Is it the economy?

I recently got an e-mail from Bugaboo Creek steakhouse, thanking me for my years of patronage and letting me know that they are closing all but 12 of their restaurants. This got me thinking about chain restaurants in general.


What is the draw of a chain restaurant? When I think about Bugaboo Creek, one of the only chain restaurants I can say I have really ever gone to with any regularity (not counting my addiction to fast food), I think about their smashed potatoes. And that is what I always got when I was there: a sweet glazed salmon, maybe a steak, some barely steamed, plain vegetables, and yummy, gluey, salty smashed potatoes. And I think that explains the popularity of chain restaurants to some extent; if you've been to one, you know what to expect when you see it in another town. And I know, taking a risk on a strange restaurant in a foreign town is risky; I've traveled through England. And Ohio.


The plummeting economy, however, cannot be the only reason that chain restaurants have been failing recently. For example, a TGI Friday's has never been able to exist in the Portland, Maine area. I know of two that have failed. And I also look at my current town of Manchester, NH. I can think of 3 or 4 really great restaurants that have opened in the 3 years I have lived here and despite the economy, they are thriving.


To me, it comes down to this. You can't feed a family of 4 in a chain restaurant cheaply. It's not even that cheap a date. So in my mind, if I am a budgeter, I'm going to eat out one fewer times every month, save my money, and go to the restaurant that actually makes their food on site, with local, quality ingredients, in an atmosphere where everyone working there cares about the product. I KNOW the waiters and waitresses at most national chains don't care about the product, and the cooks I am guessing do little more than reheat and make salads. How else can you achieve consistency, which is what you think your customers are banking on?


Anyway, the point of this rambling is this. Bugaboo Creek, you were fun, it's true. But your drinks are overpriced, your food is not fresh, and dinner probably costs me at least $30 if I have a beer and/or dessert. At that price I'm going to just go somewhere that is owned locally buy someone who has personal stock in the freshness of the fish and the quality of the service. You can blame the economy but the bustling local bistro on main street might sing a different tune.

Red Flannel Hash

Kids, before the days of the microwave (and I do remember those days), people had to be a bit creative about how food was reheated. Heck, even in the days of the microwave, if you are a cookie out in the woods working with the loggers, or a camper out in the wilderness for a few days, you certainly aren't going to be able to "nuke" your dinner from the night before, right? This is how hash was invented....take everything you cooked as individual parts the night before, and reheat them into something new and delicious.


Red flannel hash is one of the best examples of efficiency at its best. You need to start with a roast, or a boiled dinner, or any combination of a previous meal that was meat and veggies. I started with boiled corned beef and cabbage dinner.

This boiled dinner was corned beef, cabbage, potatoes, sweet potatoes, rutabega (yellow turnip), carrots, onions...I really did it up. Throw it in a pot with some pepper and boil it until it's done. So easy, so simple. I had so many veggies that I had to boil a pot of veggies alone in the corned beef broth after the first round was all done. And I ended up with a TON of veggies. Just the way I like them. Salty, meaty tasting veggies. This is not appealing to a vegetarian, but, hearty old-fashioned New England cooking rarely is. 

This two giant pot fulls of food would make leftovers for even a family of hungry loggers, and, let's face it, as whole chunks of meat and full-size vegetables, would be very difficult to reheat the next day. So chop it all up. Really chop it into bite-size pieces, then throw it in a cast iron skillet. Now, if I were an old-timey Maine logging camp cookie, I probably would have coated the skillet with bacon fat; however, I am not, so I used olive oil and butter. Here's where the "red flannel" comes in....after everything else is in, add a can of beets, drained.

Now, again, if I were properly equipped, I would use my beet can to cut up the hash even more as it heated through; however, I only used a small can of beets and therefore had to resort to using my biscuit cutter. I think any cookie would approve.

If you wanted to get all fancy-pants on this dish, now would be the time: herbs, garlic, salt to taste (I used corned beef, I needed no salt), more pepper, this would be the time to do it. But let everything sit in this pre-heated skillet for a while; the goal is to get that nice hash-happy caramelized crust on the bottom. Flip it, turn it, cook it until it is nice and soft and golden brown and hashy.

