British Beer Company, Sandwich
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Chain Restaurant, Good Wine/Beer Selection, Pub on February 1, 2014
British Beer Company is a “chain” of 13 pubs, mostly in southeastern Massachusetts, that seeks to replicate the experience provided by a small town pub in Great Britain. We have no first-hand experience with the original concept, but a countryside dotted with BBCs seems like a pretty good idea. We got a look at two of BBCs restaurants on one recent night, and they’re both pleasantly warm and inviting, with decor that emphasizes rough-hewn wood… and beer.
BBC offers a very large selection of draft beers, ranging from the industrial brewery Kings of Beers that people inexplicably like so much, to obscure craft brews, including the IPA from our friends nearby at Mayflower Brewing.
We stopped first at the BBC in Manomet, a neighborhood in south Plymouth, on a Sunday night, hoping for a seat at the bar to watch the Brooklyn Nets with Paul Pierce and Kevin Garnet in their ultimately triumphant return to the Boston Celtics’ storied parquet floor. The bar was full and the TVs were tuned to some obscure Atlantic 10 college basketball re-run. Fortunately, there’s another BBC right down the road, so we moved on.
Being on the Cape Cod side of the Canal, the BBC in Sandwich is far more mellow in the winter than it likely is during the summer, and probably more mellow than Plymouth is year-round. We easily found a spot at the bar, whose only other occupants were a young couple on a first date, which we surmised because the woman’s unbearably annoying laugh would likely preclude a second encounter.
Our pleasant but brisk bartender, Sunny, offered us a taste of some fancy cabernet, but Gina opted instead for the house (Avalon, $7), in part because the sample was overpowered by the odor of chlorine in the glass. The Big Dog spotted one of those little spoons that signifies the possibility of a black and tan, and got a muddled version ($6.50).
We started with an order of Andouille Scotch Eggs ($8.99). We’d never had any Scotch eggs before, and the basic premise, involving soft-boiled eggs baked in a crust, made Gina squeamish. But these were outstanding. The Andouille sausage made for a flavorful coating, the eggs were lightly cooked but not runny, and the presentation was nice.
The Big Dog ordered a steak and ale pie ($13.99, pictured above) as his entree. It came with a sauteed zucchini and carrot medley that was delicious unless you have an irrational dislike for green summer squash, and mashed potatoes. The crust was heavy and the Dog characterized the gravy inside the pie as “overbearing,” and the steak inside was overcooked. But we’re both Irish enough to know that this is probably just how people in the Old Country like it.
Gina ordered a mahi mahi dish ($16.99) off the full page of “gluten friendly” offerings. While the dish was delicious — moist fish topped with a piquant mango pico, with jasmine rice and approximately seven green beans — the order was apparently so confusing that the kitchen cooked something else entirely then discarded it before starting in on the proper order. We didn’t take note of the time and weren’t in a hurry, but the result was definitely a complimentary-dessert-grade delay, if not handwringing apology from the manager. Here, nothing.
There was enough positive about our visit to the British Beer Company to ensure our return, not just to Sandwich but also to Plymouth. The prices were very reasonable, portions large, food pretty good, and the atmosphere was comfortable. Maybe we just need to recalibrate our expectations before we go.
British Beer Company
46 Route 6a, Sandwich
www.britishbeer.com
Not Your Average Joe’s, Dartmouth
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Chain Restaurant, Family Dining, Good Wine/Beer Selection, Inexpensive Dining, Pub, Restaurant Review on December 7, 2013
Confession time: Gina and the Big Dog have been holding out on you. We’ve been telling you about all these great restaurants in the Southcoast region, but not about the one near the very top of our list.
We love Not Your Average Joe’s, a small regional chain whose closest restaurant to us is on Route 6 in Dartmouth. We go there whenever we find ourselves west of New Bedford. Or north of New Bedford. Or near New Bedford. We bought a Jeep from a dealership across the street, only because we could envision long delicious lunches while we waited for oil changes.
