Author: John Fladd

The Weekly Dish 26/04/23

• Make Dubai chocolate bars: Van Otis Chocolates (341 Elm St., Manchester, 627-1611, vanotis.com) will hold a Dubai Bar Making workshop Thursday, April 23, from 5:30 to 7 p.m. During this hour-long class guests will enjoy a tour of Van Otis’ Chocolate Factory, make their very own Dubai bar (customized with favorite flavors and mix-ins), and indulge in handmade chocolates. Guests 21+ are welcome to bring their favorite bottle of wine. Participants will also take home the chocolate bar mold to make more bars on their own. The cost is $65.87 per person through eventbrite.com.

• Make espresso martinis: Local Street Eats (112 W. Pearl St., Nashua, 402-4435, local-streeteats.com) will host Espresso Yourself – The Ultimate Espresso Martini Showdown Thursday, April 23, from 4 to 8 p.m. This will be a night filled with caffeine and cocktails. Local bartenders will battle it out to see who creates the best espresso martini. Espresso martinis are $15. There will be one grand prize winner, and voting will be people’s choice.

• Watch a cooking demo: Harper’s Eden Catering (35 Manchester Road, Derry, 416-0509, harperseden.com) will host the first dinner in a cooking demo series on Friday, April 24, from 6 to 8:30 p.m. at The Gathering Grounds (104 Route 13, Brookline, 978-225-0066, thegatheringgroundsnh.com). Follow along while Chef Amanda from Harper’s Eden Catering does a live cooking demo. Tickets are $81.88. RSVP at harperseden.com/event-calendar.

• Cook as a couple: It is Spring Break Date Nite at The Culinary Playground (16 Manning St., Derry, 339-1664, culinary-playground.com) Friday, April 24, at 6:30 p.m. as well as Sunday, April 26. As a couple, learn to make fun spring-break-inspired dishes. Tickets are $165 per couple through the Culinary Playground website.

• Last winter market: Saturday, April 25, will be the final Concord Winter Farmers Market (7 Eagle Square, Concord,downtownconcordwinterfarmersmarket.com) of the season, from 9 a.m. to noon. Beginning in May the Farmers Market will return outside on Capitol Street.

• Grow your own: Learn to grow your own oyster mushrooms at the Nashua Public Library (2 Court St., Nashua, 589-4600, nashualibrary.org) Saturday, April 25, from 11 a.m. to noon or at a second session beginning at 1 p.m. Join farmer Elizabeth Almeida of Fat Moon Mushrooms to learn how to make your own oyster mushroom grow kit using recycled food containers and cardboard. Take your kit home and watch your mushrooms grow. Supplies are limited to one kit per household.

• Make risotto: Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) will host an asparagus risotto cooking class on Sunday, April 26, from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Learn how to make creamy asparagus risotto in this hands on class. The Tuscan Market’s instructor will guide you through the techniques for building rich flavor and perfect texture. The cost is $59.60 through the Tuscan Market website.

• New NH foods: In an April 14 press release, Nashua-based coffee company Rare Breed Coffee (2 Pittsburgh Ave, Nashua, 578-3338, rarebreedcoffee.com) announced the release of a new product, Brain Waves, which it described as “a new functional coffee engineered to deliver ‘locked-in energy’— sustained cognitive focus and mental clarity without the typical caffeine jitters.”

In an April 15 press release, Gate Drop (getgatedrop.com), “a new energy gummy company built by two childhood friends from NH” announced a new energy gummy, also called GateDrop. “GateDrop is an energy gummy brand inspired by motorsports and built for motion,” the press release read. “The brand was built to challenge traditional energy drinks. By delivering clean, precisely dosed caffeine in a convenient, portable gummy, GateDrop is positioning itself as a true challenger in one of the fastest-growing categories in consumer products.”

Books, prizes, golden tickets

Local shops celebrate indie bookstore day

According to Michael Joachim, the general manager of Balin Books in Nashua, what sets independent bookstores apart from corporate chain bookstores is the personal relationships they build with their customers.

