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What’s Cookin’
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— Virginia Woolf
What’s Cookin’
PART 2 of our GREAT FOOD DESTINATIONS series: Discovering and celebrating what’s new and exciting on the Granite State’s cuisine scene
PHOTOGRAPHY BY KENDAL J. BUSH
There is always something new to experience at New Hampshire restaurants, with new places to explore, eat and drink. And sometimes, some of the long-standing food and drink spots situated in our state offer new experiences making a return visit feel like it’s the first time.
As part of our continuing series on Great Food Destinations, and to help you discover what’s new around our great state, we’ve asked three of our favorite food writers on the cuisine beat to recommend some new restaurants (or new offerings from old favorites) designed to both satisfy your appetite for dinner and inspire your appetite for adventure on the road to fine (and fun) dining.
We asked our reviewers to look in New Hampshire for their next great dining experience, and each of these “destinations” can be a new starting point for your own quest. We’ll continue this series for our next January/February issue and will also continue to compile our guide to what’s new and exciting in the online version of this story at nhmagazine.com.
Come along as we discover together and whet your appetite with three restaurants from around the state.
GREAT FOOD DESTINATION: NORTH OF CONCORD
Pavilion Review by Rony Camille
Five years ago, the Avery Building in Wolfeboro could have been torn down and replaced by a big box retail store. Today, it’s home to Pavilion, a restaurant dedicated to elevating the farm-to-table dining experience in the Lakes Region.
Centrally located in Wolfeboro’s historic district near Lake Winnipesaukee, Pavilion opened in 2020 with a goal of bringing sophisticated dining and warm hospitality to the Lakes Region, says owner Pat Cooke. It was named as a nod to Wolfeboro’s former grand Pavilion Hotel, built in the mid-1800s by Daniel Pickering and his son-in-law.
Preserving the property and paying attention to the details has paid off. For instance, one can find photos of the former hotel and a bar top made from a 150-year-old tree that “needed to come down,” Cooke says. “It’s all in the details, meaning people want a full experience. They want great service, they want great food, they want a beautiful environment. They want the whole thing ... and people respond to that,” she says.
And the hospitality continues next door at their sister property, the Pickering House Inn: a small boutique hotel, celebrating its fifth anniversary by clinching national recognition as the “#1 Resort Hotel in the United States and New England” by Travel + Leisure Magazine.
With their husband-and-wife team of chefs — Jonathan Hudak and Aleks Chmielewska — at the helm, PAVILION works with local farms to bring in fresh, in-season ingredients to create culinary creations such as herb-roasted chicken and salmon deviled eggs. “Having really true fresh ingredients and a seasonally driven menu are key to a great dining experience,” Cooke says, adding, “[Our chefs] try to keep as much as possible immediately local and then drives a circle around New England.” This provides the amazing freshness of their offerings and inspires their seasonal menu items. “You just taste the difference,” Cooke says.
GREAT FOOD DESTINATION: SEACOAST
Sol Southern Kitchen & Lounge Review by Crystal Ward Kent
Coastal North Carolina-style shrimp with smoky bacon, mushrooms, onion, garlic and bell pepper served over sharp Vermont cheddar grits
Weather permitting, Sol offers both inside and outside dining. Enjoying a meal together by the open French doors are Jack and Patti McTigue (left), with friends Ed and Margaret Carnahan. Opening a restaurant featuring Southern cuisine in northern New England may seem like an unusual direction to take, but for Neil Scibelli and partners, it was exactly the right move. Sol, located on State Street in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, introduces guests to a broad range of Southern cuisine, including the spicy palate of Creole, the exotic blends of Floribbean, the French influences of Cajun, the hearty flavors of Appalachia and more.
We felt that there was a void in the marketplace for a restaurant of this type and that diners would embrace something different,” explains Scibelli. “We have made an effort to be true to Southern traditions throughout, from the décor to the menu. Our goal is to educate guests about these wonderful foods.”
Indeed, the menu provides helpful background about the South’s regional culinary differences, and offers a tempting array of choices from shrimp po’boys to gumbo, muffuletta, Low Country Chicken bog, and even frog legs, a Southern classic that guests have embraced. When asked what he considers a signature dish, Scibelli responds, “Shrimp and grits. This dish has strong historical roots. African slaves brought their corn dishes to the South and married them to local foods, such as shrimp. When you eat this dish, you savor flavors steeped in history.”
The atmosphere is also a draw, as Sol offers several dining areas, each with its own theme. The attention to detail is everywhere, from the handmade farmer’s table in the main dining room, to the seating made from Mississippi church pews, and the burnt ash tables. Most striking is the New Orleans- themed upstairs bar and dining area with its red velvet ceiling, green chandelier and blue alligator print wallpaper. Another dining room features chalk art of jazz greats.
For a true taste of the South, Sol is an oasis of authenticity here in the Granite State.
GREAT FOOD DESTINATION: GREATER NASHUA
Ansanm Review by Susan Laughlin
New Hampshire’s Top Chef contestant Chris Viaud of Greenleaf in Milford has dug deep to find his roots. Inspired by his experiences on the Food Network’s series last year, he is acting on lessons learned. Viaud traveled the country, working with a few of the other contestants in his season — mostly for charity events — and he also learned from established Haitian chefs including Alain Lemaire in Florida. As Viaud’s father, Yves and mother Myrlene immigrated from Haiti to Massachusetts in the late 70s, he grew up with his mother’s native cooking. It was time to appreciate it.
After a year and a half of featuring foods of his heritage through pop-up dinners at Greenleaf and finding favorable feedback from dinners, a decision was made. Viaud and family opened Ansanm — a very appropriate name, as it means ”together” in their native language. Although Chef Viaud is well known for fine cuisine with beautiful plating, this storefront restaurant will feature his mother’s recipes and her home-style cooking.
Haitian food is a combination of influences from Africa, Spain, Arabia and the indigenous Taíno that define Creole, plus a touch of sophistication from the French. After all, the country was a colony of France until 1804. Myrlene says the heart of Haitian cuisine starts with epis, a blend of parsley, garlic, scallions, bell peppers, cloves, habanero peppers, oil and lime juice. It is used as a marinade for meats and a flavoring agent in soups and stews ladened with Haitian root vegetables.
At Ansanm, typical meals consist of a choice of protein, such as a poule nan sòs Kreyòl (stewed chicken), rice and beans, fried plantain, and a slaw of cabbage, celery, carrot and onions with citrus juice called pikliz. Other dishes include legume (vegetable stew), joumou (squash- or pumpkin-based soup) and griot (fried pork), the national dish of Haiti. Viaud adds his creative twist with a fried chicken sandwich — something to recognize as American — but with Haitian spices, plus V.O. Griot, a shredded pork sandwich with smoked ham, pickled cucumber and a pikliz aioli, all in a housemade bun.
The small storefront space offers some seating along with a collection of Haitian artifacts on shelves, native art dotting the walls and a Caribbean musical vibe. Asking whether Viaud will create artful presentations of these dishes, he replies, “This is basically a takeout restaurant, the presentation is in the flavor.” Come and see with your tastebuds the flavors of Haiti.
Top Chef contestant Chris Viaud knows how to take the heat in the kitchen.
