B&B Dockside: Good eats in a friendly atmosphere
They have different names like Buffalo Bleu, Fat Elvis and Fun Guy, and different fixings like Cajun spice, peanut butter and caramelized bananas, and thyme roasted mushrooms.
But there are three things all the hamburgers prepared and served at B&B Dockside in Westerly have in common — the patties are made fresh in-house, they are grilled on onions and they’re served on Portuguese sweet rolls.
There is a fourth thing, too. The burgers are all very tasty.
The B&B stands for breakfast and burgers, and they do both very well. Those are their specialties. They’ve got it down after 13 years, originally in town on Oak Street, and since the summer of 2016, on Margin Street, at Viking Marina on the Pawcatuck River, not far from downtown.
We have been to B&B for breakfast before, but this time we went for lunch, intent on trying the burgers.
The Oak is the house burger ($12.95), with American cheese, pickles, lettuce and Oak sauce. My fussy friend asked for provolone instead of American, for the sauce to be served on the side, and to add tomatoes.
It turns out he liked the Oak sauce, which is mayonnaise, ketchup and pickle juice, a play on Russian dressing, Jimmy, our very helpful waiter, told us.
At B&B, you get a choice of house-made chips, French fries, or sweet potato fries with your burger, and between the three of us who went for lunch, we tried them all.
The sweet potato fries were delicious and worth the $1.50 upcharge. The shoestring fries were also very good. Our least favorite were the chips, which in hindsight we realized we should have gotten “dressed,” or tossed with rosemary, garlic and a touch of truffle oil.
Our waiter suggested it, and we declined, but agreed after that was a mistake. Naked, the chips were dry and bland, especially when compared to the shoestring and sweet potato fries.
The three of us were in full agreement on the House Battered Fried Pickles ($7.95), served with a side of creamy cucumber dressing for dipping. Who knew pickles could be so scrumptious? There was the tang of the dill, with the coating of golden fried batter, and the heavenly sauce. You must try them to appreciate them.
Equally high on our list were the onion rings ($9.49), with a side of smokey Oak sauce. It was a large basket of house-cut onion slices deep fried to perfection. Sometimes you just must splurge.
The Gyro burger ($12.95) was a favorite. The patty was dusted with rosemary garlic seasoning and served with baby green leaf spinach, tomatoes, sliced red onion, goat cheese and that tasty cucumber dressing. Rather than sliced, out-of-season tomatoes, the sandwiches were served with halved grape tomatoes that were perfectly ripe and flavorful.
My non-meat-eating friend opted for the Pilgrim, also $12.95, a turkey burger with American cheese, cranberry, mayo, baby spinach and Oak chips drizzled with gravy.
There was a house special the day we visited, and we were intrigued but didn’t indulge. The special burger was topped with Swiss cheese and corned beef hash. Interesting but not our thing. The same for Elvis, which is on the regular menu and served with peanut butter, bacon and American cheese. If you order the Elvis “fat,” they’ll top it with caramelized bananas. Imagine, all that for $13.95.
But B&B has more than burgers at lunchtime. The roast pork sandwich comes in two sizes and is slow-roasted pork shoulder topped with garlicky sautéed spinach, mushrooms, and provolone, $8.49 for a six-inch, or $12.49 for the 12-inch.
They also serve the Tuna Melt with Attitude ($10.95), which is tuna salad on grilled rye with bacon, fresh jalapenos, tomatoes and Swiss cheese. Another offering is the Bellaporto ($10.49), a marinated portabella mushroom, with blue cheese, baby spinach and white bean hummus.
They have half ($7.49) and full-size salads ($11.49), including the Oak Street, made with romaine, red onions, tomatoes, banana peppers, dried cranberries, soy nuts, crumbled blue cheese and dressed with their house balsamic. They also make a taco salad, a wedge, a spinach salad and chili. You can even get hot dogs, or what B&B calls Dockside NY Wieners, two frankfurters served in various ways, perhaps with chili and cheddar and onions.
It’s good eating in a friendly atmosphere at B&B, where regulars come in to dine or to pick up takeout. The portions are substantial, the waitstaff very helpful and the décor entertaining. We will be heading back again soon, for burgers for lunch or dinner, or maybe for the breakfast menu.