Matt Ingersoll writes about all things food and drink, covering new restaurants and following the most delicious foodie trends in the state. Reach him at mingersoll@hippopress.com.
Franco-American Centre to host amateur cake competition
Eight amateur bakers will show off their cake decorating skills to attendees and a panel of judges during the Franco Foods Fleur Délices challenge, a new friendly baking competition and fundraising event happening on Saturday, April 9, at Anheuser-Busch’s Biergarten in Merrimack.
Countries and regions spanning multiple continents around the world will be represented, but all of them share one commonality, either their French-speaking language or French culture, said Nathalie Hirte, event organizer and office manager of the Franco-American Centre, based in Manchester. A native of Québec and an avid home cook, Hirte is also the host of Franco Foods, a how-to YouTube series on French-inspired recipes that her son Oskar directs and produces.
“We were looking to do a live event … and, pre-pandemic, we had planned a cupcake challenge that was going to be a professional competition,” Hirte said. “That obviously got shelved, and especially now that it’s all hands on deck for businesses post-pandemic, we decided to do an amateur baking competition instead. … I know too just from seeing [posts from] my friends on Facebook and whatnot that there are so many talented amateur bakers out there.”
Each of the eight entrants has chosen from a list of nearly 90 International Francophonie-recognized countries and regions, or nations where French is a primary or secondary language or has a historical connection to the culture. France, Canada and Haiti, in addition to Croatia, Belgium and even Egypt and Mexico, have all been selected, and contestants will be tasked with creating a cake that is decorated to reflect that country in some way.
“They will pre-make everything at home, and then they will be bringing that to the event and will be putting together the cake and decorating it there,” Hirte said. “There are certain rules, so for example every cake has to have a minimum of two tiers. One of the tiers must be a sponge, so a regular cake batter, and then every cake must have a buttercream element and a cookie element.”
Once at the venue, contestants will be timed — one hour for single decorators and 45 minutes for teams of two — to create their cakes, and attendees are free to watch. There will also be a cash bar and light finger food appetizers to be provided by Celebrations Catering.
The judge panel will include local chefs Alex Waddell and Matt Provencher, as well as Marie-Josée Duquette, a representative of the Québec Government Office in Boston. Waddell is the owner of Crémeux French Patisserie in Merrimack, and he also studied at Ferrandi, an internationally recognized culinary arts school in Paris. Provencher is an award-winning Manchester chef and a two-time champion of the New Hampshire PoutineFest, another Franco-American Centre event. Each will grade the cakes based on everything from taste and texture to overall appearance, creativity and representation of their country or region.
There will also be a people’s choice winner for the best appearances as voted by attendees. Prizes include an engraved cake platter and bamboo cutting board, and winners also receive bragging rights and the opportunity to be a featured guest on an upcoming Franco Foods episode.
“I think the fun part will really be getting to watch the bakers go at it,” Hirte said. “We also have two very nice baskets for door prizes. Everybody gets a raffle ticket, but if somebody really likes something and they want to win, we’ll have an opportunity to buy more tickets.”
Franco Foods Fleur Délices Challenge When: Saturday, April 9, 6 to 9 p.m. Where: The Biergarten at Anheuser-Busch Brewery, 221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack Cost: Admission is $27 per person or $50 per couple; all attendees receive a raffle ticket for a chance to win a door prize. Franco-American Centre members receive three tickets each. Visit: facnh.com/fleur-delices-challenge Reserve your admission spot to the event by Monday, April 4.
Featured photo: Scenes from Franco Foods, a YouTube series hosted by Franco-American Centre office manager Nathalie Hirte. Courtesy photos.
• Keep on brewing on: New Hampshire Craft Beer Week, an annual 10-day celebration of the Granite State’s craft brewing industry, is returning for its eighth year. Starting Thursday, April 7, and continuing through Saturday, April 16, breweries all over New Hampshire are showcasing special beer releases, hosting events and participating in various collaborative social media efforts to keep the community connected and engaged. It’s overseen by the New Hampshire Brewers Association, which represents the more than 90 craft brewers statewide. Visit nhbrewers.org or follow the Facebook page @nhcraftbeerweek for the most up-to-date Craft Beer Week happenings. The Association is also planning to bring back its long-awaited Keep NH Brewing Festival this summer — that event is set for Saturday, July 9, at the Everett Arena Waterfront Park in Concord, and tickets are expected to be available soon.
• Ukrainian wines: Join WineNot Boutique in Nashua for a special virtual wine tasting on Friday, April 1, from 7 to 8 p.m., featuring selections from ArtWinery, a producer of sparkling wines based in Ukraine. Scheduled pours during the tasting include several of its white and rose sparkling wines, which are available for sale at WineNot, and admission is free via Zoom with a minimum purchase of two bottles. WineNot will be donating 10 percent of the proceeds to the Ukrainian Red Cross, and its importer, Saperavi USA, will be matching all donations as well. Visit winenotboutique.com or find the event page on Facebook @winenotboutique to register.
• Grilled cheese and ice cream: Manchester food truckers Alex and Marcie Pichardo of Prime Time Grilled Cheese have a new brick-and-mortar restaurant, which opened March 18 at 119 Hanover St. in the Queen City. The space operates in a fast casual atmosphere with both bar and table seating inside, offering a menu of all kinds of unique takes on the traditional grilled cheese sandwich, from Buffalo chicken and pulled pork grilled cheeses to a Philly cheese steak option, a jalapeno macaroni and cheese sandwich and more. Other menu items include a lineup of a few soups, sides and drinks, with a few domestic and local craft beers, craft cocktails, and a small space for regular live local music planned. The eatery also shares space with Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream, which is the franchise’s first location in Manchester. Prime Time Grilled Cheese is open Monday through Wednesday from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m., Thursday through Saturday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Visit primetimegrilledcheese.com.
