Say what? There are many terms in everyday speech that are nautical in nature. Some are more common than others: A loose cannon refers to the damage that was done when a cannon became unbolted from it’s spot on a wooden war ship; fits the bill refers to items on a ship’s bill of lading matching what was in the hold, and I could go on and on. Greasy Luck is the term used to wish a whaling ship bon voyage and good hunting. The rendering of whale blubber in the tri-works on a whaling ship made the deck a greasy, slippery mess. The greasier it was the more whale oil they brought to port (and more money the ship made) so all whalers were wished “greasy luck”.

Our home is in what’s known as the Greater New Bedford Area, or the Southcoast of Massachusetts and Buzzard’s Bay. New Bedford has a rich whaling history and an excellent whaling museum I’ve written about in the past. Moby Dick is referenced in many local businesses, and Captain Ahab comes up a bit as well. We have a Black Whale Restaurant and a Whaler’s Tavern. So short of recycling names everyone has already heard the newest entrepreneurs opening a restaurant and nightspot went deep – their new brewpub is called Greasy Luck, and Steve and I stopped by for lunch last week.

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Their own brewed beer will be ready in a week or so – but they just opened their doors with many excellent commercial brews on tap as well as a full bar. The menu is small but well chosen. The bar space is a bit sparse but their lighting is quite interesting and they kept some brick exposed to warm the place up. Our bartender, Rick, was witty and very personable, and I can see folks coming back just because of him. They have a 300-seat music venue adjacent to the brewpub, an old bank building complete with vaults, an interesting addition to the city. Our Zeiterion Theater has assigned seats for about 1400, so Greasy Luck will be able to host general admission events and even weddings and parties in their space. From an entertainment standpoint they are closer to a House of Blues and hopefully will draw similar acts in a more intimate setting. We headed over there to check out a band later in the week.

So how was the food? Their executive chef is from a successful local restaurant and she is a lover of comfort food. She did an excellent job with the beef short rib and I enjoyed it immensely. It was braised in beer and served with a caramelized onion gravy over mashed potatoes and baby carrots. Steve went for the pastrami and Swiss. But of course we had to try the house-made pretzels with beer mustard sauce; warm, soft buttery pretzels with a nice crunch of salt and a tasty dip.

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The menu is made up of all things that are good with beer, or upscale pub food. I want to go back to try the bacon cheddar deviled eggs and shepherd’s pie. Or maybe the BHB (best hangover burger), which is a burger with a greasy breakfast on top; bacon, fried egg and fried onions. Could be interesting.

New Bedford’s downtown is livening up with more retail, restaurants, art galleries and businesses. I think this new one is a good fit. It was certainly hopping (OMG a beer pun!) on Friday night.

We wish them Greasy Luck.

Deborah