Beachside Burgers — Seacoast Scene — 08/17/23

AUGUST 17 - 23, 2023 VOL 48

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Charlene Nichols

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Matt Ingersoll, Betty Gagne, Curt Mackail, Michael Witthaus, Amy Diaz, Jennifer Graham, Mya Blanchard, Michelle Pesula Kuegler, Ray Magliozzi

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COVER STORY

4 Beachside burgers

PEOPLE & PLACES

11 Mini golf

FOOD

13 #VanLife cookbook

POP CULTURE

16 Film and book reviews

NITE LIFE

20 Hampton Beach Comedy Festival

BEACH BUM FUN

26 Puzzles, horoscopes and crazy news

By Matt Ingersoll

Hampton couple Ben St. Jeanne and Molly McCoy St. Jeanne have enjoyed two years of growing success with The Big Bad Food Truck, primarily known for its scratch-cooked comfort items. A recent opportunity for the pair to launch their own regular brick-andmortar location — now open, just steps away from Hampton Beach — is building on their concept.

Enter The Big Bad Beach Eatery, which arrived Aug. 9 on the corner of Ashworth Avenue and C Street, directly across from the Mainsail Hotel. It’s notable for its outdoor-only seating and walk-up window service, fostering a unique backyard cookout-like vibe right by the beach.

“We want to be the cookout spot, so if you planned on going to a friend’s backyard party, we want our place to feel like that, that cookout you’re going to, but a little bit bigger and more elevated,” Ben St. Jeanne, a seasoned Seacoast-area chef, said. “In 2021 we were a little bit more barbecue-focused, and we still do barbecue items … but we’ve now leaned heavily into what we call cookout comfort food.”

Perhaps nothing else evokes familiar memories of that backyard cookout spot, St. Jeanne added, quite like a juicy burger fresh off the grill. Nearly neck and neck in popularity with its chicken sandwich, The Big Bad’s Wolf burger features two 3-ounce patties cooked with caramelized onions and topped with cheddar cheese, bacon, lettuce, tomato and a house sauce.

Even more than their ability to induce backyard cookout nostalgia in every bite, burgers are beloved for their versatility, and Hampton

Beachside burgers

Savoring the Seacoast takes on an American classic

Beach is no exception. Walk just one street over from The Big Bad Beach Eatery, for example, to find North of NOLA Restaurant & Bayou Bar, also new to the beach culinary scene this summer. As its name might suggest, North of NOLA is all about bringing authentic flavors of New Orleans to the beach, and features the prowess of chef and owner Sonny Vasquez, himself born and raised there.

The Bayou burger, one of Vasquez’s top-sellers, is smothered in a shrimp bayou sauce and features what he calls a “UFO” ring of fried cheese oozing down the sides.

“The first person that got it didn’t know how to handle it, because it’s more of a knife and fork kind of burger,” Vasquez said with a laugh. “The cheese ring … just gives it another level of complexity. It’s messy, it’s delicious and it’s N’awlins.”

Burgers are so synonymous with backyard cookouts for so many that a local eatery in nearby Seabrook has made the term part of its name. Backyard Grill Burgers & Wings was the newest establishment from Hampton native and restaurateur Shane Pine when it opened its doors in August 2021. Pine told the Scene shortly after its opening that the restaurant’s concept was an homage to traditional family backyard barbecues, and burgers are indeed the stars of the menu — there are nearly a dozen specialty options to choose from here, in addition to countless other build-yourown combinations.

Meaty and tasty

The key to any great burger first and foremost, St. Jeanne said, is the quality of the meat used.

“In my opinion, if you have a good burger meat, you can put anything on it and people will enjoy it,” he said. “We use an Angus sirloin right now for all of our burgers, but we are experimenting with a blend. … We are trying to work out grinding our own to have it be a brisket and sirloin blend, which we have found to be incredible. We’re hoping to have that as a staple.”

Burgers from both The Big Bad Beach Eatery and its food truck counterpart are cooked “smash” style — the ground meat is formed into meatball-like shapes that are literally smashed with a burger press on a flat top grill.

“The point is to get the edges thin enough that it kind of gets a little bit of a crispy edge around the outside,” St. Jeanne said. “Before we smash it, it also goes onto a bed of onions.

… This is a classic thing that you’ll see with anyone that does smash burgers. When you smash the patty onto the onions, the onions actually steam and help cook the meat, and it kind of imparts all of that flavor into it, which is awesome.”

Burgers are also a menu highlight at Whym Craft Pub & Brewery, on nearby Lafayette Road in Hampton. About three years ago, Whym founder and co-owner Alex Aviles said, they made the switch to source their burger meat from Joe’s Meat Shoppe, just a few minutes up the road.

“We’ve worked with Joe’s a little bit on some different projects, and we really like their meat program over there, so they grind all of their meats for us to order,” Aviles said. “We place multiple orders a week, and that’s just to ensure that all of our proteins are as fresh as possible. A lot of the times when people are getting burgers here at Whym, they are ground that day, and so we’re buying based on what we think our sales are going to be, not in bulk for the whole week.”

Aviles added that it’s not only the quality of the meat itself, but having a blend of different cuts that makes any well-cooked burger shine.

“Different cuts of meat provide different things. They provide different texture, different flavor, [and] a different cooking experience for the burger,” he said. “A lot of times, what makes a good burger is a blend of shoulder and chuck. … Those are going to give you a good range of texture and flavor for your burgers.”

Whym features three regular burger options on its menu, in addition to a rotating special from time to time. You can order the classic tried and true O.G. burger, with Vermont cheddar cheese, greens, heirloom tomatoes and house sauces; the Bourbon Bacon Bleu burger, featuring bourbon-seasoned beef and applewood smoked bacon cooked in a maple bourbon butter, along with greens and blue cheese; or the mushroom and Swiss burger, topped with greens, a mushroom medley and melted Swiss cheese. The rotating specialty burger, meanwhile, is a collaborative creation with Joe’s Meat Shoppe called Maximum Overgrind.

“It’s a sirloin steak ground burger … and that gets cheddar, smoked Gouda, a housemade special sauce, lettuce and tomato,” Aviles said. “The idea behind the smoked Gouda on that burger is that it doesn’t quite melt and lose its shape, which is really inter-

esting because when you eat it, it hits these familiar fast food textures, and there’s something just really satisfying about that.”

Secondary to the meat, St. Jeanne said, is the quality of your burger’s bun.

“The bakery that we get the buns from is out of Massachusetts, and they are really solid potato buns,” he said. “They are really soft, and they grill up really nice. We toast the buns on all of our burgers, and it just adds that extra layer of buttery love.”

Another key characteristic to delicious burgers is consistency — this is perhaps nowhere more important than at Lexie’s Joint, a burger-focused restaurant with six locations across the Seacoast, including Exeter, Dover, Portsmouth, Epping, Newington and Newburyport, Mass.

“We use an awesome prime-grade chuck patty, 80/20 beef, so [it has] nice fat content and a really buttery flavor and mouthfeel. It’s some of the best beef you can buy,” said Tucker Plimpton, director of operations and a partner at Lexie’s. “Most of our products that we’re making in house are prepared at our commissary, so you’re going to find that it’s the same everywhere you go. … I don’t want to ever compare us to McDonald’s for anything other than just trying to be consistent. If you’re going to order a burger at Lexie’s in Exeter, it’s going to be the same as if you order in Portsmouth. The beef and the consistency in the products … are huge for us.”

Beyond the beef

Even for the non-meat eaters, Seacoast eateries offer a plethora of plant-based, vegan and vegetarian options for those still looking to get their burger fix.

At Whym, for instance, you can try the black bean burrito burger, featuring a handmade seasoned black bean patty that’s topped with a jalapeno jam and an avocado crema, along with lettuce, tomato and onion.

“It’s a burger inspired by a bean burrito, basically,” Aviles said. “The black bean patties … are made by an El Salvadoran family in Massachusetts that we met through another one of our food purveyors. They run a small food service kitchen, and it ended up being one of these products where we were like, ‘Oh, this is really good.’ It has a lot of authenticity in its spices.”

Lexie’s similarly offers its own housemade black bean burgers — aptly dubbed “Beanies” — that are vegan and gluten-free,

Whym Craft Pub & Brewery. Courtesy photo.

as well as “Cluck Burgers,” or ground chicken burgers for those simply looking for an alternative to beef.

“It’s ground chicken thighs, with our housemade chimichurri sauce,” Plimpton said. “It’s really good.”

As a food truck, The Big Bad has crafted its own black bean, lentil and sweet potato-based veggie burgers. Another menu favorite St. Jeanne described as being burger-adjacent is called the VBQ Jack — it features slow-roasted jackfruit, chickpea and sweet potato, topped with freshly sliced tomato and a vegan barbecue sauce on an egg-free toasted roll.

“It’s more like a pulled pork, but it’s incredible. It’s tasty and smoky, and the texture is really good,” St. Jeanne said of the jackfruit. “Even if you’re not a vegetarian or a vegan and you just want to try something plant-based, it’s super good.”

Where to satisfy your next burger craving

We’ve pulled together this list of restaurants on Hampton Beach and in surrounding areas serving up their own creative takes on burgers, and even included our top suggestions for you to try. Did we miss any mouthwatering burger mentions in the areas of Hampton, Rye, Seabrook or Salisbury, Mass.? Tell us about them by emailing editor@seacoastscene.net.

