Year: 2024

In the kitchen with Jeremy Hart

Jeremy Hart, owner, Stash Box Restaurant in Manchester

“I started bartending in college, and just never stopped,” said Jeremy Hart, owner of Stash Box restaurant in Manchester. “That was 26 years ago, so at this point, I’ve been behind a bar for more than half my life.” Hart was the Bar Manager at The Birch on Elm starting in 2016 and left just as the Covid shutdown started, he said, and since then he and his partner Dan Haggerty have opened two restaurants: Industry East in February 2021, and Stash Box in October 2023.

What is your must-have bar item?

The one thing I can’t live without is my glass rinser. Other than looking cool, it definitely makes me more efficient.

What would you have for your last meal?

Probably a lobster roll and steamers. Is there anything more New England than that?

What is your favorite local eatery?

El Rincón for sure! I love Mexican food, and nobody does it better than them!

Who is a celebrity you would like to see drinking one of your cocktails?

Anthony Bourdain for sure! Mostly because I would want an honest opinion about what I served him, and I’m sure he wouldn’t sugar-coat anything.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

For me, there’s nothing better than the Penny Slot Jackpot. I love how the mint and the strawberry flavors go together. [Stash Box’s menu describes this cocktail as “Tequila, Branca Menta, lemon juice, simple syrup, and strawberry.”]

What is the biggest drink trend in New Hampshire right now?

Drink trends come and go so quickly, but the espresso martini has come back huge lately.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I’m usually only home for breakfast, so I’m going with scrambled eggs.

Toronto
One of my favorite cocktails is called a Toronto:
2 ounces rye whiskey
½ ounce Fernet Branca
¼ ounce Demerara simple syrup
Combine all ingredients, then stir and garnish with an orange peel.

Featured Photo: Jeremy Hart. Courtesy photo.

Touching down on barbecue

Aviation Museum holds its summer get-together

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

There is a phenomenon familiar to pilots called the Hundred Dollar Hamburger. Allegedly, hobbyist pilots, wanting a destination to fly to in a day or an afternoon, will pick a small, local airport a few hundred miles away, fly to it, eat at the diner or cafe there, then fly home. Ten dollars for a burger plus $90 in fuel makes for a Hundred Dollar Hamburger.

“At this point it’s more like a $150 hamburger by the time you factor in the price of fuel,” said Jeff Rapsis, the Director of the Aviation Museum of New Hampshire in Londonderry in a telephone interview. The Aviation Museum is capitalizing on the Hundred Dollar Hamburger tradition for one of its major fund-raising events of the year, its annual Father’s Day Weekend Fly-In Barbecue, which will be held Saturday, June 15, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.

This year’s Barbecue will be held at Nashua’s Boire Field (Nashua Airport, 83 Perimeter Road). Pilots are invited to fly in, with vintage airplanes and home-built aircraft especially welcome.

“This is a good opportunity for families with children to get really close to real airplanes and check them out. We have some very unusual aircraft coming,” Rapsis said. It’s an event that pilots and enthusiasts both benefit from, he added. “The public is welcome to see a student-built plane, experience aerobatic flying via virtual reality, and enjoy some excellent barbecue.”

The barbecue itself will be prepared off-site by Celebrations Catering of Manchester and served buffet-style in the hangar of Nashua Jet Aviation, so the event will be held rain or shine. The meal includes salads, pasta, barbecued chicken, pulled pork, baked beans, desserts and drinks, including Moxie.

“This is a New England event,” Rapsis said, “so we have to serve Moxie.”

The chicken and pork are a perennial hit, said Rapsis. The chicken, for instance: “These are boneless chicken breasts that have been seasoned with a special rub, then wood-grilled. This is really special chicken.” One of the surprising but essential elements to serving the pork is the bread at the buffet, Rapsis said. “There are some people who absolutely insist on having pulled pork on white bread; other people have other ideas. These are very strongly held beliefs.”

“We’ve been doing the food service for this event for many, many years,” said Amy Strike, the Director of Events at Celebrations Catering, “and the members really like it. Our recipes have been crafted over many years.”

A case in point is the Texas-Style Baked Beans. “For me, this is the real stand-out dish,” Rapsis said. “I’ve had some left over from a previous event and I’ve been rationing them out. They’re magical.”

This makes Amy Strike laugh, but she agrees that a lot of work has gone into developing baked beans that are more than just a side dish. “They are made with our special homemade barbecue sauce,” she said, “the one with 50 ingredients. Our chef, Don Robey, uses three different types of beans — pinto, great northern, and kidney — and we use a bacon/onion blend that was developed by our president, Fred Manchuck.”

