Freestone's City Grill - New Bedford, MA

We have been to Freestone’s City Grill in Downtown New Bedford many times for lunch but I can’t recall the last time we have been there for dinner so we thought we would give it a try.  It was a rainy evening and we found ourselves in some construction traffic by the waterfront, not making for a pleasant drive to the restaurant.  Regardless, we had already committed and thought it couldn’t possibly be very crowded since there weren’t any special events happening in the city!

Wrong!! Thirty minute wait.  As hungry as I was, we left our name – it was better than trying to think of somewhere else to go.  The bar was crowded so we decided to step outside to wait.  Even though it was raining, it was rather warm for mid-October. We walked outside for about ten minutes and then decided to wait in the doorway and read all of the signage that was neatly displayed. As you can imagine, I was very pleasantly surprised when we heard our name called after only fifteen minutes. 

The hostess brought us all the way through the restaurant to a small table in the back room.  Freestone’s is located in an old bank building and has what appears to be the original ornate woodwork throughout. There was a huge mantel covering an entire wall in the back room where we were seated and a mural painted on the opposite wall.  The interior of Freestone’s is very appealing, but it was also very loud – perhaps due the acoustics in the building.  Although it was loud, it still felt warm and welcoming.

Our waitress arrived and asked if we wanted drinks and appetizers.  Since we had already had a chance to look at our menus, my husband asked for a cup of chowder ($3.99) with his drink (Sam’s Seasonal Ale - $4.25). I ordered a Malibu and Diet Coke ($5.75) and inquired if any of the meals that I was considering came with a dinner salad.  I was deciding between the Baked Stuff Cod ($18.99), the Grilled Atlantic Salmon ($17.99) and the Teriyaki Sirloin ($15.99). All three of my choices came with a choice of two sides, one of which could be a garden salad so I went ahead and got a salad with blue cheese dressing.

When our chowder and salad arrived, we had made our entrée decisions. I chose the Baked Stuffed Cod, described as fresh-cut cod stuffed with their homemade seafood stuffing, baked with garlic butter and topped with seasoned cracker crumb mix.  For my second side, I chose a baked potato.

My husband ordered the Grilled Meatloaf Dinner ($12.99). The meatloaf was a New Orleans style meatloaf with andouille sausage and bacon. His entrée was served with garlic mashed potatoes and smothered with sauteed onions and gravy (he asked for it without onions). The waitress told my husband that he made an excellent choice and that she personally loved the meatloaf because of the delicious crunchy topping.

While I was really looking forward to a great meal, I was actually a bit disappointed once we tried our entrees. The portions were generous, but the meal itself was nothing great. While I was eating my Baked Stuff Cod, I couldn’t help but think it was lacking in something – a sauce perhaps, since both the cod and the stuffing were on the dry side. My husband’s meatloaf, while smothered in gravy, was also a bit on the dry side. The bite that I tried had a smoky bacon flavor, but I wasn’t impressed.  I had also made it a point to try a bite from the top to get some of that crunchiness that the waitress spoke about, but I didn’t taste that, either. 

 

I ordered a second drink and we asked for two glasses of water to finish off our meals.  I wasn’t impressed by dinner at Freestone’s but will not discard them as an option for lunch. We have had a number of delicious sandwiches at Freestone’s and unless you are looking for a place to hang out, but not necessarily have a great meal, I suggest staying away at dinnertime.

Me & Ed’s Family Restaurant – New Bedford, MA

I couldn’t stop my craving for barbeque ribs and wanted to avoid a chain restaurant.  I had heard that Me & Ed’s (located at 30 Brock Ave.) had good ribs but I hadn’t been there in years so I wasn’t sure. I mentioned it to my husband and although he wasn’t convinced they specialized in ribs, we thought we would give it a try regardless.

When we walked into the restaurant, the first thing that stood out was the old, dated décor. Stucco walls with exposed wooden beams! The second thing that stood out was the strong smell of malt vinegar. While we were walking toward our table, which happened to be in the far corner of the restaurant, I noticed why I could smell so much vinegar. Almost every table had some form of fried seafood in front of them – and they were obviously dredging their dishes in vinegar.  Okay, so seafood must be their specialty and not ribs.  After taking a quick glance at the menu, and the long list of seafood specials that accompanied it, I confirmed my suspicion.  I went there for ribs – but should I conform and order seafood?  This was going to be a difficult decision. 

