Update, Feb. 11, 2006: This post continues to get a fair number of hits. Until Spicy Lime gets their own Web site, here’s some basic info:
Located at 522 Pleasant Streeet in downtown New Bedford — Head south on Route 18, at the second set of lights after I-195 turn right onto Union St. (across from ferry terminal), turn left at the fourth traffic light onto Sixth St., then first left, and first left again onto one-way Pleasant St. Spicy Lime is on your left, and parking is usually very easy.
Their phone number is 508-992-3330. Hours: Mon-Fri 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., every day for dinner, 5:00 p.m. to 9:30 p.m.
The original post, below, has info about the menu….
When we first moved to downtown New Bedford, I felt it was missing something important. Downtown Geneva, Illinois, where we lived last year had a good cheap Thai restaurant. And the Rock Ridge neighborhood of Oakland, where we lived the year before, had a good cheap sushi restaurant within walking distance. When we eat out, we tend to prefer good cheap Asian food. When we moved here, downtown New Bedford had only one Chinese restaurant, which friends warned us away from: friends don’t let friends eat bad greasy MSG-laden Asian food.
Downtown New Bedford now has Spicy Lime Thai restaurant, which opened a couple of weeks ago at 522 Pleasant St., near Union St. It’s relatively cheap, with a $5.95 lunch special and most dinner dishes priced at $8.95. And it’s pretty good. What more could I ask?
For dinner tonight, we started with spring rolls: taro root, some kind of dark mushroom, and bean thread in a yummy deep-fried roll. Carol had basil seafood soup, with shrimp, fish, and mussels in a light broth swimming with basil leaves, lemongrass, other spices (the only turnoff for me was that they put tomato in it). I had pad se-ew; I almost always have pad se-ew at Thai resturants; this is the third time I’ve had Spicy Lime’s pad se-ew, and the waitress even said, “You had that last time, didn’t you?” Good thick stir-fried rice noodles, not too greasy, with broccoli, zucchini, and carrots; not exactly Asian vegetables, but good nonetheless.
It’s not fancy, but we liked what we ate. The ingredients were fresh, the cook has a nice way with the herbs and spices. The tables are crowded together in a small room with minimal decor, but it feels friendly. The staff is still working on their timing (be sure you order an appetizer because chances are you will wait a while for your meal), but they’re getting better.
I think Spicy Lime fills a void in the downtown resturant scene at dinner time. The other bars and restaurants have their niches. The waterfront bars get the people who just want to drink, Minerva’s pizza gets people who want fast food, Freestone’s draws the white yup-scale crowd, The Main Event seems to draw the hip Portugese yup-scale crowd, Cafe Arpeggio the academics and scruffy singer-songwriters; but Spicy Lime seems to be the place for the cultural creatives: gallery owners, artists, downtown residents, students from the art school.
The Genva restaurant is great. Glad you found something out there.