Worcester Magazine October 25 - 31, 2018

OCTOBER 25 - 31, 2018 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

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Worcester’s Culinary Legacy From The El Morocco to deadhorse hill

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‘We’re not slut shaming’: Venus Flytrap Comedy hits Ralph’s: Comedians Jacq the Stripper and Rachel Green met in the drab backroom of a comedy school. Disenfranchised with the male-dominated comedy and entertainment industries, they set out to create something in their own mold. 23 Worcester’s Quintessential Steakhouse Experience: The One Eleven is the middle child, teetering between its uptight older brother and its breezy younger sister. The One Eleven is always agreeable, never a risk taker. 30

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in this issue O C T O B E R 25 - 31, 2018 • V O L U M E 44 I S S U E 9

the cover

Worcester’s Culinary Legacy: From The El Morroco to deadhorse hill Story on page 12 Naphie Samara of The El Morroco and Jared Forman of deadhorse hill send off a “chef ’s kiss” over Forman’s plated hummus.

Photo by Elizabeth Brooks, Design by Kimberly Vasseur

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O CT O B E R 25 - 31, 2018 WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Find us on Facebook.com/worcestermag Twitter @worcestermag Instagram: Worcestermag

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news DA Joe Early, challenger Blake Rubin square off in debate BILL SHANER

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he first and likely only debate between District Attorney Joe Early Jr. and challenger Blake Rubin earlier this week saw heated exchanges on criminal justice issues and more than a few personal attacks.

As could be expected based on the tenor of his campaign, Rubin chose the Alli Bibaud arrest report scandal as the first shot in his opening statement, saying Early was called on to resign by the Telegram & Gazette, referred to the state Ethics Commission and sued by two officers involved in the scandal.

“Between the two of us, who do you trust?” he said to the crowd of about 300 at a Worcester State University auditorium.

Early, speaking after Rubin, focused on his record. Under his watch, violent crime, crime in general and juvenile crime are all down, he said, crediting the relationships his office has built with police departments. He also touted the $1.3 million invested back into the community from drug forfeiture money and work to treat addiction as a medical issue, not a criminal one.

It didn’t take long for the debate to get personal. In the exchange following the first question – on what the candidates would do for survivors of violent crimes – Rubin said Early hasn’t handled many cases by himself. Later in the back and forth, Early fired back. He said a woman he talked to on the campaign trail said she was voting for Early because Rubin “screwed up” her case.

The remark provoked cheers and laughter from the crowd.

District Attorney Joe Early Jr., left, and challenger Blake Rubin at Worcester State University debate.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

Rubin quickly countered, saying it was a lie. He followed by saying the majority of people he talked to on the campaign trail didn’t know who Joe Early was and that before he won the District Attorney seat, he was “barely a defense attorney.”

“All you ever did was ask for a deal,” he said.

The comment provoked a similar response from the crowd as Early’s barb earlier in the exchange.

The pair sparred in such a way throughout the debate, trading accusations and personal attacks.

Rubin attempted to frame Early as a politician without much ex-

perience as a lawyer. Early tried to frame Rubin as a disgruntled former employee running a negative campaign that exploited the victims of tragedies. The personal attacks boiled to a head when moderators posed the question of the Alli Bibaud arrest report scandal directly to the candidates.

Early said he redacted parts of the police report because if they were ever found, it would lead to a campaign of public shaming and media sensationalism that runs counter to the goal of treating addicts with dignity.

“When I saw that police report, C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 6

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Gas scare spooks residents in Quinsigamond Village BILL SHANER

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ouncilors are asking for answers after an issue with a natural gas line led to service outage and safety checks along the main drag of Quinsigamond Village this week.

On Monday afternoon, Eversource shut gas service to about 150 houses along Greenwood Street by Greenwood Park and, with the assistance of police, checked on individual houses.

An Eversource spokeswoman said on Wednesday morning the trouble was caused by a spell of cold weather as the system transi-

tions between the summer system and cold weather system. The spell of cold weather caused business and commercial heating systems in the area to ramp up early. The combination of high demand and transition between systems caused the company to temporarily shut down service, according to a statement from the spokeswoman.

For those in the area, it was a frightful sight, said At-Large Councilor Khrystian King, especially in the wake of the natural gas disaster in Lawrence and Andover. At Tuesday night’s City Council meeting, King asked the city manager for a report from Eversource on

The stretch of Greenwood Street affected by the gas shutoff Monday.

JOSHUA LYFORD

what happened. He said the area has had gas line problems in the past, including stretches of limited service last winter.

“I’d really like to know what’s going on,” King said. “People were scared, and I’d like to be able to provide that to people.”

Mayor Joe Petty, accepting the motion, said the city may put something about the incident

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my head exploded,” he said.

Rubin accused him of acting unethically to do a friend a political favor. He said the report was already impounded, so there was no need to take any further action to keep it from the public eye.

Early accused Rubin of “continuing to drag that family through the mud” by making it a campaign issue.

Issues discussed during the debate ranged from bail and sentencing reform, diversion for drug

addicts, the office’s internal hiring practices and policy with respect to federal immigration authorities and the death penalty.

On bail reform, Rubin accused Early of locking up too many people for minor offenses while not being strong enough on violent criminals with long records.

He promised to be more lenient with minor crimes and tougher on violent crimes. Early touted his jail diversion program, which has taken thousands out of the court system for what would be petty crimes.

On the issue of diversity among

attorneys in the DA’s office, Early conceded he hasn’t been able to find and retain enough candidates of color, despite efforts to recruit at law schools.

“We’ve had a hard time with that,” he said.

Rubin accused him of creating a culture unfriendly to attorneys of color, and said other district attorneys in the state have much more diverse offices.

When asked whether candidates would support a return of the death penalty to Massachusetts, Rubin said he would, but only in the case of those found to

murder police officers, and only if it can be proven beyond all doubt.

Early said he wouldn’t support the death penalty under any circumstance. The death penalty is final, he said, and there are plenty of historical circumstances of seemingly sure convictions overturned years later, especially for men of color.

On how the office deals with immigration authorities, Early said his office doesn’t inquire about immigration status and said the diversion program can also divert people from deportation proceedings.

Given his chance to weigh in on the issue, Rubin chose instead to attack the diversion program, saying there’s little public information available about it or on how drug forfeiture money is spent. He said he would work to make the numbers public and easily accessible if elected.

Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-767-9535 or at wshaner@ worcestermag.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bill_Shaner.

1,001 words

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ELIZABETH BROOKS

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news Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitor Center to open BILL SHANER

Inside the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitors Center.

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GAS SCARE

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ond Village neighborhood all of my life, I have seen our neighborhoods transform through effective partnerships and determination,” said 16th Worcester District state Rep. Dan Donahue. “We still take pride in our industrial heritage and its place in history as one of the anchors of the Industrial Revolution.”

The center, he said, will encourage economic activity as well as it brings people out to explore the area.

trance to the Blackstone Gateway Park, which features a half mile of walking and biking paths that weave along and over the Blackstone River. The $26-million project has been in the works for many years, and required state, federal and local funding.

“Having lived in the Quinsigamment assisted via some detail work, but according to department spokesman Kerry Hazelhurst, Eversource was leading the operation. Hazelhurst said he was told the issue was a drop in line pressure that posed no danger, but the utility responded out of caution.

Bill Shaner can be reached at 508-767-9535 or at wshaner@ worcestermag.com. Follow him on Twitter @Bill_Shaner.

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on the website. Speaking with Worcester Magazine by phone after the meeting, King expanded on the issue.

“It was pretty intense for people,” he said. ”People were coming home from work, police were trying to get into houses with the gas company.”

George Russell, district councilor for the area, said the issue was a dip in pressure, possibly due to a gas leak in the area. Any trouble with natural gas is concerning, he said, especially after the incident in Lawrence. But, he said, the issue that caused the fires in Lawrence was a spike in pressure, not a dip.

The Worcester Police Depart-

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he new Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitor Center — a gateway to both the new Blackstone Heritage Park and the south side of the city — opens this weekend.

A ribbon cutting on Saturday at 9 a.m. will be followed by a celebration from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., including tours of both the center and the park.

The visitors center at 3 Paul Clancy Way includes interactive exhibits and sculptures within a 4,000-square-foot exhibit hall as well as a 6-acre outdoor component. It also contains a 64-seat hall for theater or classroom space.

“This state-of-the-art facility will be a connecting hub for the newly-created Blackstone River Valley National Historical Park, important state parks in both Massachusetts and Rhode Island, and the Blackstone River Bikeway,” explained Devon Kurtz, acting executive director for BHC, and project coordinator for the exhibits at the center. “The exhibits explore the Valley’s enduring legacy of innovation and invention; immigration, ethnicity and cultural traditions; transportation history; and changes to architecture and landscapes.”