Hearty, flavorful, colorful, satisfying, all the things food should be. Try this with your next meat and potatoes leftovers and you might even forget what a microwave is.

Coffee-Chocolate Layer Cake with Mocha-Mascarpone Frosting Recipe at Epicurious.com

Coffee always tastes yummy with chocolate (unless you don't like one of these things). My niece and I decided to make this cake for my sister's birthday. We followed this recipe exactly--except we didn't have cake flour or buttermilk, and we didn't use the frosting recipe. Ok, so, this was a guide for what we did. 

We used 4tbsp corn starch plus however all-purpose flour it took to add up to 2 cups. I didn't have my normal powdered buttermilk in the fridge, so I went to my back up plan of using 1tbsp vinegar +however much milk it takes to equal one cup to make sour milk, a good substitute for buttermilk. Oops, I've lived here 3 years and still haven't purchased any vinegar! Of any kind! How is that possible? It's 11pm, I am not willing to go out. Thankfully, I had a lemon, so I used the juice of one lemon plus enough milk to equal 1 cup for my buttermilk substitute.  I tested this cake 5 minutes early and it was done; my oven tends to run true to temp so be aware if you bake it.

Oh, also I didn't have espresso powder so I just brewed a wicked strong cup of coffee. I improvised with this one more than I realized!

Maddy and I decided this cake had a REALLY strong mocha flavor so we opted against this frosting. We used a recipe that I can't seem to find now, but if I recall it was 9 oz cream cheese, 2 tbsp whipped cream, a stick of butter, and several cups of confectioners sugar...5 cups maybe?

The results were delicious:

We think we did a lovely job. Happy Birthday, Amy!

Delicious Dinner!

For me, spending a ton of money on a great dinner is a lot more than how the food tastes. The food has to be great, yes. But the service, atmosphere, cocktails, and company must also exceed expectations. I sort of predicted that I would get just such an experience when we parked at Arrows on a rainy Saturday evening and were quickly greeted by a smiling man carrying an umbrella to take us into the building. (Side note: If you put the address into your GPS for this restaurant and name the city as Ogunquit, you won't find it. Try York instead.)

Before we walked through the door we were greeted by another person with an amuse bouche (I didn't even get a picture--I wasn't prepared!) of watermelon feta salad with balsamic vinegar. I have seen this prepared on tv several times and could not imagine that it would be in the least bit yummy. In my opinion, I was right. Having said that, I was very happy to have had the chance to try it because I had seen it prepared and raved about so many times. You're thinking to yourself "EW! Watermelon and FETA?" You're right.

Service is definitely a consideration at Arrows. They welcome you at the door with a tray for your amuse bouche dish. There were always a team of people walking through the restaurant with water, bread, etc.) When we sat down a man with a watering can full of breadsticks (no water) came through. They were not spectacular. They were crunchy and fun on the ends but sort of chewy and soggy in the middles.

The cocktails at Arrows are great. I had a Bombay Sapphire and tonic and a grapefruit mojito. Delish. I clearly enjoyed them.

The bread basket had a choice of either a garlic roll or a honey wheat roll. The garlic rolls were far superior. We had the artisinal butter tray, which had a Vermont butter and two from France. They were all great.

My sister ordered a crab parfait for a starter, which was Maine peekytoe crab with summer melon, citrus, and Vietnamese coriander.

Two other people ordered the Arrows 'non traditional' Peking duck in three courses; crispy duck skin with fried leeks and hoisin;

mini steamed bun with "hot sauce", scallions, pickles, and boiled peanuts;

and duck broth with morels and poached ginger.

I had bits of this and the duck broth stole the show. It was rich and flavorful and we all wished it was a winter day and we could curl up with a huge bowl of this and watch snow fall.

