If you were to walk into a bar a couple of summers ago and order ranch water, you might have gotten some odd looks. Steve Poirier and the other owners of Buena Gave have been working to change that.
Poirier said that the first year he and his partners in the Manchester-based canned cocktail makers were trying to introduce their canned tequila drinks, their “ranch water” — a common drink across the southern U.S., particularly in Texas — was completely unfamiliar to New England customers.
“We still have ranch dressing conversations all the time,” he said. “Ranch water is obviously a massive thing down in Texas and any of the southern states. The original ranch water recipe is tequila, Topo Chico mineral water, real lime juice, and then salt or no salt, depending on your personal preference.” Now in its third year, Buena Gave Ranch Water is selling well.
“This cocktail is going to continue to boom,” Poirier said, “because tequila is on a rocket ship to the moon right now as a category. People are trying to clean up their drinking right now, and ranch water allows that to happen. It’s basic — no sugar, no sweetness, just back to basic ingredients.”
The Buena Gave team decided to start their own canned cocktail business because they saw an untapped market for simple tequila-based drinks. Poirier and his partners set out to make something different, with clean, easily tasted ingredients.
Poirier said customer demand has also been surprisingly high during the winter. “We see a lot of success with the ski community. We’ve had two great years at Waterville Valley ski resort. It’s the whole convenience factor — lower-calorie, cleaner drinking, cleaner taste, refreshing — that’s definitely becoming more of a thing as we meander through this whole process.”
The decision was made early on to limit the number of Buena Gave products to tequila-based cocktails that are popular in Mexico and the Southwest, near Jalisco, Mexico, where tequila is produced. A strong example of this is Buena Gave’s Cantarito.
“It’s a classic Mexican drink in tequila country,” Poirier said. “You get it at a lot of roadside stands and bars. It’s named after the mug it’s served in — a terracotta mug called a cantarito. It’s grapefruit juice and orange juice, with tequila, some soda water, sugar or no sugar depending on your preference. It’s like a mimosa meets a paloma. It’s super juicy, super citrusy. It’s unique [in this type of product]; the can is close to 28 or 30 percent fruit juice.”
“There are lots of places that just have beer and wine licences and don’t have full liquor licenses,” Poirier said, “and because of our alcohol level [6 percent ABV, or less], we fall into the beer and wine category. [We have customers] who have done really well with our Ranch Water, for instance, because they can’t carry full-proof spirits but they can carry canned cocktails.”
The Capitol Center for the Arts in Concord has announced its next Culinary Artist-In-Residence. Her name is Susan Chung, and she specializes in kimbap, a Korean street food.
Chef Chung explained that kimbap is traditionally a rice dish for Koreans on the go: “Kim’ is seaweed and ‘bap’ is rice. It’s a finger food. It’s not just like eating sushi with chopsticks and all that. It’s very different from sushi actually.”
Born in Korea, Chung was adopted by American parents and grew up in western Massachusetts. It wasn’t until she met her now-husband, Hyun, in college that she was introduced to traditional Korean food. When she moved to California to study design, Hyun went with her.
“That’s when I started experiencing a lot with different Korean foods,” she said. “There’s a huge Korean community in Los Angeles, Koreatown. I was exposed to a lot of the authentic food. My husband, who grew up in Sao Paulo, Brazil — his parents are Korean and everything — has been surrounded around it for his whole life. So I was able to, in my 20s, start to kind of experiment with it, and so now, 25 years later, I’ve had a lot of practice.”
“We’re excited to have Sue joining us,” Salvatore Prizio, the executive director of the Capitol Center, said in a telephone interview. “We’re thrilled to be working with her. And she’s going to be moving in a couple of weeks just to get, you know, used to the spaces and start with some soft opening events and things like that before we officially kick it off with a ribbon cutting and stuff in September.”
