Author: John Fladd

The Weekly Dish 26/01/29

• Cake and wine: Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828, wineonmainnh.com) will host an Oreo Drip Cake Class and Wine Tasting, Thursday, Jan. 29, from 6 to 8 p.m.All tools, ingredients and decorating supplies are provided. In this hands-on cake decorating class, you’ll create a 6-inch Oreo drip cake with a bakery-style finish. To maximize decorating time, each cake will arrive pre-baked, stacked and crumb-coated, so you can focus on learning decorating techniques, the website said.Tickets include a wine tasting featuring four wines from around the world to enjoy while you work. Tickets are $71.21; 21+ only.

• New room for wine-tasting: Flag Hill Winery (297 N. River Road, Lee, 659-2949, flaghill.com) will begin service in itsnew tasting roomin a soft opening Thursday, Jan. 29. Overlooking Flag Hill’s vineyards and grain fields, the new year-round tasting room features wine and spirit flights made from products produced on site, along with a selection of small bites to enjoy alongside tastings. Visit flaghill.com/newtastingroom.

• Days of wine and mochi: Join Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) for Sip & Savor: Wine Meets Mochi, a unique pairing event featuring handcrafted wines and vegan Issei mochi gummies — a modern, vegan-friendly twist on a centuries-old Japanese treat. Each guest will enjoy a customized flight of six wines, and every pour is paired with one of six mochi gummies in flavors like Strawberry, Mango, Tangerine, Sour Watermelon, Yuzu, and Peach — all vegan, gluten-free and gelatin-free. Tickets start at $35 through eventbrite.com.

• Viking romance: Viking-themed pub The Sunstone Brewing Company (298 Rockingham Road, Londonderry, 216-1808, sunstonebrewing.com) will host a special three-course Valentine’s Day Dinner for two, including a choice of entrees, and a dessert by Van Otis Chocolate. The cost is $100 per couple. Follow Sunstone Brewing on social media for details as they develop.

Fog Cutter

Here is my take on this classic.

1½ ounces light rum — On this occasion I’ve used Captain Morgan’s Sweet Chili Lime, because I’m wacky that way.

1 ounce cognac

½ ounce London Dry Gin — We want some of that juniperish astringency in this drink to offset so many fruit flavors, so I’m going with a solid standby, Gordon’s.

2 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice

1 ounce fresh squeezed ruby red grapefruit juice

½ ounce orgeat — This is a sweet almond syrup that punches up the fruitiness of a tropical drink

½ ounce dry sherry to float

Add ice to a cocktail shaker, then add the rum, cognac, gin, lime and grapefruit juices, and orgeat. Shake thoroughly while listening to a song about making bad decisions on the beach. I recommend “Una Más Cerveza” by Tommy Alverson. Or anything by Jimmy Buffet.

Strain over crushed ice in a Collins glass. As it happens, I don’t have an ice maker in the door of my refrigerator, so I am forced to crush it myself, like a savage. I wrap a handful of ice cubes in a tea towel and smash it with something heavy.

Pour a float of sherry on the top of the drink with a straw and a paper umbrella.

This is fruity and refreshing, but at the same time boozy enough to get your attention. It goes down easily, but not so easily that it raises any suspicions. One will lead to a second. When you start to make a third Fog Cutter, a responsible person might remind you that you have a big day tomorrow.

The key phrase to remember here is, “Tomorrow’s not the boss of me!”

Featured photo: Cornmeal crepes. Photo by John Fladd.

Like a park, but with cappuccino

Village Play Cafe offers a place for parents and kids to relax

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

The target demographic of Village Play Cafe in Manchester is a very specific one: parents of young children who haven’t talked to another grown-up in too long.

You can drink a latte and watch your child play in a safe, soft space, said Kristie Ranahan, owner and founder of Village Play Cafe,

“I always wanted to open a play cafe,” she said. “Eventually I said, ‘I’m going to do it.’ So I hired moms who needed a place to work where they could bring their kids. I had never been a barista before, so I signed up for a class in New Jersey for the SCA, which is the Specialty Coffee Association, and I got certified as a barista …”

One side of the cafe is set up with tables and chairs, as well as a counter to order drinks and pastries. The other half of the space is set up with mats, books and toys for children to play with.

