Fernando's Grille & Bar - New Bedford, MA

The last time we went to see a production at Your Theatre,Inc., which is located on Rivet Street in New Bedford, we drove past Fernando’s Grille and Bar (418 Rivet Street) and was impressed by the outside alone.  I had never heard of this restaurant and it looked to be a fancy place so we made a note that we would visit at some point to give it a try.  This week, we were heading back to Your Theatre, Inc. for another production and this gave us the perfect opportunity to dine at Fernando’s.

We arrived at 6:30 p.m. and we were greeted by a hostess at the main entrance. She offered to seat us at a high table in the bar area. When we told her we would prefer to wait for seating in the dining area, she advised that it was a 45 minute wait.  The high table in the bar it is!

As soon as we were seated, a basket of rolls was brought to our table along with a bowl of olive oil seasoned with parsley and crushed red peppers. There were also a few small containers of butter, if we preferred that instead.

In addition to the wine menu and food menu, we were also given a list of specials for the evening. Appetizer specials included Bruschetta, Caprese Salad and Tomato Basil Soup. Dinner specials included Swordfish, Stuffed Haddock, Salmon, Lobster Ravioli, Roasted Duckling and Veal Chops.  Before I had an opportunity to review the actual menu, the waitress arrived to take our drink order.  I had my typical Malibu and Diet Coke ($5.50) and my husband ordered a Long Island Iced Tea ($9.00).

While waiting for our drinks to arrive, we finished reviewing the menu.  There were several choices that looked delicious, making it difficult to decide. I was torn between the Stuffed Haddock special ($17.95), the Lobster Ravioli special ($18.95) and the Grilled Atlantic Salmon ($18.95) from the main menu.  I decided to choose the Stuffed Haddock, filled with seafood stuffing finished with lobster champagne saffron sauce. I think it was the description of the sauce that helped me make my choice. 

My husband finally gave in to a craving he had been having for a few weeks and ordered Chicken Parmigiana ($13.95) for his entrée.  The menu described this dish as a lightly breaded chicken breast with fresh basil tomato sauce, reggiano parmesan and aged mozzarella cheese.

Our drinks arrived, we placed our orders, and we had an opportunity to take a look around the restaurant.  Our seating did not allow us to get a complete view of the dining area but we did have a great view of the bar, which spanned the entire length of the back room. Red backlighting created a nice ambiance and showcased a beautiful display of wine bottles on each side of the bar. The liquor bottles were also illuminated with lighting that changed color and showcased the frosted bottles. Looking up, I noticed the ceiling was ornamented in terra cotta colored stamped tin designed with angel harps, wreaths, and other ornamental designs. The ceiling was a perfect complement to the dark walls that were painted in grays, greens and purples. Natural hardwood flooring that was throughout the restaurant completed the look.

Noticing the time was 7:15 p.m., I started to worry if we would make it to the 8:00 p.m. show that we planned to attend.  Almost on cue, the waitress stopped by to tell us that our meals would be next out of the kitchen.  True to her word, our meals arrived less than five minutes later. 

Chicken Parmigiana

My husband’s Chicken Parmigiana looked so delicious that I immediately reached over and had a bite of the linguini pasta that was on his plate.  I did, however, wait patiently for him to cut into his chicken before I asked for a bite of that. It tasted as good as it looked. The chicken breast was lightly breaded and perfectly cooked with a thin layer of melted cheese on top.

My meal also looked delicious and was served with red bliss mashed potatoes and roasted butternut squash.  Although I was not given a choice of sides, I will say that the mashed potatoes were very good and had a hint of parmigiana cheese that added to the flavor.  I took a bite of my butternut squash before giving it to my husband. While I’m not typically a fan of squash, I have to admit that the maple and cinnamon on this roasted squash made it taste more like a dessert than a vegetable. 



Stuffed Haddock

The star of my meal was of course the Stuffed Haddock.  The haddock was fresh and flaky and was covered in a delicious, creamy sauce that was as good as it was described. The seafood stuffing had a bit of spiciness, which I liked, but couldn’t figure out where the spice was coming from.

