Author: Matt Ingersoll

News from the local food scene

• Celebrate with spuds: Join The Potato Concept for its one-year anniversary celebration at Rockingham Brewing Co. (1 Corporate Park Drive, Unit 1, Derry) Friday, Aug. 19, from 4 to 8 p.m., which also happens to be National Potato Day. Lauren Lefebvre and Brandon Rainer of The Potato Concept will be serving several of their specialty loaded baked potato flavors, including jambalaya, barbecue vegan tofu and the loaded classic, the latter of which features bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, chives and sour cream. Each of these options is $12 and includes a sweet potato cupcake with marshmallow frosting from Bearded Baking Co., and Rockingham Brewing Co. will have its Rum Raisin Spud Heavy on tap. Axes on the Go, a mobile ax throwing venue, will also be out in the parking lot. Visit thepotatoconcept.com.

• Greekfest Express returns: Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (111 Island Pond Road, Manchester) is holding its annual Greekfest Express on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Now through Aug. 21, orders are being accepted for a variety of freshly cooked Greek dinners, like marinated lamb kebabs, half-roasted chicken, pasticho (Greek lasagna) and Greek-style meatballs in a tomato sauce. All dinners come with rice, Greek-style green beans and bread, while other available a la carte options include open-faced ground beef and lamb gyro plates with fries, spinach or feta cheese petas, and tossed Greek salads with or without grilled chicken or gyro meat. For desserts, there is baklava, loukoumades (fried dough balls), and various Greek cookies, like koulourakia (crisp braided butter cookies) and finikia (honey walnut cookies dipped in honey syrup). Pickups will be drive-thru only on the church grounds — no walk-ins. Visit foodfest.assumptionnh.org

• Ballpark brews: There’s still time to get your ticket to this year’s Gate City Brewfest, a family-friendly event returning to Holman Stadium (67 Amherst St., Nashua) on Saturday, Aug. 20, in its traditional format for the first time since 2019. Organized by Bellavance Beverage Co. in partnership with the City of Nashua, Gate City Brewfest is expected to feature more than 150 individual beers, ciders and seltzers to try from dozens of local and regional purveyors, all in a wide variety of styles. While the event’s signature chicken wing competition will not be returning this year, there will be a greater food truck presence, along with a full schedule of live music planned. Tickets are $50 per person at the door, $15 for designated drivers and attendees under 21, and free for kids ages 12 and under. See gatecitybrewfestnh.com or visit issuu.com/hippopress to check out our story on the event, appearing on page 25 of the Aug. 11 issue.

Gate City Brewfest returns after three-year hiatus

Unlike most local beer festivals, Gate City Brewfest is unique for welcoming visitors of all ages. That’s because the annual event, returning to Holman Stadium in Nashua for its eighth year on Saturday, Aug. 20, is about more than just pouring beer — attendees are treated to an afternoon filled with games, live music acts, local vendors, food trucks and more.

This is the first time since the pandemic struck that Gate City Brewfest has been able to operate in its traditional format, said Chelsea Dennis, marketing manager of Bellavance Beverage Co., which hosts the event in collaboration with the City of Nashua each year. After taking a year off in 2020, organizers morphed the event into a music festival for 2021. But while they were able to raise funds for the Nashua Police Athletic League, Dennis said it just wasn’t the same.

“We’re excited to bring the event back to a true brewfest form. It’s been three years since then,” Dennis said. “So much has changed in that time, and we just feel like we really have the best year yet on deck. It is going to be a little different, but we think it makes the most sense.”

Since the first event in 2013, the scale of Gate City Brewfest’s offerings has grown considerably — this year, there are expected to be more than 150 individual beers, ciders and seltzers from dozens of local and regional craft breweries to choose from, all in a wide variety of styles.

“They usually decide what they’ll bring like the week before, because it depends on what inventory they have, and if anything new or seasonal is coming out,” Dennis said. “So if they have fall beers, they will try to bring them if they are ready. … I think a safe estimate would be that they each bring three to four options, so all the different kinds of beers are covered.”

