Mix of cultural flavors gives Lynn rich taste

From Asia to the Americas, eateries tempt

September 28, 2003|Ted Weesner Jr., Globe Correspondent

Can it really be? Lynn, Mass., "City of Sin," a gourmand's paradise? Following Vittorio Ambrogi's lead, Lynn might consider renaming itself "City Where You No Longer Need To Eat From A Tin" or "City Where The Eating Causes No Chagrin."

Leave it to an Italian to show us the goods in our own backyard. Ambrogi -- relocated virtuosic cook and dauntless culinary explorer -- has hunted down unsung, wonderful food right under our noses, zeroing in on this modest city as a required stop for every intrepid eater. He fled the Tuscan sun 16 years ago, and continues to treat food with a reverence imported from his native Lucca. His deeply flavored Bolognese sauce, available at The Grapevine in Salem where he cooks with his wife Kate Hammond, has a cult following on the North Shore. And yet he regularly escapes to Lynn for food that is fresh, hearty, honest, and spectacularly tasty.

In the last 10 years Lynn has become a mecca for immigrants arriving from countries in Central and South America, Eastern Europe, and Southeast Asia. The dining options mirror this remarkable diversity. Ten minutes out of the Callahan Tunnel one can quickly immerse in the cultures of El Salvador or Cambodia, Guatemala or Vietnam. In this sense, Lynn feels not unlike Los Angeles, a polyglot, even cosmopolitan place, and one worth seeking out.

All Points East

A favorite spot of Ambrogi's would play perfectly in a Jim Jarmusch or David Lynch film -- that is, prepare yourself for a cultural collision. Locating Full Moon Restaurant, hidden on a back road in an industrial section of the city, requires a good map. You will know you've arrived at this pan-Asian boite because you'll be standing before an old Worcester Diner. Taking a cue from the exterior, you step in expecting fried eggs and grilled cheese. Seated at a comfortable booth, surrounded by old wood, tile, and original detail, you imagine yourself in small-town America circa 1952.

Full Moon recently changed hands, and the new owners, like the previous ones, are Cambodian. A stunning array of dishes are available, with Vietnamese, Thai, and Cambodian options leading the charge. Nime Chow, or Vietnamese-style spring rolls, are made with silken wrappers, toothsome vegetables, and shrimp, accompanied by a peanut dipping sauce. The Kistess Soup with shrimp is worth the visit itself. A coconut milk-based green curry soup, it's spangled with sensation -- tangy, sweet, biting, creamy all at once -- with more shrimp than you'd expect, accompanied by green beans and lemongrass.