• Seafood worker study: Seafood workers were twice as likely to contract Covid-19 as workers in other food industries during the height of the pandemic, according to a recently published University of New Hampshire study. Researchers looking at the effects of the pandemic on the country’s seafood industry found that a majority of Covid cases from the summer of 2020 through the beginning of 2021 involved workers in seafood processing who tend to work in close proximity to each other for long hours. “Even though … precautions were set in place reducing the number of workers on processing lines, it meant longer shifts and increased exposure overall,” UNH assistant professor of biological sciences Easton White said in a statement. “Fishing vessels had similar issues, where crews on crowded boats faced challenges wearing PPE, or masks, in wet and windy conditions.”
Kaylon Sweet — known by many simply as “Sweets” — is the owner of Osteria Poggio (18 Main St., Center Harbor, 250-8007, osteriapoggio.com), a farm-to-table Italian eatery set inside the historic Coe House, which overlooks Lake Winnipesaukee. In late January, he also took over culinary operations of the Mak’n Ends Meat food truck (maknendsmeat.com, and on Facebook and Instagram @maknendsmeat) as part of a collaboration with its owners, the Osgood family of Birch Rise Farm in Sanbornton. Mak’n Ends Meat is unique for utilizing Birch Rise’s own farm-raised proteins on board the truck, giving Sweet the opportunity to dabble in all kinds of menu options, such as pork smash burgers, chicken tacos, ham and cheese “foldies,” and ramen burgers topped with a house Japanese-style barbecue sauce. One of Sweet’s first restaurant jobs was at Cookie’s Chuck Wagon in Hudson, a town where he lived for a few years as a teenager — since then, he has studied Italian cuisine abroad in Florence and, upon returning to the Granite State, has gone on to establish himself as a chef working closely with local farms in sourcing his ingredients. Locally, you can find Mak’n Ends Meat parked at Lithermans Limited Brewery (126B Hall St., Concord) on Friday, March 25, from 4 to 8 p.m. Sweet will then return to Lithermans for its six-year anniversary celebration on April 8 and April 9, and he’s also due to appear at Great North Aleworks (1050 Holt Ave., Manchester) on April 16.
What is your must-have kitchen item?
You’ve got to have a nice flat metal spatula and a towel. … I can make everything else work with those items.
What would you have for your last meal?
My mom makes these pork ribs with a barbecue sauce recipe that my grandmother gave her … [and] they always come out absolutely amazing. I’d want those one last time. She does a chocolate raspberry cheesecake too that I go nuts for. … Then I would also have our Caesar salad with our house hot sauce squirted into it, and some smoked Gouda mac and cheese with honey. It’s your last meal, so you’ve got to make it count, you know?
What is your favorite local restaurant?
The Thompson House Eatery up in Jackson is one. I have a buddy who owns it. He was just up for a [James] Beard [award] and he’s definitely earned it. … I’d also have to say The Wilder in Portsmouth. It’s always fantastic.
What celebrity would you like to see ordering from the truck?
[Chef] Mason Hereford from Turkey and the Wolf, which is a sandwich place in New Orleans. His claim to fame is a fried bologna sandwich. … He’s somebody that I follow religiously on all of the social media platforms. He’s very much a guy that is who he is … [and] I’d like to have him come through because I know I’d get an honest answer out of him.
What is your favorite thing on the truck’s menu?
I really like our pork smash burger. It’s a ground sausage-based burger that we just pound out and fry up. I like to do that with a fried egg, some bacon jam and chipotle aioli. … I’d have to say that the ham and cheese foldy is also something that I really like. It’s basically like a ham and cheese quesadilla, but the ham from Birch Rise Farm is what makes it. It’s an insanely good ham.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
Tacos and Asian fusion, to be honest. … Every time I see some place trying to start their own thing, that’s where it seems to be that they are gravitating toward.
What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
Usually just a bagel, egg and cheese sandwich and then I’ll dip it in something. … I’ve also been playing around a lot lately with fried rice.
Ramen smash burgers From the kitchen of Kaylon Sweet of Osteria Poggio and the Mak’n Ends Meat food truck (yields about three burgers)
3 Martin’s potato buns ¾ pound ground pork 1 teaspoon canola oil 2 Tablespoons water 1 bag instant ramen noodles 3 slices American cheese Japanese barbecue sauce Any additional toppings of choice (optional)
Heat up your ramen per instructions. Drain and set aside. Save the seasoning packet for the burgers. Heat up a nonstick pan and add canola oil. Divide ground pork into three equally sized balls and semi-flatten. Season with ramen seasoning packet and salt on one side. Place in the pan and leave to get a hard sear (according to Sweet, it should achieve a dark golden brown color, “like good maple syrup”). Season the uncooked side and flip. Smash burgers down and flatten. Add one slice of cheese to each patty. Cook through and set aside. Add ramen into the still hot pan. Add two tablespoons of water to release the sticky bits, then add the Japanese barbecue sauce. Once all of the noodles are coated, set aside and prepare to build. Put a patty on a bun, add ramen on top and place your top bun on. Add any other optional toppings — Sweet’s favorites to use are shredded lettuce, chipotle mayonnaise, pickled onions, pickled ginger and a fried egg.