Last summer we managed to convince ourselves that Route 6 in Dartmouth was on the way to Foxborough (it is not) so we could stop for lunch on our way to the Patriots’ training camp. Let’s do a review! we exclaimed. This is delicious! we raved. What a wonderful spot! we enthused.
But for you… nothing. No commentary on cilantro-laced corn garnish, no photos of succulent scallops. Frankly, here’s the problem: we don’t want any more competition for a seat at the comfortable bar. But we do feel kinda bad about holding out, so here are reparations.
Not Your Average Joe’s is a wide open space, from dining room through bar area and into the kitchen. Clever Southwestern-inspired decor makes it work, and even at a crowded happy hour, conversation is comfortable. The center of the bar provides an entertaining view of the pizza prep area and wood-fired oven.
Our most recent visit was for a late lunch on a cold and drizzly day, and we were pleased to see that the menu had changed subtly with the season. Gone were the sunny avocado slices, replaced by warming butternut chunks.
With a basket of delicious chunky bread served with a peppery parmesan oil, we dove into a bottle of Clos du Bois cabernet ($30), a bottle we like enough to buy for evenings in The Doghouse.
The Big Dog ordered a Backyard Burger ($9.99) with cheese, and yes, it tasted like something that might have come out of our Weber, but for the accoutrements — a gleaming soft bun, a sliver of pickle, a soupcon of mustard. He choose greens as an accompaniment in lieu of fries and earned an entire pint of salted caramel ice cream points, redeemed later at home. The burger was perfectly cooked and delicious.
Gina started with a Not Your Average Salad, $3,99 with entree: a melange of young greens with the unexpected addition of hunks of blue cheese and blobs of dried tomatoes in oil. Love either and you’re in heaven. Hate both, like Gina does, and you’re still extremely happy with the remaining fresh salad.
For an entree, Gina picked the chicken enchiladas ($11.99). Two rolled corn tortillas arrived atop yellow rice with black beans, and under an outstanding herb-y poblano crema sprinkled with pumpkin seeds. The enchiladas were meaty and delicious throughout, but each roll’s crunchy end was particularly delightful.
The folks next to us at the bar ordered what we’re guessing was the raspberry sorbet ($6.99, like all desserts) and we apologize for not being able to take a photo of the beautiful presentation, for fear of seeming totally creepy. Take our word for it — the dessert was surrounded by piles of fresh fruit and poufs of whipped cream and looked outstanding.
So, to summarize: the food’s okay, the atmosphere is okay, and you probably shouldn’t go here. Especially when Gina and the Big Dog have a reason to be in Dartmouth, or anywhere near there.
Not Your Average Joe’s
61 State Road, North Dartmouth
www.notyouraveragejoes.com
Matt’s Blackboard, Rochester, MA
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Family Dining, Inexpensive Dining, Outdoor Dining, Restaurant Review on December 5, 2013
Gina and the Big Dog are notoriously particular. People know that if they recommend to us that we try the chicken wings at some remote location in rural Rochester, those chicken wings had better be outstanding.
In this case, our friend Timmy the plumber was not an entirely trustworthy reference, so we did some additional research before making the journey. And honestly, the awful reviews for this place made us intrigued. “Totally forgettable”? “Portions were a little small”? “Service was terrible”? “Food is meh”???
Having had a week of horrific restaurant experiences, starting with a Saturday night debacle with our friends Mary and Jim at the East Bay Grille in Plymouth that was inexcusably awful, we were kind of psyched up for another train wreck. You, our loyal Chow readers, hear about our good experiences, but to avoid libel and profanity issues, the bad experience stories are related verbally to a small group of insiders. And those are fun too.
We found Matt’s Blackboard in the antique strip mall that constitutes Rochester’s sole commercial activity around 3 p.m. on a sunny Friday. At that hour, we were surprised to find groups of diners already seated, and others arriving shortly after we did. We took seats at the bar, whose elevated height obscures its essential diner vibe, with an expansive view of the kitchen.