The center serves as the en-

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worcesteria

IT’S A THING: Early voting is a real thing and it’s a very good real thing

actually. I did it on Monday. It took five minutes and now, if I wasn’t a reporter, I wouldn’t even have to worry about Election Day, which is pure bliss. I’m not the only one to take advantage. According to the City Clerk’s Office, by mid-morning Wednesday, there have been 1,582 voters. Pretty good. Here’s how it works: there’s one polling location open per day, and it rotates throughout the city. It doesn’t matter where you’re registered, you can go to that one place. Today, you can go to Shaw’s Supermarket at 68 Stafford St. Tomorrow, you can go to the Worcester State University polls. On Saturday, 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., you can go to Shaws again, or on Sunday, same hours, you can go to the Senior Center or Worcester State. Ah, voting on a weekend. The way it should literally always be for every election in this country.

A CONSPIRACY! This is a weird one, but hey, it’s been a weird election season hasn’t it? Tracy Lovvorn, Republican challenger to US Congressman Jim McGovern, is calling on her supporters to report McGovern to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for his involvement in the migrant caravan through Central America. The logic goes that McGovern joined Somerville Mayor Joe Curtatone on a trip to Honduras and El Salvador in August... so obviously he did the caravan. Duh. Here’s how she put it in a post on her campaign Facebook page: “Either he didn’t know this invasion was being organized, which proves irresponsible negligence, or he did know and said and did nothing – which proves something even worse.”

Honduras and El Salvador are big places, and you’d have to think very, very highly of McGovern to believe he should know literally everything that happens there. Further, she said conspiratorially that the timing of the caravan with the midterm elections is not coincidental. That feels weird to me because the only people who feel any way about this caravan other than sadness are the conservatives scared to death of it. In the post, she listed the numbers for all of his offices and the number for the Boston FBI office. So anyone at those offices getting InfoWars type calls about McGovern, now you know. Politics in 2018, baby. Best of times.

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CONCEPTUALIZE THIS: Am I the only one sort of terrified by what the

state might come up with to “fix” Kelley Square? Well, last night, after the print deadline for this column, they unveiled some of those ideas.

As I muse ahead of the meeting, I’m nervous that any new introduction – which could include lights, a roundabout or street redirections – could totally throw off the weird Worcester magic of that infamous intersection. And it’s really important to stress the point that this is being expedited for the new ballpark, and as such won’t include any improvements to the I-290 interchange, which by itself accounts for 140 of the 400 reported crashes between 2013-2016. Because that involves the feds, so it would take too long. Said it once, I’ll say it again: Don’t tread on Kelley Square.

WHAT ABOUT POT THO? Very quiet on that front of late. Lest we forget, Worcester has yet to issue a community host agreement (the wonky and sort of sketchy way cities and towns give approval to prospective pot businesses while getting more money out of them under the new law) to a non-medical business. The way the city has chosen to do it, they took applications from every business hoping to open in Worcester. Now, they’ll evaluate them all, and pick the best ones. They stopped taking applications in late August – Aug. 24, if I’m remembering correctly – and there’s really been not a peep since. Of course, the main guy at City Hall handling pot is also on the PawSox beat, so perhaps we can give him something of a pass on this. But one of the main themes of this column – from the city website redesign to the PawSox negotiations to pot shops – has been unreasonably demanding more of Jake Sanders. Why Bill Shaner, reporter stop now? Let’s go, Jake. Let’s get these wshaner@worcestermag.com Twitter: @Bill_Shaner pot shops open.

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the beat

Actress Rosie O’Donnell is set to marry the Worcester police officer she had been dating for some time. According to

People Magazine, O’Donnell has engaged Elizabeth Rooney, a 33-year-old member of the Worcester Police Department and member of the mounted patrol unit. A wedding date has not yet been set, O’Donnell told People, but she called Rooney a wonderful woman.

Moody’s, the credit rating agency, is feeling good about the first installment of the 100.8 million loan the city is taking out to bring

the PawSox to town. The agency rated the $27.5 million installment a high quality loan on the basis of a strong local economy. But the agency found that the bond also adds risks to the city’s credit including a diminished capacity to take on future borrowing for other infrastructure projects.

A proposal supported by the Worcester State University administration to freeze student feeds for the 2019-2020 school year is en route

to a WSU Board of Trustees vote. Funding increases from the state have made the freeze possible, according to the admininstration, and those savings should be passed on to students. The proposed freeze comes as tuition has steadily increased year over year at the university.

STEM Career Night at the Worcester Boys and Girls Club over the weekend drew youngsters and area professionals to the club to show what it is people in science, technology, engineering and math-based fields do. Professionals from detectives to environmental scientists touted the benefits of pursuing education in STEM fields.

Researchers at Worcester Polytechnic Institute have set their sights on the diminishing population of honeybees. In a study focusing on wild bees, researchers have found neonicotinoid pesticides may be contributing to the decline. WPI researchers found similar effects in honeybees and wild bumblebees.

Panelists discussed the future of Union Station at an event put on by the Worcester Regional Chamber of Commerce last Friday. The panelists called for more storefront development within the building and increased commuter rail service, as well as work to keep the building structurally safe.

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Worcester’s fall leaf collection program will begin Monday, Nov. 5.

The program alligns with the cycle of trash days, and the department will first collect leaves on the Wednesday trash day. After Wednesday, the department will work its way to the Monday trash day section of the city, then Thursday, then Tuesday, then Friday.

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Seven people were momentarily displaced by a furnace fire that broke out in Spencer Sunday night. The fire, emanating from a furnace, damaged a mobile home on Smithville Road. There were no injuries.

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Warding off gentrification

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n a story earlier this month for Worcester Magazine, reporter Bill Shaner tackled the elephant in the room — or, city, in this case — when he looked at whether Worcester risks gentrification as it goes through a boom not seen in recent years.

Shaner focused specifically on the Green Island neighborhood where a multi-million-dollar development plan will see the construction of a new minor league baseball park to house the Worcester Red Sox by 2021, along with hotels, retail space and new market-rate apartments. It is a blue-collar area of the city populated by tripledecker apartment buildings, local bars and small businesses.

The ballpark and arrival of the soon-to-be-former Pawtucket Red Sox are seen by many as a largely positive addition to the city; not something that was needed, but one that could be the proverbial cherry on top of the bowl of ice cream that is the surge of development going on in Worcester.

Could it, however, have a longterm negative impact on the area? What about the addition of higher-priced apartments and new development in City Square? Could that lead to the displacement of lower-income, less-advantaged residents?

Could, in fact, the very things contributing to a return to Worcester’s glory days end up

72 Shrewsbury St. Worcester, MA 01604 worcestermag.com Editorial 508.767.9527 editor@worcestermag.com Sales 508.767.9530 sales@worcestermag.com President Paul M. Provost Publisher Kathleen Real-Benoit

leading it back to more recent times of struggle and economic stagnancy?

It is a conversation that must be had as the city continues to turn the wheels of progress forward. Without question, today’s Worcester is not the Worcester of 10 years ago – and in overwhelmingly positive ways. Crime is down. Exciting new technologies are taking hold. An arts scene that always beat in the underground is bursting to life in the form of new ventures that bring creative expression to new levels. Transportation, while by no means perfect, is nonetheless miles ahead of where it was, with an airport once on life support about ready to welcome in a third commercial airline and Washington Square’s Union Station seemingly on the verge of completing a turnaround once considered a pipe dream.

As those wheels turn, however, they will put in motion other realities that will challenge the city to maintain what it already has as it cultivates what is new.

Gentrification is one of those realities, and it does not have to be a foregone conclusion.

Making sure the city maintains enough affordable housing, finding ways to put residents to work, ensuring neighborhoods are not splintered by new development, encouraging and assisting folks in becoming homeowners, holding onto valuable public resources such

Editor Walter Bird Jr. Culture Editor Joshua Lyford Reporter Bill Shaner Photographer Elizabeth Brooks Contributing Writers Stephanie Campbell, Sarah Connell, Janice Harvey, Jim Keogh, Jessica Picard, Jim Perry, Khrystina Reardon, Corlyn Voorhees Director of Creative Services Don Cloutier Creative Director Kimberly Vasseur Ad Director Helen Linnehan Media Consultant Diane Galipeau Media Coordinator Madison Friend

as libraries, parks and schools – all are enemies of gentrification.

They are, perhaps, not the only solutions – nor are they pursuits the city is not already taking to various degrees.

The conversation has been started. Now it must continue, with careful attention paid as development in CitySquare continues, the new ballpark comes closer to fruition and other new

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The projects come online. All will continue to position Worcester as a desirable place to live, work and play. With them come potential ramifications, such as rising rents and displacement.

Keeping the conversation going, and more importantly planning with due diligence, will help Worcester stand poised to ward off gentrification.

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opinion Hey Lady! Can I ask letter David LeBoeuf ‘a positive you a question?

JANICE HARVEY

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ambassador’ for South High To the Editor: As alumni of South High and former classmates of Democratic 17th Worcester state representative candidate David LeBoeuf, we were particularly upset to see the mailing sent out by Republican candidate Paul Fullen featuring an image of our school and an endorsement by the acting principal Jeff Creamer.

During our time at South, the teachers, administrators and our fellow students created and maintained a culture where diversity, respect, kindness and integrity were core values. South High students continue to represent some of the best of what Worcester has to offer: cultural representation from around the world, academic

distinction, athletic success and excellence in the arts. As a student at South High, David embodied these values through his passionate engagement with the school and the community. He continues to be a positive ambassador for our school as a candidate for the 17th District seat.

