Phantom Chef - Scorpion Bowls

07/11/2026

Episode 5 - 6/27/2026
Money Tree Kitchen, 130 Sconticut Neck Rd, Fairhaven, MA

To be honest, I’d never even heard of this place. Across the street from The Bayside Lounge, it’s small, with a family-business feel and a very creative Thai-Polynesian back-yard garden motif. The presentation was perfect with notably colorful plates and dipping sauce (complete with mini-spoons). The flavor was very good, with a different spicy mixture from what we’re used to thus far. The wings were very good size, cooked with a nice crispness while still juicy inside. At $10.95 per 6 wings, they are a great value.

Overall - Good
Ratings (1-10): Presentation - 7, Flavor - 7.25, Cooked - 7.5, Value - 8.25, Total = 30

06/13/2026

Season 2 Episode 4 - 5/23/2026
The Cabin, 114 E Grove St, Middleborough, MA

This place had a great presentation. The plate-on-plate setup kept everything nicely organized. (Sorry, the picture was taken a little late. We were anxious to dig in). We chose Sweet & Spicy Chili and Teriyaki Honey. The flavor was a little mild, and the sauce was a bit soupy, but they were very tasty. They were cooked nice, and juicy, but the skin could have been a smidge crispier. At 8 for $13.95, they were a great value.

Overall - Excellent
Ratings (1-10): Presentation - 8, Flavor - 7.25, Cooked - 7.25, Value - 7.25, Total = 31.25

04/14/2026

Season 2 Episode 3 - 4/11/2026
SoCo Tavern, 136 Huttleston Ave, Fairhaven, MA

SoCo, aka the old Ice House, a Fairhaven hot spot back in the day.

The flavors were a bit limited compared to what we’ve already seen at other establishments: classic buffalo, chipotle BBQ, garlic parmesan, sweet chili sriracha, SoCo dry rub. We tried the garlic parmesan & sweet chili sriracha. The flavor of the sauces was very good, but there was too much. “Blub blub blub” - that was the sound of celery sticks drowning. Perhaps if there were carrot sticks, they could have saved them?

The wings themselves could have been a little crispier, but they were nice and juicy inside! At $16 for 8 wings, they were the priciest we’ve had yet, but this is only episode #3

Overall - Very good
Ratings (1-10): Presentation - 6.5, Flavor - 8, Cooked - 7.25, Value - 4.5, Total = 26.25

03/23/2026

Season 2, Episode 2 is up!

Season 2: Chicken Wings - Episode 2 - 3/21/2026

Sixes & Sevens, 7 South 6th St, New Bedford, MA

If you’re old enough to remember the Cobblestone’s restaurant (just off of Union street in downtown New Bedford) you know where Sixes & Sevens is. All the interior brickwork is the same, but the vibe is totally different. Can you say gourmet hot dogs? Oh man! But before I get off-track, we’re here for chicken wings.

We arrived a little before 5:00, which turned out to be a good thing, since by 5:30 there was a line at the door. The atmosphere was casual, relaxed and comfy, with a splattering of nostalgia and humor. The prices were very reasonable (8 wings for $15) and yes, they have other choices besides hot dogs… but we were there for the wings.

The wing menu sported 9 sauces and 7 rubs to choose from. Oh man, they are not afraid of spices here! A few noteworthy examples:
Weird Flex - Buffalo beefed up with Scotch Bonnet
Up In Smoke BBQ - Classic BBQ spiked with smoked chipotle pepper
Big Mistake, Huge - It’s really hot. Don’t be a dummy
Joe Dirte - BBQ style rub with fruity pepperberry and dark roast coffee

We went with Mozambique and Joe Dirte. I was tempted by ‘Big Mistake, Huge’ but chickened out; not as young as I used to be. (spoiler alert on the score on this place - we’ll be back to try more flavors!)