12 Ocean Grill

12 Ocean Blvd., Seabrook, 760-2182, 12oceangrill.com

Try this burger: The Cajun spiced burger, featuring roasted red pepper, scallion and cheddar cheese

401 Tavern

401 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 9268800, 401tavern.com

Try this burger: The New England burger, featuring Maine family farmraised beef, Vermont cheddar cheese, New Hampshire-cured bacon, lettuce, tomato and red onion on a Massachusetts-baked brioche bun

All American Tavern

34 Bridge Road, Salisbury, Mass., 978-4997100, allamericantavern.com

Try this burger: The Herb burger, a halfpound burger loaded with sauteed peppers, onions, mushrooms and cheddar cheese

Atlantic Grill

5 Pioneer Road, Rye, 433-3000, theatlanticgrill.com

Try this burger: The AG burger, with your choice of butcher’s beef or Impossible meat, along with lettuce, tomato, pickles, onions, a house burger sauce and your choice of cheese

Backyard Grill Burgers & Wings

5 Provident Way, Seabrook, 760-2581, backyardgrillnh.com

Try this burger: The Goddess, a smash burger topped with arugula, guacamole, red onion and goat cheese

Beach Deck Bar & Grill

207 Ocean Blvd., Seabrook, 814-1562, find them on Facebook

Try this burger: The Angry burger, a half-pound burger with three-alarm cheese, jalapenos, hot sauce, lettuce and tomato

The Bench

320 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 601-8542, thebench2022.com

Try this burger: The Cajun bacon chipotle burger, featuring homemade spicy Cajun bacon, pepper jack cheese, chipotle barbecue sauce, lettuce, tomato and onion on a brioche roll

Bernie’s Beach Bar

73 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 926-5050, berniesnh.com

Try this burger: The Big Bern burger, topped with avocado, cheddar cheese and a house-made cilantro lime sauce

The Big Bad Food Truck & Beach Eatery

26 C St., Hampton Beach, bigbadnh.com

Try this burger: The Wolf burger, a smash burger featuring two 3-ounce ground sirloin patties topped with bacon, grilled onions, cheddar cheese, barbecue sauce and a roasted garlic aioli, all served on a toasted potato bun

Boardwalk Cafe & Pub

139 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 929-7400, boardwalkcafe.net

Try this burger: The California burger, a half-pound beef burger with avocado, bacon, Swiss cheese, lettuce, tomato, red onion and a bacon aioli

Brown’s Lobster Pound

407 Route 286, Seabrook, 474-3331, brownslobsterpound.com

Try this burger: The deluxe cheeseburger, with the option to add bacon or order as a plate

Photo Courtesy of Lexie’s Joint.

Annarosa’s

The Carriage House

2263 Ocean Blvd., Rye, 964-8251, carriagehouserye.com

Try this burger: The Carriage House cheeseburger, featuring bacon, garlic aioli, pickles and grilled onions

Charlie’s Tap House

9A Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 929-9005, hamptonkaraokebar.com

Try this burger: The Monster burger, featuring two hand-formed half-pound Angus beef patties topped with lettuce, tomato and bacon, along with American, Swiss and cheddar cheeses

The Country View Restaurant

Hand Crafted European Breads & Pastries

Open Thursday, Friday & Saturday 7am-4pm

978-499-8839

175 Elm St. Rt.110, Salisbury MA Annarosas.com

instagram.com/annarosasbakery

692 Portsmouth Ave., Greenland, 4317426, thecountryview.com

Try this burger: The Cider House burger, featuring bacon, an onion ring, barbecue sauce, an apple slice, cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato

The Dolphin at Salisbury Beach

28 Oceanfront South, Salisbury, Mass., 978-572-5059, dolphinbarandgrill.com

Try this burger: The Atlantic Ave burger, featuring a half-pound Angus beef patty topped with red onion, lettuce, tomato, pickles, mozzarella cheese and a garlic aioli

Ernie’s Seaside Restaurant

209 Ocean Blvd., Seabrook, 760-7500, erniesseaside.com

Try this burger: The Buoy burger, a smash burger featuring American cheese, lettuce, tomato and onion topped on a sesame seed bun

The Farm Bar & Grille

25 Portland Ave., Dover, 516-3276, farmbargrille.com

Try this burger: The Walking in Memphis burger, featuring an all-beef patty topped with slow-smoked pulled pork, coleslaw, sliced pickles, lettuce, tomato and barbecue sauce on a brioche bun

The Galley Hatch Restaurant

325 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 9266152, galleyhatch.com

Try this burger: The Salmon burger, featuring seasoned ground salmon, arugula, sliced tomatoes, red onions, avocado and a lemon caper remoulade on a bulkie roll

Ginger & Clove Cafe

881 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 6016077, find them on Facebook

Try this burger: The Brunch burger, topped with bacon, ham, cheese and a fried egg

The Goat Bar & Grill

20 L St., Hampton, 601-6928, goatnh.com

Try this burger: The Foughettaboutit, a breaded and deep-fried burger topped with pesto, fried garlic cheese curds and marinara, served on garlic Texas toast

Hagan’s Grill

6 High St., Hampton, 926-5668, hagansgrill.com

Try this burger: The Hagan’s burger features lettuce, tomato, onion, a tomato aioli, Vermont cheddar cheese, house pickles and North Country Smokehouse bacon

Hop + Grind

17 Madbury Road, Durham, 3975564, hopandgrind.com

Try this burger: The Morning Glory burger, featuring a one-pound beef patty topped with cheddar and American cheeses, smoked bacon, hash browns, fried egg, a house sauce and a truffle syrup

The Hungry Traveler

98 Beach Road, Salisbury, Mass., 978-465-9743, find them on Facebook

Try this burger: The deluxe cheeseburger features lettuce, tomato and onion

The Ice House Restaurant

112 Wentworth Road, Rye, 431-3086, theicehouserestaurant.com

Try this burger: The Boom Boom burger, featuring jalapenos, pepper jack cheese and a spicy Creole sauce

JB’s on the Boardwalk

187 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 9261420, jbsnh.com

Try this burger: The Island burger, a 6-ounce beef burger topped with barbecue sauce, bacon and grilled pineapple

Junkyard Grub

Seacoast Harley Davidson, 17 Lafayette Road, North Hampton, find them on Facebook

Try this burger: The build-your-own burger option features cooked-to-order burgers with your choice of toppings like lettuce, tomato, onions, mushrooms and a fried egg

L Street Tavern 17 L St., Hampton, 967-4777, lstreettavern.com

Try this burger: The L Street cheeseburger, featuring lettuce, tomato, onion and the option to add bacon, topped on a toasted sesame bun

Lexie’s Joint

421 Central Ave., Dover; 175 Main St., Epping; 82 Lincoln St., Exeter; 212 Islington St., Portsmouth; 88 State St., Newburyport, Mass.; 61 Beane Lane, Newington; 815-4181; peaceloveburgers.com

Try this burger: The Urban Cowboy burger, featuring cheddar cheese, bacon, crispy onion rings, avocado, barbecue sauce and chimichurri

Locals Restaurant & Pub

215 Lafayette Road, North Hampton, 3792729, localsrestaurantpub.com

Try this burger: The Bacon Bleu burger, featuring a steak-spiced patty, crispy bacon, blue cheese crumbles, lettuce, tomato, onion and pickle

Logan’s Run

816 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 926-4343, logansrunrestaurant.com

Try this burger: The mushroom, onion and Swiss burger, or the barbecue bacon burger

Markey’s Lobster Pool

420 Route 286, Seabrook, 474-2851, markeyslobsterpool.com

Try this burger: The Cheeseburger Champ, featuring lettuce, tomato, onion and mayonnaise

McGuirk’s Ocean View Hotel & Restaurant

95 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 926-7000, mcguirksoceanview.com

Try this burger: The Megalabacon burger, topped with bacon, white cheddar cheese, Spicy Shark hot sauce and a jalapeno aioli

Nick’s Place

115 Lafayette Road, Hampton Falls, 2658000; 111 Lafayette Road, Salisbury, Mass., 978-358-8474; nicksplaceonline.com

Try this burger: The cheeseburger special at Nick’s Place features American cheese, lettuce, tomato, mayonnaise and bacon, all topped on a bulkie roll and cooked to order

North of NOLA Restaurant & Bayou Bar

3 D St., Hampton, 601-8612, find them on Facebook

Try this burger: The Bayou burger, a smash burger topped with cheese and smothered in a house shrimp Bayou sauce

The Orchard Grille at Applecrest Farm

133 Exeter Road, Hampton Falls, 7581686, theorchardgrille.com

Try this burger: The Barnyard burger, featuring a ground chuck smash patty, cheddar cheese, cider bacon, caramelized onions, a Sunny Side egg, a rosemary-Dijon mayonnaise, iceberg lettuce and tomato on a brioche bun

Overboard Pub & Grill

186 Ocean Blvd., Seabrook, 760-2608, overboardpubandgrill.com

Try this burger: The Overboard burger features a variety of build-yourown topping options, like American, Swiss, provolone or cheddar cheeses, along with red onion, lettuce, spinach, tomato, avocado, bacon, grilled mushrooms, caramelized onions, pickles and mayonnaise

The Purple Urchin Restaurant

169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 601-2921, thepurpleurchin.com

Try this burger: The Cali burger, an 8-ounce patty topped with avocado, bacon, American cheese, lettuce, tomato, onion and a sweet chili lime sauce

Red’s Kitchen + Tavern

530 Lafayette Road, Seabrook, 7600030, seabrook.redskitchenandtavern. com

Try this burger: The Candied Bleu smash burger, served on a grilled brioche bun and featuring candied bacon, caramelized onions, lettuce, blue cheese and a smoked garlic aioli

Sawbelly Brewing

156 Epping Road, Exeter, 583-5080, sawbellybrewing.com

Try this burger: The Fat Belly burger, featuring steak tip and tenderloin grind from Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery, topped with beer-braised onions, blue cheese crumbles, applewood smoked bacon and a roasted garlic aioli

Seaglass Restaurant and Lounge

4 Oceanfront North, Salisbury, Mass., 978-462-5800, seaglassoceanside.com

Try this burger: The 8-ounce prime burger at Seaglass features Vermont cheddar, lettuce, tomato, pickle chips, red onion and the option to add applewood smoked bacon, all served on a toasted brioche bun

Sea Ketch Restaurant

127 Ocean Blvd., Hampton, 926-0324, seaketch.com

Try this burger: The 8-ounce certified Angus craft burger at Sea Ketch is served with lettuce, tomato and onion and topped with cheddar cheese and smoked bacon, all on a brioche bun

Smuttynose Brewing Co.

