Five Senses: One Worcester

A neon purple “Woosta Pizza” sign attracts customers from the streets of downtown Worcester. It catches my attention as I drive down Main Street. Walking across the street, I encounter an unpleasant concoction of odors: car oil, sewage, exhaust, and nail polish. Approaching the pizzeria’s entrance I anticipate escaping into the delicious aromas of fresh pizza ingredients.

I’m not met by the scents I was hoping to experience.

The pizza shop’s one room is narrow and long with the kitchen and the food located at the rear. Plastic ferns decorate the sides of every booth, an eclectic arrangement of pictures cover the walls from a field of daisies to a shot of Manhattan at night.

Initially, the room is odorless, but the acrid smell of a cleaning solution stings my nostrils. I cough roughly as I consume the pungent fragrance. I hustle past the cloud of contaminated air and head deeper into the room. When I finally arrive at the food counter the more desirable aromas seem to awaken and surround me. Wherever I turn the light but filling smells of oily cheeses, hot tomato sauce, and basil swirl together atop a doughy crust waft into my nostrils. I first detect the warm combination of cheese and dough and then the more distinct and sharp smell of tomato sauce leaves my nose with an after taste of pizza.

I slowly inhale, enjoying the experience and hoping the taste lives up to the smell. My nostrils experience the flavor and prepare my mouth for the taste to come.

Handed the pizza and slice of baklava, I turn and head toward the nearest booth. Heated, the aromas from the cheese, sauce, and bread radiate from the pizza even more strongly.

I munch the slice slowly and methodically, enjoying every bite. The first course is done. I move on to the baklava. Although it is a struggle to grasp a piece with my fork, once I pierce the crust a fragrance of sugar, nuts, and flaky dough rushes into the air. The sugary scent does not compare in the slightest to the richness of the dessert’s taste.

The baklava’s presence in the air takes over the now dissipated scent of the pizza. The smell of the baklava itself could fill my stomach. The mix of pizza and baklava composes a curious and memorable combination of smells from Italian and Middle Eastern cuisine.

My meal finished, I get up from the booth. With a couple of steps I exit the realm of fresh aromas and pass into the other half of the pizzeria, with its ammonia scent. Finally, I return outside and the unpleasant odors of Worcester’s streets returns. Woosta Pizza followed through on its promise that it has, “The best Pizza in Worcester,” well at least the fragrance I experienced from the food was far and away the best I had taken in all day.