Fall River & New Bedford MA Area Restaurants

[Haggis man]

I am almost ready to make my annual trek up to New bedford (actually South Dartmouth). Any great places to dine with kids and a large group? Anything from Fall River to New bedford or inbetween will work.

Thanks

Scott

[galleygirl]

Everytime Portuguese food in New Bedford gets brought up, someone says, "Well, of course there's Antonio's", and someone else will respond, "Oh yes, Antonio's". So, since everyone seems to know Antonio's except me, I took advantage of a hungry Non-Portuquese-eating friend's desperation while antiqueing in NB last fall, to finally get there....

Antonio's is conveniently located 2 blocks from New Bedford Antiques, the huge group shop you can see from the hiway, 1 exit from the New Bedford National Historic Park...Not as good as it used to be, but only a few blocks from the newer, Acushnet River Antiques, another group shop that was full of good stuff...

But enough of this, 5 hours of antiqueing had us *starved*, so I asked a local where A's was...She perked right up, directed me, and gushed, "Oh, I love that Chicken Antonios' with Shrimp, and that sauce"....

So, off we went...It looked like my kinda place, a bar-room/neighborhood casual, non-dive...(NB:Cash only) Full of locals, from familes, to couples on dates, to white-haired gay couples...

The food, to coin a phrase, was red-sauce Portuguese....Not that everything was sauced, or even that the sauce was red, but it was that kind of Ethnic/American version of the original, that will appeal to both. I mean, our waitress was speaking to everyone in Portuguese, but my Portu-phobic friend loved the place...

The menu was huge, in Portuguese and English. Things started out on the right foot, with a surprisingly up-to-date and *reasonable* wine list...We had a bottle of Barba, a white from the Alentejo region, for $12....Only a few bucks more than retail! It was sharp, crisp, and dry, a big hit. And a big surprise for my friend, who thinks all Portuguese whites are Vinho verdes.

The next happy surprise were the pasteis de bacalhoa, their fried salted-codfish cakes. Just order and don't translate the "salted cod" part to your friends ...They were about half-fish, three-inch long footballs, straight from the fryer, and better than any version I've had in Boston lately, where everyone seems to be buying their potato-heavy versions from the same Portuguese restaurant supplier. (How do you say Sysco in Portuguese?)

As my friend inhaled his second one, he asked, "So, what are these again?" 75 cents a piece. As cheap as the streets of Lisbon...

The menu included lots of grilled meats, pork chops, lamb chops chicken, espeidas(skewers) and fish. There was even a special of roasted pork loin, and duck!..No octopus[;(], but three different versions of sauteed littlenecks, a few of mussels,and a few variations of the Portuquese chorizo-clam combo...There was only one caldeirada offered, at $19.95, the highest price on the menu, but it had a lobster in it,and I'm always too lazy to dig around in a broth-drenched crustacean in public(g). I'm used to a few variation of this dish...No salted cod preparations besides boiled or grilled.

The red-sauce comes in on the stewed, sauteed and braised dishes..It seemed like a pretty good sauce/broth, BTW, orangey with saffron, tasting of peppers more than garlic, lots of EVOO and wine. My friend quite liked it; he had the recommended Chicken Antonio's with shrimp, sauteed in "the sauce", and totally covered with a MOUND of those wonderful Portuguese fried potatoes...But I did notice that half the dishes coming out of the kitchen had "the sauce" on them...

They also had huge amounts of food on them, and not the Familia Giorgios' kind of amount, where there's a pound of pasta, and not much else...It was the kind of amount where you have enough protein for lunch the next day. In fact, every platter coming out of the kitchen could have fed two..

I mean, there's *no* reason a person needs to eat eight perfectly-grilled sardines, is there? Which was why I stopped at 5...After all my whining about red-sauce, I had the most quintessential of Portuguese meals; grilled whole sardines, and potatoes boiled with a little olive oil, with a salad... For $8.95!!!!!!! The fish were fresh, tasty, just brushed with olive oil, and a squeeze of lemon. Better the the ones I had at Lupa a few weeks ago(sorry, Mario my luv), better than I've had in the Cambridge places, as good as my favorite, O'Fado in Peabody...

And the killer was, with the bottle of wine, two dinners, apps and a tip, we walked out for $42, with two lunches for today.

So, should you drive over an hour from Boston just for Antonio's? No, but if you live closer, or surf, sand, sightseeing and shopping bring you down there, definitely go. Hell, I'd sit at the bar and gorge on those pasteis de bacalhao and wine bargains all day long(g).

[KateW]

I've lived in NB for just a couple years and my fiance, who is from North Dartmouth, and I both find the area really lacking in anything beyond chains. I second Antonio's of course. What about Ma Raffa's, or Riccardi's, if you want Italian? Rosie's is good, but I never see many kids there. They're not great, but they're good, based on what's available.

[9lives]

I had a great Portuguese meal at Sagres in Fall River...

http://chowhound.com/newengland/boards/new...ages/11739.html

[GG Mora]

You know, I lived in New Beige for 4 years while I was in art school & never got hipped to Antonio's. You'd think it would've been a given for starving art students. But we were high-minded and insular, and who knew anything about food then? Dayum. Next time I'm through town, I'm taking the family to Antonio's.