105 Towle Farm Road, Hampton, 6018200, smuttynose.com

Try this burger: The Finestkind burger, a flame-broiled burger featuring lettuce, tomato, onion, crisp bacon, cheddar cheese and special seasonings

SurfSide Salisbury Beach

25 Broadway, Salisbury, Mass., 978-4639222, surfsidesalisbury.com

Try this burger: The SurfSide burger, featuring an 8-ounce black Angus beef patty, with your choice of Swiss, American or cheddar cheese, along with green leaf lettuce, tomato and dill pickle on a potato roll

Sylvan Street Grille

195 Elm St., Salisbury, Mass., 978-4627919, sylvanstreetgrille.com

Try this burger: The Black and Bleu burger, featuring fresh cracked black peppercorns and topped with melted blue cheese

Tailgate Tavern

28 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham, 580-2294, tailgatetavernnh.com

Try this burger: The Rodeo burger, featuring cheddar cheese, bacon, onion rings and barbecue sauce

The Thirsty Moose Taphouse

72 Portsmouth Ave., Exeter, 418-7632; 21 Congress St., Portsmouth, 427-8645; 83 Washington St., Dover, 842-5229; thirstymoosetaphouse.com

Try this burger: The “Burganzola” burger, topped with caramelized onions and mushrooms and smothered in Gorgonzola cheese and steak sauce

Throwback Brewery

7 Hobbs Road, North Hampton, 379-2317, throwbackbrewery.com

Try this burger: The Throwback burger, featuring Pineland Farms-raised beef, beer honey, caramelized onions, Gruyere cheese and a garlic-thyme aioli on a spent-grain bun

Tuna Striker Pub

5 River St., Seabrook, 474-7063, tunastrikerpub.com

Try this burger: Tuna Striker Pub’s house burger is a Cajun-rubbed short rib and brisket blend of meat, topped with Vermont cheddar, bacon, caramelized onion, house pickle and a smoked chile aioli, all on a brioche bun

Wally’s Restaurant & Venue

144 Ashworth Ave., Hampton, 926-6954, wallysnh.com

Try this burger: Wally’s house burger features mushrooms, onions, peppers, cheese and bacon

Whym Craft Pub & Brewery

853 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 601-2801, whym.beer

Try this burger: The Maximum Overgrind burger, a recurring burger special at Whym that features ground sirloin from Joe’s Meat Shoppe, along with cheddar and smoked Gouda cheeses, lettuce, tomato and a house special sauce

How do you like your eggs cooked?

“I like them scrambled with Vermont cheddar cheese and my husband’s homemade hot sauce. He carries a bottle of it in the car for when we dine out.”

What’s your signature karaoke song?

“‘Southern Nights’ by Glen Campbell. My mom was a fabulous blues singer, and I sing it as a tribute to her. She sang it way better than me.”

Would you rather grow a flower garden or a vegetable garden?

“I used to have both when I owned a home, but I’d choose a vegetable garden. I grew cucumbers, tomatoes, string beans, summer squash and tons of zucchini. I miss it.”

What’s your favorite holiday movie?

“It’s a Wonderful Life because it’s a tradition to watch it. I get something different from it every year depending on where I am spiritually.”

What’s your all-time favorite movie?

“Rocky. I like the entire movie series but the first one is my favorite. Rocky was a nobody and he triumphed. I like that”

What’s your favorite amusement park ride?

“The tilt-a-whirl. I was probably 14 when a traveling carnival came to town, and that was the first time I went on it. I always looked for the tilt-a-whirl after that.”

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Compiled by Betty Gagne at Hampton Beach.

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Putting around the Seacoast

By Curt Mackail

It’s not surprising that in a country with televised professional cornhole tournaments and a pro kickball tour, miniature golf has its professionals too. That’s right. Real pro mini golfers play for real money across most of the nation.

The United States Professional Mini Golf Association is the consensus governing body. The USPMGA oversees rules, membership, and pro tours. It also stages its own annual U.S. Open and Masters tournaments. With the game played on obstacle-laden holes, like the typical fun-style courses found in the Seacoast, professional purses for USPMGA big events reach as high as $25,000. More than 125 competitors comprise the USPMGA roster.

But mini golf competitions are not new. The earliest documented prize matches in the U.S. were played almost a century ago.

For example, the original Tom Thumb National Open mini golf tournament in 1930 offered a purse of $10,000 — equal to more than $184,000 today. The winner took home today’s equivalent of $40,000, according to the USPMGA.

Mini golf before the dinosaurs

The first American mini golf course opened during 1916 in Pinehurst, North Carolina, according to researchers. The 18-hole layout, wryly named Thistle Dhu, was simple, flat and grassed. The course was intended solely to help regular golfers improve putting skills, so there wasn’t much casual appeal for folks just looking for fun. The dawn of mini golf dinosaurs, windmills, sewer pipes, tunnels, bridges, statues and elaborate landscaping was in the future.

Fifteen years later, the new Tom Thumb courses incorporated material like tile, bricks, sewer pipes, hollow logs, obstacles and decorative statues, according to Smithsonian

Magazine. The originator, Garnet Carter, patented his bric-a-brac design approach in 1927 upon construction of the first Tom Thumb course at Fairyland, his 300-acre resort atop Lookout Mountain, Chattanooga, Tennessee.

A 1930 Popular Science article called the sport “America’s newest big industry.” The U.S. Department of Commerce estimated that more than half of the 25,000 mini-golf courses in the country were built that year.

Low start-up costs, cheap land, and Americans’ quest for new entertainment during the Roaring ’20s fueled the boom, according to miniature golf historian John Margolies. He says that entrepreneurs hoped to strike it rich with minimal investment and a ready market. Builders typically relied on scrap metal and other cheap materials, locating their courses in seedy locations. It’s no surprise that miniature golf courses were often associated with racketeering, Margolies says.

But the mini golf bubble burst relatively quickly. The Great Depression and the onset of World War II deflated public demand and nearly all U.S. mini golf courses folded and were demolished before 1940, according to Margolies.

The sport began a slow recovery in the last half of the 20th century, reaching an estimated 5,000 mini golf courses countrywide today. In the Seacoast there are five places to play the game.

Seacoast putt putt

Buc’s Lagoon, 59 Ocean Blvd., Hampton. About a block from the beach, 18 holes on this pirate-infested course encircled by a lagoon cost $10. And if mini golf makes you hungry, across the street is Buc’s Ice Cream, dishing out ice cream treats, seafood and other handheld beachy fare. Open daily, 6 a.m. to 11 p.m. 603-601-2033, bucslagoon.com.

Captain’s Cove Adventure Golf, 814 Lafayette Road, Hampton. Its hallmark replica lighthouse with a course surrounded by water sets the tone for this nautically themed layout. Waterfalls, rushing streams, a shipwreck, crow’s nest on a mast, and other seafaring artifacts complete the ornamentation. $8.75 for 18 holes. Refreshments include ice cream and smoothies. Open daily, 10 a.m. to 10 p.m. Reduced hours after Labor Day. 603-926-5011, smallgolf.com.

Sagamore Premier Mini Golf, at Sagamore Golf Center, 22 North Road, North Hampton. A compact mini-course layout with interesting elevation changes, plenty of water features, and rock emplacements (including a replica of New Hampshire’s fallen landmark, The Old Man of the Mountain.)

The 18-hole course is tucked in the corner of the large parking area that also provides for the golf center’s driving ranges, shortgame practice facility, and clubhouse. This is called one of America’s top 50 golf ranges by Golf Range Magazine. It’s not uncommon to find kids on the mini golf course while their guardians work on their regular golf games on the all-turf practice tees. (Note that the mini golf course and Sagamore Golf Center are not located at the nearby co-owned

Sagamore Hampton Golf Club.) Adults $8, children and seniors $7. Free replays. Open daily, 8 a.m. to sunset. 603-964-8393, sagamoregolf.com.

Captains Corner, 75 Main St. (Route 286), Salisbury, Mass. Look for the peglegged pirate standing atop a big white whale, the course’s centerpiece. The shipwrecked nautical theme features waterways, old-time cannons, faux palm trees, and fierce-looking pirates and their mateys. Adults $9, kids under 12 and seniors $6. Adjacent batting cages are $2 for 12 pitches. Lena’s Seafood, operated by the same family, is next door. Course is open daily 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. 978-465-5700, captainscornerminigolf.com.

Our grandson’s favorite: Hilltop Fun Center, 165 Route 108, Somersworth. The best mini-golfer I know is my wife’s grandson. (For that matter, he’s the best 16-year-old regulation golfer I know too — possessing a legit handicap rating below three.) I’ve never come close to beating the kid on any golf course, regulation or miniature. And he’s played virtually all of them in the Seacoast. So I asked what he thinks is the best mini golf course around. “Hilltop” was his unequivocal answer. “It’s the most interesting and challenging, but it’s fun even if you don’t putt well,” he said. Two ponds and several other waterways grace the layout, accompanied by a variety of hilly holes and interesting obstacles. The place also offers indoor arcade games and laser tag, outdoor batting cages, four go-kart tracks, laser tag arena, and a snack bar. Handicap accessible. Round of golf is $7. Replays half price. Open daily, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. 603-742-8068, hilltopfuncenter.com.

It’s hard to miss the centerpiece pirate atop a giant white whale at Captain’s Corner mini golf, 75 Main Street, Salisbury. Photo courtesy of Captain’s Corner.

The giant peg-legged pirate watches over mini golfers at Buc’s Lagoon, 59 Ocean Boulevard, Hampton. Photo courtesy of Buc’s Lagoon.

Captain’s Cove Adventure Golf, 814 Lafayette Road, Hampton, features lots of rushing water, nautical displays, and an ice cream stand. Photo courtesy of Captain’s Cove Adventure Golf.

Sagamore Premier Mini Golf, at Sagamore Golf Center, 22 North Road, North Hampton, is a compact mini golf layout with an expansive adjoining practice facility for full-scale golfers. The waterfall rock formation includes a mini replica of NH’s fallen landmark, The Old Man of the Mountains. Photo courtesy of Sagamore Golf Center.

Van chef

Local author talks about big flavors in small spaces

Delve into the world of practical cooking with M. Allyson Szabo, New Hampshire author of Cook Small, Live Large!. Szabo talked about how she crafted unique recipes catered to those embracing van life and small living spaces, and how her cookbook offers a diverse range of ideas for cooking in limited kitchen setups. Visit mallysonszabo.com and find the book on Amazon.

What is the idea behind Cook Small, Live Large!, and who are these recipes for?

Cook Small, Live Large! is a compendium of recipes for one or two people. It was originally designed for people who are doing van life, living in their vans or tiny homes, traveling or living on land, that sort of thing. People who are doing van life run into problems that the rest of us don’t. They can be driving through what they call a “food desert,” where there aren’t any big box stores to buy things. So there are a lot of recipes in the book for people who are either new to cooking or stuck in a place like that for a few days, which show how to make relatively healthy food using canned goods from Dollar General and what you can get from the frozen food section at Aldi. … It also works well for people who are backpacking and doing small cooking. … I have a friend whose twins are going to college this year and are living in dorms with small kitchenettes. The recipes in the book are great for them since they’re made for small portions and don’t leave a lot of leftovers.

What inspired you to write this type of cookbook?

I have a friend, Justin Hughes, who is also known as Smokey Da Van, who started doing van life. I had never even heard of it. … He works remotely, and he was living in his van with his cat purposefully, not because they were homeless, but just because that’s what they decided they wanted to do. He’s had so many adventures, but he had no idea how to cook. So I started teaching him through email. After a couple of months, he said, ‘You need to make a book out of this.’

How did you develop these recipes?