They’re not kidding about the blackboard thing. The restaurant has a serviceable menu of pedestrian offerings, but the blackboard offers an intriguing window on a culinary imagination that made us want to sit and sample all afternoon.
We started by sharing a house salad. We believe, as you know, that the quality of the house salad is almost invariably an indication of the quality of the food overall. This salad was extraordinarily good. It consisted of crisp, mild mesculun greens, slices of English cucumbers, sliced red onion, and sliced small cherry tomatoes, with what we guessed were chunks of delicious house-made bread turned into croutons. The salad was good, but the dressings were outstanding. Our server brought out little containers of both the balsamic vinaigrette and the roasted garlic parmesan dressing, to avoid any fisticuffs among us; Gina tucked away her leftover parmesan to bring home, and the Big Dog slid his balsamic across the bar, to make sure it went home too.
We both ordered blackboard specials for lunch.
Gina chose the lobster roll and clam chowder ($15.99). The chowder was good, but the lobster roll was the most delicious non-Connecticut (hot and buttered) version she’d ever had. A light hand with the mayonnaise, a strong knife on the celery, and a good fistful of fresh parsley, tossed with delicious fresh lobster chopped to a manageable size, made a salad stuffed into a buttered and grilled hot dog bun. Textbook — cookbook — perfect. Add your lettuce or capers or tarragon if you want, but this pristine version of the classic can’t be beat.
The Big Dog selected a fried clam plate ($16.99). He said the whole-belly clams were chewy, but interestingly, they all disappeared pretty quickly, and Gina thought they were delicious, especially with the silky house-made tartar sauce. The Big Dog said the cole slaw was too liquidy, but interestingly, Gina didn’t get even a bite. The french fries were okay and there were lots left over.
Seats in the small dining area are likely nice. The half dozen bar seats, as we witnessed, may provide a bit too intimate view of the kitchen.
We thought the food was great, the service was very good, and the atmosphere was very pleasant on a Friday afternoon., We will definitely return to Matt’s Blackboard.
And it’s an important lesson for all of us. Cranky diners are the ones who tend to comment on the internet, and they aren’t always to be believed.
Matt’s Blackboard
565 Rounsville Road, Rochester, MA
508-763-8544
http://mattsblackboard.com/
New World Tavern, Plymouth
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Good Wine/Beer Selection, Pub, Restaurant Review on November 24, 2013
Here in the Dog House we have a policy: If you can’t say anything nice about a restaurant, don’t write a review.
Such was the case a few years back when we visited the New World Tavern. We ordered a couple of classic pub dishes — a Middle Eastern sampler and chicken wings — and found them to be so tampered-with as to be unrecognizable, and terrible. We’ve blocked out the details, but it was something like hummus made with butternut squash instead of chick peas, garnished with peppermint sticks. Something like that.
But during a recent visit to the Waterfront Grille in New Bedford, Brenna, our enthusiastic bartender, told us a new chef has dramatically improved the food at the New World Tavern. The context was that we should stop by the Pillory Pub at the Plymouth waterfront sometime before it closes for the season on December 1, because she works there nights and it’s a cool spot, then head up the hill to the New World Tavern for dinner. Her perspective was a combination of restaurant insider and Chamber of Commerce pitchperson, and we were sold.
So with no other plans for a chilly Saturday evening, we headed over to Plymouth’s waterfront. The Pub is across the street from the state park that houses the famous rock and the Mayflower II, and its expanse of open windows is probably a great vantage point for people-watching on a warm summer evening. Approaching the Pub with November winds whistling across the harbor, we were a little alarmed to see the accordion windows peeled back to expose patrons huddled in blankets. The heat is well managed inside, though, and Brenna served up a Mayflower IPA on tap for the Big Dog and a 14 Hands cabernet for Gina.