We finished our meals and promptly paid when our check arrived (it was now 7:40 p.m. – only 20 minutes until show time)! The total cost for the evening, including tax, and another drink for my husband, was $58.21. Fernando’s looks fancy on the outside but they offer reasonable priced, delicious meals with a great atmosphere. Both my husband and I agreed that we would have no problem dining there again!

Spicy Lime - New Bedford, MA

My brother had been talking about his love of Thai food and wanted to introduce me to a “hole in the wall” Thai restaurant in New Bedford that he had discovered. About a month ago we made plans to visit the Spicy Lime together and the date finally came.  We headed off to 522 Pleasant Street, found parking on a nearby side street, and walked to the restaurant.

Lime Ricky

The Spicy Lime is nothing more than a store front in downtown New Bedford with no more than a dozen tables to seat guests. Given the small space, the décor was bright and welcoming with grey and white walls ornamented with appropriately themed murals.  The tables where nicely set with glass tops and white linens to give a crisp, fresh look to the space.

Although the seating was limited, there was a table for four available when we arrived. In addition to our menus, we were given a beer and wine list to review.  Instead of ordering beer or wine, we all opted for non-alcoholic beverages. My brother and I both ordered the Ice Ginger Tea ($2.50), my brother’s spouse ordered a Hot Ginger Tea ($2.15) and my husband ordered a Lime Ricky ($2.95).  The Ice Ginger Tea was fabulous with a refreshing hint of fresh ginger that hit the back of your throat when you were drinking it. I didn’t try the hot tea, but did have a sip of my husband’s Lime Ricky, which was served in some very festive plastic stemware.  I was expecting it to taste very sweet but instead it had a pleasant lime taste and was also quite refreshing.

Since my brother and his spouse had already been to the Spicy Lime, they were familiar with the menu. My brother also knew that there would be specials posted on a blackboard at the entrance so he walked over to take a look. The two specials for the evening were Mango Duck and Pumpkin Curry (with chicken, pork, tofu or vegetables).

In addition to reviewing the entrees on the menu, we also reviewed the appetizers and decided to order a couple of appetizers for us to share.  We wanted to order Chicken sa-te ($6.50) and Fried Crispy Spring Rolls ($5.50) but they were out of the Spring Rolls so we made a quick, alternate decision, and chose the Fried Gyoza (pronounced gyaw-zah) for $5.50.

All of the Curry, Stir Fry, Noodle and Fried Rice entrees were served with your choice of chicken, pork, tofu or vegetables for a total cost of $10.95, with shrimp or beef for $11.95, or with roasted duck or a combination of seafood for a cost of $15.95. There were some additional entrees on the menu and these, along with the specials, were priced a bit differently.

The waitress arrived to take our order and my brother decided on the Pumpkin Curry special, with chicken, for $14.95. His spouse ordered Pad Thai, with shrimp, for $11.95.  For my entrée, I chose the Ginger Scallop meal for $14.95 and my husband ordered the Crispy Chicken Fried Rice ($10.95).

While most entrees were served with jasmine rice, brown rice could be substituted for $1.00.  Both my brother and I chose this rice substitution and ordered the brown rice.

Gyoza (Fried)

What we thought was the first of our appetizers, the Fried Gyoza, arrived. These were crispy pork and veggie dumplings served with soy ginger sauce. There were a total of six gyoza served on the plate with a white paper doily for added presentation.  We each tried one of these fried dumplings and agreed they were enjoyable. While I could have eaten a second one, we let my brother and his spouse have the remaining two dumplings from the plate. After finishing this appetizer, the second of our servers removed our plates along with the empty plate from the gyoza.  After waiting several minutes, we collectively decided that our other appetizer, the Chicken sa-te, must have been forgotten.  Since we suspected our meals would arrive at any time, we opted to not offer a reminder but instead just wait for our meals.



Pad Thai with Shrimp

After a relatively long wait (apparently the servers are also the chefs and are multi-tasking), each of our meals arrived separately, with the Pad Thai coming out first. This entrée was described as Thai signature pan fried rice noodles with egg, bean sprouts, scallions, carrots, zucchini and ground peanuts.  I had only one small bite of the noodles so I didn’t experience the entire dish but was told that it was delicious!