I took recipes that I use on a regular basis or that I like, and I miniaturized them. … It was a learning curve for me since I’m used to cooking for a lot of people, so learning to cook small was a challenge at first. Miniaturizing a recipe is not as simple as dividing it into portions. You have to work with

ratios and find the right balance for small portions. It involved some trial and error and making the recipes over and over to get it right. The initial learn ing curve was tough, but once I got there, it became easier.

What cooking uten sils and equipment are needed for preparing these recipes?

I recommend a cooking surface like a butane stove, especially for van life, as butane can be used indoors with proper ventilation. There are also setups in vans that allow the use of a [slow cooker]. A Dutch oven is also recommended since it can be used on a camp stove or in a fire. Having a few essential pots and pans allows you to cook anything from the book.

Do you have a favorite recipe?

One of my favorites is the one-pot Thanksgiving dinner that I created for Justin. He was in Arizona, and it was Thanksgiving. I told him to preheat his big cast iron pot and put a turkey leg in one piece of tinfoil, pre-made stuffing in another, and some corn with a pat of butter in a third. We designed this one-pot Thanksgiving dinner that covered all the basics, made for one person, and it turned out beautifully. Working with tin foil is something that you can do a lot, and it makes cooking and cleaning easier in a small space, whether that’s a dorm or a tiny home or when you’re camping.

What do you want readers to take away from the recipes and ideas in Cook Small, Live Large!?

First and foremost, I want people to know that they can eat healthy while cooking small. You don’t have to buy large quantities of ingredients to eat healthily. I encourage people to utilize farmers markets and farm stalls for fresh and inexpensive food. The book is for anybody who wants to cook small, whether they’re doing van life, backpacking or just cooking for one or two people. It offers a variety of recipes and flavors to enjoy. — Angie Sykeny

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M. Allyson Szabo. Courtesy photo.

Creamy Cucumber and Pea Salad

We have reached the end of July, which is one of my favorite times of summer because of the local produce. If it has been a good farming season, we have tomatoes, cucumbers, lettuces and more available at nearby farm stands. This year’s rain has definitely wreaked havoc on local farms, but we can hope that the fields and produce will be salvaged.

Although widely available, cucumber is quite often an overlooked piece of produce in my world. It doesn’t have a lot of flavor, so it isn’t a go-to snack for me. However, because of its low flavor profile, it is excellent at retaining other flavors. This creamy cucumber and pea salad requires few ingredients but delivers a lot of texture and taste.

The ingredients in this recipe are straightforward. Ideally, the cucumber will be freshly picked, but a grocery store cuke will work also. For simplicity, stick with frozen peas, but fresh peas aren’t that much more work. Shell and add them to boiling water for a minute or two, and they’re ready for the salad. I prefer Greek yogurt, as it is extra creamy, but plain yogurt can work as well. One note: The cucumber needs to sit for an hour and the entire salad should rest for a couple hours, so make this in the morning, if you want it with dinner that night.

On a personal note this is my last

Creamy cucumber and pea salad

Serves 4

1 medium-sized cucumber salt

½ cup peas, fresh or frozen

2 Tablespoons minced red onion

½ cup plain Greek yogurt

1½ Tablespoons cider vinegar

1 teaspoon sugar

ground black pepper

Peel cucumber.

Slice in half lengthwise twice, so that you have 4 spears.

Cut each spear into ½-inch-thick wedges. Place cucumber wedges in a bowl, and sprinkle with 1 to 2 teaspoons of salt.

recipe for Try This at Home. It’s been fun writing these articles, but it’s time for me to focus on other endeavors. Thank you for reading, trying my recipes, and occasionally reaching out. It’s been a fun few years!

Michele Pesula Kuegler has been thinking about food her entire life. Since 2007 the New Hampshire native has been sharing these food thoughts and recipes at her blog, Think Tasty. Visit thinktasty.com to find more of her recipes.

Allow to sit for at least an hour. While the cucumber sits, blanch fresh peas or defrost frozen peas.

After an hour, drain cucumber, and transfer to a paper towel; blot to remove excess salt. Combine cucumber, peas and onion in a medium-sized bowl.

Whisk yogurt, vinegar and sugar together in a small bowl.

Add yogurt mixture to veggies, and stir to combine.

Season with salt and pepper to taste, stirring well.

Chill for at least 2 hours before serving.

Creamy cucumber and pea salad. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem (PG)

The pizza-loving turtles dream of a Ferris Bueller-like high school experience and hope heroics that go viral will help them get it in Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem, a delightful animated movie.

Delightful movie and delightfully animated

— Mutant Mayhem has a sketchbook visual style that can give us the individual scribbles coloring in a moon and can give the turtles the kind of heft that at times almost looks claylike. It’s a nice nod to the characters and their (Dover, N.H.!) comic book beginnings and it makes for a visual experience with a real stickers-on-a-boom-box, skateboard-art energy that fits with the urban setting of the story. And it’s nice that this elevated approach to animation is part of a very kid-friendly tale.

If you’ve seen any TMNT property before, you know the basics: Ooze from a lab made it into the sewers and turned 20-something rat Splinter (voice of Jackie Chan) and baby turtles Leonardo (voice of Nicolas Cantu), Donatello (voice of Micah Abbey), Michelangelo (voice of Shamon Brown Jr.) and Raphael (voice of Brady Noon) into mutants that eventually grow big, can talk and, when Splinter decides they need to learn to defend themselves, learn

martial arts. Now teenagers, the turtles live with Splinter, their dad, in the sewer, where he says they must stay to be safe from humanity. But the turtles take lots of side trips on their shopping runs for toilet paper and Cool Ranch Doritos, gazing longingly at a movie-in-thepark screening of Ferris Bueller’s Day Off and wishing they too could go to high school. When an errant, turtle-thrown ninja star hits the helmet of human teen April O’Neil (voice of Ayo Edebiri), the turtles find themselves going after her scooter, which was stolen while she was distracted with yelling at them. April finally gets a good look at the turtles and, after a bit of screaming, the gang chats over pepperoni pizza. The turtles are shocked that a human accepts them; April points out that she’s probably more inclined to see beyond their exterior weirdness because they helped her get her scooter back. Thus begins a plan: April is trying to track down the villain Superfly (voice of Ice Cube), whose series of

crimes have led to a curfew and a canceling of her school’s prom. If the turtles help her take down this criminal and she records it, they will all become heroes and the turtles will find the danke schoen of their dreams — at least, this is the plan.

Turns out Superfly is a literal fly — a mutant housefly at the head of a gang of mutants (bat, frog, rhino, cockroach, Seth Rogen-voiced warthog, etc.) from the same lab that made the turtles’ ooze. This makes the turtles’ job to defeat the bad guys and go viral saving the day a lot more complicated than they’d planned.

Superfly and Splinter both have a deep distrust of humanity and a desire to keep their found families safe — this element adds just enough depth to the overall story to give older audience members something to hang on to (in addition to the previously mentioned truly delightful animation). But overall this movie feels very kid-accessible, in the best way. April O’Neil isn’t a polished newsperson — she’s a writer for her high school paper with a sole unfortunate stint on her school’s TV network that she’s trying to live down. She has her own insecurities and awkwardness but she can also execute a good “eye roll, teenage boys” when the turtles are getting a little too high on their own supposed crimefighting awesomeness. And the turtles do

have a very young teenagerness to them, all full of bravado, big if vague dreams, emotions they don’t quite have a handle on and general kid-like goofiness. Yes, their adventures do eventually take them to a superhero-standard “save the city” place but a lot of their goals involve basic acceptance — Michaelangelo’s desire to join the high school comedy improv club, for example.

Some of the mutant-on-mutant violence might be scary for some of the youngest kids — as might some of the human-on-mutant violence (there is a secondary team of villains who are humans and led by a character voiced by Maya Rudolph). But my mid-elementaryschool-age-and-up kids seemed to get into this movie’s bouncy humor and action, lots of big laughs from them and plenty of laughs from the adults in the audience. Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem has an overall enjoyable scrappy sensibility. B+ Rated PG for sequences of violence and action, language and impolite material, according to the MPA on filmratings.com. Directed by Jeff Rowe and Kyler Spears with a screenplay by Seth Rogen & Evan Goldberg & Jeff Rowe and Dan Hernandez & Benji Samit, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem is an hour and 39 minutes long and is distributed in theaters by Paramount Pictures.

Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Mutant Mayhem

Save What’s Left, by Elizabeth Castellano (Anchor, 304 pages)

When Kathleen Deane’s cardiologist husband of 30 years decides to move out because of a “paradigm shift,” she experiences her own.

She decides to move from the suburbs of Kansas City to a New York beach town where a childhood friend is happily ensconced on a 50-acre potato farm, “unironically wearing overalls and aprons” and painting everything that doesn’t move white. Ten years near the sea have made this formerly free spirit of a friend “downright wholesome.” And Kathleen is convinced that by moving there, she, too, will find the sort of bliss her husband thinks he will find on a ’round-the-world cruise and then living in an RV.

What she finds, however, is a McMansion under construction next to the ocean-view shack that she purchased on the recommendation of a real-estate agent. And a life that is not quite what she envisioned.

This is not a tragedy, however, but pure comedy, a book-length stand-up routine with a punchline every few minutes. It’s Elizabeth Castellano’s comic distillation of her life growing up in a beach town on a peninsula in New York’s Suffolk County, where, as in the novel, development threatens to swallow much of the town’s character and charm.

In Save What’s Left, the fictional town is called Whitbey, and Kathleen is unwittingly absorbed into its drama when she buys a “Save What’s Left” bumper sticker at a local shop without knowing what it really means, and donates to a “community fund” that is funding something quite the opposite of what she imagined.

Whitbey is beautiful, as promised, but upon close inspection, there is much drama seething among the locals, making the hostilities of a typical suburban HOA seem docile by comparison.

The instigators seem to be a group of women known as the “Bay Mission,” who walk by Kathleen’s house every morning at exactly 7:16, so strict is their routine. When Kathleen gets on their mailing list, she deems the group something of a cult, despite its benign activities such as cleaning up the beach and creating a community zen garden. Every time Kathleen gets an email from the group, she says, “I half expect it to include a recipe for turning all the children of Whitbey into mice.”

But Kathleen herself is turning into a different person than she was when she arrived in Whitbey. Having tired of collecting orange jingle shells on the beach, she has turned her energies to questioning the legality of the ever-growing house under construction next to hers, which is constantly raining debris in her yard. She throws herself into anti-McMansion advocacy, writing a column for the local paper (that is hilariously rewritten by the editor) and showing up at every town council meeting, aided by a local man who had no interest in her cause but apparently wanted to be on television and likes the attention.