As the Capitol Center’s Culinary Artist-In-Residence, Chung will be able to use the Center’s two commercial kitchens for a year, while she gets her business, Sue’s Kimbap House, established. In addition, her food will be sold at CCA and Bank of NH Stage concession stands throughout her residency. She will also be able to use the facilities to do catering work. At the same time, she will be able to learn how to run a restaurant.
“I think it’s a great opportunity for anybody new to Concord to have a chance to basically experiment with any new food,” she said. “It’s very low risk, but it’s getting [my food] out there.”
The Capitol Center’s Culinary Artist-In-Residence program started two and a half years ago. “We started it shortly after I arrived at the CCA,” Prizio said. “Post-pandemic, both of our commercial kitchens were essentially sitting dormant, and running a food service business while trying to to run a nonprofit organization is quite a tall lift.” So the Capitol Center decided to host a fellowship to give an opportunity to some of Concord’s talented cooks who need help starting a restaurant.
Last year’s Culinary Artist-In-Residence was Somali Chef Batula Mohammed, who started Batula’s Kitchen (find her at facebook.com/BatulosKitchen).
“Betulo was able to save up enough money,” Prizio said, “through not only the stuff she was doing with us but also these catering gigs, that she was able to buy her own food truck. So now she has a food truck and she’s booked all summer, which is great for her. Our first [fellowship] out of the gate was a success story.”
Chung feels like the timing of her Culinary Artist-In-Residence position was excellent. She thinks New Hampshire eaters are ready to accept Korean food in a major way. She points to the success of Trader Joe’s frozen kimbap as a good omen.
“It did so well that Costco has its own version as well,” she said. “Frozen kimbap, compared to fresh homemade kimbap is completely different, of course, but at least it got people thinking about it. And then, with the K-dramas and K-pop, and people being more exposed to Korean culture in general, people are more willing to give Korean food a try.”
Susan Chung will officially start her Culinary Artist residency program and open Sue’s Kimbap House at the BNH Stage (16 S. Main St. in Concord; ccanh.com) on Thursday, Sept. 5.
Tickets sell out fast to the annual celebration of potato, cheese and gravy
PoutineFest is Oct. 12 but tickets go on sale this weekend, and according to the event’s organizer and founder, Tim Beaulieu, they go quickly.
“We sell out lightning fast,” he said. “We’re going on sale on [July] 27th at 10 a.m. We’ll probably be sold out by 11 is my guess. We have people who come every year with their families, their friends. So all those folks want to come every single year. My biggest recommendation is if you want to try the most poutines in New England and you want to come on that day — on Columbus Day — be online at 10 o’clock and ready to buy.”
PoutineFest, which will be held at the Anheuser-Busch Brewery in Merrimack on Saturday, Oct. 12, is the country’s largest and oldest poutine festival. Poutine is a traditional French Canadian dish made of french fries topped with cheese curds and gravy, and it is deeply loved by people in New Hampshire of Québécois descent. Tim Beaulieu is one of them.
“I started PoutineFest back in [2016], honestly, because I was trying to connect to my heritage,” he said. “I looked around and I’m like, you know, there’s really no festival about the French Canadians. Poutine could be our pizza. So I approached the Franco-American Centre, became a volunteer, and started doing this event to benefit them.”
Guests at PoutineFest will be able to sample interpretations of poutine from different local restaurants who vie for the title of “Best Poutine” as voted on by Festival guests.
“Right now we have 13 vendors signed up to do sampling,” Beaulieu said. “We also have a whole bunch of different dessert trucks. We have French pastries, fried dough, pretzels, lemonade, coffee, a kids’ Halloween fun house, and a lot of different French-themed foods.”
New England Tap House Grille in Hooksett, is one of the vendors competing for the top prize. Tap House has participated in PoutineFest since the beginning.
“We’re competitors,” Nancy Comai of Tap House wrote in an email. “We want to win the ‘Best Poutine’ of the Festival title, and bring it back to Hooksett to share and keep the heritage alive!” She wrote that the Taphouse’s poutine stands out through its simplicity. “Our secret lies in the cheese curds,” she wrote, “— squeaky, fresh, and sourced locally. We’ve perfected the golden ratio of crispy fries, savory gravy, and those irresistible curds.” She did admit to one secret ingredient: “Our chefs add a splash of truffle oil, which makes all the difference.”