By utilizing our school’s image and endorsement from the school’s leadership in his mailings, in violation of state ethics guidelines, Paul Fullen has demonstrated a lack of integrity that reflects poorly on him as an alumnus and a candidate.

Grace Sliwoski, Class of 2006 Worcester

Letters to the Editor Policy Letters to the editor are a great way to share your thoughts and opinions with thousands of readers and online viewers each week. There is no word limit, but we reserve the right to edit for length. If handwritten, write legibly - if we cannot read it, we are not running it. A full name and town or city of residence are required. Please include an email address or phone number for verification purposes only. Please note that letters will run as space allows. Send them to Worcester Magazine, 72 Shrewsbury St., Worcester, MA 01604 or by email to editor@worcestermag.com.

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Jayne Mansfield and Marilyn Monroe did not have a blast as blondes. I have enjoyed intermitdid it. tent periods of fun as a blonde over I spent three hours in the the years, and now I want to see hair stylist’s chair and came what it’s like to have white hair. out with white locks. Why? Cliff Goodwin, guitarist extraordiBecause I’ve always loved the naire, always seems happy and his way women (and men) look with snow-cap hair. It’s so much prettier hair is a marvelous shock of white. than the dullness of gun-metal gray Recently, I listened to his new CD locks I inherited. For years, I’ve col- and his considerable talents have ored my hair to hide the inevitable, ripened into something wonderful; I’m thinking his hair has something the encroaching signs of age that to do with it. only dye can obliterate.

I’ve learned something quite inMore and more I found myself teresting in the days following the looking into the mirror, only to Big Change. White hair apparently find my mother’s face — and hair makes one approachable, a side ef— looking back at me. I loved my fect I’m not thrilled to discover. My mother, but not her hair. It was a color not known to man or nature, old spiky yellow hair had a certain and my greatest fashion fear was I’d cactus quality that served me well, eventually sport that same strange like garlic hanging around one’s shade of gold. I’d already grown out neck to ward off vampires. Now I my signature spikes when I decided look, God help me, pleasant! Kind!

Knowledgeable! I was unprepared to go white. As Allen Fletcher, former Worcester Magazine owner for this phenomenon during my first outing to TJ Maxx after the and legendary champion of all things Canal District, often said — hair change. Three different women and a man spoke to me about usually when something unpopuclothing choices they were making lar was coming down the pike: and about the coat I was trying on “Change is good.” in the mirror.

We shall see.

I was going for the “Devil Wears In my youth as a born brunette, Prada” look, not the sage, sweet I longed to know if blondes really neighbor. I’m going to have to work had more fun. That’s what the ads on my scowl. It’s bad enough my told me, and I assumed it to be kids think I have the answers to true. I monkeyed with what my everything including medical emermother called my stick-straight “shit-brickle brown” hair obsessive- gencies, food prep, child care, polily. The late 70’s and early 80’s trend tics and weather. They think I’m a toward perms saw me burning my combination of Bill Nye the Science Guy, Mary Poppins and Julia Child. scalp to achieve what amounted Sometimes I have the answer. to the Harpo Marx effect. Anyone Other times I shout: “How the Hell who fell for this style disaster still winces at the family photos where do I know?” Maybe I should try that at least one woman looks like Rich- line on approaching strangers who mistake me for a smart person, ard Simmons.

When it comes to hair, I’ve never simply because my hair is white. gotten it quite right. My WorcesOr white, for ter Magazine photo for the past now.

25 years chronicled my constant attempts to find just the right style and shade. One pic that ran in the ’90s prompted my former editor Walter Crockett to say I looked a lot like Betty Crocker. Not the look I was going for.

I don’t know if blondes really do Janice Harvey have more fun. I can think of a few who didn’t — Mary Jo Kopechne, contributing writer

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COURTESY OF PAUL SAMARA

Worcester’s C

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From The El Morocc

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ELIZABETH BROOKS

ulinary Legacy:

co to deadhorse hill SARAH CONNELL

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or decades, celebrities flocked to Worcester. Frank Sinatra, Rodney Dangerfield, Bette Midler, Al Pacino, and both of the Allman Brothers came to eat Naphie Samara’s hummus.

But if you’re reading this in hopes of learning her recipe, put the magazine down or click to another screen.

Some things are sacred.

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Samara is the last surviving member of the Aboody brood, the eight siblings who co-owned Worcester’s legendary El Morocco Restaurant, which opened in 1943.

Now in her late-90s, Samara recalls the restaurant with exceptional clarity. There was a dining room on every floor of the three decker at 73 Wall St., a kitchen in the basement and a potbelly stove that kept them warm in the winter. And there were the celebrities whose names still roll of her tongue in rapid succession.

We are sitting at Naphie Samara’s kitchen table in the Grafton Hill neighborhood of Worcester. Her son Paul Samara is pouring out glasses of water and promises to fill in the fuzzy details. I want to know what drew politicians, athletes, musicians and actors to The El Morocco for decades. He suspects it all began when the most respected tour managers and venue directors in the entertainment industry started sending performers after their gigs in Boston. What started

Naphie Samara makes her famous El Morocco salad.

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COURTESY OF PAUL SAMARA

feature as Worcester’s first brush with Middle Eastern cuisine, quickly became a renowned celebrity hangout.

“One night, when Nat King Cole came in with his family and his whole band, he gave my sister and me wrist watches for serving them,” Naphie Samara says, recalling the jazz pianist as a “perfect gentleman.”

“When Scott Hamilton and Kristi Yamaguchi would come to town, it was like I was going to see my brother and sister. There was a closeness with a lot of people,” adds Paul Samara.

In 1977, the operation moved to a larger space 50 yards away and The El Morocco’s dining room grew to fit 250, along with a function room for 300, a lounge for 150 and an outdoor terrace for 75.

“It was nothing to wait on a Friday or Saturday night for two or three hours to get a table,” Paul Samara says.

When I ask what set The El Morocco apart, he credits his mother’s cooking and his grandmother Helen’s recipes.

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Naphie Samara and her son Paul Samara.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

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“Seventy years ago, nobody knew anything about hummus,” he tells me.

The cuisine fascinated people.

School groups would even come to the restaurant for cultural field trips.

His mother asks if I enjoy hummus and I nod my head in the affirmative.

“I make it very nice. Very easy.

It’s so simple,” she says.

“Do you still cook?” I ask her.

“She still cooks everyday,” her son replies, “It’s killing her that I wouldn’t let her cook for you today, but I wanted her to focus on the conversation instead of the food.”

Naphie Samara doesn’t go out to eat very often anymore, but when she does, she enjoys sushi. It’s hard to dine out in Worcester without making comparisons to the restaurant that occupied her life’s work.

Paul Samara understands this better than almost anyone.

“They talk about today’s ‘hospitality,’ but it’s not the same type of hospitality,” he lamented. “You can go into a place and get a warm greeting and that kind of thing.

They say, ‘Here’s your table,’ but does the owner come over and sit with you to break bread? Does the owner ask you, ‘How are the kids?

Do you guys want to go bowling later?’ That kind of thing is lost.”

My mind races downtown to deadhorse hill, where just one week ago I was invited into the basement to observe the restaurant’s culinary team while they

Executive chef Jared Forman bites into an apple with his team displaying ingredients from the kitchen.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

feature not to say he isn’t interested. He still has a lot to learn about Worcester and he’s the first one to admit it.

His seasonal American restaurant is co-owned with business partners Sean Woods and Bert LaValley. It’s hard to believe the restaurant only opened its doors in the spring of 2016. That same year, over 40 other businesses obtained common victualer licenses, allowing them to cook, prepare and serve food in the city of Worcester. Some called it a renaissance, an accurate moniker if your only qualification is volume.

Of all the restaurants that emerged among an eruption of openings, the story worth telling has always been deadhorse hill. In fact, my editor thinks I write about them too much.

That said, I’ll bet my paycheck that, in a different time, there was someone writing about The El Morocco the way I write about deadhorse hill.

Much like The El Morocco’s emphasis on hospitality, deadhorse hill has grounded itself in human behavior.

Family meals for the staff are as focused on motivation, emotional intelligence and mortality as they are on drop lines and sidework. Forman is persistent that his kitchen puts out “real food,” rather than “convenient food,” and most importantly, that they are a team in every sense of the word.

“The number one environment that I loathe in restaurants is the animosity between front and back of the house,” he says, “That’s one of the reasons I wanted the kitchen open enough that we could see what’s going on out there and they can see what’s going on in here.”

Forman has worked at some of the most notable restauC O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 18

Shelley Knapp of Chimney Hill Farm in Petersham and Jared Forman of deadhorse hill inn Worcester discuss her Devon Beef Cattle.

SARAH CONNELL

stands up from his seat and says, “He’s not getting the recipes.”

I assure him that’s not what we’re after, though I can’t tell if he believes me. Naphi Samara shakes my hand and says again she’s going to cook for me. I have never been so excited about hummus in my entire life.