We walked up North Street to Court Street to find the New World Tavern packed with people, but with minimal effort we slid into a tall cafe table next to six 20-somethings who were out on the town, and listened for a while to Tom Fey singing folksy music and accompanying himself on a guitar.
The beer is the star of the show here, and the New World Tavern touts its 32 beers on tap and 120 bottles. The Big Dog chose Mayflower’s seasonal, Thanksgiving Ale, and while Kelly our server clearly thought that was a good choice, the Dog found it surprisingly more like a stout and less hoppy than his usual IPA. Gina ordered serviceable cabernet.
The Big Dog ordered a chicken proscuitto sandwich ($12), a salty concoction served on a ciabatta roll, with the slab of proscuitto topped with asiago and a big pile of arrugula. We liked it, and liked the crisp waffle fries that came with it.
Gina is on a quest to find the best fish tacos in New England, and wasn’t disappointed here. Nuggets of fried fish were served with a fresh tomato salsa and topped with a tangy buttermilk sauce. For $14 it was a fairly generous portion of three flour tortillas strung together on a skewer. The menu mentions pineapple and salsa verde, both of which, if present at all, were very subtle. The tacos were very good.
As we ate, crowds were streaming in to see The Sleepeaters in the back room, an intimate venue with a second bar. Up front, we could hear the band open with the Rolling Stones’ “Dead Flowers,” but the volume didn’t preclude normal conversation.
Brenna was right about the New World Tavern, and on our way back to the car we stopped in to tell her so. The menu is weighted towards pub specialties that pair well with beer — pizzettas and burgers each have their own section — with some interesting surprises, like braised rabbit, that we’ll have to return and try. But it was also clear that the days of freeform experimentation are gone. The experience was enough to make us rethink our rule, to say: If you can’t say anything nice about a restaurant, give it another try.
New World Tavern
56 Main Street, Plym0uth, MA
thenewworldtavern.com
Cape Cod Central Railroad, Hyannis
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Dining with a Great View, Restaurant Review on August 15, 2013
Now here was an unusual dining experience for Gina and the Big Dog. The food was merely serviceable, the view was disappointing, the decor drab, the service pedestrian, but we’ll look fondly back on the experience itself because of the two delightful strangers who were seated at our table by chance.
We made reservations on the Cape Cod Central “Gourmet Lunch Train” a week before our Wednesday excursion, and didn’t know what to expect. Arriving in downtown Hyannis as instructed, 45 minutes before our 11:30 a.m. boarding time, we imagined being seated with the pack of unruly urchins in matching fluorescent tee-shirts, or worse, with any of the numerous pairs of frail grandmas being hauled around by their hipster granddaughters.
Instead, after some confusion, we were led to the first table in the Great Island car, seated opposite Phil and Betty Rae, a retired couple who summer on the Cape and winter in northern Florida and who we’re pretty sure are the most pleasant people on the East Coast.
While the train chugged through an endless tunnel of bittersweet and ferns, we heard about the couple’s interesting children. While we chewed chicken breast in an egg wash topped with a lemony supreme sauce, a couple of roasted potatoes, and three outstanding asparagus spears, we learned about the couple’s own interesting careers. We heard about Little Dogs and how difficult they can be, and the Big Dog offered some guidance for an upcoming visit by Li’l Dog.
We enjoyed the seafood chowder. We’re not sure you can call a lunch “gourmet” and serve only chicken breast with supreme sauce, but the chicken was good and the potatoes were too. The day’s dessert was a lemon tart with raspberry sauce, and that was good. The coffee was good. We enjoyed a couple of glasses of cabernet with our lunch. Our waitress was cheerful and had really good balance, enabling her to haul a tray full of beverages while the train was in motion.
