Riccardi's Italian Restaurant - New Bedford, MA

It was a cold and rainy evening and I really wanted some warm comfort food to get the chill out of my body.  We don’t often go out for Italian but I thought that some pasta would do the trick.  The closest Italian restaurant was Riccardi’s in New Bedford.  I haven’t been to Riccardi’s in several years so we thought we would give it a try. 

Pizza Pager

We arrived at 6:25 p.m. and were told that there was a 20-25 minute wait.  Since we decided we would wait, we were given a “slice of pizza” pager and exited the main dining room to go to the take out/café area to wait.  The take out area had two booths, two small tables and counter seating for four.  This area seemed to be a good place for casual dining or for having a quick lunch.  The décor was designed to mimic an Italian café with tile floors and yellow walls that were painted to look like stucco with areas of exposed brick.  While we were waiting, lots of people came in and out picking up their take-out orders.  The distinct smell of pizza coming from the kitchen was making me very hungry and I couldn’t wait for our “pizza” to start buzzing so we could be seating in the dining room.

Our “pizza” went off at 6:45 p.m. and we were brought to our table in the main dining room. It was much warmer in this area of the restaurant, mainly due to the fireplace that was in the center.  The dining room at Riccardi’s was relatively small with only about 12 booths and six tables available for seating.  The décor was a bit outdated with several artificial hanging plants hanging from the ceiling and a carpet that was a bit dirty and dingy.  The overall atmosphere was very rustic with knotty pine cathedral ceilings and exposed wooden beams. Regardless, the restaurant was crowded so I was expecting the food to be good.

I was a bit disappointed that they don’t have a full bar and only offer beer and wine for alcoholic beverage selections.  Since I don’t drink beer or wine, I ordered a glass of iced water. My husband ordered a Sam’s Seasonal Summer Ale ($2.95).


The menu was filled with traditional Italian dinners, pizzas and sandwiches.  Since I was having difficulty deciding what to order, I decided to choose one of the “Italian Feasts”.  The Naples Feast included lasagna with linguini pesto, a homemade meatball and a dinner salad for only $9.95.  This seemed like a great value and would allow me to try a variety of different items. 

My husband chose the Chicken Parmigiana ($11.95), which was baked with two cheeses and tomato sauce. His meal was served with soup (minestrone was the only choice) or salad and choice of pasta.  He chose the salad and spaghetti for his pasta.  For the salad, the only dressing choice given was Italian but they did bring some extra oil and vinegar on the side.



Dinner Salad

When our salads arrived, the waitress also brought a basket of warm wheat bread with butter.  Before we even finished our salads, our meals arrived.



Naples Feast
 

While I had three different items in my “feast”, the serving sizes were small enough, making it just the right size for a meal.  The linguine pesto was smothered in olives, mushrooms and roasted red peppers.  Luckily this was served in its own dish because there was lots of olive oil that seeped to the bottom of the dish.  The lasagna was tasty, but there wasn’t anything “special” about it.  The red sauce was the same sauce that was on my meatball and the same sauce that was on both of my husband’s plates. 

Chicken Parmigiana

The Chicken Parmigiana that my husband ordered was covered with cheese and baked in that same tomato sauce.  A spoonful of the sauce and a few sprigs of parsley garnished the dish.  His spaghetti was served in a separate dish on the side.  The portion size was just enough and my husband finished his entire meal.

Overall, I would say that our meal at Riccardi’s was reasonably good and reasonably priced.  There was a large selection of basic Italian dishes to choose from and the dishes that I was able to try in my “feast” provided me with the Italian comfort food experience that I was looking for.  Since I didn’t have an alcoholic beverage, our total bill was relatively low at $26.56 including tax.  Riccardi’s gave us a decent meal for a decent price.

The Galley Grille - Westport, MA

It’s that time of year again – when we attend the annual Freetown fundraising event (Comedy Show) at White's of Westport.  The event begins at 7:00 p.m. so we did not have a lot of time to have dinner beforehand.  We were trying to find somewhere different to eat so we drove down Route 6 in Dartmouth, heading toward Westport.  There were a few Chinese Restaurants along the way, we drove past Trio’s, but it appeared to be very crowded, and before you knew it, we were already at White's.  We knew there was a public restaurant located there and since we were strapped for time, we decided we would give it a try.  The restaurant is The Galley Grille. 

There were a few parties ahead of us but we were told the wait would only be about 20 minutes.  Since it would take us longer than that to find an alternate location, we decided we would wait.  It was 6:00 when we arrived at The Galley Grille and, if all went well, we would still be able to make the beginning of the comedy show.

The hostess appeared to be very disorganized and seemed to be challenged with trying to get everyone seated in an appropriate amount of time. There were a few parties that had reservations, which seemed to confuse the hostess even more.  Considering the chaos, we were seated within about 15 minutes.

Side Salad

While we were waiting for a table we had already glanced over the menu so we could order our meals as soon as we were seated.  When the waitress arrived we ordered our drinks and meals right away. For drinks, I ordered a Malibu Rum & Diet Coke ($7.00) and my husband ordered a Sam’s Seasonal (bottle) for $5.00. For meals, I ordered Bourbon-Glazed Beef Tips, grilled and loaded with sautéed peppers and onions for $14.99 and my husband ordered a Buffalo Chicken Salad, with mixed field greens, topped with hot or mild buffalo chicken, red onions, crumbled blue cheese dressing and croutons for $9.99.  In addition to my meal, I ordered a side salad for $2.99.

