October 12, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

      Final NH Growers’ Dinner of 2009 to be held at Enfield Shaker Museum

The final official 2009 NH Growers Dinner will take place at the Enfield Shaker Museum in Enfield, NH on Oct. 24. This caps off a series of special dinner events, organized by the NH Farm to Restaurant Connection, that highlight the use of local farm and food products at local restaurants.

The Enfield event is the finale to a day-long Culinary History Symposium, however the symposium and dinner events are separate and attendees may chose to attend either event, or both. The setting for both the symposium and the dinner is the Enfield Shaker Museum, once the home of the Enfield Shakers, known for their exceptional culinary herbs, meals, and agricultural products. To see the full symposium program visit www.newhampshirefarms.net.

The Enfield growers’ dinner is being prepared by well-known local chef, Jason Dacier who is the Head Chef for the Hanover-Lebanon Co-op Food Stores.  Jason and his staff create a full range of prepared foods available daily for Co-op customers.  He also oversees the Co-op’s catering service. The dinner menu will feature hard cider braised beef, an array of seasonal vegetables from farms in the Enfield region, presented in soup, salad and unique side dishes. A delectable maple crème brulee is planned for dessert.  For reservations, call the Enfield Shaker Museum at: 603-632-4346, by October 19th.  Visit www.newhampshirefarms.net for more details.

 For information about the NH Farm to Restaurant Connection, contact Gail McWilliam Jellie at the NH Dept of Agriculture, Markets and Food at: 603 271 3788, gmcwilliam@agr.state.nh.us or visit www.nhfarmtorestaurant.com.

Posted in local food in local restaurants | Print | No Comments »

August 31, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

If seeing Food Inc. at The Music Hall isn’t already on your calendar for the evening of September 24, there is also a NH Farm to Restaurant Connection dinner planned for that evening:

The Old Salt and Lamie’s Inn
presents
New Hampshire Farm to Restaurant Connection Dinner

Buying your food locally is good for your local economy, good for family farmers, good for your family’s health, and good for the environment. Not to mention how good fresh, local food tastes!

The Old Salt, in cooperation with “Farm to Restaurant Connection” would like to celebrate these local farmers and vendors. Please join us September 24, 2009 for a delicious dinner, made exclusively with local NH ingredients.

$24.99 per person
(Reserve a table of 10 for only $229.99)
Limiting Seating Available Reservations Required
603-926-8322
The Old Salt
490 Lafayette Road
Hampton, NH 03842

Posted in local food in local restaurants, events | Print | No Comments »

March 3, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

Farnum Hill Ciders and the Portsmouth Brewery will hold their second annual Cider Social on Thursday, March 12, 7 p.m. at The Brewery, 56 Market Street in Portsmouth.  Tickets are available now for this event.

Join Farnum Hill Cidermakers Steve Wood and Brian Goodwin plus Portsmouth’s own Master Brewer Tod Mott for a tasting menu highlighting Farnum Hill’s ciders and hearty food pairings.  The Brewery Executive Chef Robert Martin’s four-course menu will showcase recipes developed for a new book about New Hampshire’s winemaking tradition, Wine & Dine in New Hampshire, available this spring.

Learn how cider is made and experience the great food and atmosphere at the Brewery, and hear about the ongoing partnership between two renowned New Hampshire beverage producers.

The Cider Social is $30 per person and includes a four-course tasting menu with ciders, complimentary Portsmouth Brewery beer goblets with “Cider Bucks,” and special giveaways from Farnum Hill; reservations are limited.  Please contact the Brewery at 603 431-1115 or Corrie Martin at 603 252-0737 to make your reservation.

Posted in local food in local restaurants, events | Print | No Comments »

February 9, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

Rachel Forrest wrote an article about Fresh Local Bayside, the weekend brunch and Friday lunch on the water spot in Newington that is an extension of the Fresh Local business: Fresh Local Bayside has food with a view

I ate brunch there a few weeks ago and it was fantastic. My personal highlights were: a bread basket of assorted breakfasty like breads as soon as you sit down (because who arrives for brunch not starving?), the perfect hollandaise and the home made corned beef hash which achieved an amazing balance of texture and flavor.

Posted in local food in local restaurants | Print | No Comments »

January 13, 2009 by Sara Zoe.

Farnum Hill Ciders has partnered with the Portsmouth Brewery to offer a Cider Night!

