Worcester Cookoff

Thanks for brightening our mornings, Glazy Susan!

The ultimate glazed donut comparison right here! Rocco's Doughnut Company vs. Glazy Susan

Any other glazed donuts that can hang with these two? Let us know in the comments!

You have four days left to treat yourself to a cozy morning curled up with sweet goodies from Glazy Susan. Sunday is their final day open!

Cindy Lou Who: “I know he's mean and hairy and smelly, and his hands are cold and clammy, but I think he's kinda... SWEET.” 🍩 …just like this masterpiece of a donut from Jumbo Donuts! The Grinch specialty donut was loaded with Boston cream and topped with artfully decorated frosting.

Jumbo Donuts specialty donuts are available on weekends with designs that rotate each day. Scroll their feed to see all their amazing seasonal themed treats. We waited a year to snag the elusive Grinch donut after first seeing it last year and it was definitely worth the wait!

The ultimate CIDER DONUT guide for CENTRAL MA!!! 🍎🍩

Looking for some fall weekend plans?🍁 Better SAVE THIS POST and we’ll keep you covered throughout the season as you visit local farm stands, pick from apple orchards, and most importantly try as many cider donuts as you can!

The 26 featured donuts on this list are straight from your voting results from last fall! 🗳

Don’t forget to check out the map of all the mentioned cider donut spots. Here you’ll see that Harvard/Bolton/Stow is no doubt the apple orchard hub of Central Mass!

Before you head out, make sure to check in first regarding cider donut availability, especially with the donut shops which have monthly rotating menus.

Don’t forget to:

🔖 SAVE this post for future reference!

📨 SHARE this post with your friends and family!

💬 COMMENT below with your favorites? Did the voters miss any? Any new places this year?

➕ FOLLOW us to keep up with other Central Mass cookoffs and see other handy food guides like this one!

Snagged a sunrise session with LightRunner from Medusa Brewing Company. 🌅 The can says, “Run to the light, friends”, so we did! The ocean got in the way though. 😂 Stay tuned to see the other Central Mass beer we brought with us to Maine this year in our series! 🍻🏖

Swipe to see the beer cracked open ➡️ This New England IPA is super hazy with tropical fruit flavor. And the bright pink can redesign is a vibe! 🌴🌺

Pizza Friday! 🍕Auntie Dot’s is a Worcester hidden gem! Located on Grafton Street, it’s only open 5-9pm on Thurs/Fri/Sat, but do yourself a favor and give it a whirl. Thick crust. Light and fluffy in the middle, crispy on bottom. Don’t order a medium like us (unless you prefer round), spring for the large and get a rectangular sheet of the ‘za!

When your ice cream is loaded with this much caramel, M&Ms, Oreos and malted milk balls, who cares about the shape of the scoop? 🤩🍨

🍦Monster Mash from Meola's Ice Cream Offical Site

This right here is the Macho Man Sandwich from Table Twelve kitchen + bar in . If Randy Savage were to have eaten this sandwich, he’d no doubt give it a resounding, “Oooh yeah”! 😎

Giant crispy fried chicken 🍗 spicy buffalo sauce 🥵 thick, crispy bacon 🥓 lettuce 🥬 tomato 🍅 and blue cheese dressing 🧀 on a grilled bulkie roll 🍞 with a side of fries 🍟

Last summer, we rescued some Central Mass beer from their mundane fridge-life to show them a good time in coastal southern Maine. If you missed it, or for a refresher, peep this hashtag: ! 🍺🏖

Well we’re doing it again this year, but this time we’re featuring four different breweries. Follow along over the next couple weeks as we pack up these cold-ones for the ride up north and schlep them along to see the summery sights! 🌊😎

We’re planning on catching a saltwater sunrise with these brew-filled aluminum cans! 🌅 Holding on to the last few weeks of summer while we still can! Here are the beers we’ll be featuring:

Oakholm Brewing Company Slate Roof (Brookfield)
Seven Saws Brewing Flume (Holden)
Bay State Brewing Co. Kelly² (Worcester)
Medusa Brewing Company Light Runner (Hudson)

(Completely unplanned but the Medusa can was a perfect match to our brand new cooler) 🌺

Comment with any of your favorite local beach beers!

Top taste of summer right here! Pick your own blueberries 🫐 from Berries and Blooms in Holden. Big, plump, super fresh. Fun activity for kids, but they will eat them all if you don’t hide them in your fridge later!

Hours: 8am-1pm, closed Tues & Wed
Bring cash 💵
Raspberries too!

Beat the heat 🥵 with some ice cream!🍦But eat it fast before it melts! 🫠

Giant scoops, homemade waffle cones, lake views. Must be Madulka's Ice Cream in Worcester!

🍦 Coffee Oreo
🍦 Cookie Dough

Giant frosted cinnamon buns!