Meanwhile, Kathleen’s husband, who had been sending her postcards and gifts during his paradigm-changing trip around the world, turns up unexpectedly in an Airstream, with nowhere else to go.

Kathleen, who had said of her husband, “I don’t want to sound unkind, but, if a man leaves you in search of adventure, you want that man to choke to death on a deep-fried cricket in Beijing. You just do,” isn’t happy about this but allows him to camp in the driveway and use her electricity, not unlike the Griswold family’s Cousin Eddie. (It is, Kathleen reflects, the secret to a good marriage or a good divorce: “Someone needs to live in the driveway.”) Soon after, the mon-

strosity next door is finally finished and shows up on AirBnB as “Seaside Retreat. Modern Wonder.” (It has, after all, “four outdoor showers, five bathrooms, two washing machines, two full kitchens, and a waterfall.”)

At times the hijinks threaten to devolve into National Lampoon-style slapstick, but Castellano set out to write an anti-beach read, meaning one that slyly makes fun of typical beach reads while exaggerating the foibles of beach town life. She does this spectacularly. She also is a master of hilarious apropos-of-nothing asides, such as a running storyline about a Christmas card and letter that Kathleen and her family gets every year from someone they don’t

Art Events

• ART ’ROUND TOWN GALLERY WALK The Portsmouth downtown area hosts the Art ’Round Town gallery walk on the first Friday of every month from 5 to 8 p.m. (14 Market Square). Explore the art scene in this creative historical community by visiting different art galleries downtown. Visit artroundtown.org.

Exhibits

• “IF YOU KNEW, LET IT BE US” Features the drawings, paintings and collage of McKinley Wallace is on display at 3S Artspace (319 Vaughan St. in Portsmouth; 3sarts.org) through until Sunday, Aug. 20. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. You can also see the shows via a virtual gallery at galleryat3s.org.

• “WHY AM I HERE?” fea-

know. (After her husband left, Kathleen was quick to send the letter-writer a card with her new address so that she gets the future Christmas cards in the divorce.)

Save What’s Left is a romp in the sun and sand, albeit without the physical irritants of sun and sand. It’s all fun, especially if you’ve ever loved a beach town, or thought about moving to one. And in that case, it’s also a warning.

As Kathleen says in the opening of the book: “I’m now the kind of horrible person who genuinely cares about what so-and-so had to say about the traffic from the chowder festival. I’m the kind of person who has an opinion about whether the beach sticker should be placed on the front or rear bumper of the car. I know more than one person named Bunny. … I’m that kind of person. The worst kind of person. I’m a beach person.”A —Jennifer Graham

turing the works of Natalie Fisk, which replicates “papel picado,” a form of Mexican folk art created with paper perforations, is on display at 3S Artspace (319 Vaughan St. in Portsmouth; 3sarts.org) until Sunday, Aug. 20. The gallery is open Wednesdays through Saturdays at 11 a.m. through 6 p.m. and Sundays from noon to 5 p.m. You can also see the shows via a virtual gallery at galleryat3s.org.

• “CREME DE LA CREME”

The Art Center and NH Art Association present their “Creme de la Creme” members exhibition at The Art Center (Suite 1177, 1 Washington St. in Dover; theartcenterdover. com) through the end of August.

• “OSHIBANA — THE BOTANICAL COLLECTION The Art Center (Suite 1177, 1 Washington St. in Dover; theartcenterdover.com) features the exhibit “Oshibana — The Botanical Collection”

S B R O W N

featuring the artwork of Roberta Garrison in the Jim Reagan Gallery through Aug. 31. Oshibana is an art form originating in 16th-century Japan involving “arranging pressed flowers and botanical elements into stunning works of art,” the release said. Garrison’s work focuses on the beauty of local birds.

• “BIENNIAL ONE” will be on display at the New Hampshire Art Association’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery (136 State St., Portsmouth) from Aug. 31 through Oct. 1. The exhibit invites artists to showcase their best work that takes creative risks and explores abstract expression, contemporary environmental and social justice issues and new media, with no specific theme. The gallery is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 5 p.m. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.

&

Howard Fishman on Connie Converse

In December 2010, writer and musician Howard Fishman heard a song at a holiday party that sent him down a rabbit hole, resulting in his publication of To Anyone Who Ever Asks: The Life, Music, and Mystery of Connie Converse 13 years later. Fishman discussed his new book, a biography of the New Hampshire-born singer-songwriter who disappeared back in 1974.

“Listening to this song, I found it hard not to be captivated by this person, to want to be her friend, to know her,” Fishman writes in his book about first hearing the song he would later find out was titled “Talkin’ Like You.”

After leaving the party, Fishman headed to the store and bought the 2009 compilation album How Sad, How Lovely, featuring a series of Converse’s recordings from the 1950s.

“The more I listened to her music, the more my curiosity grew,” Fishman writes. “I felt the need to know the rest of Converse’s story, the details that had driven her to make this particular music, at that particular time. … What had led to her tragic fate, to her simply vanishing…. Who she was or,

Literature

Author events

• DEBORAH and RALPH BLUMENTHAL will discuss their illustrated book UFOhs!: Mysteries in the Sky at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water St., Exeter, 778-9731, waterstreetbooks. com) on Saturday, Sept. 2, at 2 p.m., during the 2023 Exeter UFO Festival.

• NICK FULLER GOOGINS will discuss his novel The Great Transition at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water St., Exeter, 778-9731, waterstreetbooks.com) on Sunday, Sept. 10, at 3 p.m.

even, potentially, could still be.”

According to Fishman, Connie Converse was born Elizabeth Eaton Converse in 1924 in Laconia and grew up in Concord. After she completed high school and dropped out of college, her whereabouts were not particularly clear for the next five years until she wound up in New York City to try her hand at making it in the music industry. In 1961, after her time in New York, Converse moved to Ann Arbor, Michigan, where her brother Phil lived. The fateful day of her disappearance dates back to the summer of 1974 when Converse packed her car and drove away, having written letters to her brother and friends saying she wanted to try one more time at a new life but didn’t feel that it would work out. She was never seen or heard from again.

Everything else she left behind sat undisturbed in a filing cabinet in her brother’s garage, until Fishman knocked on Phil’s door decades later. In his book, Fishman takes readers on this journey with him.

— Mya Blanchard

• TORI ANNE MARTIN launches her new romcom This Spells Disaster at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water St., Exeter, 7789731, waterstreetbooks.com) on Tuesday, Sept. 12, at 7 p.m.

• CLIF TRAVERS will discuss his short story collection The Stones of Riverton: Stories from a Cemetery at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water St., Exeter, 778-9731, waterstreetbooks.com) on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m.

• JEN ELLIS will discuss her book Bernie’s Mitten Maker

at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water St., Exeter, 778-9731, waterstreetbooks.com) on Wednesday, Sept. 27, at 7 p.m.

• KIM COLEMAN FOOTE will discuss her new book Coleman Hill at Water Street Bookstore (125 Water St., Exeter, 778-9731, waterstreetbooks.com) on Wednesday, Sept. 20, at 7 p.m.Poetry

• MCKENDY FILS-AIME

Haitian American poet and educator (and frequent semi-finalist of the National Poetry Slam) will appear at Beat Night at the Portsmouth Book and Bar (40 Pleasant St. in Portsmouth) on Thursday, Aug. 17, at 7 p.m., according to a social media post about the event. See bookandbar.com.

Courtesy photo.

Comedy catch-up: Jimmy Dunn’s Beach Party

What began 14 years ago as a backyard barbecue for fellow comics at Jimmy Dunn’s beach house that ended with a show has now stretched out to five nights and become a midsummer fixture on the sandy shore. But the Hampton Beach Comedy Festival, which kicked off Wednesday, Aug. 16, and continues through Sunday, Aug. 20, at McGuirk’s Ocean View, has remained true to its origins. It’s a party first, with admission contingent on making the host laugh.

“It’s my real comedy friends,” Dunn said by phone recently. “I’ve been working with them forever, and the show almost becomes secondary. We just have so much fun up here at the house … we hang out, then go down there and have a blast.”

Dunn has thought about letting fans eavesdrop on the offstage action, but it hasn’t happened. “I pitched it; I made a demo of it as a cartoon, trying to film our poker game,” he said. “But when you threaten to do that, a lot of the guys dummy up. They don’t want people hearing the real stuff that we’re saying.”

The gang ventures out for fried dough on the boardwalk; kayaking and surfing are popular as well. Given the prevalence of rip currents and other ocean dangers, Dunn does a safety check first. “Every time anybody gets to the house, before I take them in the water, I go, all right, what’s your swim level? Let’s see what we’re dealing with — how many life jackets I gotta put on you?”

That said, the wake of a storm is a magnet for Dunn and his daredevil buddies. One year he and Mark Riley hit the water after a coastal hurricane. “We went off the north beach, rode into a monster wave, and then we flipped; it was so big that people on the beach called the cops,” he said. “I heard from one of my cop buddies later, he said,

‘We got a call that two idiots were out in a kayak.’ I said, ‘Yeah, that was us.’”

Riley is back for this year’s festival, so the Coast Guard should be advised. Opening night had Harrison Stebbins, whose credits include Comedy Central and Dave Attel’s Insomniac Tour. He was joined by Carolyn Plummer, who last year did her first Comics Come Home benefit at Boston’s TD Garden. Kelly MacFarland, Jimmy Cash and Ryan Gartley rounded things out, plus Dunn and Dave Rattigan, who are at all five shows.

Thursday includes Jim Colliton, who has a new Dry Bar Comedy special, and Mike Donovan, a Boston mainstay and published author. Dunn said he was looking forward to Friday’s show, which was a multigenerational affair.

“Tony V’s son Gus has turned into a great comedian,” he said. The young comic spent last winter in Southern California, working with Dunn on a television project that he’s not allowed to discuss due to the current actors and writers strikes.

“Everybody in L.A. is getting shut down and it’s tough,” he said. Dunn is in both guilds. “I support them a ton. Whatever they’re doing, they need to be paid fairly. I feel badly for professional actors and TV writers ... they’re fighting for their livelihoods. I do what I can to support them. I am very lucky that I got to go back to stand-up comedy when those doors got closed out there.”

Dunn cautioned comedy fans about actors who might decide to jump into his livelihood to make ends meet.

“This is going to draw a lot of people who aren’t stand-up comics out to the comedy rooms, so buyer beware,” he said. “People that are funny on a show have writers. Standup is a different thing, man. You gotta be out doing it all the time. Anybody with a little bit of background can make the show look good, but do your homework before you go spend an evening with a comedian

you never heard of.”