Wednesday, January 28, 7:00-9:00 pm, downstairs at the Portsmouth Brewery.
Featuring Farnum Hill Ciders with a four-course menu.
Tod Mott of The Brewery and Brian Goodwin of Farnum Hill will talk first-hand about making local beverages.
$30 per person (tax & tip included).
Reserve at the Brewery, 603/431-1115, or with Corrie at Farnum Hill: 603/252-0737.

7:00-7:15 pm
Welcome and introduction by Tod Mott, Brian Goodwin, other Farnum Hill people.
7:15-8:45
Four ciders with four courses, brief comments from Brian.

Tasting Menu:
Farnum Hill Semi-Dry Cider with Rosemary Apple Puffs
Farnum Hill ‘Farmhouse’ with Arugula and Boggy Meadow Fiddlehead Tomme Salad
Farnum Hill Kingston Black Reserve with Braised Spanish Porketta, Stewed Lentils with Fried Taleggio Cheese
8:45 Dessert and Wrapup
Farnum Hill French Martinis with Apple Crisp and Cinnamon Cookies

This event is part of New Hampshire Wine Week:
Information at www.nh.gov/liquor/

Posted in local food in local restaurants, events | Print | No Comments »

December 15, 2008 by Sara Zoe.

On your way to or from this Saturday’s Holiday Farmers’ Market stop by for the newest incarnation of the Fresh Local Truck, Fresh Local Bayside in Newington.

A note from the owners:

 **UPDATE 1/30/09: Fresh Local Bayside is open 9-2 Sat/Sun and 11-2 Fridays

We’ll be opening our new brunch place at the Great Bay Marine in Newington next weekend, Dec. 20, 21. We’ll be open Saturday and Sunday 8am -3pm throughout the winter.

We’ll have the best eggs benedicts, pancakes, all the normal breakfast fare in addition to some lunch favorites like our pork sandwiches, soups and burgers. It’s a great little space overlooking the bay (you may have been there when it was Currents a few years back).

Directions: Take Exit 4 off the Spaulding, turn left around backside of Rockingham Electric, right onto Nimble Hill Rd, right on Fox Point Rd, right on Beane Lane to the end. Just follow the signs to Great Bay Marine and you’ll find us at the far end of the building facing the water. Our own FRESH LOCAL BAYSIDE signage is in the works so don’t look for any just yet.

Posted in local food in local restaurants | Print | No Comments »

September 25, 2008 by Sara Zoe.

Flag Hill Winery’s series of regional cuisine dinners, featuring ample locally sourced food, continues with a menu celebrating duck on October 10th.

The duck is from Yellow House Farm in Barrington! Pears from Mack’s Apples in Londonderry, other organic produce from Tuckaway Farm in Lee, bacon from Kelllie Brook Farm, and andouillie from North Country Smoke House.

Choices of:

• Hot and Sour Duck Soup
• Smoked Duck Salad
• Jambalaya
• Duck Crepes with Raspberry Wine Gastric
• Baked Dumpling Squash
• Poached Pears in Port

reservations are required. More information and online reservations >

Posted in October 2008 Eat Local Challenge, local food in local restaurants, events | Print | No Comments »

September 20, 2008 by Sara Zoe.

excerpts from the press release from UNH - I find the look at the containers and trash, that whole picture of energy in/energy out, encouraging. A good model of taking steps toward better sustainability, because the steps along the way could count for a lot if more businesses were taking some steps:

UNH Reopens Celebrated Dairy Bar With Focus on Local, Sustainable Food

The University of New Hampshire’s Dairy Bar has been renovated and reopened with a focus on sustainability that has current and future generations in mind. Reopened in August 2008 under management of UNH Dining Services, the Dairy Bar boasts food that is local, often organic, and served with an eye toward nutrition; Energy Star-rated appliances; and even take-out containers that are compostable.

“This was an opportunity for us to do something different,” says Rick MacDonald, assistant director of University Hospitality Services and a driving force in the “new” Dairy Bar. MacDonald, director of dining Jon Plodzik, and director of culinary services Ralph Coughenour drew on UNH Dining’s significant Local Harvest Initiative, a collaboration with the University Office of Sustainability that brings local and sustainable food into the university’s three student dining halls and retail outlets regularly.

