An entirely different kind of restaurant has just opened in Dover: Stages at One Washington, located on an upper floor of an historic mill building. Executive Chef Evan Hennessey, who owns Flavor Concepts catering company, operates this sort of pop-up restaurant, which seats 30. Dinners will be offered a few weekends a month, centered around a theme, often with a guest chef. The dining room will be reinvented each time so the décor matches the theme of the dinner.

Each dinner is five courses, paired with wines. If you have special requirements, explains PR Coordinator Ellen Foord, when you make your reservations, they’ll ask you a list of questions so they can adjust the menu to accommodate any dietary restrictions or allergies. If someone is a vegetarian, for example, Foord says, “Instead of serving the same plate minus the meat, the chef will actually prepare an entirely different menu in the same theme.”

Of the 30 seats, 6 are offered as a chef’s table in the kitchen, where you can see the meal being made. “All of our food will be prepared using induction cooking,” notes Hennessey in a press release about Stages. “It’s 100 percent efficient heating, and it’s precise to a tenth of a degree, so food is always prepared exactly as it should be.” It also keeps the kitchen cooler, as induction heat only heats the pan when it’s touching the surface.

Dinners range from about $115 to $135 per person, and include everything: all soft beverages, wine, taxes, and tip. (Cocktails, however, are available separately.) Upcoming dinners include Springtime in Paris (April 13 and 14); a dinner with guest chef Greg Sessler of Cava Tapas & Wine Bar (April 22); Savory & Sweet (April 27 and 28); Cinco de Mayo Dinner with White Birch Brewery (with beer pairings, May 5); and Mother’s Day (May 12 and 13).

Stages at One Washington
One Washington St., Suite 325
Dover, N.H.
(603) 842-4077

Once upon a time, this building was a post office. Then Tulsi restaurant brought culinary attention to the location before moving to Walker Street. This past December, Benjamin Lord, Gavin Beaudry, and Executive Chef Jake Smith opened Black Birch here, an establishment that seems equally serious about food and drink. The menu is brief but temptingly creative, especially for meat lovers, with lots of nibble-sized options—two thirds of the menu consists of First Bites and Small Plates. These include dishes like Chicken Liver Mousse, a daily changing House Pickle (made with fruit or vegetables), and Poutine and Duck Confit, inspired by the classic French Canadian fries and gravy concoction, served with fresh cheese curds.

There are seven entrees, all with intriguing sides. The Brick Chicken comes with garlicky fingerling potatoes and broccolini, and the Kurabuta Pork Osso Bucco has roasted root vegetables and parsnip puree. On the drink end, two dozen craft beers are on tap, and the menu descriptions will make you want to try them all, such as Ommegang Adoration’s “ripe plum & apple with a myriad of spices.” Many of the wines are offered by the bottle and by the glass. And the creative cocktails use an unusual array of spirits, like the house drink 2 Govt., made with Buffalo Trace bourbon, housemade Grenadine, and Fees Aromatic Bitters.

In the former Abercrombie & Finch space on Route 1 in North Hampton, a new kid in town has started serving tasty local-oriented fare with great service. Drift Away is the dream operation of co-owners Bob and Becky Hoffmeister. Bob had been an executive for various chain restaurants for some three decades, including Margarita’s, but the couple wanted their own place. Veteran chef Steve DelVechio joined the team as a partner, and they opened in August of 2011.

The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, plus Sunday brunch. Dinner prices are in the  reasonable range for a nicer restaurant – all are under $25, and many are under $20. It’s the little touches that set Drift Away apart. Things like homemade caramelized onion ketchup served with a Basket of Fries and Rings or a Bowl of Grilled Olives appetizer, served with roasted peppers and warm bread. The menu includes a selection of sandwiches and burgers (9 ounces, house-ground beef), plus specialties for dinner like Char Grilled Jumbo Sea Scallops and Handcut Pappardelle Pasta Bolognese (marked as DelVechio’s fave), with pancetta, sausage, mushrooms, and Chianti. Desserts include Chocolate Crème Brulée and a tempting cozy choice: Hot Cup of Fresh “Coffee and,” which is topped with homemade vanilla bean ice cream and comes with a cookie alongside.

The wine list has some nice choices, with almost all also available by the glass.

Zahtar is a Middle Eastern spice blend that includes lemony red sumac, sesame seeds, thyme or oregano, and other spices. It’s a tasty mix that enhances breads, meats, salads – just about anything. It’s also the name of a new eatery on Fleet Street that specializes in sandwiches and other fare with a Mediterranean touch. Helmed by chef Bryan Trudel, the menu offers a pleasing mix of dishes for lunch and dinner.

Tempting choices include anything with the housemade fresh mozzarella, like a Caprese sandwich with fresh spinach, tomatoes, mushrooms, and roasted peppers. Standard fare like hummus has a twist – it comes in four varieties: original, chili pepper, and lemon, plus a choice of the day. A creative appetizer is the Mediterranean “Nachos,” pita chips plus a load of veggies, hummus, baba ghanoush, and preserved lemon. Dinner plates like Beef or Chicken Shawarma come with a pair of sides – your choice of several items, including Chickpea Fries and Cucumber Salad. The desserts are unusual – we look forward to trying Orange, Cardamom, and Walnut Cake and the Spiced Fig Bread Pudding.

The golden wheat walls and wood floors make the room warm and welcoming.

Zahtar Mediterranean Sandwich Bar
148 Fleet Street
Portsmouth, N.H.
603-436-3622