The décor at The Galley Grille is very old and dated, with an overabundance of nautical decorations. The dated look made the restaurant appear to be a bit dingy as well.  Based on my impression at the door as well as my impression of the interior, I was not expecting much from my meal.

Bourbon-Glazed Beef Tips

Upon receiving my meal, my first impressions were accurate.  The food was not very impressive. I took a few bites of my beef tips but could not finish eating them.  The bourbon glaze was much too sweet and somewhat reminded me of a Chinese sweet sauce. This was completely not what I expected based on the description.   There was some “basic” rice pilaf on my plate, which is what I chose as my side dish, and a heaping portion of baby carrots (which I wouldn’t eat and would have asked to omit had I known the vegetable was carrots).  Overall, I was very disappointed in my meal.



Buffalo Chicken Salad

Moving on to my husband’s salad, there was nothing special about it. There were several pieces of breaded chicken glazed with buffalo sauce sitting atop a rather basic mixed green salad with some crumbled blue cheese added to it. Two sides of blue cheese dressing completed the presentation.  Although the description mentioned croutons, those were not included.

My husband had a few bites of my beef tips and did not dislike them as much as I did. At least they would not be a complete waste. He finished the tips and ate a few of my carrots.  I opted to have a second dinner roll dipped in oil to fill me up.

Considering our waitress was not very attentive, we managed to eat our meals, pay our bill ($41.93 including tax), and make it to the Comedy show just in time for it to begin.  After this bad experience I will not be visiting The Galley Grille again.

Waterfront Grille - New Bedford, MA

We were heading back to Your Theatre, Inc. on Rivet Street in New Bedford and wanted to go back to Fernando’s Grille and Bar but luckily I called ahead only to find out that they would not have any available seating until 7:30 p.m.  Since we were going to see a play at 8:00, this would not have allowed us enough time for dinner.  We needed a Plan B and since we were heading in the direction of downtown New Bedford, we called ahead to see if WaterfrontGrille, located at 33 Homers Wharf, had a wait.  It was approximately 6:15 and we were told that there wasn’t a wait so we decided to check it out.

When we arrived, there was a hostess located just inside the doorway and there was a long hallway toward the dining area.  We were quickly seated next to a window overlooking New Bedford harbor. 
 

View when we arrived

 
The view was wonderful, with fishing vessels docked on the pier and the sun just beginning to set in the distance over the water.  I was hoping that the meal would be as good as the view.

The waitress arrived immediately to take our drink order.  I decided I would only be having water but my husband ordered a 7&7 ($5.50). While waiting for our drinks, I looked around the dining room and noticed that the restaurant was relatively large.  There were a few separate rooms available for seating along with a small bar in the main dining room where we were located.  In addition, there was a sushi bar that was set off to the side of the dining room but appeared to be vacant and closed during our visit.  Considering it was a Friday night and the restaurant was large, there were not a lot of guests dining when we arrived.  There were only two other tables being served a third party was seated at the bar enjoying cocktails. 

Ginger Orange Glazed Scallops

After reviewing the menu I decided on the Ginger Orange Glazed Scallops ($18) which came with a choice of two sides.  The list of available sides was extensive and consisted of French Fries, Sauteed Kale, Steamed Broccoli, Saffron Risotto, Sweet Potato Fries, Coconut Rice, Steamed Spinach, Brown Rice, Mashed Potatoes, Cole Slaw, Baked Sweet Potato, Baked Potato, Roasted Carrots and Wasabi Mashed Potatoes.  I chose the Sauteed Kale and Coconut Rice. I thought that these sides would make a nice accompaniment to my pan seared scallops as this dish was described as scallops cooked in an orange ginger sauce and garnished with scallions.  As a last-minute addition I decided to order a side salad ($4) with blue cheese dressing.


Side Salad



My husband ordered Baked Scrod with seasoned crumbs and herb butter for $16.  For sides, he chose Sweet Potato Fries and Cole Slaw.

Baked Scrod

After placing our order the waitress brought us a basket of warm rolls with cinnamon butter. There were two different varieties, French and herb, to choose from and both were delicious, especially with the cinnamon butter. 

As soon as I was finished with my salad, our meals arrived.  At first glance, the meals were attractively plated and looked like they would be delicious.  My plate had seven large scallops, a perfectly portioned serving of coconut rice and a heaping pile of sautéed kale.  While the scallops and rice looked delicious, the kale, on the other hand, was very off-putting.  I was expecting a nice sautéed kale but this side was more charcoaled than sautéed.  The edges of the kale were burnt, both in flavor and appearance.  I took no more than two bites but it was not very pleasant.  I ate the scallops and rice, both which were delicious but left the kale on my plate. 

View when we left

My husband enjoyed his baked scrod but commented that the serving size was rather small.  The scrod was baked in a small bowl and may have appeared larger if it was in a different vessel when served. 

Overall the meal was okay.  The seafood was fresh and the view was beautiful. Aside from the side order of kale, the food was decent.  We will likely not rush back to the Waterfront Grille but I wouldn’t cross it completely off my list of restaurant to dine at.  The total bill, including tax was $46.55.