New Hampshire Magazine May 2017

N E W H A M P S H I R E M AG A Z I N E MAY 2 01 7

REMARKABLE WOMEN WORLD WONDERS leading the state & national art scenes

eat globally in the Granite State Page 66

Page 56

inside

magazine

REMARKABLE WOMEN

PORTSMOUTH

GLOBAL FOOD LO C A L’ S G U I D E TO P O R T S M O U T H

It’s one of the state’s hottest tourist destinations, but you can enjoy it like a local

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NHMAGAZINE.COM President/Publisher Sharron R. McCarthy x5117 smccarthy@mcleancommunications.com Editor Rick Broussard x5119

editor@nhmagazine.com Art Director Chip Allen x5128 callen@nhmagazine.com

Managing Editor Erica Thoits x5130 ethoits@nhmagazine.com

Assistant Editor Sarah Cahalan x5115 scahalan@nhmagazine.com

Creative Assistant Candace Gendron x5137 cgendron@nhmagazine.com

Contributing Editor Barbara Coles barbaracoles@comcast.net

Cuisine Editor Susan Laughlin sllaughlin@gmail.com

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Sales Executives Josh Auger x5144 jauger@nhmagazine.com

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Jessica Schooley x5143 jschooley@mcleancommunications.com Events Manager Erica Baglieri x5125 ehanson@mcleancommunications.com Sales/Events Coordinator Amanda Andrews x5113

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Sales Support Manager Joshua Klein x5161 jklein@mcleancommunications.com Business/Sales Coordinator Heather Rood x5110 hrood@mcleancommunications.com

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Š 2017 McLean Communications, Inc. New Hampshire MagazineŽ is published by McLean Communications, Inc., 150 Dow St., Manchester, NH 03101, (603) 624-1442. All rights reserved. Reproduction in whole or in part without the written permission of the publisher is prohibited. The publisher assumes no responsibility for any mistakes in advertisements or editorial. Statements/opinions expressed herein do not necessarily reflect or represent those of this publication or its officers. While every effort has been made to ensure the accuracy of the information contained in this publication, McLean Communications, Inc.: New Hampshire Magazine disclaims all responsibility for omissions and errors. New Hampshire Magazine is published monthly.

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nhmagazine.com | May 2017

Contents 48 First Things 6 Editor’s Note 8 Contributors Page 10 Feedback

Features

46 In Their Own Words Meet fresh-food fanatic Laurie-Beth Robbins of Rye. photo by David Mendelsohn

from left: photo by jenn bakos; kendal j. bush and jasmine inglesmith

48 The Local’s Guide to Portsmouth Everyone knows that Portsmouth is home to incredible art, food and scenery. Before the summer season officially starts, go deeper into the places the tourists rarely find.

by Maggie Wallace photos by Jasmine Inglesmith

56 Remarkable Women 2017 Eleven New Hampshire artists you need to keep an eye on. compiled by the editors

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May 2017

66

603 Navigator

603 Informer

603 Living

12 PICKITY PLACE

30 SAVING PIPING PLOVERS

78 Home

14 May Picks

32 The Natural World

photo by John M. Poltrack

SUMMER MUSEUMS

by Sarah Cahalan

16 Our Town

courtesy photos

FANTASTIC FOYER

by Amy Mitchell

NEW HAMPSHIRE AUDUBON’S BIRDATHON/BLOOMATHON

by Sarah Cahalan

DIVORCE, GRANDCHILDREN AND THE IN-LAWS

20 Food & Drink

by Lynne Snierson

AQUAPONICS

86 Local Dish

by Susan Laughlin

VIDA CANTINA’S BLOODY MARIA

24 Small Bites

by Susan Laughlin

FOOD NEWS

26 Retail DOWNTOWN EXETER

by Lisa Brown

28 Outsider PLACES TO PADDLE

by Marty Basch

66 World Wonders There’s a whole world of cuisine out there, but lucky for you no passport is needed to take this international foodie journey. Visit these 35 spots for inventive eats.

by Sarah Cahalan photos by Jenn Bakos & John Benford

88 Calendar of NH Events

34 Politics TOWN MEETING GOES GLOBAL

by James Pindell

35 Artisan KRISTA LARSON DESIGNS

by Susan Laughlin

WHAT TO DO THIS MONTH

36 Out and About YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THERE

edited by Sarah Cahalan

38 First Person

92 Dine Out

REFLECTIONS ON THE LAKE

GOOD EATS

by Melanie Safka

edited by Susan Laughlin

40 Blips

96 Last Laugh

NEW HAMPSHIRE IN THE NEWS

by Casey McDermott

ON THE COVER Explore Portsmouth beyond the tourist attractions with our expert’s advice in “The Local’s Guide to Portsmouth” starting on page 48.

ARTIFICIAL SWEETENERS

by Karen A. Jamrog

84 Seniority

WENTWORTH

by Barbara Radcliffe Rogers

by Susan Laughlin

82 Health

ROYAL REVELATIONS

by Adi Rule

Volume 31, Number 5 ISSN 1560-4949 nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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EDITOR’S NOTE

Others Day My very first note as editor of the precursor of this magazine was for the May issue, back in 1993.

Naturally, I took advantage of the column to sneak in a quick “Happy Mother’s Day” to my mom.

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I

t was called NH Editions back then and then-publisher Patricia Gregg (herself a great mom) didn’t mind my gesture, but she warned me not to share too much of my personal life on this page. I had only recently moved north from Atlanta, Georgia, and her concern for me (as a new kid on the media block) was that local folks would be bothered knowing the editor of the state’s official glossy magazine was from somewhere else.

It was probably good advice, though I’ve ignored it ever since. Those were the days when New Hampshire bona fides were pretty important and “Welcome to NH, Now Go Home” bumper stickers were de rigueur at the town hall and the transfer station. The unspoken rule was you were a “local” only if you could trace your ancestry back a few Granite State generations.

That tendency to look at others from other places with a measure of suspicion is no doubt an evolutionary trait that served our species well on its way from the savannas of Africa to the suburbs of America.

Somewhere along the line, though, what was an instinct of self-preservation became an attitude of superiority, a clubby tool for sheltering inner circles and excluding outsiders — for petty biases or even just for sport.

Immigrant groups and minorities have borne the brunt of this, but most puzzling in terms of who has been “excluded” from the circles of power over the years has been the suppression of women.

There’s nothing “other” about women.

They are not a minority, nor from somewhere else. Still, across the world and even to some degree in the most enlightened nations, there seems to be an “otherness” thrust upon women by the power structures.

Fortunately, so much has changed in recent years that many young American women know more about this from history books than personal experience. But in the late 20th century, plenty of magazines, both regional and national, would publish annual lists of the “most powerful people” — lists in which women would rarely appear. Gregg, herself a savvy businesswoman, knew the influence that women were having in commerce, arts and politics, and decided to dedicate one issue of each year to recognizing the “Powerful Women of NH.” Much changed, but this vision continued when we were transformed into New Hampshire Magazine under the leadership of new publisher, Sharron McCarthy in 1999. I recall we all felt personal pride when, back in 2012, it was announced that ours was the first state in the country to have an all-woman Congressional delegation and a woman governor.

Meanwhile, our Powerful Women issue has morphed into an annual feature story on the state’s most remarkable women, published each May and curated to illustrate just one area of their power and sway.

This month we feature women artists, which is doubly appropriate. Women who have felt the sting of exclusion are alert to the need to draw people together. Artists incorporate “otherness” and open eyes to unifying themes as parts of their creative process.

Maybe we should consider a new Hallmark card celebration. We could call it “Others’ Day” and send notes of thanks to newcomers and outsiders for granting us the gifts of open minds and generous hearts.

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Contributors Maggie Wallace (right) and Jasmine Inglesmith worked together to produce the feature story “Local’s Guide to Portsmouth,” an insider’s exploration of our famous Seacoast destination that reveals the places tourists don’t usually find. Wallace is a Portsmouth-based freelance writer who covers travel and community. An avid hiker and cyclist, she has tackled the Appalachian Trail, the Pacific Coast Trail and cycled across the US. Inglesmith, who also calls the Portsmouth area home, first got interested in photography way back in third grade. She took the photos for the story.

for May 2017

Sarah Cahalan, our assistant editor, traveled the state to discover the best international restaurants for the feature story “World Wonders.”

Wedding, travel, editorial and portrait photographer Jennifer Bakos took photos for “World Wonders.”

Photographer Kendal J. Bush shot the opening portrait for “Remarkable Women.” Her work often appears in Bride and Parenting NH.

Folk singer Melanie Safka, who wrote this month’s “First Person,” has played her way from Woodstock to the Eagle Mountain House in Jackson.

Adi Rule, who wrote “Last Laugh,” is the author of two young adult novels, “Strange Sweet Song” and “The Hidden Twin.”

“Living” contributor Amy Mitchell is the owner of Home Glow Design. Learn more at her “Saturday Blog,” homeglowdesign.com/blog.

About | Behind The Scenes at New Hampshire Magazine Living up to the name

Above, we feature eight women contributors to this month’s magazine. Inside, our annual Remarkable Women feature introduces you to 11 impressive artists in mediums from metal sculpture to photography (narrowing it down to an almost-dozen was incredibly tough).

And then there are the women we didn’t have room to call out, including magazine staff and our regular contributors. All told, the number of women who are either featured in or directly helped shape this magazine comes to 24. That’s not counting the many others who The cover of the first “Powerful Women” issue of New Hampshire Magazine (prior to this the magazine was titled NH Editions).

Read the Editor’s Note on page 6 for more about our long tradition of celebrating women and their achievements.

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nhmagazine.com | May 2017

work here in the offices of McLean Communications. Add in all of those who have a hand in the magazine (sales, our publisher, business operations, etc.) and that number soars even higher. Much higher. We typically call May the “women’s issue” thanks to the inclusion of Remarkable Women and often some mention of Mother’s Day, but without even meaning to, we truly lived up to that moniker this year. Not through trying to come up with “women’s” content, which too often relies on stereotypes, but by including them in the fabric of the issue and our company. Here at New Hampshire Magazine and McLean Communications, women’s voices, contributions and hard work are consistently valued and respected. They are writers, artists, editors, managers and leaders. It shouldn’t be, but we think that’s pretty remarkable.

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Send letters to Editor Rick Broussard, New Hampshire Magazine, 150 Dow St. Manchester, NH 03101 or email him at editor@nhmagazine.com.

nhmagazine.com, facebook.com/NHMagazine & @nhmagazine

Thanks, but you forgot us

I enjoyed your recent article in New Hampshire Magazine on fashion statements in the Granite State [“Fashion Statements in the Granite State?” March 2017].

As a 20-plus-year owner of a Main Street boutique in Plymouth, fashion is my forte and passion.

I know all the wonderful shops listed in your article and strongly believe in the fun, creativity, hard work and effort that is needed to make each of these boutiques successful.

I am, of course, very disappointed not to have had the opportunity to have been part of the “Fashion Hot Spots” list.

We are widely popular throughout New England, customizing apparel and outfits for women (and men) for everyday comfort and stylish clothing as well as career, special occasion and wedding dresses. We have a strong customer base among our local community and most of the female politicians and broadcasters in the Granite State and Boston.

I would like to extend an invitation to you and your staff to visit us the next time you are in Plymouth. We have a great and dynamic downtown with an attractive Main Street of locally owned businesses.

Thank you, and we look forward to enjoying your magazine every month.

On April 21, we have one of our biannual fashion shows in our shop. This event is to benefit our Plymouth Area Community Closet. Great fashion, refreshments, live music and lots of prizes. We extend a warm invite to all of you at New Hampshire Magazine.

Carol M. Dunn Dressers Unlimited Plymouth Editor’s note: Thank you for the feedback on our foray into fashion. It’s not something we’ve covered much in the past, but we’re working toward including it more often. We’re still learning about all of the great shops that are out there in the state, so we hope you and other owners will continue to help grow our fashion knowledge. That being said, we continually struggle with creating lists of great businesses to include in print, knowing we’re 10

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

Feedback

emails, snail mail, facebook, tweets

leaving some worthy spot off due to the space constraints of a printed publication.We always try to include far more in the online versions of our stories, and we’ve gladly added Dressers Unlimited at nhmagazine.com.

The Electoral College must go I must disagree with James Pindell’s assessment of the Electoral College in the February issue [“Politics”]. Each person in the United States deserves to have his or her vote count equally to all the other voters, and the only way to accomplish this is by eliminating the Electoral College. If you are a Democrat voting in a state with a Republican majority, your vote for president doesn’t really count, and vice versa. If we want to encourage more people to vote, then we must make sure that their vote for president does count. It is too narrow-minded to only think of our state instead of the country as a whole.

Priscilla Long Gilford

Finding new towns I love your magazine — I gave my sister a subscription. I live in southern New Hampshire, and she lives in northern part. What I like is that you cover the whole state, and I have learned about towns that I did not know existed.

Luci Cantin Newmarket

Enough of “bests” Just a short note to complain about this voting for “best” doctor, lawyer, etc. You never (or rarely) have anyone from the Monadnock Region. And I feel the ones getting the votes are your advertisers! Don’t forget this part of New Hampshire.

Ann Lessard Keene Editor’s note: To be clear, our top professional lists are determined by respected national polling firms that have no connection to New Hampshire Magazine. The results are always a surprise to both us and our advertisers. There is no possibility of “purchasing” a win, as this is strictly against these firms’ policies. You can be assured that our top-notch doctors, lawyers and dentists are all selected by their peers, and the wins are based on merit alone.

Pieces of history A hearty Colonial cheer “huzzah” is due to you for the April edition’s notable article about General John Stark [“John Stark”].

Use of this article as a learning tool will last long after its publication.

The first thing that strikes the reader is the beautiful and historically appropriate illustrations provided by students at the New Hampshire Institute of Art. No painting was ever done of John Stark during his lifetime.

I believe that he would have particularly approved of the portrait painting.

The article written by Janice Webster Brown is the best short summary of General Stark’s life, achievements and historical significance that I have read. It packs a lot of information into a few pages, including the correct toast. I maintain that you cannot understand “Live Free or Die” without understanding the second part of the toast, “Death is not the Greatest of Evils.”

One item is omitted: New Hampshire quickly raised a new regiment, which was led

by Gen. Stark. The soldiers of his regiment, who had not yet trained or fought together, went directly to battle against the Hessians, Indians and Regulars known to be moving toward Bennington. Vermont’s Seth Warner acted as a guide and picked up some former Green Mountain Boys en route, one of whom had a Green Mountain Boys flag. The new regiment did not have a standard, so the troops painted Stark’s name on the flag. This was the only flag on the Colonial side during the Battle of Bennington. After the battle, the flag was cut up for souvenirs, one of which is in the Bennington Historical Society Museum.

Doug Wood Salem Editor’s note: Doug Wood, past president of the NH Sons of the American Revolution and VP general for New England District 2014-2016, brought us the items above: a coin celebrating Washington’s victory at Trenton and a replica of the flag flown at the Battle of Bennington.

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Spot four newts like the one above (but much smaller) hidden on ads in this issue, tell us where you found them and you might win a great gift from a local artisan or company. To enter our drawing for Spot the Newt, send answers plus your name and mailing address to:

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Spot the Newt c/o New Hampshire Magazine 150 Dow St., Manchester, NH 03101 Email them to newt@nhmagazine.com or fax them to (603) 624-1310.

Last month’s “Spot the Newt” winner is T.R Cisowski of Deerfield.

April issue newts were on pages 7, 16, 21 and 91.

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603 Navigator “Dan clung to her in speechless gratitude, feeling the blessedness of mother love — that divine gift which comforts, purifies, and strengthens all who seek it.” — Louisa May Alcott, “Jo’s Boys”

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nhmagazine.com | May 2017

Photo by John M Poltrack

Events 14 Our Town 16 Food and Drink 20 Small Bites 24 Retail 26 Outsider 28

Storybook Dining

Perfect for Mother’s Day Does this little red cottage seem familiar? For anyone who’s read the 1948 Little Golden Books version of “Little Red Riding Hood,” you might recall that Grandma’s house looks much like this Mason restaurant. That’s because Caldecott Medal-winner Elizabeth Orton Jones (who lived nearby) chose it as inspiration for the book’s illustrations. Built in 1786, this quaint home is now a unique dining destination — Pickity Place serves an elegant, seasonal luncheon that is perfect for a special Mother’s Day outing. You can choose one of three seatings (reservations are a must) at 11:30 a.m., 12:45 p.m. or 2 p.m.

The May menu has options such as spring chive vegetable chowder, grilled asparagus farmer’s cheese turnover, a spring mint quinoa and more. The food and history aren’t the only attractions — stroll the gorgeous grounds and herb gardens or stop at the shop that offers a bounty of herbal blends, spices, dip mixes and more. Visit pickityplace.com or call (603) 878-1151. nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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603 NAVIGATOR

EVENTS

May | Picks

photo courtesy kimberly davis photography

Revisit your favorite seasonal museums

American Independence Museum: May 5-6 1 Governors Ln., Exeter This Colonial spot celebrates its season opening with a weekend full of festivities, including children’s games coinciding with Exeter’s Kids’ Fest and free admission on Saturday for all New Hampshire residents. independencemuseum.org

New Hampshire Boat Museum May 27 399 Center St., Wolfeboro Falls

courtesy photos

In addition to its standard collection and recent additions, be sure to check out this season’s featured exhibit, “Big Dreams, Little Boats” — a collection of ’50s- to ’70s-era toy boats. nhbm.org

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nhmagazine.com | May 2017

603 NAVIGATOR

EVENTS

It’s summer museum season! Here are the opening dates and details for a few of our favorites.

Shaker Village

Aidron Duckworth Art Museum April 29 21 Bean Rd., Meriden

This quirky Sunapee region museum kicks off its season at the end of April and stays open through October 29. On opening day, catch an artist talk with Dartmouth studio art lecturer Gerald Auten. aidronduckworthmuseum.org

Wright Museum of WWII May 1 77 Center St., Wolfeboro

Don’t miss this history museum’s first exhibit of the season: a showing of more than 60 World War II-era Saturday Evening Post covers, on display through June 25. wrightmuseum.org

Historic Houses at Strawbery Banke Museum May 1 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth

The Seacoast’s favorite museum restarts its living history programs for the season this month. Visit the 32 historic homes onsite to learn the history of Puddle Dock through costumed role-players and old-fashioned crafts. strawberybanke.org

Canterbury Shaker Village May 6 288 Shaker Rd., Canterbury

1 The American Independence Museum, Exeter

Mark the reopening of the idyllic Shaker Village with Maypole dancing, food, crafts and the beloved Heifer Parade. shakers.org

2 New Hampshire Boat Museum, Wolfeboro Falls

Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site May 27 139 Saint Gaudens Rd., Cornish

4 Wright Museum of WWII, Wolfeboro

The galleries and historic buildings of Augustus Saint-Gaudens’ rural retreat open for the summer during Memorial Day weekend. While you’re there, enjoy the grounds of New Hampshire’s only National Parks site. nps.gov/saga

3 Aidron Duckworth Art Museum, Meriden

3 7

6

2,4

5 Strawbery Banke Museum, Portsmouth

1

6 Canterbury Shaker Village, Canterbury

5

7 Saint-Gaudens National Historic Site, Cornish

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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OUR TOWN

Shin-Boku Nursery in Wentworth

Walking Wentworth

From ice age remnants to Japanese gardens

BY BARBARA RADCLIFFE ROGERS

I

t was a search for New Hampshire’s biggest potholes that took us to Wentworth. That may not seem like a superlative worth vying for, but these are not the kind of pothole you try to avoid on March roads. They are the kind you hike to in May. Glacial potholes were created during the last ice age by melting glacier waterfalls that bored into the underlying bedrock. As the massive ice sheet retreated, it created a lot of water. Rivers carried sand, stones and debris that the glacier had accumulated as it scraped its way south. Where the rivers dropped, this debris collected in whirlpools at the bases of the mighty waterfalls, scouring away at the granite beneath. The rocks and sand in the swirling waters carved round holes that look as though they had been cut out by a giant ice cream scoop.

Elsewhere in the state, these potholes are

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found in rivers — Sculptured Rocks in Groton, The Basin in Franconia Notch and North Woodstock’s Lost River Gorge are well-known examples. But the potholes at Plummer’s Ledge in Wentworth are on dry land — they’re located on a hillside some distance above a small stream. The waterfall that carved them is long gone, leaving no riverbed in view.

It wasn’t easy to find the trail to these potholes. The sign at the edge of Buffalo Road is not right alongside the road, and it’s overgrown with foliage. Coming from Route 25, we missed it entirely. When we turned around at an unpaved road to the left and drove slowly back toward the bridge, we eventually spotted it at the edge of the woods. Once found, the trail is easy enough to follow, as it parallels the road along a steep hillside. The trail leads past the three largest potholes (one half-filled with water)

at the base of low cliffs. Several more small potholes hide nearby, which are harder to find as fallen leaves and undergrowth have begun to cover them.

From this wild and overgrown hillside sculpted by nature, we drove to a scene carefully sculpted and arranged by human hands. Wentworth is not where you would expect to find a serenely beautiful Japanese garden, nor would you anticipate the size of the nursery of bonsai trees that accompanies it. These are not the miniature trees in dishes that we normally associate with bonsai. These are yard-sized bonsai trees for landscaping, and, to display how they are used, Shin-Boku Nursery owners Deb and Palmer Koelb have created a strolling garden near the entrance to the nursery.

Here, the public is welcome to follow the paths among perfectly trained bonsai, Japanese stone lanterns and carefully chosen rocks from the Koelbs’ woods and fields.

Stepping-stones lead

photo by stillman rogers

603 NAVIGATOR

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An owl created by Wentworth chainsaw artist Larry Bixby

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over low berms and onto stone bridges that cross flat “pools” of crushed white marble, reminiscent of a Zen sand garden, but less fussy. A bench at one end, beside a 20-foot bonsai tree, makes a good place to sit and enjoy the serene garden landscape. We’re only reminded where we really are by the sight of Belted Galloways grazing on the hillside meadow above the garden.

