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Took a quick blast from Hillsboro down to Boston and then to mid-Massachusetts to run errands with my dad today. He lives and moves around in a small motor home, so much cheaper to use my Toyota Matrix and less fuel zipping through the to do list.
We came back up through Lowell and decided to stop in Nashua for dinner. Last year sometime, Roger and I stopped into The Peddler’s Daughter, an Irish Pub right in downtown Nashua, but after we’d already eaten somewhere else. After you’ve followed us for a while, it will be evident we are “pub rats” - suckers for welcoming pubs anywhere that have comfortable seats at the bar and pleasant, if not jovial, bartenders.
No the usual pairing, I agreed to be seated at table (so civilized!). They also have deck seating around the perimeter of the building. the bar is centered with tables, booths, and high tables scattered along the walls.
Pops chose the beer-battered fish & chips. It comes served in newspaper and is just fish and potatoes, no slaw. The batter is slightly crispy and seasoned lightly. The fish tastes fresh; don’t want no stink’n frozen fish. The hand cut fries are okay although a bit soggy, and steak fries of thick chips would be better to my taste.
The best part, almost, about this choice is that it is served with homemade ketchup (my ingredients guess: crushed tomatoes, pickling spice, cayenne, and a bit of brown sugar cooked down until thick) along with some great tartar sauce. Both are delivered to the table in glass jugs with serving spoons, cold from the fridge.
I chose the pan-roasted salmon and was very happy. It was seared on the outside sealing moisture and locking down a delicate rub. Nice and tender and rich; the portion seemed smallish to me at first, but by the time I finished I was stuffed. It comes served with boxty, a traditional Irish pancake. This one was about four inches in diameter and a half inch high, with the consistency of a nice croquette. The plate also came with a salad of mesclun mix drizzled with lemon vinaigrette and adorned with radish, green peas, and corn.
Washed down with nice cold Sam Adams Lager this was a great dinner for both of us. The only complaint was with our waitress. She did a fine job of making recommendations, bringing food and drinks swiftly and checking in on us occasionally, but she let us over tip her in an outrageous way without double-checking our intentions. We’d made use of an Entrainment Book 2 for 1 discount coupon, and it was obvious we tipped based on the full amount. Instead of the 18% calculated on the actual dinner value, she walked away with an extra $12 (30%) since we forgot to subtract the value from our total. It was as if we never had the coupon. Oh well.
I’ll drag Roger back, ’cause there are lots of other good options to sample and evaluate: Shephard’s Pie made with ground lamb, Guinness Braised Beef Stew, and Home-Style Meatloaf. I’m also really curious about Crepes and Brown Bread Ice Cream… yeah, baby.
What a treat! Today we went to Otter Brook Park in Keene to attend a BBQ cookout in honor of my nephew Kenny Siegel’s graduation from college. Kenny has been studying Hospitality Services and is on his way down to Florida for an internship at one of the Disney hotels. Way to go Kenny!
Anyway, when we got there, we were introduced to Chef Aaron Pouliot of the Twin State Smoke Company. Aaron was set up there with the biggest smoker I’ve ever seen. It was a huge, 1500 lb. Lang Smoker Cooker on it’s own trailer. This thing was awesome, with a big fire box at one end and large access doors on either side. You could easily feed about 100 people with this thing without breaking a nail.
There were only about 40 people expected on this day, and nobody left hungry…that’s for sure. When we arrived, Aaron was already under way with several racks of pork ribs warming up in the smoker. The ribs were prepared with a dry rub, and Aaron was burning cherry wood in the firebox. This tank of a smoker was about 6 feet long and had two thermometers at either end so the cooking heat could be carefully monitored (there’s about a 25 degree difference in temperature from one end of the smoker to the other, and the chef made good use of that—shifting meat around to balance the timing).
Standing around that day, waiting on the meal bell, our anticipation was pushed into over-drool by the smell of that cherry smoke mixed with the cooking meats. With mostly college age friends-of-Kenny attending, the spread was prepared for big appetites. Aside from the ribs, Aaron was preparing enough buffalo wings, hot-dogs, and hamburgers to feed a regiment. Not to mention the pot-luck dishes that guests were bringing. Whew!
Naturally, once we were allowed to line up with our plates, the ribs were the first to go. And they were well worth the wait. The meat was tender and pulled gently from the bone. And the rub complemented the smoking perfectly. It allowed you to really appreciate the flavor and texture of the meat.
I love ribs and all kinds of sauces with them. But it’s not often enough that you get the straight deal… Good meat with an understated garnish and pure smoky goodness. It was heaven. my only disappointment was that I didn’t have the appetite of my nephew.
