Picture this: It's a cozy Saturday evening; the kind you chill with friends on. Or in our case, a…read morecousin once removed along with her brand new hubby. That's right. At long last, we finally scored a long awaited double date with someone besides my bestie and her hubs. Not that they aren't still totally awesome or anything. But I was beginning to wonder if my breath stunk or something.
Anywho, along comes Riverside Grille. Which, upon first glance and much to our shock and amazement, was more desolate than school in summertime. Don't let the lackluster crowd deter you though. This place was certainly worth the impromptu visit.
We were looking for some easy going casual family dining that only New England could deliver. And right from the decorum, I could tell we were in good hands. Service was also quite accommodating considering we were, what....1 of 3 tables in there at the time(?).
Nevertheless, the food ranged from decent to pretty damn good. With that, we'll get right into it.
Caesar salad: Not a bad way to start a casual New England dinner. I only wish they had dressed the lettuce a bit more. Not to the point of rendering it into soggy spinach, mind you. Just....more than the splash of Caesar dressing that was there. 7 out of 10.
Buffalo wings: Honestly, I was surprised by these wonders! This is gonna sound wicked biased, but very few places up here can come close to meeting or exceeding the buffalo wings wifey makes for us at home. These guys were seasoned well beyond just relying on the sauce alone. The bleu cheese was also a great compliment to the spicy goodness. 9 out of 10, would highly recommend!
Fish n' chips: Okay. A little background here; I was really torn between ordering this versus the broiled haddock. In hindsight, I kinda wish I had gone with the latter because fish n' chips can be hit or miss, depending on how they're done.
This one was okay, though I can't tell if the piece of fish they used was just hella small or if it was the batter that was throwing me off. In either case, it seemed thinner than most fried cod or haddock I've had up there. This tends to result in the end pieces of fish being slightly overcooked whilst the center was mostly fine. I dunno. It only makes me wonder how their broiled haddock would have turned out. Grading on a curve, I'll give this one a 7 out of 10.
All said, I would definitely return here and try several other items on the menu, actually. I already mentioned one, but another that I'm curious about is their steak & cheese. Sadly, it'll have to wait till I happen to be back in the neighborhood again, given the 40ish minute drive from our place. For now, though, I'm giving Riverside Grille 4 beautifully seasoned buffalo wings with creamy bleu cheese out of 5.