My uncle in New Bedford invited me down for the weekend as his sister-in-law’s family was coming down as well, and he thought it would be a good idea to flood New Bedford with Indians.  Ironically that was the way Moby Dick started…  Anyway, as most of the places we went to I’ve already been, we finally ended up trying a new place called the Candleworks in downtown New Bedford.  The Candleworks Restaurant was a former candle factory, and is a building that has been in New Bedford since the 1900’s (It’s funny that saying “early 20th century” doesn’t feel very long ago).

The Candleworks is a typical New Bedford restaurant, mostly surf and turf, with very limited vegetarian options.  The bread is a rubbery Italian style bread, and is served with olive oil/parmesan dipping sauce that provides some flavor.  I think we’ve reached the point as a society where we expect dipping sauce with bread, to the point that people spend less time making good bread, and more time on the dipping sauce.

I ordered as an appetizer the mushroom duxelles, which was stuffed mushroom caps filled with a mushroom puree, hazelnuts and garlic.  The mushrooms were pretty good, though they used the typical white mushrooms that have the least flavor, so I was pretty underwhelmed.

My uncle’s sister-in-law got the hummus plate (as the other vegetarian in the group), and that too was pretty average.  I sort of annoys me that people charge $7 for a plate of pureed chickpeas with fried pita chips.  Oh, I’m sorry, they put a few slices of roasted red peppers…

The salad that came with my entree.  A picture is worth a thousand words, but a thousand words would be indulgent to describe this salad.  It’s a salad.  Description done.

I ordered the penne alla vodka, which came with a medley of vegetables.  I can’t imagine the conversation involved in coming up with the menus:

“Hey, we forgot to make a vegetarian entree!”

“Crap!  What do vegetarians eat?”

“Bread?  Pasta?”

“Ok, let’s make a penne alla vodka!”

“Yeah, let’s throw in a bunch of vegetables too, because that’s what those people like!”

“But don’t you think that the vegetable flavors might convolute the vodka flavor?”

“Whatever, nobody’s gonna order that anyway.”

“Agreed!  Let’s go get drunk and tell racist jokes!”*

Despite the fact that I was full from all of those unsatisfying calories in this meal, my uncle conned me into ordering dessert, because he wanted to hang around for the song and dance.  Every friday night, there is a Neil Diamond impersonator (or possibly Neil Diamond) who sings songs for 70 year old men to dance with 50 year old women.  Apparently the Candleworks is a Wine Bar for older people (Wine Bars are places where 50 year old men pick up 30 year old women).  I ended up ordering a mint oreo cheesecake, which was thoroughly disappointing.  From my experience, no matter how awful the seafood or steakhouse is, the desert is usually pretty good.  But at Candleworks, even the dessert is pretty awful.

Overall, the food quality at Candleworks is pretty bad, and it is in a dank pit atmosphere.  I would only recommend coming here if you like singing sea shanties to very old people. But be warned, you may be player hating, so don’t talk to any couples.  There is very little for vegetarians, one pasta dish (penne alla vodka) that’s suitable for vegetarians, and a vegan penne with vegetables (no cream sauce, just vegetables).  Both of which are overcooked and terrible.  So, I’ll give Candleworks one and a half cheese sandwich, the only merit being the possibility of seeing the best Neil Diamond impersonator (Neil Diamond) ever.

*I’m not implying that the owners of Candleworks are racist.  I’m not even saying that chefs who don’t make vegetarian entrees are racist. I’m just saying that people who hate vegetarians are probably filled with so much hate that they MIGHT be racist too.  Vegetarians are filled with too much self-satisfaction to hate.

Candleworks Restaurant
72 N Water St # 4 
New Bedford, MA 02740-6264 
(508) 997-1294

My cousin, Candace celebrated her birthday the other night, and she is a colossal fan of Tamarind Bay.  When there was only the Tamarind Bay Bistro in Harvard Square, we would always go there for her birthday.  But, since Coastal Cuisine opened in Brookline, we always go there whenever she is in town, much to my chagrin (I should make it clear that I am not a big fan of the Green Line).  I do prefer coming to the Coastal Cuisine restaurant rather than the original bistro in Harvard, as I feel there are more appetizing options for vegetarians at Coastal Cuisine.  Chef Wali Ahmed (who you may remember we had dinner with at Yen Ching earlier, sorry for the name drop) has really emphasized seafood at this restaurant, though when compared to the Bistro, there are only a few more fish dishes.  So if you are a pesco-vegetarian, this place will be very friendly for you.  If you are a vegan, there are a lot of options for you as well, which are also very nicely delineated in the menu.

You may wonder why it took me this long to review an Indian restaurant, and this is primarily because I really can’t stand Indian restaurants as they all serve the same type of food that usually wreaks havoc on your digestive tract.  This is unlike real Indian food which actually is edible.  Below are just a few of the entrees which we had for dinner.

Baby Eggplant Baghara (misspelled in menu) - This dish was highly recommended by my aunt who had had this before.  However, she failed to iterate that there would only be 2 baby eggplants soaking in an inedibly spicy gravy.  I’m not saying that I would prefer 3 baby eggplants, but the dish seems less about the eggplant and more about the bagahra.  And at $14, it seems a little steep to just be paying for chili flakes and cream.

Palak Lashun? - This is technically not on the menu, but my uncle orders it every time, and it is delicious.  It is simply spinach and garlic, and while it is very tasty and flavorful, I would not recommend it if you are on a date.  If dining alone or with family, definitely ask for it (recommended by Cheesesandwich.org, if you want!).

Lalla Musa Dal - Black lentils, a traditional Punjabi dish (also known in traditional Indian restaurants as dal makhani).  This is not vegan, and you want to know why?  There is at least half a stick of butter in it (actual estimates of butter usage may vary)!  While it is very smooth and buttery and flavorful, I feel sometimes it is nauseatingly rich.

Bhindi Methi - methi is the hindi word for cumin, and like the baby eggplant baghara, this dish is also more about the gravy than it is about the bhindi (okra).  I am a big okra fan, so it was disappointing to find that this was basically five pieces of okra chopped and in another inedibly spicy gravy.

Kamal Kakri Ka Kofta - This dish is basically the same as the eggplant dish, but instead of two baby eggplants, there are two mashed up lumps of lotus roots.  I’ve never really had a lotus root before, and after eating this dish where it’s been mashed up into a ball and drowned in a spicy gravy such that you do not taste anything other than lump and chili, I still couldn’t tell you what it tastes like.

Southern Chickpeas Masala - In the south of India, there is a very popular dish called channa masala, which is basically chickpeas, onions, cumin, and coriander.  Normally, if you go to India, this dish is very spicy.  At Tamarind Bay, this dish is very creamy and rich, and in fact not spicy at all.  This was refreshing when combined with the ludicrously hot eggplant, okra, and lotus root dishes.

Tamarind Bay is typical Indian fare that is repackaged into haute cuisine.  Most of their sauces and gravies taste exactly the same, and practically every vegetable dish is drowning in one gravy or another.  While most every dish I had was very spicy, I should add that it is possible that the chef made it so spicy to appease my family who eat so spicy that they all have ulcers (or will soon).

Overall, I give this place one cheese sandwich.  The food is overpriced, and either ridiculously spicy or unhealthily rich.  Some of the menu items seem interesting, but I feel like all the choices were made by a guy who has no intention of ever eating a vegetarian dish.  The fact that they have a dish using baby corn is proof of principle.  I would only go there to placate a family member.

Tamarind Bay Coastal Cuisine
1665 Beacon Street
Brookline, MA‎
(617) 277-1752