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ationally-renowned restaurants look different today. The face of sophistication has changed. The El Morocco will never be replicated. But I believe the secret ingredient that made it so fabulous is still alive in Worcester, and I suspect it’s at 281 Main St. deadhorse hill’s Executive Chef Jared Forman doesn’t know the story of The El Morocco, but that’s

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THE UNDERDOG HUSTLE

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prepped their own baba ganoush hummus. They had employed the Zahav technique, blitzing lemon juice and garlic for balance before adding sesame-rich tahini. They had emulsified the fat with water and then blended their chickpeas into a state of utter smoothness. I watched them fold the whole thing together along with a charred eggplant, cooked so far down it had become a soup inside of itself. The result was distinctly earthy and swept in smoke — without a doubt the most complex hummus I have ever tasted. Then again, I’ve never tried Naphie Samara’s recipe.

“Have you been to deadhorse hill?” I ask the Samaras. They haven’t.

Naphie Samara tells me she wants me to come back. She wants to cook for me. She wants to make me her world-famous hummus. I tell her I’d love to come by sometime with deadhorse hill’s Executive Chef Jared Forman. I have a feeling the two of them would have plenty to talk about.

Paul Samara looks skeptical. He

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rants in the country, including Per Se, momofuku noodle bar, momofuku ssäm bar, Marea, Gramercy Tavern and Strip T’s. Nevertheless, he considers himself an underdog.

“I guess I still have this momofuku mentality Dave [Chang] drilled into me,” Forman says, referring to the most recognizable contemporary figure in popular food culture and founder of the momofuku restaurant group, David Chang.

“There’s something I love that Dave used to say,” Forman

hesitates to add, “I don’t know if it was bullshit or not, but it doesn’t matter. It was always true to me and that’s what’s most important about it.

“Dave would say, ‘We’re not in the fanciest restaurant. We don’t have the finest china. We don’t have the best silverware. But you are working the grill tonight, and if your mise en place is the tightest in the city, and if you work the hardest, and if you care the most, then the best food in the city will be coming off of your station and be served at our restaurant tonight.”

Forman might be a long way from New York City these days, but Chang’s philosophy persists.

He realized early on at deadhorse hill that a lot of excellent produce from Central Mass farms was passing Worcester by in favor of serving bigger cities like Boston.

“Farmers are supposed to be farming. Cooks are supposed to be cooking. Who connects those two?” Forman finds himself asking.

That’s when he met Lynn Cheney.

Cheney operates a local food hub called Lettuce Be Local. For Forman, who grew up in Brooklyn,

Cheney became the strongest link between local farms and his kitchen. More than that, he noticed her generating a great deal of excitement around the seasonal produce available to the chefs she chose to work with. Lettuce Be Local started facilitating Forman’s relationships with farmers and delivering the goods deadhorse hill needed to elevate Worcester’s culinary expectations.

For many restaurants, this is a step back in time. Naphie Samara remembers getting fruit, vegetables, spices and meats from local purveyors when The El Morocco was in its heyday. Advances in refrigeration changed the way meat processing took place for outlets like Snider’s Dressed Beef in Washington Square, where The El Morocco got its meat. By the 1960s, the restaurant industry was moving further and further away from sustainable sourcing.

One of the things Forman has always loved the most about cooking is its connection to nature.

“Communities, families, and entire civilizations are built around food and the ability to sustain populations and provide variety and diversity. There is a deep psychological component to everything we do, from emotional connections to menu psychology to dealing with groups of people on an everyday basis,” he says.

Like the Aboodys before him, if Forman wanted to make money, he could do that; it would be more profitable to deliver a lesser quality. His heart is someplace else.

“We strive to sustain an economically-viable business whose ethos is not rooted in the bottom line, but instead in the happiness quotient of our guests and ourselves,” Forman says.

At times, it feels like he is carrying the weight of his entire team’s future on his shoulders. He wants more for Worcester.

An integral part of fulfilling this philosophy is that deadhorse hill’s cooks don’t get their pick of the supermarket; they use beautiful products that are available now and only now.

“You don’t get to choose what’s on the menu. You have to adapt.

It’s something I personally enjoy,” Forman says, adding, “I feel like it’s my job to show our cooks that I don’t get to decide when maitake mushrooms are in season.”

THE ANATOMY OF A DISH

I

’m sitting in the passenger seat of Jared Forman’s Jeep, looking out my window for maitake mushrooms on a Saturday morning. We are on Deadhorse Hill, a Cherry Valley incline where the Worcester Automobile Club held its annual “climb” from 1905-1911. Forman’s restaurant, deadhorse hill, was once the club’s headquarters.

“I don’t know if what we want is going to be here. But if you pay attention, you might find something you weren’t expecting,” Forman tells me.

He is wearing a green flannel shirt, rather than the white chef ’s jacket I have grown so accustomed to seeing him in.

“Do you know what a hen-ofthe-woods mushroom is?” he asks.

Before I can answer, he launches into further detail.

“The Latin name for the hen-ofthe-woods mushroom is Grifola frondosa. The Japanese name is ‘maitake,’ which means dancing mushroom. The Italian name is ‘signorina,’ which means lady,” he says, pausing to pull the vehicle off to the edge of the road where he scans a grove of fat, old dying oak trees.

Unsatisfied, he starts again and continues, “It’s one of the coolest mushrooms ever because there are not a ton of lookalikes that can be dangerous. So it’s like an entry level mushroom, but at the same time it’s one of the most choice edible mushrooms, and not just in my opinion.”

He stops the Jeep and parks at the end of someone’s driveway. A man, who introduces himself as Dan, is outside grilling despite the early hour. It takes him a minute to place Forman.

“Just checking for shroomies,” Forman says “Oh, you’re the chef,” Dan confirms.

“Last year the mushrooms on this property were prolific. Huge,” Forman tells me. He asks Dan if he has stopped into the restaurant yet.

“No, no. We always think about

feature it, but we never do,” Dan says.

Undeterred, Forman hands Dan a card and climbs back in the Jeep. We are headed to Chimney Hill in Petersham to meet farmer Shelley Knapp and there’s no time to waste.

When we arrive, we are greeted by ducks, dogs, roosters, goats, sheep and pigs. It takes us a few minutes to locate Knapp in the barn. She wears a pink camo cap with her long, straight ponytail pulled through the hole. She eyes my light canvas sneakers in favor of her black rubber boots.

Knapp picks up a baby rabbit and it lets out a shriek.

“That’s pretty dramatic,” she says to the creature cupped gently between her two hands. Forman asks her how big they’ll get and she points out a mama rabbit weighing in at 15 pounds.

“Eventually, they’ll all go outside,” she explains.

A gregarious dog and two stray goats have been tailing us since we arrived. Knapp motions to them

Jared Forman of deadhorse hill created this dish of meaty maitake mushrooms, raw pistachios, honey crisp apples, Chimney Hill steak, fresh mint leaves and baba ganoush hummus.

SARAH CONNELL

and says, “If a rabbit tries to escape and the dog runs it down, it will have a heart attack. One died in my arms on my first attempt at bringing them outside.”

We latch the door behind us and make our way out into a sprawling field. I begin understanding the problem with my sneakers when I step ankle deep into a pile of cow manure.

“How many people work here?” I ask Knapp.

“Mainly me,” she says.

She started in 2001 with four Devon Beef Cattle. “I still have one,” she says, “I’m hoping Jared will C O N T I N U E D O N PA G E 21

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feature

Clockwise from above: The Samara family from left, Naphie, Grace, Marion, Joe, John, Adele, Paul Sr., Butch, Rich.

Paul Sr. and family friend Arthur Fiedler of the Boston Pops.

The “new” El Morroco at 100 Wall St., Worcester.

Paul Samara Jr. with Arthur Fiedler.

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PHOTOS COURTESY OF PAUL SAMARA

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to “pick a base.” We return with banana leaves, eggplant, shiso and lychee gummies to snack on.

When we finally arrive back at deadhorse hill, Forman sets to work assembling a dish of meaty maitake mushrooms, raw pista-

building to take out and change the rugs. Everything had to be changed and fixed every few years,” he says.

Naphi Samara looks forlorn, saying, “It was awful to let it go.”

“There were eight hands in the kitty. Four sisters and four brothers. That’s a lot of different people.

Co-owners of deadhorse hill Sean Woods, right, and Jared Forman review the menu prior to dinner service.

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SARAH CONNELL

chios, honey crisp apples, Chimney Hill steak, fresh mint leaves and baba ganoush hummus. It takes him less than 20 minutes to make, but our whole day is bound up in a single plate. It’s a story I want to consume in more ways than one.

Before we leave to deliver our bag full of Dungeness crabs to simjang, Forman sweeps through deadhorse hill pointing out things that need to be done. Spots to be painted. Scuffs on the bar. A tempermental light fixture that is impossible to dust. He looks exhausted, and for all of Forman’s confidence, I can see his work is taking a toll.

LETTING GO

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hen I ask Paul Samara why The El Morocco had to close in 2000, he cites the expense.

“It cost a lot of money in the big

That’s a lot of chiefs,” he concludes.

