And the 20-year, $104 million Urban Revitalization Plan was recently approved, targeting neglected, vacant, or underutilized properties within a 118-acre redevelopment zone. In May, the MBTA introduced the HeartToHub, an express train that runs from Worcester's Union Station to Boston in the morning, then back again in the evening.

A project called CitySquare brings $470 million in private development to downtown, including more than 1,000 units of luxury housing, a hockey rink with 38,000 square feet of retail space, and two hotels. People are investing in the city, hoping to retain the nearly 40,000 college students who live here, and to entice young professionals working in the thriving fields of health care, biotech, and medical research: Forty percent of the nonstudent population is under age 34. Two food-truck zones have been proposed in recent months. In the past 18 months, 55 new restaurants have opened here, specializing in everything from fried green tomato sandwiches and aged duck breast with mustard spaetzle at Deadhorse Hill to kombucha cocktails and Italian amari at The Muse, naturally leavened country loaves at BirchTree Bread Company, candied squash-filled crepes at Lock 50, and house-cured bacon at The Hangover Pub, which proclaims itself 'New England's first bacon gastropub.' Shrewsbury Street, Worcester's restaurant row - long-dominated by Italian eateries and old-school chophouses - is now home to recently expanded businesses like Wormtown Brewery and bakery/restaurant Sweet both have moved into a former car dealership that also houses hand-crafted pizza shop Volturno. Worcester is in the midst of a bona fide restaurant renaissance. Worcester may be New England's second-largest city, but it clocks in far behind the likes of Portland, Providence, and Portsmouth when it comes to having a robust food scene. But aside from classic diner cars, the city has never been known for its restaurants. Shredded Wheat, Table Talk pies, cult-favorite bubbly water Polar Seltzer, Near East boxed pilafs - these products all have roots here. WORCESTER - Historically, Worcester's best-known culinary contributions have been to the grocery-store aisle.

The muse bar and kitchen worcester ma