Below, visitors can see rows and rows of conifers trained in the shapes characteristic of bonsai. Weeping hemlocks cascade almost to the ground, and all manner of bristly-needled evergreen varieties are being trimmed and nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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OUR TOWN

guided into traditional bonsai forms. Beyond, fully formed bonsai trees stand in huge containers, ready for transplanting into clients’ gardens.

Some of the trees are more than 80 years old.

After seeing nature’s sculptures and these artfully sculpted trees, we found another form of sculpture in Wentworth. On Route 25 near the center of town, the talented Larry Bixby carves large tree segments into native birds and animals. When we stopped, he was putting the fine touches on the face of an owl as part of his latest project: a wooden bench with a pair of delicately rendered owls perched on each armrest. Bixby does the expected bears, but the finesse of his work lifts chainsaw carving into a fine art. NH Shin-Boku Nursery

(603) 764-9993 shin-bokunursery.com Larry Bixby at work on his owl bench

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FOOD & DRINK

Aquaponics: Fish, Water and Plants A closed system of life

STORY AND PHOTOS BY SUSAN LAUGHLIN

I

t was cold and snowy the day I visited Victory Aquaponics in Londonderry. But inside the barn-like greenhouse, built by owner Ross Williams, it was spring — warm and filled with various shades of green.

Light filtered through the plastic sheeting and about 30 different varieties of leafy greens thrived in the diffused brightness.

But their roots are not in soil, or even peat moss. The plants, floating in Styrofoam

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mats, are growing their roots in water, rich in nitrates rather than chemical fertilizers.

The enrichment comes from 14,000 gallons of water pumped up from a lower level, which is the heart of the operation — a host of blue plastic tanks swimming with tilapia and goldfish.

Hydroponics is the process of growing plants in water, but aquaponics is a hybrid technique that uses the rich effluent of fish

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Opposite page: Ross Williams in his greenhouse at Victory Aquaponics Above: Microgreens

to provide the nitrogen needed to feed green, non-flowering plants. Williams built his greenhouse with a substantial lower level to house a demonstration garden, plant nursery and space for a half-dozen or so large, blue plastic tubs to hold the fish.

He feeds the fish grain every two hours.

They swim in circles and aren’t harvested for food — yet.

Williams, a native of New Zealand with a delightful Kiwi accent, was a bit tired on the day of my visit. He had spent the night at the For a fresh take on a to make sure the storm didn’t greenhouse take a toll on the roof, and that the power to uintessentially New England run the heat and fans didn’t stop. An incident like that could easily ruin this crop and set casual dining experience, back his six-year investment in the process.

He had designed and built the greenhouse for The Pointe is unrivaled. aquaculture’s unique demands. idea for the farm started with his Savor the area’s The freshest son Gavin’s research. He’d looked into how to keep his fish tank clean and discovl lobster & seafood selections ered that fish and plants form a perfect aking in a postcard-perfect view What the fish put into the synergistic circle. water, the plants remove, and the water is he majestic Piscataqua River. then clean.

When Williams was looking for a business, a large-scale translation of that fish-plant synergy seemed a natural fit for his technical and farming background.

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FOOD & DRINK

A spirited collection of good tA s t e A n d g r e At vA lu e

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nhmagazine.com | May 2017

The whole process is a delicate balance with plenty of complexity.

FOOD & DRINK

Williams has worked over the past several years to perfect the system, sharing his hard-earned information with whoever is interested.

The whole process is a delicate balance with plenty of complexity. The nitrites from the fish are converted by naturally occurring bacteria into plant-usable nitrates.

The natural expression of bacteria is part of the process. It turns out that you can’t put mature fish in the water — they need to be young.

Williams learned much of this information along the way through trial and error. Though he cannot advertise his produce as organic, the harvested greens are about as pure as possible, with no need for insecticides or chemical fertilizers.

To speed growth, he has invested in LED lighting to supplement light in the winter; New England winter days are just too short.

Williams sells kale, butterhead lettuce, bok choy and microgreens at the Salem Farmers’ Market in both

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winter and summer. Along with the produce, Williams also brings dozens of eggs to the market, thanks to his flock of free-range chickens. The eggs are not part of the synergy of the aquaculture, but they do get to feed on greens when available. They like it — and you should too. If you won’t listen to your mother, take the USDA’s word for it: dark, leafy greens are the heart of good nutrition. NH

Lettuce All Year Where to buy the greens Salem Farmers’ Market Every Sunday year-round from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Winter

Mary Fisk School 14 Main St., Salem

Summer

224 North Broadway (Route 28), Salem salemnhfarmersmarket.org

Opposite page and above: Williams grows a nice variety of greens, including butterhead lettuce, kale, bok choy and microgreens.

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

23

FOODTBD & DRINK

Small Bites Food news from around the state by Susan Laughlin

Barrel Buys

David Yan Gonzalez

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The New Hampshire Liquor Commission has once again purchased select barrels of spirits to fit the season. This time it’s tequila, just in time for Cinco de Mayo and perfect for enjoying a few lovely margaritas or paloma cocktails made at home.

First, a little lesson. Joven tequilas are usually bottled immediately following distillation, but can be aged anywhere from two months to a year.

Reposado, meaning rested, tequilas are typically aged between two months and 11 months in American or French oak wood barrels. The spirit takes on a golden hue, and the agave is balanced by the flavor from the wood. The words “extra” or “double” imply that the aging process was longer.

Añejo, or extra-aged tequila, is stored in wood barrels for more than a year, giving it a darker hue and a smoother flavor profile. Extra Añejo is aged more than three years, giving it a mahogany hue and extremely smooth flavor. Because of the high alcohol content, it is diluted with water before bottling.

Barrel-aged tequilas now available at state liquor stores include: from Patrón, three choices of Añejo ($61.99) and one Reposado ($49.99); Herradura, two choices of Double Reposado ($49.99); Casa Noble, Extra Añejo ($129.99), Reposado ($57.99) and Joven ($44.99).

Tasting a Tequila These finely crafted tequilas are not meant to gulp and swallow. Casa Noble brand ambassador David Yan Gonzalez offers these tips: 1. Start by just letting the spirit wet your lips. Savor.

2. Allow the spirit to sit on the inside of your mouth, but just the upper and lower gums. Savor.

3. Finally, allow the spirit to reach the back of your tongue and throat. Savor.

Gonzalez says you are now ready to enjoy a fine tequila, or to use this method to enjoy any other quality spirit.

Paloma: Simply add an ounce or two of tequila and the juice of one lime to bottle of Squirt (available at Market Basket). Hola, Cinco de Mayo!

photos by susan laughlin

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News

Tom Puskarich is back on the scene as chef of Restoration Cafe in the new The Flats @ Hanover Commons apartments at 235 Hanover St. in Manchester. The menu is forward-looking and focused on health with fresh salads, interesting açai bowls and signature cocktails made with fresh-squeezed juices. Outdoor courtyard seating is available during warm weather. The café offers breakfast and lunch, brunch on Saturday and Sunday, and an evening tapas and a light dinner menu that begins on May 1. restorationcafe.com.

Event of the Month A Taste of Cabonnay

May 25, which is also National Wine Day

Enjoy wines from M.S. Walker and taste a preview of the spring menu at Cabonnay restaurant in Manchester. Petite versions of appetizers and entrées will be prepared by award-winning Chef de Cuisine Chris Viaud and Pastry Chef Aurelien Blick.

FIND YOUR STATION AT NHPR.ORGLISTEN

Blick, from the Champagne region of France, started his training at age 14 and worked in Michelin-starred restaurants in Paris. Viaud recently won a regional young chef competition.

The event is produced by the Friends of Symphony NH, and proceeds benefit classical music education outreach programs and concerts in Nashua, Keene and Concord. 6 p.m.-9 p.m. Event includes a silent auction and live music. Tickets are $70 and available at symphonynh.org.

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

25

RETAIL

A bit of bling at Serendipity Boutique

Expressions in Exeter Fashion, antiques, décor and more

BY LISA BROWN

Y

ou can’t really get to know Exeter without visiting Gerry’s Variety Store, the town’s gathering place for newspaper reading, breakfast and storytelling. The shop has all you would find at a typical convenience store and more. The floors creak, the ice cream case is full to the brim, and you can still buy a corn cob pipe or single-edge razor. The Trackside Café (located in the back of the store and run

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separately) serves breakfast and lunch, with an average price of under $7.

Trends is the one store in town that caters to everyone, especially when it comes to bridal invitations and last-minute hostess gifts. From cocktail napkins (Caspari) to fine cabernets ($14-$35), you’ll find it in this newly expanded fine gifts and stationery store. Don’t forget presentation: The store carries sophisticated wrapping paper, fun

gift bags, and rows and rows of thoughtful and funny cards.

Two-piece gowns and dresses with plunging necklines, high slits and low backs are what you will see during this year’s prom season. Getting the right undergarment that won’t show through is a problem you can solve at Top Drawer. This sophisticated shop carries bustiers, stick-on bras, seamless thongs and more. As for brides, Top Drawer’s wedding night lingerie (that you can show to your grandmother) may be as important as picking out flowers. Expect expert advice and amazing personal service.

Need to keep your hands busy? Pintuck & Purl might be your solution. It’s a little shop with a big following, and there are plenty of reasons why. Look for high-quality fabrics, yarn, patterns and a changing menu of classes. The shop offers Bernina sewing machines to rent on premises, which is a great perk considering these high-tech machines cost thousands of dollars. Times have changed — today’s sewing is more about creating wearable art. Patterns for jeans, leggings, summer wraps and more are available in more “realistic” sizes. Ask about stitch-and-sip nights.

Serendipity Boutique is fashion-forward and brims with summer tops, capris, wispy sundresses, straw hats and more.

Look deep throughout the shop to discover the hidden jewels. You’ll find organic skin and body products, fair trade candles, soaps, jewelry, wallets, bags and such.

Be sure to ask about the mugs by Healing Touch Pottery. Each earthen vessel contains a polished stone embedded in the handle that is believed to give out healing energy. This is the perfect one-stop shop for last-minute romantic getaways.

Antiques, Etc. is a little antique shop with enough pizzazz to keep you lingering. Seven local women, each with her own taste, own the store. You’ll find miniatures, Depression glass, nautical items, home décor (shabby chic) and repurposed items. Make sure to check out the lamp made from a gas pump nozzle; it’s hilarious and would make a fine Father’s Day gift. This lovely and welcoming shop is spit-spot clean and free of that musky antique smell.

So, your co-workers think they have you pegged as the serious one in the office with the tidy cubicle? Bring on Saturday night!

Little do they know LunaChics is where you get your fairy dust. Sizzle in a pair of skinny jeans with ragged hems (or holes) and pair

courtesy photos

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RETAIL

Get There

courtesy photos

Find fashion for summer (and beyond) at Serendipity Boutique.

them with a flowing, flirty top with lace or embroidery. There’s more. Vintage is back, and LunaChics carries the Unique Vintage line, designed for women who “step out of the box.” Think Audrey Hepburn and at least try on the blue dotted swiss summer

dress — it’s truly stunning.

Puddlejumpers is like diving head first into a gumball machine. This happy and colorful children’s shop is delicious. Look for Hatley fine clothing (think family portraits) and the British line JoJo. You’ll

Gerry’s Variety Store (Trackside Café) 66 Lincoln St. (603) 772-3687

LunaChics 131 Water St. (603) 777-9956 shoplunachics.com

Top Drawer 147 Water St. (603) 778-2211 topdrawerboutique.com

Puddlejumpers 31 Water St. (603) 778-9333 puddlejumpersnh.com

Pintuck & Purl 50 Lincoln St. (603) 418-7157 pintuckandpurl.com

Serendipity Boutique 24 Water St. (603) 778-1665 serendipityofexeter.com

Antiques, Etc. 186 Water St. (603) 777-6277

Trends Gift Gallery & Invitation Studio 85 Water St. (603) 778-3770 trendsgiftgallery.com

marvel at the wooden teaching toys, cute raincoats, boots and selection of classic children’s books. The infant selection will melt your heart. Beautifully packaged organic gowns and onesies by MilkBarn are outrageously adorable and perfect for that baby shower in the Hamptons. Ask about the Mini Flip, two rideable toys built into one. Brilliant design. NH

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

27

OUTSIDER

State parks like Mount Sunapee serve up a multitude of paddling opportunities.

Places to Paddle As spring arrives, quiet waters await

BY MARTY BASCH

N

ew Hampshire’s waterways are beacons for quiet exploration.

From kayaks and canoes to stand-up paddleboards, our ponds, lakes, rivers and the sea are all places to work out the upper body and feed the soul. Mindful multitasking awaits in terms of photography, flora and fauna identification, fishing and al fresco dining.

Life vests, food, water and binoculars are musts for time spent on the water, as well as dressing appropriately for the weather. A waterproof dry bag to stow gear is helpful,

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as is a painter line, which is essentially a rope attached to the bow (front) of the craft to tie down when you stop for lunch.

For those looking to try it for the first time, there are many outfitters and clubs that provide lessons and rentals and welcome new paddlers.

Then it’s time to find a place to paddle.

The far reaches of northern Pittsburg are something of a paddler’s flatwater paradise with its opportunities for spotting both winged and legged wildlife. It’s easy to put in off Route 3 in waterways such as Lake

Francis and lovely Second Connecticut Lake, but a little dirt road driving yields less-traveled options, including the question-mark-shaped, 60-acre East Inlet. This attractive body of water is located about two miles off Route 3 in the Nature Conservancy’s Norton Pool and Moose Pasture Natural Area, between the Second and Third Connecticut Lakes. Blue heron, moose and otter are known to frequent the northern boreal forest waters.

A portion of the 740-mile long Northern Forest Canoe Trail also passes through the Great North Woods. This pleasant 8- to 10mile winding paddle through the Umbagog National Wildlife Refuge is rife with possibilities of seeing eagles and osprey. It begins on the lower Magalloway River, passes a 750-acre floating heath bog called the Floating Islands, enters the labyrinth of Umbagog Lake and allows passage into the Androscoggin River near some chained logs that are remnants of the logging industry’s heyday.

Huddled between the central New Hampshire towns of Enfield and Grafton, gorgeous Grafton Pond seems much bigger than its 300-plus acres of islands, coves and marshy blind alleys. Part of the Mascoma River watershed that feeds into the iconic Connecticut River, much of the surrounding forest was once paper company land, and has since been protected by the Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests. The unspoiled pond is nearly devoid of development, save for some hidden homes in a western cove, and is prime real estate for nesting loons and other watchable wildlife that may be on its conifer-laden shores.

The White Mountain National Forest contains paddling places such as Long Pond in Benton, which is ringed by hills and the bare top of Mount Moosilauke. A relatively small body of water, thin and about 1 mile long, the pond boasts a handful of rocky, spruce-covered islands for exploration.

There’s also a dam, constructed by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1933. The quiet water is a nice spot to relax, and it’s also family-friendly since the boat ramp, picnic tables, fire grates and bathroom are a part of the Long Pond Day Use Area.

New Hampshire state parks are another goto resource. These locations provide canoeing and kayaking, plus a myriad of other activities including hiking and camping. Sometimes they have rentals as well, a boon to those dabbling about for the first time. A relatively short haul from the state’s largest urban areas, Pawtuckaway Lake in Nottingham’s Pawtuck-

photos courtesy of nh division of travel and tourism

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OUTSIDER

away State Park is a popular spot for all kinds of boaters. That may turn some people off — and windy days can hamper an outing — but the large lake has many islands to explore and contains some quiet spots in its northern edges, such as Fundy Cove. The eastern shoreline is developed, while southern end options such as Neal’s Cove and Mountain Cove invite exploration.

Danbury Bog is an under-the-radar prize. Reached off Route 104, the Danbury Bog Wildlife Management Area, managed

by New Hampshire Fish and Game, is a 224-acre property where paddlers are more inclined to see beaver, deer, turtles and countless ducks than another boat. When in bloom, water lilies dot the way, and pickerelweed stands tall. Along the way, you’ll pass bird boxes on the winding journey. They are there to supplement the natural habitat where waterfowl such as wood ducks and hooded mergansers like to nest.

Nestled away in the southwestern corner of the state, 100-acre Willard Pond sits in the shadows of Bald Mountain and Goodhue Hill in the nearly 1,700 acres of land protected by New Hampshire Audubon’s largest property, the dePierrefeu-Willard

A couple paddles a canoe in Pawtuckaway Lake in Pawtuckaway State Park.

Pond Wildlife Sanctuary in Antrim. No boats with motors are allowed on this pristine pond. The Willard Pond Road ramp is the gateway into the tranquil waterway with mossy rocks sprinkled along the shore, and a forest of maple, birch, beech and other species surrounds the pond. Loons, hooded mergansers and wood ducks are known to frequent this wonderful spot that’s sprinkled with lovely marshy inlets.

An estuary, where fresh water meets salt water, is an excellent gateway to the ocean, and Great Bay is the estuarine place to go.

With about 4,500 acres of wetlands and tidal waters, the bay is home to everything from horseshoe crabs underneath to snowy egrets flying high above. Rugged salt marsh cordgrass graces the shoreline and provides a maze-like feel to area tributaries. The pine and oak forests provide limbs for great blue herons, red-tailed hawks and the like to rest.

The mud flats — seen during low tide — are burrowing grounds for the snails and crabs.

With such a vast area, plan trips accordingly due to weather and tides.

And always bring binoculars. NH

Resources fs.usda.gov/whitemountain White Mountain waterways nhamcpaddlers.org Appalachian Mountain Club group nature.org Nature Conservancy areas forestsociety.org Society for the Protection of New Hampshire Forests bodies of water wildlife.state.nh.us Fish and Game options nhaudubon.org New Hampshire Audubon

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Photo credit: David J. Murray/Clear Eye Photo

LEGENDARY ACTS IN AN INTIMATE THEATER Concerts, Comics, Cinema, And Celebrated Authors. Plus: Historic Tours “A great indoor date spot” – CNN Travel + Leisure nhmagazine.com | May 2017

29

603 Informer

“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world; indeed, it’s the only thing that ever has.” — Margaret Mead

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Courtesy photos

Natural World 32 Politics 34 Artisan 35 Out and About 36 First Person 38 Blips 40

Bird Patrol

Making sure piping plovers don’t disappear for good Piping plovers nearly vanished from New Hampshire’s coast. Until a jogger discovered a pair in 1996, it was thought the small sand-colored birds had completely disappeared from our shores. As is the case with many endangered species, development led to increased habitat loss and degradation, human disturbance and predation. Plus, before the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, unregulated hunting had greatly diminished the population. But there’s hope for the piping plover in the Granite State.

One year after the jogger’s discovery, NH Fish and Game’s Nongame and Endangered Wildlife Program began protecting and monitoring the birds and their beach habitat. Each spring, from March to early April, the piping plovers return, and program staff erect fencing in the sandy dunes of Hampton and Seabrook. “Area closed” signs are hung with information about the importance of keeping clear of the piping plovers’ habitat. Then, during the breeding season, monitors keep track of the birds. Whenever nests are spotted, they create enclosures around them for protection from predators. Monitors also educate the public, and count how many chicks hatch and how many fledge (begin to fly). By late July to early August, the surviving chicks have fledged and the fencing is removed. Since monitoring began in 1997, the largest recorded number of chicks fledged in a season was 16. It’s been as low as zero. Interested in helping? Volunteers are needed to monitor piping plovers.

You can learn more about volunteering, the program and piping plovers at wildlife.state. nh.us/nongame/project-plover.html.

That little ball of fluff on the left is a piping plover chick, and an adult is pictured above. nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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603 INFORMER

THE NATURAL WORLD

Great horned owl

Purple finch

Red-bellied woodpecker

For the Birds

Give NH Audubon’s Birdathon a try

BY SARAH CAHALAN

I

f you think piping plovers are cute, then just wait until you see the rest of the avian world.

You can survey all kinds of feathered critters (and a few floral ones) when New Hampshire Audubon hosts its annual Birdathon/Bloomathon. On May 20, birders around the state, from first-timers to experienced pros, are invited to join the Audubon in their efforts to catalog New Hampshire’s avian population — and to have a lot of fun in the process.

When the event began in 1980, says Audubon Community Engagement Manager Ruth

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Smith, it was little more than a summer kickoff party for nature enthusiasts. Two teams participated, and their survey consisted of traversing the coastline for the day and then meeting at Rye Beach to celebrate, freshpoured pink lemonade in hand.

Modest though the event was, the group still surveyed more than 130 species that day and raised $3,000 for the Audubon — money that eventually launched NH Audubon’s Endangered Species Program. A tradition had begun.

Today, Birdathon and its sister event, Bloomathon, takes place in nearly every

corner of the state, with annual fundraising totals in the five digits and participants spotting birds from robins and sparrows to peregrine falcons.

The way it works these days is essentially as follows: You create a team of 2-6 people or join a group through your local Audubon outpost, you solicit pledges for the Audubon department of your choice, and then you pick your survey area and get birding. Though there are small prizes for those who spot the most species or raise the most money, Birdathon is entirely what you make it — whether that’s driving around the whole state in a 24-hour search or gathering the kids and watching the feeder in your backyard over lunch. Birdwatching offers something for everyone, and, in recent years, outdoor enthusiasts have taken notice.

“Birdwatching or ‘birding,’ as we like to call it, is said to be one of the fastest-grow-

LEAGUE OF NH CRAFTSMEN

For the Beers Drinking and driving? Bad idea. Drinking and birding? Better.

If you like your nature time to come hand in hand with craft brew, check out NH Audubon’s second-coolest event of the month: Birds and Beers.

Seasoned birder Paul LaCourse will lead participants in the two halves of this popular day.

In the morning, you’ll do some birdwatching in Odiorne State Park, and, in the afternoon, you’ll do some beer-sampling at Smuttynose Brewing Company in Hampton.

Bird lovers of all ages are welcome to attend, but brews are reserved for ages 21 and up.

Birds and Beers May 6, 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Odiorne State Park, 570 Ocean Blvd., Rye

May 6 - 7, 2017 Experience the best New Hampshire has to offer.