[onedaylingers]

I've just moved to Fall River, MA after four years of incredible eating in Melbourne, Australia, and am heartily missing being right smack in the city. There are a couple of great threads/blogs on Providence, but it seems that where I am--Darthmouth, MA--is Providence's poor cousin when it comes to food. I'm hoping to be told otherwise! (I have so far had mediocre Mexican, Chinese, Thai and Lebanese, with the most palatable meal hailing from *gasp* Olive Garden)

I'm got all 10 digits crossed that fellow eGulleteers and their tips will unravel some secret squirrel underground foodie culture in Dartmouth!

[mod*betty]

I worked in North Dartmouth a few years back when I still lived in Mass, and the only things that come to mind are the following:

If only for the authentic old timey ambiance and menu, I recommend the Buttonwood Grille on 6, just across from Bishop Something high school. I would lunch there occasionally and feel like I was an old lady in training, but there is just something so authentic and no nonsense about the place that appeals to me. Went to breakfast there about a year ago with my sister and little niece ans was pleased to see "cherise" on the menu as a breakfast meat option. Also seem to recall something known as a chop suey sandwich on the menu. Bet you can't get that at Olive Garden!

Speaking of Portuguese food in the area, another place I would recommend, again more old timey than high falutin, would be Angelo's Orchid diner. Authentic Stainless Steel Diner and good home cookin, it was a total tossup between here and the Buttonwood for breakfast that morning. I remember sitting next to someone at the counter once who was eating something that looked so foreign to me I just had to ask what it was-- drusilla? grusilla they replied. I feigned recognition, but I really have no idea what it was.

Not to go too far down the diner route if that isn't your thing, but there is the Shawmut Diner and also the Nest Diner in the area.

Other than that, I recall a neat old icecream shop in the shape of a bottle? Barrel? on the way to picturesque Padanaram.

Watch out for Lizzie Borden!

[onedaylingers]

thanks for all your suggestions, mod betty =)

the 'ice cream bucket' really intrigued me, so i did some research--it seems it was damaged in a hurricane in the 1950s, and later on used by the Children's Museum. since then, it's been awaiting restoration in a park somewhere...so no funky ice cream, for now!

i'm not a huge fan of diners, but i'll definitely check out Angelo's Orchid--if only cos it 'sounds' slightly off-kilter enough. now if you (or anyone else) could only divulge a reliable source for fresh, raw seafood? it seems so strange to me that dartmouth's right on the coast, but all i've seen in the local groceries are grey, pallid affairs!

[opinionatedchef]

I've just moved to Fall River, MA after four years  of incredible eating in Melbourne, Australia, and am heartily missing being right smack in the city. There are a couple of great threads/blogs on Providence, but it seems that where I am--Darthmouth, MA--is Providence's poor cousin when it comes to food. I'm hoping to be told otherwise! (I have so far had mediocre Mexican, Chinese, Thai and Lebanese, with the most palatable meal hailing from *gasp* Olive Garden)

I'm got all 10 digits crossed that fellow eGulleteers and their tips will unravel some secret squirrel underground foodie culture in Dartmouth!

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[opinionatedchef]

enter New Bedford into the search box and more things will come up. we come down yearly for the new bedford summer folk festival and pickins are slim. However, we have had excellent Pork with Clams at well known portuguese restnt in nb- Antonio's. and Candlewick is good italian and has a patio, but i've never heard of anyth particularly excellent down there-though Persimmon in Bristol- is innovative and excellent.and expensive. somehow I heard about Yang's in N.B. but haven't tried it. sorry but maybe you'll enjoy discovering Providence, a really neat, and historic New England city with tons of cultural and culinary opportunities.

[mod*betty]

Here is the website of the milk can shaped ice cream place I was thinking of:

http://www.salvadorsicecream.com/

(Thanks to google and agilitynut's roadside resource for the info

http://www.agilitynut.com/roadside.html

so nice to have help from other sources when my memory just ain't enough!)

[foodcyclist]

I've been traveling up to the New Bedford area for several years now to visit my wife's family. We go two or three times a year and usually enjoy the area's local seafood dives and bars. Not exactly what I'm used to in Northern New Jersey but a change of pace is nice. Aside from a couple well known Portuguese and seafood restaurants SE Mass is really lacking in certain culinary areas. Anyone familiar with the New Bedford/Dartmouth/Acushnet/Marion/Taunton area and can suggest a rock solid New American or French Restaurant? It's amazing that in some of the more upscale areas, like Marion and Mattepoisett, there's really no choices for upscale dining.

Thanks for your help!

Steve

btw- One place I did find on my last visit was the Kinsale Inn in Mattepoisett right accross from the harbor. Nice, cozy upscale tavern. Wicked nice! ;-)-s

[Chris Amirault]

Does Westport count? I've always liked the Back Eddy but haven't been there in years.

[foodcyclist]

Does Westport count? I've always liked the Back Eddy but haven't been there in years.

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It certainly does as that's right up the road from Dartmouth on rt 6.

Thanks

Edited October 31, 2007 by foodcyclist (log)