We didn’t realize when eating these buns from BiscottoCafé that they’d be our last for awhile. Sad to hear they are closing down the cafe, but hopeful they might reopen some day in the future. See their latest post for more details 😢 Wish them all the best!

The buns were fresh, packed with cinnamon flavor, and huge! If you’ve had these before you know they’re among the best around!

When we saw Bancroft Tower on the can art of Redemption Rock Brewing War Castle, we couldn’t NOT make this meta photoshoot happen! 📸 🏰🍺

We title this shoot: “Can art of a castle in Worcester on a War Castle brewed in Worcester standing in front of the same castle in Worcester” 😂

Let’s test how knightly your Worcester beer/castle know-how is! 1-point for each “yes” answer below. Comment with your score!

1. Did you know there’s a mini castle in Worcester?
2. Have you visited it?
3. Did you realize you were standing on one of Worcester’s seven hills when you visited it?
4. Have you drank RR’s flagship New England IPA, War Castle?
5. Have you drank a RR War Castle AND recognized Bancroft Tower on the can art?
6. Did you know that Worcester, which takes it name from the city in UK, supposedly came from the phrase war-castle? (Thanks, beer can facts!)

We cracked open the beer later on after arriving back from the shoot. Swipe all the way to the end for that. ➡️ Super hazy, juicy and a bit darker in color than your average NEIPA. A perfect summer sipper!

We brought this can of Redemption Rock Brewing War Castle to a special place in Worcester to snag a couple pics. Any guesses where? Check back tomorrow to find out!

Finally was able to try Sabor Latino Food Truck at Seven Saws Brewing recently. The truck was nearly sold out by dinner time, so we snagged one of the last Cuban Dip sandwiches!

🥪 Cuban Dip: Slow cooked pork 🍖 marinated in a traditional Cuban citrus garlic sauce 🧄 topped with bacon chutney 🥓 served with a side of pork au jus for dipping 🥣

Consider this your checklist ✅ for ice cream this summer in Central Mass!🍦

This voting was from late last August at the very end of ice cream season, so now it’s time to make full use of this list! Go visit new spots this summer and find new favorites!

One change from last August: Mrs. Moriconi's now has a permanent location at 1116 Pleasant St. Worcester!

Summer has unofficially started and there’s no better way to celebrate than with ice cream! Not all ice cream shops carry Black Raspberry Oreo, so whenever it’s on the menu, we go for it. One of our favorite spots is Uhlman's Ice Cream in Westborough! Can’t beat those farm views either! 🐄

Game time! Which Central Mass ice cream venue is this? Drop your guess in the comments. No contest, no prize, just for fun. We’ll reveal the answer tomorrow along with a picture of the ice cream we got!🍦

Perfect day to head over to The Taco Spot!

📍: Worcester
🌮: chorizo, beef birria, chicken birria x 2
➡️: vampiro taco

Wait, what’s a vampiro taco???
An open face taco 🌮 with crispy grilled cheese 🧀 meat & toppings 🌶 and guac sauce! 🥑

Great excuse for midweek donuts! ☘️

If making Italian subs were an olympic event, this would be the medal podium according to all of your votes!

Gold: Belsito's Deli
Silver: Regatta Deli
Bronze: Palma's Bakery & Café Sorrento

We’ve already shared the full rankings of your favorite Central Mass Italian sub spots 🥪 based on all your votes (scroll to see it again ⬇️), but we just had to compare your top-3 head-to-head for ourselves. Here’s what we ordered at each place:

Belsito’s: “Famous Italian”
It’s famous for a reason! We’ve featured this sandwich a few times already, so if you want more details check out our previous posts! Salami, ham, capicola. Keep in mind - limited hours, cash only, call-in only, drive-thru pickup at Belsito’s.

Regatta: “Loaded Regatta”
Regatta can be quite polarizing. We have one group of people that loves it “hands down” - a very large group mind you, considering Regatta placed second in the voting. Another group is overwhelmed by the amount of bread and underwhelmed by the variety of meats (ham, salami) in their flagship sandwich the “Regatta Club”. We are here to bring both groups of people together by telling you about a whiteboard special, the “Loaded Regatta”! We attempted to order the Regatta Club with pickles and hots and were upsold to the “loaded” version. In addition to pickles and hots, this one also adds capicola and pepperoni (to the ham and salami), which doubles the variety of meats and notably improves the bread-to-meat ratio! Beware, the loaded version comes toasted, so if you’re not into that, just let them know.

Palma’s: “Calabrese Soppresatta”
We’ve had Palma’s “Italiano” sandwich before, which features capicola, ham, and salami. Since we sprang for the upgrade at Regatta, we decided to check out the upgraded Italian from Palma’s called the “Calabrese Soppresatta”. This sandwich features prosciutto crudo, capicola, mortadella, and soppresatta. The quality of the meats and freshness of the bread made this one our favorite of the three subs we tried!