The wings were cooked perfectly; wonderfully crispy and lusciously juicy. The Mozambique sauce was perfect; not just the flavor, but the amount as well, by no means stingy, but not swimming in the sauce either. The Joe Dirte rub was a rousing flavor experience. The presentation was a bit lacking, paper-lined plastic bowls and no carrots or celery, though arguably, it fit the ‘come as you are’ pub feel of the place.

On a side note. This place makes their own homemade blue-cheese dressing. I’m at a loss for words to describe how extraordinarily good it was. They have ruined blue cheese dressing for me, when I have it anywhere else in the future.

Overall - Excellent
Ratings (1-10): Presentation - 7.75, Flavor - 9.5, Cooked - 9.5, Value - 9, Total = 35.75

03/23/2026

Season 2: Chicken Wings - Episode 2 - 3/21/2026

Sixes & Sevens, 7 South 6th St, New Bedford, MA

If you’re old enough to remember the Cobblestone’s restaurant (just off of Union street in downtown New Bedford) you know where Sixes & Sevens is. All the interior brickwork is the same, but the vibe is totally different. Can you say gourmet hot dogs? Oh man! But before I get off-track, we’re here for chicken wings.

We arrived a little before 5:00, which turned out to be a good thing, since by 5:30 there was a line at the door. The atmosphere was casual, relaxed and comfy, with a splattering of nostalgia and humor. The prices were very reasonable (8 wings for $15) and yes, they have other choices besides hot dogs… but we were there for the wings.

The wing menu sported 9 sauces and 7 rubs to choose from. Oh man, they are not afraid of spices here! A few noteworthy examples:
Weird Flex - Buffalo beefed up with Scotch Bonnet
Up In Smoke BBQ - Classic BBQ spiked with smoked chipotle pepper
Big Mistake, Huge - It’s really hot. Don’t be a dummy
Joe Dirte - BBQ style rub with fruity pepperberry and dark roast coffee

We went with Mozambique and Joe Dirte. I was tempted by ‘Big Mistake, Huge’ but chickened out; not as young as I used to be. (spoiler alert on the score on this place - we’ll be back to try more flavors!)

The wings were cooked perfectly; wonderfully crispy and lusciously juicy. The Mozambique sauce was perfect; not just the flavor, but the amount as well, by no means stingy, but not swimming in the sauce either. The Joe Dirte rub was a rousing flavor experience. The presentation was a bit lacking, paper-lined plastic bowls and no carrots or celery, though arguably, it fit the ‘come as you are’ pub feel of the place.

On a side note. This place makes their own homemade blue-cheese dressing. I’m at a loss for words to describe how extraordinarily good it was. They have ruined blue cheese dressing for me, when I have it anywhere else in the future.

Overall - Excellent
Ratings (1-10): Presentation - 7.75, Flavor - 9.5, Cooked - 9.5, Value - 9, Total = 35.75

01/18/2026

Season 2 - Chicken Wings
Episode 1 - 1/9/2026

Off The Boulevard, 736 Ashley Blvd, New Bedford, MA

Grading the first episode of a season is always tough because you don’t have any others to compare against yet, but here goes!

The first thing I noticed while tallying the grades from everyone's sheets, was how all the pages were stuck together with Honey BBQ, Buffalo, Carolina Gold, and Sweet Chili finger-prints. Clear evidence of how good the wings were.

Each couple got a plate of 12 wings, and we were able to split each plate with two different flavors, so our tastebuds got to experience four different flavors total. The presentation was very clean; nicely arranged on spotless plates, nestled snuggly in between carrot and celery spears. The flavors of the sauces were spot-on, though the Buffalo could have had a bit more bite, and the Sweet Chili was a bit wetter than it needed to be (but hey, that’s what makes it finger-licking good, right?) They were cooked to perfection! Crispy on the outside and wonderfully juicy on the inside. Valuewise? A dozen of these beauties for $18 seemed a great deal!

Overall - Excellent

Ratings (1-10): Presentation - 7.75, Flavor - 7.5, Cooked - 8, Value - 7.75, Total = 31

01/17/2026

Any guesses what season #2 will be?

01/17/2026

As season 1 comes to an end, here are the results. How did your favorite place do