Food: The Vessel of Unity

There’s nothing that brings people together like food. It’s the vessel that helps introduce people from different backgrounds.

BY RONY CAMILLE / PHOTOS BY ROBERT ORTIZ

One of the many experiences I had during my teen years in southern New Hampshire as a transplant from Montreal was sampling the foods from different countries — Egypt, Jordan, Jamaica, Kenya and South Korea — that family friends would make. In return, my mom would offer up dishes from her native Haiti. This kind of personal sharing is why food is unique in its ability to make the big, diverse world smaller and more approachable.

There’s a universal harmony at work when you introduce someone to a traditional dish or a piece of produce in the supermarket that is foreign to them but not to you. For me, the delight is introducing some of my friends to marinated red snapper, poultry with epis (Haitian green spice) or giving them a sampling of the traditional Haitian New Year’s Soup Joumou — a pumpkin squash soup to commemorate the Haitian liberation from the French.

When my family first settled in New Hampshire in the mid-’90s, sourcing ingredients was challenging for some dishes. While local grocery stores would have some items, our family would often pile in the family minivan and drive an hour into Boston to get that needed specialty item from a more cosmopolitan grocery store.

It’s a memory and a challenge that many immigrant families share, and it even influences the lives of cuisine professionals. Chef Chris Viaud, owner of Greenleaf in Milford whose parents are also from Haiti, recently described to me the sweet experience of having a friend who happened to be just returning from Haiti bring something back for his parents to cook with.

Over the years, we adapted, substitutions were made, and in recent years grocery stores have added some of these items and even hard-to-find specialty produce. So, today, my mom no longer needs to drive into the big city.

While sourcing foods has gotten easier, it’s often challenging for some restaurateurs, food suppliers and grocers to bring that authentic feel and taste to their community.

According to a study by the American Immigration Council, 6% of New Hampshire residents are immigrants while 8% of residents are native-born U.S. citizens with at least one immigrant parent. >>

While that number might seem small, it is growing with the recent influx of more diverse cultures to our state.

Today, New Hampshire is blessed to have a variety of restaurants and even smaller grocery stores where families from afar and chefs exploring the cuisine of many lands can source that one specific food item — from salted codfish to Asian and African spices that add essential aromatics to traditional recipes. And, as a reminder of how far our diversity has spread throughout the state, these flavors can be found whether you live in Coös County in the north, on the seacoast, in the populous Nashua/Manchester area, or even out in the western parts of the state like Keene and Lebanon.

Here’s a short list of purveyors of international cuisine to help satisfy or expand your palate.

Small Beginnings to Huge Offerings

Katmandu Bazaar | Concord

Katmandu Bazaar Asian and African Market Lamplighter Plaza, 133 Loudon Rd., Concord (603) 856-7006, katmandubazaar.com

In addition to their seven aisles, they have a back kitchen offering both Nepali and Tibetan-style dishes. For instance, you can find choila made from boneless grilled chicken, beef or pork marinated with garlic, ginger and Nepali spices.

I visited on a scorching Monday in August, right around lunchtime when patrons from all walks of life could be seen walking up to the back counter and making requests to Paalchure “Testent” Lana, who has been cooking at the Bazaar since its inception.

Among the lunch orders is the Chili Momo, a shredded chicken dumpling with scallions in a thick, spicy, red chili sauce, which is a favorite among patrons, according to Lana.

The grocery store and lunch counter is a cornerstone to the Nepalese and African immigrant communities in Concord, explains owner Karma Gonpo. Starting in 2010, it grew over the years from small beginnings in a gas station on Loudon Road. “When I started there ... we had some offerings, but then people kept asking for more and more things,” Gonpo said. “That is when I decided to take the chance and move here [to Lamplighter Plaza].”

The family-run store has numerous offerings, including gifts and clothing from Asia and Africa. You can find palm oil, fufu flour, cassava bread and lotus rootlets, a delicacy similar to water chestnuts. Semolina flour, used for making couscous, pasta and sweet puddings, is one of the most requested items in the store. Gonpo tries to source directly from the country of origin. “In the early days, I used to travel far from New York to get some items for my customers. I [used to] go every week,” he said. Now Gonpo’s farthest travel is to Boston weekly for some specialty items. “My suppliers all come to me now,” he said. “It’s very nice.” Gonpo arrived in the United States from Nepal in 2007. He initially settled in New Jersey before moving to Concord in 2010 to run that gas station where it all began on Loudon Road. He and his wife Lobsang, along with his relatives, run and operate the store. “It’s a family affair,” he said.