Don’t forget to scroll ⬇️ to see the full rankings based on your votes. If you want to see a map 🗺 of all the top-spots or an even longer list of the runners-up, head back to our previous post!

Let us know which of these places are next on your list to check out!

The official results are in from our Central Mass Italian sub cookoff! 🥪 We announced yesterday that Belsito’s Deli was the most recommended, but now we want to share our handy guide we’ve put together based on all the voting results. 🗳

The guide starts with a ranked list of your top recommended spots. Congrats to all 17 delis, sub shops, bakeries, pizzerias, and markets that are making your favorite Italians!

In addition to your votes, we wanted to allow some guest experts to weigh in on the matter. These guys are local Italian sub connoisseurs and we’re so thankful they were each willing to share their top-3 spots. Thank you Mike Hsu (see ) and Gabriel Rollins! We’ve highlighted their expert picks in green in the chart and maps. Pay special attention to where their top picks align, also falling within your top-10…we’re looking at you Palma's Bakery & Café Sorrento and Tom's Deli!

Make sure to scroll past the first chart for:
⬇️ Maps of the top recommendations
⬇️ An additional 20 recommendations
⬇️ A compilation of your feedback

While we’re always curious to see who comes out on top, we’re most excited to discover new places we haven’t tried yet. We’ve been to 6 of the top recommendations, so still have some work to do! If you think you’ve already found the best, try a couple other spots on this list and see if your go-to still holds up. Remember, if it’s someone’s favorite, it could become your new favorite someday too!

Don’t forget to:

🔖 SAVE this post for future reference!

📨 SHARE this post with your friends and family!

💬 COMMENT below with your feedback!

➕ LIKE our page to keep up with other Central Mass cookoffs and see other handy food guides like this one!

We had a blast with this cookoff and can’t wait for the next one! Thanks so much for voting!

All votes have been counted and it’s time to announce the winner of our Italian sub cookoff! Stayed tuned this week because we will be announcing the top-3 tomorrow and will release our Italian sub guide on Thursday!

We counted over 600 of your votes for this contest, and the top-recommended spot for Italian subs in Central Mass, with 16% of your votes is…Belsito's Deli in Worcester! 🥪

Their website states, “Since opening in 1997, we have continuously been voted #1 deli in Central MA by MassLive, Yelp, TripAdvisor”. Well, you’ve all continued to show your love for this deli in our virtual cookoff as well!

We’ve had Belsito’s “Famous Italian grinder” a couple times now and can confirm it’s top-notch. The sandwich, which comes in one size, features salami, ham, capicola, and provolone. They ask if you want it with lettuce/tomatoes/onions and we’ve also been adding pickles and hots. Of all the subs we’ve had recently, Belsito’s has the darkest and strongest flavored dressing, which seems to be balsamic vinegar. The vinegar intermingled with the hots is a great combo and a perfect compliment to the overall flavor! 🔥 The bread is fresh and has a distinct crustiness, which is the way we like it. Some sub shops are heavy on the meat, some are heavy on the bread, but Belsito’s has a great ratio of bread-to-meat-to-toppings.

If you haven’t been yet and decide to check it out, there are a few things to keep in mind:

*Cash only
*Phone orders only
*Convenient pick-up at drive-thru window
*Closed Saturday & Sunday
*Check website for hours
*Address: 305 Plantation St. Worcester

Check back with us tomorrow as we reveal the top-3 vote getters and compare their subs!

***VOTING IS CLOSED***

LAST CALL FOR VOTES! If you haven’t let us know you’re favorite spot in Central Mass to grab an Italian sub yet, do it now in the comments. You have until the end of the day today (Sunday)!

Thank you all so much for all the votes this week. It’s been a blast! We’ve discovered some great new spots based on your recommendations and are excited to tally up all the votes next week!

Pictured here is the “Nicolino Grande” from Napoli Italian Deli & Catering in Shrewsbury! This thing was big, the bread was fresh, and the hots were plentiful.

***VOTING IS CLOSED***

Three days left to vote for your favorite Italian subs in Central Mass! Drop your vote in the comments of any of our posts this week.

Two of the most important factors in determining the best Italian sub are the freshness of the bread and the quality of the meats. Palma's Bakery & Café Sorrento nails both of these factors! Bread is baked fresh daily and the Italian meats used are top-notch. Their standard “Italiano” sandwich, pictured here, features capicola, ham, and genoa salami. They also have what they refer to as an “upgraded Italian” called the “Calabrese Soppresatta” featuring prosciutto crudo, capicola, mortadella, and soppresatta.

If you’ve saved room after eating, do yourself a favor and grab some cannolis. If you didn’t save room, then bring a box of them home!