The cafe’s menu is centered around breakfast and lunch items, Ranahan said.

“Everything is made pretty much in house. In the morning we have cereals, muffins, croissants, apple Danishes, that sort of thing. And then for lunch we do soups, salads and sandwiches. My soups are homemade. When I do birthday parties and tea parties and things like that, we’re baking everything.”

In addition to drop-in guests, Village Play Cafe will host birthday parties and special events, like tea parties, with a costumed character who greets the children, and a proper formal tea service for their adults.

“We’re trying to [hold] a character party once a month,” Ranahan said. “In December it was the Grinch.” For the adults, the tea and treats are served on china. “So with clotted cream, jam, and then you have different Danishes and pastries, depending on what I feel like making that week. Children get a take-home cup and two hours of play; parents get a full tea setup. And then we only sell 30 tickets total, including adults, to make it more an environment that is a little quieter, so there’s not too many children running around at one time.”

“We’re really just trying to make more of a community,” Ranahan said, “especially in the winter. The whole purpose is to give moms an outlet where they can meet other moms, socialize and get to help younger children.”

Village Play Cafe
Where: 589 Second St., Manchester (shares a parking lot with Burger King)
Hours: open 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.
More: 340-5362, villageplaycafenh.com
Frozen Tea Time with Elsa will take place Saturday, Jan. 18, from 2 to 4 p.m.

The Miller’s Tavern opens

A new restaurant brings lessons from one Elm Street corner to another

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

For 15 years, The Farm Restaurant was a solid presence on Elm Street in downtown Manchester. Then after the holidays, it was gone.

Ryan Cox is part of the family that owned The Farm and several other restaurants in New Hampshire and Massachusetts.

“What happened,” he said, “was the lease [for the Manchester Farm] had ended. We were there 15 years. We had a great run there. We love The Farm. We still have one location in Dover, New Hampshire, and one in Essex, Massachusetts, as well, and they’re still staying open. It was just one of these things where we couldn’t see eye to eye with the landlord, and with the age of the building, we just decided it was time to kind of look somewhere else.”

“Somewhere else” turned out to be on the corner of Elm and Lowell streets, in the location most recently occupied by Keys Piano Bar.

“We found this great location two blocks over,” Cox said. “And we were able to bring in a different one of our concepts, which is what we have in Methuen, Massachusetts. It gave us a chance to revitalize what kind of what we’re doing as a business.”

The new restaurant, which opened in early January, is The Miller’s Tavern. It specializes in upscale American pub food.

Cox said the Tavern is not the same place as The Farm, but they share some of the same DNA. “We’ve learned a lot in our 16 years of operating our company,” Cox said. “And so we’ve really been able to dial in our menu and really been able to dial in what we’re going for, which is an American tavern. It’s a place where we would like people to be able to come three days a week. Perhaps you come in for a burger and a beer and watch a game. Perhaps you come in another time for dinner. and perhaps you come in with your family if you want as well. The idea is to cater to all price ranges and all types of people.”

The concept of the menu at The Miller’s Tavern is to take pub classics and elevate them to their highest potential. Cox used mozzarella bites as an example.

“Instead of what people would buy as mozzarella sticks, frozen, we make them all in house,” he said. “We take real chunks of mozzarella, so when you stretch it, you take a bite, it stretches for days. We have our famous fajitas that we’ve taken from The Farm, which we would put up against any Mexican restaurant out there. Our steak tips, we make them in house. That’s a home run. We have a pizza oven. We have a panko chicken that we think is outstanding. Our fish and chips are seriously good — our seafood’s fresh, you know, which is something that we’ve kind of learned from being down on the coastal areas.”

Cox said there are also high-end items on the menu.