For dinner, one of my friends ordered grilled Maine lobster tail with lemongrass butter; butter poached lobster claws and knuckles with red curry, Singapore crepe with garden vegetables, and grilled Thai corn on the cob. The lobster was perfectly cooked and the rest looked delicious. She said it was all very tasty. My sister ordered the wood grill roasted rainbow trout wrapped in Arrows prosciutto (yes, they make their own) filled with leeks, with prune gnocchi, a rich meat stock and frisee.

(sorry this one is a little dark, I tried to adjust the light). My sister loved this dish. I thought the prosciutto overpowered the fish. She assured me I was wrong.
Another friend and I both ordered the red wine poached tenderloin of beef with warm frisee salad and onion rings; sautéed calves liver with crispy bacon, Yukon gold potato salad, and onion marmalade.

This was definitely the star of the show for me. The beef melted in my mouth; the liver was creamy and tender. The potatoes were perfectly vinegar-y and perfect with the sweet sauce. Win win win.

For dessert, we had Garden treats--green pea ice cream with an almond cone and whipped creme fraiche, Sweet "wintered" over parsnip creme brulee with lemon grass sauce, red raspberry gelee napoleon with chocolate crisps and a thyme-nutella sauce, and chocolate mint shake with marshmallow.

The creme brulee was fantastic; maybe the best I've ever had. The pea ice cream tasted too savory for me, and too much like peas. I didn't try the rest but there was none left so I assume it was good.

We also had a trio of ice creams; ricotta, mascarpone, and creme fraiche with corn meal pancakes and a preserved strawberry balsamic compote.

All these ice creams, while yummy, tasted the same to me. Again, I was assured that I was wrong.

We also had the hot chocolate cappuccino with down east sizzlers (upon discovery it was a cross between a beignet and a dough boy [fried dough for those from away]), rhubarb jelly donut, and a churro.

Again, these were just ok. My dad makes the best donuts in the world so the pastry chef here had some stiff competition. The rhubarb jelly was great though.

At the end of our meal the chef came out to talk to us and he was very nice and it definitely added to the experience to get to meet the person who cooks for you. I wish more chefs did that, it left an impression for sure.

On the way out the door we were given these extremely light, delicate, and beautiful lemon madeleines. They were better than any dessert on the menu if you ask me. They also gave me a copy of the menu so I could share all the details to go with these pictures.

Overall, a great experience, a great meal. There also was a bottle of wine with dinner, a lot of laughs, and a great evening with friends. Was it the best dinner I've ever had? No but it was definitely top 10 and I would definitely suggest Arrows to anyone who loves a dining experience. Thanks to my friends for joining me!

Late night nirvana

Recently I went to Northern VA/DC to visit some friends. There was a LOT of good eating going on during this trip. My first night there, my lovely friends took me to a late night dinner at Rasika. I was so excited for this because I don't really follow the national restaurant scene too closely but I have actually read rave reviews of this place in various places. Tasting menu? Of course!


The first dish was a salad of deep fried spinach with a lemony dressing. The spinach was salty and crispy and somehow fresh.

This may have been the highlight.

The next dish was a bowl of mussels in a spicy green curry. mmmmmm

I am always amazed at the complexity of Indian sauces. They are so delicious, so rich, so satisfying and flavorful.

The next dish was a duo of lamb sausages and a grilled shrimp. These were served with a coriander sauce that was again, as expected, delicious.

The lemon was really needed on both the sausage and the shrimp--it added a delicious brightness to the plate.


After these dishes, I was getting pretty full to be honest. Oh, wait...THIS was the highlight. A lovely piece of cod that I think must have been poached in olive oil. WOW.

The fish was crispy, flaky, light; for as bland as it looks in this photo, the flavor jumped out and slapped you in the face--mysterious, rich, sweet, not "fishy" as cod can be (and I actually like). It may have been the most perfectly cooked piece of fish I've ever eaten.

The "main courses" were served family style. There was a dish called butter chicken (the sauce was good but the chicken was a little dry I thought), some sort of mushroom dish (that tasted like dishwater), a lamb dish (I should have written these down) and a couple different kinds of bread, that were both delicious. Coriander abounded in most of these dishes as well, and though only the mushrooms were "bad", the whole course was a letdown after the perfect fish.