Looking at a map, you’ll imagine views of the bay, quaint villages, and the majestic Cape Cod Canal. The urchins and many of the grandmas turned out to be in a different non-lunch “Scenic Train Ride” car, along only for the scenery, and we’re certain they were extremely disappointed, because the view is obscured throughout. The sound system played an entertaining selection of rail-related music, but then deteriorated into static. A narrator offered some commentary on the ride back, but we were talking and not paying attention.
So while our servers had to deal with some lurching issues that your normal waitstaff does not, every passenger in the car had the same chowder-chicken-tart order; this was not a service challenge. Presumably, a significant portion of the $45 per person charge is for the train ride. And yet our bill included this off-putting line: If you are happy with your service, we suggest you base your gratuity on 18%-20% of the GRAND total of your bill. We like to think of our dining-out experiences in terms of the overall value, and that statement on the bill suggests that our fee was for lunch service delivered by our waitstaff. If this was a $45 lunch in a train car with a view, it was a horrific rip-off.
And had we been seated with the urchins or Grandma/Hipsters, that would have been our take-away: horrific rip-off. But the fact is that we enjoyed lunch immensely. If the Cape Cod Central Railroad had something to do with us being paired with the nicest couple on the East Coast, then bravo. We’ll leave it at that.
“Gourmet Lunch Train”
252 Main Street, Hyannis
888-797-7245
www.capetrain.com
Elisabeth’s, Fairhaven
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Good Wine/Beer Selection, Inexpensive Dining, Seafood Restaurants on June 12, 2013
Elisabeth’s feels like a diner when you enter, largely because of the chrome trim around its 15 or so tables. It is part of chilly gray/silver motif accented with an occasional nautical artifact. At the far end the skeleton of a rowboat hovers above the open kitchen, adorned with twinkling blue lights. At the entrance of the long, narrow room is a bar which, during daylight, feels more like a diner’s tall lunch counter.
There the diner comparison ends, as Elisabeth’s food is far more sophisticated, while prices are quite reasonable. Lunch entrees are in the $10 to $14 range, and slightly larger dinner portions topping out at less than $20. We think people would pay a bundle more for this delicious food.
We’d just made a rainy Friday afternoon jaunt to the fish market in New Bedford, so were inspired to sample Elisabeth’s scallop choices. When they arrived, we quickly realized that we had each ordered a dish the other of us would prefer, so we swapped.
Gina ended up with a selection off the regular menu, Sauteed Sea Scallops Espinage, a word we suspect someone believes is French for “spinach.” The dish, at $10.95, was described as “roasted garlic and spinach pesto with wine and cream on rice with tomatoes and asparagus, garnished with Buzzards Bay scallops.” We’ve posted a photo because it was as beautiful as it was tasty, and Elisabeth’s description, as well as anything we might come up with, could not do it justice. Under the deftly carmelized scallop pieces was a scattering of whole baby spinach leaves; the sauce on top was a delicious lemony, creamy concoction.
The Big Dog tucked into a daily special, Sauteed Scallop Chunks with tomatoes, lemon-basil pesto, fresh penne noodles, white wine and cream, again with the Buzzards Bay scallop garnish ($9.95). The penne had the telltale jagged edge and chewiness of a freshly made batch, and the dish had a generous dusting of parmesan cheese.
This followed a bowl of clam chowder ($4.95). Elisabeth’s version is an unthickened cream broth piled high with clams and potatoes. We’d also asked for a bread basket because everyone else had one, but the impenetrable sourdoughiness probably wasn’t worth the calories.
With our lunch, we enjoyed glasses of Genesis Meritage and Avalon Cabernet Sauvignon, each tasty enough to prompt us to look for bottles at our local wine shop. Our pleasant waitress, Amanda, told us that Margaret’s, a restaurant located two doors down, shares ownership, staff, and many menu elements, but Margaret’s is a BYOB joint that also serves breakfast.
Some might find the small portion size here to be an issue. Each of our dishes could have been bulked up with as extra scoop of rice or pasta, but to what end? We’d rather have top quality ingredients prepared well in small quantities than a giant pile of cheap carbs. We felt that the lesser quantity emphasized the quality and we liked that.
