Homemade food, warm perch at Narrows Crossing Modern Music

Homemade food, warm perch at Narrows Crossing

Written by Zoe Humffray on January 21, 2012 – 8:34 am

Located about halfway between New Bedford and the Cape, the scenic local institution — family-owned since it opened in 1986 — is a great meeting place. I’ve had breakfast there with friends many times and always found the food to be homemade and delicious.

So when we were looking for a lunch place recently, it made sense to visit Narrows Crossing.

Although there are a half-dozen sandwiches and burgers, and the same number of salads (ranging from $5 to $15) on the menu, Narrows Crossing is known for its fried seafood. So I ordered the scallop roll, market-priced at $13.99 that day. It came with homemade cole slaw (sweet, crunchy and rave-worthy) and fries. Our waitress gladly substituted another side because I didn’t want two fried items. I got a baked potato, a little smaller than my fist, that was fluffy on the inside with a dry, papery skin on the outside.

The roll came with 10 or so sea scallops which, I was pleased to see, were fried to a uniform caramel color but didn’t have a heavy batter on them as much fried seafood does. I thought this was great because it meant fewer calories and it allowed the sweet scallop flavor to shine. If someone were expecting a more traditional, heavier batter, they might have been disappointed. My only complaint was that the roll came with char marks. I like the roll grilled, but this was more like a fresh hotdog roll with grill marks burned into it. I skipped most of it.

My friend had the homemade eggplant parmesan ($12.99) from the daily specials board. It was, for starters, huge. She had lunch and took home enough penne pasta for two more meals. Our waitress brought some extra sauce in a to-go cup for the big portion of pasta.

Two good-sized pieces of breaded eggplant lay atop a layer of mozzarella cheese. It was tender and tasty. I would have liked a little more spice — either garlic, basil, oregano or all three — but she was happy with the dish that took much of its flavor from the rich, buttery tomato sauce.

The thick and excellent cup of chowder ($4.50) we split before our entrees meant neither of us had room for dessert, which was too bad because they are housemade at Narrows Crossing. That day, they had grapenut custard and bread pudding with butter-rum sauce.

We lingered instead over a second cup of coffee. When I asked our server if they had brewed decaf, she made a new pot. Both that and the regular coffee was strong and delicious.

The bill, before tax and tip, came to $35.48.

Although we sat in the restaurant for our late lunch, we could tell, by the score or more of cars parked outside, that folks were watching the pregame show in the lounge.

Our waitress, who said she had worked at the restaurant for 20 years, was friendly and efficient. Little touches, like putting on a fresh pot of decaf on a cold winter’s afternoon, really added to the experience. We were surprised, and delighted, when she mentioned that you can call in advance and request that the cook make a particular dessert, such as our favorites, chocolate-cream or coconut-cream pie. “Just call a few days ahead of when you’re planning to visit and they’ll have it on the menu,” our server said.

If you go: Breakfast, lunch and dinner from 7 a.m. daily.

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