For the Japanese barbecue sauce: 1 cup soy sauce 1 cup brown sugar 1 cup ketchup 3 Tablespoons rice wine vinegar 2 cloves garlic ¼ cup pickled ginger ¼ cup chopped scallions 1 ripe pear, with cores chopped
Place all ingredients into a blender and puree until smooth. Pour into a saucepan and cook on a low temperature until the mixture has reduced by a third. Cook and store in an airtight container.
Woodman’s Artisan Bakery to open storefront in Nashua
Bill Woodman gained a following across the local farmers market scene for his European-style artisan breads, first selling in Salem in 2018 before branching out to six markets by the following summer. Nearly four years later, Woodman is expanding his startup bread business into a storefront, giving him his own permanent spot to bake as well as an opportunity to serve coffees, teas, sandwiches and grab-and-go pastries.
Woodman’s Artisan Bakery is due to open in the coming weeks on the corner of Amherst and Sunapee streets in North Nashua — it’s in the former spot of Great Harvest Bread Co., which has sat vacant since December 2019. Upon coming into the space, Woodman connected with former Great Harvest owner Jeremy St. Hilaire, who welcomed him to the neighborhood, shared his own experiences, and helped go over the basics of its unique multiton 48-pan oven.
Photo courtesy of Woodman’s Artisan Bakery.
Woodman’s breads are 100 percent scratch-baked and range from various country ryes and sourdoughs to flavored options like a cranberry walnut and an Italian focaccia with Parmesan and rosemary. His product line also includes traditional French butter croissants and pain au chocolat pastries, as well as soft blueberry scones and lightly salted German-style pretzels.
A Manchester native, Woodman attended Springfield College in Massachusetts before transferring to Southern New Hampshire University to study culinary arts. From there, he would hold multiple kitchen jobs over the years, and it was while as a cook at the RiverMead, a retirement home in Peterborough, that he got the opportunity to attend bread baking intensive courses at King Arthur Flour in Vermont, thanks to an educational reimbursement program.
“I had always had an interest in breads, but no one ever knew much to teach me about them,” he said. “I did the program at King Arthur, came back to the retirement home and then was doing fresh bread for them every day. … People were going crazy about it to the point where we ended up setting up a sale with three or four different types of bread. So that went over very, very well.”
In May 2018, Woodman applied to become a vendor at the Salem Farmers Market. Dave Hippert, a longtime friend of his who owns Sal’s Pizza in Hooksett, agreed to let him use his oven after hours, where he currently bakes his breads and pastries.
“He closes down at the end of his day, so 9 or 10 o’clock at night, and then I go in, mix up my doughs and bake throughout the night into the mornings. Then from the morning to the afternoon I go out to the markets and sell my bread off,” he said. “So without him, none of this would’ve been possible, especially just with the volume that I’m able to pull out of there.”
As a result, nearly all of his items at the market have only just been out of the oven hours earlier.
“That’s one of those things that makes a big, big difference is that quality and freshness,” he said.
Photo courtesy of Woodman’s Artisan Bakery.
Once his Nashua storefront opens, Woodman will leave the kitchen at Sal’s, but he still plans to attend a few farmers markets per week. Currently he’s in Concord on Saturdays and Salem on Sundays, and he’ll pick up a third market in Bedford on Tuesdays when it resumes in June.
In addition to Great Harvest’s oven, Woodman has an electric Bongard deck oven from Germany he purchased a few years ago through a mutual connection with a Portsmouth chef.
“It’s kind of like your Lamborghini of ovens, so to speak,” he said. “Anything that’s got a real nice crust and a chewy crumb is going to come out of there, because you get that steam injection. … You get a little bit of water, which keeps the dough pliable enough so that it grows and expands properly, but then when it starts evaporating off, you start basically caramelizing the sugars on the surface of that dough, and it gives you that color and crispiness that you want.”
Woodman plans to get into baking ciabattas and baguettes, breads he said he hasn’t regularly done in a few years. He’ll also be able to produce all of his other artisan breads on an even larger scale than before, thanks to his newfound 24/7 access. One of his flagship products is called the “Yukon Dave” sourdough — it’s named after a farmers market customer who gifted him a sourdough starter that originated in Alaska sometime in the 1960s.
On the retail side, Woodman will have a display case featuring grab-and-go pastries as well as drip coffee sourced from A&E, a USDA-certified organic roaster. Eventually, he said, he’d like to add cappuccinos and lattes and plans to offer pizzas, sandwiches and other lunch items.
Woodman’s Artisan Bakery An opening date is expected in the coming weeks for the bakery’s storefront. In the meantime, find owner and bread maker Bill Woodman at the Downtown Concord Winter Farmers Market (7 Eagle Square, Concord) on Saturdays from 9 a.m. to noon, and at the Salem Farmers Market (LaBelle Winery Derry, 14 Route 111, Derry) on Sundays from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. Where: 4 Sunapee St., Nashua Hours: TBA More info: Visit woodmansartisanbakery.com, or find them on Facebook @woodmansartisanbakery and Instagram @woodmans.artisan.bakery
Featured photo: Photos courtesy of Woodman’s Artisan Bakery.
• Maple madness: There’s still time to go tour a local sugarhouse for New Hampshire Maple Month, which will hold its final weekend on Saturday, March 26, and Sunday, March 27. Visit the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association’s online directory at nhmapleproducers.com for a list of participating farms and sugarhouses. Even though Maple Weekend was last weekend, several maple producers across the state are continuing to welcome visitors for sugaring tours, samples and gift shop product sales. You can also check out our coverage of Maple Weekend in the Hippo’s March 17 issue, which begins on page 10 and includes recipes and details about this season’s syrup production. Visit issuu.com/hippopress to read the e-edition for free.