Overall, we found Elisabeth’s to be a very good experience with great food, and we look forward to returning.
Elisabeth’s
1 Middle Street
Fairhaven, MA
508-993-1712
Inn on Shipyard Park, Mattapoisett
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Good Wine/Beer Selection, Pub on April 28, 2013
We hardly ever dine at the standard times. The Big Dog is usually working at what others would consider lunch and dinner time, and it just seems weird to be in from the sunshine at noon. The downside to our approach is that we don’t necessarily observe how the waitstaff handles a busy room, and in the case of the Inn on Shipyard Park, our midafternoon lunch/dinner meant we probably missed a rollicking crowd. But what we got was the full attention of Tom, the pleasant bartender, and the skilled kitchen.
You may remember the Inn on Shipyard Park as the Kinsale Inn, an old-timey pub in Mattapoisett’s quaint downtown overlooking the charming Mattapoisett Harbor. They describe themselves as “the oldest seaside inn in the nation,” but the fact is, when you’re deep inside this rustic restaurant, you might as well be in Scottsdale for all the seaside you see.
But so what. We sat at the bar and watched ESPN, and had one of the best late lunches we’ve enjoyed in a long time.
We started with lobster egg rolls ($12). There was the expected kvetching about what the menu called “fresh curry mango chutney” but which tasted like mayonnaise mixed with pineapple juice. We didn’t really care, because the egg rolls were so delicious on their own — crunchy on the outside and meltingly moist on the inside. We think the stuffing was simply cooked julienned carrots and cabbage with enough lobster to get some in every sumptuous bite, without an overwhelming lobster flavor.
With the egg rolls behind us and full glasses of Mayflower Seasonal (Spring Hops) and 14 Hands Cabernet, debate ensued. This is not a good menu for those who find decision-making difficult. Through one half-hour segment of SportsCenter, we came up with dozens of appealing combinations, but finally settled on a cobb salad ($12) for her, and “savory meatloaf” ($11) for him, the latter because of a promise of green beans which never materialized.
In their place was a heavenly melange of flavorful summer squashes and red peppers. The meatloaf was mousselike in its lightness, grounded with dollops of gravy. A hearty scoop of mashed potatoes shared the gravy and a dusting of flavorful dried herbs, maybe parsley.
The cobb salad was simply the best we’ve had. The base was spinach. The toppings included a half avocado, a hard-boiled egg, grilled corn that was a tad spongy in April, nearly half a cup of bacon hunks, some bleu cheese, and halved cherry tomatoes. The garnish was a generous serving of grilled chicken slices. This was the kind of salad that makes one wonder why one can’t lose any weight. In fact, there was so much that we brought half the salad home for our “Dog House” dinner.
In all, The Inn is somewhere that we will frequent throughout this next summer season. Looking forward to sharing the experience with friends who we know will enjoy it as we did.
Inn on Shipyard Park
13 Water Street, Mattap0isett, MA
www.theinnonshipyardpark.com
Airport Grille, 41.41N 70.58W
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Good Wine/Beer Selection, Restaurant Review, Romantic Dining, Seafood Restaurants on April 7, 2013
Put your flaps up and landing gear down for final approach to this fine restaurant located, appropriately, at the New Bedford Airport. From the air, the Grille may look romantic or welcoming, but arriving by land, we entered through a winding industrial park road and walked through a formica-clad airport waiting room. The contrast made the sleek restaurant decor seem even snazzier than it is. Cape Air provides passenger service at New Bedford, and the Airport Grille certainly approaches island standards for those stopping in for a snack before their 50-minute flight to Nantucket.
For our earthbound excursion, we were joined by Estelle and Rupert, who were sipping espresso martinis when we arrived. We began with an order of PEI mussels in a traditional preparation of white wine and butter ($10). The dish was also available with littlenecks, and could be prepared Portuguese style, or diavolo. This was a great choice and should have guided the rest of our evening: when in New Bedford, even in a landlocked industrial park, eat fish.