He points to a few comics that embody his ideal.

“Every time you see Gary Gulman, you’re going to see a whole new hour. Bob Marley’s got an unparalleled work ethic. He makes it look so easy on stage, but he works harder than anybody I know. I was talking to Juston McKinney a few weeks back, same deal. These are guys that every time you see them it’s a new thing.”

To that end, Dunn has some new material.

“My uncle used to be a bookie. That’s how I learned to gamble at a young age. But now you can bet pretty much anywhere legally. So one of my favorite new bits explores those two different worlds and what Uncle Sully would see if he walked into Draft Kings today. He ran his book out of

Comedy

Venues

Casino Ballroom

169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach, 929-4100, casinoballroom.com

The Community Oven

845 Lafayette Road, Hampton, 601-6311, thecommunityoven. com

The Music Hall Lounge

131 Congress St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org

Press Room

77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 4315186, pressroomnh.com

Rochester Opera House 31 Wakefield St., Rochester, 3351992, rochesteroperahouse.com

a sandwich shop in Beverly. Guys would come in and buy a cheese steak and then give him $609. I’d be sitting there going, ‘I think he overpaid you, Uncle Sully.’”

While in California, Dunn encountered another new normal, the many marijuana stores that are now open. He’s less focused on weed’s new ubiquity than on whoever’s in charge of branding. “I will not do business with anyone that uses a ‘Z’ as a plural,” he said. “That means that someone already beat them to the S, and they’re hacks. Hair salons do it all the time. Now all the weed places have a Z as a plural too. It seems like every weed pun has been written, trademarked and put on a sign. I know they think it’s funny because they’re high, but these are bad puns.”

— Michael Witthaus

Stone Church 5 Granite St., Newmarket, 659-7700, stonechurchrocks. com

The Word Barn 66 Newfields Road, Exeter, 244-0202, thewordbarn.com

Events

• Hampton Beach Comedy Festival from Scamps Comedy Production McGuirk’s, Wednesday, Aug. 16, through Sunday, Aug. 20, 8 p.m.

• Tim Dillon Casino Ballroom, Saturday, Aug. 19, 7 p.m.

• Jen Kober Music Hall Lounge, Sunday, Aug. 26, 8 p.m.

• Josh Day/Kathe Farris Word Barn, Thursday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m.

• Pinky Patel Music Hall, Thursday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m.

• Bassem Youssef Music Hall Lounge Friday, Sept. 29, 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m., and Saturday, Sept. 30, 6 p.m., and 9 p.m.

• Michael Carbonaro Music Hall Lounge, Friday, Oct. 6, 7 p.m.

• Howie Mandel Music Hall, Wednesday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m.

• David Koechner Music Hall Lounge, Saturday, Nov. 4, 6 p.m. & 8:30 p.m.

• Ben Bailey Music Hall Lounge, Thursday, Nov. 9, 6 p.m. and 8:30 p.m.

Jim Colliton, Karen Morgan and Jimmy Cash. Courtesy photos.

Jimmy Dunn. Courtesy photo.

Thursday, Aug. 17

Hampton

Bernie’s: Adam Luffkin, 7 p.m.

CR’s: Rico Barr Duo, 6 p.m.

The Goat: Taylor Hughes, 8 p.m.

L Street: Chris Powers, 2:30 p.m.; Dave Clark, 7 p.m.

Sea Ketch: Dave Clark, 1 p.m.; Lewis Goodwin, 8:30 p.m.

Sea Shell: Martin and Kelly, 7 p.m.

Smuttynose: Rob & Jody, 6:30 p.m.

Whym: music bingo, 6 p.m.

Portsmouth

Gas Light: Mitch Alden, 2 p.m.; Dana Brearley Duo, 7 p.m.

The Goat: Isaiah Bennett, 9 p.m.

Seabrook

Backyard Burgers: Jennifer Mitchell, 6 p.m.

Red’s: Mockingbird, 8 p.m.

Friday, Aug. 18

Exeter

Sea Dog: live music, 5 p.m.

Shooters: John Given & Mercenaries, 6 p.m.

Hampton

Bernie’s: Stefanie Jasmine

Band, 8 p.m.

Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.

CR’s: Bob Tirelli, 6 p.m.

The Goat: Alex Anthony, 8 p.m.

L Street: Craig Lagrassa, 3:30 p.m.; Chris Powers, 8 p.m.

Sea Ketch: Clint Lapointe, 1 p.m.; Ray Zerkle, 8:30 p.m.

Sea Shell: Mr. Aaron, 11 a.m.; Mattson & Love Rocket, 7 p.m.

Wally’s: Chris Toler, 3 p.m.

Whym: Travis Rollo, 6:30 p.m.

Portsmouth

Gas Light: Chris Powers, 2 p.m.; Blue Matter, 7 p.m.;

Krystian Beal, 9:30 p.m.

The Goat: Chris Toler, 9 p.m.

Mojo’s: live music, 7 p.m

Seabrook

Chop Shop: Casual Gravity Rocks, 7:30 p.m.

Red’s: Key Elements, 9 p.m.

Saturday, Aug. 19

Exeter

Shooters: Tim Theriault, 6 p.m.

Hampton

Bernie’s: MB Padfield, 1

p.m.; Fighting Friday, 8 p.m.

Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.

The Goat: Russ Six Music, 9 p.m.

L Street: Bob Tirelli, 3:30

p.m.; Keith Crocker, 8 p.m.

Sea Ketch: Ryan Williamson, 1 p.m.; Freddie Catalfo, 8:30 p.m.

Sea Shell: Reggae Fest, 3

p.m.

Smuttynose: Harrison Goodell, 1 p.m.

Whym: Peter Pappas, 6:30 p.m.

Portsmouth

Gas Light Pub: Dave Clark, 2 p.m.; Dis-n-Dat, 7 p.m.; Casey Roop, 9:30 p.m.

The Goat: Mike Forgette, 9 p.m.

Salisbury

Black Bear: Lisa Guyer, 2 p.m.

Seabrook

Chop Shop: live music, 9 p.m.

Red’s: Redemption Band, 9 p.m.

Sunday, Aug. 20

Hampton

Bogie’s: live music, 7 p.m.

L Street: Johnny Angel, 3:30 p.m.; Chris Powers, 8 p.m.

The Goat: Justin Jordan, 1 p.m.

Sea Ketch: Ray Zerkle, 1 p.m.; Matt Luneau, 8:30 p.m.

Sea Shell: The Little Mermen (Disney cover band), 7 p.m.

Smuttynose: Mica Peterson

Duo, 1 p.m.

Wally’s: MB Padfield, 2 p.m.

Portsmouth

Gas Light: Jordan Quinn, 2 p.m.; Whatsername Band, 6 p.m.

The Goat: Rob Pagnano, 9 p.m.

Seabrook

Beach Deck: Acoustic Tandem, 4 p.m.

Red’s: Tim Parent & The Grim Bros, 8 p.m.

Monday, Aug. 21

Hampton

The Goat: Caylin Costello, 9 p.m.

L Street: Dave Clark, 2:30 p.m.; Carl Chloros, 7 p.m.

Sea Ketch: Ray Zerkle, 1 p.m.; Doug Mitchell, 8:30 p.m.

Sea Shell: The Apathetics, 7 p.m.

Wally’s: Brooks Hubbard, 2 p.m.

Portsmouth

Gas Light: Jonny Friday, 2 p.m.; Lewis Goodwin, 7:30

The Goat: Good Thomas’s musical bingo, 7 p.m.; Alex Anthony, 9 p.m.

Gibb’s

Seabrook

Red’s: music bingo, 7 p.m.

Tuesday, Aug. 22

Hampton

Bernie’s: Chris Toler, 7 p.m.

The Goat: Mike Forgette, 9 p.m.

L Street: Bob Tirelli, 2:30 p.m.; Keith Crocker, 7 p.m.

Sea Ketch: Clint Lapointe, 1 p.m.; Mike Mazola, 8:30 p.m.

Sea Shell: Club Soda, 7 p.m.

Shane’s: music bingo, 7 p.m.

Wally’s: Mike Forgette, 3 p.m.; musical bingo, 7 p.m.

Portsmouth Earth Eagle: open mic, 6 p.m.

Concerts Venues

3S Artspace

319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth, 766-3330, 3sarts.org

Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

169 Ocean Blvd., Hampton Beach, 929-4100, casinoballroom.com

Jimmy’s Jazz and Blues Club

135 Congress St., Portsmouth, 888-603-JAZZ, jimmysoncongress.com

The Music Hall 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org

The Music Hall Lounge

131 Congress St., Portsmouth, 436-2400, themusichall.org

The

Gas Light: Krystian Beal, 2 p.m.; Mitch Alden, 7:30 p.m.

The Goat: Isaiah Bennett, 8 p.m.

Seabrook

Backyard Burgers: music bingo with Jennifer Mitchell, 7 p.m.

Red’s: Jordan Quinn, 8 p.m.

Wednesday, Aug. 23

Hampton

Bernie’s: Alex Anthony Trio, 7 p.m

Bogie’s: open mic, 7 p.m.

The Goat: Justin Jordan, 8 p.m.

L Street: Johnny Angel, 2:30 p.m.; Craig Lagrassa, 7 p.m.

Press Room 77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, 431-5186, pressroomnh.com

The Strand 20 Third St., Dover, 343-1899, thestranddover.com

The Word Barn 66 Newfields Road, Exeter, 244-0202, thewordbarn.com

Shows

• Elvin Bishop Thursday, Aug. 17, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Illiterate Light Thursday, Aug. 17, 8 p.m., Music Hall

• Joe Pug Thursday, Aug. 17, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Sam Robbins & Jesse Terry

Thursday, Aug. 17, 8 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Marjorie Senet & the Broken Home Boys Friday, Aug.

18, 7 p.m., 3S Artspace

• Kat Wright Quartet Friday, Aug. 18, 8 p.m., Stone Church

Sea Ketch: Dave Gerard, 1 p.m.

Sea Shell: The Continentals, 7 p.m.

Wally’s: Jonny Friday Duo, 3 p.m.; live band karaoke, 8 p.m.

Portsmouth Gas Light: Dave Clark, 2 p.m.; Jodee Frawlee, 7:30 p.m

Press Room: open mic, 5:30 p.m.

Seabrook

Chop Shop: DJ Manny awesome DJ event, 7:30 p.m. Red’s: Phill Maurice, 8 p.m.