Father’s Day Weekend Fly-In Barbecue
When: Saturday, June 15, 10 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Where: Hangar of Nashua Jet Aviation at Nashua Airport, 83 Perimeter Road, Nashua
Tickets: Purchase BBQ tickets in advance to avoid a sell-out at aviationmuseumofnh.org; ramp tickets to visit planes will be for sale at the door. Adult barbecue, $30; Ages 6-12 barbecue, $10; ramp ticket (no barbecue), $10

The Weekly Dish 24/06/06

News from the local food scene

• Martini-cupcake pairing: The monthly martini-cupcake pairing at the Copper Door (15 Leavy Drive, Bedford, 488-2677; 41 S. Broadway, Salem, copperdoor.com) for June will be Key lime themed. The Key Lime Martini — vanilla vodka, Tuaca, lime juice, and cream, with a graham cracker rim — will cost $14. The Key Lime Cupcake — a lime-zested cupcake, white chocolate cup, lime curd, cream cheese frosting, a fresh lime wheel, and a graham cracker — will cost $11.

• Chocolate cabin-making: Van Otis Chocolates (341 Elm St., Manchester, 627-1611, vanotis.com) will host a class to teach participants to decorate their own chocolate lake cabin, Thursday, June 6, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. Guests will enjoy a tour of Van Otis’ Chocolate Factory and indulge in handmade chocolates, as well as decorating their cabins, which have been prepared ahead of time to allow participants as much time as possible for decoration. Guests are welcome to bring their own wine or Xhampagne to enjoy during this 21+ class. Tickets are $95 each, available from eventbrite.

• 21 Forever party: Celebrate your 21st birthday — regardless of what your birth certificate says — at a 21 Forever Party at Averil House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) Thursday, June 6, at 12:30 or 3:30 p.m. You and up to five friends will have a decorated themed birthday party with a charcuterie board, wine tasting, birthday cupcakes and a bottle of 21 Averill Road wine for the birthday person to take home. This event includes up to six adults. Children are welcome; those 12 and under can share your plates at no charge. Tickets for ages 13 to 20 include non-alcoholic drinks. Tickets cost $199 through eventbrite.

• Potato planting workshop: Do you love gardening but lack the space for a full garden? Have you ever wanted to grow your own potatoes at home? Learn how to plant and grow delicious potatoes right on your balcony, patio or any small space using containers, at a potato planting workshop at Cole Gardens (430 Loudon Road, Concord, 229-0655, colegardens.com) on Saturday, June 8, from 10:30 a.m. to noon. Learn from experienced gardeners who will teach you the best practices for growing potatoes in containers. Get your hands dirty and plant your own potato container to take home. Cole Gardens supplies the seed potatoes, soil, containers and tools. This workshop costs $20 per person.

• Brunch and Bubbles: Flag Hill Winery (297 N. River Road, Lee, 659-2949, flaghill.com) will hold its June Brunch and Bubbles event Sunday, June 9, from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Sparkling Cayuga White wine is included with brunch; there will be a make-your-own mimosa bar as well. The cost is $65 per person. Reservations are required.

On The Job – Graham Gifford

Program & Marketing Director

Graham Gifford is the Program & Marketing Director of the New Hampshire Telephone Museum in Warner (nhtelephonemuseum.org).

Explain your job and what it entails.

Oh my goodness, I’ll try to keep it under three days. As a museum employee, there’s a ton that we have to do. Primarily I am, of course, the director of programming. I’m also the marketing director, so the day is quite filled with those things. We take in a variety of artifacts. We are a registered nonprofit, a 501(c)3. We do a tremendous amount of collaboration, so we’re doing off-site exhibits as well as new exhibits in-house. We actually do a lot of programming. We have both free and for-charge programming, depending on if people are members of the Telephone Museum or not…. We’re not just about telephones, we’re about telecommunications and communications. We’re doing a code talker presentation … and in years past, one of the huge successes is our animal programming, whether it’s with falconry or canine. There’s always tours that have to get done and there’s walls that need to be patched and painted. I could go on for days.

How long have you had this job?

I’ve been here for 12 years.

What led you to this career field and your current job?

It was very serendipitous. I was hired to improve the marketing for the museum and it’s so fun I never left.

What kind of education or training did you need?

At the time I simply needed to know marketing. Since the I’ve had to undergo a variety of education, but I do have my master’s, so that served me well in learning.

