those interested in the soup’s eco footprint, the company pointed out that its light-weight microwavable pouch empty weighs 0.3 ounces versus plastic microwaveable bowls, which weigh 1.65 ounces and up to 8 times lighter than a can. “For every 10 truckloads of product shipped in pouches, other soup companies are sending 11 truckloads full of bowls,” said company materials.. “Less packaging means less energy is used to make the package and less energy consumed in transporting the package from our manufacturing facility to your store.”
Other soup flavors include:
·   Yankee White Bean - a spicy blend of three beans (Yankee, great northern and cannellini), chicken and jalapeno peppers.
·    Nana's Chicken Soup: a blend of chicken, Arborio rice, spinach, cannellini beans and a hint of garlic.
The breakdown for allergies:

• Gluten Free: Chicken Corn Chowder, Nana’s Chicken Soup, Yankee White Bean, New England Clam Chowder, Caribbean Black Bean, Lentil, and Sweet Chicken Curry.
• Dairy Free: Nana’s Chicken Soup, Caribbean Black Bean, Chicken Pomodoro, Lentil and Sweet Chicken Curry, and  
• Vegan: Lentil and Caribbean Black Bean

New England Country Soup is sold in New England at Stop & Shop, Market Basket, Big Y, Roche Brothers, and Shaw’s. New England Country Soup is now available in New York, New Jersey at ShopRite, the Southeast at Publix and BI-LO, and the Midwest at Hy-Vee. For more information and coupons visit www.newenglandcountrysoup.com.

Darryl's Corner Bar a cozy haven for gluten-free dining

Sandi Miller

Boston Restaurant Examiner

It had been a while since I had set foot in this corner of the South End; I had spent a few brunches at the iconic Bob the Chef’s/Bob’s Southern Bistro soaking in the Berklee student jazz ensembles and the mimosas with waffles and such. I was sad to see it close. When  Darryl Settles reopened the space more than a year ago, as Darryl’s Corner Bar & Kitchen, I was happy, but also worried: let's just say I didn’t associate that spot with healthy eats. So when I was invited to visit again recently, I was happily surprised when they assured me that  I could eat gluten-free in an expanded menu of “southern and comfort cuisine."
My kid and I went on a Saturday night, and despite it being only 6:30pm, a line  cued up along a brick wall covered with photos of jazz musicians.  The atmosphere was sophisticated and fun, in a darkened stretch of room with a long bar at the far end, and an R&B band just warming up. Many in the crowd were networking with other tables, and on the whole, everyone just seemed happy to be there.
Our waiter was so gracious and happy to double-check whether my choices were GF. He recommended the starter mussels in red curry coconut, although the fra diavolo and white wine and garlic versions also sounded tempting. But the coconut curry version was delicious. I really missed having a basketful of bread to mop up the sauce. The mussels were perfectly done. (BTW, we had JUST missed the half-priced happy hour— Tuesday thru Saturday, 5-6:30 pm: Chicken wings, catfish strips and mussels.)
Ah, no  GF beer, but I was intrigued by the “Darryl’s Chicken Martini.” Ah, no chicken, but it did feature “Tito’s Handmade vodka,” along with Stirring Apple, Cointreau, splash of lime and topped with Hennessey” for just $12.
My son ordered the kid-sized fried chicken strips with fries, ($8) and was able to substitute the fries with sautéed spinach, which wasn’t on the menu. The chicken recipe is the same as the Glorified chicken main dish, which turned out to be a little too spicy for him.
I tried the pan-fried trout ($24), which had a generous amount of fish, along with a salsa verde and shrimp salad that mostly seemed mostly green peppers and tomatoes, along with pan-fried potatoes. It was good, but not memorable; next time I come, I might try the GF sweet potato and black bean veggie pattie, and ask to substitute the fries with some collard greens and candied yams if those, too were GF. The big fresh bowl o' beets with toasted pine nuts and Gorgonzola is definitely a great GF side dish, and if I felt like fish again the chili and cilantro crusted haddock, also said to be GF, with gingered sweet potatoes and green beans, might be a good choice.
There's also good salad choices, of course, but with all the temptations in this hotspot, it's hard to do salad. I mean, the banquette table next to us featured a trio of women devouring the “glorifried” chicken over golden waffles, and those on the other side of us enjoyed red velvet cake. Yes, this GF gal was jealous. The only dessert choice for us was the JP Licks ice cream, which after all isn't exactly a sad concession.

Notes: $3 cover charge during entertainment.
Address: 604 Columbus Ave.; 617-536-1100

View slideshow: Darryl's delectables

Upcoming events:
Valentine’s Menu: February 14, 6 pm to 11 pm; Dinner and dancing, performance by Nadia Washington; a complimentary flute of champagne and a three-course prix fixe menu ($60):
Starters:

• Fish Stew with Atlantic haddock, roasted chilies, sweet sausage, corn, and garlic toast or
• Classic Caesar Salad with crisp Parmesan and anchovy or
• Big Bowl O’Beets with toasted pine nuts, Gorgonzola and fresh herbs

Entrées

• Seared Garlic and Herb Marinated Pork Chops served with garlic mashed potatoes and spring vegetables or
• Seafood Cioppino - mussels, shrimp, squid, fresh cod in a rich tomato garlic stew served with garlic bruschetta or
• Roasted Atlantic Haddock with chorizo, corn chowder and marinated tomato or
• Braised Short Ribs with sautéed spinach and mushrooms served over mashed potatoes with balsamic reduction:

Desserts:

• Sweet Hearts Red Velvet Cake or
• Sinful Mile High Chocolate Cake

Other events:

• February is Black History Month, with a Monday night speaker series featuring William “Mo” Cowan, Gov. Patrick’s chief of staff, and Feb. 27 is Michael Curry, Boston NAACP President.
• Mardi Gras is Feb. 16-21, featuring New Orleans specialities.
• Friday and Saturday evenings feature dancing for the “mature professional” (30+) crowd.
• Sundays are Jazz and gospel brunch, with shrimp and grits, fried chicken and waffles, huevos rancheros, BBQ shrimp, and cheesy grits.
• Tuesdays starting at 8pm are Reggae nights, featuring local talent, special cocktails and dinner specials, and “Boston’s Best Jerk Chicken Wings.”
• 1/2 price apps Tuesday thru Saturday, 5-6:30 pm: Chicken wings, catfish strips and mussels 
• Sunday nights are game nights: starting at 6pm, it’s trivia, card games, Taboo etc., and ½ price apps from 6-7pm