The Tap House’s fairly conservative approach might be a sound strategy to compete with some of the event’s less traditional interpretations of poutine.
Beaulieu said the Festival will publish the names of this year’s competitors around the time tickets go on sale. “We’re having somebody that wants to make poutine out of an ice cream cone or a taco shell,” he said. “We have duck confit, we have barbecue poutine. We have a pizza place coming that’s tinkering with maybe doing a poutine pizza. We get all kinds of different things. Any kind of beef is always huge on top.”
Beaulieau personally prefers a traditional french fry/cheese curd/gravy-style poutine, but he is picky about the gravy.
“It’s a meat-based gravy,” he said, “usually beef, that has a little bit of, like, almost like a zippy pepper to it. It’s hard to explain without you tasting it, but a good gravy really makes the difference.”
Ultimately, Beaulieu and Comai said PoutineFest is about celebrating New Hampshire’s French-Canadian-American culture.
“It benefits the culture,” Beaulieu said. “The Franco-American Centre in Manchester that does language classes [and] community outreach that is benefiting. So it’s going to a good cause.”
“It [PoutineFest] is about celebrating French language, culture and heritage,” Comai wrote. “The festival supports the Franco-American Centre of New Hampshire, a nonprofit that preserves our shared legacy.”
PoutineFest 2024 When: Saturday, Oct. 12 Where: Anheuser-Busch Brewery, 221 DW Highway, Merrimack, 595-1202, anheuser-busch.com/breweries/merrimack-nh Tickets: The Festival’s 1,500 tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday, July 27, and are expected to sell out very quickly. General admission tickets are $54.99. More: nhpoutinefest.com
• Saturday eats: Chef Keith Sarasin’s pop-up Indian restaurant, Aatma, now has a brick-and-mortar location. Aatma: Curry House is at 75 Mont Vernon St. in Milford; see aatmacurryhouse.com. Place an order online Sunday through Wednesday, for pickup on Saturday between 1 and 4 p.m.
• New sparkling wines: LaBelle Winery (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898; 14 Route 111 in Derry; labellewinery.com) has announced the release of its new Méthode Champenoise wines, marking the first time the winery has crafted sparkling wines using this traditional French method. LaBelle’s Méthode Champenoise collection includes three wines showcasing a blend of grape varietals: a rosé made from baco noir grapes, a demi-sec made with seyval blanc grapes, and a brut made with chardonnay grapes. The wines are for sale at the Derry and Amherst locations for $65 per bottle, according to a press release.
• Sit and eat: Taquaria y Pastelitos to Go (917 Valley St, Manchester, 232-3348, taqueriaypastelitos.com) has opened its dining room for in-house seating. Take-out only since the 2020 Covid lockdown, the restaurant is currently only offering counter service, but there are plans to add table service in the near future.
• A whiskey-lover’s dream raffle: Tickets are on sale now for New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlet’s 2024 Buddy-Up! Raffle to benefit Best Buddies New Hampshire (bestbuddies.org/newhampshire). The winner will receive 15 bottles of premium bourbon, including three bottles of the legendary Pappy Van Winkle; tickets for two or three premium bourbon events, including airfare and hotel accommodations; and spending money. Tickets cost $100 each and will be available until Sept. 27. Visit liquorandwineoutlets.com.
• Hot sauce on the coast: The New England Hot Sauce Fest (newenglandhotsaucefest.com) will take place at Smuttynose Brewery (105 Towle Farm Road, Hampton, 601-8200, smuttynose.com) on Saturday, July 27, from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. More than 30 hot sauce companies will offer samples and here will be hot pepper and a hot wing contest, food trucks and live music all day. General admission tickets cost $13 online, $15 at the door. VIP tickets cost $17 online and allow early access to the Festival.