• Jake Blount Friday, Aug. 18, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• George Coleman Quartet Saturday, Aug. 19, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Calexico Saturday, Aug. 19, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace

• Messer Chups/Los Tiki Phantoms Saturday, Aug. 19, 8 p.m., Stone Church

• Buffalo Nichols Saturday, Aug. 19, 8 p.m., Music Hall

• Pablo Cruise Sunday, Aug. 20, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Jordan TW Trio Sunday, Aug. 20, 6 p.m., Word Barn

• Tommy Castro & the Painkillers Tuesday, Aug. 22, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Chrissi Poland Band Wednesday, Aug. 23, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• William Tyler & The Impossible Truth/Garcia Peoples

Wednesday, Aug. 23, 8 p.m., Press Room

• Ace Frehley Thursday, Aug. 24, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall

• Brooke Annibale Thursday, Aug. 24, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Tyler Hubbard Thursday, Aug. 24, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• The Joshua Tree One (U2 tribute)

Thursday, Aug. 24, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Diaspora Radio: Masterpiece (Big Thief tribute)

Thursday, Aug. 24, 9 p.m.,

Press Room

• JP Soars & the Red Hots

Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Rose Alley: A Celebration of the Music of Jerry Garcia Friday, Aug. 25, 8 p.m., 9 p.m., Stone Church

• Gabby Barrett Friday, Aug. 25, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Adrienne Mack-Davis

Friday, Aug. 25, 7 p.m., 3S

Artspace

• Josh Ritter Saturday, Aug. 26, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace

• Lucy Wainwright Roche

Saturday, Aug. 26, 6:30 p.m., Word Barn

• Get the Led Out Saturday, Aug. 26, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Dirtwire Saturday, Aug. 26, 8 p.m., Stone Church

• WASP Sunday, Aug. 27, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• JigJam Sunday, Aug. 27, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Slaid Cleaves Sunday, Aug. 27, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace

• Sammy Rae & The Friends

Sunday, Aug. 27, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall

• ZZ Top Tuesday, Aug. 29, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Cecile McLoran Salvant & Sullivan Fortner Tuesday, Aug. 29, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• The Highwomen Tuesday, Aug. 29, 7 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Dumpstaphunk Wednesday, Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Dawes Wednesday, Aug. 30, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall

• JD McPherson Wednesday, Aug. 30, 8 p.m., Press Room

Word Barn

• Seth Glier Thursday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m., Music Hall

Lounge

• Eels Thursday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m., Stone Church

• Cowboy Junkies Thursday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace

• Joss Stone Thursday, Aug. 31, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Robert Cray Band Friday, Sept. 1, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• One Night of Queen Friday, Sept. 1, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Kassi Valazza Saturday, Sept. 2, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Gimme Gimme Disco Saturday, Sept. 2, 8 p.m., Hampton Beach Casino Ballroom

• Sway Wild Sunday, Sept. 3, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• The Righteous Babes Sunday, Sept. 3, 8 p.m., The Music Hall

• Joe Louis Walker Wednesday, Sept. 6, 7:30 p.m., Jim-

my’s

• Lucy Wainwright Roche & Suzzy Roche Wednesday, Sept. 6, and Thursday, Sept. 7, 7 p.m., The Music Hall Lounge

• Ruthie Foster Thursday, Sept. 7, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Damien Jurado Thursday, Sept. 7, 8 p.m., Press Room

• George Thorogood and the Destroyers Thursday, Sept. 7, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• The Soul Rebels Friday, Sept. 8, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Damien Jurado w/Lilly Miller Friday, Sept. 8, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Guy Davis Friday, Sept. 8, 8 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Larry Carlton: Greatest Hits & Steely Dan Saturday, Sept. 9, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Son of a Gun (Guns N’ Roses tribute) Saturday, Sept. 9, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House

• Lucy Kaplansky Saturday, Sept. 9, 8 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Radio Flashback (classic rock tribute) Saturday, Sept.

9, 7 p.m., The Strand

• Southern Avenue Sunday, Sept. 10, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Nolan Taylor Sunday, Sept. 10, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Godspeed You! Black

Emperor Monday, Sept. 11, 7:30 p.m., The Music Hall

• Los Lobos Wednesday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Music Hall

• Kimaya Diggs Wednesday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Press Room

• Jake Manzi Wednesday, Sept. 13, 7 p.m., Press Room

• High Pulp Tuesday, Sept. 13, 8 p.m., Press Room

• The Samples Thursday, Sept. 14, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Jill Sobule Thursday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m., The Music Hall Lounge

• Chatham Rabbits Thursday, Sept. 14, 7 p.m., The Word Barn

• PROGJECT: The Ultimate Prog Rock Musical Experience Thursday, Sept. 14, 8 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Mindi Abair Friday, Sept. 15, 7 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• LoveSexy (Prince tribute) Friday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m., Stone Church

• Niko Moon Friday, Sept. 15, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Jerron Paxton & Dennis Lichtman Saturday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m., Stone Church

• Queens (female pop singer tribute) Saturday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m., Stone Church

• The Yellowhouse Blues Band Saturday, Sept. 16, 7 p.m., Press Room

• Amy Speace Saturday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Ween Saturday, Sept. 16, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• David Wilcox Sunday, Sept. 17, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Dave McMurray Sunday, Sept. 17, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Killer Queen Tuesday, Sept. 19, 7 p.m., Music Hall

• Bonerama Wednesday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Yo-Yo Ma Wednesday, Sept. 20, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall

• Black Veil Brides & VV Wednesday, Sept. 20, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• The Wolff Sisters Thursday, Sept. 21, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Vanessa Collier Thursday, Sept. 21, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Pam Tillis Friday, Sept. 22, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Skerryvore Friday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House

• Angelina Jordan Friday, Sept. 22, 8 p.m., Music Hall

• Mike Campbell & the Dirty Knobs Saturday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m., Music Hall

• WailOn (Waylon Jennings/ Highwaymen tribute) Saturday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House

• Blue October Saturday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Bearly Dead (Grateful Dead tribute) Saturday, Sept. 23, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace

• Stanley Jordan Sunday, Sept. 24, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Nick Goumas Quartet Saturday, Sept. 23, 6 p.m., Press Room

• Oteil & Friends Sunday, Sept. 24, 8 p.m., Music Hall

• May Erlewine Monday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Hot Tuna Electric Monday, Sept. 25, 7 p.m., Music Hall

• Ben Folds Wednesday, Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall

• John Primer Wednesday, Sept. 27, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Ana Popovic Thursday, Sept. 28, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Mick Flannery/Jeffrey Mar-

tin Thursday, Sept. 28, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Beth Hart Thursday, Sept. 28, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Stayin Alive: One Night with the Bee Gees Friday, Sept. 29, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House

• The Last Revel Friday, Sept. 29, 7 p.m., Word Barn

• Englebert Humperdinck

Saturday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Rod Stewart Tribute Saturday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m., Strand

• Dirty Deeds: The ACDC Experience Saturday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House

• Drew Holcolmb & the Neighbors Saturday, Sept. 30, 8 p.m., Music Hall

• Jonatha Brooke Sunday, Oct. 1, 5:30 p.m. & 8 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Walter Trout Sunday, Oct. 1, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Will Oldham Monday, Oct. 2, 8 p.m., Press Room

• Oz Noy/Dennis Chambers/ Jimmy Haslip Wednesday, Oct. 4, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Amythyst Kiah Wednesday, Oct. 4, 8:30 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Ben Harper Wednesday, Oct. 4, 8 p.m., Casino Ballroom

• Gretchen Parlato & Lionel Loueke Thursday, Oct. 5, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Harper and Midwest Kind Friday, Oct. 6, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Lilli Lewis Saturday, Oct. 7, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• Dancing Dream (ABBA tribute) Saturday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m., Rochester Opera House

• Mandy Patinkin Saturday, Oct. 7, 8 p.m., Music Hall

• Yacht Rock Schooner Sunday, Oct. 8, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Acoustic Alchemy Wednesday, Oct. 18, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• North Mississippi All-Stars Thursday, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Antje Duvekot Thursday, Oct. 19, 7:30 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

• The Weight Band (The Band tribute) Friday, Oct. 20, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Nicole Zuraitis Friday, Oct. 26, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• The Brubeck Brothers Saturday, Oct. 27, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

• Natalie McMaster & Donnell Leahy Friday, Nov. 3, 8 p.m., Music Hall

MOVIE NIGHT MONDAYS ON HAMPTON BEACH

Held next to the playground, starting at dusk. The films run weekly through Aug. 28, and admission is free. Bringing chairs or blankets is welcome. The lineup of family-friendly films is available at hamptonbeach.org. Rain dates are on Tuesdays for all films.

Why your SUV may require more visits to the car wash

Dear Car Talk: Your column is always mandatory reading for me, and I look for it first thing.

slip through the air, rather than fight it.

Dear Car Talk:

We have a 2021 Subaru Forester that we bought new, and the local dealer keeps recommending all kinds of services that aren’t on the maintenance schedule.

For maintenance -- as opposed to repairs -I’d let the owner’s manual be your guide. The engineers who designed your car have made their best, very educated calculations, as to what services the car needs.

By Ray Magliozzi

I own a 2016 Nissan Murano with 69,000 miles on it. It is serving my family well. My question is: What is up with its aerodynamics? I live in Phoenix, and it’s very dusty in the desert here.

The rear window and lift gate get dusty after driving just a few miles down the road. Does that happen with other, similarly shaped cars? — JR

Yup. Believe it or not, there are physicists who spend their entire careers studying stuff like the flow of water and dirt onto car surfaces, JR. Who knew the car wash industry had so much influence over our nation’s research agenda?

Anyway, the answer is: yes. “SUVshaped” vehicles are prone to having dirty tailgates and rear windows. Here’s why: The primary goal of aerodynamics on passenger vehicles is to let them

If you put a billboard for Juicy Fruit gum on your roof, the air would crash into it and make it harder for the car to move forward, lowering your fuel economy. The same is true for smaller items. The rake of the windshield, the shape of the side mirrors and the arrangement of parts underneath the car can all affect aerodynamics.

That all makes sense, right? Well, because of the shape of SUVs, the air flowing quickly over and under the car creates a vortex when it comes out the back. And that vortex, in effect, sucks up the dust and dirt being kicked up from the road and distributes it all over the back of your freshly washed SUV.

A sedan, with a more bullet-shaped profile, creates a much smaller vortex behind it. It also has less flat surface area (and no nearby window) back there for that vortex to deposit dirt on.

The solution? A rear wiper. Or, if that’s not acceptable, you can fashion a giant rocket-cone that fits on the back of your Murano to make it more bullet-shaped. Then you’ll be all set for the next Burning Man, too, JR.