“The bookstores I’ve worked at and run are very much connected to the community,” he said. We do a great deal of business with almost all the local school systems. There are dedicated people here who work with specific teachers and librarians to make sure they get the books they need at the best price we can get them. And we handle all the work of getting the books sorted, packed up, and delivered to the schools. Individuals will just call us personally and say, hey, here’s a list. Can you help me with this? Can you find out some information on these books that we need? And we take care of that for them.”

Joachim and his staff are ramping up for this Saturday, April 25, Independent Bookstore Day, which the American Booksellers Association (bookweb.org/independent-bookstore-day) describes on their website as a “national one-day party held the last Saturday in April to celebrate independent bookstores across the country, online, and in-store, through exclusive books and literary items, contests, cupcakes, and everything in between.”

Joachim said the day is a good chance to show customers some of the things independent bookstores like Balin Books can do for them.

“Having knowledgeable people in the store,” is important, he said, noting, “People who have their whole lives in book selling usually wind up in an independent store … and that goes an enormous amount of miles in results, in speaking to someone intelligently about finding a book you’re looking for, recommendations, or just how the store inventory is shaped to be responsive to the local community. All that comes out of experience.”

Erin Magoon, one of the lead booksellers at Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord, said Independent Bookstore Day is one of the most fun days of the year for book fans.

“There’s an Indie Bookstore Ambassador every year,” Magoon said. “This year it’s LeVar Burton of Reading Rainbow, so we’re doing kind of like rainbow-themed decorations, some rainbow-themed search and find activities for kids over on the kids’ side of the store. We’ll have a golden ticket hidden somewhere in the store, and that’s redeemable for 12 free audiobook credits available for someone to find in the store. One of our booksellers, Kate, did a booth last year called Book Zoltar [named for the fortune-telling machine in the 1988 Tom Hanks movie Big]. She gives fortunes to adults and kids about what books they should read. And then, of course, we’ll have some local authors here to meet our customers and sign books.”

Manchester’s Bookery is also hiding prizes and a Golden Ticket audiobook voucher, said event coordinator Alex Pellerin. “This is a special ticket that’s going to be hidden around the Bookery,” she said, “and we’re going to be giving clues throughout the day as to where that ticket is. And whoever finds that ticket gets 12 free audiobooks for the year from Libro.fm, which is really fun.” There will also be visiting authors throughout the day, she said, and live music.

According to Pellerin, independent bookstores like Bookery are able to provide their customers with “curated” experiences. “[Independent bookstores] are all unique,” she said, “and a lot of our books reflect our communities. We take a lot of recommendations from our customers for books and we really personalize which books we carry. Our staff is able to work with everybody and offer personalized recommendations, rather than a list of what a corporation says to.”

Indie Bookstore Day

Independent Bookstore Day is Saturday, April 25. Here are the plans at some local participating book stores. For a map of bookstores participating in Independent Bookstore Day activities, visit indiebound.org/independent-bookstore-day/map.

• At Balin Books in Nashua (Somerset Plaza, 375 Amherst St.), get exclusive Independent Bookstore Day tote bags and collectible pencils while supplies last, plus mystery grab bags of five books for a $5 donation to the Nashua Soup Kitchen. (A portion of the day’s sales will be donated to NSK.) Author Laura Knoy will be at the store at 11 a.m. for an event featuring her new book, The Shopkeeper of Alsace. p.s. There will be cake, according to the website. See balinbooks.com.

• Gibson’s Bookstore in Concord (45 S. Main St.) promises exclusive merch, balloon animals and a “Golden Ticket” for Libro.fm, source of indie audiobooks, as well as visits from authors Kari Allen, Patricia Zube, Jeff Lang and Sam Kelley Theodosopoulos; see gibsonsbookstore.com for details on their books.

• Manchester’s Bookery (844 Elm St.) is planning “prizes, discounts, live music, authors, and so much more!” according to their website, bookerymht.com.

• Wonderland Books and Toys (245 Maple St., No. 12, Manchester) will celebrate its second anniversary in conjunction with Independent Bookstore Day with a week of promotions, giveaways and family-friendly events. On Saturday, April 25, the store will have extended hours from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m., featuring exclusive deals and interactive activities, according to a press release.