Pumpkin Curry

The next meal to arrive was my brother’s Pumpkin Curry.  Chunks of fresh pumpkin were the star of this curry dish!  Again, I only had a small bite of the chicken from this entrée but my brother loved his meal. To eat this, he added some brown rice to his plate and then spooned the Pumpkin Curry on top.  This meal looked hearty and satisfying and there was enough for him to share some with his spouse.



Crispy Chicken Fried Rice

My husband’s meal arrived next. His meal consisted of two crispy, fried chicken breasts on top of vegetable fried rice, drizzled with sweet and sour sauce. While his meal tasted uniquely different from the others, the chicken was perfectly crisped and had a sweet taste, contributed by the sauce.  The only comment about this dish was my husband thought there could have been more sweet and sour sauce on the chicken.  Perhaps he can ask for some extra sauce if we visit Spicy Lime again.

Ginger Scallop

My entrée was the last to arrive.  Personally, I think they saved the best for last!  My Ginger Scallop dish was described as crispy, lightly battered scallops topped with baby corn, onions, mushrooms, broccoli and fresh ginger.  This dish, although it had different vegetables than described, was outstanding.  There were six large, fresh scallops that were perfectly tempura fried and sitting within my delicious ginger sauce and vegetables.  My brother and his spouse each tried some of my meal and agreed that it was delicious. I added some brown rice to my plate and enjoyed every last bite!



Fried Bananas with Coconut Ice Cream

While my husband and I don’t normally order dessert, my brother raved about the Sticky Rice so of course we had to order some.  The server described the two desserts that they were offering that evening.  Sticky Rice with Mango ($6.95) and Fried Bananas with Coconut Ice Cream ($6.95).  I love all things coconut so we decided to order one of each dessert. The banana dish consisted of four banana pieces, battered and fried with a scoop of toasted coconut ice cream.  A drizzle of honey finished off the dish.  The fried banana reminded me of warm banana bread and the ice cream was rich and delicious.  I insisted that my brother’s spouse try a bite of the toasted coconut ice cream and I think I have converted him to a coconut lover!



Sticky Rice with Mangoes

Fresh mango slices surrounded the Sticky Rice on our second dessert.  After trying a bite of the Sticky Rice I completely understood why my brother loves it.  My husband didn’t try either of the desserts so between three of us, we finished them up and ended our meal.

For a hole in the wall restaurant that I have never heard of, Spicy Lime didn’t disappoint me.  I give kudos to my brother for the great suggestion, and the great company.

The total bill for the four of us, including tax, was only $89.13.  I thought this was very inexpensive since we had even splurged for dessert.  When trying to find Spicy Lime on-line, I noticed that it does not have a website, but you can find them on Facebook!

Pa Raffa's Italian Restaurant - New Bedford, MA

Pa Raffa’s in New Bedford is an old favorite for when I’m craving pizza, which was the case on this night.  Before we even arrived I knew what I would be ordering.

 

We were seated in one of the smaller booths located in the center of the restaurant.  This is not the most comfortable of the tables, but there were not many other seats available so we didn’t ask for a different table.  Pa Raffa’s is definitely nothing fancy and the décor hasn’t changed in years. A complete remodeling could do wonders for the restaurant but apparently something is working for them since they are always busy. It doesn’t seem that anyone minds the old, outdated booths, tables and decorations!  Apparently I don’t mind either since we continue to go back!

The waitress arrived to take our drink order and, knowing that they didn’t have Malibu Rum, I ordered a Parrot Bay and Diet Coke ($4.25).  My husband ordered a beer – Sam’s Seasonal on tap ($3.75).

Pepperoni Pizza

I knew that I was having a dinner salad with cheese ($3.35) and a Pepperoni Pizza ($7.95)!  My husband was not as decisive as I was so he opened his menu to read through the choices.  He had been wanting chicken parmesan for a while and considered ordering this but opted for a hot tuna grinder ($6.30) and an order of sweet potato fries ($5.50) instead.