A Taste of the Islands in the Upper Valley

The Karibbean | Lebanon

The Karibbean, 61 Hanover St., Lebanon (603) 351-1244, karibbeancooking.com

To get a taste of Carline Roberge’s cuisine story, just take a drive on I-89 to Lebanon.

Self-trained chef Roberge is the brain behind The Karribean, a coffee shop and take-out restaurant on Hanover Street that serves Haitian and Jamaican cuisine. She said she sources her specialty items like coffee and cocoa directly from Haiti.

“It’s challenging, but how can you make it truly authentic if it’s not from the source?” she said, and that’s music to my ears as a fellow Haitian.

Owner Balvin Bowen and stepson Christopher Roberge (below)

It is said Haitian coffee is a pride and joy of the first Black republic in the Western Hemisphere. While I am not a heavy coffee drinker, there’s something about freshly brewed Haitian black coffee, steeped and filtered through a cloth, creating that dark molasses-like brew with a major body. Enjoyed either without sugar or with a ton as my Grandfather Andre would have it, if you pair it with sweet peanut butter and coconut brittle, it brings a nostalgia that just cannot be re-created in a conventional American-chain coffee shop.

Roberge, who settled in the Upper Valley in 1997, started her venture in 2018 after a long career in social work. She began offering Haitian coffee at Lebanon’s farmers market with the beans directly harvested from her family’s farm in Jacmel on the island’s south coast. Roberge said her offerings at her coffee stand got so popular that community members, including her family, encouraged her to open up a shop.

“While it was a struggle to get started,” she said, citing licensing and the pandemic, “the community has been welcoming. It’s truly a blessing.” She noted that none of it would have been possible without the support of her family and children and the guidance and inspiration of her mother Clotilde, who taught her to cook. Once you step inside the shop, you are greeted with the fresh aromas of the islands. On the walls are original art pieces from Haiti and Jamaica. In addition to the fresh coffee, you can find creole chicken with rice and beans, jerk chicken with rice and beans, Haitian Griot, and pikliz (a spicy cabbage coleslaw). It is the only Haitian restaurant in the state open daily, offering Haitian hot chocolate, with cocoa blocks also imported from the Caribbean island.

Next door is an art gallery with rotating exhibits proudly displaying artisan wood and metal works from Haiti and Jamaica.

Elevating the Mexican Cuisine Narrative

Vida Cantina | Portsmouth

Vida Cantina 2456 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth (603) 501-0648, vidacantinanh.com

From the moment David Vargas arrived in New Hampshire in 2011 from Southern California, he was on a mission. Now, as chef/owner of Vida Cantina in Portsmouth, he is hard at work, changing the narrative of how Mexican cuisine is perceived among the locals while using local ingredients.

“There’s a perception that Mexican food should be cheap and fast,” Vargas said. “While I love a good yellow cheese and olive nachos, that is not Mexican food,” he said. “We bring a homestyle cooking here, and nothing about home cooking is cheap or fast.”

Vargas’ affection for Mexican culture is centered around family and food and early upbringing. His parents are natives from Zalatitan, a community outside Guadalajara, and ran a taqueria. He got involved in the taqueria while growing up, adding to the inspiration behind Vida Cantina.

While Vargas says it’s a challenge sometimes to get that same taste he would have had back home in California or on the family farm in Mexico, he’s always willing to get creative to elevate the cuisine. He does this every now and then by cooking up a regional staple or favorite with a Mexican twist. Baked haddock with crusted tortillas and complemented with local veggies has been a popular item, said Vargas.

Their artisan tortillas are made from scratch by their sister company, Vida Tortilla, based in Dover, with corn from 30 acres in the state. “You also have to embrace that you are here in New England and support our local community,” he said.

Vida Cantina was formerly a Friendly’s Ice Cream location. The cupola remains on top, and inside the cozy booths are the perfect place to share a platter such as the Short Creek Farm Pig Platter — another popular dish. Vargas describes it as a shared plate with a pig’s head sourced from the Short Creek Farm in Northwood, brined for 10 hours with a flight of salsas, cilantro and onions. It comes with tortillas to make tacos.

“One of the things about us [Vida] is that we’re a family restaurant,” Vargas said. “People have done away with family dinners. We wanted to give the community a sense they can have their family table here.”