Caramel Apple Pie Martini



However, first things first.  I needed to decide what to drink. There were some seasonal cocktails on the specials menu and the Caramel Apple Pie Martini ($6.75) sounded delicious.  This martini was made with Absolut Vodka, Butterscotch Schnapps, Apple Schnapps and a hint of cream served with a cinnamon sugar rimmer. My husband decided on a Long Island Iced Tea ($6.25).

While waiting for our drinks, I carefully reviewed the menu to see if there was something that would sway my mind away from the ribs. There were so many choices and I do love seafood but the ribs also sounded delicious and why fight the craving?  I decided on the full rack of Pete’s Baby Back Ribs ($19.99).  These ribs were described as slow-cooked and oh-so-tender fall-off-the-bone baby back pork ribs, slathered with their special BBQ sauce.  This entrée was served with a salad and choice of side.  The side choices were garlic red skin mashed potatoes, baked potato, French fries, butternut squash, vegetable of the day, spaghetti, ziti, steamed broccoli and rice pilaf.  Since I was eating ribs, French fries were the only logical choice in my mind. I ordered the fries and chose blue cheese as my dressing for the salad.

My husband ordered a cup of their “famous recipe, homemade,award winning” chowder ($3.29) and a Boneless Buffalo Chicken Pizza (hold the onions).  It seems we were both very hungry that night since he ordered the large pizza for $9.99 (the small was only $1 less).

 

When our drinks arrived, we were also brought a basket of bread. The bread was grilled with butter and was piping hot.  I couldn’t resist digging in!  After eating the bread and looking around the restaurant I started to think that this is a great place if you’re looking for some comfort food in a family friendly atmosphere.  I was still struggling with the stucco walls, though!

The salad and chowder arrived. Of course I had to take a bite of my husband’s chowder and I have to say, I can see where this would have won an award. Anyone that loves a nice, thick, rich creamy clam chowder would fall in love with this.  Again, this reminded me of some good old comfort food.  My salad, on the other hand, was nothing more than a bowl of lettuce with a few shredded carrots on top.  At least the dressing was good – it was a nice thick blue cheese dressing.



Boneless Buffalo Chicken Pizza
 

Before too long, our entrees arrived.  My plate had two half-racks of steaming hot ribs smothered in barbeque sauce.  The side of fries was served on a second, smaller plate.  My husband’s pizza was a thin crust pizza made with blue cheese dressing (instead of sauce), boneless buffalo wings and topped with cheese.  His only comment about the pizza was that since the blue cheese was cooked on the pizza, the flavors of the blue cheese and the buffalo sauce blended together. He prefers the hot, spiciness of the pizza dipped into a side of cool blue cheese dressing. I took a bite of his pizza and completely understood what he meant.

 


Pete's Baby Back Ribs
 

The ribs were true to their description and fell right off the bone as I was eating them.  If I had anything to criticize it would be that a few of them were a bit charcoaled on the edge. This didn’t stop me from eating the entire plate full (with a little help from my husband).  Thank goodness I was given a few wet naps to wipe my hands when I was finished!  I was glad I chose the ribs and didn’t give in to the seafood.  But, we’ll need to visit again since there were so many seafood entrees that looked delicious. Baked Stuff Scrod with Newburg Sauce, Haddock Oscar, Honey Pecan Salmon, Native Swordfish, and Fish and Chips are just a few of the seafood entrees that caught my eye!

Since my husband helped me eat my ribs, he still had half of his pizza left to bring home. The waitress took the pizza to box it up and brought us our bill.  Luckily I double checked the bill before we paid because she inadvertently charged us for the chowder twice. She was very apologetic and quickly corrected it.  The total bill with tax (minus the extra chowder) was $49.51.  

 

Based on this visit to Me & Ed’s, I would recommend this restaurant if you are looking for family-friendly, comfort-food kind of dining (and don’t have a major aversion to stucco)!