Craftsmen’s Studios • Specialty Food Makers • Hotels • And more!

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a

ing hobbies in the country,” says Smith.

“People are looking for opportunities to get outside, enjoy the natural environment and to be with other people. Wherever you go, there are likely to be birds.”

Glued-to-their-phone types can add bird identifying apps and rare species alerts to their birding, while environmentalists can enjoy the sport in the knowledge that their observations can help the experts keep tabs on changes in the local ecosystem. Those with limited mobility (or limited patience for subjects that keep flying away) can opt into the floral end of things, where the stationary wildflowers provide an easy target to observe, count and report.

If you’re ready to sign up for Birdathon/ Bloomathon, registration is available at nhaudubon.org. Your one day of birdwatching can help raise critical funds for NH Audubon’s work protecting our environment for wildlife and for people, and it’s a sure bet you’ll have a good time too.

Through Birdathon, Smith says, “We have raised hundreds of thousands of dollars for endangered species and other work that we do, and, I think just as importantly, we’ve been able to engage thousands of people in getting out and birding.

At the end of every Birdathon day, one of my teammates always says, ‘Why don’t we do this more often? This is so fun!’”

By the end of your first Birdathon/ Bloomathon, you may just be saying the very same thing. NH

Discover New Hampshire’s Creative Side

Saturday, May 6, 2017 Main Street 9AM - 1PM Downtown Nashua, NH GREELEY PARK, NASHUA off Concord St., Nashua, NH

Come and celebrate all things with four legs, fins, wings and whiskers! Pets from all over NH are bringing their owners to the Expo to visit with pet-related vendors and enjoy demonstrations, giveaways and prizes.

All leashed & well-behaved pets are welcome too!

Saturday, June 10, 2017 9am - 1pm

Rain Date: Sat., June 17th

EVENT TO BENEFIT Don’t have a pet?

The Nashua Humane Society will have pets available for adoption.

To become a vendor or sponsor contact your local sales rep or Tracy Dionne at 594-1260

Limited spaces! Register today at motormania2017.eventbrite.com

To become a vendor or sponsor contact your local sales rep or Tracy Dionne at 594-1260 or email tdionne@nashuatelegraph.com nhmagazine.com | May 2017

33

POLITICS

illustration by peter noonan

603 INFORMER

Town Meeting

Quaint tradition or microcosm of national politics?

BY JAMES PINDELL

T

own meeting day this year was notable for two reasons.

First, there was the headline-grabbing confusion as a Nor’easter approached.

Officials in each town decided the day before elections whether or not to continue or to postpone due to weather.

Second, in this day and age, it’s notable that anyone cares about town meeting at all.

While we continue to romanticize the Norman Rockwell image of town hall meeting day, the reality is that, for most New Hampshire residents, the traditional meeting has been replaced by a town election.

This is not news.

Less explored is how town meetings reveal the change that politics has undergone, locally and nationally, in just a generation.

In the 1980s, former US House Speaker Tip O’Neill claimed that “all politics is local.”

Today, all politics is national.

It used to be that, to win a national office election or to craft national legislation (like O’Neill did), one had to pay attention to particular local concerns. It was a bottom-up approach. Members of Congress might vote

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“yes” instead of “no” on one bill if it meant more jobs or a new park could be created in their district by another bill.

But these days, everything — even local politics — is seen through the national prism.

Consider the town meeting in Harrisville. The hottest issue on the agenda wasn’t whether to spend six figures on paving a road (that passed on a voice vote), but whether to oppose President Donald Trump’s initiatives on curbing illegal immigration by declaring themselves a “sanctuary city,” thus declaring that town officials such as the police will not share information about those living there illegally.

In Harrisville, the measure passed 74-48.

This was too big of an issue to be decided on a voice vote. And it wasn’t just Harrisville thinking big. Three other towns nearby — Dublin, Fitzwilliam and Hancock — also took up similar resolutions, injecting themselves into the national debate.

In Manchester, the race for mayor kicked off with one candidate, Democrat Joyce Craig, saying she wanted to stand as a bulwark against Trump.

Trump didn’t single-handedly make local politics more national, but he did accelerate the process.

Long before Trump, raising larger amounts of campaign money was already more important to politicians than the need to develop political organizations town by town, while the loss of local newspapers and a rise in cable news shifted the focus to more national issues.

In a swing state like New Hampshire, a local election for county sheriff might hinge less on whose reputation is better known by his or her neighbors and more on which political party is more popular nationally at that particular moment.

And, on a technical note, the political mechanism that caused O’Neill to utter his famous catchphrase — earmarking money for a particular Congressional district or project — is no longer even allowed. In its place is a national politics that has become all ideological.

Perhaps even my contention is too small-minded. Trump’s main strategists argue that all politics is in fact global. They believe that Trump’s win last year is part of a global nationalistic populist movement, which also influenced Great Britain voters to side with leaving the European Union.

That may be true. We’ll know for sure next year if Candia voters take up the question about whether the United States should leave the United Nations. NH

603 INFORMER

courtesy photos

ARTISAN

Krista Larson’s online shop offers 125 patterns of clothing, including shirts, dresses, skirts, sweaters, slips and even bloomers in more than 45 different fabrics. Pieces can be mixed in layers or worn with a T-shirt or jeans. Shown here is an outfit from Larson’s spring line.

Above: Market key lime-to-jade gradient cropped cardigan, 100 percent cotton, $499; short, key lime floral pinwheel slip, 100 percent silk organza jacquard, $363; jade and gold long pinwheel slip, 100 percent printed silk taffeta, $528; small dandelion flower pin, jade, $61 Left: Cactus cropped cardigan in oat-colored cotton yarn, $398; heirloom clip in nickel-colored velvet embroidered silk taffeta, $554; cottage skirt in oat-colored plaid silk taffeta $514; underpinning skirt in cream-colored cotton voile, $187

For the Love of Fabric Modern fabrics with vintage details

BY SUSAN LAUGHLIN

K

rista Larson’s dress designs are a beautiful collage of varying fabrics in unstructured layers — just a hint of waistline here, the beautiful drape of an under-layer there. She is inspired first by the fabric, and then the sketches and design follow. Garments are designed with a “one size fits most” label. “There’s such a stigma associated with sizing for women,” says Larson. “I wanted something that didn’t make you feel bad just based on the number on the label.”

The look celebrates the richness of a meld of intriguing prints and soft, flowing textures.

Larson uses vintage buttons and trims for details that are not easily reproduced. Before shipping, the garments are washed to create facets of wrinkles, a signature of her work.

Her spring and summer designs are comfortable and cool, while her fall and winter garments are available in light to heavy weights to be adaptable in warm or cold climates.

Machine-loomed sweaters complement

many of the garments and add another texture with the use of cotton, wool and fibers spun from camels and alpacas. A few use a unique hand-forged sterling silver safety pin as a closure.

Larson graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a degree in fashion merchandising and design. She now lives and works in Brentwood, producing her lines that have been worn on runways in New York and California. Find her garments (including shirts, dresses, slips and coats) online and at Statement Boutique in Manchester and The Muse’s Window in Concord. NH

Find It

Krista Larson Designs, (603) 642-5077 Brentwood, kristalarson.com nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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603 INFORMER

SCENE

Out and About Snapshots from some recent events of note

The second Steel Chef Challenge, featuring celebrity chef Robert Irvine of the Food Network, was held at the Radisson Hotel in Manchester. The cook-off and auction raised money for the New Hampshire Food Bank. New Hampshire Magazine is a proud sponsor of this event.

photo by jodie andruskevich

3/6 The Steel Chef Challenge

1 Winner of the competition Chef Tony Bomba (left) from Lago Restaurant of The Common Man Family of Restaurants with event host Chef Robert Irvine

1

This inaugural barstool “marathon” was held at New England’s Tap House Grille in Hooksett. Teams pledged to occupy a stool for 12 hours, raising money for CASA of NH, a nonprofit group that recruits, trains and supervises volunteers to serve as advocates for abused and neglected children in the New Hampshire court system. McLean Communications had a blast while participating in this event.

2

3

2 Celebrity guest emcee Amy Coveno of WMUR with Marcia “Marty” Sink, president and CEO of CASA of NH 3 Throughout the day and night, teams competed in a host of games, including custom bingo, a stein-hoisting challenge, wing-eating contest and more.

photos by erica thoits

3/4 On Tap for CASA of NH

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4

5

6

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Child and Family Services once again held its very successful SleepOut in front of the Radisson Hotel in Manchester. Sleepers volunteer to spend the night outside in an effort to raise awareness and funds to aid New Hampshire’s homeless youth and move another step closer to ending youth homelessness.

4 Frequent New Hampshire Magazine contributors writer Maggie Wallace (left) and photographer Jasmine Inglesmith (right) represented the magazine as sleepers. They’re pictured with Manchester Mayor Ted Gatsas.

5 Three hundred candles surrounded the tent to represent the 300 youth who, on any given night, do not have a place to sleep. 6 Signs with statistics about youth homelessness were created for sleepers to hold as a way to help raise awareness. 7 Sleepers outside holding one of the signs

top right and bottom left by jasmine inglesmith; bottom right by maggie wallace

3/24 The CFS SleepOut

THANK YOU

to Chef Robert Irvine and his team, all of the sponsors, participants, donors, guests, volunteers and everyone who helped to make this event such a tremendous success.

Congratulations to Anthony Bomba, Chef at Lago Restaurant, part of the Common Man Family of Restaurants, for earning the 2017 Steel Chef title!

EXPLORE “Thousands of miles covered, hundreds of great conversations.

The most exciting parts of the trail for me are the people and their wonderful stories.

Windows to the Wild is blazing paths for people of all ages and abilities.

Join the adventure!”

courtesy photos

–Willem Lange

#ILOVEPBS

603 INFORMER

FIRST PERSON

Reflections on the Lake

Lake Winnipesaukee memories run clear and deep for this world-famous singer-songwriter

BY MELANIE SAFKA

I

went with my grandmother, I might have been 6 or 7. Wish I could remember more. It was a pleasurable time. An old New England resort hotel — huge, everything wood, floors, tables, walls, the scent of polished wood.

There was an order about the place that I will describe as British — I was surely unaware of England or its influences in America.

We were Ellis Island people, not Mayflower. And I was in Mayflower country for the first time. Even though my grandmother Nonna lived in Boston for a while (she had a tinge of a Boston accent), she had blue eyes, light skin and pure white hair. She was of Italian descent, Neapolitan and Romano.

Anyway, who is thinking about all that with flowered porcelain china, a pink-colored glass vase on the breakfast table, a small carousel of jams and spreads, the first time I ever tasted apple butter with toast served in a silver toast

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file with slots for six slices. No one spoke of gluten intolerances then. I’m not even certain I had ever had square white bread. Bread was, more often than not, fresh Italian.

Nonna would cut slices and, sometimes for breakfast, toast them in the gas oven she lit with kitchen matches.

Then there was swimming in Lake Winnipesaukee!

After breakfast, the social director came in and announced the day’s and evening’s activities: “This evening there will be a scavenger hunt.”

And we were handed a list of things we had to find — a feather, a pine cone ...

Maybe I’ll find an arrowhead, a real Indian arrowhead! It’s not on the list, nothing on the list was deliberately hidden, just nature things. Maybe there will be an arrowhead next to the feather! This is Lake Winnipesaukee, an Indian word, something to do with the Great Spirit. There must be

arrowheads everywhere. We were each given a pail, and the first one back with all on the list won.

I won the minute I started looking.

I became a searcher, a quester — lost track of time, who cares! Ooh, a feather, a robin’s egg shell. “Was that on the list?” I didn’t worry. When I came back it was all over. My grandmother looked at every one of my treasures — no others around, no social director.

I had my prize: the rock, the petrified beetle, the butterfly wing. I had everything I wanted.

The sun was setting on Lake Winnipesaukee and I would swim. My grandmother was teaching me different strokes and how to stand on my head in the water, so my foot would be where my mouth had been, and I learned to think on my feet.

This ability has served me well in my lifelong, brilliant career. NH

Melanie Safka, best known simply as “Melanie,” is the beloved singer-songwriter of such hits as “Brand New Key” and “Lay Down (Candles in the Rain).” Along with spending quality time on Lake Winnipesaukee, Melanie recorded a remarkable performance with her band at the Eagle Mountain House in Jackson, named for the year the concert took place, “1984.” She still tours and records faithfully. Visit melaniesafka. com for details and downloads.

courtesy photos

I had my prize: the rock, the petrified beetle, the butterfly wing.

I had everything I wanted.

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603 INFORMER

IN THE NEWS

Blips Monitoring appearances of the 603 on the media radar since 2006

Bragging Rights Second-in-the-Nation ... Might not have the same ring to it as our “First-in-the-Nation” presidential primary title ­— but we can still bask in plenty of Granite State glory, thanks to a recent ranking from US News & World Report, naming New Hampshire the No. 2 spot on an index of the “Best States” to live in. The details of the rankings were more nuanced than the title suggests, but the stats make for an interesting portrait of our overall quality of life — and, likely, an interesting conversation starter for your next meetup with neighbors. Read all about it at usnews.com.

NH native finds unexpected stardom on YouTube

BY CASEY MCDERMOTT

E

arlier this year, as he has hundreds of times before, 22-year-old Auburn resident Cody Owen stared into a camera and recorded a video soon to be viewed by hundreds and thousands of people. This time, however, was different.

“I have the biggest announcement of my life,” Owen said, smiling, to his audience of followers on his YouTube channel, The Atlantic Craft, where he’s parlayed his love of Minecraft into a richly constructed series inspired by the video game. “I’m scared to tell you. It’s so big and so awesome.”

So what was the big announcement?

After years of producing his homegrown YouTube series from his home in New Hampshire, Owen’s now starring in a new original animated series produced by the online video platform — one of the first in a line of YouTube shows for families.

Called “Kings of Atlantis,” this new series was inspired by characters Owen developed for his own YouTube channel. In fact, Owen pitched it to YouTube himself.

“You know, you have an idea in your head, and you think it’s awesome, and you might tell somebody else — and they’re like, that’s awful,” Owen recalled in his YouTube video announcing the new series. “That’s happened to me.”

“You live and you learn,” Owen continued. “But I pitched this idea to YouTube, and they loved it.”

“Kings of Atlantis” follows “two deposed, young monarchs” (who also happen to be a chicken and a penguin) on a quest to wrestle

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back control of their underwater kingdom from an evil villain who recently arrived on the scene.

Owen lends his voice to one half of the pair of “brothers, pranksters, and soon to be heroes” trying to save their fellow aquatic citizens.

For someone whose foray into filmmaking initially started just as a hobby, meant to be viewed by close friends, the rise to Internet stardom still feels a little surreal.

“I began to watch and create YouTube videos before I even knew about Minecraft,” Owen says. “Later on, when discovering Minecraft from a close friend, I found it to be an amazing tool to create and develop stories.”

After working on his own “small animation projects,” Owen says he “began writing concepts and characters for an entire universe.”

As for his advice to others looking to follow a similar path?

“YouTube is an every day job, 24/7, and you will only see success if you enjoy it and join for the right reasons,” Owen says. “Anyone looking to start a YouTube channel should do it for fun or a hobby and see where it takes them.”

Just be prepared for a lot of hard work, he adds — contrary to what it might look like from the outside, his job is “not just ‘playing video games.’”

To tune in: “Kings of Atlantis” appears on YouTube Red, a paid membership service that provides access to original content beyond what’s available for free on YouTube.com; you can watch Owen’s own channel for free at YouTube.com/The AtlanticCraft. NH

A Millyard Transitions from Textiles to Tech On a local level, Manchester (and, specifically, the cluster of refurbished brick buildings bordering the Merrimack River) enjoyed some national attention courtesy of the New York Times real estate section. The Gray Lady paid a visit to the Queen City to observe how the millyard is finding a new life as high-tech hub.

Perhaps the transition’s easy to overlook for those of us closer to home, but leave it to the Times to put it into broader perspective, noting that this site “hasn’t seen such industriousness since the city’s pre-World War I height as a textile capital of the world.”

courtesy photos

Going Big on the Small Screen

Seniors, Rejoice! Watch out, Sunshine State — New Hampshire’s poised to give Florida some competition as a paradise for seniors. (At least those who are willing to bundle up a bit.) The Granite State was recently named the “Best State to Retire” in the country by Bankrate, which lauded New Hampshire’s health care offerings, low crime rates and general well-being among senior citizens in awarding that distinction. This title did come with what we’ll call a “wind chill caveat” — New Hampshire ranked near the bottom of the nation when it came to weather conditions on Bankrate’s retirement index. But even with the warning for those looking to suntan to consider relocating elsewhere, the online finance publication did find a silver lining: “The fall leaf peeping is spectacular and more than makes up for the cold winters.”

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41

Exceptional

Women

of New Hampshire

celebrating the unique talents of women and their contributions, honoring business owners, executives, managers and their teams. photos by Matthew Lomanno

Dianne Mercier

Dianne Mercier, People’s United President, NH Bank New People’s United Bank 1750 Elm Street Hampshire Manchester, NH president, www.peoples.com has enjoyed a remarkable career in banking by anyone’s standards. At a time when women may question a career in banking, Dianne, who started as a teller in 1985, sees only opportunity. “I feel fortunate to work for a company like People’s United, where we are encouraged and supported to develop deep roots within our community,” she says. “This commitment goes well beyond the requirements of a financial institution — it’s in our DNA. A great example of this is our Women in Leadership program, which promotes diversity, inclusion and volunteerism at the bank through regional chapters and activities.” Among her many awards and honors, Dianne was named the 2017 Citizen of the Year by the Greater Manchester Chamber of Commerce. promotion

Exceptional

WOMEN

of NEW HAMPSHIRE

2017

Reeds Ferry Sheds® 3 Tracy Lane, Hudson, NH 603-883-1362 www.reedsferry.com

Pictured left to right: Kara Ruiter, customer sales representative; Laurie Blanchette, controller; Kathryn Midgley, accounts receivable manager; and Catrina Carson, accounting assistant.

promotion

Reeds Ferry Sheds® is one of the leading shed manufacturers in New England. We would like to recognize the Exceptional Women in our office who are an integral part of our success. Their expertise in customer relations, human resources and finance ensures that our customers receive the best possible service, that our employees work in a safe environment with exceptional benefits and that our Company is fiscally sound with growth potential. Reeds Ferry Sheds® is appreciative of their extraordinary work ethic and commitment to our vision. Thank you Kara, Laurie, Katie and Catrina. If it says Reeds Ferry, you’ve got a good one.

Exceptional

WOMEN

of NEW HAMPSHIRE

2017

Kelly Roosa Cohen

A renaissance woman of the real estate industry, Kelly Roosa Cohen wore many hats before embarking on the journey to open her own company. Kelly built Cohen Closing & Title on a platform of integrity and innovation with a “valued partner” company culture. In an industry of status quo, Kelly is breaking the mold by inspiring her employee-partners to think differently and to collaborate both internally and externally. Albeit a young company, CC&T is no stranger to giving back and is currently involved in several community efforts. Kelly’s impressive expertise, vision and drive have earned her an admirable reputation industry wide.

President Cohen Closing & Title, LLC 203 Meetinghouse Road Bedford, NH 603-488-0649 www.cohenclosing.com

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Exceptional

WOMEN

Great New Hampshire Restaurants

Guests of T-BONES, CJ’s and Copper Door 124 Bedford Center Rd., Suite B, Bedford, NH recognize the success 603-488-2820 • www.greatnhrestaurants.com of these restaurants in their smiling servers, delicious food and hospitable management.

However, rarely seen are the exceptional women of Great NH Restaurants’ Corporate office. Lead by Chief Administrative Officer Lisa Allen, these incredibly dedicated, hard-working women manage the accounting, marketing, human resources, payroll, advocacy and community relations, menus and events for the seven restaurants, T-BONES Meats, Sweets and Catering and Great NH Restaurants’ Charitable Trust, FEEDNH.org. On the wall of their office their personal mission states: “We lead and set the standard of excellence that drives our company’s success in serving our employees, guests and communities.”

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of NEW HAMPSHIRE

2017

603 INFORMER

IN THEIR OWN WORDS

Fresh Foodie Photos and transcription by David Mendelsohn

Laurie-Beth Robbins of Rye is a private chef in a niche genre of “gourmet, healthful, exotic cuisine.” “Exotic” includes ostrich, elk, kangaroo, octopus and more. She admits that few people actually eat that way, but her culinary passion is infectious and she spreads it with her writing, humorous patter and her website, smartoctopuscookie.com. Her goal is simple: to change the world by expanding the common “safe” notions of food and drink and by “ensorcelling” (enchanting) one palate at a time.

At the tender age of 6, I requested frogs’ legs and octopus salad from my parents in rural Vermont. To their credit, they helped foster my curiosity and palate.

I depleted my mother’s spice cabinet, drank wine at the dinner table (from age 10 onward), and took over the family cooking duties when just 11, as much as I was able.

I moved here to Rye one New Year’s Eve, just in time to ring in 2008, discovered the Seaport Fish store, and tried my first opah (moonfish) and cobia and pumpkin swordfish. I’ve loved shopping there ever since.

I care about the freshest cut of food, but am not a follower and devotee of everything being solely “organic” or “all natural.”

One can have organic ketchup and thus be eating “organic” SUGAR. Strychnine is, of course, “all natural,” so that heading doesn’t cut it for me.

The integrity in how the food is raised, cultivated, and with what ingredients and/or how it is packaged — its dance, right up and onto our plate — means more to me than whether it’s 100 percent organic.

There isn’t anything from the ocean that I wouldn’t eat — from creamy, dreamy raw sea urchin (uni) to halibut cheeks and all cephalopods and mollusks.

Women today seem more food phobic and entangled by body hate “issues and tissues,” which prohibit them from exploring meals fully as compared to men, or so I witness when feeding people.

Food is the most sensual entity to me on Earth. It is an interval to linger, and for companions to eat off one plate, mop up the luscious oil dregs and toast to life.

I am of the belief that food is sacred stuff, and that the time to eat, live and love is unequivocally now!

