Le Provocateur

Issue date: 4/10/03 Section: Arts & Entertainment

If you are already counting down the days until next St. Patrick's Day, stop by O'Connor's on 1160 West Boylston Street in Worcester, where everyday seems to be St. Patrick's Day. O'Connor's wall-to-wall Irish memorabilia and affordable Ireland-themed food and drink made my dining party start to think that perhaps Tipperary is not too far away after all.

O'Connor's offers diners more than simply the stereotypical Irish corned beef and cabbage. O'Connor's serves a wide array of dishes from traditional chicken and seafood to Hearty Irish Pies and Meat n' Potatoes. Most dishes are given snappy Irish names like, Connemara Crab and Rock shrimp cakes, genuine Galtee Irish Bangers and Mash, and Jim Leary's Shepherd's Pie Irish style. Appetizers and food for the "little people and "leprechauns" are also available.

For those interested in having a good drink with their dinner, O'Connor's has a wide assortment of beers ranging from the traditional Irish Guinness to the more local Wachusett Country Ale.

When one eats at O'Connor's, all diners receive complimentary Irish whole grain rolls, which my dining party proclaimed to be fluffy, light, and all around delicious. My fellow diners' hungry stomachs decided to try something from O'Connors extensive appetizer list in addition to the rolls though. O'Connor's appetizers all are given names, such as O'Bloomin' Onions and Brendan's Now Legendary Irish Potato Pizza, which arouse one's curiosity.

We decided to try the Spud's Irish Potato Nachos because we were unsure of whether one could indeed succeed in making French Fries into nachos. My fellow connoisseurs were pleasantly pleased to find that the mix of large waffle French Fries topped with peppers, onions, and cheese reminded us of a new and improved version of cheese fries.

After the appetizers, my dining party set out to see whether the dinner entrees could match up to the appetizers.

One diner ordered the Chicken Wellington Cordon Bleu served with mashed potatoes. The chicken was not breaded, as this diner was accustomed to, but rather, baked into a pastry shell. This diner found the pastry shell to be a nice surprise and the perfect match for the creamy mashed potatoes.

Another diner was more disappointed by her dinner. She proclaimed the Patrick Pecan Chicken to be too sweet because it was covered in pecans then topped with pear and apple chutney.

For another, there was also a slight amount of dissatisfaction. She ordered the Chive and Almond Crusted Swordfish tips and found the fish very light and tender, but slightly oily.

Continued...

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