If we weren't full enough, there was a dessert course. As you would expect, lots of cardamom here.

From left to right; an Indian "donut" heavily syruped, an apple fritter breaded and deep fried, cardamom ice cream, and in the front, what I can only describe as a flourless carrot cake with a cardamom sauce.  The ice cream was the hit here, everything else seemed to taste similar, be a little doughy, a little soggy, a little heavy after 5 courses.


Overall, I would definitely recommend Rasika. It is obvious that they put love and maximum effort into each dish. However, skip dessert, go for a walk around the city, and get something sweet later in the night.

However you want it may not be what you wanted...sorry.

Starbucks has been doing a ton of in-store advertising about the new, "however you want it" frappuccino. Now, don't be mistaken; a frappuccino is not coffee. It may (or may not) have coffee as one of its ingredients but it really is more of a milkshake. When I want a cold coffee, I get an iced coffee or an iced latte. When I want something sweet, I get a frappuccino.


I love the idea behind the changes--it's now made with actual espresso. you can have regular, decaf, soy, no fat, almost any combo of liquids they have behind the counter. As to often happens, however, with big choice comes big risk. I asked my counter person to recommend one to me, he suggested caramel mocha. I got it, non fat, decaf.


The drink, because it is now made with real espresso and ice rather than their magical mix, separated almost instantly. Really, before I walked out the door. And it was not warm today. The espresso also added a bitter finish to the frappuccino that I wasn't expecting and didn't even enjoy at all until the 5th or 6th sip. 


I will make this quick. If you want something cold from Starbucks, go with an iced latte or a shaken green tea lemonade. If you want a frappuccino, go get a milkshake somewhere. It won't separate, it will be sweet and satisfying, and most likely will be less expensive.

Your favorite roasted chicken

My favorite roasted chicken is not a recipe; it's a method. Just about anything you want to substitute for anything else you like, you can do. The method is what counts and it is almost no-fail. My roasted chicken method is a combination of my oldest sister's, Emeril Lagasse's, and a few (ok, many) trial runs. The best thing about a beautiful roasted chicken is that it is an impressive dinner party food (it looks almost majestic coming out on a big platter, surrounded by beautiful veggies, glowing golden and warm)...but it's simple, practical, not terribly expensive, and incredibly versatile!


The first thing you need is a chicken. I wish I could give you the name of an always-perfect brand but unfortunately it doesn't exist. I've had great roast chickens that were store brand, and just as many successes and failures from organic, grass fed, cage-free, etc. etc. It is hit or miss. My suggestion, if you have a butcher you can trust, is to consult him or her. Otherwise, check the date, make sure it doesn't look weird or dried out, and I'm sure you'll be fine. If you're feeding a crowd, you'll have more luck cooking two small chickens rather than one gigantic one.


Get the chicken home and let it come to room temperature. It should sit out of the fridge for about 30 minutes. This way, it won't be shocked when it goes in the oven. Imagine going from 25 degrees to 400? Just bringing it up a little helps a long way..this is true for all meat.


I think chickens always feel greasy and yukky. Chicken fat is a yummy thing, but old chicken fat, not so much. I usually take all the bits out and run the bird thoroughly under not-quite-cold water. I know, kitchen experts say that this spreads germs all over your sink, your counter, your hands, etc. Wash up when you're done. Take a teeeeennnnyyy (i can't stress this enough) drop of dishwashing liquid and rub it on your hands, then rub the chicken all over while you're rinsing it (don't do this if it oogs you out). I don't do this for all meat, but I've seen my sister do it, so I do it too.


Prepare the bird:  Now that you've washed all the contaminated fat off your bird, massage it with good fat. Olive oil or butter, you choose. I usually use 1-2 tbsp. of butter. Rub all over, in all the creases, cracks, inside if you want (I don't bother). Here is where you can get creative. Rub, stuff, baby this bird with any combination of flavors you have. I usually add a cut in half (but entire) bulb of garlic, a quartered onion (peel on both, why not), at least a half of a lemon (which I sometimes squeeze all over the skin too), and a ton of ground pepper. Here are some other ideas:

• Rosemary, sage, and thyme tied in a bundle and stuffed in the cavity
• roasted or raw garlic stuffed into small slits cut into the skin
• butter stuffed into the slits of the skin
• limes in the cavity

Cover the entire bird, inside outside upside-down, in kosher salt. I usually use so much salt (1-2 tbsp) that the skin is inedible (for me) but it seems to sear the skin fast and make for a super moist bird. 