At the second oil change, they recommended an induction fuel service. Then at 30,000 they also recommended a brake flush, front and rear differential flush, and wheel balancing. I figured that if the wheels were out of balance, that should be addressed, but declined the others.

Should I have them done? They sent me a message with the list:

Brake flush: $189.95

Fuel induction service: $176.95

Differential flush -- rear: $159.95

Differential flush -- front: $159.95

Thanks. — Chris

The wheel balancing may have been the thing you needed the least, Chris.

If you hit a big pothole, knocked off a wheel weight, and had a tire out of balance, you’d have noticed that. You would feel shimmying or shaking, especially at higher speeds. If that was the case, then you did need a wheel balancing. If not, well, at least you earned some points on your credit card.

Looking at a public version of the Subaru 2021 model year maintenance schedule, they recommend “inspecting” both front and rear differential fluids every 30,000 miles. So, did they find something wrong with yours? Was it badly degraded? Do you do a lot of hot weather or off-road driving? Did the fluid smell like my late brother’s living room after he took a grande-burrito-induced afternoon nap?

While it certainly can’t hurt to change the differential fluid, it may not be necessary, and you’ll want to know why they’re recommending it now. Subaru does recommend that you change the brake fluid every 30,000 miles. Many manufacturers let it go longer than that, but Subaru may have their reasons. So, I’d go ahead and do that.

Finally, the “induction service” is complete hogwash -- and especially unnecessary after two oil changes. Your fuel system shouldn’t need any kind of cleaning for many more miles -- if ever. That’s like pro-actively replacing a hip on a 9-year-old kid. Visit Cartalk.com.

WICKED TOASTY! TOASTED MARSHMALLOW LIQUEUR

BEACH BUM FUN HOROSCOPES

All quotes are from I’ll Show Myself Out, by Jessi Klein, born Aug. 18, 1975.

Leo (July 23 – Aug. 22) I was born in 1975, and in 1975 all knowledge was contained in a set of twelve red encyclopedias that sat on the bottom bookshelf of my parents’ bedroom. And now some if it is in your mind.

Virgo (Aug. 23 – Sept. 22) When people refer to fancy clothes as ‘pieces’ I always feel like throwing a chair. Keep your energies directed toward positive pursuits.

Libra (Sept. 23 – Oct. 22) I’m driving the three-minute scoot to the supermarket to pick up a few boxes of very safe, instantly dissolving toddler cookies called Nom-Noms, which is really what all cookies should be called (and, while we’re at it, all food). Nom-nom is just a scoot away.

Scorpio (Oct. 23 – Nov. 21) I pull into the Party City parking lot to find I’m the only car here, the only person here. At first I’m annoyed … but after half a second … I remember the one thing every new mother learns, which is that any alone time is a gift, no matter where and when it is granted to you. Enjoy.

Sagittarius (Nov. 22 – Dec. 21) She didn’t seem to be yelling at her dog for not eating, or for sniffing the grass, or for anything. In fact, they seemed to get along great. I wanted so badly to be her. Her, or the dog. Either would have been fine. Woof.

Capricorn (Dec. 22 – Jan. 19) Why did I ever wait on line for brunch? Yes, why?

Aquarius (Jan. 20 – Feb. 18) I’m supposed to be busy too, writing, and yet the paradox of being busy writing is that so much of writ-

ing feels dangerously similar to doing nothing. Similar but not the same.

Pisces (Feb. 19 – March 20) Grow your own caterpillar into a butterfly at home. This seems like a wonderful idea. A wholesome idea. Science and learning all wrapped up in a brief experience with a low-maintenance, beautiful pet. Ha ha ha ha ha!

Aries (March 21 – April 19) So I have been thinking and thinking about this. Is it really possible that my trip to buy NomNoms is part of a meaningful narrative, a hero’s journey? Yes!

Taurus (April 20 – May 20) I receive the email from Kidspace, the local children’s museum … to which we have a membership because when you become a parent you will end up getting memberships to a million places you go about three times. Unsubscribe.

Gemini (May 21 – June 20) … there isn’t really enough time to go back to my hotel and nap, so I decide instead to go to the Museum of Modern Art and walk around and be the person who is sitting alone having lunch at a museum in the middle of the day and just EMBRACE IT. Great idea!

Cancer (June 21 – July 22) But then … they made a TV show called Nate & Jeremiah by Design, where they helped people deal with stalled home renovations…. They knocked out walls and opened up windows. They pulled up carpets and put down little kilim rugs. They threw ugly … light fixtures in the … trash and replaced them with Spanish chandeliers. And you can too.

Last Week’s Answers:

News that sounds like a joke

The infamous “Lake Tahoe Foot Fondler” couldn’t outrun authorities forever, the New York Post reported. On Aug. 1, Mark Anthony Gonzales, 26, was arrested in Atwater, California, and charged with burglary and battery after two early July incidents at the Club Wyndham South Shore hotel in Nevada. According to police, Gonzales “entered two ... condominiums by opening unlocked screen doors. Once inside, he positioned himself at the foot of the bed and rubbed the feet of two separate adult females” in two different units. Gonzales fled when his victims woke up and confronted him. He is also suspected of trespassing and stealing women’s shoes for sexual pleasure. He was being held for extradition back to Nevada.

Unclear on the concept

Pinellas County (Florida) deputies are pleading with the public to stop calling them about manatees in canals and shorelines along the Gulf Coast, Fox13TV reported on Aug. 1. People think the manatees are in distress because they’re swimming in herds and thrashing about, but officials stress that the sea cows are only mating. “IF YOU SEE THIS ... DON’T CALL US,” the sher-

SUDOKU

iff’s office warned via Facebook post. “We can assure you they are more than fine. Manatees actually mate in herds like these and often they are near the shore. ... There’s no need to call, they are a-okay!”

Bright idea

Pinecrest, Florida, has a peculiar problem: peacocks. The New York Times reported on Aug. 9 that the city has been overrun with the large, loud, destructive birds, which peck at roofs and cars and relieve themselves all over driveways. The solution? Peacock vasectomies. Dr. Don J. Harris, the veterinarian who will snip the feisty birds, said they’re “bona fide polygamists. We’re going to catch one peacock and probably stop seven females from reproducing. It’s going to have an exponential benefit.” County commissioners approved the plan, and city officials designated $7,500 a month to cover trapping and surgery.

Field report

Divers Ken Fleming and Doug Bishop were searching for clues in missing persons cold cases on Aug. 6 in Doral, Florida, when they stumbled upon an investigatory treasure chest, WSVN-TV reported. “We realized we had 32 cars underwater,” Fleming said. The divers work as volunteers and have a huge database of missing persons. “We have 40 that we’re

targeting right now of folks that disappeared, anywhere from two or three months ago to 30, 40 years ago,” he said. Statewide, Fleming said they have found 60 submerged cars that may be linked to crimes. They’ll work with the county to get the vehicles removed and collect and deliver any pertinent information from them.

T he entrepreneurial spirit

In a stunning stroke of genius, the Alpha and Omega Funeral Home in Ahuachapan, El Salvador, started offering Barbie-themed coffins last year, the New York Post reported. With the movie’s summer success, undertaker Isaac Villegas said they’ve been swamped with orders and have sold out of the hot pink caskets. “We wanted to promote the pink coffin as it has become a trend,” Villegas said. “Of the 40 people who inquired about it, we have already closed a contract with at least 10 new clients.” Similarly, in Guayaquil, Ecuador, funeral home Funeraria Olivares is offering a “Barbie House” coffin, “so you can rest like a Barbie.” One manufacturer gushed about their product: “This coffin, with its striking bright pink color, represents the spark and energy of those unforgettable moments they lived.” One El Salvadoran commenter conceded, “Eternal rest doesn’t look so bad anymore.”

Nowhere to go but up

Early on July 28, Thornton, Colorado, police were called out about a stolen car, KKTV reported. As the officers gathered information, the suspect, 36-year-old Julian Fernandez, returned to the scene, but “quickly ran on foot from the area and out of sight,” police said. While they watched, the man jumped over a security fence and started climbing a 320-foot radio tower. He eventually reached the top, where he stayed for 12 hours as crisis negotiators tried to reason with him. In the end, firefighters climbed the tower and brought Fernandez down.

Unconventional weaponry

A Sonic Drive-In restaurant in Tulsa, Oklahoma, was the scene of a gruesome assault on Aug. 1, Fox News reported. Police arriving at the scene found a man with a flagpole -- American flag still attached -through his head. They said it had entered under his jaw and exited near his right temple. Witnesses reported that the suspect, Clinton Collins, allegedly charged the victim and ran the pole through his head, saying, “That’s what he gets. He deserved it.” Collins was taken into custody immediately. Emergency responders had to cut part of the flagpole away in order to fit the victim in the ambulance. He survived but may lose an eye, police said.

Fill in the grid so that every row, every column, and every 3x3 box contains the digits 1 through 9. Answers will appear in next week’s paper.

Puzzle A from 8/10

Puzzle B from 8/10

Puzzle B

Puzzle A

“A Lack of Publicity”— two key letters are missing.

Across

1. Amorphous shape

5. Sound system setting

9. Malia Obama’s sister

14. Clue weapon

15. Friend, in France

16. Up to

17. God with a war chariot

18. “Cheerio!”

19. Job for 24-Across

20. Emptying and refilling freezer trays, perhaps?

23. Longoria of “Desperate Housewives”

24. Game show figures

25. Headline about an exonerated kitchen appliance?

31. Kool-Aid, e.g.

32. La ___ Opera House

33. Up to now

37. “What’s ___ for me?”

39. Abu Dhabi dignitaries

41. Get up

42. Aquarium fish

44. Heptathlon unit

46. Image file extension

47. Run away, but end up locking lips?

50. Blood partner?

52. Former WWE rival

53. Buyer’s remorse sound?

59. Impressive layout

60. “Believe ___ Not”

61. Staff member?

63. “Filthy” riches

64. House of Havana

65. Meeting method

66. Islamic scholars

67. Literary whaler

68. A as in A.D.

Down

1. Maidenform product

2. “Footloose” actress Singer

3. Oil org.

4. Make an appearance

5. 1989 Prince song for a movie soundtrack

6. Key of Beethoven’s Symphony No.

7, briefly

7. In ___ (as found)

8. Black, Red, and Yellow, among others

9. Call to court

10. Genealogical discovery

11. Time on a job

12. Clues

13. Math subj.

21. Alamo competitor

22. Not just any

25. Bypass

26. Creeping plant

27. Go offstage

28. Given a title

29. Bartender’s garnish

30.