In this week’s cover story, we take a look at some of the places you and your doggos can head for some out-of-the-house fun — don’t forget to pack the water.
Our fuzzy canine companions who treat us better than we treat ourselves are always ready for an adventure. There are tons of locales in the Granite State for dogs and their owners to explore, whether it’s a dog park, a trail or even a sidewalk.
Samantha McKeon, the Vice President of Development of the Manchester Dog Park Association, a nonprofit organization, has two dogs, Fable and Zoey.
“It’s the bonding time,” McKeon said of taking dogs on outdoor adventures. “That’s the fun stuff. When you get a pet, you share activities together, you do things together and that builds your bond with your companion. Play time, walking, travel, adventures, those are experiences that you’re building with your best friend. It’s part of the relationship that you have with your pet. You do stuff together. It would be kind of messed up if you got a dog and you’re like, ‘You’re never leaving the house.’”
Dog parks
Most dog parks have some combination of “chairs, dog toys, and probably some agility platforms, poo poo bags, and just a space to run around in, off leash.”
The Manchester Dog Park (344 Second St., Manchester) has “chuck-it sticks, water holes, we have picnic tables, we have a dog house, an A frame, a cat walk…. Pretty soon there’ll be a water catchment system with a filter so we’ll have a water resource as well,” she said.
The Manchester Dog Park does require membership, so if you live outside Manchester or aren’t ready to make that kind of leap, there are other dog park options as well, like the dog park in Derry (Fordway, off Route 102).
“They have trails there as well as a boat launch and a lot of the people let their dog swim at the boat launch, which is a lot of fun,” McKeon said. “There is no water source for drinking so I do suggest you bring your own water.”
Bigger dog parks have their perks that wind up helping the littlest of puppers.
“They usually have two separate sections. For example, the Derry [dog] park, they have a small dog section and a big dog section. So they have a separate fenced area for smaller dogs although usually Zoey’s fine with big dogs but there’s a lot of small dogs that do need that separate area,” McKeon said.
Another fun park is Hudson Dog Park (19 Kimball Hill Road in Hudson) with a huge draw because it is located right by Benson park.
“They share a parking lot…. If I’m going to a dog park with my family I will tend to go to the Hudson Dog Park because Benson park is right there so we can have family fun as well as our pups…. They have a pond you can walk around and they have a bunch of swans and ducks there.”
A dog park McKeon is interested in exploring is the Terril Dog Park (7 Manchester St. in Concord).
“This month we’re going to be planning a trip to drive to Concord so we can visit the new dog park there,” she said.
So why bother to take your furry companion to a dog park?
“Socializing is huge. It’s a game-changer and parks are a great place for that. Also, it’s off leash. When you’re on trails or when you’re taking them out you have to have them on leash, but at a dog park … they can run really far, they can go fast … it’s more focused play and exercise so it just goes further,” McKeon said. And dogs can learn “proper dog play, how they communicate with each other.”
People parks
Gabrielle Tayag, a dog owner from Manchester, had recommendations for dog adventures at on-leash city parks.
“I own a Great Pyrenees; her name is Callie,” said Tayag, who was walking Callie around White Park in Concord. “She’s a rescue dog, so we always look for new places to take her, get her exposed to things. White Park in Concord is great and we actually do some training around here.”
Yawkey is Sam and Joe Newman’s mini Australian shepherd. Courtesy photo.
That’s not all. “Livingston Park in Manchester is great too to do some training at, walking around, there’s a beautiful trail there. Lots to see, lots of distractions…. Another good place is Heads Pond up in Hooksett. It’s a really nice trail that opens up to a beautiful lake … a good place to take the pups,” Tayag said.
Sam and Joe Newman from Granite State Glizzys, who were grilling up some hot dogs at Arms Park, mentioned a few of their favorite places for cool dog adventures.