• At Water Street Bookstore in Exeter (125 Water St.), go on a blind date with a book, search for the Libro.fm Golden Ticket (worth 12 audiobook credits) and hidden gift cards, enter a literary trivia quiz (win a $50 bookstore gift card) and join other fun activities. See waterstreetbooks.com.

• In Portsmouth, the Book Nook is hosting an audio book walk to celebrate the day, starting with a free mini Loon chocolate bar in the store at 10 a.m.; see portsmouthbooknook.com for details.

Featured photo: A limited-edition tote designed by Tom Gauld, author of Physics for Cats, will be available at participating indie bookstores.

Blackberry Holstein

Let’s do a deep dive to the back of your kitchen cabinets.

Behind five or six half-full boxes of pasta, three different brands of canned diced tomatoes, and that bottle of Champagne vinegar you’ve always meant to use but never have, you will find a couple of truly surprising items that you have hazy memories at best of ever buying:

Three packets of fried chicken-flavored ramen noodles

A tin of smoked oysters

A vintage (but still unopened) jar of grapefruit marmalade

Some of us have a similar situation going with our liquor cabinets. A quick look will show pretty much exactly what we expect to see — a couple bottles of whiskey, maybe some tequila, and in my case about a dozen bottles of rum, because where there’s rum there’s citrus juice, and you have enough problems in your life without risking scurvy.

But in the back, behind the mainstream bottles of expected and respectable spirits, there is at least one bottle — and let’s face it, probably more — of some sort of purple-ish, fruit-flavored alcohol. It might be sloe gin. It might be plum brandy. There is almost certainly a bottle of blackberry brandy you have no memory of buying, using, drinking or even seeing before. It’s like the cocktail elves have paid a visit.

Let’s use a little of that blackberry brandy:

  • ½ ounce blackberry brandy
  • ½ ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • ½ ounce half and half
  • 1½ ounces botanical gin – I very much like Hendrick’s Oasium
  • ¼ ounce simple syrup

Chill a coupe glass with several ice cubes. Set it aside, telling it, “Go think about what you’ve done.” In point of fact, this more or less innocent piece of glassware hasn’t actually done anything, but it’s good to keep it on its toes.

In a cocktail shaker, add ice, the blackberry brandy, lemon juice, half and half, gin, and simple syrup. Shake enthusiastically for 30 seconds or so, until you hear the ice start to break up. Ideally, you’re going to want a few tiny ice chips floating on the surface of your cocktail, so shake until you hear them make an appearance.

Retrieve your coupe glass and discard the ice. Strain the cocktail into the glass. Because it has a stem, this glass will keep your drink colder for longer.

Ask your digital assistant to play a classic banger of a rock song from your youth. I recommend “Hold the Line” by Toto.

Sip your cocktail, and play a little game with yourself. Try to get an overall impression of the flavor. What does it taste like in the aggregate? Pretty good, right?

Now, try to identify each ingredient. Look for the flavor of blackberries. You’ll find it. Ditto with the lemon juice. And the creaminess of the half and half.

There are some cocktails I like to think of as an ensemble cast — together, they create something greater than the sum of their parts. I think of the Blackberry Holstein as a top-notch variety show. Each performer gets a solo.

Featured photo: Frozen Peanut Butter Salad. Photo by John Fladd.

Good eats for a cause

Taste of the Towns raises money for the Nashua Center

The Nashua Center spends the vast majority of its time and energy helping children and adults in the greater Nashua area with disabilities or traumatic brain injuries, but for a brief time each spring some of that energy is focused on Taste of the Towns, an event that brings together the area’s food and beverage businesses and the people of Nashua to raise money and awareness for the Center.

“It’s our signature event,” said Marianne Gordineer, the Nashua Center’s Director of Development. “It brings together local restaurants, breweries, vineyards, etc. — local businesses — and of course, our supporters, who all enjoy great food while supporting the work happening at Nashua Center. I call it dinner by the bite because all of our vendors create amazing [food] for the event and it’s all in tasting portions, so our guests can go from table to table and just enjoy themselves.”