• Heirloom feasts: Join the Concord Garden Club in welcoming Ellen Ecker Ogden, author of The New Heirloom Garden, for a virtual event on Saturday, March 26, at 1 p.m., in partnership with Gibson’s Bookstore. Ogden will talk about her book and discuss the essentials of how to prepare, plant and maintain an heirloom food garden. Released in early 2021, The New Heirloom Garden is filled with tips on how to grow various heirloom vegetables, herbs and flowers, and includes 55 recipes for everything from entrees and sides to desserts, drinks and more. Registration is free but required to receive a link to the Zoom webinar. Donations are accepted through Eventbrite, with proceeds split between Gibson’s Bookstore and the Concord Garden Club, and copies of Ogden’s book are also available for sale. Visit gibsonsbookstore.com.
• PoutineFest is back: After a successful event in 2021, the New Hampshire PoutineFest is returning to Anheuser-Busch Tour Center & Biergarten (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack) on Saturday, Oct. 15, according to a recent announcement on its website and social media channels. Since 2016, the annual festival 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 festival from both vendors and poutine lovers alike has prompted organizers with the Franco-American Centre to make a permanent shift to October. Details on ticket sales are expected soon. Visit nhpoutinefest.com.
• Mile Away to return: After previously announcing late last year that it would close its kitchen space in January, Milford’s Mile Away Restaurant will now be reopening on April 6, according to a message recently posted on its website. Reservations will be required going forward, due to limited staffing, the message reads in part. Additionally, public events with set menus are being planned for every Saturday and Sunday in April, during which Mile Away’s regular dinner menu will not be available. The eatery will also be open for Easter — reservations are being accepted now for special meals that will include an appetizer, a salad, an entree and a dessert. According to its website, Mile Away is in a historic spot in town — the site of one of the earliest settlements in New England in the 18th century. Visit mileawayrestaurantnh.com.
Megan Kurs is the owner of The Yolk Grill (116 Bridge St., Pelham, 635-0992, theyolkgrill.com), a family restaurant that opened in the fall of 2019, offering breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Originally known as Alicia’s Diner, the eatery was first owned by Kurs’s stepsister’s dad, Roger Chagnon, and she worked there when she was younger. Benedicts, omelets, burgers and sandwiches are all part of the menu, while other items have their own unique twist, from Oreo cookie-filled pancakes and Captain Crunch French toast to Tater Tot nachos and Buffalo chicken and waffles. The Yolk Grill is also known for its monthly rotating freakshakes: flavored milkshakes stacked with all types of candies and baked goods.
What is your must-have kitchen item?
Definitely a spatula, no matter what position on the line I am in.
What would you have for your last meal?
It would be a filet with asparagus and mac and cheese. That’s my favorite meal, and it’s my go-to when we go out to eat.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
We enjoy going to the Old School Bar & Grill in Windham. It just has a really good atmosphere.
What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
We like to cook chicken Parm. Just a regular ziti with some hand-breaded chicken.
What is your favorite thing on your menu?
If I’m looking for something sweet, then it’s the Captain Crunch French toast, but if I’m really hungry I’ll have the rib-eye and eggs with loaded home fries.
What celebrity would you like to see eating in your restaurant?
Sandra Bullock or Ryan Reynolds. Either one of them. My favorite movie is The Proposal, which they are both in, but I love watching any of their other movies.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
I feel like right now what’s super trendy are the sampler-style [items]. Right now, we have four different alcohol flights, like a mimosa or bloody mary flight, and then I’ve seen a couple of other places do food flights. … People like to have different things they can take pictures for and post them on social media and tag us and things like that.
Homemade brown gravy From the kitchen of Megan Kurs of The Yolk Grill in Pelham
1 pound unsalted butter 2 cups white all-purpose flour 1 container beef base 1 can beef broth Kitchen Bouquet browning and seasoning sauce (optional)
Melt butter in a pot. Once melted, whisk in flour to make a roux. Cook roux on low heat until simmering. Whisk frequently. Add beef broth and bring to a boil. Add two tablespoons of beef bask and whisk frequently. Continue cooking on low heat while your gravy thickens. For a darker color, add a splash or two of Kitchen Bouquet.
Beau Gamache has spent the last several years mastering the art of pizza-making. In 2017 he started an Instagram account called “ThePizzaGram,” where followers could watch his journey creating dough, sauces and cheese blends. Eventually it became known as Ray Street Pizza (named after Gamache’s Manchester street), and in early 2020 he made the leap to host a series of pop-ups at what was then Brookstone Park in Derry.
“That was the first real kind of movement toward this becoming an actual business,” Gamache said. “I believe it was in March of that year when I moved to the ghost kitchen at Bayona [Cafe in Manchester] … and it kind of blew up from there, so I quit my day job.”
Meanwhile, the pop-ups continued — Gamache branched out to other locations across New Hampshire with a mobile setup, notably at breweries like Concord’s Lithermans Limited. But he knew that with his growing popularity came the need for a larger, permanent space.
Enter Ray Street Pizza on Main, now open in the former Vikster’s Pizza storefront in Goffstown. With the help of chef Jon Talbot, whom he has worked with on pop-ups and catering events, Gamache now has a regular brick-and-mortar spot where you can try many of the pizza recipes he has spent years perfecting. Even though it’s technically on Main Street, Gamache said he decided to keep his existing name simply because “too many people knew about it” by that point.
“Everyone thinks my name is Ray too, which is pretty funny,” Gamache said. “Someone would be like, ‘Hey, where’s Ray?’ so eventually I was just like, ‘It’s OK, I can be Ray.’”
Since the space was a turnkey operation, Gamache ended up inheriting some equipment, including the conveyor oven, which he said was different from the Ooni ovens he was used to.