Nope, that’s not Photoshop, it’s Laurie-Beth with an opah or moonfish, one of her favorites to buy fresh from the sea. The moonfish is the first-known warm-blooded fish, a remarkable talent that allows it to remain in deep waters longer and hopefully avoid becoming someone’s exotic meal. Check out the videos at smartoctopuscookie.com to see Laurie-Beth’s “signature dish.”

CREDIT: Thanks to Rich Pettigrew, owner of Seaport Fish in Rye. nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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Sheafe Street Books owner Ken Kosick

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nhmagazine.com | May 2017

ocal’s The

Guide to Portsmouth

By Maggie Wallace Photos by Jasmine Inglesmith

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

49

here are two versions of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. One is the Portsmouth that belongs to tourists: a quaint New England town full of history and eccentricity. This Portsmouth checks the real estate listings with interest, caffeinates at Starbucks, and strolls downtown in heels to buy artisan salt and mustache wax.

But there is a deeper Portsmouth behind the polished boutiques and Colonial buildings. You can find it in the back room of Hobo’s Tattoo, behind the curtain at The Music Hall or browsing fiction at Sheafe Street. It isn’t an easy city to find.

There are days in the summer where it only appears at 1 a.m. outside of Gilley’s, slipping away when someone mentions Portwalk. On winter mornings, this Portsmouth can be found warming its hands over a coffee at Caffe Kilim and writing a letter to the editor of The New Hampshire Gazette. One time, Portsmouth was found squatting in the Frank Jones Brewery, but it had to be evicted to make way for condos.

Local has many definitions in Portsmouth, but all locals have their hobby hole, the café or bar or bookstore where they’re a regular in a sea of tourists. It’s to these refuges that they scuttle past brick sidewalks and weekend buskers, looking to breathe again in their very own immutable local space. It’s not surprising that these sanctuaries offer the best food, beer and atmosphere in town. If you want to find them, then you have two choices: You can tail a Portsmouth native, or you can cheat and read this guide.

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Caffe Kilim, 163 Islington St. Kilim is the only coffee shop in town, according to the old-school Portsmouth residents. Yalcin Yazgan grew up working in his grandfather’s coffee shop in Istanbul, learning the tradition of good coffee that he and his family brought to Portsmouth nearly 25 years ago. Pushed out of downtown in 2006 due to soaring rent, Caffe Kilim is a relic of old Portsmouth. The colorful den is filled with Turkish music, wallpapered in postcards from all over the world, and heady with espresso steam and conversation. No trip to Portsmouth is complete without stopping into Kilim for a chat and a cup of its signature roast, Dancing Goats.

(603) 436-7330; caffekilim.com Kaffee Vonsolln, 79 Daniel St. At first, locals were skeptical of the German coffee shop that took over Kilim’s old location, but they’ve been guiltily discovering that they like it. The tucked-away café has a European feeling, with tasteful dark wood and a sliding window that opens wide to the street in summer. (603) 373-0570; vonsolln.com White Heron, 601 Islington St. The West End, dubbed “the Brooklyn of New Hampshire” by Thrillist, has become the new ground zero for young residents and entrepreneurs — and Jonathan Blakeslee is the West End’s Bruce Wayne.

After years of honing his tea craft on the West Coast, he came back to his hometown to be the hero we need (and, some would argue, the hero we deserve), opening this community-focused teahouse in 2005.

(603) 294-0270; whiteherontea.com

Beer

Portsmouth brewing has deep roots. As far back as 1882, the city had lager bragging rights, with the country’s largest brewery — the venerable Frank Jones — located right here. The region’s current beer scene is a big attraction for visitors who will have no trouble finding their way to the taps, but locals are just as thirsty and tend to know where to look for the freshest new brews. Craft beer staples such as Redhook are still good, but, for the heart of the Portsmouth brewing community, you’ll have to go micro.

Earth Eagle Brewings, 165 High St. Butch Heilshorn and his brother-in-law Alex McDonald had been homebrewing for a few years when they decided to open Earth Eagle. The Seacoast has no shortage of great nano- and microbreweries, but theirs is the only one that uses gruit. “Back in medieval times, gruit referred to your secret little blend of herbs that you would have for your beer,” explains Heilshorn. But Earth Eagle doesn’t keep their herbal blends secret; they proudly list ingredients such as juniper, coltsfoot and sweet gale on their chalkboard.

To keep things authentic, they actually hire a forager to find seasonal plants in the New Hampshire woods. “She came in with these crazy hunter orange berries,” Heilshorn says, remembering the time they made a Mountain Ash gruit, “and I was like, ‘all right, what kind of beer can I put these in?’”

(603) 502-2244; eartheaglebrewings.com Throwback Brewery 7 Hobbs Rd., North Hampton Throwback Brewery is also famous for its effort to source ingredients locally, creating

photo bt melissa boulanger

The most essential places in Portsmouth are not churches or town halls; they’re cafés. These are the places you go to network, to connect with the people you want to see and avoid those you don’t. You can catch up with an old friend, interview for a job, or meet a blind date. Every Portsmouth café strives to have the best of two things: coffee beans and clientele.

Port City Coffee Roasters, 801 Islington St. Most people wouldn’t suspect the plaza across from Hannaford of having the best coffee in town, but Port City is famous for its beans. Caffe Kilim even got their start in Portsmouth using Port City roast. If you need further proof, then just look at their most loyal patrons: Portsmouth police. If anyone knows where to get good coffee, it’s the cops. (603) 433-3011; portcitycoffee.com

photo bt liz davenport

Coffee and Tea

Opposite page: Kaffee Vonsolln Top: Throwback Brewery’s Annette Lee (left) and Nicole Carrier Above: Your latte might come with a sculpture of foam at Caffe Kilim.

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

51

beers such as their Maple-Kissed Wheat Porter and Rhubarb Wit in a renovated farmhouse only eight miles from Market Square.

(603) 379-2317; throwbackbrewery.com

few local bars able to transcend the dichotomy of old Portsmouth and new Portsmouth.

(603) 319-6981; therustyhammer.com

Tributary Brewing Co. 10 Shapleigh Rd., Kittery, Maine Tod Mott started Tributary Brewing in 2014 after 11 years down the road at Portsmouth Brewery. It was there that he invented his world-famous Kate the Great, dubbed 2007’s Best Beer in America by BeerAdvocate —and while the rights stayed with Portsmouth, the recipe traveled with the brewer. Try Tributary’s Mott the Lesser for a strikingly similar brew to the award-winning original.

(207) 703-0093; tributarybrewingcompany.com

Ristorante Massimo, 59 Penhallow St. When I visit Ristorante Massimo, the kitchen counter is dominated by half a pig.

“I don’t even think Jethro knew we were getting one today,” says pastry chef John Finley as he shapes baguettes for the evening’s bread. When Massimo Morgia bought out the restaurant he worked at for 20 years

Food

Bars

Now that you’ve figured out your beer order, where should you drink it?

The Press Room, 77 Daniel St. The 41-year-old Press Room offers live music daily on two different stages. Shuffling through the dim brick space feels like visiting an old speakeasy; French horns and violins from the corner, tables tightly clustered together and a standing crowd at the bar make this the place to bump elbows with locals. (603) 431-5186; pressroomnh.com Coat of Arms, 174 Fleet St. If you blink, you might miss this downtown British pub. Look for the bold blue door hidden in the wall, break through the gaggle of smokers outside and walk up the carpeted stairs past the antique phone booth. Here, you’ll find local cask beers, a snooker table and, on Sundays, the best trivia night in town. (603) 431-0407; coatofarmspub.com The Rusty Hammer, 49 Pleasant St. Originally owned by Russel “Rusty” Hammer (whom you can still catch manning the bar), this bar has always been a local, blue-collar staple, similar to State Street Saloon or Kittery’s Corner Pub. What sets Rusty apart is that it has changed with the times without losing its original charm.

Having expanded the beer taps to include 32 craft and domestic beers, they’re one of the

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Dropkick Murphys lead singer Al Barr at Caffe Kilim

and reopened it as Ristorante Massimo, he had a dream. He wanted to bring outstanding, authentic Italian food to Portsmouth.

Fourteen years later, critics agree that he’s accomplished it from the stone-walled, exquisitely furnished dining room where he walks around slapping backs and pumping arms. If the restaurant business had a mayor, it would be Morgia.

Jethro Loichle has been executive chef at the restaurant for 12 years now, and he continues to produce fresh new entrée ideas that utilize seasonal ingredients. Cooking “fresh and local” in a high-end restaurant

means that he has a great relationship with area farmers, to the extent that they sometimes drop off unexpected ingredients like bok choy or, say, half a pig. Times like these are opportunities for creativity in the tiny kitchen he shares with a talented culinary team and the occasional swine.

(603) 436-4000; ristorantemassimo.com Ceres Bakery, 51 Penhallow St. “Eat something, you’ll feel better,” read the stained glass windows in Ceres Bakery, which, at 35 years old, is still one of the city’s most affordable places to eat. Regulars pack the restaurant at lunch. The occasional stray tourists who wander in are bewildered by the aesthetic. A wrought iron goddess sits on top of the turquoise building, a massive wooden hand holding a magic wand extends from the wall and a seven-foot-long fork hangs from the ceiling. “Ceres is what the Green Dragon was to the American Revolution,” says one employee, only half-joking. The seats of the bakery are filled with paint-speckled patrons, and every month a different local artist decorates the back room with his or her work.

(603) 436-6518; ceresbakery.com Gilley’s, 175 Fleet St. With century-old roots as a horse-drawn lunch cart, the cart-turned-truck-turneddiner that is Gilley’s was way ahead of the food truck craze. Thanks to the joint’s reputation for serving burgers and dogs into the late-night hours, just about everyone in town has some story about the oldest restaurant in town. If you want to get the truly authentic Portsmouth experience, then don’t leave town without getting into a good 2 a.m. argument at Gilley’s — or at least getting fries smothered in gravy.

(603) 431-6343; gilleyspmlunch.com Lexie’s Joint, 212 Islington St. Lexie’s Joint was opened in 2010 by two chefs who realized that, after a long night on the line making filet mignon and pan-seared salmon, the only thing they really wanted was a good burger. With a gourmet-but-low-cost twist on traditional American cuisine, this

joint can find you truffle fries, a burger with herbed aioli and a milkshake topped with Girl Scout cookies, all for less than $20.

(603) 319-4055; peaceloveburgers.com Colby’s Breakfast & Lunch, 105 Daniel St. After an exhausting 2012 election season when politicians — with their bodyguards in tow — regularly tried to campaign in the 28-seat restaurant, Colby’s famously posted a blue-and-red sign reading, “No Politicians, No Exceptions.” The story is a local favorite about this sacred breakfast spot where people can eat stuffed French toast and, at least for an hour, forget the world outside.

(603) 436-3033; Facebook

Shio, 2454 Lafayette Rd. Portsmouth has no shortage of good sushi, but only locals know that the best sushi isn’t found in the bustling downtown. It’s well worth the drive up Lafayette Road to get Shio’s fresh sushi and sashimi delivered to your table on a model wooden boat.

(603) 319-1638; shiorestaurant.com

For Bookworms

Sheafe Street Books, 29 Sheafe St. Local book hoarder Ken Kosick can be found within a fortress of reading material

Above: Sheafe Street Books’ Ken Kosick Below: Ceres Street Bakery owner Penny Brewster (front) and Megan Stelzer

photo bt liz davenport

Joe’s New York Pizza, 124 Congress St. Gazing at the “pizza crust trail” from Joe’s to the residential area of town on a Sunday

morning, no one likes to admit that they stopped at this local junk-food chain coming home from the bar the night before — but we’ve all woken up with an empty Joe’s pizza box in the fridge. (603) 431-1200; joesnewyorkportsmouth.com

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following since its opening day in 2012.

This is partly due to a great selection of books and a weekend lineup of talented musicians, but it doesn’t hurt that they offer craft beer on tap for those who want to sip while they browse. (603) 427-9197; bookandbar.com

On the Stage

By Allison May Kiphuth, owner of Nahcotta

at his Sheafe Street shop. “Some people have wondered if the structure can handle all the weight,” he admits, looking around at the floor-to-ceiling collection of first-edition beat poets, contemporary fiction and 17th-century manuscripts. The store is full of stories both imagined and real, like the time a patron proposed to his girlfriend by hiding the ring inside a hollowed-out book.

Kosick isn’t alone in his love of books.

He’s got his cat Petunia, fond of sleeping on Emerson and Steinbeck, and he has a wide community of book lovers who cherish his small, carefully curated shop. “In a population of 21,000 in Portsmouth, to have three [independent] book stores is incredible,” he gushes, talking, of course, about his competition. (603) 498-5202; Facebook RiverRun Bookstore, 142 Fleet St. The longest-standing independent bookstore in Portsmouth, RiverRun has a thoughtful book collection and a friendly, well-read staff. When this local staple ran into difficulty making their rent in 2011, hundreds of townspeople not only donated money to save them, but also formed a human chain to move the store, one box at a time, to the new location. (603) 431-2100; riverrunbookstore.com Portsmouth Book & Bar, 40 Pleasant St. Book & Bar is a rare space that transcended its own novelty to become a popular local hangout almost immediately. The cozy-yet-elegant bookstore has had a solid

Al Barr, singer for the Dropkick Murphys, could live anywhere. “But why would I?” asks Barr, who has lived in Portsmouth since 1977. “It’s a great place to raise a family. It’s safe. It’s home.” Portsmouth’s homegrown celebrity is usually one of three places: at his home, on the road or talking with Yalcin at Caffe Kilim.

It’s been a couple decades since Barr started his career here, during the days when The Bruisers and Scissorfight regularly played the old Elvis Room, but it’s still a town of live music. “A city or town’s lifeblood is the local music scene,” says Barr, “whether it’s music you like or you don’t; just to have that outlet is really important.”

It’s true that The Music Hall and Prescott Park host world-famous musicians, but what about Portsmouth’s local scene? You won’t necessarily find it under the chandelier of The Music Hall, but you’ll see it at Rí Rá Irish Pub, busking on the corner of Market and Congress, or on the back patio of the Gaslight. Close your eyes for a moment in Market Square and just listen.

This small city is thumping with live music.

And these are the places to find it that you might not spot on your own.

The Red Door, 107 State St. Right before Memorial Bridge, buffered by an artisan chocolate shop and a burrito place, you might notice an unremarkable door flaking from exposure to the salty air. The Red Door is one of Portsmouth’s better-kept secrets, an intimate second-story stage where, depending on the night, DJs spin reggae to a club crowd or singer/songwriters croon to a bevy of 20-somethings seated on velvet cushions. (603) 373-6827; reddoorportsmouth.com

The Blue Mermaid Island Grill, 116 High St. The aforementioned Press Room and Book and Bar are great places to see some live tunes for a nominal cover (or sometimes for free), but only locals know that Blue Mermaid has the best open mic night in town. Located at The Hill, they’ve also got some of the only outdoor seating that isn’t completely mobbed during the summer.

(603) 427-2583; bluemermaid.com Prescott Park and The Music Hall also serve as showcases for some amazing theatre productions, but don’t miss independent theatre companies such as the Players’ Ring and Seacoast Repertory Theatre: Both offer first-rate performances by visiting and local talent within walking distance of downtown. playersring.org, seacoastrep.org

On the Walls

Portsmouth is crawling with artists. It’s not unusual to find a restaurant patron sketching stills of a live band, and a jaunt around Prescott Park or Nubble Lighthouse might reveal several oil painters. Even the exterior walls of Portsmouth hint at the town’s artistic spirit: Many buildings in the city still bear the crumbling remains of a 2011 art show by international graffiti artists.

Nahcotta, 110 Congress St. Behind the desk at Nahcotta, Allie Kiphuth is preparing for an upcoming show. “I feel like people actually buy art in Portsmouth,” she says. “I feel like people here value original art, which is really nice.” A professional artist, Kiphuth knows the importance of local support. At her first “Enormous Tiny Art” show in Nahcotta, she sold out.

(603) 433-1705; nahcotta.com Buoy, 2 Government St., Kittery, Maine Over the bridge in Kittery is Buoy, a small independent gallery and annual host of community-organized projects like ArtPM and Craft Fix. It’s a place where locals can actually trade art, peep nationally renowned artwork or discover their neighbor is an accomplished metalsmith. (207) 450-2402; Facebook

Odds and Ends

Annabelle’s Natural Ice Cream 49 Ceres St. Heading to the decks for a drink on a summer day, glance down Ceres Street to appreciate the line of people outside of Annabelle’s. With award-winning ice cream at an affordable price, everyone local to Portsmouth knows to walk past the handful of pop-up gelato stores to get the real deal from this 35-year-old staple. (603) 436-3400; annabellesicecream.com Hobo’s Tattoo, 113 Daniel St., Portsmouth; 78 Congress St., Portsmouth; 87 N. Main St., Rochester With his full-sleeve tattoos, the Dropkick Murphys’ Barr says there’s only one place to get tattooed. Hobo’s has been poking people

with needles for 35 years, and it has an almost religious following of locals from the kitchens, studios and stages of Portsmouth.

(603) 436-0805; hobostattoo.com John’s Barber Shop, 95 Daniel St. John the barber (or John Russo) remembers when Portsmouth was “a working man’s town.”

“My father started across the street in 1923,” says Russo, who took over his father’s business as the town barber in 1968.

“There’d be a lot of hair on this floor if I didn’t sweep it.” From a barber chair on Daniel Street, he has watched decades of history pass by his window.

John’s barber pole lends a classic touch to the neighborhood, but it’s more than that to locals who remember old Portsmouth. “I

get guys that come in here, they really don’t need a haircut. They just wanna shoot the breeze,” Russo says with a smile.

(603) 436-8443 All are welcome in Portsmouth, whether they come here to visit Strawbery Banke and Pickwick’s, to take in a show at The Music Hall or to shop at the boutiques. But for those who want to find the bottom layer of a place, to not just visit but experience it, this is your guide. You won’t find it in a hotel pamphlet or in-flight magazine. So come and drink a sour gruit, dance to live jazz, get swept up in a mobile art show and wonder where you got that slice of pizza. Let yourself fall down the rabbit hole of local Portsmouth. It will be waiting. NH

The eponymous John Russo of John’s Barber Shop

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visible women 11 artists you really need to keep an eye on Soo Sunny Park with her installation at the Currier Museum of Art Photo by Kendal J. Bush

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photo by kendal bush

Soo Sunny Park

Above: “BioLath” (detail), metal lath, plexiglass, light by Soo Sunny Park Top right: “Basically I’m Over It,” oil on wood

by Catherine Graffam Opposite page above: “Forth Bench” by Vivian Beer Opposite page: “Low Rider Lounge,” formed and fabricated steel, rust patina and ferrocement (concrete) by Vivian Beer

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Catherine Graffam

“By painting myself and other transgender women in all of our strength and beauty, I am combating the ways that we are viewed in society and in the art world,” Catherine Graffam says. “By saying ‘actually, we are beautiful,’ it will hopefully, slowly begin to tear at the stigma surrounding our bodies.”

That stigma is something Graffam has struggled with since her teen years, when she says she was “very lost and suicidal.” A high school art teacher encouraged her to become an artist, and so she did, graduating recently from the NH Institute of Art. Now, she says, “life feels worth living.”

She describes her work as “emotive portraiture,” where she uses brush strokes to express her feelings and ideas. Her portraits aren’t meant to be sad, as some describe them. Rather, she says, they’re “more reflective and longing than anything else.” And, occasionally, angry.

Ahead, the Manchester resident hopes to be a “beacon of sorts” for others, to use her

skills as a tool for growth. She says, “I want other queer folks to be able to connect with my work and relate with my message and subject matter.” Judging from the response she’s gotten, she’s already succeeded.

couresy photos

Soo Sunny Park has an eye for the unnoticed, and for making what’s often overlooked the center of her installations.

At a young age, Park immigrated from Korea, spending most of her childhood in Marietta, Georgia. In middle school, says Park, recognizing that she was one of two minority students was difficult. “I remember as a kid trying to fit in, and remember trying to pretend that I was like everyone else,” says Park.

“Nonverbal things were more comfortable to me,” she adds, such as studying subjects like science and math.

The idea of finding a nonverbal, universal language is eventually what led Park to her career, earning degrees in painting and sculpture. After moving to New Hampshire in 2005, Park worked as a drawing and sculpture professor at Dartmouth College. She now lives in Cornish and has a studio in Lebanon.

Many of her ideas stem from concepts most might not ever think about, including unrecognized space. She uses materials such as sheet rock or wall studs, things that are typically only used to occupy the space in between spaces. “In some ways, metaphorically, I’m trying to put the viewers in that boundary, in that in-between space,” she says.

Her most recent work, “BioLath,” is now on view at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. The installation explores visual perception, using light as the lead factor and showcasing how time, weather and season can all create transformation.

Vivian Beer

residency to the next.

“Travel has really formulated new bodies of work and experimentation for me,” she says. A residency at San Diego State University sparked an infatuation with desert landscapes, which led to a John D. Mineck Furniture Fellowship and two months spent in an RV, driving through the Southwest taking molds of the desert floor. The result is her ongoing project “Desert Design Lab.” Who knows what aspect of nature may spark the next evolution. Beer’s work is on display in a number of prestigious museums, including locally at the Currier Museum of Art.

couresy photos

“A lot of artists are inspired by nature,” says furniture designer and maker Vivian Beer. “It’s the most powerful thing around us.” But what captures Beer’s imagination are the powerful forces of nature and their impact on the landscape — how things such as erosion, freezing and thawing constantly change and reshape the world.

After receiving her Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Maine College of Art in 2000, Beer spent a few years working as an architectural blacksmith. During this time, she discovered her passion for working with metals and other durable materials. Primarily designing for clients though, Beer didn’t always feel free to develop her own style.

“I hadn’t gotten the satisfaction I wanted as a designer,” she says.

Eventually, she went back to school at Cranbrook Academy of Art in Michigan to study metalsmithing. The academy’s metal program, according to Beer, became the real foundation of her multi disciplined approach to her art.