Dennis added that a special VIP ticket rate grants attendees access into the ballpark an hour earlier, when a series of exclusive limited beer releases will be served.

Ready-to-drink canned cocktails will also have a larger-than-before presence at this year’s event.

“If you don’t like beer, there are so many options for you,” Dennis said. “Obviously there’s hard cider, which we’ve had every year … but more than that, we have different wine options and vodka-based and tequila-based cocktails that will be there too.”

One of the most notable changes to this year’s Gate City Brewfest is the elimination of the chicken wing competition. While it had remained a big draw over the years, Dennis said the rising costs of product and a lack of staff among restaurant participants were the major factors in the event committee’s decision not to bring the competition back. Instead, the festival is planning to welcome additional food trucks — the Seacoast Pretzel Co., which offers freshly baked Bavarian-style soft pretzels, and The Puddle Jumper, a mobile food trailer brought to you by the owners of The Flight Center Beer Cafe in Nashua, are among this year’s vendors.

A full schedule of live local music acts is planned, courtesy of Evolvement Music. Brother Seamus will kick things off at 1 p.m., followed by Slack Tide at 2:10 p.m. and the Faith Ann Band at 3:30 p.m., Dennis said. A cornhole competition is also going to be open for spectators to watch, but to participate, players must win one of the qualifier rounds at an event leading up to the festival. Upcoming rounds are scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 11, at 6 p.m. at The Flight Center Beer Cafe in Nashua; Saturday, Aug. 13, at 1 p.m., at Game Changer Sports Bar & Grill in Londonderry; and Sunday, Aug. 14, at 3 p.m., at Boston Billiard Club & Casino in Nashua.

The winner of the competition receives a pair of tickets to the Boston Red Sox game on Sept. 17, along with an overnight hotel stay at The Lenox in Boston and an all-expenses paid trip to Cisco Brewery’s pop-up beer garden in Boston’s Seaport District.

8th annual Gate City Brewfest
When: Saturday, Aug. 20, 1 to 5 p.m. (VIP admittance begins at noon)
Where: Holman Stadium, 67 Amherst St., Nashua
Cost: $35 in advance (through Aug. 18), $50 at the door, $15 for designated drivers and visitors under 21, and free for kids ages 12 and under. VIP tickets are $70 and include early access and an exclusive beer selection. A kickoff party is also scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 18, from 6 to 8 p.m., at The Thirsty Moose Taphouse (360 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack)
Visit: gatecitybrewfestnh.com
Event is rain or shine. No re-entry or pets allowed. Free shuttle buses will make several stops across Nashua from noon to 5:45 p.m., including at the Elm Street garage, the High Street garage, Main Street and Pearson Avenue, Holman Stadium, and the Main Street bridge after Franklin Street.

Featured photo: Photo courtesy of Gate City Brewfest.

News from the local food scene

• Greek eats return: Join Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St., Concord) for its next boxed Greek dinner to go event on Sunday, Aug. 21, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through Aug. 16, orders are being accepted for boxed meals, featuring a Greek chicken kabob salad with pita bread and a Greek cookie for $20 per person. The event is drive-thru and takeout only — email ordermygreekfood@gmail.com or call 953-3051 to place your order. The church also has similar upcoming takeout events planned — a roast pork dinner will be served on Sept. 11, followed by a Greek meatball dinner on Oct. 9 and a stuffed peppers dinner on Nov. 3. Visit holytrinitynh.org.

• African flavors: Building on the success of its bi-monthly Taste of Africa dinners, Nashua’s Mola Foods (9 Simon St.) will launch Taste of Africa Lunch, a weekly series every Thursday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., beginning Aug. 11. According to a press release, the lunches will include your choice of one of two dishes from Africa — each from a different country — and an African dessert. “It provides more opportunities for people to experience African food, and it allows me to focus my takeout business primarily on Taste of Africa,” LaFortune Jeannette Djabea, a native of Cameroon who founded Mola Foods in 2016 and expanded into her current space in early 2021, said in a statement. Lunches, which can be pre-ordered online to enjoy inside Djabea’s space or for pickup, can also be customized for businesses. “I want to reveal the diversity, deliciousness and versatility of African food in a modern context,” she said. Meals are priced at $25 per person. Purchase tickets in advance at molafoods.com/africalunch.