With almost 700 seats to fill and nearly 60 years in business, the Aboody family said goodbye to The El Morocco. Even so, its legend endures nearly two decades later.

A certain generation longs for the days of The El Morocco, romanticizing its white linen tablecloths and famous clientele.

But I imagine in its infancy, The El Morocco appealed to the region’s most avant-garde eaters — the gastronomes willing to explore foreign cuisine, the bon vivants.

At deadhorse hill, you will find a sommelier sporting a “Worcester Dreaming” tee-shirt, an executive chef who venerates his farmers above his investors, and a maître d’ who was a rockstar in a former life.

Sophistication has evolved. In 2018, some of the most lauded celebrities are chefs themselves, fine dining means sourcing and serving the best ingredients, and the top restaurants celebrate real food over convenient food. The recipes are new; the sentiment is not. Worcester is back on top.

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financially for deadhorse hill, and also his newest venture, simjang honor her. She’s going in Novemon Shrewsbury Street. He explains ber.” the profit margins in restaurants Knapp lost two 18-year-old are not nearly as lofty as I have cows last winter, and she’s not probably imagined. about to let that happen again.

“It appears to me that people Forman wants to make sure he don’t understand that if I charge does her justice. He wants Knapp $10 for something, versus if I to try grain feeding “the old lady” charge $100 for something, I might for two months before she goes. make less money on the thing I Knapp sounds skeptical. charge $100 for,” he explains.

“I’ve always gone grass-fed and “Then, why bother with the grass-finished, as nature intended more expensive items?” I ask him. it,” she tells him.

I can tell I’ve hit a nerve.

I rub a 5-year-old cow named “Let’s say you wanted to try Hannah on the snout like a puppy. caviar and I say, ‘Okay, give me “I don’t want to ruin your $20.’ I will give you two chips with philosophy,” he tells her, “But the two little dots of caviar on them pinnacle is very rarely achieved and that’s it. Then, I’m asking mywith grass-finished.” self, ‘Did your experience quench Knapp promises to mull it over your thirst for caviar?’ And I feel and we make our way back toward like a lot of times that answer is the main house. Forman startles no. Caviar was expensive for me to a garter snake and it slithers out buy. So I’ll say, ‘Okay, I’d rather do between us. I back away into the a $60 caviar dish and really make garage. Inside, Knapp lifts a warm, you feel what the caviar experipulsing chick from its pen and I ence is supposed to be and not sell

PHOTO COURTESY OF PAUL SAMARA

as many.’ That’s value, you know? If you won’t get the full experience, it’s not worth it to me.”

Our quest feels endless. We stop at Bahnan’s International Marketplace for fatty pistachios, still soft and raw in their shells. We swing by the Asian Supermarket on Mill Street for live Dungeness crabs, shuffling in their tanks.

Forman nudges me to peek into a container of wriggling eels, each one far thicker in circumference than the garter snake at Chimney Hill. Every place we go, he scolds me for carrying my basket around the store with me, instructing me

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hold it close to my chest.

“This is the most incredible day.

Thank you both so much,” I tell them.

“Don’t get too attached, that’s a meat bird,” Forman says.

We head back by way of Tougas Farm in Northborough, where manager Kerrie Ward directs us on our quest to pick the juiciest honeycrisp apples. The farm is over 80 acres, but somehow she knows every inch of it. It’s well past noon now. I’m hungry and eager for Forman’s dish to take shape. We share a bag of warm cider doughnuts on our way to Worcester.

I ask how things are going

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Plating meals at the El Morroco

culture

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RACHEL LENA ESTERLINE

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

Three years ago, Rachel Green, left, and Jacq the Stripper started Venus Flytrap Comedy in New York City and on Saturday, Nov. 3, the sex-positive comedy show heads to Ralph’s Diner.

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‘We’re not slut shaming’: Venus Flytrap Comedy hits Ralph’s JOSHUA LYFORD

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omedians Jacq the Stripper and Rachel Green met in the drab backroom of a comedy school. Disenfranchised with the male-dominated comedy and entertainment industries, they set out to create something in their own mold. Three years ago, the pair began Venus Flytrap Comedy in New York City and on Saturday, Nov. 3, the sex-positive comedy show heads to Ralph’s Diner.

“We talk about our own experiences without shame. That’s kind of really powerful, I think,” Jacq the Stripper, real name Jacq Frances, said from the New York home she shares with her wife. “We’ve been shamed into hiding our sexuality and that’s really toxic. We try to undo that and talk candidly. It’s stand-up comedy, so we do it with joy and levity. We need that now.”

Frances is an entrepreneur in the truest sense of the term. A comedian and entertainer, Frances is also an artist. She has released comics, books, has her own line of sex-positive and sex work-related merchandise, and she continues work as a stripper.

“I have to do all that entrepreneurial stuff, that’s a mix of everything,” explained Frances. “I’m just trying to manage all of the things I have going on. It can be overwhelming, but I’m doing my best.”

Venus Flytrap is stand-up comedy and entertainment, but it also serves as a space for women and femmes that is not often found in the entertainment industry. That is by design.

“A lot of comedy shows, there are like five or six comics and they each do 10 minutes and most comedy shows, it’s five men and maybe one woman,” said Frances. “Those five men often, not always, but often, have shitty jokes about women.

You’re up there listening to this comedy as a woman waiting for this one comic you might relate to, but you have to withstand a lot of misogyny to enjoy the comedy show. That’s still very prevalent in comedy. A lot of Louis C.K.’s up there, even though he’s hibernating right now. There are a lot of people who really don’t make you feel very great, you aren’t laugh-

ing. Women come to our shows and feel like it’s entirely catered to them.”

The show itself is an exhilarating experience. For Frances and Green, it is an opportunity to both entertain and share experiences, but also to

allow for an extra layer of immersion and interaction with those who came to enjoy the show.

“One of the coolest things about doing Venus Flytrap,” said Frances, “is that a lot of women, mostly women,

Rachel Green, left, and Jacq the Stripper MARCO VASQUEZ

come up to us after the show and just feel very validated for being sexual people with agency and power and not the butt of some joke. We’re not slut-shaming, we’re doing the opposite. I think people feel really seen.”

Frances, who said entertaining is “kind of an addiction” and “definitely a rush,” has been entertaining audiences for years, whether as a comedian or as a stripper, but each of those spaces offer different experiences.

“I’ve been entertaining men as a stripper for like eight years,” she said.

“This show is for women. I’ve catered to the whims and fantasies and needs of men for a very long time, so this show is antithetical to what I’ve been doing. I love entertaining men, it’s great. This is a totally different context. This show is by women for women.”

Pinning a one-sentence explanation onto Venus Flytrap Comedy with Jacq the Stripper and Rachel Green is not easy. It’s a comedy show, there is music and it has been described as a party as much as a stand-up act, but one point Frances makes while speaking with Worcester Magazine is the experience should be filled with sex-positive joy.

“I try not to highlight the dark parts of the world with my comedy,” said Frances. “Not to negate that, but the whole attitude is pretty joyful.

It’s really powerful to bring joy in dark times. I’ve always said this and there will be some merch coming soon that says, ‘Celebration is an act of resistance.’ It’s bringing people together to have fun. The news is like a faucet of bullshit, we just turn it off for a minute. Not to pretend it’s not happening, but to lift people’s spirits and empower them to keep fighting.”

As for those on the fence about attending the Nov. 3 event at Ralph’s Diner, Frances says to approach it with a try anything attitude.

“You might hate it, but you might not,” she said. “That’s my message for trying anything new. You may as well try anything. Even when I tell people to try stripping, you’ve gotta just try it. You might hate it. The worst feeling is agonizing over whether you’ll enjoy something or whether you won’t, and what if you agonize for a long time and you hate it? You can walk out. But if you love it, you can stay and feel amazing. Try everything. Try Venus Flytrap.”

culture

Timberyard Brewing Company opens

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NATHAN FISKE/NATHAN FISKE PHOTOGRAPHY

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Timberyard Brewing Company opens in East Brookfield PHOTOS NATHAN FISKE/NATHAN FISKE PHOTOGRAPHY

JOSHUA LYFORD

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E

ast Brookfield welcomed a brand new craft brewery and taproom earlier this month, with Timberyard Brewing Company opening its doors at 555 East Main St. for the first time. With four beers on tap and more on the way, the story may have started in a cellar, but the tale isn’t over quite yet.

Co-founders Matt Zarif and TJ O’Connor, who also serve as head brewer and general manager, respectively, met long before they teamed up with investor and advisor Tom Sutter, one of the co-founders of Hudson’s beloved Medusa Brewing.

“We used to brew beer in high school before we were old enough to drink it. We told my mom we were making root beer in the cellar,” Zarif said with a laugh. “It goes back to those days, but I’ve always had a passion for experimentation.My background is in molecular biology.

I was a research scientist for several years before settling down. I traveled a bunch, but settled here. I had done fish and wildlife research all over the country, but came back to Massachusetts.”

The craft brewery and taproom found its home in an old lumberyard, but while Lumberyard Brewing already existed in Flagstaff, Ariz., Zarif and his team felt Timberyard encompassed what they set out to accomplish.

