By Staff Writer Greg Estabrooks.
Located in the heart of downtown New Bedford is a bustling burger joint called dNB Burgers. Yes, dNB does in fact stand for “downtown New Bedford” in case you were wondering. Being a New Bedford resident for a few years myself, this is a place that I visited frequently, and is one that I would put very high up on my hierarchy of hamburger restaurants.
dNB prides itself in their made-from-scratch hamburgers, which are assembled with care using locally sourced ingredients. The restaurant grinds its own meats, cures its own bacon, cuts their own French fries, and even makes its own pickles and sauces right in house. Many of the ingredients they use come from close by, including their awesome sourdough buns which are baked fresh at The Baker, located a short walk away.
I try to switch-up what I order every time I go to dNB because the menu is always growing, which is great. They usually feature a few seasonal choices, and occasionally throw some unconventional options out there, such as the dNB Falafel last spring, which was made with a house made falafel patty, red onion, smoked tomato tzatziki, greens, fried lemon, and carrot tapenade.
Their recently released Fall Harvest burger sounds delicious, and features a beef and bacon blended patty, apples, carrot honey mustard, braised nappa cabbage, local greens, gruyere chip, and house bacon. One of my personal favorites is the Best Bacon, which is a staple on the menu. It is made with a beef patty, smoked cheddar, caramelized pickled red onions, mushroom bacon aioli, micro-greens, and house bacon.
With all of this talk about their mouth-watering burgers, I almost forgot to mention the poutine. Their gravy-soaked French fries are currently available in Classic style, New Bedford style, and Cubano style. All three include a generous helping of mozzarella curds, while the New Bedford style adds on chouriço, per local custom, and the Cubano style throws in milk braised pork, ham gravy, diced pickles, shredded gruyere, BBQ drizzle, and fried bread. Whatever you do when you come to dNB, do not skip out on the poutine.
dNB also, of course, features an extensive selection of craft beers and ciders, which are always available in seasonal flavors. Many of the brews and libations come from local breweries, such as Buzzards Bay Brewing in Westport and Downeast Cider House in Boston.
You can also find mead at the bar, and it is available in flights. For those who may not have yet encountered this exotic beverage, mead is made of fermented honey and sometimes other fruits or spices.
It is actually quite good and it offers a refreshing change of pace to your average beer or wine drinker.
The atmosphere of dNB is lively, and they usually have some Indie tunes or hipster-ish music playing in the background, which I have found is conducive to good conversation.
The décor could be described as a clash of the old and the new. The furniture and wall art is modern looking, while the tabletops display aged newspaper clippings and advertisements from the past within the glass.
In addition, there are some antiques tucked away in the corners near the bar.
Also an interesting spectacle, is the painting of a cow on one of the walls, with its body marked up and divided to educate patrons about where the various cuts of meat are taken from. The prices here are fair, considering you are paying for quality local ingredients and expertly crafted burgers, and the service is always friendly.
dNB has won praise from critics, and they have even been visited by Phantom Gourmet.
Overall, I give this place a steadfast A, and would recommend it to anyone.
PHOTO COURTESY DNB BURGERS