• Food truck frenzy: The Town of Windham’s Recreation Department is holding a food truck festival at Windham High School (64 London Bridge Road, Windham) on Sunday, Aug. 14, from 11:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. In addition to a diverse showing of eats from local food trucks, the event will feature a craft and vendor fair, a cornhole tournament, raffle opportunities and live music by the local cover group All Day Fire. Admission to the festival is free, with all foods and drinks from the trucks priced per item. Contact the Windham Recreation Department at recreation@windhamnh.gov or at 965-1208 for more details.

• Scrumdiddlyumptious: Get your tickets now to a Willy Wonka kitchen takeover dinner party happening at Chunky’s Cinema Pub (707 Huse Road, Manchester) on Sunday, Aug. 21, at 7 p.m. The event will feature a screening of the 1971 film Willy Wonka & the Chocolate Factory starring Gene Wilder, with a total of five special themed courses to be served throughout the movie. The menu is presented by chef Keith Sarasin of The Farmers Dinner. Tickets are $75 per person and include the movie viewing. There’s also a VIP wine pairing option for $110 that includes access to an early cocktail hour in the lobby bar. Visit chunkys.com to purchase tickets.

Pelham pastry chef takes over Nashua’s Riverwalk cafe

Life sometimes has a funny way of coming back full circle — at least that’s been the case for Rachel Manelas. The Pelham native and internationally experienced pastry chef frequented downtown Nashua’s Riverwalk Cafe & Music Bar while a student at Bishop Guertin High School, never once thinking she would someday take over the spot as owner.

Earlier this year, after studying abroad in Florence, Italy, and launching her own successful home baking business, Manelas purchased the Nashua storefront from longtime owners Steve and Jane Ruddock. She has big ideas for the storefront — now known as Riverwalk Bakery & Cafe — that will include an expanded focus on scratch-made pastries, as well as future plans for an evening menu, all while continuing to offer fresh breakfast and lunch options and house-roasted coffees. An adjoining space that recently became available will soon be home to a larger kitchen.

“I want it to be the place you go to before you go out,” said Manelas, a baking and pastry arts graduate of Johnson & Wales University who went on to attend Italy’s Florence University of the Arts. “In Italy, there’s a concept that I love that’s called aperitivo, where you can get a drink and a small plate or bite of food in the afternoon, and it’s kind of like a happy hour special. … It also helps people be able to taste things that might be different from what they’d been coming in here for. So my goal is to really try to get into a place where we can do that, and hopefully have more room in the new kitchen for experimentation with different foods and pastries.”

After completing her bachelor’s program a year early, Manelas spent the summer of 2019 in Florence, where she “fell in love” with the country and ended up staying longer than the two months planned. In late February 2020 she flew back home to join her family for a vacation, with the goal to return to Italy a week later — Covid, of course, had other plans.

“They canceled my flight and closed the borders. I had left everything there, my laptop included,” Manelas said. “Five months later I got to go back, but within that time frame, I kind of said, ‘OK, I don’t know when they’re going to open the borders again, I need to do something.’”

Around April 2020, while working as a line cook at Windham Junction, she started an online bakery through Instagram called Life’s What U Bake Of It. That business has since evolved into a website with its own online ordering system for specialty cakes, freshly baked cookies, themed French macarons and more — pickups for all of those items are now available at Riverwalk.

The cafe’s regular breakfast and lunch menus have largely remained the same, though Manelas has added her own items here and there, like a smashed avocado toast on fresh sourdough bread with cherry tomatoes, feta cheese and sunflower seeds. Coffees are still roasted in house every week using an old-school Turkish drum roaster, and Manelas is continuing to build on the pastry side — she recently added cinnamon rolls to the menu on the weekends.