Super Thin Crust

Within minutes my salad arrived along with a basket of bread.  I almost always order my salad with just oil and vinegar but I decided to get blue cheese dressing instead.  The dressing was good as far as blue cheese dressing goes but I’ll stick to the oil and vinegar next time.  I think the big mound of pizza cheese on top of my salad made the blue cheese too thick and rich for the salad.

Hot Tuna Grinder

It didn’t take long for our meals to arrive.  My pizza never disappoints!  Very thin crust and loaded with lots of pepperoni!  I shook a bit of crushed red pepper on top and dug right in.

My husband’s grinder was not very exciting, but he seemed to enjoy it along with his basket of sweet potato fries.  I can never resist eating a few fries from his plate so I ate some of those, too.

Sweet Potato Fries

The total bill for our meals, including tax, came to $37.82. We did, however, order a linguica pizza to go (for my daughter), which cost an additional $8.55.  

Pa Raffa’s is not for a fancy night out but when I’m craving a pepperoni pizza, I am always more than happy to go to Pa Raffa’s! 

The Roasted Pig - New Bedford, MA

Since we were fans of Café Funchal (which closed), my husband made the suggestion to go to The Roasted Pig (98 Nash Road, New Bedford) since this restaurant was bought by the owners of Café Funchal. I must say, this was a great suggestion!

When we arrived near Nash Road we automatically looked for on-street parking and found a spot on a side street next to what appeared to be the main entrance of the restaurant and proceeded to walk to that entrance. Well, that entrance was closed and had a sign directing us to the side entrance.  While walking to the other side of the building we noticed that The Roasted Pig did have a small parking lot but it was already filled up since it didn’t offer many spaces. Regardless, this is New Bedford, and on-street parking is common.

As soon as we walked in I immediately noticed how clean the restaurant was. The dining area was off to the left of the building and a large bar, with three large wide-screen televisions, was to the right.  The décor was modern with hardwood floors, tiled walls, and shiny tables spanning the length of the dining room.

We arrived at approximately 6:45 p.m. and we were seated immediately in a table at the center of the restaurant.  When I opened my menu I noticed the extensive martini list and thought I might try something a bit different to drink.  After scanning the 39 different martinis (all ranging in price from $5 - $7), the Pink Panther Martini (coconut rum, vodka, peachtree schnapps, triple sec, grapefruit juice and grenadine) sounded delicious.  When Carla, our waitress, arrived to take our drink order I asked if I could have the Pink Panther in a tall glass as a mixed drink instead of a martini.  “Absolutely” was my answer so I was looking forward to trying this.  My husband ordered a Long Island Iced Tea ($6). When our drinks arrived we were also served a basket of bread and a plate of assorted olives.  The bread basket had both Portuguese rolls and hard, crusty bread (they reminded me of oversized croutons).

I took a sip of my drink and it was delicious!  I thought I had made a great choice.  My husband commented that his drink was also very good.  So far we were satisfied.

The menu was very similar to the old Café Funchal menu and truthfully I had been missing Café Funchal’s Pasta and Clams dish ($14.95) so when I saw this I immediately made my decision.  This pasta dish contained fresh littlenecks simmered in white wine, scallions and garlic finished in a garlic butter sauce tossed over a plate of linguini. 

 

My husband chose the Chicken Mozambique ($12.95). This was not the usual pasta dish, but rather a bowl filled with roasted potato cubes and chicken smothered in sauce and topped with spicy banana peppers. I tried a bite of his dish and was actually a bit jealous. I wished that I was eating that entire bowl because his meal was so delicious!  It wasn’t that I didn’t thoroughly enjoy my pasta and clams, but his Chicken Mozambique had such a great flavor to it. 

 

I asked for a received some additional Portuguese rolls to finish out our meals and stole a few more bites of my husband’s meal before he sopped up the rest of the sauce with the last of his bread.

We ran into our neighbor, who arrived just as we were finishing our meals, and bought him and his guest a drink and made a recommendation on the Chicken Mozambique (which he did end up ordering).  With their drinks included, our total bill came to $45.37.  I will definitely be visiting The Roasted Pig again – and probably ordering the Chicken Mozambique!