On a small Island, not many “hidden gem” establishments can hide in plain sight, but the inconspicuous R&B’s Eatery in Edgartown manages to fly under the radar. It is located between Al’s Package Store and Larry’s Tackle Shop, just off Upper Main Street. R&B’s Eatery caters to the working-class-hero crowd, but it’s time their secret gets out, because what Rick and Becky Akerley (R&B) are cooking up is worth sharing.
The husband-and-wife team have been serving food for the past seven years, but they have garnered plenty of food-service experience around New England in the past 40 years. Rick has worked in the corporate world of food service at Compass Group, and cooked in several restaurants in Rhode Island, Cape Cod, and on-Island. He met Becky while working in food service for the school system, and it was a match made in culinary haven. Becky, an Islander and food lover, is in the kitchen every day with Rick, serving up breakfast and lunch to their regulars, all of whom they know by name.
Those customers often have “usual” orders from a menu where mostly everything is housemade, from the pasta and potato salad served with sandwiches to the soups. Right onsite, the pork is roasted for the Cuban Sandwich ($7.99), and the chicken is pounded and breaded for the Fried Chicken Sandwich ($7.99). Nothing on the breakfast and lunch menus costs more than $7.99, and it’s because the Akerleys strive to serve good food at a good price. You’ll find traditional American cuisine at R&B’s Eatery — it’s definitely not a fancy spot, but we need casual places in town where we can just relax, be ourselves, and enjoy a good meal. It’s also the “home of the infamous hog balls”: Imagine linguica-packed quahog stuffing, rolled, breaded, and deep-fried to golden brown, served with lemon and cocktail sauce for only $6.99.
It’s also a great spot to grab breakfast between 6:30 and 11 am. Whether you’re craving a classic egg, toast, and bacon breakfast; pancakes; French toast; or even a breakfast burrito; they cater to every craving.
Lunch is served 11 am until 2 pm, with a choice of salads, sandwiches, burgers, and daily soup specials. I tried the Cuban Sandwich, grilled and layered with house-roasted pork, ham, chopped pickles, melted Swiss cheese, mayonnaise, and mustard. It seriously hit the spot with a side of their pasta salad. It’s a huge sandwich, so you can share with a friend if you’re not super-hungry. Their sandwich special that day lured me in too: two all-beef hot dogs topped with housemade pulled pork, slaw, and served with a side of red potato salad.
Extras such as chicken tenders, chicken nuggets, mozzarella sticks, and sides of French fries, onion rings, and sweet potato fries are also available. Sandwiches come with either French fries, potato salad, pasta salad, or chips, which is a great deal. Cookies and blueberry muffins are baked daily — rumor has it that they’ll grill the blueberry muffin for you.
This season, make sure to stop in for breakfast, lunch, or both — R&B’s Eatery is open six days a week (closed Sundays), year-round, with a two-week vacation in February.
For more information, call 508-627-7753.
