Hey folks !! Off the beaten trail - so to speak - and yet, on your way out of Worcester, MA....heading westwards in the direction towards Route 2 in general, you may zip through the vicinity of townships like Rutland & later on, Oakham ... but hey, good enough. JUST BE SURE TO CHECK THE MAPS here for location, location, location - cool? That said, onto Ladd's Restaurant itself. There is NOTHING like being able to write a concise review of a place AFTER you've dined there say several times in the past; this helps with the overall review because, mainly, those good AND bad points have a way of remaining in both short term and long term memory, capisce?
FIRST - OUTSIDE appearances. Looks pretty neat, lawn manicured with brick walkway, garden(s) small but at least tended well enough. On the ground level, there are benches to sit upon should the evening "crush" delegate you to a 1/2 hour wait so to speak. That never seems to happen for us, and honestly, this might indicate EFFICIENCY happening in the INSIDE of this joint. Go figure. Turns out, the place IS run by people paying attention (as best as they can) and these same folks again and again show up by your elbow, pleasantly asking, "So ... how is everything going this evening?" - that kind of restaurant-speak and gladly received I might add !! But hey, BACK to OUTSIDE appearances, shall we?
Guys, I hope you're up and current with the AWNINGS outside the very front entrance of Ladd's. Put it this way, there is no way around it. The ground level awnings, pleasantly a soft blue to behold, remind us that people care about appearances and that indicates "all is well and good." HOWEVER, I beg to differ about the UPSTAIRS/Upper Level blue awnings! I'd have snapped a photo but declined to do so, for truthfully, if it is bats or pigeons or whatever ... those awnings up above need to come down, get washed before being assigned their original positions so to speak. Eegads, guys! It should be OBVIOUS and, well....a couple of trips up the ladder, dunk the things in shampoo that wont drain colors from the fabric and VOILA! DONE!! Its been YEARS, folks....let us not kid ourselves, k? Like NIKE tells us again and again...JUST DO IT.
Done.
Now... lets go inside.
Ladd's quickly convey to the world that they've got that typical New England tavern-ish existence going, and the locals are well-supplied with whatever refreshments are ongoing. Each time I entered into the Dining Room entrance, I could easily spot most of the bar patrons sitting most comfortably within the confines of that section of Ladd's. TVs posted in strategic places, a wide bar to keep an eye on drinks, keys, wallets, et al - you know the drill....
What I see EACH time I take a look into matters there is ... people seem comfortable, established, watched-out-for. There ya go...its called....CAMARADERIE. Here its a genuine thing, whereby whether its the Sox or the Bruins or the Patriots ... its all good, guys. One by one or two-by-twos, they file in, quick to get their boilermakers tended to along with whatever house special is on the runner boards for these guys. It all fits is my point. Everyone, far as I can tell, knows everyone else. Typical New England extended family, guys. Isn't that what we're looking for here?
Now the Dining Room. Exactly WHO the owner is...WHO the managers are... who knows? I'd ever go further than this ... if the food is THAT good...who cares, right? EXACTLY. All I can attest to is ... that Prime Rib looked DANDY this last time and I so wish I'd taken that one on the list of House Specials, folks! YUM-ohhh! Good to know! (hint hint). Of course, when you order items like, say, chicken parm ... you have to have realistic expectations too, right?
Put it this way - if Chef Ramsay entered into the back entrance and began asking questions about whether food is fresh or frozen before hitting the grill or going in the Blodgett over....guys...honestly....do you tell the clientele which was which?
I confess, I've had chicken parmesan that was SUPER fresh ... and it certainly is revealed to the palate (yours and mine, hopefully) as to whether it is the one...or the other. AND BE REALISTIC HERE, too, yes?
The secret to all of this is naturally going to be if the restaurant has that kind of $$$ to go out, get tons of birds skinned, de-boned, etc etc. I mean that takes TIME and unless you've got a pair of sous chefs handy, that is a giant hurdle that is best left to urban hang outs with lots of dough to spare. Put it this way - if you ask the servers at Ladd's whether the bird is fresh or frozen, they'll be truthful, no question about it. THAT is one very, very important thing with me. Of course, one could get cynical even, come back with.."If you already KNOW the pork/chicken/beef ISN'T fresh, why are you asking?" comes to mind, but hey.....TRUST is everything, right? NOT knocking Ladd's in the slightest bit at ALL. Just reflecting on what matters to ME so that I write the best reviews! read more