The Big Dog and Rupert each ordered a salad which the ladies sampled. Dog’s “local greens” ($6) was crisp and fresh in a lightly applied balsamic vinaigrette. Rupert’s wedge salad ($7) looked pretty good, despite slices of wan, wintry tomatoes, but Estelle said the creamy dressing was oppressive.
Gina made the best entree choice of the night, selecting roasted sole ($18) and scarfing it down before the rest of the party had a chance to get a good look at it. The sole was layered with crab meat and linguica atop risotto with green beans. The stack was topped with hearty crumbs and a light lemony hollandaise sauce, a delicious combination. (Note to dining companions: See photo above.)
Estelle selected a pappardelle bolognese ($15) whose lightly applied sauce had a nice tang to it.
The Big Dog ordered a sirloin steak ($26) and regretted it because of that whole fish thing. The steak cut was gristly, the asparagus tasty but nothing spectacular, and even the bernaise sauce was weak.
Rupert ordered salmon ($18). It came with couscous and broccoli rabe and a piquant sauce, and was excellent. The very fresh and hearty cut of salmon was perfectly prepared and complimented by the yummy sauce.
With our entrees, we shared a bottle of Bazan malbec ($30) which we all enjoyed.
To conclude, we shared a creme brulee, because it turns out that Estelle also adheres to Gina’s rule that if creme brulee appears on the menu, you have to order it, because it’s invariably delicious, and it’s not like you’re going to make it at home. It was topped with a kind of a sad-looking strawberry.
Before taking off, we poked around the restaurant, which was quiet for a Saturday, and found a lovely lounge where comfy leather chairs were arrayed around a gas fireplace. We’re guessing that the sunset, as well as the display of air traffic in the summer season, would be pretty spectacular. But the food was great too, and that’s a rare combination.
Airport Grille
1569 Airport Road, New Bedford
www.airportgrille.com
Rye Tavern, Plymouth, MA
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Good Wine/Beer Selection, Outdoor Dining, Pub, Romantic Dining on March 29, 2013
The Rye Tavern is located on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. The sooner you get over that, and stop worrying about running out of gas or being eaten by bears, the better off you will be.
The structure was built in 1797 and presumably at that time it was on a busy thoroughfare. Today, one dirt entrance takes you past the golf course community known as The Pinehills, and the other brings you in through bucolic horse farms. These are neighbors who think nothing of shelling out 45 bucks for a bottle of Cabernet, as the folks next to us at the bar did. That’s pretty pricey for us canines, but not inconsistent for the menu.
That said, our total before tip, for two appetizers, two entrees, and a bottle of La Fiera Montepulciano ($25), came to just $91. Not bad for an excellent, ample dinner of fresh ingredients, as local as the bitter March winds would allow, prepared at the direction of an expert chef. We happened to be on duty for the first night of a new menu, and we had difficulty making choices.
Our mild red wine arrived alongside a bread basket that the Big Dog thought was the highlight of the dinner — a sweet, cakelike cinnamon bread and an oatmeal bread that probably contained something like pumpkin.
But surely the actual highlight was the carrot and ginger soup ($7) that the Dog ordered as an appetizer. Topped with a dollop of brie and sprinkled with chopped chives, the puree was thick enough to eat with a fork. The sweet carrots were edged out by the spicy ginger in a concoction that transcended the traditional combination.
But no! The real highlight was Gina’s crispy brussels sprout appetizer ($6). Braised sprout leaves fluttered around a puddle of lemon aioli, anchored by meaty sprout halves and sprinkled with teeny candied sunflower seeds. Kathleen, our able bartender, said a previous seasonal menu had omitted the sprouts appetizer, and regulars were very unhappy.