What to roast your chicken in? Something shallow, so that heat can envelope your bird completely. Do you NEED to use that heavy deep roasting pan your mom gave you for xmas last year? Ok, use it. Usually I use my cast iron frying pan. It gets screaming hot in the oven, and the chicken fat seasons the frying pan beautifully. Whatever you are roasting in, line the bottom with celery and carrot (and onion if you want) to make a "rack" to roast your bird on. This makes a wonderful flavor that seeps into the bird and makes the most deeply flavored gravy (another time, folks). Plus, veggies roasted in butter and animal fat taste really good (I did not just admit that). Another purpose for this is that it keeps the chicken from sitting in the fat that drips off it.


The bird should be put in a 400 degree oven. The general rule is to cook a bird 20 minutes per pound. So a 6lb bird would cook 2 hours. This may be slightly too long in my opinion. They say the internal temp of the chicken should be 165 to be "safe". I don't have a kitchen thermometer. What I do is, when it's about 15 minutes before done time, I wiggle the leg of the bird. If the leg feels like you could pull it off the body with hardly any effort, it's done. That's the only way I learned to tell if a chicken is done, so that's all I can advise. Do what you feel comfortable with. Please, please, please do not be tempted to baste your bird. Your chicken has all the natural juices and butter that it needs already. Opening your oven 3 or 4 times will just cause your oven temp to drop, the skin not to sear quickly, and all the natural juice of your bird to run into the pan and make a nice soup at the bottom (what with the carrots and celery) but the bird will be disappointing and dry. If you have an oven light, turn it on and keep an eye on your breasts (the bird's breasts of course, cheeky.). If they are getting dark too quickly, make a tent out of aluminum foil and open your oven only long enough to cover the darkening skin and close the oven quickly, so as to assure minimum heat loss. 


When the chicken is done, pull it out of the oven and immediately transfer it to another dish--serving platter, cutting board, whatever, and cover the whole thing in aluminum foil for 15 minutes. This will give the juices a chance to settle back into the meat and for the whole bird to just mellow for a bit. If you cut it now, all the juice you preserved through careful prep and cooking will run out and everyone will be sad. 


I am not much of a presentation girl, so I can tell you that it's easy to find websites that describe how to carve a bird. I just hack away at it like the amateur I am. 


The result of this method will be a lovely dinner, and can be used so many ways: shredded in burritos, sandwiches, soups, etc. It's a great thing to perfect for 1 or 2 people because with 2.5 hours work you can feed yourself pretty easily for the whole week (if you want). 


Let me know if you try my method, and if you have any tips to add!

Eats Week treat: Mid-week Mint!

I had SUCH a great dinner birthday at Mint Bistro in Manchester; I'll have to let you all know about it sometime. This week is Eats Week in Manchester, though you would NEVER know it. There has been no press, I have no idea who organizes it, I even did a Google search and found something from 2008. It's too bad because I have really found a lot of great food here and new, cute, and delicious places seem to be opening all the time. I did see something either on Facebook or Twitter from Mint Bistro about their Eats Week special: 3 courses for $30. Now, I know, that is not a cheap meal and I have no right to take myself out to an expensive dinner mid-week...but really, half price for food at Mint? How can I not go?  I went early hoping to get a table and sure enough it was quiet when I got there but filling up quickly when I left. Just like last time, the service was friendly and not snobby, the wait staff was knowledgeable, I just can't say enough good things about it. Tonight's dinner was among the top 10 restaurant experiences of all time for me.

I started with a Caipirinha (thanks Mila for introducing me to this) to celebrate the warm, sunny evening.