“Timber, when you think of it, it’s typically more rough cut, it’s a less-processed piece of wood,” said Zarif. “It’s more of a work in progress and more open to creativity. I think it really suits us.”

The brewery, Zarif said, it is a team effort that would not be possible without what he calls the Timberyard family.

“They’ve been working really hard to make it what it is and what it’s becoming,” he said. “I’m just playing in the band, you know? Everyone has brought different skills to the table, different things to this vision. They’ve all contributed to make it happen. I think it will continue to evolve and the artists and musicians will con-

PHOTOS NATHAN FISKE/NATHAN FISKE PHOTOGRAPHY

culture he said. “I put them to work to buy toys or whatever they like. If they want something, I say, ‘Well, I’ve got a job for you.’ They love helping out. It’s been a family affair, a couple different families. It’s the Timberyard family.”

Zarif and the Timberyard team may have four beers on tap now, but they plan to introduce more as time goes on, including a numbered series and more experimental varieties.

“I had hoped and planned to actually have more beer available, even more variety too,” he said. “I was more involved in the construction process than your typical brewery

buildout. Or maybe not, this is a hands-on crowd. I spent a lot of my time toward the end helping finish out construction. That was part of the reason we didn’t have more variety. People can expect to have additional creative and interesting styles of beer in the upcoming weeks and months. My biggest concern, now, is having enough beer. It’s a good problem to have.”

As for how far Zarif and the rest of the team have come since first brewing back in high school, Zarif said things have trended in a positive direction.

“I think they’re an improvement

over the cellar back in high school,” he laughed. “It’s come a little ways, but even back then I was interested in the process behind it and the science behind it. Coming from a science background helps with the attention to detail and being prone to experimentation. I think that contributes to being able to brew a good beer. It’s a little art and a little science.”

For more information on Timberyard Brewing Company, head to Timberyardbrewing.com, or find them on social media.

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didn’t want to just brew an ordinary stout. There are a lot of good ones out there, why would they be interested in another regular one? We added a lot of roasted cacao notes and vanilla. It’s a chocolate stout and I think the chocolate comes through pretty strong. People have been really enjoying that beer.”

The Timberyard operation has been a family affair, with the cofounders’ families chipping in with various roles around the taproom and brewery, including Zarif ’s young family.

“The little guys have been hammering on this place a little too,”

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tribute, as well customers.”

The late-October grand opening was a great success, said Zarif, and the team had four beers on tap: Lazy Lightning, a session IPA; House Ale, a pale ale; Rough Cut, a New England IPA; and Wolftree, a chocolate stout with vanilla notes.

“The Wolftree, it kind of goes in line with Timberyard,” Zarif said. “It’s when you’re out in the forest and see a grove of younger trees and there’s one older tree that’s big and menacing and snarled. It was too dangerous for the loggers to tackle, so they left it behind. We thought that was a cool name and it’s a cool beer. We

culture Lyford Files JOSHUA LYFORD

HALLOWEEN HATERS BE DAMNED: If you missed

my column last week, it was a list. I generally hate lists, but the one area I have any knowledge in (notice I didn’t call myself an expert, I’ve just spent some time in this arena) is horror films. I drink them in like sweet, sweet ambrosia. So when my roommate tasked me with creating a Top 10 Horror Films of All Time list, I jumped at the chance. He offered all the lists up to voting for 24 hours and will be making a “Top 10 Top 10” list.

I received 78 percent yes votes, which is alright, but lemme tell ya. Folks have an opinion on horror movies. The two things I heard the most? Had I never seen a horror movie pre-1980 (I have) and why the hell is “Blair Witch Project” on there? Well for part one, there are a lot of great pre1980 horror movies, but I was born in ’84, so movies in that era tend to hit a soft spot inside of me. As for “Blair Witch Project,” I refer to my original post. It’s not a favorite of genre aficionados and it didn’t age particularly well, but it did change the game at the time and essentially ushered the now-dominant found footage horror film onto the main stage, so deal with it. On to our regular offerings, now more Halloween-themed than ever.

SPOOKY WORLD: Have

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you ever been to Spooky World? It’s pretty much the pinnacle of Halloween attractions in the area. I got to be an actor on the haunted hayride a few years ago and it was an absolute blast. I’ve got to warn you though, it is not cheap to purchase a ticket. It is pretty awesome that you get five fully fleshed-out haunted attractions in one space, however. I think the hayride and The Colony walk are the best of them, but they’re all quite a bit of fun. Besides, the beer isn’t outrageous and a kind devil told me he’d trade for my soul. As a ginger, it was reassuring to hear, but I was also too superstitious to fake sell that thing. The only drawback were the extreme drunk townies on the hayride.

Look, I don’t have beef with drunk townies. I’ve had a lot of good times with them, but I can only hear “My safeword is pineapple” so many times before I lose my shit.

FACTORY OF TERROR: Alas, my schedule hasn’t allowed me

to make it to the Factory of Terror yet this year, but it has been the best in Worcester County for quite some time now. It’s also actually pretty terrifying, which I feel is important to know, since some haunted houses veer more toward the campy side of things and not the generally terrifying side.

That shouldn’t be a deterrent, however, just a heads up.

CENTURY HAYRIDE AND SPOOKWALK: One of

my favorites. I did a feature story on haunted attractions in Central Mass a few years back and lemme tell ya, the Century Sportsman’s Club in Auburn has some fun. I am pretty sure I won’t be able to make it this year (their final dates, according to Facebook) are Oct. 26 and 27. I will be at the Bruins on Saturday and my partner works on Fridays. I am too scared to go alone, so Friday is out. This one definitely veers more on the fun side than the scary side, but it is a lot of fun. Plus, you can grab a drink, so bonus points.

TOWN OF TERROR: I’m running

out of words, so I’ll make this quick. I have never attended the Town of Terror, but it’s billed as “The Scariest Haunted Attraction in Webster,” I have to imagine area residents have plenty of jokes about that. I can’t say much more, as I’ve never been, but I always veer on the side of “just go.” It will either scare the pants off you, or make you laugh, and both are a Joshua Lyford lot of fun with a hot cider Culture editor or hand-warmed beer.

@Joshachusetts

culture Lifestyle SARAH CONNELL

How to Prolong Patio Season

Lock 50 erected a village of igloos this week to shield guests from the cold.

That’s right, patio season is all year long at 50 Water St., where you’ll find the luminescent igloos particularly eye catching after dark.

Alles hat ein Ende, nur die Wurst hat zwei.

The griefiest of grief bacon is upon us.

Executive Chef Tim Russo tests out one Kummerspeck, the Water Street of Lock 50’s new igloos. delicatessen and SARAH CONNELL eatery, has officially closed to the public.

Owners Rachel Coit and Matt Mahoney have dazzled us over the last year by weaving old-world wonder into their contemporary comfort food.

The Canal District’s dining scene will no doubt see more changes on the horizon with 65,000 square feet of retail and restaurants anticipated in the Worcester Red Sox development deal.

WaitHaHa

Worcester’s highly-successful comedy festival, WOOtenany, whet our appetites for sketch, stand-up and improv. Consequently, we were sad to hear about a month long delay that stands between Worcester and the opening of WooHaHa, a 140-seat comedy club located on Franklin Street. The independent scene is sure to hold you over in the meantime, including The Sort of Late Show hosted by Shaun Connolly at Ralph’s Rock Diner. My Pop It podcasting partner, Molly O’Connor, will join me as a guest on The Sort of Late show’s next installment, Nov. 7.

Daytrip

I know we’re experiencing a restaurant boom in the city of Worcester, but a recent trip up north put some things in perspective for me. The Chamber Collaborative of Greater Portsmouth reported that there are more restaurant seats than residents in their city. (As in 22,000 seats and a population that teeters at 21,000.) If this intrigues you as a food fan, there is no better time to visit than the 10-Year Anniversary Restaurant Week set to run from Nov. 8-17, just in time to catch the tail end of the fall foliage.

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Sarah Connell contributing writer

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On Sunday, Oct. 28, chef/owners Jared Forman (simjang) and Tracy Chang (PAGU) are teaming up. “I first met Jared when he worked at Strip T’s in 2011 and ever since have been a fan of not just his food, but his approach to sustainable and responsible sourcing, teamwork and culture, and community activism,” says Chang. “We’re excited to show off what we’re doing in Central Mass to Boston and Cambridge-area diners,” explains Forman. “Tracy has been a big supporter of ours ever since we first opened deadhorse hill, and we’ve had many conversations about the trials, tribulations, and rewards of opening a restaurant. She’s traveled extensively, and it’s inspiring that she wants to share what she’s learned and now loves with others. Above all else, simjang, deadhorse, and PAGU are all labors of love, and we’re humbled to have a friend like Tracy that we can relate to and share our story with.” PAGU will return the trip by coming to Worcester later in the year.

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Epicurean Exchange

culture

Worcester’s Quintessential Steakhouse Experience: One Eleven 111 Shrewsbury St., Worcester 508-799-4111 111chophouse.com SANDRA RAIN

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he One Eleven Chop House’s web runner calls it, “A truly indescribable steakhouse,” but I tend to disagree. It’s not that this Worcester Restaurant Group holding doesn’t have a personality; it certainly does. The One Eleven is the middle child, teetering between its uptight older brother and its breezy younger sister. The One Eleven is always agreeable, never a risk taker.