***VOTING IS CLOSED***

If you haven’t cast your vote yet for your favorite ITALIAN SUBS in CENTRAL MASS, go ahead and do it now in the comment section!

We’ve been trying lots of different subs lately and there’s no better way to do it than AT THE SAME TIME! We scrambled around the city and picked up subs from three places we hadn’t tried yet: Bushel 'N Peck - East Mountain St, D'ERRICO'S MARKET, and Belsito's Deli.

When it came to ordering we took the following approach: We made no special requests. If they didn’t ask questions, we just got the sub as-is. If they asked if we wanted a certain topping, we always answered yes. If they asked an either/or question we always defaulted to the most authentic Italian option based on our judgement.

Time to compare and contrast with some superlatives across these three!

Belsitos: Best bread-to-meat-to-toppings ratio, crustiest bread (in a good way!), most flavorful oil/vinegar (think it was balsamic?)

D’Errico’s: Softest bread, highest number of different meats (4), strongest provolone flavor

Bushel ‘N Peck: Widest loaf of bread, highest pile of meat, least amount of oil/vinegar

Let’s talk sandwich composition now!

All three subs featured salami and ham. Bushel ‘N Peck used mortadella, while Belsito’s and D’Errico’s used capicola. D’Errico’s also added pepperoni for an extra kick.

Belsito's: One size (full loaf)
They asked lettuce, tomatoes, onions? - Yes
They asked pickles, hots? - Yes
Came with oil/vinegar and provolone

D’Errico’s: Small (half) or Large (full)? - Large
They asked oil/vinegar or mayo? - oil/vinegar
They asked provolone or American? - provolone
They asked what toppings? - L, T, O, pickles, banana peppers

Bushel ‘N Peck: One size (half loaf)
No questions asked, came with lettuce, tomato, pickles, provolone, oil/vinegar

If you’ve made it this far down in the caption, you deserve to know how we’d rank the three of these. Coincidentally the picture orders them as we’d rank them, with Belsito’s on top!

***VOTING IS CLOSED***

Introducing our first virtual cookoff of 2022…ITALIAN SUBS! 🥪 Vote for your favorite spots in CENTRAL MASS to grab an Italian sandwich right in the comments of any of our posts or stories this week through Sunday, January 16th.

We’re super excited about this cookoff because this is a fiercely debated food category. For those unaware of the debate, let us suggest a crash course in Worcester-area Italian subs:

1️⃣ Read the This Week in Worcester article from back in 2019 detailing Gabriel Rollins' quest for the best Italian grinder in the city. https://thisweekinworcester.com/poll-whos-got-the-best-italian-grinder-in-worcester/

2️⃣ Listen to the Food & Convo podcast titled “The Great with Mike Hsu” from 6/25/21. Catch the first 15 minutes of the conversation with Mike Hsu.

3️⃣ Check out the Worcester Eats Facebook group and do a search for “Italian sub” or “Italian grinder”. Read some comments and take in all the enthusiasm and glorious shade.

Let the ITALIAN SUB COOKOFF begin!

💬 COMMENT to vote! We won’t double count votes for the same place, but feel free to vote for multiple different places if you’d like, but keep it limited to your top recommendations.

👍 LIKE this post to make sure as many people see it as possible!

📨 SHARE this post with your friends and family so they can vote too!

➕ LIKE our page so you can see the final results and vote in future cookoffs!

🏷 TAG us or use the hashtag if you have any Italian sub photos to share!

We can’t wait to compile a ranked list of all your top local recommendations 🥪 just as we’ve done in the past for ice cream🍦cider donuts 🍩 and pizza 🍕 If you haven’t seen those handy guides yet, scroll down a bit in our feed and check out those charts.

A look back at our top posts of 2021! Thanks for a great year and we look forward to holding more virtual cookoffs in 2022!

We held three cookoffs this year, collecting your favorite recommendations across Central Mass for ice cream,🍦cider donuts, 🍩 and pizza! 🍕

Based on your favorite posts this year, you most enjoyed our winner reveals, 🏆 cookoff guides, 📊 and food comparisons ⚖️

Congrats again to some of your top recommended spots in 2021!
🍦 1. Rota Spring Farm Ice Cream
🍦 2. Cherry Hill Ice Cream
🍩 1. Breezeland Orchards
🍩 2. Davidian's Farm
🍕 1. I Love Frankie's, Worcester's Best Pizza
🍕 2. Volturno Pizza

We’re kicking off the new year with a new cookoff coming next week! 🥪🥪🥪 What cookoffs do you want to see in 2022?

Looking to extend the holiday cheer? Check out Amarante's Winter Wonderland in northern CT! It’s roughly 35 minutes south of Worcester and much closer if you live in the bottom half of Central Mass. Their 1800 Christmas lights are on for your enjoyment all the way through New Years! There’s no entry fee, but check out their donation center if you have the means to chip in.