Gordineer said Taste of the Towns is the Nashua Center’s biggest fundraiser of the year. Between fundraising and help from corporate sponsors like Milliard Bank, the Center was able to purchase its building last spring.

“[That] has been so incredibly important for our programming,” she said, “and it gives us a permanent home to continue and grow our services. We’ve been leasing our location for practically 30 years, so we’re happy to say we’re home at last. It’s permanent.”

The restaurants and businesses that participate in Taste of the Towns range from small family-owned businesses to national chains and will include Bellavance Beverage Co., Brickhouse Restaurant and Brewery, The Good Place Cafe, The Imported Grape, In the Mix Bartending, K’sone’s Thai Restaurant & Lounge, Le Gris Charcuterie, Maggie’s Munchies, Nothing Bundt Cakes, Not Your Average Joe’s, Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse, Soel Sistas, Spyglass Brewing, Tara House Grill, Thon Khao, Tito’s Vodka, Woodman’s Artisan Bakery, YouYou Japanese Bistro and Zorvino Vineyards.

“Tito’s Vodka has been a great partner of ours,” Gordineer said. “They’re also a sponsor of the event, and they’re coming back again with some great drinks…. And another great partner has been K’Sone’s [K’Sone’s Thai Dining and Lounge]. The owner has been participating for many years and just the energy that he brings and his display is spectacular. The Tala House Grill, the in-house restaurant from the Sheraton, makes a really dramatic presentation, too.”

Gordineer said 17 area food and beverage businesses will serve more than 300 attendees this year.

“It’s a really great event,” she said.

Taste of the Towns
When: Thursday, May 7, from 6 to 9:30 p.m.
Where: Sheraton Nashua, 11 Tara Blvd., Nashua, 888-9970, marriott.com
Festive attire is requested. Tickets start at $85 at nashuacenter.ejoinme.org/tasteofthetowns2026.

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

Sample the state

The Made in NH Expo offers a taste of local products

Christine Carignan is the co-publisher and chief operating officer for Business New Hampshire Magazine, and co-owner of the Made In NH “Try It & Buy It” Expo, which will be held April 17 through April 19 at the Doubletree by Hilton Expo Center in Manchester.

“It’s in its 29th year this year,” Carignan said. “It’s an expo that welcomes people in. We have vendors and exhibitors from all across New Hampshire showcasing their handmade products, their artisan goods. It’s a great way for people to come in and see all of the really cool things that are made here in the Granite State. And one thing that’s new this year is that your one ticket price gets you in all three days of the weekend. If you come on Friday, you can buy one ticket, and as long as you get a wristband from us — we have wristbands available — that will give you entry for the rest of the weekend.”

Nearly half of the vendors at Made in NH this year will be food or beverage businesses.

“This is a Try It and Buy it expo,” Carignan said, “so we want people to be able to come in and sample their way through the show and then, ideally, purchase these great things as well. We kind of run the gamut of different kinds of food and treats that people can try. So we have everything from Greek pastries to a farm that’s bringing in some pork and beef. We have chocolate vendors. We have dog treats as well. You’ll find some jams and jellies, freeze-dried candies, and lots of different bakeries.We also have a couple of beverage people that are going to be there — we have a company that makes lemonade. We’ll also have a coffee vendor there, which everyone loves.”

One area of the Expo, Carignan said, will focus exclusively on producers of alcoholic beverages. “It’s called our “Libation Station,” she said. “That’s where we have vendors with different spirits, beers, wines and mead. They’re sampling and selling in that section. As long as you’re 21-plus and you have your ID, you’re welcome to come through and sample all of the spirits that are available in that aisle; it’s the last aisle, all the way against the wall — the 700 Aisle.”

Each year, the Expo usually has more than 5,000 visitors across the three days of the show, Carignan said, with Saturday generally being the most highly attended. This includes a lot of families. Many of the exhibitors reflect that.

“This year, we have a couple of different rescue organizations that are going to be there,” she said. “So we’re going to have animals that people get to come and visit. We have Live and Let Live Farm, who comes every year, and they usually bring goats and some mini ponies, sometimes some bunnies, some puppies. And we also have Darbster Rescue that also comes and usually brings puppies. One of the great things is we’ve had dogs get adopted right at the show. So there’s chocolate, wine, and puppies. How much better could you get?”