“We had to adjust a few things in the dough … [by] just updating the recipe enough so that it cooks well and it looks nice,” he said. “We had to change the type of pans they were cooked on, and the proofing process is different now because it’s cooked at a different temperature.”
Aesthetically, Gamache described his pizza as being similar to a New York-style, while the dough itself more closely resembles a New Haven-style, due, he said, to its wet and soft texture.
The menu mostly combines pies Gamache had been dabbling in at the ghost kitchen with newer versions of some non-pizza items that had previously been available at Vikster’s.
“I wanted at least a majority of the menu to still be available for the folks who come in for lunch but don’t get pizza,” he said. “It’s just been updated in terms of quality, and quantity too. We add more steak in the steak and cheese [and] more chicken in the grilled chicken sandwich. … We’ve also upped the small size for pizzas. They used to be 10 inches, and they are 12 now.”
Slices of cheese and pepperoni pizza can usually be ordered Monday through Friday until about 4 p.m. A lineup of domestic and local craft brews is available, and Gamache is currently working toward implementing a full-service bar, which will additionally have wines and cocktails.
For the long term, Gamache has his hopes set on opening a flagship restaurant in a larger city.
“I want to do something kind of like Roberta’s in Brooklyn, where you walk in and you see this giant pizza and you can watch people make the pizza,” he said. “The menu would be tiny, just a handful of pizzas and maybe some small appetizers or salads and a nice big bar. … I think there’s something to be said about making pizza that’s so good that you don’t serve anything else and yet it’s busy, and Roberta’s is incredible.”
Ray Street Pizza on Main Where: 23 Main St., Goffstown Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. (hours may be subject to change) More Info: Visit raystreetpizza.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @raystreetpizza or call 497-8211 Local deliveries are available within about a five-mile radius.
Rambling House and TaleSpinner Brewery open in Nashua
Since Debbie and Denis Gleeson founded The Nature of Things (now known as 2nd Nature Academy) in 1997, the South Nashua school has evolved to have a multi-faceted curriculum focused on sustainability — the Gleesons also operate a sister farm where they raise their own eggs, lamb and cattle. Twenty-five years later, the couple has a new locally sourced restaurant with a seasonally rotating menu, along with an accompanying craft brewery onsite.
Rambling House Food & Gathering opened March 4 on Factory Street and it’s a true family affair — all three of the Gleesons’ daughters, Erin, Kerry and Meghan Ayer, are co-founders, while TaleSpinner Brewery is spearheaded by their uncle Dave, a longtime avid homebrewer.
Multiple connections to the family’s farm or school are present, from spent beer grains going back to feed the cows, to baked goods sourced directly from the campus’s commercial kitchen. It’s a concept that’s been several years in the making, said Erin Gleeson, who serves as president.
“When I was graduating college, I had it in my mind that I wanted to run my own business [and] I was interested in food, craft cocktails and farming,” she said. “I think what we were finding was that there were places around to eat and drink, but they felt like just that, places to just eat or just drink. … What we’re trying to be … is more of a community gathering space. That was our goal, and I think luckily since the time we started thinking about this, a lot of that has been popping up in Nashua. It’s growing in that way, which I definitely think is the right direction.”
In addition to the Gleesons’ own farm, the eatery’s dinner and bar menus feature ingredients sourced from purveyors all over New England, and an in-house cafe with locally roasted coffee and grab-and-go items is expected soon. Here’s a closer look at each core part of the business.
Rambling House
Erin and Kerry’s paternal grandfather, Maurice Gleeson, immigrated to the United States from Ireland as a teenager. Growing up on a farm in the small village of Glenflesk in County Kerry, Maurice would visit a traditional “rambling house,” an informal inn of sorts that was known by all the locals as the family home to come gather and share stories, play games or listen to music.
Crohan craft cocktail. Photo by Donna Desimone Photography.
“It was just the spot where everyone knew in the community to be almost like that safe harbor, and it was also the place where a weary traveler was always welcomed in by the fire to lay their head for the night,” Kerry Gleeson said. “He’d tell us all the time about how when he was young he would go visit the rambling house that was up the street from him. … He had such fond memories of it, and we just loved that sentiment, so that was a no-brainer for us for the name.”
Today, the Gleesons remain very much connected to their Irish heritage. Framed photographs taken by Maurice throughout the 1950s and early ’60s adorn the walls, and a small plaque by the door heading out to the upstairs balcony proclaims the “Margaret Mary Martha Murphy Mezzanine,” an inside joke and reference to their cousin overseas, with whom they are close.
But despite the strong family influences, Rambling House is not an Irish pub — rather, what you’ll find here is a diverse offering of meat, seafood and vegetarian options that will change every few months based on product availability and seasonality.
“We’re going to start with four menus a year, but that will probably grow to six menus a year, because our seasons are a little quick,” Erin Gleeson said. “We’ll keep a lot of the skeleton of the menu, so for example we’ll always have a burger on it, but the toppings will be different. We’ll always have a chicken [dish] on it but it might not be the lemon roast chicken we have now.”
The Gleesons have brought on Jeremy Guyotte to serve as the eatery’s head chef. A native of Gloucester, Mass., Guyotte has extensive experience working with seafood, notably during culinary stints he spent at Captain Carlo’s Oceanfront and at Passports Restaurant in Cape Ann.
Out of the gate, seafoods at Rambling House include a pancetta-wrapped Atlantic monkfish loin; pub mussels sourced from Blue Hill Bay in Maine with tasso ham, onion and herbs; and a bouillabaisse, featuring shrimp, scallops, mussels, littleneck clams and whitefish.