If our entree selections were any indication, Chef Joanna Farrar’s M.O. is to mix the vegetables and starch together, plate it over a ladle of sauce, position the protein on top, and garnish the dish with something interesting. For people who use a divided dish into adulthood, this is a disconcerting approach, but some of us like it. The Big Dog is on the fence about it, and this affected his view of dinner.
He ordered scallops ($23). Five large scallops were seared to a mahogany color while maintaining their juicy interior. The ladle was a rich balsamic glaze. The veggie/starch mix was quinoa, tomatoes, and olives. The garnish was arrugula in a lemony dressing. Despite the Dog’s reservations about quinoa, apparently an acquired taste or texture, there was nothing left to bring home.
Gina’s dish ($25) was a mix of couscous, mushrooms, and peas, topped by two generous and juicy slabs of swordfish, garnished with a bright salsa verde and a scoop of house-made ricotta. She ultimately agreed with the Dog that the combination of everything was overwhelming, but the Divided Dish gene she inherited, along with the ability to separate ingredients with a fork or knife, revealed the individual elements as delicious.
Now, to offset our whining about the bumpy, bear-lined roads, we should mention one feature that will bring us back, and two others that are really cool. We will definitely find our way back to the Tavern to sit outside on the heated patio around a gas fire. The country setting and charming landscape would make this a great spot for outdoor dining or just a gruner veltliner on a summer night. A secondary feature is what they describe as a 2,100 square foot vegetable garden. And finally, imagine wending your way through a two-century-old tavern, complete with what appear to be original features, into a nicely appointed restrooms complete with wooden sinks. No kidding! They’re new, and they’re beautiful.
Plymouth is full of odd antiquities, and here is one that is well off the beaten path — and well worth visiting. We envy the folks for whom this is a neighborhood tavern.
Rye Tavern
517 Old Sandwich Road, Plymouth
www.ryetavern.com
Bittersweet Farm Tavern, Westport, MA
Posted by Gina and The Big Dog in Family Dining, Pub, Romantic Dining on February 23, 2013
On a snowy winter night, there’s little more welcoming than a basement tavern with a roaring fireplace, dark wood decor, an attentive bartender, the soft murmur of quiet conversations, and excellent food.
Bittersweet Farm Tavern comes close to all that. On our first visit recently, we enjoyed a very good meal. The soft murmur was somewhat marred by the hubbub of a large party preparing for an event upstairs, and by a howling baby. The bartender may ordinarily have been attentive, but was distracted by computer problems.
But we would have to be pretty cranky to let those details spoil our evening. The food was well prepared using fresh-tasting ingredients, and the varied menu enabled each of us to choose our go-to favorites, the dishes we’re always happy to be able to order and about which we consider ourselves to be near-expert. We had a very enjoyable dinner for $100, including tip, with thanks to the Big Dog’s sister Kelly and her family for the Christmas gift certificate that got us out there in the first place.
The Big Dog started with an order of a half dozen oysters. The bartender gave him a choice of Cuttyhunks and Sakonnets and the Dog opted for three of each, to compare. They were easy to tell apart: the Sakonnets were smaller, sweeter, and maintained their delicate mollusk shape, definitely recommended if you ever get the chance.
Next up: two house salads, a medley of fresh mixed greens and other vegetables, with an excellent balsamic dressing.
The Big Dog ordered fish and chips, shown above, and said it was an excellent rendition, with perfect chunky cole slaw in a clever romaine bowl, and really good fish. Very fresh and very delicious, with a light batter. Those big flat fries are rarely any good, and the Dog would likely order something else next time to avoid them.
Gina’s choice was bernaise sauce. It happened to come with a bacon-wrapped filet, but the sauce was just as good on the accompanying broccoli, baked potato, and fork.
The menu at Bittersweet Farm is really quite impressive, with such a range of dishes that it’s difficult to choose. All the more reason to return.
Bittersweet Farm
438 Main Road, Westport MA
www.bittersweetfarm.com
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