The most mysterious thing about The One Eleven is its inconsistent representation in print. Do we use the numerals? Do we spell it out?

Nobody knows for sure.

Regular menu adjustments, offbeat decor, and adventurous glassware might leave me at a loss

for words, but really, the PR materials should proudly declare One Eleven to be: “A truly describable steakhouse.” Deep leather booths?

Check. Dress whites? Check. Carpets? Check. A wine list so exhaustive it comes up to my knee? Check.

This is precisely what I look for in a steakhouse. It’s the reason people make a reservation in the first place.

At The One Eleven Chop House, we know why we’re there.

Giant lamps with bases like bendy straws flank either end of the main dining room. Wagon wheel light fixtures hang from the ceiling emitting a burnt orange hue. The ambience is glamorous and smokey, even though the space hasn’t seen a cigarette in long over a decade. There’s a certain anonymity in that I’m not afraid of running into anyone I know because every other guest appears to hail from the suburbs.

Servers and bartenders are exceptionally well-versed in the wine list.

The Snake River Farm Wagyu Flat Iron Steak at The One Eleven Chop House.

You can trust their suggestions, even though they see the words “perfect check” written across your forehead.

They want you to spring for an appetizer, entree, drinks and dessert.

They want you to order without restriction. They want you to taste all the grandeur they have to offer.

You might as well. When you came to the One Eleven Chop House, you knew exactly what you were getting yourself into.

The Chappellet Mountain Cuvee is sensible ($60) and likely pairs well with whatever steak you’ve got your eye on. Aromas of ripe plum and vanilla will dance across the table whenever a server tops off your glass. By contrast, there’s also a Cotton Candy Cosmo ($12) on the menu for the suburban princesses three booths down, celebrating their 21st birthdays.

Entrees come with a deep bowl of tomato soup or a well-dressed garden salad. If you know what your doing, you’ll look past the upcharge to indulge in an iceberg wedge topped with crumbly stilton cheese and bacon.

It fascinates me to try cuts of beef side by side like a beer flight or a coffee cupping. On my most recent evening at the One Eleven, I ordered the Snake River Farm (Eastern Idaho) Wagyu Flat Iron Steak ($39.99.)

The meat was intensely marbled and beautifully buttery, not just on account of the fact that it swam in a literal pool of melting butter.

Coupled with oyster mushrooms in a rich cabernet sauce, the Flat Iron provided a stark contrast to the 30day, dry-aged rib eye ($36.99) which offered a complex and nutty exterior.

The Flat Iron felt downright dainty by comparison.

The One Eleven could benefit from a fresh finish coat on the wooden bar, but other than that, I won’t advocate for change. It is a timeless clubhouse. It is the romantic figment of a child’s imagination every time his or her parents get a babysitter to go out for a “nice dinner” on the town. Most of all, it is completely and utterly describable – and I mean that as a compliment.

On our last dinner for two, the bill came to $165.19.

Explanation of Stars: Ratings are from zero to five. Zero is not recommended. One is poor. Two is fair. Three is satisfactory. Four is good. Five is excellent.

Food: HHHH1/2 Ambience: HHHH Service: HHHH Value: HHHH

culture

HBO’s short story JIM KEOGH

“M

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ake it funny.”

Those are the parting orders of Danny Tate’s editor as he reluctantly accepts the assignment to write a where-are-they-now profile of Hervé Villechaize, aka Tattoo from “Fantasy Island.”

It’s been a tough decade for the actor. He hasn’t held steady work since he stormed off the show’s set, demanding to be paid the equivalent of Ricardo Montalban. He’s suffering from health problems, drinks too much, and can’t pay his bills. What he can do is tell his story, and he promises Danny it’s a whopper. If the reporter can survive a single raucous evening with the former star — whose partying style tends toward the self-destructive — he’ll walk away with gossipy gold.

The HBO film “My Dinner With Hervé” is written and directed by Sacha Gervasi, based on his own experience of interviewing Villechaize in 1993.

It was the last interview the actor gave before he committed suicide a week later.

Hervé (Peter Dinklage) unravels his tale to Danny (Jamie Dornan) in the backseat of a limo, in his agent’s living room, and even from the abandoned “Fantasy Island” set. Through flashbacks, we quickly determine the man’s life was painful in many ways. As a boy, his parents sanctioned brutal experimental treatments to try and “cure” him of his dwarfism. He was routinely bullied, and carried a knife for protection. After he found some notoriety as an artist, Hervé left Paris for New York, and then L.A., for fame, fortune and women, who were his greatest passion and weakness.

I imagine Villechaize was tough for Dinklage to get right since the heavy French accent and one-of-a-kind delivery can veer into pure caricature (“Da plane! Da plane!”). Fortunately, there’s a sincerity to the actor that allows him to inject humanity into the role, even a measure of soulfulness. His Hervé is a charismatic, self-sabotaging man-child, equally adept at delivering tantrums and apologies — he’s easily blamed for turning his life into a walking disaster, yet it’s impossible to resist sympathizing with him. His evolution wasn’t all of his making: the public turned him into an object of their affection, then apathy.

The film is a straightforward biopic using the as-told-to trope. Dornan is fine as the recipient of Hervé’s tall tales, but Gervasi devotes far too much time on the journalist’s backstory of battling alcoholism and enduring the end of his marriage. How often do we need to see Danny stare at the bottles of booze in his hotel mini-fridge before angrily slamming the door shut? The flashbacks to Danny’s low points feel like padding (though presumably hold autobiographical significance for Gervasi), and weaken the movie.

Despite the overall grimness, there is some fun here. Hervé’s early selfindulgence offers a vicarious thrill (the later stuff is just sad). And anyone who recalls “Fantasy Island” will enjoy Andy Garcia playing Ricardo Montalban, struggling to maintain his Old World courtliness during Hervé’s frequent meltdowns. After the movie, I watched a YouTube video of Montalban recalling what it was like to work with Villechaize, and he confirmed — with exquisite tact — that it was a nightmare.

The prevailing image of “My Dinner with Hervé” — repeated several times — is of the stretch limo pulling over to the side of the road, and either Danny or Hervé emerging in a rage while the other pleads for a second chance (Hervé to Danny: “Why do you always have to be such a leetle beetch?”). Theirs is a troubled conJim Keogh nection, but Hervé was right about contributing writer one thing: He had a hell of a story.

calendar Thursday, Oct. 25 “I Cannot Tell You How I Feel” and “Seeing Red” Clark University: Razzo Hall, Traina Center for the Arts, 92 Downing St. Filmmaker Su Friedrich will be on hand for a Q&A session following the viewing of her films.

Thursday, Oct. 25 Cinema at the Library: Ant-Man and the Wasp

Worcester Public Library-Frances Perkins Branch, 470 W. Boylston St. The Worcester Public Library presents the Marvel film.

Friday-Sunday, Oct. 26-28 Disney on Ice: Mickey’s Search Party

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DCU Center, 50 Foster St. Mickey Mouse and his Disney friends embark on a world-class skating and acrobatic adventure as they follow Captain Hook’s treasure map while searching for Tinker Bell.

Saturday, Oct. 27 Fall Fest

Living Earth, 232-234 Chandler St. This free event offers kids crafts, free sampling, local farmers, wine tastings and more with storewide discounts.

Sunday, Oct. 28 Emmure and Stick to Your Guns

The Palladium, 261 Main St. Emmure and Stick to Your Guns will be joined by Wage War and Sanction.

calendar Saturday, Oct. 27 Descendents

The Palladium, 261 Main St. The Bowery Boston presents the punk stalwarts at the Worcester Palladium.

Saturday, Oct. 27 Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitor Center Community Celebration

3 Paul Clancy Way At long last, the Blackstone Heritage Corridor Visitor Center will open as a state-of-the-art recreational and cultural resource. The community celebration will follow speakers and a ribbon cutting ceremony at 9 a.m.

Sunday, Oct. 28 Haunted Hounds

Tower Hill Botanic Garden, 11 French Drive, Boylston The Tower Hill Botanic Garden presents a dog-centric event with a canine costume parade. Dogs (And their people) are invited to enjoy the garden’s network of dog trails and canine costumes are strongly encouraged.

Tuesday, Oct. 30 The Thirsty Lab Poetry Reading with Rushelle Frazier

The Thirsty Lab, 206 Worcester Road The Worcester County Poetry Association presents Rushelle Frazier, a queer black feminist writer and slammaster of the Seven Hills Poetry Slam. The event is hosted by Susan Roney-O’Brien.

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Happy Halloween!

culture

Adoption option Welcome to Adoption Option, a partnership with the Worcester Animal Rescue League, highlighting their adoptable pets. Check this space often to meet all of the great pets at WARL in need of homes.WARL is open seven days a week, noon-4 p.m., 139 Holden St. Check them out online at Worcesterarl.org, or call at 508-853-0030.