“We have a mini-Australian Shepherd, who is 4 years old, his name is Yawkey, ideally we love to take him on hikes. In Hooksett there’s a path right near the dog park on the water, so we go there,” Sam Newman said.
“It’s the Hooksett Riverwalk Trail. It’s a great spot to bring dogs,” Joe added.
“Livingston Park, we’ll go for hikes there,” Sam Newman said. That’s one more vote for Livingston Park.
“If we’re going to take him out to run we go to Derryfield Park in Manchester, like to bring him on the fields just so it’s fenced in but sometimes we’ll just go right up on the hill because there are a lot of other dogs… really the main places we take him out and about,” Sam Newman said.
David Mack from Bedford and his wife, Rachel, take their dog Charlie, a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, to fun spots in their area: “He is full of energy, we take him, in Bedford, to Pulpit Rock Hiking Trail, which is a beautiful little couple-mile hiking trail, very nice. It’s got lots of different flat sections, hills. Other than that, going around the Goffstown rail trail is I think just the perfect spot… lots of other dogs for him to sniff and just a really nice area to go on… .”
Katie Barker, from Bow, knew of some cool trails too.“We have a dog named Cleo and she is a little rescue puppy who’s about two years old and we usually take her to the Winant Park {Trails] area, it’s near St. Paul and it’s really pretty, you go up a little hill, there’s a really nice lookout at the top, so that’s one nice walking trail to take your dog on.”
Bow has its share of dog friendly spaces too. “I would say another one that we do is in Bow, it’s called Nottingcook Forest off of South Bow Road, that’s a really great one. There’s a couple of good outlooks there as well, so they’re just really fun little walks in the woods near some rivers so your dog can swim in the river. Cleo loves it, so I’m sure a bunch of other dogs will love it too,” Barker said.
Adventure supplies
What’s the No. 1 thing to bring on the adventure besides your puppy and sense of wonder? “Definitely water,” McKeon said. “Super important to bring water. We have a pop-up water bowl. Also, for trips where I am bringing a lot of stuff already, I also have a Kong brand water bottle and the top turns into a bowl itself. You take off the cap and it’s like open and you can pour the water in.”
First aid is a good idea too.
“If we’re going on a camping trip … I also have a sling that I bring with me so if she gets hurt or whatever I can carry her back if needed. Especially with bigger dogs like that, you’ve got to be prepared for any emergencies,” McKeon said.
Once you find a good leash and collar combo (see sidebar), some added flair can help you keep track of any dogs that get so sucked into their adventure they disappear.
“What I do for both of my dogs, and I always talk highly of it, Apple Trackers, they actually have cases that can slide on collars, and I have an Apple Tracker on both of my dogs’ collars so if they ever get loose I can track them on my phone,” McKeon said.
Tips on adventuring
Be aware of any rules before heading out: “Technically in New Hampshire for any State Parks, dogs aren’t supposed to be at beaches. Not everyone follows those rules….”
Charlie, David and Rachel Mack’s dog, at Cathedral Ledge. Courtesy photo.
What the trail is made up of is important too, especially in a hot summer, Mckeon said.
“Be mindful of pavement. Try to avoid places with a lot of pavement because that heats up. If you wouldn’t walk barefoot on it, don’t make them do it, because their paws can get really burned on the hot pavement in the summer,” she said.
The most important thing is that everyone, human and canine, is having fun.
“Be mindful before you take your dog on an adventure, like how much they’re capable. Dogs have personalities too. So if you take a dog, or you have a puppy, and you love going for a hike, camping, it doesn’t mean your dog’s going to like it. If you are going to adventure with your dog you have to make sure they’re comfortable too…. Don’t force your dog to go on an adventure they don’t want to go on,” she said.
If everyone is on board and all the supplies are accounted for, adventuring with dogs is one of the best things to do, she said.
“It’s just fun, it’s fun to take your dogs out. … You want to create those memories. You want to make sure they have a good experience and it’s healthy for them, it’s important for them, and that’s the fun thing for you as a human, getting that time with your dog,” she said.