“On Thursday, Friday and Saturday, we have a choose-your-own-cut-size of rib-eye steak. You can choose a 16-, 18-, 20-, 24-, 28-, 30-ounce cut, if you’d like. We cut it for you right here, topped with gorgonzola cheese, caramelized onions, and onion rings on top of that, so it’s a really cool meal.”

The Miller’s Tavern
1087 Elm St., Manchester, 854-8442, themillerstavern.com
Open Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.

The Weekly Dish 26/01/22

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

• Whiskey 101: Arts Alley (20 S. Main St., Concord, 406-5666, artsalleyconcordnh.com) and Tamworth Distilling (15 Cleveland Hill Road, Tamworth, 323-7196, tamworthdistilling.com) will join forces to teach the basics of whiskey. Whiskey 101: Sip, Savor & Learnwill introduce participants to three distinct styles of whiskey — bourbon, rye, and scotch — while teaching how each is made, how to properly smell and taste, and what flavor notes to look for. This class will take place at Arts Alley on Friday, Jan. 23, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tickets are $65.87 through eventbrite.com.

• Pie and wine: On Friday, Jan. 23, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) will host a class teaching participants tobake two seasonal pies from scratch with wine pairings. Tickets are $75.03 through eventbrite.com.

• Romantic Valentine’s Day dinners: Many area wineries will hostromantic dinners for two on the weekend of Feb. 14:

• Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) This is a five-course, chocolate-themed dinner with a wine pairing for each course. $79 per person.

• Birch Wood Vineyards (199 Rockingham Road, Derry, 965-4359, birchwoodvineyards.com) This is a four-course meal, with wine pairings available. The cost starts at $85 per person but will vary depending on menu and wine options.

• Flag Hill Winery (297 N. River Road, Lee, 659-2949, flaghill.com) This is a three-course dinner with wine pairings. Entree options include blackened terres major (a tender cut of beef), plantain-crusted halibut, and eggplant rollatini. The price is $65 per person.

• LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) This is a four-course dinner, each course paired with a LaBelle wine. The meal is accompanied by a string quartet. The price is $99 per person.

• LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com/labelle-winery-derry) This is also a four-course dinner, each course paired with a LaBelle wine. This meal is accompanied by a jazz quartet. The cost is $99 per person.

Ice carving, axe throwing

Concord holds its annual winter festival

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

According to Jessica Martin, the executive director of Intown Concord, one of the most exciting parts of this weekend’s Concord NH Winter Fest will be the ice carving.

“They use two large locks of ice and they’re so beautiful,” she said. “They carve things like eagles and dragons and The Old Man of the Mountain on the Statehouse lawn. There will be a little preview Friday night if anybody wants to come down between 3 and 9 p.m. the evening before the event, if anybody wanted to come down and watch them.” On Friday night, Martin said, the ice carvers will recreate the logos of the Festival’s sponsors in ice, but the actual ice carving competition will take place on Saturday.

Saturday will also see food trucks on Main Street. “We have so many different food trucks that are attending this year,” Martin said. “We have Batulo’s Somalian food, we have Deadproof Pizza, we have Wicked Tasty and we have Bumblebee Dumpling and Bumblebee Tea.”

Winter Fest will include activities like curling, axe-throwing, s’mores-making, a morning matinee of the animated movie Balto with complementary hot chocolate at Red River Theatres, and an ice bar in Arts Alley.

Also on Concord’s weekend schedule are the Concord Garden Club’s 23rd Annual Art and Bloom exhibition at Kimball Jenkins (Thursday, Jan. 22 through Saturday, Jan. 24); the Winter Fest Hot Cocoa Tour at participating downtown restaurants (11 a.m.to 2 p.m.; register on Intown’s website); a family fun day at the New Hampshire Historical Society (30 Park St.) from 2 to 4 p.m., and the Black Ice Pond Hockey Championship (blackicepondhockey.com) Friday, Jan. 23, through Sunday, Jan. 25.

Concord NH Winter Fest
Where: Downtown Concord, in front of the Statehouse, plus some off-site events
When: Saturday, Jan. 24, from 11 a.m to 4 p.m.
More: Visit intownconcord.org/events

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

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