One of the food exhibitors at Made In NH will be Celeste Oliva, a Concord specialty shop that sells premium olive oils and balsamic vinegars. Charla Mayotte is the owner. She said the Expo is an excellent way for new customers to discover her business. “I’ve been there a few years,” she said. “A good amount of people that come through. I have customers who met me at the Made in New Hampshire Expo, which is why I keep coming back. It’s a good way to connect with repeat customers. It’s a way for people to realize how good true extra virgin olive oil is. And balsamic.”

The Made In NH “Try It & Buy It” Expo
When: Friday, April 17, from 1 to 7 p.m.; Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Sunday, April 19, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Where: Doubletree by Hilton Expo Center, 700 Elm St., Manchester, 625-1000
Admission: Tickets are $8 each, senior tickets are $7, and children under 14 get in free. One admission fee is good for all three days.
More: businessnhmagazine.com/made-in-nh-expo

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 26/04/16

• Permanent pizza: On April 2 popular mobile pizza oven DeadProof Pizza (deadproofpizza.com) announced on social media that it has found a permanent brick-and-mortar location at 94 Rockingham Road in Derry, the former location of Clam Haven. Details will be forthcoming.

• Bad Brgr in Rochester: A new location for smash-burger chain Bad Brgr will open in Rochester on Saturday, April 18, at 100 Wakefield St. The opening was originally scheduled for April 11 but was pushed back one week. The Bad Brgr team has announced that on Saturday they will hide $1,000 somewhere in Rochester and have a scavenger hunt. The new Bad Brgr location will have live bands and prizes, and the restaurant will donate an additional $1,000 to the local school district to help pay for student lunches. Visit badbrgr.com.

• Cookies and wine: There will be a spring cookie decorating class Saturday, April 18, from 10 a.m. to noon at LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com/labelle-winery-derry). Cookie guru Kelli Wright will guide participants through the process of creating spring-themed cookie designs. You may choose to add on a glass of LaBelle wine and a cheese plate to help with the creative process. After class you’ll leave with a set of four decorated cookies and the knowledge to re-create your designs at home. Tickets start at $59 through the LaBelle website.

• Science fiction, dinner and MURDER: There will be an immersive sci-fi themed murder mystery dinner party on April 18 at LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. Step into an evening full of suspense, secrets and unexpected twists as the mystery unfolds around you performed by professional actors. During the event you’ll enjoy a three-course dinner. Tickets are $84 through the LaBelle website.

• “Nothing Gold Can Stay”: There will be a special chef’s dinner presented by The Sleazy Vegan Cafe (205 N. State St., Concord, 877-328-7838, thesleazyvegan.com/concord) Saturday, April 18, at 6 p.m. This dinner will be prepared to reflect local springtime ingredients, as well as the poem “Nothing Gold Can Stay” by Robert Frost. There will be non-alcoholic beverages available; you may bring your own wine or beer to enjoy responsibly during the meal. Tickets are $100 at the-sleazy-vegan.square.site.

• Gourmet festival: The 38th Annual Gourmet Festival and Auction will be held Sunday, April 19, beginning at 4:15 p.m. at the Event Center at Courtyard Nashua (2200 Southwood Drive, Nashua, 952-4536, eventcenternashua.com). Enjoy a sampling of delicious food prepared by 20 local chefs, wine and spirits tastings, Gourmet’s infamous “Golden Brick” raffle, and a live and silent auction featuring more than 100 items to bid on. All proceeds benefit local families at risk of homelessness. Visit frontdooragency.org/events/gourmet-festival-and-auction.

• Drumshanbo dinner: Local Street Eats (112 W. Pearl St., Nashua, 402-4435, local-streeteats.com) will host “A Curious Night in Drumshanbo” Monday, April 20, from 6 to 9 p.m. This will be a four-course dinner inspired by Drumshanbo’s award-winning gins transformed into thoughtfully crafted cocktails paired with chef-curated dishes. Tickets are $103.22 through the Local Street Eats website.

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