Adventure spots
Find a list of the rail trails across the state at nhrtc.org or visit nhstatepark.org for a myriad of state parks to adventure with your dog. Here are some other spots worth a visit.
Dog Parks
• Manchester Dog Park 344 Second St. in Manchester manchesternh.gov/Departments/Parks-and-Recreation/Parks-Trails-and-Facilities/Recreation-Facilities/Manchester-Dog-Park
• Hudson Dog Park 19 Kimball Hill Road in Hudson hudsonnh.gov/bensonpark/page/dog-park
• Derry Dog Park Fordway, off Route 102 in Derry derrynh.org/animal-control/pages/derry-dog-park)
• Terril Dog Park 7 Manchester St. in Concord bringfido.com/attraction/902
Other Parks
• White Park 1 White St., Concord, 225-8690, concordnh.gov
• Livingston Park 244 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 624-6444, manchesternh.gov/parks
• Benson’s Park 19 Kimball Hall Road, Hudson, 886-6000, hudsonnh.gov/bensonpark
• Greeley Park Concord Street, Nashua, 589-3370, nashuanh.gov
• Mine Falls Park Whipple Street, Nashua, 589-3370, nashuanh.gov
Fable, Sam McKeon’s dog. Courtesy photo.
State parks
Day use fees for most state parks: adults, or those 12 or older, $4 to $5 depending on the park; ages 6 to 11 $2; free for those age 5 and younger and New Hampshire residents 65 or older with a valid NH license. Visit nhstateparks.org for rules about pets in specific parks (pets are prohibited seasonally at some parks and year-round at four state parks) and a list of parks and spots in the parks where pets are permitted. At all parks, animals must be leashed, owners must clean up any animal waste and animals can not be left unattened, the website said. Pets are prohibited at beaches and designated swim areas and picnic areas, pavilions and group use areas from May 1 to Sept. 30, the website said.
• Pawtuckaway State Park 128 Mountain Road, Nottingham, 895-3031. This park is always open for recreation unless closed or restricted by posting, according to their website.Dogs are prohibited at beaches, swim and picnic areas and the campground from May 1 to Sept. 30. Dogs are permitted on hiking trails through Reservation Road and Round Pond Road only, the website said.
• Bear Brook State Park 61 Deerfield Road, Allenstown, 485-9869. A majority of Bear Brook’s trails are impassable by bicycle or horse due to downed trees but cleanup is underway, according to their website. The fee for ages 12 to 17 is $2, according to their website.
• Wellington State Park 614 W. Shore Road, Bristol, 744-2197. When the park is unstaffed during the season, deposit payment in Iron Ranger (self-serve pay station), according to their website.
• Clough State Park 455 Clough Park Road, Weare, 529-7112. This park is always open for recreation unless closed or restricted by posting, according to their website.
If you were a dog, what would a great night out look like for you? Maybe watching a bunch of humans running around chasing a ball?
The Fisher Cats have that covered.
The New Hampshire Fisher Cats (Delta Dental Stadium, 1 Line Drive, Manchester) have expanded one of their most popular programs from last season, Waggin’ Wednesdays. Fans can bring their dogs to any home games that are played on Wednesday nights. Last year the club held three dog-friendly games during the season; this year it has opened the promotion up for the entire season.
Courtesy photo.
“We have a doggy ticket on our website that people can purchase,” front-office representative Andrew Marais said. “They just fill out a simple waiver saying, ‘I know I’m responsible for my dog.’ Marais said the dog-friendly games have been “1,000 percent successful.”
Marais said the Fisher Cats are following a growing trend in baseball.
“This has been done throughout not only minor league baseball but major league baseball too,” he said. “We definitely wanted to incorporate more of those too.” With the recent hot weather, fewer dogs have been showing up to Wednesday night games. “But we still see dogs,” Marais said. “But definitely in the early months, [and] in the latter months of the calendar season that we play, we see a good amount. I remember about a month ago, it seemed like we had like over 70 dogs.”