In addition, Vargas was busy organizing the Seacoast BIPOC Food Fest happening back in September in the restaurant’s parking lot. The event was aimed at highlighting the many cultures in the Seacoast community with a goal to “initiate and perpetuate conversation about the important threads of equity and social justice that holds the fabric of our community together,” according to their webpage.

Global Taste in Every Bite

Mola Foods Inc. | Nashua

Mola Foods, 9 Simon St., Nashua (877) 593-8157, (603) 397-0117, molafoods.com

Growing up in Cameroon, LaFortune Jeannette Djabea loved to learn from her grandmother and the community that surrounded her.

When the 45-year-old entrepreneur and single mother of three moved to the United States in 2001 and eventually settled in Nashua in 2013, she instilled this sense of community, discipline, and love of food from her grandmother into her daily life. Yet, something was missing. “I was having a hard time finding food in the United States, especially in New England, that I identify with — food from back home,” she said. “All those dishes that I enjoyed eating just were not something I could find here. Nashua has no African cuisine, period.”

Yearning to enjoy this food and share her Cameroonian roots with the people around her, Mola Foods and the concept of “culture in a bottle” was born, according to Djabea. “When I didn’t find it in New Hampshire, I wanted to create something where I can share it with the people around me,” she said.

The result is sauces, spices, marinades, relishes, and even a unique barbeque sauce. The relishes were made from authentic ancient Cameroonian tribal recipes that have survived by being passed from grandmother to granddaughter, Djabea said.

You don’t have to create elaborate dishes to get a taste of other cultures, said Djabea.

“I take spices from each country, and I find a flavor blend and flavor profile from that country and put it in a bottle,” she said. “That way people can experience it themselves, and now they can experience the food.” Djabea said someone who has had a hamburger prepared the same way for years could add her Cameroonian Inspired Blend to get a taste of the Western African nation. “It’s offering a piece of Africa,” she said, “at the same time you can have a taste of other nations as well.”

Owner LaFortune Jeannette Djabea.

While all of her ingredients are sourced from various parts of the country, there is one ingredient, penja pepper, directly sourced from her native land, which she uses for her barbecue sauce. “We don’t have barbeque in Cameroon,” she said, “but living here I love barbeque. So, if we had barbeque back home, this is what it would taste like.”

She launched her business in 2016 out of a shared commercial kitchen in Derry, moving her operations to Genuine Local, a co-packer in Meredith, before ultimately settling her commercial kitchen and storefront on Simon Street in Nashua in 2020 at the height of the Covid-19 pandemic. Along the way, what started as a passion and hobby for friends turned into a business idea and a calling.

In addition to the seasoning line, one can preorder gluten-free and vegan-friendly dishes for pickup or delivery on Saturdays.

A Taste of Thai in the North Country

Chang Thai Café | Littleton

Chang Thai Café 77 Main St., Littleton (603) 444-8810, changthaicafe.com

Authentic global flavors can be found all over the densely populated regions of New Hampshire, but even in the rustic North Country there are surprises for those who seek to learn more about other cultures through their cuisine. While our state is blessed to have many popular Asian and Thai restaurants, one popular spot in Littleton takes their traditional recipes up a few notches by sourcing local food items. Want to feel like you’re traveling to Thailand without going through TSA security and jet lag? You can, right on Littleton’s Main Street.

Chef/Owner Emshika Alberini, who grew up in Thailand, operates this restaurant and not only brings Thai flavors to locals but lures visitors from far away to town as her reputation grows.

Among her offerings is the Thai basil softshell crab and pad ka pow, a traditional basil stir-fry with chicken and vegetables, topped with fried eggs. Chang Thai Café is also home to 10 varieties of curries, such as Massamun Avocado, which has Black Tiger shrimp with avocado, broccoli, zucchini and carrots topped with cashew nuts.

Café Momo

Café Momo 1065 Hanover St. Manchester (603) 623-3733 thecafemomo.com

Café Momo was already famous for its authentic Nepali cuisine when Akshat Bikram Shah and his family took over this summer, but his first initiative was to make it even more so, restoring some original recipes and adding others. While their curries and namesake momos (dumplings with dipping sauces) are still popular choices, Shah recommends that anyone seeking a genuine taste of his home country of Nepal try the thukpa, a noodle soup with a blend of Bhutanese and Nepali spices that is delicious with lamb, goat, chicken or veggies. He’s also expanding the restaurant since taking over and has added a new bar, which should be open by the time you read this.