“I would also love [for us] to make our own croissants. I used to make them every day in Italy and they are really, really good when they are made from scratch,” she said.

In late 2019, Riverwalk transitioned away from a ticketed live music venue in favor of a more community-focused coffee house and cocktail bar. Manelas said she plans to carry on that vision — a rotating selection of cocktails is available as part of her aperitivo concept.

“I just want it to be a nice meetup place in a casual setting, because it’s such a part of the culture out in Italy … and that was the culture that I fell in love with,” she said.

Riverwalk Bakery & Cafe
Where: 35 Railroad Square, Nashua
Hours: Monday through Thursday, 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Friday through Sunday, 7 a.m. to 6 p.m.
More info: Visit riverwalknashua.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @riverwalknashua or call 578-0200

Featured photo: Photos courtesy of Riverwalk Bakery & Cafe in Nashua.

News from the local food scene

• Live free, eat local: August is observed as NH Eats Local Month by the New Hampshire Food Alliance — according to a press release, this year’s celebration of farms and food across the Granite State is centered around the Live Free + Eat Local Challenge. Throughout this month, participants can eat at or from five New Hampshire farms or other food businesses for a chance to win a prize. “Whether you adventure to a farm for pick-your-own peaches, look for local food at the grocery store … or buy some seafood from the coast, there are endless ways to eat local food,” Nicole Cardwell, program director for the New Hampshire Food Alliance, said in a statement. Challenge submission forms are available at more than 50 participating businesses, or online at nheatslocal.com. According to the release, they will be accepted through Aug. 31.

• Bring on the poutine: Tickets to this year’s New Hampshire PoutineFest go on sale on Saturday, Aug. 6, at 10 a.m., according to the event’s website. The festival itself is due to return to Anheuser-Busch Brewery (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack) on Saturday, Oct. 15, with VIP admission beginning at 11:30 a.m. and general admission beginning at 12:45 p.m. Since 2016 the New Hampshire PoutineFest has brought together local and regional restaurants, food trucks and other vendors to compete for the best poutine dish as voted by attendees. It had traditionally been held in the summer, but the response to last year’s Halloween-themed festival from vendors and poutine-lovers alike has prompted organizers with the Franco-American Centre to make the permanent shift to an October date. Tickets are $39.99 per person for general admission and $49.99 for VIP admission. Kids ages 6 to 12 get in for $14.99 with poutine sampling or free with no sampling, while those ages 5 and under are free. The event is rain or shine and costumes are encouraged. Purchase tickets at nhpoutinefest2022.eventbrite.com.

• Native eats: Join the Hopkinton Historical Society and New Hampshire Humanities for a virtual cooking program on traditional Native American frybread, scheduled for Thursday, Aug. 11, at 7 p.m. via Zoom. Darryl Peasley of the Abenaki Trails Project will lead this demonstration — the program is one of several taking place during the Hopkinton Historical Society’s ongoing exhibit “Gather ’Round: Telling Our History Through Food,” which opened back on June 25. Upcoming programs also include an Abenaki harvest food tasting event at the Slusser Senior Center in Contoocook in October. Visit hopkintonhistory.org for a full list of events and to register.

• Flavors of Haiti: After more than a year of hosting monthly pop-up dinners featuring scratch-made Haitian meals, Greenleaf owner and chef Chris Viaud and his family are gearing up to open up a new brick-and-mortar spot. Ansanm, which gets its name from the word meaning “together” in Haitian Creole, is due to open this fall at 20 South St. in Milford, just off the Oval in the former Wicked Pissah Chowdah storefront, according to recent announcements on its website and social media pages. “We will continue to offer our authentic dishes featuring our family’s recipes along with new twists on the classics,” the post reads in part, also saying that Ansanm will operate as a quick-service restaurant and will feature music, art, food and tropical drinks all celebrating Haiti. Viaud, who was a featured contestant during Season 18 of Bravo’s cooking competition series Top Chef, launched Ansanm in early 2021 as a pop-up dinner series with the help of his wife, parents and siblings. Visit ansanmnh.com for updates.