Restaurant Review
Herbie's Herbie’s: A Worcester Landmark Bernie Whitmore
Herbie’s is Worcester. Pre-Renaissance Worcester, that is. Herbie’s is a living artifact of the city’s Medieval age: the town I first encountered decades ago. A place where thrift trumped trendy and townsfolk pinched pennies so hard that only Spag’s Supply had figured out how to pry them loose. Anything new and shiny was automatically suspect. Lest I sound as if I’m setting the stage for negativity; Relax! Dinner at Herbie’s is as comfortable and welcoming as 24 | Worcester Medicine March/April 2020
your favorite pair of jeans and those sneakers that fit perfectly. The staff are begrudgingly friendly in a way that makes you seek their approval; seat yourself ! I know what you want to drink… enough with all the questions! The place is divided into bar and dinner tables. The décor is kind of roadhouse, but without the sinister milieu; no one seems to have the energy left for acting up. Smokers form a queue on the shallow ramp leading to the front door. Inside, an honor system prevails that anticipates the next available table and who’s in place to get it. Once seated, it’s time to scan the tri-fold menu that’s laminated so stiff it slaps closed like a trap when you let go of it. It mostly lists salads, burgers and sandwiches. What’s really interesting is the full-page, single-spaced sheet of the day’s dinner specials – tilted toward seafood dishes. While prices aren’t crazy-cheap, they’re low enough that it’s natural to suspect an onslaught of high school cafeteria fishstick dinners. But as any customer knows, that’s not Herbie’s.