“When Jeremy first started making us seafood samples, we were like, ‘Oh, my gosh, who have we brought on?’” Kerry Gleeson said. “He is an artist, and our sous chef, Karyn [Polley], is fantastic too. She has been with us even longer, working at the school.”
Other menu items, like the porchetta and the shepherd’s pie, have so far received rave reviews. The latter is a traditional version made with lamb, veggies and house herbed gravy.
Baker Angel Lopez is an ardent bread maker and Erin Gleeson herself even makes her own small-batch ice cream, passion projects that are now part of Rambling House’s menu respectively in the form of desserts like brioche bread pudding and house brownie sundaes.
The restaurant’s main dining area features a unique post and beam layout with a bartop and shelves all designed by Erin and Kerry’s brother-in-law, Kyle Ayer of Green Building & Consulting Group. Once it gets a little warmer, an outdoor rooftop deck with additional seating areas will open, offering panoramic overhead views of the Nashua River.
“Our favorite thing so far is that when you’re up on that top deck, that skyline is where you can see the fireworks on the Fourth of July,” Erin Gleeson said.
A full bar features TaleSpinner brews on tap, in addition to a menu of craft cocktails, hard ciders, wines, non-alcoholic beer and hard kombucha. The cafe, meanwhile, is at the front of the restaurant and will soon be offering coffee from Bedford’s Flight Coffee Co., as well as various takeaway items like baked goods and breakfast sandwiches.
TaleSpinner Brewery
On the first level below Rambling House, TaleSpinner Brewery can be accessed through the opposite end of the building, on the Water Street side. The tasting room is at the top of a short flight of stairs from the entrance, and overlooks its full production area.
The brewery, which opened a few weeks earlier than its restaurant counterpart, was similarly named with Erin and Kerry Gleeson’s grandfather — described by Kerry as “a consummate tale spinner,” or storyteller — in mind. Their uncle Dave works closely with head brewer Scott Karlen to create TaleSpinner’s lineup of brews, which currently include a few New England-style IPAs, in addition to a Belgian blonde ale, a raspberry sour, a German-New Zealand Pilsner lager, and a Belgian strong ale. They’re also working on a peach apricot sour and an Imperial brunch stout with maple syrup, cacao nibs, vanilla bean and coffee from Flight Coffee Co. There are a total of 24 taplines: a dozen each in the restaurant and brewery.
“My uncle … made great stuff as a homebrewer and had a passion for it, and it became part of a conversation that it would be really fun to open a brewery,” Kerry Gleeson said. “So it was a natural sort of thing where the two concepts just fit into each other like puzzle pieces.”
A small bar menu is available out of the tasting room, featuring some items you’ll find upstairs at Rambling House, as well as others mostly exclusive to that space, like the fish and chips, the poutine and the duck confit flatbread. Those items, while not on the regular dinner menu at the restaurant, do become available upstairs as well after 9 p.m., Kerry Gleeson said.
Guyotte will sometimes cross-utilize TaleSpinner’s products with his food, notably a beer gravy for the poutine and spent grain waffles for the chicken and waffle sliders.
“There’s definitely a cycle with everything, and we want to build on that and make it as close to coming full circle as we can,” Kerry Gleeson said.
Rambling House Food & Gathering and TaleSpinner Brewery Where: 57 Factory St., Nashua, Suites A and B Current hours: Wednesday and Thursday, 4 to 10 p.m.; Friday and Saturday, 5 to 11 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m. (extended hours likely coming soon) More info: Visit ramblingtale.com or follow them on social media (@ourramblinghouse and @talespinnerbrew on Facebook, and @ramblinghouse and @talespinnerbrew on Instagram) TaleSpinner Brewery’s entrance is accessed at the opposite end of the building on Water Street.
Featured photo: Winter charcuterie. Photo by Donna Desimone Photography.
• Franco Foods challenge: Join the Franco-American Centre for its inaugural Fleur Délices Challenge, an amateur baking competition happening on Saturday, April 9, at 6 p.m., at Anheuser-Busch Tour Center & Biergarten (221 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack). Contestants are welcome to bring a cake of their own representing a country that’s part of the International Francophonie (or where French is among the most commonly spoken of languages). Winners will be chosen by a panel of local judges who will follow a grading criteria – they include pastry chef Alexandre Waddell of Cremeux French Patisserie in Merrimack and chef Matt Provencher of Red Beard’s Kitchen, a two-time winner of the New Hampshire PoutineFest. The cost is $20 and registration forms are due by March 18. See facnh.com for details.
• Bunny campaign: The Salvation Army Women’s Auxiliary is selling chocolate Easter bunnies made by Granite State Candy Shoppe now through April 1 as part of its Bite Out of Hunger Campaign. The cost is $8.50 for an eight-ounce solid milk, white or dark chocolate bunny. Proceeds benefit The Salvation Army’s Kids’ Café program, which offers evening meals and recreation activities to local children and teens multiple days a week. Call Sylvia Crete at 490-4107 to order a bunny, or visit nne.salvationarmy.org/manchester to download the bunny order form. Bunnies may be picked up at The Salvation Army’s Manchester Corps (121 Cedar St.) any Monday through Friday, between 9 a.m. and 3 p.m.
