Linda Murphy Lifestyle Editor @HNFastFood

FALL RIVER – Chef Fehmi Khalifa is bringing a globally-inspired menu to Barrett's Waterfront Restaurant.

Chef Fehmi, as he became known through the series of cooking videos he did with The Herald News a few years back, said diners at the new restaurant opening at Commonwealth Landing can expect to find something for every taste.

“We can tap into Japanese cooking, Thai cooking, Middle Eastern cooking, even Chinese once in while,” said Khalifa. “There’s nothing under the sun that we won’t do, but we’ll be selective in making it.”

 

The Fall River restaurant with a waterfront view overlooking the Taunton River will also highlight seafood, locally caught in New England waters when possible, and time-tested Portuguese fare that will be “Fall River-approved,” said Khalifa.

Among the Portuguese dishes on the menu, diners will find traditional items such as kale soup; Portuguese steak topped with a fried egg; a chourico sub with pickled peppers and fried onions; and a Portuguese burger (a short rib and brisket blend burger) topped with a fried egg, pickled peppers and drizzled with linguica aioli served on a Portuguese muffin. There will also be a few twists — deconstructed Portuguese dishes such as the Chicken Mozambique bowl and the Fall River Fritter, essentially a Portuguese quahog stuffie, without the shell, that’s deep fried and served with aioli.

The seafood is found throughout the menu with appetizers such as New Bedford Mussels; Mediterranean Calamari; Seaside Sashimi, and raw bar style seafood on ice: shrimp, littlenecks, oysters, and the waterfront feast, a towering display of seafood. Main dishes highlighting seafood include Seafood Paella, a saffron-infused dish chock full of littlenecks, scallops, mussels, shrimp and calamari; Scallops Casino; Baked Cod, Citrus Verbena Swordfish and salmon prepared to highlight seasonal flavors.

Khalifa imparts a touch of the flavors from his Tunisian heritage into dishes such as the lobster tacos, with fire-roasted tomato relish and a topping of lemon verbena aioli. “It’s not Tunisian, but there will be some Tunisian tastes here and there. I’m going play a lot with spices, fresh herbs and citrus (lemon, grapefruit, orange),” said Khalifa, adding his passion for cooking started with his mother’s made-from-scratch meals.

The menu offers several types of salads, including the classics, Ceasar, Cobb, and Farmer; as well as the Mediterranean with East India spice-infused chick peas, olives, feta, roasted peppers, cucumbers, tomatoes, and crispy romaine; and the Thai Lo Mein salad, a shredded iceberg salad topped with lo mein noodles, snow peas, red pepper, bean sprouts and sesame-soy dressing.

In addition to several types of burgers and tacos, there’s also an assortment of rice and French fry bowl dishes: Shrimp and Chicken Mozambique; Pork Bifana; Poke Tuna and Lisbon Cod.

The menu will also denote items that can be customized for those following vegan or gluten-free diets.

Looking ahead to the summer, Khalifa said he’d like to do some grilling outdoors on the back patio.

He also plans to offer Sunday brunch with a mixture of breakfast meats, made-to-order omelets, seafood, carved roasted meats and assorted vegetable dishes. “It will be unique in the area and these are the things that will make us different from other restaurants,” he said.

The Fall River location, in the site formerly occupied by Jerry Remy's Restaurant, will be more upscale than the Barrett's Alehouses, owner Mike Barrett said in an interview in March with The Herald News. It's scheduled to open later this month.  

“I’m excited because the owner, Mike Barrett has entrusted me to run (the kitchen) in this multi-million-dollar restaurant," Khalifa said. "The location overlooking the water is fantastic. The menu will be eclectic and you will not be waiting an eternity to get your food.”

 Email Linda Murphy at lmurphy@heraldnews.com.