It was refreshing but not quiet sweet enough for me. They also brought me some bread with some olive hummus, oil and balsamic, and olive tapenade spreads. Sorry, I didn't like any of these things...I don't like olives or balsamic on their own, so I don't blame the restaurant and I am aware that most people love these things. I started my meal with an arugula and beet salad.

This was so yummy. The mustard dressing was not too sweet, had lots of nice texture-adding coarse mustard. The nuts were barely candied, the arugula was very very fresh. I ALMOST asked for fresh pepper and the waiter suddenly appeared to offer me some. Hooray! I love pepper on veggies.

Then, the main attraction: apple braised pork shank with buttermilk mashed potatoes, golden leek puree, buttered peas, cranberry jam, and apple cider gastrique.

Yes, this dinner (minus the peas) is probably more fall than spring but that didn't stop me. This was so moist and delicious. The pork practically jumped off the bone it was so tender. The peas had that fresh-pea toothy texture. And the best part, the absolute BEST part was that nothing was too salty. Everything tasted like the food itself, which is the sure sign that it was perfectly seasoned. Hearty, satisfying yummyness is right there in that picture, folks. I ate half and brought half home so I could enjoy my three (yes 3--I didn't plan it) desserts.

There was a little biscotti that came with my coffee.

I had two choices for dessert; a bittersweet chocolate cake or a caramel vanilla flan with rhubarb sauce. I simply cannot choose between chocolate or rhubarb so I let the waiter choose.

He said the chocolate cake was tiny and that is why he picked this (he could tell a tiny dessert would be no good for me). The little pistachio shortbread cookies were light and not too buttery...the flan had a visible crust of vanilla bean flecks over the top. To me this dish was a perfect balance of flavors and textures without being too sweet.

And, with the check, a half-bite of mint chocolate brownie.

This was the cutest little end to such a great meal. Because I was there when the restaurant was pretty empty, I got a good chance to chat with the house manager (who came over to ask why I was taking pictures in a nice, not accusatory, way). 

This was definitely the best meal I've ever had out alone. I can't wait until I can justify the expense of going back!

Chocolate pumpkin cupcakes with vanilla bean frosting

Recently I have been reminded that I love to bake. There is something very very satisfying about throwing things in a bowl, mixing them all just right, throwing them in the oven, and having something delicious pop out. 


A coworker was having a birthday so it was the perfect opportunity to try this recipe for cupcakes. Now, for those of you who are turned off by things pumpkin-pie-ish, let me put your mind at ease. Especially at room temperature, these cupcakes do not have even the slightest hint of pumpkin flavor (until someone tells you there is pumpkin in them, then your taste buds trick you). They are just incredibly moist. They weren't my favorite chocolate cake I've ever had (that is Wegman's best chocolate cake) but they are yummy. I did not make the frosting from this web site, I used this recipe instead. This Simply Recipe is my go-to for frosting now. I'm happy never using another recipe again. I think they came out great.

Here are some tricks/tips I think helped:


Use real vanilla, preferably with visible flecks of vanilla bean in it. It's $20 a bottle, yes, but worth it for the flavor.


When you mix the wet ingredients for the cake, mix the butter and sugar for at least 5 minutes. I do this in my Kitchenaid on med/high speed. Mix the batter for at least 45 seconds-1 minute after each egg addition.


You can use regular milk if you don't have buttermilk, but it's worth it to use buttermilk. It adds just a tiny depth to anything baked. I keep this in my refrigerator. If you don't, you can add 1.5 tbsp of vinegar to a cup of milk to make "sour milk," which achieves the same result (or close enough). 


Let me know what your favorite chocolate cake recipe is, I'm sure to be trying another soon.

Asian food next to the Turnpike....in Westbrook....

You wouldn't expect these things to add up to a good meal but surprisingly, it did! Kon Asian Bistro (don't let the link fool you, it's not "club"y at all) is actually a good place to have dinner, and, if it's your thing, go to hibachi. The first time I went here was in November, when I walked out SOAKED in saki (the hibachi cooks shoot it into your mouth via a squirt bottle...it's tough to get them not to do it, or to stop once they start). Friday night, however, I ate in the dining room and would like to focus on that since all hibachis are virtually the same. 