• Between the vines: LaBelle Winery owner Amy LaBelle has partnered with Kerri Zane of KZ Enterprises to produce a lifestyle show based on her life. According to a press release, The Winemaker’s Kitchen Show will feature both of LaBelle’s restaurants in Amherst and Derry, as well as their vineyards, event centers and other amenities that were unveiled last year, like the Derry property’s onsite golf course and artisan food market. The show will also provide various culinary tips, tricks and recipes commonly covered in her regular cooking classes and seminars. LaBelle has hosted televised cooking shows previously, when she partnered with New Hampshire PBS last year to produce a series of interactive classes geared toward kids. In a statement, Zane, an Emmy Award-winning television executive producer, said LaBelle is “poised to unseat Martha Stewart as the reigning queen of all things kitchen.” Visit labellewinery.com.
• New spots for beer and barbecue: Concord’s newest craft brewery has landed — after more than a year of planning, Feathered Friend Brewing Co. (231 S. Main St.) officially opened last week in the former Taylor Rental space in the city’s South End. Owner Tucker Jadczak told the Hippo in February that the brewery’s name stems from his love and appreciation of birds. He has worked with head brewer Ryan Connor to create a lineup of craft beers that includes a red ale, a stout, a sour and a double dry-hopped IPA with Galaxy and Citra hops called Second Sun. Barrel-aged beers are also in their planning stages. An adjoining space next door to Feathered Friend Brewing Co. is the new home of Smokeshow Barbeque Co., which also recently opened its doors. Smokeshow owner Matt Gfroerer said the space triples the seating capacity of what he had before and allows him to build on his menu of Texas-style barbecue favorites. Visit featheredfriendbrewing.com or smokeshowbbq.com for more details on each.
Celebrate the sweet stuff with sugar house visits and maple tastings
Season of syrup
New Hampshire Maple Weekend returns
New Hampshire Maple Weekend When: Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20 Where: Several participating sugarhouses and farms statewide Visit: nhmapleproducers.com
By Matt Ingersoll
mingersoll@hippopress.com
On March 5 and March 6 Ben’s Sugar Shack in Temple kicked off the first two days of its maple touring season to a great turnout — and an overall “back to normal” type of feeling, operations manager Emily Sliviak said. Free tours are set to continue every weekend through April 3.
“This is the first year that we’re starting to do samples again,” Sliviak said. “Everyone wanted a sample, and it was great to see that nobody really seemed uncomfortable or scared or anything, especially in the evaporator room, just because it is kind of a tighter space.”
Ben’s is one of hundreds of sugarhouses across the Granite State gearing up for New Hampshire Maple Weekend, happening on Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20. Maple producers large and small traditionally hold open houses throughout the weekend — or all month long in March — for families to visit, take a free tour, and sample syrup and other maple goodies.
Maple warm pudding. Photo courtesy of Ben’s Sugar Shack.
It’s overseen by the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association, a nonprofit founded in 1943 that now represents roughly 350 maple purveyors statewide, president Andrew Chisholm said.
“Last year we decided to advertise it as Maple Month so that producers would have the option to spread everything out over the entire month and not have large groups come to sugarhouses, as is common on Maple Weekend,” said Chisholm, a maple producer himself who runs Chisholm Farm in Hampstead. “This year we’re doing kind of a hybrid, so we’re giving producers the option to advertise themselves as participating in Maple Month or Maple Weekend, and then my guess is that by 2023 we’ll hopefully be fully back to … calling it a Maple Weekend.”
Here’s a look at how this year’s maple sugaring season has gone so far in southern New Hampshire and what you can expect when you visit a local sugarhouse on Maple Weekend.
Maple warm pudding Courtesy of Ben’s Sugar Shack in Temple. Recipe by Mareh Bleecker
2½ cups whole milk ⅔ cup maple sugar ½ teaspoon salt 1 teaspoon vanilla extract 3 Tablespoons cornstarch 2 Tablespoons unsalted butter, softened Strawberry jam Fresh whipped cream
In a small bowl, mix half a cup of cold milk with the cornstarch. Place the remaining two cups of milk, the maple sugar and the salt in a small saucepan over medium-low heat. Cook just until the mixture begins to steam. Add the cornstarch mixture and cook, stirring occasionally, until the mixture starts to thicken and barely reaches a boil, about 5 minutes. Immediately reduce the heat to very low and stir for five minutes until thick. Remove the pudding from the heat and stir in the butter and vanilla extract. Spoon the pudding into individual jars or ramekins and let cool slightly. Top with jam, compote, fresh fruit and whipped cream.
Tapping traditions
Tours are offered at Ben’s every 15 minutes between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. and will typically last about half an hour depending on questions, Sliviak said. Attendees learn all about the process of collecting sap and the importance of daily maintenance of the trees, especially against windy or rainy weather conditions and the intrusions of animals like squirrels, bears and moose.
“We walk them across the woods to where they can see the modern way of collecting, which is through the tubing system and the vacuum system,” she said. “Then we’ll walk groups back over to where the trucks will bring the sap. We have a 10,000-gallon holding tank, and all of the sap from there will run into the reverse osmosis room, which is a fancy system that separates the water from the sugar molecules … and that makes it much less work for the evaporator to boil.”
Depending on the sugar content levels and the time of the season, Sliviak said it takes roughly 40 gallons of sap to make one gallon of maple syrup. After the reverse osmosis process, the sap then runs into the evaporator room, where tour attendees learn about the boiling, filtering and bottling of the syrup, as well as the grades that are produced and how each is different in taste.
Samples are provided at the conclusion of the tour, and a gift shop will also have various maple products for sale. Last weekend Ben’s began offering maple ice cream — that’s expected to continue through the last two weekends of the month, Sliviak said, in addition to their maple roasted nuts, maple cotton candy and their popular maple doughnuts.
“We’re just kind of easing into everything and gradually getting back into all of the other stuff that we normally would do with the tours,” Sliviak said.