“I started making this sort of odd brand of furniture and never looked back,” she says. She graduated from Cranbrook Academy in 2004 and settled in Pembroke. Although she has a home and studio in New Hampshire, Beer never seems to stay in one place for very long, as her “odd brand” has taken her across the country, from one

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Bending perceptions of everyday things — that’s what Dover artist Carly Glovinski aims for in her work. Beach chairs, maps, fabric, puzzles, phone books, and even cheeseburger wrappers are among her subjects.

“I am driven by a continuous curiosity and awareness of the world around me,” Glovinski says. “I want to create a deeper awareness of the experience of ‘seeing’ and allow unexpected connections to be made between concept, materials and the iconography of objects.”

She does it with drawings, painted objects and installations, using contemporary trompe l’oeil techniques. Her skills as a realistic painter allow her to create objects like the beach chair that looks so real you might want to sit in it. (Don’t.)

“I really don’t want to pull the wool over people’s eyes, but rather open them, she says. “I want my work to cause people to slow down and really look at things.”

Some pieces are so labor-intensive they can take several months to complete.

Glovinski says, “A lot of my work involves some kind of repetitive mark that is best accomplished in shorter sessions and built up over long periods of time.”

This past year, she was rewarded for her efforts with a NH Charitable Foundation Artist Advancement Grant that facilitated exhibitions in major galleries.

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couresy photos

Carly Glovinski

Femme Fatales

“A bit of danger” — that’s what the name of the art collective Femme Fatales is meant to convey. So say Rebecca Klementovich and Kristen Pobatschnig, two North Country abstract artists who have exhibited their paintings far from the safety of whitewalled galleries.

“We did an outdoor show at the Jackson Ski Touring Foundation in a blizzard where it was 7 degrees out,” says Klementovich. “We used sleds to bring the paintings to different parts of the trails. We also did a photo shoot on the top of Mount Washington in 30 mph winds, holding 4-foot paintings, in heels.”

Yes, in heels. Just as the backward-dancing-in-heels Ginger Rogers drew attention to the powers of women, so are the Femme Fatales.

“Today, there is still a gender disparity in the arts in terms of sales and gallery representation,” says Pobatschnig. “At this point, the public is aware of the disparity; now it appears more like a habit of how and why we, as a society, buy more art by men.” Their hope is that their atten-

tion-grabbing outdoor exhibits and other efforts will change that dynamic.

They also hope to inject some contemporary pizzazz into the art scene in the North Country. Pobatschnig says, “New Hampshire is ready to move into more modern versions of this amazing and expansive landscape. We have enjoyed a state that excels in representational work.

What could we do as an art collective in representing a fresher way of seeing our mountains?”

Both artists use bright, bold colors to create that freshness. Pobatschnig aims to “uplift the viewer” with color to counter the “wintry palette” that the state lives with for much of the year. Klementovich uses color that’s very different from what is actually there to bring “a new language to represent the local landscape.”

Together, they look forward to seeing results from their now-four-year-long effort to, Klementovich says, “open up more space for other women to go beyond where we are going.”

Top left: “Field Trial,” acrylic on canvas

by Carly Glovinski

couresy photos

Above: “Nature Library — Ecology,” (chair) ink and correction fluid on paper, aluminum chair frame, (book) acrylic on wood by Carly Glovinski “Nature Library — The Forest,” acrylic on wood by Carly Glovinski “Nature Library — The Sea,” acrylic on wood

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photo by john hession

Melissa Anne Miller

She works with traditional pigments as well as industrial paints and foils to create her deliciously vivid works of art, but you might say that Pam Tarbell’s primary medium is something akin to musical tones. “All forms of art share common ideals of composition, movement and balance. A musician strives for sound vibrations; my goal is creating visual color vibrations on canvas,” she says.

Such artistic good vibrations are in full evidence at Tarbell’s Mill Brook Gallery in Concord, where she curates a bright and rambling gallery space as well as an enchanting outdoor sculpture garden that sprawls across two acres of rolling countryside.

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Top left: “Marsh Kaleidoscope #2,” oil/canvas

by Pam Tarbell Opposite page top: “Birch Trees,” oil/canvas

by Melissa Anne Miller Opposite page right: “View from the Studio after a Light Snow,” oil/canvas, by Melissa Anne Miller Opposite page left: “Green House in Winter,” oil/canvas by Melissa Anne Miller

photo by john hession

Pam Tarbell

Melissa Anne Miller has been drawing since she “could hold a pencil,” but after college, painting became her passion. It was then, she says, that the buildings she had been drawing “just begged for color.”

She works in a range of media — mostly oils (“oil paint has a certain luminosity to it”), but also acrylics, charcoal, pencil, watercolors and pastels. Her subject matter?

Often rooftops and skies.

“I paint at ground level too, of course,” she says, but the loftier perspective is her signature. “It’s something in human nature, I think, that we like long, distant views.”

Lately, Miller had a third-floor perch at a law firm in Concord — a perfect place to explore her recent inclination to combine her notable skies with cityscapes.

“I don’t analyze why I’m drawn to something before I paint it,” she says. “I’m responding to something I see, something I find visually interesting and that stirs something within.”

What she is often drawn to is the way light strikes a building; she’s intrigued by “the space between … the colors … the geometrical shapes of shadows and light.”

Painting twilight is her latest quest — another part of the journey that Miller says she figured out as she went along.

Visit McGowan Fine Art in Concord to see more of her work.

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images courtesy mcgowan fine art

photo bt althea haropulos

Above: “It Had To Be You,” acrylic on canvas

by Rosemanry Conroy Left: “Manitoba Magic,” acrylic on canvas by Rosemary Conroy These paintings (and others) will be on view at Rosemary Conroy’s upcoming solo show “Never Can Say Goodbye” at the Sharon Arts Center in Peterborough from mid-August to mid-September.

Rosemary Conroy

Rosemary Conroy says maybe it was watching “Doctor Doolittle” at an impressionable age, but, whatever the reason, she loves painting animals.

“The beauty of their forms simply mesmerizes me, and their ways of being in the world enchant me,” she says. “If I could have a superpower, it would be to be able to communicate with them.”

What happens instead, it seems, is that 64

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she allows the animals that she paints to communicate with us through their closeup, colorful presence. It’s especially striking when we are eye-to-eye with them. She says, “As the saying goes, ‘Eyes are the window to the soul,’ and so that way I try to connect human souls with wild ones.”

Conroy, who lives in Weare, took up painting seriously 15 years ago, motivated by the tragedy of 9/11. She had once worked on the 73rd floor of the Twin Towers and deeply felt the loss of all the people who “wouldn’t

get their ‘somedays.’” Someday for her became that day.

Her work started with a series of farm animals, with a focus on chickens. But in recent years it has been the wild ones, mostly bears, tigers and birds. Grateful for having animals in the world, she worries that, “the way things are going,” they won’t be here in 20 years.

“So my mission, my dharma if you will, is to celebrate the beauty, power and mystery of the natural world. And to raise awareness of all that we are in danger of losing.”

Trissa Tilson

“Kindly Ones,” ink, watercolor and sometimes pigment powders on watercolor paper by Trissa Tilson

courtesy photos

Proprietor of Littleton’s DeathMau Studios Trissa Tilson confesses that she is a lover of “lowbrow, tattoo, pop-surrealism, surrealism and anything out of the ordinary.”

She describes her own convoluted nature paintings as “Audubon with a twist.”

Working as an artist in the cultural outlands of New Hampshire’s North Country has its drawbacks, particularly when you explore an unusual creative niche, but this hasn’t dampened her creative drive. “Thanks to the wonders of social media, I can really get out beyond the confines of my small town,” she says. Her most current project is a large body of work illustrating animals that have gone extinct in the last 100 years.

“It’s pretty exciting,” she notes. Other life goals? “I’d like people to realize that, to be beautiful, art doesn’t need to be pretty.”

Libby March

Libby March raises photojournalism to an art form. “There has always been a thread or a vein in my work that explores the humannature connection,” she says. Her “Northern Reverie” series, shot in the Upper Valley of New Hampshire and Vermont, reveals almost as much about the land as it does about the people who live and work on it.

At 28, March is pursuing her passion. She graduated from Central Michigan University with a degree in journalism, but even then she knew that art of photography was

her calling. As a photographic intern at the Concord Monitor and Valley News, she started to really hone her talents.

About a year ago, she settled in Bethlehem, where she started her commercial photo business, The River Studio. Along with her partner, John Tully, she also runs Surf2Summit wedding photography. They rent out a reclaimed riverside tannery building about 10 minutes from her home in the neighboring town of Littleton.

At The River Studio, March and Tully work together to tell visual stories for small businesses in the North Country and beyond.

Their work is inspired by the beauty and simplicity of the natural world.

“Beautiful and truthful imagery and storytelling has never been more important than right now,” she says. “I’m so happy that real journalism exists.”

“Braid,” Andrea at blue hour, Franconia Notch State Park, Lincoln, NH, September 9, 2013

“Yardwork,” Richard Adams and his mother, Rebecca Adams, work on replanting plants she brought from her yard at his home in Cornish, NH, on Monday, July 1, 2013. nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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There's a big world of global food out there — but you don't have to travel far to find it.

Leave your passport at home and head to these 35 spots for the most irresistible international eats in the Granite State.

world

Wonders p

By Sarah Cahalan Photos by Jenn Bakos and John Benford

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A variety of dishes from Street

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he typical American table these days can sometimes have little in common with that of our meat-and-potatoes-eating forebears. Taco Tuesday or Friday night Chinese takeout are about as likely to be on your family’s menu as a burger and fries. But there’s a big world of global food out there beyond the familiar confines of Chipotle and Panda Express.

Around the Granite State, you can find inventive, delicious dishes from all corners of the globe — if you know where to look. In 10-seater Nepali restaurants tucked into grocery stores and vibrant downtown eateries serving photo-ready Korean eggs Benedict, New Hampshire’s restaurateurs are rising to the challenge of cooking for a globalized palette.

When you’re ready to taste the increasingly diverse cuisine of our increasingly diverse state, put down the kung pao chicken and follow us to the eateries bringing the flavors of the world to the 603.

Street offers bites from all over the globe.

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Sampler

Px latter

The missus wants arepas. Mr. Right wants shawarma. The kids want California rolls. Who says you have to choose? These four eateries around the state offer fusion cuisines and menus with a little taste of all corners of the globe.

Street

With their devoted hipster following and easy-to-follow menu, the most popular fusion restaurant in the state may be this Portsmouth hotspot. More than a dozen countries across four continents are represented in their menu, and — do you hear the angels singing yet? — the place has brunch. Hit them up on a Sunday morning for Irish fry-ups and breakfast burritos alongside Korean fried chicken and South American hangover snack yucca fries.

801 Islington St., Portsmouth (603) 436-0860; streetfood360.com

The What About Cobb salad at Street has a few unexpected additions such as smoked almonds, artichoke hearts and feta cheese.

Above from left are Jeff Shufelt, Dan Duris, Josh Pinkham and Mark Stephan of Gypsy Café. Below are samples of the café’s eclectic artwork and dishes.

This eclectic Lincoln eatery has long been a favorite of diners looking for a tour of the world in the North Country. Though their dishes aren’t always faithful to their countries of origin (Indonesian peanut sauce on a Black Angus burger, anyone?), their inventive creations represent a diverse swath of ethnic traditions. Try the Berbere-spiced steak for a taste of Ethiopia, the Moroccan-inspired shrimp with couscous and tzatziki, or the pumpkin pasta for a glimpse of a cuisine you won’t find anywhere else in the state: Navajo. 117 Main St., Lincoln (603) 745-4395; gypsycaferestaurant.com 70

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East of Suez

The Lakes Region doesn’t have much by way of unusual world cuisine, but this seasonal eatery attempts to make up for that shortage by representing a whole gaggle of Asian countries. Alongside classics like sushi and pad thai, you’ll find Pacific Islander-inspired dishes and Filipino specialties such as pork and chicken adobo. The menu changes frequently, so pop in this summer to see what one of the country’s oldest Pan-Asian eateries has cooking. 775 S. Main. St., Wolfeboro (603) 569-1648; eastofsuez.com

Piedra Fina

This Monadnock spot was a Best of NH editor’s pick last year, and for good reason: Their menu is mouthwatering. All ends of the Spanish-speaking world are represented in the restaurant’s small and large plates, from classic Spanish tapas like croquetas to Venezuelan-style arepas (try the brisketand-pepper-sauce pelúa) to inventive global specialties like the Peruvian stir-fry lomo saltado. 288 Main St., Marlborough (603) 876-5012; piedrafina.com

photos by john benford

Gypsy Café

T he new Asia There are few things more quintessential to American cuisine than Asian takeout. With General Tso on speed dial and tandoori chicken as likely to arrive on the table as chicken soup, the average New Hampshirite is ready to graduate to other corners of Asia — and Granite State eateries offer all kinds of opportunities to branch out. Here are the restaurants to try for Asian flavors beyond China, India and Japan.

Korean: Shira Kiku

Nashua’s Shira Kiku offers the lengthy sushi menu and miso soups of a Japanese restaurant, but they’re hiding a secret: a selection of authentic Korean dishes. Try specialties like Korean barbecue, bulgogi and the pièce de résistance: four varieties of bibimbap served in traditional superheated stone pots.

13 Broad St., Nashua (603) 882-8644; kikunh.com

Thai: Chang Thai Café

Thai cuisine is approaching Chinese in its ubiquity these days, but it still offers some fun surprises — like the straight-out-of-Bangkok café hidden away on Littleton’s Main Street. Chef-owner Emshika Alberini grew up in Thailand, and her menu uses local ingredients to create classic Thai flavors.

Don’t miss the non-entrée items. How about an imported Thai beer and dessert sticky rice with that green curry? 77 Main St., Littleton (603) 444-8810; changthaicafe.com

Vietnamese: Saigon & Tokyo

Pho isn’t just fun to pronounce (rhymes with "huh?"); it’s also delicious. The state’s finest example of this Vietnamese noodle soup is found at Dover’s humble Saigon & Tokyo. Try it and other tastes of the city formerly known as Saigon alongside Japanese dishes and other Asian treats like bubble tea.

892 Central Ave., Dover, (603) 750-4127

photos by john benford

Nepali: Durbar Square

The complex and colorful artwork that contributes to the Gypsy Café’s atmosphere is by both co-owner and chef Dan Duris (who created this tabletop) and a number of other local artists.

The team behind this Portsmouth eatery brought Himalayan-style cuisine to Hanover’s Base Camp Café and Manchester’s Café Momo before moving into the Seacoast market last year. Move beyond the well-known momo dumpling to explore the spicier sides of Nepali cuisine, such as the vegan sweet potato chhoila and wild boar ribs chili. 10 Market St., Portsmouth, (603) 294-0107; durbarsquarerestaurant.com

Small -Town Surprises To the benefit of us all, exotic treats aren’t just found in New Hampshire’s larger cities and college towns. Exciting international cuisines can be found in all sorts of small towns and unexpected places — if you know where to look.

Cataleya’s Caribbean Grill New London Before last year, it would have been surprising for either Venezuelan or Caribbean food to find a home in the sleepy Lake Sunapee region.

Now, two restaurants take on those cuisines, and 8-month-old Cataleya’s, astoundingly, does both. Try the Cuban black bean soup, the Puerto Rican pernil pork or the jerk-seasoned just-about-anything, from entrées to salads to — believe it or not — pizza. 420 Main St., New London. (603) 526-6600; cataleyas. squarespace.com

Asian Delight, Franklin

The 8,000 people of Franklin are hiding a secret: They may just have the best Thai in the state. This eat-in and delivery spot long predates the days of Yelp and TripAdvisor, but it’s still managed near-five-star ratings on

both. Franklinites and visitors from around the state and the country rave about the fresh veggie rolls, curries and pad thai, so stop by to see what all the (much-deserved) fuss is about. 330 Central St., Franklin.

(603) 934-9700; Facebook

Sunshine Cook Shop Claremont

Across the lake and a few miles west from Cataleya’s, a second eatery (this one 13 months old) brings the islands to the Granite State. Jamaican traditions are the focus here, from oxtail to fried plantains. Whatever you do, don’t miss the jerk chicken wings: KFC may claim the honorific “finger-lickin’ good,” but these babies actually earn it. 145 Pleasant St., Claremont. (603) 543-0003; Facebook

My Sister’s Kitchen, Milford

It’s not every day that you stumble upon a Russian restaurant in small-town New England. This hole-in-the-wall is a longtime favorite of those in the know, and its hearty breakfast and lunch dishes will have you pining for Mother Russia no matter where in

the world you’re from. Try anything stuffed or wrapped, from the crêpe-like blinis (offered in sweet and savory iterations) to stuffed cabbage leaves to good old-fashioned pierogies.

286 Elm St., Milford. (603) 672-7202; Facebook

Cáceres Argentinian Grill and Mediterrano, Hillsborough

Tucked away on Route 9 between Concord and Keene, the little town of Hillsborough offers not one but two out-of-the-box ethnic restaurants worth a trip. Turkish eatery Mediterrano has been serving up their adana lamb kebabs and baba ganoush to wild acclaim since 2013, while Cáceres has served their South American specialties for only four months. Find empanadas and Argentinian chorizo sandwiches alongside inventive dishes such as the humita, a pumpkin and corn chowder inspired by a Quechua dish dating back to the pre-conquistadors days. The restaurants are only five doors down from one another, so try them both (and the German bakery in between) for a taste of what may be the tiniest foodie capital in the state. Cáceres: 17 W. Main St., Hillsborough. (603) 264-5050; Facebook. Mediterrano: 24 Henniker St., Hillsborough. (603) 680-4337; mediterranoo.com

Find an island spin on an American favorite — pizza — and tropical drinks at Cataleya’s Caribbean Grill.

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Here and above: Cataleya’s Caribbean Grill

Two towns, tons of options There’s great ethnic cuisine to be found all over the state if you look carefully, but two places rise above the rest with their sheer volume of international eateries. One is the state capital and a hotbed of immigration. The other is an Ivy League college town with one of the most diverse populaces in the whole state.

Head to either of these cities for a what’sfor-dinner argument that’s more “Nepali or Cambodian” than “burgers or pizza.”

HANOVER AND LEBANON

Phnom Penh Sandwich Station

The newest brick-and-mortar addition to the Dartmouth-area dining scene isn’t exactly new. The team behind Phnom Penh has wowed on the farmers market scene since 2015, and the restaurant space they debuted in November is poised to be just as hot. Try their beloved banh mi and pho, or branch out with other goodies, such as the lemongrass beef appetizer or the Khmer crispy coconut cookies for dessert. 1 High St., Lebanon (603) 678-8179; phnompenhsandwiches.com

Base Camp Café

A few blocks from the center of campus, this restaurant serves up perennially crowd-pleasing Nepali fare. Plenty of Himalayan classics appear on the menu (mix-and-match momo plates run as little as $8), but we’d recommend going vegan for the night. Large swaths of the

menu here are meat-product-free, so chow down on some jackfruit tarkari and gundruk soup for a glimpse at how the vegan half lives.

3 Lebanon St., Hanover (603) 643-2007; basecampcafenh.com

Yama

Word on the street counts this eatery as a favorite among Dartmouth’s Asian international students, so you know they’re doing something right. Yama boasts an impressive menu of both Korean and Japanese fare (including a lengthy sushi list), and, at lunchtime, it’s an absolute steal. Stop by for a midday combo including miso soup, salad, rice and an entrée like bulgogi or shrimp teriyaki for under $10. 96 Main St., West Lebanon (603) 298-5477 Also try …

Candela Tapas Lounge: Small plates faithful to the Spanish tradition plus varied Caribbean and European extras, with an impressive Iberia-heavy wine list. candelatapas.com Jewel of India: North Indian restaurant serving the Upper Valley since 1992 (and they deliver!). jewelofindiahanover.com Tuk Tuk Thai Cuisine: Family-run Thai joint whose extensive menu comes with a one- to three-pepper guide to how spicy dishes are. tuktukthaicuisine.com

Sushi Ya: Page after page of Japanese and Korean specialties, including impressive selections of nigiri and makimono sushi. hanoversushiya.com Boloco: Boston-area chain featuring Chipotle-style burritos inspired by global cuisines. Try the tikka masala or Bangkok Thai. boloco.com CONCORD

Katmandu Bazaar

From the outside, this spot — if you notice it at all — looks like a standard international grocery. But behind the shelves of Asian and African pantry goods, there’s a teensy restaurant space churning out hyper-authentic Nepali food. Grab one of the dozen or so seats to eat in among one of the state’s most diverse restaurant clienteles, or order a to-go sack. In either case, don’t miss appetizers like spicy aloo dum and steamed tingmo buns at almost criminally low prices. 133 Loudon Rd. #1, Concord, (603) 856-7006; katmandubazaar.net

Wow Fried Chicken Another treasure in disguise, this newly opened spot hides Middle Eastern halal delicacies behind the façade of a fried chicken restaurant. Word to the wise: The less Colonel Sanders-y section of the menu — i.e., the dishes made from that mouthwatering doner kebab spit in the kitchen — is labeled “Wow Specialties.” If the kids aren’t adventurous enough for stuffed cabbage leaves, no worries: Iraqi chef-owner Maher Abbas makes some darn good fried chicken too. 7 Depot St., Concord, (603) 856-8036; Facebook

Go Food Basket Part Korean restaurant and part convenience store, this spot offers bibimbap, bulgogi and a Korean sushi known as gimbap alongside American lunch favorites and grocery items including house-made kimchi. Pick a sunny day and take your bibimbaps, Philly cheesesteaks and Korean sodas down the street for a multicultural picnic in White Park. 72 Washington St., Concord, (603) 225-2242; gofoodbasket.com Also try …

Angelina’s Ristorante Italiano: Homey basement spot that may just be the best Italian restaurant in the state. angelinasrestaurant.com Cataleya’s Caribbean Grill

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Gyro House: Popular its for authentic gyros and other Greek treats. Facebook

Cáceres Argentinian Grill, offering South American specialties, is a new addition to the dining scene.