We started our dinner with three great appetizers. I had the least exotic, Philadelphia roll.

This was pretty but not as flavorful as it could have been. Less cream cheese would have been nice, with more salmon. One of my dinner companions had delicious beef medallions with scallion in the middle.

I'm not sure what the sauce was but it was slightly sweet, brought out the savory meat flavor and the scallions were a fresh surprise in the middle. Very yummy. My other friend had a duck dumpling appetizer:

I love make-your-own food. Nothing on this plate tasted especially special in my opinion, but it was fun to build and eat. The cucumber/scallions were fresh and crunchy, as they should be. 


For dinner itself, I had pad thai, which I thought was pretty good. Pretty good is a compliment I rarely bestow on pad thai, as I find it is a delicate balance between tasting too fishy, too dry, or, and I really cannot think of another way to word this, too vomitous. Seriously, has anyone else noticed that pad thai can taste like vomit?

Overall, this restaurant is completely in place with Westbrook in regards to the crowd--a combination of families with young kids and tons of carseats, baseball caps, and flannel, and the groups of young people who like to dress up in really sparkly clothes, put on their best Snookie hairstyles, and have some drinks before hitting the actual bar scene; and yet, completely unlike anything like Westbrook in terms of decor.  Would I recommend this restaurant? Well, if you're in Portland/Westbrook, want some pan-Asian food in a restaurant that is clean and the food is fresh, maybe not magnificent, and you want to spend less than $50 each, or if you want hibachi, this is your place. I've been here 3 times so far and haven't had anything that blew my mind but I haven't had anything inedible yet. Also, unlike most Portland restaurants, I haven't had anything that was too salty.  Let me know if you've been there and what you thought!

A little tart, a little bitter, a little spectacular (and I'm not talking about myself, for once)

Tonight I decided to try a new restaurant (open about 10 weeks) called Republic cafe. This cute place is right on the main drag in Manchester, NH and has the typical NYC long and narrow setup, with maybe a little more floor space than you'd expect. There are booths, tables, and a bar. At 7:30 on a Saturday night it was very very quiet, they sent staff home while I was eating. The hostess said that last night was packed with a wait. 


The menu has a Mediterranean flair, typical of Greek-influenced Manchester. I was by myself so I decided to sit at the bar. The first thing I ordered was a Smuttynose IPA. I think I usually find IPAs a little bitter so I wasn't surprised to find this one to be as well. Usually I go for a Belgian white if one is available, but it wasn't. The first thing I ate was one of the BEST things I've ever had in this town, wild mushroom bolognase. 

This was SO SO SO SO good. The tomato sauce tasted like fresh tomatoes. You could taste the flavor of 3 or 4 different mushrooms (I don't know my fungi). Basil oil, balsamic drizzle, creamy polenta, and a dollop of rich, creamy ricotta. This was an appetizer on the menu and it was very filling. One of the cooks told me that this is a recipe the owner makes at home. Lucky family!


The next thing I had was the endive salad.

As delicious as the first dish was, this salad was unimpressive. There was nothing particularly special about it. The cook asked me how I liked it (people who know me know I don't hold back, particularly when asked--I'll tell you the "Excuse me, this is gross." story another day) and i showed him the pool of dressing at the bottom of my plate; a sure sign that the wash of tangy dressing overpowered all the other flavors in this dish. The egg was just a tiny bit underpoached. The blue cheese was a nice touch, but i couldn't taste the endive from the frisee due to the overpowering zing of the dressing. My mouth felt slightly assaulted, to be honest. 


The dessert options were an olive oil cake with some glaze, an apple tartin, or greek beignets. None of them sounded good after the citrus attack I suffered from in the greens. 


Pros: DELICIOUS mushroom dish, great service, friendly people, pretty space, open kitchen, mostly reasonable prices 
Cons: salad was overdressed and a little dull compared to its description


I would definitely go again...next time for breakfast.