In addition to their tickets, dogs can expect other swag and amenities.
“We give a nice little treat bag,” Marais said, “…and obviously some relief bags too. We put some doggy bowls out across the concourse, [and] keep them filled. We sell pup cups in the ballpark too; just like the humans like a little ice cream, our dogs do, too. We always try to put those little nuances in there to make people and dogs feel great when they come to the ballpark.”
Waggin’ Wednesdays Dog tickets to Fisher Cats home games start at $10 and can be purchased on the Fisher Cats’ website. Waivers can be signed at the ballpark on the night of a game. The next Waggin’ Wednesday will be Wednesday, Aug. 21, at 6:35 p.m., when the Fisher Cats will play the Hartford Yard Goats.
According to New Hampshire Health Statute Title XLV: Animals, Chapter 466: Dogs and Cats, “No person shall bring any animal into any restaurant or any store that sells food; and no person shall allow any animal to enter in any store that sells food, except for service animals…. A restaurant owner may allow dogs in any outdoor dining area at his or her place of business.”
The statute goes on at some length defining terms like “service dog” and “patio,” but most of it discusses the legal dog requirements on the part of a restaurant. For a customer with a dog, it breaks down to this: You and your dog are allowed to dine at any restaurant with outside tables, provided the restaurant agrees, and you, your dog and the servers all behave yourselves.(For more information about service dogs and restaurants, consult the Governor’s Commission on Disability, 271-2773, disability.nh.gov, [email protected].)
The Rockingham Brewing Co. in Derry is about as dog-friendly as it can legally be. Ali Lelleszi is the owner.
“We often partner with Darbster Doggy,” she said, “for monthly dog adoption events where the dogs are outside on the patio. They usually bring four to six dogs that are all available for adoption. And we’ve had great success finding them homes with events like that.”
Lelleszi likes the idea of relaxing outside a restaurant with a dog but knows her dog Rennie well enough that she wouldn’t bring him to a restaurant patio.
Gus the Pug at Rockingham Brewery. Courtesy photo.
“I’m definitely pro-dog at a brewery,” she said. “Outside, you know, well-behaved, on a leash. I think those are two very, very important things. Not every dog can handle it. It’s unfortunate, but we would never put our dog in a situation where you set him up for failure. You have to know your dog’s limitations, and lots of dogs can be very, very well-behaved and respectful of other parties and other animals and children. And other dogs, you know, just don’t have those boundaries. So you just have to know your own dog’s strengths and play toward those. They can never ever be off leash; that’s probably a recipe for disaster.”
Ice cream stands that sell ice cream to customers through a window, generally to be eaten at outside tables or in customers’ cars, also generally welcome dogs. Many soft-serve places even sell a dog-sized mini-portion called a “pup cup.” (See the July 4 issue of the Hippo for a list of soft-serve spots.)
King Kone in Merrimack has a reputation for serving enormous portions of soft-serve ice cream. There are Small, Medium, and Large sizes there — a Large cone is topped with over a foot of ice cream — but there are smaller portions, too. At the bottom end there is a Baby size, followed by a Pup Cup.
Mikayla Plante is a shift leader at King Kone.
“The Pup Cup,” she said, “is usually vanilla ice cream with a dog bone, but you can also substitute the vanilla ice cream for whipped cream. It’s about the size of half a Baby [a Baby-sized portion — not half the size of an actual baby] so most people do order it for their dogs, but occasionally we will have someone order it for themselves and just remove the dog bone from it.” Because the weather has been so hot recently, she said, fewer customers have been bringing their dogs out for ice cream, but in an average week King Kone probably sells 30 Pup Cups.
“Usually people with smaller dogs request less ice cream,” she said, “because we do overfill them a little bit because we just love dogs so much. And all of our servings are kind of crazy.”
Leashes If the adventure takes place outside of a dog park, a leash and collar will most likely be necessary. Not all leashes are made the same.