Natural chicken for salads and sandwiches comes from Lasting Legacy Farms in Barrington; Durham’s Bagelry supplies bagels; eggs are certified-humane, cage-free and organic from Pete & Gerry’s in Monroe; GrandyOats Organic Granola, founded by UNH alums, comes from Brownfield, Maine; and Londonderry’s Stonyfield Farms supplies yogurt. Coffee, from NH Coffee Roasters in Dover, is fair-trade and shade-grown. In addition to ice cream from Blake’s in Manchester, the Dairy Bar also serves Doriti Gelato from Brentwood.

Sustainability at the Dairy Bar goes beyond what customers put in their mouths to what they don’t put in the trash. Take-out containers and cutlery, in addition to unwaxed paper goods, are all compostable. As a large customer for Central Paper, the Manchester-based company that supplies the compostable containers, UNH is driving a new market for these innovative products, MacDonald notes.

Early planning for the new Dairy Bar involved students and faculty in UNH’s nutritional sciences program. Their work is reflected in the restaurant’s modest portion sizes, no fried food but lots of salads, condiments offered on the side, and healthy choices like yogurt parfaits, fresh fruit cups, and baked apples. “We even worked with Abigail’s to develop a roll that was three ounces, rather than their usual four,” says Coughenour.

Long-time patrons will be relieved to learn that strict portion control has not been applied to the ice cream. “If you eat all that healthy food, it’s OK to have ice cream,” says Plodzik.

Other sustainable innovations at the Dairy Bar include Energy Star-rated appliances and organic cotton uniforms. Even the Vetrazzo countertops, which sparkle with recycled glass, reflect the restaurant’s mission.

“We want to make as little of a footprint as possible,” says Plodzik.

For more information on the UNH Dairy Bar, including a complete menu and hours, go to http://www.unh.edu/dairy-bar/. To learn more about the Local Harvest Initiaitve of UNH Dining and the University Office of Sustainability, go to http://www.unh.edu/dining/community/local-harvest.html.

Speaking of businesses and encouraging, the Me & Ollies in downtown Portsmouth is working with a commercial composter and is now able to compost 95% of their trash! This is what I hope to see a lot more of - it’s one thing to have the cup be compostable (less plastic = good), but to provide the composting means it will actually happen, actually keep that corn-based cup out of the trash and landfill. More about Me & Ollies composting >

Posted in local food in local restaurants | Print | No Comments »

August 4, 2008 by Sara Zoe.

Spider-Man was spotted enjoying fresh sweet corn at the Portsmouth Farmers’ Market this weekend. When questioned about his presence at the crime-free farmers’ market, he replied by chomping into his corn.

Even Spider-Man is participating in NH Eat Local Week

Other NH Eat Local Week news, participating Seacoast businesses, and events include:

• The Dolphin Striker will have a special 3-course prix fix menu each night of NH Eat Local Week,  for $35
• The Black Trumpet will be creating specials for the week and highlighting its regular supply chain of local growers and producers with a special hand-out
• Flag Hill Winery will have a dinner on Friday, August 8, utilizing NH produce and meats
• Blue Moon Bakery & Cafe in Exeter will offer a wide variety of local sandwiches and soups for NH Eat Local Week
• The Little Milkman is offering a NH Eat Local Week special - sign up this week for home delivery of NH milk, meats, cheeses and more and get the first month’s delivery charge waived
• Lee Farm Day is Saturday, August 9! Lots of fun things to see and do, map and information available at www.nhcornmaze.com
• Kellie Brook Farm will have fresh (never frozen) chickens for sale from Thursday August 7 through Saturday August 9 at the farm at 1024 Portsmouth Avenue (Rte 33), in Greenland, NH. Fresh chickens will also be for sale at the Exeter Farmers’ Market on Thursday, August 7 from 2:15-6pm, in Swazey Parkway in Exeter. Directions to Kellie Brook Farm (.pdf)

Posted in nh eat local week, local food in local restaurants, events | Print | No Comments »

July 16, 2008 by Sara Zoe.

Serving Local Food From A Bright Orange Truck

“One lamb wrap please.” “One lamb wrap.” “No hot.” “No hot.”

It’s lunchtime on a warm and breezy Saturday at the Portsmouth Farmer’s Market.

Customers line up outside a bright orange truck with the words “Fresh Local” painted on its side.

Co-owner Josh Lanahan started the business last month with his partner, Michelle Lozuaway.

After more than 15 years of working in hot, dimly-lit restaurant kitchens, he says he wanted to do something a little different.

Listen to the full story at NHPR’s website >

Back River Farm

Fresh Local Truck

Posted in local food in local restaurants, eating locally in the media | Print | No Comments »