Roger's is one of those restaurants that Mom and I always said we were going to go to, but never did. However, after some arguing in the car about where we wanted to go for dinner, Mom mentioned Roger's and thus decided our fate. We had just come from seeing the movie Sicko, and were in the mood for some Italian (I don't know how the two connect, but the movie was fantastic, and so is Italian food).
Now, I know Roger's as Roger's Food & Spirits, but my parents, and the phone book, say that the name of this place is actually Roger's Spa & Restaurant. Nonetheless, we located it right on Route 103 in Somerset (if you're going toward Somerset from Fall River, take Exit 4B off I-195W). I pulled into the tight parking lot just under the huge green Roger's sign at just around 6:30 p.m.
The parking lot I pulled in to was their side lot, because when we got out of the car, the door that we thought was the front actually directed us around to the other side of the building.
We walked in and took a right into the dining room. A nearby waitress told us to seat ourselves, which my mother absolutely loves. We chose a table overlooking Route 103 and my Kia. The same waitress brought over two pleather-encased plastic menus with a copied list of handwritten specials for the day. We were only there for about a minute when a different waitress, an older woman, came over to ask us what we wanted to drink. Mom and I both chose Diet Cokes, and they quickly arrived to our table in cans, accompanied by plastic glasses with ice. Mom loves this because you can refill your soda on your own without having to flag someone down. We filled our ice glasses with Coke and starting devouring the menu. Everything had a delicious description, and there is quite a selection here. They serve Portuguese, chicken, beef, seafood, pasta, and, would you believe, Chinese dishes. You can get a small salad or cup of soup for an extra $1.95. Their appetizer list ranges from garlic bread ($1.95) to an appetizer sampler ($8.95). They have a selection of sandwiches on the back of the menu, but I was undecided between the chicken, broccoli & ziti alfredo ($9.95), or their baked stuffed scrod ($12.95), which also happens to be their house special. The scrod is lightly breaded and stuffed with lobster meat and a creamy seafood stuffing. Mom was undecided between the Fall River style chow mein ($8.95) served with a side of fish or chicken, or the Italian style meatloaf ($9.95). It is very unusual to find a regular restaurant that serves the enigma that is Fall River style chow mein. A lot of people that I know from different towns have no idea what Fall River style chow mein is (chow mein noodles and brown sauce). It baffles my mind, but alas, I'm still friends with these people.
Our waitress came back and we gave our order. Mom chose the Italian style meatloaf and I went with the chicken, broccoli & ziti alfredo. She took the menus away and soon after brought us a bread basket with two small pieces of Italian bread with butter packets. While we buttered our bread, I decided to make some quick notes about the interior of Roger's.
The color scheme is a dark green with a light wood trim all around, kind of like an Irish pub. There are three booths in the dining room, but several areas with tables and chairs. Big glass windows surround two complete walls of the dining room, and this gives the restaurant a friendly glow, especially on a beautiful day like today. It's not a fancy restaurant. There are no tablecloths on the tables, and there were ketchup and vinegar bottles already on the tables when we arrived. The place mats are the paper kind that feature local area businesses, and the curtains atop the windows are set off by a string of white lights that must look adorable when the sun goes down. Keno is shown on a big TV in the dining room, which hangs above a wooden cabinet topped with a huge swan statue. It definitely adds to the local charm of this place. Mom and I loved it.
When our food arrived, we realized that we hadn't been waiting that long. There was steam rising from both of the delicious-looking presentations:
Mom's meatloaf was served with a piece of garlic bread. Her meatloaf was served as a long, flat patty, rather than a big chunk of meat. Mom said that it definitely made a difference because sometimes a thick piece of meatloaf gets crispier on the ends than it does in the middle. Doing it as a flat patty allowed all the pieces to be cooked uniformly, and each bite was perfectly spiced and well-done. Mom selected ziti for her pasta (she had a choice between ziti and linguine) and it was served al dente. The meatloaf was topped with a layer of melted mozzarella cheese, and both the meatloaf and the ziti were topped with a marinara sauce. Mom said it was not too spicy, and really delicious. Mom noted that the piece of meatloaf was rather large (she compared it to a 3x5" picture frame), and her portion was quite a value for the money.
My chicken, broccoli & ziti alfredo was superb. The ziti was a good texture (not too firm; not too limp) and the alfredo sauce was creamy and tangy. The chicken was extremely well cooked, and the broccoli florets were chopped and baked in the sauce. I hate when the broccoli pieces are just thrown on at the end. Everything was just so hot and fresh. My meal was also served with a piece of garlic bread, and I also found the portion very substantial and was sad to leave some of my ziti behind. I was just too stuffed! The waitress, during our meal, had come over and asked how we were doing. We both exclaimed, "Delicious!" I hope she knows that we were talking about the food.
After our meal, the waitress reappeared to take away our dishes. She asked if we wanted dessert, but our stomachs were rejecting that offer. She left the bill, and here is a quick rundown:
Dinner - 9.95
Dinner - 9.95
Sodas - 3.00
Tax - 1.15
TOTAL - $24.05
I left $28.85 (with 20% tip), but not before I took a trip to the ladies' room. When I got to the ladies' room door, I noticed that - surprise - there was a huge bar off to the side! I knew there was a bar in there somewhere, but I hadn't figured out where it might have been. It looked pretty nice in there, and from the outside sign, I learned that the bar has the full menu available, and it even has karaoke on Saturday nights after 9 p.m. After my initial, "Wow, there's another room back there," shock wore off, I entered the ladies' room. It's your basic toilet and sink, but I have to mention that it was very clean. It looked like a bathroom at a friend's house, rather than a dinky restaurant stall. I washed my hands, and went back to the restaurant table to get Mom. She informed me that she thought we have to pay at the cashier on the way out. We often just leave the bill with the cash on the table. I brought over our bill and money and told her that it was "all set." I noticed a candy counter under the cash register, which was odd to me. We could see the kitchen in the back, and it seems that they do a lot of business. Although we did not score a take-out menu (I don't think they have one), we did leave feeling very happy and satisfied, and it was only 7:30 p.m. We can't wait to go back for that chow mein and baked scrod.