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- Chef Aaron
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- The Lang Smoker on wheels
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- Ribs being smoked
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- Burgers on the fire pit
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- Buffalo chicken
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- Chicken and ribs in the smoker
Roger and I adore Mexican food. At home we often cook with cumin, chili powder, chiles of all kinds, lime, corn, beans, and cilantro. My husband has become a fiend for chipotle flavored anything. And we both like it hot.
My complaint with most Mexican restaurants is that they glop up everything with cheese. It isn’t always traditional and it tends to make most dishes to heavy.
So, we enjoy visiting Tio Juan’s Margarita’s in Concord (we sometimes pop into the Manchester and Lebanon locations) for three reasons:
- Icy cold Dos Equis Amber served with two wedges of lime in a nice big 20-oz glass
- Their spicy salsa and warm chips. The salt spice balance is just right and the chips the perfect vehicle.
- Fish Tacos
I don’t think I was aware of fish tacos until a few years ago, but how can you go wrong wrapping anything hot and spicy in tortillas.
The Fish Tacos at Margaritas are two white corn tacos filled with flaky, crusted (crushed tortilla dip before cooking) talapia and home-made corn salsa and shredded red cabbage. They come with a side of chipotle mayonnaise.
The challenge is to get both down without the second one falling apart in your hand. Hey, life is filled with challenges. If you fail, drown your sorrows in a second 20-oz Dos Equis. Poor baby.
Okay, so the truth is this: the way to a woman’s heart is through chocolate… or it is poppy seeds?
A few years back, Roger and I were working on a shared project through Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center. I was the writer and he was the designer for their employee newsletter. We’d grown fond of each other and become good friends over a period of time.
He was commuting from Hillsboro up to Lebanon a few days per week, and somehow he found time to get to South Main Street in Concord to pick up several slices of Bread & Chocolate to surprise me with. It didn’t take me too long to anticipate and long for this periodic treat.
Each slice is a dense but flaky one inch wide by four inch stretch of pastry filled with a lovely sugary spice mix. The secret I kept for along time — didn’t want to hurt any feelings — was that I actually like the honey and black poppyseed version best. Yes, chocolate rules, bu this flavor is also special. There is also a cinnamon and walnut version of the strudel, so it really requires a taste of each one at each sitting to be sure of one’s favorite.
Baker Franz Andlinger, Austrian born and trained, is responsible for the wonderful flaky strudels and hearty breads. They also sell sandwiches and all manner of cakes and pastries. It’s also a source of the best all-purpose farm loaf at the best price we can find in the region. Hard to go wrong with any of it.
So, the truth? I did fall for the guy. But Bread & Chocolate paved the way.
A recent visit to Concord found us in Butters.. once again. Funny how often that happens.
Anyway, we chose to stop of our own volition reading in the weekly electronic newsletter that there was to be a chocolate tasting. Mmmmm.
A very pleasant couple, Sally Cornwell and Jonathan Walpole, together run Winnipesaukee Chocolates in Wolfboro. I was thrilled to talk with them, as I spent several weeks every summer for thirty-five years up the road in Tuftonboro. During my childhood we’d drive “into town” for diversions like ice cream and grocery shopping. As an adult, I often walked the six plus miles into town and then would have my ex-husband (current at the time) pick me up for the return trip.
Anyway, if was fun to talk all things Wolfboro - the Mt. Washington, the backroads, Camelot (another post for creamed cheddar) having been sold — and share a bit of fondness for the area.
Each bar is named after an island situated in Lake Winnipesaukee. Each bar has the history of each island printed on the back of its wrapper.
The Little Bear Island bar was Roger’s favorite. Dark chocolate melded with crushed coffee beans (Black Bear Micro Roastery in Tuftonboro is the source of the slow roasted beans) offered a nice jolt of flavor yet smooth and a nice after dinner taste.
I enjoyed all three we picked up that day, but my favorite was the Cow Island bar. Milk chocolate with Cinnamon and Pecans reminded me of Viennese coffee and all manner of decadent things. Sitting in a chair with a book snarfing down bites of creamy comfort or serving pieces after an elegant dinner party would both be reasonable options to me.
The big surprise was the Whortleberry Island bar: white chocolate with native wild blueberries. The sharp bit of berry cut what often is cloying sweetness of white chocolate. I suspect the quality of their product is several pegs up from the typical white bunny, my only other remembered white chocolate experience.
You’ll find the bars sold in shops around New Hampshire, but if you are in Wolfboro stop in (across from Camelot on the hill headed up out of town in the Tuftonboro direction). They are very nice and easy-going with encyclopedia-like knowledge of chocolate. And their chocolate is wonderful.
We like eating, cooking, shopping, and reading about food. Now we want to start writing about food. And collecting resources and recommendations that we can share with friends and everyone else about the special places we find, and the new foods that we discover.
We hope you’ll find something for yourself on our site and that you will share your own discoveries with us.