“I’m sure every leash company thinks their leash can do everything, but unfortunately that’s not the case. It really depends on the level of experience your dog has walking,” said Samantha McKeon. And the needs of the dog may change over time.
“When I first started walk training with Fable we had a gentle lead. She doesn’t use that anymore because she’s much better with just your standard collar,” she said. “A gentle lead is basically a collar that goes over their snout. So if they pull it pushes their head down so if they’re pulling their head actually goes down so they learn not to pull. Gentle leads are really good for when you’re first starting to train your dog.”
Dog size is a factor in leash and collar selection. For Zoey, the Yorkiepoo, “I would never use just a standard collar with her. I only use a harness with her because she’s so tiny…. Well, the harness, it’s more evenly proportioned on her body. It’s more comfortable for her when she walks. It’s more secure,” McKeon said.
For her larger dog, it’s a different story: “With Fable I tend not to use harnesses because they’re really heavy, they’re really clunky and Fable backs out and she can come out of harnesses. As you’re walking your dog, their leash and collar leads may change. You have to see what are things they are doing well, what are things they can improve on, are they ready to take off the training wheels and go to a regular collar or do they still need that gentle lead?”
A shockingly large percentage of 20-year-olds are convinced that they make an extremely good piña colada. They aren’t precisely wrong; a 20-year-old’s piña colada tastes really good — to a 20-year old. Fill a blender with ice, pour it about a third of the way up with pineapple juice, half a can or so of pre-sweetened cream of coconut — the one with the parrot on it — and an unconscionable amount of rum.
Grind, whiz, slurp, and you’ve got something that will be a big hit with other 20-year-olds. It’s perfect for a dorm room, or a secret party in your buddy’s parent’s garage.
Many of us go through our adult life still convinced that we make a really good piña colada, until one day, after years of not having one, we confidently blend up a batch and are confronted with the fact that like many decisions we made in our youth this one has not aged well.
Most blender piña coladas are too sweet, too slushy, and taste a little like chemicals. So what if we gave the blender a break and made one much less sweet, and not so redolent of polysorbate 60?
A Grown-Up Piña Colada
2 ounces dark rum – I like Gosling’s or Pusser’s
3 ounces pineapple juice
3 ounces coconut milk
½ ounce honey syrup (see below)
Honey and pineapple have a natural affinity for each other. The muskiness of the honey tempers the fruitiness of pineapple juice. Unfortunately, if you drizzle honey onto the ice cubes in a cocktail shaker, it will seize up and won’t mix with other ingredients very well. Most bartenders get around this by using honey syrup. It’s like simple syrup, but made with honey, instead of sugar. The water is like a cocktail for the honey, loosening it up and making it more likely to mingle with its new friends.
Combine an equal amount of honey and water in a small saucepan, and bring to a boil over medium-high heat. Stir the mixture to make sure the honey is completely diluted in the water, then take it off the heat to cool. Honey is antimicrobial, so this syrup should last indefinitely in your refrigerator.
Fill a cocktail shaker with ice (make sure that it is large enough to hold eight and a half ounces of cocktail). Add all the ingredients, and shake thoroughly. This is one of those times when it’s OK to shake until you hear the ice breaking inside the shaker.
Pour the chilled drink into a Collins glass or a mason jar, then top it off with more ice, and stir it. Theoretically, you could use a mason jar to shake it, then just remove the lid and add a straw. I’m old enough that it seems like it might be fun to hand out unmixed piña colada at a party and have everyone shake theirs at the same time, possibly while listening to KC and the Sunshine Band’s unlamented classic “(Shake, Shake, Shake) Shake Your Booty.” At the very least it would humiliate and drive away any children present, giving the grownups a little breathing room.
We’ve already established that honey and pineapple juice complement each other. Coconut and pineapple are both from the same neighborhood; they go way back. With actual coconut milk, the finished drink is silky and rich, rather than overly sweet. It goes without saying that rum is everyone’s friend.
Twenty-year-old you would not be impressed. Which is sort of the point.
