John Welch, executive chef of the Wentworth by the Sea resort, says, "Our entire menu is inspired by the ocean that surrounds us." With a sweep of his hand, he adds, "I want people to know that everything they're eating is right out there."
The Merrimack River might not be a southern bayou, but you’d never know it at Loretta, where the taste of New Orleans is alive and kickin’.
A commercial plaza on Portsmouth's Mirona Road might not be the kind of place where you'd expect to find authentic Greek fare. Located in Madison Village off Route 1, Café Nostimo serves a variety of traditional Greek dishes (and a handful of American favorites as well), while offering customers an affordable alternative to dinner downtown. Having won Taste's Best Of award for Inexpensive Lunch and Dinner three years in a row, it's no wonder customers say, "It's like eating in Yia Yia's kitchen."
For over 15 years, Blue Moon Market and Café was a natural food store and casual restaurant. But in the fall of 2010 it morphed into Blue Moon Evolution, an elegant but unfussy lunch and dinner restaurant complete with refined table service, candlelight, white tablecloths, fresh flowers, and a superb locavore fine-dining menu. Much more than a glorified café, its worth seeking out this new Moon.
Ian Thomas doesn’t set out to create a signature dish—it’s more an act of spontaneity, a dash of chance. As the Executive Chef of The District restaurant explains, anyone can create an elaborate, beautiful-to-look-at dish—but it takes “real genius” to craft something that’s straightforward, yet elegant and, most important, delicious. “The simplest dishes usually become the signature ones,” says Thomas, who is most inspired by French and Asian fare.
After Congress Street meets Middle Street heading away from downtown Portsmouth, it becomes Islington, and veers slightly off the beaten path. But it’s worth exploring those extra few blocks to discover The Kitchen.