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With the number of international cuisines that have made their way to America’s menus in the past few years, it can be a little daunting to choose which fare to taste-test next. You know your basics, but where do you begin when confronted with the global foods beyond tacos and farfalle? With baby steps. Find your favorite cuisine below, and we’ll provide you with suggestions of what to try next.

If you like Italian, try …

Bavaria German Restaurant

The pastas and antipasto platters of Italian cooking are comfort-food bread and butter.

Expand your horizons for feel-good eats with the satisfying wares of a colder part of Europe. This Hooksett spot serves up authentic Bavarian food, and their menu — with sausages, pretzels, and yes, even schnitzel with noodles — is hearty and delicious enough to weather any winter storm or food snob’s critique. Forget spaghetti; the noodle you need is spätzle. 1461 Hooksett Rd., Hooksett (603) 836-5280; bavaria-nh.com

If you like Mexican, try …

Rincon Colombiano

Graduate from burritos to more exotic Latin American fare with this Nashua eatery. The teensy spot churns out superauthentic Colombian cuisine with a meat-and-potatoes-style formula of marinated meats paired with such sides as fried plantains or rice and beans.

White-tablecloth dining this is not, but the comically low prices — not to mention the mind-blowingly good empanadas — make this place a can’t-miss. 34 ½ Canal St., Nashua (603) 595-1670

If you like Greek, try …

Matbah Mediterranean Cuisine

Cáceres' ravioles de calabaza y salmon are fresh pumpkin and salmon ravioli in a lemon cream sauce.

Venture farther across the Mediterranean Sea with this Turkish and Middle Eastern Queen City eatery. Owner Omar Yasin arrived in the US just 10 months ago, and his menu focuses on the Ottoman-Turkish cooking traditions of his homeland. Come at lunch for belly-warming soups and snacks like falafel and zucchini fritters, or sample from the long list of kebabs, adana wraps and small plates for a full-on Mediterranean feast. 866 Elm St., Manchester matbahcuisine.com; (603) 232-4066

Choripan, an Argentinian sausage on ciabatta from Cรกceres Argentinian Grill

The Great Global Bake-Off New Hampshire’s international food makers didn’t just bring their cooking skills to the Granite State — they brought their best bakes too.

From the savory to the sweet, check out these six baking-centered businesses for breads, pastries, chocolates and desserts from all corners of the globe.

El Camino Foods

Derry-based El Camino pays the bills with its prepackaged Puerto Rican meal kits, but it’s most beloved for its empanadas. The savory stuffed pastry is popular throughout the Spanish-speaking world, and El Camino brings it to New England at a rotating selection of local farmers markets. Check their schedule online to see where you can find their beef, chicken or veggie varietals this weekend. (855) 479-5804; elcaminofoods.com

Aissa Sweets

After four years of wholesaling and working the farmers market circuit, Syrian bakery Aissa Sweets opened a café in Concord last fall. Stop in (or check the pastry section in your local specialty grocery) for such treats as chocolate walnut baklava, date-filled maamoul cookies,

courtesy photos

Chocolate walnut baklava from Aissa Sweets

and za’atar bread rolls. Pick up lunch too while you’re at it: their eight varieties of filo wraps — we like their chicken shawarma — are delicious.

128 Hall St., Unit H, Concord, (603) 856-8735; aissasweets.com

Lala’s Hungarian Pastry

This downtown Manchester eatery will celebrate its 20th anniversary this fall, and there’s a reason it’s such a mainstay: The food is unbelievable. Their reverie-inducing pastry cabinet includes familiar classics like apple turnovers and raspberry squares (heavenly), but try the Eastern European specialties for a taste of the owners’ home region: beigli poppy rolls and dobos torte from Hungary and, from Romania, the indulgent chocolate amandine. 836 Elm St., Manchester, (603) 647-7100; lalasnh.com

Vicuña Chocolate Factory

The bars and baked goods at this Peterborough chocolatier may look the same as our American sweets, but the origins of this cocoa are as global as it gets. The chocolates here are made from ethically sourced heirloom cocoa beans grown in Ecuador, Bolivia, the Dominican Republic and Belize. Visit their café for pastries,

drinking chocolate, and bars in such exotic flavor combinations as dark chocolate blueberry and ginger honey. 15 Main St., Peterborough (603) 924-2040; vicunachocolate.com

La Maison Navarre

We’ll admit: Compared to exotic newcomers like North African shakshuka and Nepalese aloo dum, the humble French pastry and its long history in mainstream American culture may not seem too exciting. But the Paris- and Lyon-born bakers at this Portsmouth sweet shop give a thrilling spin to the classic. Macarons (in such flavors as blackberry, rose and Earl Grey) are the main event here, but don’t miss the fresh baguettes and dreamy religieuses. 121 Congress St., Portsmouth, (603) 373-8401; mnpastry.com

Nomad Bakery

Whoever said man cannot live on bread alone has clearly never tried Nomad. Cheryl Holbert draws on her own varied heritage to create the breads of the world in her Derry home bakery, from Iranian barbari to Jewish challah and Russian babka. Find Nomad’s loaves at Benedikt Dairy in Goffstown, A Market in Manchester and the Concord Food Co-op in Concord, or make an appointment to pick some up straight from the baker’s home. Derry, nomadbakery.com

Maamoul, a Middle Eastern date-filled cookie, from Aissa Sweets

603 Living

A vintage opaline lamp with a bright coral shade is a unique statement piece. The Ballard Designs bench is upholstered in custom fabric.

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photo by amy mitchell

“The ornaments of your home are the people who smile upon entering time and time again.” – Maralee McKee, etiquette expert

Health 82 Seniority 84 Local Dish 86 Events Listing 88 Dining Guide 92 Last Laugh 96

HOME

Come on in!

A fresh foyer welcomes spring (and your guests)

BY AMY MITCHELL

photo by karraline streifel

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foyer can be a tricky space to design. In former days, it set the tone and aesthetic of the entire home, but, sadly, homeowners rarely welcome guests at the front door anymore. Now, the mudroom — the servants’ door in previous generations — has been elevated to the status of a grand entrance (never mind that we’re always apologizing for the state of the mudroom, with the kids’ gear, the shopping bags, etc.), and the foyer has become an overlooked and neglected place between the living spaces below and the bedrooms above. Do we no longer care about first impressions?

I wanted to change that trend in my own 1790 home. I wanted to welcome my friends and guests through the front door into a space that felt lovely and fresh but also historically inspired — a little twist on tradition.

This space had to transition our downstairs library and dining room to the upstairs bedrooms with a feeling of continuity. And of course, being an entry, the space would require a place to sit, a place to hang your coat and a place to toss your keys. A mirror would also be nice.

My inspirational starting point was a painting I’d picked up at auction of a turbuThe vintage French coat rack was an eBay find. nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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Above: This painting of a Florida beach at sunset was the inspiration for the foyer’s décor.

Opposite page: A look at the foyer before the redesign

PPORTSMOUTH ATH OMPANY ORTSMOUTH B B ATH C C OMPANY S A L E S S H O W R O O M S

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lent Florida beach sunset following a storm.

Its turquoises, reds and corals played a variation on a theme I’d been developing with the deep blues and berry reds in my library and the coral accents in my dining room.

I picked Benjamin Moore’s Pirates Cove Beach for the backdrop, a color from the company’s off-white collection. It glows without being saccharine and picks up on some of the more subtle colors in the painting. A vintage blue opaline lamp from eBay, together with a deep coral silk shade, makes for a unique statement piece. I created a place to sit down and take off your shoes with a Ballard Designs bench upholstered in a custom fabric. The console table, holding a vintage enamel bowl for keys, was a Craigslist find for $75. Without much wall space to hang a mirror, I laid it against the stairs for a more casual feel.

I balanced the brighter colors with neutrals in the foyer rug, Roman shade at the window, and a heavy dose of ivory going up the stairs. I didn’t want just any boring old runner, so the wool coral and ivory carpet in a mini-diamond pattern that I found was perfect. Nothing is better than wool for durability, and since we don’t wear shoes in our house, I knew that getting it dirty wouldn’t

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N I N A’ S T I P S F O R REMODELING YOUR KITCHEN

be too much of a problem. The oversized silhouettes of my boys are, again, a fresh spin to a century-and-a-half-old tradition.

With any room, there should be multiple layers of light, which should all “speak” to each other through shape and/or finish for a fluid space. Many of the historical accents in my home — like the newel post at the bottom of the stairs — actually date more to the turn of the last century than to 1790.

Inspired by that period and shape, I chose brass semi-flush mounts lights that were an updated take on Edwardian fixtures. That shape is also picked up by the opaline lamp, which I love to turn on in the evening to create a warm glow, and the vintage French coat rack, another eBay score. A huge bronze orb lantern fills the former void overhead up the staircase, and slim bronze sconces light the top of the stairs.

In “Pride & Prejudice,” Elizabeth Bennet says, “I always believe in first impressions, and [a] good opinion, once lost, is lost forever.” Well, as it happens, we welcomed new friends through the front door of our house just yesterday. They immediately took off their shoes, hung up their coats on the rack and dropped their wallets and keys on the table. Then they commented on what a beautiful home we had. I felt so happy that our friends saw our house as I wanted them to see it — lovely, charming, welcoming.

Hopefully, that first impression lasted when I next brought them into the disaster that is my kitchen for a cup of coffee … because even though we still have a servants’ entrance, the servants themselves are lacking. NH Decorator and color consultant Amy Mitchell is the owner of Home Glow Design. Each week, she writes for Home Glow’s “Saturday Blog” (homeglowdesign. com/blog), focusing on fresh twists on classic style, American craftsmanship and value and quality for dollars spent. The blog also features more photos from this story. She lives in Hopkinton with her husband and two boys.

Tip 1 Maximizing your storage is essential to having a great kitchen. I have seen many kitchens that have no place to put the frying pans, no real pantry and no counter space on either side of the cook top. These are not functioning kitchens. I maintain that all cabinets less than 12 inches wide are useless. What can you store in them? Not much. If you are going to spend the money to remodel your kitchen, let a designer help you maximize the storage space so you really can use it. No more trips to the basement to get that pan or roll of paper towels. At Dream Kitchens, I guarantee we will give you at least 30 percent more storage.

Tip 2 Life has changed. The kitchen is the center of our lives. We cook, our children study, and we entertain in the kitchen. This makes the layout essential.

How many times have you asked your child to “stop standing there so I can get to the fridge?” We should be able to easily chat with guests, put chips and dip out on a buffet, and watch TV. We want guests welcome in the kitchen, but on the fringes where they add to the fun but don’t get in the way.

Tip 3 Get rid of the clutter. Most countertops are packed with the coffee maker, toaster, food processor, blender, knives, spices and pantry items. This makes it almost impossible to prepare food and makes the kitchen look messy. Have a place to store everything so you can see and use those beautiful countertops. At Dream Kitchens we will store everything away so you are ready for company at any time of day!

Nina Hackel, President | Dream Kitchens | 139 Daniel Webster Highway Nashua NH | www.adreamkitchen.com | 603-891-2916 nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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HEALTH

“If there’s one single thing a person can do to make their diet better, it would be to eat more fruits and vegetables.”

Not Too Sweet

Do you know how much sugar you are eating?

BY KAREN A. JAMROG

L

ike hemlines and tie widths, nutrition trends can be tough to keep up with. Not too long ago, the anti-fat movement was all the rage. Soon after, carbs became the enemy. Through it all, sugar remained ubiquitous, lurking in even seemingly good-for-you food and salty products such as pretzels.

And America’s girth grew. Today, more than a third of US adults and 17 percent of children and adolescents are obese, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Our love affair with processed foods — and the sugar in those products — is not helping matters.

Naturally occurring sugar in foods such as fruit, vegetables and milk comes bundled with benefits that can include vitamins, minerals, protein, antioxidants and fiber.

Added sugar, however, which is sugar that manufacturers or home cooks add during food and beverage preparation, provides

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lots of calories and no nutritional benefits.

The excess calories we get from added sugar and the way our body reacts to excessive amounts of sugar contribute to weight gain and lead us down a path to obesity, which in turn raises our risk of a number of ailments and serious health consequences that include diabetes, heart disease and cancer.

From colas and sports drinks to candy, ice cream and snack foods, many products that contain added sugars are abundantly available, convenient and offered in bigger portion sizes than in the past. Because of this, “it’s quite easy to consume much more sugar than we realize,” says Tara I. Efstathiou, MS, RD, LD, clinical dietitian at the Weight and Wellness Center at Dartmouth-Hitchcock. Plus, she notes, sugars are “hidden” even in products we think are good for us, such as high-fiber bread, flavored yogurt and breakfast bars.

Though some health experts say the evidence against the extended effects of sugar is

not entirely clear, others go so far as to call sugar “toxic,” on par with tobacco. For sure, overconsumption of it harms our health, and most of us need to be more aware of our sugar intake and take steps to reduce it.

How much is too much? Recent US Dietary Guidelines recommend that added sugars account for no more than 10 percent of our calories. For the average adult, depending on gender and other factors, this means about 200 to 250 calories can come from added sugar. The American Heart Association (AHA) is even more strict, advising that the average man consume no more than roughly 150 calories, or 9 teaspoons, of added sugar per day, and that women should typically limit added sugars to about 100 calories, or 6 teaspoons, per day.

Most American adults are way off from these goals, consuming about 22 teaspoons of added sugar per day, according to the AHA. It’s easy to do. A woman’s morning bowl of whole-grain granola, for example, could easily contain 12 grams — that’s 3 teaspoons — of added sugar, which means, if she follows the AHA’s guidelines, that she will already be halfway toward her daily added-sugar quota by the time she has finished breakfast.

Besides contributing to weight gain and increasing the risk of other harmful health consequences, the added sugar that we consume can displace the needed nutrients — fiber,

illustration by gloria diianni

— Patricia Hunter, MA, RD, CDE

603 LIVING

HEALTH

protein, vitamins, and minerals — that come through eating whole foods, says Efstathiou.

When we eat sugar in abundance, she says, “we tend to crowd out good nutrition.”

Compared with low-calorie but sugar-laden artificially sweetened products, whole foods such as fruits and vegetables provide nutritional payback — more bang for your caloric buck — because, in addition to offering many benefits without a lot of calories, their fiber helps us feel full, says Patricia Hunter, MA, RD, CDE, a registered dietitian at St. Joseph Hospital Adult Medicine. In contrast, products with added sugars tend to leave us hungry and looking for more. “I very rarely see people who overeat on fruit,” Hunter says. “It’s much easier to overeat on candy bars and pastries and things like that, and when you look at all those things, they’re all refined — there is no fiber. And people will often say the more sugary foods they have, the more they want.”

“If there’s one single thing a person can do to make their diet better,” Hunter says, “it would be to eat more fruits and vegetables.”

Most people who do that, she says, feel fuller, and “crave the refined sugars less.” NH

Help is on the way When we sink our teeth into a jelly doughnut, we know we’re not doing our body any favors.

The nutritional value of some other products, though, is not always so obvious to the average consumer. Particularly when we get distracted by labels that shout “whole grain” or “low fat,” we can fail to notice the amount of added sugar in our food, says Patricia Hunter, MA, RD, CDE, a registered dietitian at St. Joseph Hospital Adult Medicine.

Fortunately, knowing exactly what is in packaged food is about to get easier, thanks to a new label law. Beginning in 2018, food labels will be required to list the amount of

added sugars, as well as total sugars, in a product. Added sugars are key contributors to obesity and should be kept to a minimum.

Don’t bother worrying about whether the added sugar in your food comes from honey, cane sugar, high-fructose corn syrup or some other source, because to a large extent “our body does not actually know the difference,” Hunter says. Instead, pay attention to the quantity of added sugar that you take in. “The important thing for all of us to remember is we really don’t want to be having a lot of added sugars in our foods,” Hunter says.

For more information, see choosemyplate.gov.

Experience our Marketplace 11 Unique Shops and Five Distinctive Restaurants

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SENIORITY

Family Tree Divided Grandkids and in-laws after divorce

BY LYNNE SNIERSON

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our son’s heart is shattered over the break-up of his marriage, and you’re convinced that his lousy, lying, cheating, no-good ex-wife is even worse than the Wicked Witch of the West.

But don’t bubble up the brew by trying to poison your grandchildren’s minds about your ex-daughter-in-law and turn them against her.

Divorce is always difficult, and the ensuing hurts, recriminations, anger, bitterness, sadness and other raw emotions can disrupt, or possibly destroy, even the most solid family.

First and foremost, say experts, never speak ill or disparagingly of your child’s former spouse or partner in the presence of your grandchild. Got that? Never.

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Your ex-in-law may now be the outlaw, but he or she is still and will forever be one of your grandchild’s parents. Any negativity in your words and actions will be perceived by the child as horribly hurtful, which can harm your grandchild in the long term.

“Everybody needs to realize that the children are the most important part of this family dynamic. The grandparents’ main priority should be to keep the focus on successful, positive interactions with the other family members,” says Kortney Yasenka, a licensed clinical mental health counselor who practices in Hampstead and Salem and specializes in children, adolescent and family issues.

Experts advise you to forgive if you can’t forget, or forget if you can’t forgive. Then

put your personal feelings aside and put on your happy face.

But that’s much easier said than done, especially when you despise your child’s ex, and by extension, perhaps more of the relatives on that side of the family.

“It’s not the child, or sometimes even other family members, who have chosen the divorce. Other people have to always keep that in mind, even when their emotions are running high and they may hate another person,” says Yasenka. “You must realize that the child will always be connected to this person, and even if he was a horrible husband, I’m sure he has some positive attributes.”

“It is common for the children take it personally,” adds Yasenka. “If someone in their family is talking badly about their father or their mother, they will feel like they have to defend that parent. That puts a child in an awkward position of thinking they must choose sides, and it makes them have non-age-appropriate conversations with other family members. That is not fair to them.”

Sometimes the scenario with your ex-inlaws is the complete opposite.

You may have adored the woman who was married to your son, and your former son-inlaw might have always been more like a son to you and your spouse. Perhaps you were very friendly with the other set of grandparents and socialized with them frequently, even going out to dinner, playing golf, or vacationing together.

When that family dynamic changes, there is an added level of the personal sense of loss and sadness over the marriage breakup. But, most often, blood is thicker than water — and if you make the choice that your loyalties must lie with your child, you will likely pine for the closeness and camaraderie you cherished with the ex-in-laws once they are cut out of the picture “In some families, the parents and grandparents can be great about it. They are able to still stay friendly and can do fun things together. Unfortunately, that’s not usually the case. A lot of times, some other family members will ask, ‘How can you want to have anything to do with that person? Why would you want to involve them anymore in what we do, because they are such a horrible person?’

They have to then remember that maybe the other person did a horrible thing, but, even so, they are connected to the grandchild for the rest of everyone’s lives,” says Yasenka.

When your child moves on and forges a new romantic relationship, it puts even

illustration by emma moreman

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more stress on your grandchildren and your family. The stakes, not to mention a gamut of emotions, are raised significantly higher when your adult child moves in with or marries a new partner, especially if the new member of the family has children from a previous relationship.

When the stork delivers a basket to the blended family, it isn’t always a fairytale ending.

“Often, when families get blended and there is a new mom or dad, new siblings, and even a new baby, the child will feel, ‘My parent has this new family, and now even has a new baby, and where do I fit in?’ That’s when the grandparents can play a vitally important role by letting them know that even though their mom and dad might not be together, we’re still here, we’re still family, and we always will be,” says Yasenka.

This presents the perfect opportunity for you as a grandparent to be an emotional rock. Provide the steadfast and unconditional love and support that show the children you will always be a constant in their lives, their safe harbor and their sounding board.

Unless there is a situation where the grandparents are unstable, unfit or would pose a danger to the children, they have a right to see them. A vindictive ex-in-law can’t intervene.

“That wouldn’t be a problem because the grandparents can see the grandkids when their child has the kids, so they don’t need to depend on the ex-in-law. They can’t prevent that. There shouldn’t be a problem as long as the grandparents have a good relationship with their own child,” says attorney Ronna Wise, the co-chair of the domestic practice group at Sulloway and Hollis in Concord and the former vice-president of Child and Family Services of New Hampshire. “The best advice I could give is for the grandparents to maintain a good relationship with their children.”

The golden rule is still the best rule.

“The most important thing to remember is that children of divorce whose parents treat each other with kindness and respect are the kids who do the best long term, and the same thing applies for grandparents,” says Wise, who has been in practice for 35 years. “They should always treat both their children and their former daughter-in-law or son-in-law with stability, kindness and respect.” NH

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LOCAL DISH

A Taste of Mexico

Bloody Maria Makes two drinks From Vida Cantina

Garnish: Lime wedges, green olives 8 ounces Sacramento tomato juice

4 ounces tequila (Herradura Double Reposado #1224 or el Jimador) 2 ounces freshly squeezed lime juice 2 ounces freshly squeezed lemon juice 1 teaspoon prepared horseradish 1 teaspoon Worcestershire sauce 1/4 teaspoon Tabasco or other hot sauce to taste (Vida Cantina bartenders use the house hot sauce made with ghost chili.)

Rub a lemon wedge around the rim and then dip the rim of the glass in a mix of salt and pepper.

Shake lightly to mix the ingredients without melting too much of the ice and pour (unstrained) into the prepared glass.

Garnish with a skewer of green olives, lemon wedge and bacon or pork belly if desired.

photo by susan laughlin

Add ingredients to a shaker and fill with ice.

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.

Open for dinner nightly, lunch and dinner on Friday and Saturday, brunch and dinner on Sunday.

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courtesy photo

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

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LOCAL DISH

Vida Cantina

BY SUSAN LAUGHLIN Chef David Vargas is the real deal. A son of Mexican immigrants, he is creating a modern version of authentic dishes packed with flavor and presented with a flair and local sourcing. It’s all here. Tacos come on house-made tortillas, including the local fish marinated in mezcal and tempura fried for a Baja taco. Try the marinated carne asada with two eggs, kale salad and potato cake for a Mexican version of steak and eggs for brunch. Find enchiladas with black mole or local braised beef on the dinner menu, as well as a 30-hour sous vide carne al pastor. Even the sides on the menu are interesting — blue corn bread, jicama slaw, sweet potato fries soaked in buttermilk, pork refried black beans with pork fat and cotija cheese and sautéed greens with garlic and white wine. Chef Vargas’ favorite drink is mezcal, which is a smoky tequila.