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EAST DOUGLAS PHOTOGRAPHY

A good samaritan convinced a family to surrender Small Fry to WARL. Although she’s only 1 year old, Small Fry was raising yet another litter under poor circumstances. Her rescuer became her foster mom. She described Small Fry as a sweetheart who loves to cuddle. She comes up to you and purrs for attention. Small Fry positively hates cats! When she hears another cat, she screams and jumps at her cage door. She probably isn’t a fan of other animals or little kids either. Small Fry is an independent girl who likes to go for strolls outside. Try to persuade her to stay inside. If you can’t, at least keep her inside until she is comfortably settled in your home. You could also build her a catio or try training her to walk on a leash and harness.

sports p Opening night!

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lmost six months after their inaugural season in the ECHL came to an in a first-round postseason exit, the Worcester Railers returned to home ice at the DCU Center Saturday night, Oct. 20 with their sights set squarely on year two. With more than 8,000 fans showing their support, the Railers made their home opener count in a convincing, 4-1 win over the expansion Maine Mariners.

The Railers next play at home Friday, Nov. 2 against the team that bounced them from the playoffs in April, the Adirondack Thunder. Here are some of the scenes from opening night at home.

Above, Worcester Railers forward Woody Hudson battles for the puck.

Below, Worcester Railers defenseman Tyler Mueller works the puck.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

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Above, Worcester Railers mascot Trax takes to the ice before the start of the Railers home opener Saturday night at the DCU Center.

Below, Tyler Barnes scores for the Worcester Railers.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

The Worcester Blades lost their home opener Saturday, Oct. 20, 2-1, to the Toronto Furies. (The Blades play at home Saturday and Sunday against Calgary at Fidelity Bank Worcester Ice Centre.)

Round-up

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The Worcester Railers were on the road Wednesday night to play the Adirondack Thunder. The team stays on the road Friday against the Manchester Monarchs, before returning to Adirondack Saturday.

WORCESTERMAGAZINE.COM

The Score

games

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J O N E S I N’ Across 1 Countrified 7 Allison Janney sitcom 10 Haydn’s nickname 14 Fleecy fabric 15 Yoko who turned 85 in 2018 16 Racetrack shape 17 Get louder 20 “GymnopÈdies” composer Satie (or “Jeopardy!” and crossword champion Agard) 21 Hesitant sounds 22 “Right Now (Na Na Na)” rapper 23 Considered groovy, man 24 Slo-___ fuse 25 AKA, in the business world 26 ___ in “Charlie” 29 Fountain reward of myth 32 Alpine cottage 35 Haven’t yet paid 36 Balletic bend 37 Varnish ingredient 38 Jim Acosta’s network 39 Golden Globes category 40 Solemn promise 41 Some people’s preferred pronoun 42 One not responsible for the bad news 43 Hit the mother lode 46 “Shameless” network, for short 47 Baby anteater 48 Noah’s ride 49 Suffix in geometry 52 Bread served with aloo gobi 54 Takeover try 55 Prefix meaning “one billionth” 56 Buddy cop show of the 1970s 60 Look sullen 61 “Jellied” British fish 62 “Certainly, Monsieur!”

63 March participants?

64 7-Across partner, maybe 65 Phrase before “Go!” Down 1 “___ T for Teen” 2 Aboriginal name for

“I’m Certain”-- some hidden veracity.

by Matt Jones

Australia’s Ayers Rock 3 Parsley bit 4 Do horribly 5 Closely monitored hosp. area 6 Juliet, for one 7 Mineralogist with a scale 8 Number of times the Milwaukee Brewers have appeared in the World Series 9 Not fixed 10 Sport involving horses 11 Friendly, like some relatives 12 “Jackie Brown” actress Grier 13 It’s made with warm fermentation 18 “___: Ragnarok” 19 Adequate 24 Vitamin also known as PABA 25 Early morning 27 “Once upon ___ ...”

28 Clip hedges 29 1912 Nobel Peace Prize winner Root 30 Trio of trios 31 “Everybody gets a car!” impresario 32 “Mr. Show” costar David 33 “English Toffee” candy bar

34 38 39 41 42 44 45

Carpenter or Ride, e.g.

Dale’s cartoon pal Pack of cards Soundly defeated Pointer, for one They’ll look over W-2s Something stored in the cloud?

49 Los ___, California 50 As scheduled 51 Like a game for the record books, perhaps 53 They can be fine or graphic 54 Like a worn tire 55 Night, in Nice 56 Getaway spot 57 Bunch 58 House support 59 Artist’s selection

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Last week's solution

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Sudoku Answers

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last call H. Sam Coy and Dr. Chris Lassiter Coy Consulting

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. Sam Coy, J.D., MBA, Ph.D., is president of Coy Consulting Group, a private and independent firm that provides innovative consulting services for data tracking and outcome measurements. Coy is a Worcester native with a passion for nonprofit sustainability. She serves as adjunct faculty at Anna Maria College along with her business partner, Chris Lassiter, B.B.A., M.B.A., D.B.A.(c)., the author of a young adult book called, “How to Change the World in 20 Mins.”

What kind of consulting work do you do?

HSC: I work with nonprofits to help them stay open. Nonprofit sustainability is my business. It doesn’t end with nonprofits. We work with state agencies as well.

We work with different types of organizations and companies to help them measure all of their impact to ensure what they’re doing is working. That way, they can elicit funding because nobody is going to throw money at you if you cannot show that what you did is working.

And you’re an attorney?

HSC: Yes. All of my doctoral research is on nonprofit sustainability.

Where did you get your doctorate?

HSC: Walden University.

It sounds like you are an avid learner. Are you from Worcester?

HSC: I know, right? I’m such a nerd. I started out at Columbus Park and then went to Sullivan Middle and then to South High.

By time I hit fifth and sixth grade, I was in an advanced learning program. By the 11th grade I was offered a full academic scholarship to any college I wanted to go to in the country. Out of 500 kids,

I was given that opportunity. I saw that I was blessed because there was no other way I was going to college. I lived in Lakeside. I grew up around all of that with no opportunities presented to me to do something more.

You ended up at Northeastern?

HSC: I did. I studied criminal justice; they have a fantastic program. I never would have guessed when we were in high school that I would have gone as far as I did in that field. But my dad was such an inspiration as a police officer, saving lives and changing the entire community. He inspired the movie “In Too Deep.”

Are you consulting with a variety of nonprofits at the moment?

HSC: So I’ve got one that I’m doing a lot of work with, Learn to Cope, and they are on the forefront of the opioid crisis. They work with families who have loved ones who have suffered from the disease. From there, I have a couple of clients in Dallas that are just starting out as nonprofits. I feel so good about having my own business and being able to work with people and help them.

Dr. Lassiter, I understand that you’re a veteran?

CL: Yes, I went to Iraq, right outside of Baghdad International Airport, in 2003.

HSC: He was 19. Every time I hear it, I can’t believe it. He was just a kid.

How did you find your way to Worcester from your hometown of Birmingham, Ala.?

CL: I was enrolled in my second semester of undergrad and I got a call at 5 p.m. telling me that I had been deployed. I was gone by 8 a.m. the next morning. When I got back, I re-enrolled and finished my bachelor’s in business administra-

H. Sam Coy, left, and Christopher Lassiter of Coy Consulting Group.

ELIZABETH BROOKS

tion. I went on to get my MBA at the Forbes School of Business. My first residency required me to take a trip, which allowed me to be amongst the world’s most elite figures in business education. That’s how I met Dr. Coy. You met abroad?

HSC: We did, we met in Paris. A small town girl from Worcester.

Lakeside, at that. It’s unheard of.

CL: And I’m from Alabama. The projects. Dirt roads. The amount of information that trickles down there is very minimal. Nobody believes that I’m here.

I read that you worked for one of the top brokerage firms in the region.

CL: I worked in institutional wealth at Fidelity, where I learned a lot. To put it simply, banks use Fidelity as their bank. It is interesting to learn that there are families who have as much money

as small banks. My customer base had family accounts and small banks. My doctoral research is in for-profit sustainability. During years zero through five, when most small businesses fail, I have become an expert in how to maintain.

HSC: It’s the perfect synergy. The work that I do to help nonprofits stay operational involved the same kind of strategies that for-profit organizations are using. We are able to bring those two pieces together to help our organizations stay viable.

CL: Most of the people have big hearts and deserve every good thing that can come their way, but they may not understand the business side.

Dr. Lassiter, what can you tell me about the book that you wrote?

CL: The title is ‘How to Change the World in 20 Mins.’ It’s a novella.

The target market is middle school age up to undergraduate students.

It’s a mystery. You will be smarter from reading this book, and if you are not, you should read it again.

If you can understand the concept and decode the mystery, it will help you to critically think.

HSC: It makes total sense to me when I put it this way: If you can ask it, you can track it. If you can track it, you can measure it. If you can measure it, you can see change. And if you can see change, then you can change the world.

Where will the future take you?

CL: I have been so impressed by [Coy’s] educational background.

She has more formal education than any president of the United States. We’re talking 2028. We need the perspective of the female leader.

HSC: It’s time for change. Really.

— Sarah Connell

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