What is your typical at-work uniform or attire?

Something incredibly casual which includes sneakers because I am either giving a tour or I am patching a wall.

What is the most challenging thing about your work, and how do you deal with it?

Trying to juggle so many varied tasks at once can be incredibly difficult. It’s the nature of the work so you just have to keep a smile on your face and be positive. I know that sounds like such a kitschy answer but that’s the truth.

What do you wish other people knew about your job?

That it is non-stop, continuous, 24 hours a day.

What is the best piece of work-related advice you’ve ever received?

Work well with your teammates. They’ll make all the difference.

—Zachary Lewis

Five favorites
Favorite book: anything by Ryan Holiday\
Favorite movie: Lord of the Rings
Favorite music: Hozier
Favorite food: sushi
Favorite thing about NH: There’s so much to do.

Featured photo: Graham Gifford. Courtesy Photo.

Kiddie Pool 24/06/06

Family fun for whenever

Bugs!

• Twiggs Gallery (254 King St., Boscawen) will be offering a free Little Ladybug Make & Take on Saturday, June 8, between 1 and 3 p.m., at which kids can learn how to make an adorable paper ladybug, according to a press release. All supplies will be provided to make this paper craft, according to the same release. The gallery is handicapped-accessible. Visit TwiggsGallery.org

• NH Audubon and Steve Mirick, an avid birder and expert butterfly enthusiast who has guided birding and butterfly communities, will lead an exploration of butterfly habitats in the capital area on Tuesday, June 11, starting at 11 a.m. A similar program on Tuesday, June 18, at 11 a.m. will be led by Mike Thomas, a retired entomologist and butterfly enthusiast. Both will be at the McLane Center (84 Silk Farm Road, Concord, nhaudubon.org). Participants will learn how to identify butterflies in various habitats. All skill levels are welcome. Space is limited and registration is required.

On stage

• The Community Players of Concord with their Children’s Theatre Project will be holding auditions for Charlotte’s Web, which is based on the book by E.B. White, by appointment only on Sunday, June 9, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. or on Monday, June 10, from 4 to 8 p.m. at The Community Players Studio ( 435 Josiah Bartlett Road, Concord) for those between the ages of 8 and 18. Kids ages 6 or 7 can audition to be baby spiders or baby Wilbur. To schedule an audition slot, contact Director Karen Braz at k.braz@comcast.net. For more information visit communityplayersofconcord.org.

Library fun

• Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua) will allow kids in grades K-5 to explore simple printmaking techniques using everyday materials on Monday, June 10, from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m. in their Activity Room. Objects include apples, leaves, Legos and more, and participants will dip, press and create their own prints on paper or fabric in this interactive art activity, although supplies are limited, according to the website. Visit nashualibrary.org.

• The Children’s Room staff at Manchester City Library (405 Pine St., Manchester) have announced a storytime program in collaboration with the SEE Science Center where once a month kids between the ages of 2 and 6 are invited to join Ms. Yvonne and Ms. Helene from the SEE Science Center for Storytime Science, with hands-on activities afterward the story-reading, according to their website. This month’s reading will take place on Wednesday, June 12, from 10 to 11 a.m. with I Am Not A Fish by Peter Raymundo. Registration is required to ensure enough materials for everyone, according to the same website. Storytime Science is a program of the SEE Science Center’s First Steps in Science Initiative presented by Dartmouth Health Childrens, according to the same website. Call the library at 624-6550, ext. 7628.

Treasure Hunt 24/06/06

Hi, Donna,

These boat lanterns were in our camp at the lake, which was built in 1910. I’m not sure of the history, other than that my grandfather did have an old single-cylinder Laker boat in the 1920s, which the two oil lamps may have been on. Or it’s possible he obtained them from someone for possible use on his boat.

I would be very interested to know what you think their value might be.

Thank you.

Larry

Dear Larry,

Your boat lights all appear to be in great condition,all the glass intact. Maritime items are always collectible. Some more than others, and values fluctuate.

I found values for yours to be in the range of $100 to $200 each. Less for the electric ones. The value is priceless to find out if they were on your grandfather’s boat. Stories they could tell, right?

Thanks for sharing with us, Larry, and I hope this was helpful.

Donna

Donna Welch has spent more than 35 years in the antiques and collectibles field, appraising and instructing. Her new location is an Antique Art Studio located in Dunbarton, NH where she is still buying and selling. If you have questions about an antique or collectible send a clear photo and information to Donna at footwdw@aol.com, or call her at 391-6550.

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