It’s used in a number of cocktails on the menu, including their version of an Old Fashioned.

Chef David Vargas and a skillet dish available for brunch at Vida Cantina.

photos by susan laughlin

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3/16/16 PM 87 nhmagazine.com | May5:21 2017

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EVENTS

Calendar Ch oi ce

OUR FAVORITE EVENTS FOR MAY 2017

5/27-28

Dixville Notch Music, Arts & Crafts Festival Kick off the summer with the best arts and music the North Country has to offer. This new festival is jam-packed with workshops, demonstrations, art shows and live music by such artists as Gaelic Americana songstress Kyle Carey. Don’t miss the vendor fair for local goods of all stripes and live log-carving all weekend long from Warren’s Baker River Chainsaw Sculpture. Free. 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, Mohawk Falls, 1478 NH-26, Colebrook.

(603) 237-1898; mohawkfalls.com

Ed ito r’ s

SPORTS & RECREATION Cycle the Seacoast Get in your exercise, your sightseeing and your charity for the month at this fundraiser event for the American Lung Association. The annual cycling challenge features 25-, 50- and 100-mile routes, all starting and ending at craft beer mecca Redhook Brewery and snaking along some of the most stunning oceanside viewpoints on the Seacoast. Not a bad way to spend a Sunday. $35-$45. 7 a.m., Redhook Brewery, 1 Redhook Way, Portsmouth. action.lung.org

5/7

NH Sheep & Wool Festival All things ovine can be found at this Sheep & Wool Growers Association mainstay. Currently in its 41st year, the festival features programming both for producers of sheep and wool and for those of us who are just fans. Don’t miss the long list of workshops and demos on woolen clothes-making or, for a good laugh, the human-and-sheep partnered costume contest. Sat 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., Deerfield Fairgrounds, 32 Stage Rd., Deerfield. nhswga.com

5/13-21

New Hampshire Renaissance Faire Noble knights and fair maidens alike will find something to enjoy in this longstanding Granite State fête. Spread across two weekends and a massive fairground venue, the Faire includes everything from an archery range and knight, pirate and gypsy encampments to a zoo animal area said to contain real dragons. $10-$15. Sat-Sun 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., 9 Thorne Rd., Kingston. nhrenfaire.com

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oi Ch

5/18-22

MISTI-Con 2017 "I solemnly swear that I am up to no good." Harry Potter fans from around the country will descend on the Lakes Region for this multi-day convention, and you can be among them. During the weekend, con-goers can take advantage of Yule Ball dances, Potter-themed craft fairs, live music and four days of panels examining the finer points of the franchise 20 years after the inaugural book first hit shelves. $75-$160. The Margate Resort, 76 Lake St., Laconia. misti-con.org

5/20

Exeter Arts & Music Festival There’s no shortage of Seacoast-area festivals on the calendar this summer, but you can get a head start on the season with this brand-new fest from Town.

Exeter.Arts.Music. There’s plenty of family programming, but this party is especially impressive for its yuppie appeal. A rock climbing wall, an Eco-Village and sets from painfully hip local musicians Gretchen & The Pickpockets and Qwill supplement the standard arts festival fare. $10.

11 a.m. to 6 p.m., Swasey Parkway, Exeter. (603) 512-8396; teamexeter.com

5/6 AerospaceFest New Hampshire has produced an impressive number of space explorers over the years, and your little one could be the next, thanks to this family-friendly festival.

The full day of science and aerospace programming includes four planetarium shows, telescope demos from the NH Astronomical Society, and a keynote speech from astronaut and Portsmouth native Rick Searfoss. Talk about “to infinity and beyond.” $10-$15. 10:30 a.m. to 4 p.m., McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, 2 Institute Dr., Concord. (603) 271-7827; starhop.com

courtesy of the lrso photo archives

5/13-14

Ed ito r’ s

There’s no better way to welcome summer than with a day of kite-flying on the beach — and when that kite-flying comes with a charitable component, the feel-good energy is even better. This Exeter Hospital event, now in its ninth year, encourages attendees to personalize their kites (or purchase specially made ones) in honor of loved ones who’ve been affected by cancer. Enjoy a day full of festival fun, get those kites flying, and help your community take a colorful stand against cancer. 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., Hampton Beach. unitedinwellness.org

ce

My School Color Run Boring black running gear is so passé. Add a little color to your running — and your clothes, skin and hair — with this 5K fun run punctuated with splash zones where participants are doused with rainbow-hued powders. This color run is a fundraiser for the Lin-Wood class of 2019, while an identical race in Concord’s Rollins Park on the same day raises funds for the Concord School District. $30. 8:45 to 10:30 a.m., Lin-Wood Public School, 72 LinWood Dr., Lincoln. linwood2019.eventbrite.com

5/21 Kites Against Cancer

FAIRS & FESTIVALS

courtesy photo

5/7

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EVENTS

5/20

4th Annual Thunder Run Tough Mudders are cool and all, but civically minded athletes opt for homegrown obstacle races. This one, sponsored by the Raymond Area Rotary, boasts all the excitement of the big-name races, with obstacles of mud, water, fire, wall-climbing, woods and more. $75-$100. 8:30 a.m. to 2 p.m., New England Dragway, 280 Exeter Rd., Epping. thunderrunnh.com

5/5-28 Allison May Kiphuth: Bioconstellation Nature lovers and art lovers alike will find something to commune with in this ecosystem of a show. Seacoast-based artist Allison May Kiphuth has created scads of flora and fauna for this exhibition, each painted in watercolor and cut out in true-to-life size. Displayed together, the pieces create “Bioconstellation,” a massive installation devoted to the beauty of the natural world. Free. Mon-Sat 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., Sun 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Nahcotta, 110 Congress St., Portsmouth. (603) 433-1705; nahcotta.com Ch oi ce

Run the Tri and Bike the Tri Planning to try a triathlon this summer? Hone your craft with this practice run from the Greater Nashua Sprint Triathlon. Event organizers will lead participants through the cycling (for the first hour) or running (for the second hour) legs of the race route in four no-pressure prep sessions on selected weeknights leading up to the June 11 Tri. Free.

Times vary, Thorntons Ferry School, 134 Sargent Rd., Merrimack. nashuatri.com

Ed ito r’ s

5/18-6/5

BENEFITS courtesy of mcgowan fine art

5/3

Stay Work Play Give If you’re a New Hampshire Magazine reader, then you probably already know where to stay, work and play in the Granite State. But how much do you know about where to give back? This blitz of nonprofit fairs across the state will help you find out. Find an event near you — the young professionals networks of Manchester, Nashua, Concord, Keene, Sullivan County and the Upper Valley are all hosting fairs — and come out to network with your local charities and find volunteer or board membership roles to add a little giving to your busy schedule.

Free. Times and locations vary. (603) 860-2245; stayworkplay.org/stayworkplaygive

5/13

2017 Komen New Hampshire Race for the Cure One of the best-known names in the fight against breast cancer comes to the Granite State in this 5K race. There’s no fundraising minimum for participation, but enthusiastic giving is encouraged — 75 percent of proceeds stay right here in our community. Start lacing up those pink sneakers. $20-$35. 7 a.m., Strawbery Banke Museum, 14 Hancock St., Portsmouth.

(508) 366-1945; komennewengland.org

5/27

We Care: Rod Stewart and Barry Manilow Tribute Performance Celebrate a belated Mother's Day with this concert dedicated to two of the most popular musicians among moms everywhere. One gifted musician dresses up and performs as both the stars in this concert, which benefits Gilford's Camp Resilience for struggling veterans. $27.50. 7 p.m., Inter-Lakes Community Auditorium, 1 Laker Ln., Meredith. (603) 5247044; tbinh.org

MISCELLANEOUS 5/7

Grand Auto Show Give your car a North Country driving workout, then give it a rest while you check out some of the finest two- and fourwheeled vehicles north of the notches. The free show includes cars, motorcycles and even tractors on display, as well as raffles, live entertainment, and even lunch available for purchase from the culinary arts students of the event’s host and beneficiary, White Mountains Community College. Free. 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., White

Mountains Community College, 2020 Riverside Dr., Berlin. (603) 342-3062; wmcc.edu

5/12

Dartmouth Entrepreneurs Forum Cutting-edge tech events may seem more Silicon Valley than Upper Valley, but this daylong fest is both. The forum (held each spring at Dartmouth and each fall in San Francisco) features well-known keynote speakers from the startup world, an entrepreneurial competition and a number of panels on business, including one tailor-made for the Granite State: the secrets to building a successful startup outside of the big cities. $100.

8 a.m. to 6 p.m., Raether Building at the Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth College, Hanover.

(603) 646-8888; den.dartmouth.edu

5/12-14

National Public Gardens Day A day devoted to gardens with no pruning or weeding required?

Count us in. The Fells Historic Estate and Gardens celebrates this national holiday with free admission all weekend long. Check out the estate’s extensive gardens and get a preview of their 2017 programming, including the Art in Nature outdoor sculpture exhibit. This conveniently Mother’s Day-adjacent event is also BYOP, so bring your picnic basket and enjoy some al fresco dining while you peruse the grounds. Free.

10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, The Fells Historic Estate and Gardens, 465 Route 103A, Newbury. (603) 763-4789; thefells.org

5/13

26th Annual Kitchen Tour: 2017 Feed your aspirational side with this beloved Seacoast tradition. Homes throughout Portsmouth’s Little

Harbor neighborhood open their doors for the tour, allowing eager visitors a glimpse at some of the best kitchen designs (in all shapes and sizes) the Seacoast has to offer. Take advantage of the tour’s enviable location and convenient timing by bringing Mom and making a day of it — there’s plenty of space for a sophisticated downtown lunch in your self-guided tour schedule. $25-$30. 10 a.m., Little Harbor, Portsmouth.

(603) 433-3100; themusichall.org

5/20

Plant Sale If your yard’s not quite summer-ready yet, try this sale to green your thumb. The locally grown plants in this bunch include annuals, perennials, hanging baskets and even herbs (in case it’s your kitchen that needs the help). Best of all, it’s for a good cause — proceeds benefit the Auburn Historical Society and the Griffin Free Public Library. Free. 9 a.m. to 2 p.m., 102 Hooksett Rd., Auburn. auburnhistorical.org

PERFORMING ARTS 5/11-14

A Funny Thing Happened On the Way to the Forum Is it just us, or is this one of those shows that everyone’s heard of but no one’s seen?

Come actually watch Sondheim’s ubiquitous 1962 musical in this Winni Players Community Theatre production. Will Pseudolus pair up his master with the girl next door and win his freedom? Find out in this “Comedy Tonight.” $14-$23. Thu-Sat 7:30 p.m., Sun 2 p.m., Winnipesaukee Playhouse, 50 Reservoir Rd., Meredith.

(603) 279-0333; winnipesaukeeplayhouse.org nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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EVENTS

5/20

The Oak Ridge Boys Celebration Tour May is a good month for New Hampshire’s country music lovers. The current lineup of this legendary group — Duane Allen, Joe Bonsall, William Lee Golden and Richard Sterban — is the same quartet that produced the Boys’ biggest hits, including “Elvira” and “Bobbie Sue.” Grab your cowboy boots and head to Londonderry for this unforgettable night of classic Southern country. $55-$65. 8 p.m., Tupelo Music Hall, 2 Young Rd., Londonderry. (603) 437-5100; tupelohall.com

5/24

The Dallas Children’s Theatre in "Mufaro’s Beautiful Daughters" Introduce your young ones to a new take on Cinderella with this unique performance. Based on the Caldecott-winning book by John Steptoe, this African story plays on the fairy tale with two sisters competing for the hand of a young royal. This production features exquisite costumes and a score that’s more African drum and song than Rodgers and Hammerstein. $8.75. 9:30 and 11:30 a.m., The Dana Center for the Humanities, Saint Anselm College, 100 Saint Anselm Dr., Manchester. (603) 641-7700; anselm.edu/dana

5/26-29

Zac Brown Band If the Tupelo Hall is the place to be this month for classic country fans, Meadowbrook is the spot for finding the genre’s modern-day stars. This mega-popular group is performing four back-to-back shows here in the Granite State, and one is already sold out. Snag whatever tickets remain for a perfect early-summer concert filled with such

hits as “Chicken Fried” and “Keep Me in Mind.”

Prices vary. 7 p.m. daily, Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion, 72 Meadowbrook Ln., Gilford.

(603) 293-4700; banknhpavilion.com

VISUAL ARTS & MUSEUMS 5/6-7

The Great New England Spring Craft Fair Celebrate the season by stocking up on crafts from more than 150 talented local artisans. This massive indoor fair features wares from jewelry and pottery to fudge and birdfeeders. Shop the booths, bring your little ones to the face-painting station, and speak up if you’re a mom: All mothers in attendance will be entered to win a free spa day. $5. Sat 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Sun 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., The Hampshire Dome, 34 Emerson Rd., Milford. (603) 673-7123; hampshiredome.com

grownups. Attendees will start at the Hopkins Center and embark on a sculpture tour of Dartmouth’s campus, admiring the works, contributing to a community sculpture project, and making sculptures of their own to take home.

Don’t forget to stop by Hood Downtown on your visit to see the last week of “World Processor”

by Ingo Günther. Free. 1 to 4 p.m., Dartmouth College, Hanover. (603) 646-2808; hoodmuseum.dartmouth.edu

5/25-10/15

Outdoor Sculpture Exhibit Nothing says summer like a display of great al fresco art. Take in some of the state’s best at this annual exhibition from the Mill Brook Gallery. Stroll the gallery’s grounds and enjoy sculptures from such regional names as Jeff and Lindley Briggs, Murray Dewart and John Weidman. Free. Thu-Sun 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Mill Brook Gallery & Sculpture Garden, 236 Hopkinton Rd., Concord. (603) 226-2046; themillbrookgallery.com

5/13-14

Dunbarton Arts on the Common Indulge in a Mother’s Day tradition with this long-running show. The fair includes more than 50 juried artists and artisans (as well as live entertainment and food) and goes toward a good cause: The day benefits ongoing efforts to restore Dunbarton’s historic town hall. Free. 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. daily, Dunbarton Town Common, 1004 School St., Dunbarton. dunbartonartsonthecommon.com

5/21

Family Day: Making Sculptures in Public Places With this Hood Museum program, there’s no need to segregate kids’ art from the art of the

Find additional events at nhmagazine.com/ calendar and even more fun things to do at nhmagazine.com. Submit events eight weeks in advance to Sarah Cahalan at scahalan@nhmagazine.com or enter your own at nhmagazine.com/calendar. Not all events are guaranteed to be published either online or in the print calendar.

Event submissions will be reviewed and, if deemed appropriate, approved by a New Hampshire Magazine editor.

Celebrating Our 65th Summer of Music, July 5–August 5, 2017

NEW HAMPSHIRE MUSIC FESTIVAL Orchestral Events in Plymouth and Wolfeboro*, New Hampshire

July 6 & 8*: Beethoven: Symphony No. 5

Yulia Milshtein, violin

July 13: Mozart: The Impresario

Mahler: Symphony No. 4 “This summer is going to be incredible!”

– Paul Polivnick, Music Director

New New Hampshire Hampshire Music Music Festival

Festival nhmf.org

July 20: Copland in Mexico A Multimedia Extravaganza July 27: Composer Portrait: Huang Ruo

Haydn: Lord Nelson Mass August 3 & 5*: Rachmaninov: Symphonic Dances

Tickets: nhmf.org No online purchasing fees!

Steven Lin, piano

NHMF Events: Weekly Chamber Concerts Classical Conversations FREE Family Concert - July 22 Make Music Plymouth - July 22 Music in the Mountains and Arts Walks

7 Main Street, Plymouth, NH 03264 • (603) 238-9007 • nhmf.org 90

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

Thursday

JUNE 15

6:30–9 p.m.

Come party with us at Northeast Delta Dental Stadium!

(AND ENJOY A FIREWORKS FINALE) Enjoy the BEST FOOD & from more than 50 winners Enter to win our GRAND

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SPONSORED BY

Pu rc h a s e tickets at m bestofnh.co TO BENEFIT

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Page 1

DINE OUT

Good Eats OUR GUIDE TO FINE DINING

Pasquale’s Ristorante pasqualeristorantenh.com Londonderry Lunch and dinner, Tuesday through Sunday 87 Nashua Rd. (Route 102) (603) 434-3093 Candia Tuesday through Thursday, dinner from 3 p.m., Friday through Sunday, lunch and dinner 143 Raymond Rd., Birchwood Plaza (603) 587-0028

Take Pride in N.H. Visit www.nhmade.com for a list of the state’s finest specialty foods

photo by susan laughlin

1 AM

A Taste of Naples

The centerpiece of each location of Pasquale’s Ristorante is the wood-fired brick oven imported from Italy. Authentic Neapolitan pizzas are in and out of the oven in a matter of a few minutes. A white version includes five cheeses with a garlic cream base, while red versions are based with crushed tomatoes.

Shown above is a red with Italian buffalo mozzarella, EVOO, Parmesan cheese and basil ($9.49, $15.99). Chef Pasquale Celone also creates other authentic Italian dishes and fan favorites including the meatball bruschetta,

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fried ravioli and jumbo chicken wings with hot sauce. Pasquale’s Black Forest and porcini mushroom soup is legendary. Salads vary from a Caesar with a homemade dressing to a caprese with fresh mozzarella and a crab cake salad. Traditional pasta dishes are the mainstay of the menu and include meatstuffed lasagna, gnocchi with a house-made bolognese and homemade fetuccine with a roasted garlic cream. Menus at both locations are the same. The original dining space in Candia is now a function room only. NH

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DINE OUT Our restaurant listings include Best of NH winners and advertisers along with others compiled by the New Hampshire Magazine editorial department. Listings are subject to change from month to month based on space availability. Expanded and highlighted listings denote advertisers. For additional and more detailed listings, visit nhmagazine.com.

Buckley’s Great Steaks

STEAKHOUSE 438 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack; (603) 424-0995; buckleysgreatsteaks.com; $–$$$$ D (

Canoe

Granite Restaurant

NEW AMERICAN 96 Pleasant St., Concord; (603) 227-9000; graniterestaurant.com; $$–$$$$ B L D b (

Grazing Room

AMERICAN 33 The Oaks St., Henniker; (603) 428-3281; colbyhillinn.com; $$–$$$$ D (

H Best of NH

AMERICAN 216 South River Rd., Bedford; (603) 935-8070; 232 Whittier Hwy., Center Harbor; (603) 2534762; magicfoodsrestaurantgroup. com — Great home-style cooking with an upscale flair from the same restaurant group as O Steaks & Seafood and Suna. $$–$$$ D (

H Best of NH

Cotton H

STEAKHOUSE 149 Hanover Street, Manchester; (603) 644-2467; hanoverstreetchophouse.com; $$$–$$$$ L D (

$ Entrées cost less than $12 B Breakfast L Lunch 2016 Reader’s Poll D Dinner $$$$ Entrées cost b Brunch more than $25 $$$ Entrées cost between ( Reservations recom2016 Editor’s Picks

$18 and $25

mended

$$ Entrées cost between

New – Open for one year or less

$12 and $18

MERRIMACK VALLEY Bar One

GASTROPUB 40 Nashua St., Milford; (603) 249-5327; Facebook; $–$$ L D

Barley House Restaurant and Tavern H

TAVERN/AMERICAN 132 North Main St., Concord; (603) 228-6363; 43 Lafayette Rd., N. Hampton; (603) 379-9161; thebarleyhouse.com; $–$$ L D New location in N. Hampton.

Bedford Village Inn H

AMERICAN 2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford; (603) 472-2001; bedfordvillageinn.com; $$–$$$$ B L D

The Birch on Elm

NEW AMERICAN/TAPAS 931 Elm St., Manchester; (603) 782-5365; Facebook; $–$$ L D

AMERICAN 75 Arms St., Manchester; (603) 622-5488; cottonfood.com; $$–$$$$ L D (

Cucina Toscana

ITALIAN 427 Amherst St., Nashua; (603) 821-7356; cucinatoscananashua.com; $ L D (

The Foundry H

AMERICAN/FARM-TO-TABLE 50 Commercial St., Manchester; (603) 836-1925; foundrynh.com; $$-$$$ D b

Gale Motor Co. Eatery

SMALL PLATES 36 Lowell St., Manchester; (603) 232-7059; galemotoreatery.com; $–$$$ D (

Giorgio’s Ristorante

MEDITERRANEAN 707 Milford Rd., Merrimack; (603) 883-7333; 524 Nashua St., Milford; (603) 673-3939; 270 Granite St., Manchester; (603) 232-3323; giorgios.com — Ignite your passion for food with sumptuous décor and expansive menus that feature Mediterranean food with an American sensibility. Merrimack’s martini bar and gourmet pizza and Milford’s Meze bar have a menu that offers something for everyone. $$–$$$ L D (

(603) 715-5723; revivalkitchennh. com; $$–$$$ D (

Stella Blu

TAPAS 70 East Pearl St., Nashua; (603) 578-5557; stellablu-nh.com; $$–$$$ D

Surf Restaurant H

AMERICAN 168 Elm St., Milford; (603) 213-6764; grill603.com; $–$$$ L D b

SEAFOOD 207 Main St., Nashua; (603) 595-9293; 99 Bow St., Portsmouth; (603) 334-9855; surfseafood. com; $$–$$$$ D b

Hanover St. Chophouse H

Taj India

Grill 603

MT’s Local Kitchen & Wine Bar

AMERICAN 212 Main St., Nashua; (603) 595-9334; mtslocal.com; $–$$$ L D

O Steaks & Seafood

STEAKHOUSE/SEAFOOD 11 South Main St., Concord; (603) 856-7925; 62 Doris Ray Court, Lakeport; (603) 524-9373; magicfoodsrestaurantgroup.com — Steak and fresh seafood are specialties, but other dishes are available such as the longtime favorite, lobster macaroni and cheese.

Excellent wine list. $$–$$$ L D

Pasquale’s Ristorante

ITALIAN 145 Raymond Rd., Candia; (603) 483-5005; 87 Nashua Rd., Londonderry; (603) 434-3093; pasqualeincandia.com; $–$$ L D New location in Londonderry

Republic H

MEDITERRANEAN 1069 Elm St., Manchester; (603) 666-3723; republiccafe.com; $–$$$ L D

Revival Kitchen & Bar

AMERICAN 11 Depot St., Concord;

INDIAN 967 Elm St., Manchester; (603) 606-2677; 47 E. Pearl St., Nashua; (603) 864-8586; tajindia.co; $–$$ L D New location in Nashua

Tuscan Kitchen H

ITALIAN 67 Main St., Salem; (603) 952-4875; 581 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth; (603) 570-3600; tuscan-kitchen.com; $$–$$$ L D b New location open in Portsmouth.

Umami

CAFE/FARM-TO-TABLE 284 1st NH Tpke., Northwood; (603) 942-6427; Facebook; $–$$ B L D

Villaggio Ristorante H

ITALIAN 677 Hooksett Rd., Manchester; (603) 627-2424; villaggionh.com; $–$$ L D (

SEACOAST

7th Settlement

BREW PUB 47 Washington St., Dover; (603) 373-1001; 7thsettlement. com; $–$$ L D

Black Trumpet Bistro

INTERNATIONAL 29 Ceres St., Ports-

Thyme to Get Growing Our greenhouse is open. We offer hundreds of varieties of herbs and perennials from Angelica to Xenia

Have a Pickity Day! k May Menu k Dip: St. Tropez Garlic Soup: Spring Chive Vegetable Chowda Salad: Spring Mint Quinoa Bread: French Baguette with Garlic Chive

Try our newesT locaTion 270 graniTe sTreeT manchesTer www.giorgios.com

Entrée: Beef Florentine over Tomato

Basil Risotto

Open 10-5 pm everyday Luncheon seatings 11:30, 12:45 and 2:00 Reservations Recommended

— or—

Entrée: Grilled Asparagas Farmer’s

Cheese Turnover Side: Best at Market Dessert: Flourless Chocolate Cake with Berries

603-878-1151 Pickityplace.com nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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mouth; (603) 431-0887; blacktrumpetbistro.com; $$–$$$$ D (

mouth; (603) 319-5011; row34nh. com; $-$$$ L D b (

ough; (603) 253-8100; lemongrassnh.net; $–$$ L D

Braise

Shio H

Local Eatery H

NEW AMERICAN 142 Congress St., Portsmouth; (603) 373-6464; $$–$$$ LD(

JAPANESE 2454 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth; (603) 319-1638; shiorestaurant.com; $-$$ L D

FARM-TO-TABLE 21 Veterans Sq., Laconia; (603) 527-8007; laconialocaleatery.com; $–$$ D (

CAVA

Sonny’s Tavern

Mise en Place

TAPAS 10 Commercial Alley, Portsmouth; (603) 319-1575; cavatapasandwinebar.com; $–$$$ L D

CR’s the Restaurant

AMERICAN 287 Exeter Rd., Hampton; (603) 929-7972; crstherestaurant. com; $$-$$$ L D (

Cure

NEW AMERICAN 189 State St., Portsmouth; (603) 427-8258; curerestaurantportsmouth.com; $$-$$$ L D (

Domo

ASIAN 96 State St., Portsmouth; (603) 501-0132; domoportsmouth. com; $$ L D

Epoch

NEW AMERICAN 2 Pine St., Exeter; (603) 772-5901; theexeterinn.com; $$$–$$$$ B L D b (

Franklin Oyster House H

SEAFOOD 148 Fleet St., Portsmouth; (603) 373-8500; franklinoysterhouse.com; $-$$$ D

The Galley Hatch

AMERICAN 325 Lafayette Rd., Hampton; (603) 926-6152; galleyhatch. com; $-$$ B L D

Green Elephant H

VEGETARIAN 35 Portwalk Place, Portsmouth; (603) 427-8344; greenelephantnh.com; $–$$ L D

Jumpin’ Jay’s Fish Café

NEW AMERCAN 328 Central Ave., Dover; (603) 343-4332; sonnystaverndover.com; $–$$ D b

ITALIAN/AMERICAN 96 Lehner St., Wolfeboro; (603) 569-5788; miseenplacenh.com; $$-$$$$ L D (

Surf Seafood H

The New Woodshed

SEAFOOD 99 Bow St., Portsmouth; (603) 334-9855; surfseafood.com; $$–$$$$ D

AMERICAN 128 Lee Rd., Moultonborough; (603) 476-2700; newwoodshed.com; $–$$$ D

Tuscan Kitchen H

O Bistro at the Inn on Main

ITALIAN 67 Main St., Salem; (603) 952-4875; 581 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth; (603) 570-3600; tuscan-kitchen.com; $$–$$$ L D b New location open in Portsmouth.

Tinos Greek Kitchen H

GREEK 325 Lafayette Rd., Hampton; (603) 926-6152; tinosgreek.com — The menu offers a new take on your favorite Greek cuisine. $–$$ D b

Vida Cantina

MEXICAN 2456 Lafayette Rd., Portsmouth; (603) 501-0648; vidacantinanh.com; $–$$ L D

The Wellington Room

NEW AMERICAN 67 Bow St., Portsmouth; (603) 431-2989; thewellingtonroom.com; $$$–$$$$ D (

LAKES

Bayside Grill and Tavern

TAPAS 106 Penhallow St., Portsmouth; (603) 319-8178; moxyrestaurant.com; $$–$$$ D (

AMERICAN 216 South River Rd., Bedford; (603) 935-8070; 232 Whittier Hwy., Center Harbor; (603) 2534762; magicfoodsrestaurantgroup. com — Great home-style cooking with an upscale flair from the same restaurant group as O Steaks & Seafood and Suna. $$–$$$ D (

Otis

Corner House Inn Restaurant

AMERICAN 4 Front St., Exeter; (603) 580-1705; otisrestaurant.com; $$–$$$ D

AMERICAN 22 Main St., Center Sandwich; (603) 284-6219; cornerhouseinn.com $$ L D b (

The Pointe

Crystal Quail

GASTRO PUB 61 North Main St., Rochester; (603) 244-3022; revolutiontaproomandgrill.com — Gastropub style menu with mains, small plates and a large number of local and other craft beers on draft. $-$$ L D

AMERICAN 202 Pitman Rd., Center Barnstead; (603) 269-4151; crystalquail.com; $$$–$$$$ D (

Faro Italian Grille

ITALIAN 7 Endicott St. N., Laconia; (603) 527-8073; faroitaliangrille.com; $$ D (

Garwood’s

AMERICAN 6 North Main St., Wolfeboro; (603) 569-7788; garwoodsrestaurant.com; $–$$ L D (

Homestead Restaurant

AMERICAN 143 Main St., Kingston; (603) 347-5287; rickskingston.com; $–$$ L D

AMERICAN 1567 Summer St., Bristol; (603) 744-2022; 641 DW Highway, Merrimack; (603) 429-2022; homesteadnh.com; $–$$ D

Ristorante Massimo

Lavinia’s

Rick’s Food & Spirits

ITALIAN 59 Penhallow St., Portsmouth; (603) 436-4000; ristorantemassimo.com; $$-$$$ D (

AMERICAN 18 Main St., Center Harbor; (603) 253-8617; laviniasdining. com; $–$$$ D (

Row 34

Lemongrass

SEAFOOD 5 Portwalk Place, Ports-

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TAPAS/PIZZA 2075 Parade Rd., Laconia; (603) 528-3057; tavern27. com; $–$$ L D (

Wolfe’s Tavern H

MONADNOCK

Canoe

Revolution Taproom and Grill

Tavern 27 H

Camp

Louie’s H

NEW AMERICAN/SEAFOOD 31 Badger’s Island West, Kittery, Maine; (207) 703-2987; thepointerestaurant.com A fresh take on a quintessentially New England casual dining experience. $$$ D

STEAKHOUSE/SEAFOOD 11 South Main St., Concord; (603) 856-7925; 62 Doris Ray Court, Lakeport; (603) 524-9373; magicfoodsrestaurantgroup.com — Steak and fresh seafood are specialties, but other dishes are available such as the longtime favorite, lobster macaroni and cheese. Excellent wine list. $$–$$$ L D

NEW ENGLAND TAVERN 90 N. Main St., Wolfeboro; (603) 569-3016; wolfestavern.com; $$–$$$ B L D b (

AMERICAN 300 DW Hwy., Meredith; (603) 279-3003; thecman.com $–$$ D

Moxy H

O Steaks & Seafood

AMERICAN 51 Mill St., Wolfeboro; (603) 894-4361; baysidegrillandtavern.com; $–$$ L D

SEAFOOD 150 Congress St., Portsmouth; (603) 766-3474; jumpinjays. com; $$$–$$$$ D ( ITALIAN 86 Pleasant St., Portsmouth (603) 294-0989; louiesportsmouth. com; $$–$$$ D (

AMERICAN 200 North Main St., Wolfeboro; (603) 515-1003; innnewhampshire.com/our-bistro — Elegant yet comfortable inn setting with a menu that features dishes in the same upscale comfort food theme as O Steaks and Seafood. $$–$$$ D

ASIAN 64 Whittier Hwy., Moultonbor-

Bantam Grill H

ITALIAN 1 Jaffrey Rd., Peterborough; (603) 924-6633; bantam-peterborough.com; $$–$$$ D (

Bellows Walpole Inn Pub

INTERNATIONAL/AMERICAN 297 Main St., Walpole; (603) 756-3320; bellowswalpoleinn.com; $$ L D (

Marzano’s Trattoria

ITALIAN 6 School St., Peterborough; (603) 924-3636; marzanostrattoria. com; $–$$ L D (

Nicola’s Trattoria

ITALIAN 51 Railroad St., Keene; (603) 355-5242; Facebook; $$$–$$$$ D

The Old Courthouse

NEW AMERICAN 30 Main St., Newport; (603) 863-8360; eatatthecourthouse.com; $$–$$$ L D b (

Papagallos Restaurant

ITALIAN/MEDITERRANEAN 9 Monadnock Hwy., Keene; (603) 352-9400; papagallos.com; $–$$ L D (

Pearl Restaurant & Oyster Bar

ASIAN 1 Jaffrey Rd., Peterbrough; (603) 924-5225; pearl-peterborough.com $$–$$$ D (

Pickity Place

LUNCH 248 Nutting Hill Rd., Mason; (603) 878-1151; pickityplace.com — A historic and lovely place to lunch.

Fresh, local ingredients are used.

Three seatings at 11:30 a.m., 12:40 p.m. and 2 p.m. $$ L (

Restaurant at Burdick’s H

FRENCH 47 Main Street, Walpole; (603) 756-9058; burdickchocolate. com; $–$$$ L D b (

The Spice Chambers

INDIAN 31 Winter St., Keene; (603) 3529007; spicechambers.com; $-$$ L D (

The Stage H

AMERICAN 30 Central Sq., Keene; (603) 357-8389; thestagerestaurant. com; $-$$ L D

Thorndike’s & Parson’s Pub

AMERICAN/PUB The Monadnock Inn, 379 Main St., Jaffrey; (603) 532-7800; monadnockinn.com; $–$$$ D (

Waterhouse

AMERICAN 18 Water St., Peterborough; (603) 924-4001; waterhousenh.com; $-$$$ L D b (

DARTMOUTH/ LAKE SUNAPEE

Base Camp Café H

Del Rossi’s Trattoria

NEPALESE 3 Lebanon St., Hanover; (603) 643-2007; basecampcafenh. com; $-$$ L D

Elm City Brewing

Bistro Nouveau

ITALIAN Rte. 137, Dublin; (603) 5637195; delrossis.com $$–$$$ D ( BREW PUB 222 West St., Keene; (603) 355-3335; elmcitybrewing. com; $–$$$ L D

Fox Tavern at the Hancock Inn

TAVERN 33 Main St., Hancock; (603) 525-3318; hancockinn.com $-$$$ L D (

Fritz, The Place to Eat

AMERICAN 45 Main St., Keene; (603) 357-6393; fritztheplacetoeat.com; $ L D

The Grove

AMERICAN 247 Woodbound Rd., Rindge; (603) 532-4949; woodbound.com; $$–$$$ B L D b (

Lee & Mt. Fuji

ASIAN 50 Jaffrey Rd., Peterborough; (603) 626-7773; leeandmtfujiatboilerhouse.com; 314 Main St., Marlborough; (603) 876-3388; leeandmtfuji. com; $–$$ L D (

Luca’s Mediterranean Café

MEDITERRANEAN 10 Central Sq., Keene; (603) 358-3335; lucascafe. com; $$–$$$ L D (

AMERICAN The Center at Eastman, 6 Clubhouse Lane, Grantham; (603) 863-8000; bistronouveau.com; $–$$$$ L D (

Candela Tapas Lounge

TAPAS 15 Lebanon St., Hanover; (603) 277-9094; candelatapas.com; $$-$$$ D (

Canoe Club Bistro

AMERICAN 27 South Main St., Hanover; (603) 643-9660; canoeclub. us; $–$$ L D (

Coach House

AMERICAN 353 Main St., New London; (603) 526-2791; thenewlondoninn.com/the-coach-house-restaurant;$ $–$$$$ D (

Flying Goose Brew Pub H

BREW PUB 40 Andover Rd., New London; (603) 526-6899; flyinggoose.com;. $–$$ L D

Inn at Pleasant Lake

PRIX FIXE 853 Pleasant St., New

603 LIVING

DINE OUT

London; (603) 526-6271; innatpleasantlake.com; $58 D (

House Square, Claremont; (603) 504-6310; Facebook; $-$$ L D b

Latham House Tavern

Stella’s Italian Kitchen

TAVERN 9 Main St., Lyme; (603) 795-9995; lathamhousetavern.com $–$$ L D

ITALIAN 5 Main St., Lyme; (603) 795-4302; stellaslyme.com; $–$$ L D

Lou’s Restaurant H

AMERICAN 6 Brook Rd., Sunapee; (603) 843-8998; magicfoodsrestaurantgroup.com — The latest restaurant by NH’s own Chef Scott Ouellette and Andy Juhasz. Expect the same level of elevated fare made famous at Canoe and O Steaks & Seafood. $$–$$$ D (

AMERICAN 30 South Main St., Hanover; (603) 643-3321; lousrestaurant.net; $-$$ B L D

Market Table

FARM-TO-TABLE 44 Main St., Hanover; (603) 676-7996; markettablenh.com; $–$$ B L D b

Millstone at 74 Main

AMERICAN 74 Newport Rd., New London; (603) 526-4201; 74mainrestaurant.com; $–$$ L D b

Molly’s Restaurant

AMERICAN 11 South Main St., Hanover; (603) 643-4075; mollysrestaurant.com; $$–$$$ L D b (

Murphy’s

AMERICAN 11 South Main St., Hanover; (603) 643-4075; murphysonthegreen.com; $$–$$$ L D b (

Peyton Place

AMERICAN 454 Main St., Orford; (603) 353-9100; peytonplacerestaurant.com; $$ D (

PINE at the Hanover Inn

AMERICAN 2 South Main St., Hanover; (603) 643-4300; hanoverinn. com/dining.aspx; $$$–$$$$ B L D b (

Revolution Cantina

CUBAN AND MEXICAN 38 Opera

Suna

Taverne on the Square

AMERICAN 2 Pleasant St., Claremont; (603) 287-4416; claremonttaverne. com; $–$$$ L D

Tuk Tuk Thai Cuisine

THAI 5 S. Main St., Hanover; (603) 2779192; tuktukthaicuisine.com; $–$$ L D (

NORTH COUNTRY Bailiwicks

AMERICAN 106 Main St., Littleton; (603) 444-7717; bailiwicksfinerestaurant.com; $-$$$ L D (

The Beal House Inn

DELI/PUB 2 W. Main St., Littleton; (603) 444-2661; thebealhouseinn.com; $$-$$$ D

Chef’s Bistro H

NEW AMERICAN 2724 White Mountain Hwy., North Conway; (603) 3564747; chefsbistronh.com; $-$$ L D

Covered Bridge Farm Table

FARM-TO-TABLE 57 Blair Rd., Campton; (603) 536-1331; farmtablenh. com; $-$$ L D b

Delaney’s Hole in the Wall

AMERICAN/ASIAN 2966 White Mountain Hwy., North Conway; (603) 356-7776; delaneys.com; $–$$ L D

Jonathon’s Seafood

SEAFOOD/AMERICAN 280 East Side Rd., North Conway; (603) 447-3838; jonathonsseafood.com; $–$$$ L D (

The Last Chair

AMERICAN/BREW PUB 5 Rte. 25,Plymouth; (603) 238-9077; thelastchairnh.com; $-$$ L D

Libby’s Bistro & SAaLT Pub

NEW AMERICAN 115 Main Street on Rte. 2, Gorham; (603) 466-5330; libbysbistro.org; $$–$$$ L D (

Margarita Grill

MEXICAN Rte. 302, Glen; (603) 3836556; margaritagrillnh.com; $–$$ L D

Moat Mountain Smokehouse H

BREW PUB 3378 White Mountain Hwy., North Conway; (603) 356-6381; moatmountain.com; $–$$ L D (

One Love Brewery H

BREW PUB 25 South Mountain Dr., Lincoln; (603) 745-7290; onelovebrewery.coml $–$$ L D

Rainbow Grille & Tavern H

AMERICAN/TAVERN 609 Beach Rd., Pittsburg; (603) 538-9556; rainbowgrille.com — Serving a variety of comfort food from seafood to ribs. The tavern serves appetizers, hearth-baked pizzas and sandwich-

es. $–$$ D (

Red Parka Steakhouse & Pub

STEAKHOUSE 3 Station St., Glen; (603) 383-4344; redparkapub.com; $–$$ L D

Rustic River

AMERICAN 5 Main St., North Woodstock; (603) 745-2110; rusticriverrestaurant.com; $-$$ L D

Schilling Beer Co.

BREW PUB 18 Mill St., Littleton; (603) 444-4800; (603) 444-4800; schillingbeer.com; $-$$ L D

Shovel Handle Pub

PUB 357 Black Mountain Rd., Jackson; (603) 383-8916; shovelhandlepub.com; $-$$ L D

Six Burner Bistro

AMERICAN 13 South Main St., Plymouth; (603) 536-9099; sixburnerbistro.com; $-$$ L D

Tony’s Italian Grille & Pub

ITALIAN 3674 Rte. 3, Thornton; (603) 745-3133; $$ L D (

The Wayside Inn

EUROPEAN 3738 Main St., Bethlehem; (603) 869-3364; thewaysideinn.com; $$–$$$ D (

Woodstock Brewery H

BREW PUB Rte. 3, North Woodstock; (603) 745-3951; woodstockinnnh. com; $–$$ L

Visit nhmagazine.com/food for more listings around the state or to sign up for the Cuisine E-Buzz.

nhmagazine.com | May 2017

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illustration by brad fitzpatrick

LAST LAUGH

Royal Revelations

Seven things you probably didn’t know about Benning Wentworth, our first Royal Governor

B

enning Wentworth lorded over the brand-spanking-new Granite State from 1741 to 1767. But how much do you know about him?

1. He was super rich. Sure, his family was wealthy — his ancestor, Thomas Wentworth, Earl of Strafford, was BFFs with King Charles I. (Until he wasn’t anymore, and got beheaded. Spoiler alert: So did Charles.) But Benning made his own money too. After a financial kerfuffle with the Crown, he came out on top as governor of our new state, which we’re lucky wasn’t called Benningland or Benningsylvania. He then set to work making bank, becoming one of the richest men in New England.

2. He went to Harvard. BW graduated fifth in his class. Back then, class rank was based on social standing, not book smarts.

Sassypants Wentworth did set a college record — most fines incurred by an undergraduate for shenanigans and breaking stuff.

3. He might be the reason your town exists.

Benning issued more than 100 land grants so towns could be incorporated. He even

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BY ADI RULE revitalized Town Meeting. OK, so maybe some of the land he sold was kind of in New York, causing the scuffle that resulted in the founding of Vermont. Oh, and he kept 500 acres of each grant for his timber business.

But despite his dealings being so shady that the British Crown had to step in and say, “Buddy, dial it back,” he was a pretty popular guy. His nephew, John, even convinced the powers-that-be to just forget about all that unethical nonsense and let his dear uncle retire in peace at his seaside mansion.

4. Like lilacs? So did Benning Wentworth.

He was one of the first people — possibly the very first — to import our state flower to this continent.

5. Longfellow wrote a poem about him.

Like Fred MacMurray on that show whose name I forgot, Benning Wentworth had three sons. He outlived them all, as well as his wife, Abigail. He spent his remaining years in seclusion, contemplating not material riches but the riches of the human spirit. Just kidding! He married his 20-something housekeeper. At the silver fox’s 64th birthday party,

he surprised the guests by marrying Martha Hilton on the spot. Longfellow’s poem about it is called “Lady Wentworth.”

6. There are some strange legends about him. Did he keep horses in the basement?

(Let’s hope not.) Did he hide in the closet when angry people came to visit him?

(Maybe.)

7. His house is strange and wonderful.

B-Webs lived for a time at the Warner House in downtown Portsmouth, where you can now see the Warner family furniture and those weird (seriously weird) murals. He wanted to stay forever and ever, but couldn’t get his assembly to pony up the dough (he had kind of trashed the place). So he was forced to assemble the sprawling Wentworth-Coolidge Mansion on Little Harbor from a few structures he had lying around.

How many rooms does it have? Heck, we can’t even agree on how many floors it has.

But if you’re looking for a fish-smoker on the second floor next to the guest room, you’re in luck! For the full Benning Wentworth Experience, take a tour this summer. NH

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