In May, following the end of this year’s production season, Ben’s is expected to break ground on a new 16,000-square-foot building on the corner of Route 101 and Webster Highway in Temple, which Sliviak said will accommodate tours that much better by this time next year.
Chisholm will similarly open his operation up for free tours, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. each day of Maple Weekend. He’ll have maple ice cream sourced from Shaw Farm just over the state line in Dracut, Mass., as well as maple doughnuts and a variety of his own products available for sale.
“What I like to do that’s a little unique are infused maples, so I do a vanilla-infused maple and a cinnamon-infused maple, and then also some barrel-aged stuff,” he said.
Weathering the storm
Despite a slow start to the 2022 maple season, the temperatures over the last couple of weeks and the forecast have set the stage for an ideal Maple Weekend, according to Sliviak.
“A lot of times we’re able to produce a decent amount in January and even in February, and that was not the case this year,” she said. “We’re looking for warmer days and colder nights, ideally 40 degrees or 45 at the most, but definitely a slight freeze at night, so around 25 to 30 degrees. … Overall it looks like it’s going to turn out really well, and one of the reasons is because of the amount of rain that we had in the past year, in the summer, fall and through the winter, even.”
Maple onion jam. Courtesy of Ben’s Sugar Shack.
It’s already shaping out to be a better season for sugarhouses compared to last year, which Chisholm said was widely classified as a disaster due to very warm and dry conditions.
“Most producers only made about 40 percent of what they would expect to make, myself included,” he said. “Last year was an early start and a very early finish. … It warmed up real quick at the end of March, and I think for us down here in southern New Hampshire it never went below freezing. As a whole the 2021 season was a short crop across the entire region.”
Sugarhouses haven’t been immune to rising costs and supply chain issues impacting all kinds of industries in the pandemic’s wake, from plastic containers and glass bottles and jars to everything in between. But with that, Sliviak said sales of and demand for syrup are still up from before.
“We literally had some farm stands double their average sales with us last year,” she said. “I don’t really know what it’s from, whether people are more out and about or their kids are home more and they needed maple syrup, but we’re still seeing that upward trend.”
Maple onion jam Courtesy of Ben’s Sugar Shack in Temple. Recipe by Mareh Bleecker
2 large onions, thinly sliced (about 2 cups) 2 Tablespoons neutral oil (grapeseed, avocado or ghee) 2 Tablespoons Ben’s organic maple syrup 1 teaspoon fresh thyme 1 Tablespoon Dijon mustard 1½ teaspoons salt 2 teaspoons lemon juice 1 teaspoon black pepper, freshly ground
Heat a saucepan over medium heat. Add the oil, onions and salt. Turn the heat to low and cook, stirring frequently until the onions begin to soften and turn translucent. Add maple syrup, black pepper and thyme. Add a little bit of water if the onions begin to stick to the bottom of the pan. Continue to cook the onions for 25 to 30 minutes or until the onions are caramelized and deep brown in color. Add the mustard and lemon juice and stir for one minute. Taste for seasoning and adjust as needed. Pour into a small jar and let it cool. Refrigerate for up to two weeks.
Visit a sugarhouse
Here are some local farms and sugarhouses participating in this year’s New Hampshire Maple Weekend, scheduled for Saturday, March 19, and Sunday, March 20. Some will be offering maple sugaring tours and demonstrations, while others will be selling and providing samples of a variety of maple-infused products. Be sure to contact each one directly for their most up-to-date plans for Maple Weekend. For a full list of sugarhouses, visit nhmapleproducers.com.
• 6 Saplings Sugarhouse (31 Kearsarge Valley Road, Wilmot, 526-2167, find them on Facebook) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., offering tours, samples and products for sale, from maple syrup to maple cream, sugar, candied nuts and more.
• Babel’s Sugar Shack (323 Hurricane Hill Road, Mason, 878-3929, find them on Facebook) Open on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for an open house, with samples and syrup for sale.
• Beaver Brook Maple (1 Beaver Brook Drive, Bow, 491-0500, find them on Facebook @bbmaple) Open on Saturday and Sunday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. for maple demonstrations.
• Beaver Meadowbrook Farm Sugar House (402 Route 103 East, Warner, 224-2452, find them on Facebook) Visitors welcome any time, but calling ahead is recommended. Face masks are required when inside the sugar house.
• Ben’s Sugar Shack (83 Webster Hwy., Temple; 693 Route 103, Newbury; 924-3111, bensmaplesyrup.com) Open on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Free maple sugaring tours are offered every 15 minutes and last about a half hour, depending on questions. Samples and products for sale include maple syrup, soft serve, doughnuts, roasted nuts and more.
• Beyond the Horizon Farm (19 Gillis Hill Road, Bennington, 588-6210, beyondthehorizonfarm.com) Open on Saturday from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring complimentary maple cinnamon swirl rolls and doughnuts as well as coffee, cocoa and tea while supplies last.
• Blueberry Hill Sugarworks (31 Blueberry Hill Road, Raymond, 300-6837, wickedsappy.com) Open weekends during maple season; hours vary. Check back on the website or call for details.
• Charmingfare Farm (774 High St., Candia, 483-5623, visitthefarm.com) Open Saturday and Sunday for its annual Maple Express event, to be held at various times between 10 a.m. and 5 p.m. each day. Tickets start at $22 and include horse-drawn and tractor train rides, maple syrup demonstrations and tours, taste testing, visits with the animals and more.
• Chisholm Farm (641 Main St., Hampstead, 421-4727, chisholmfarm.com) Open on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tours will be conducted on an on-demand basis and a variety of products will be available, from maple ice cream and doughnuts to all kinds of infused syrups.
• Chris-Mich 3 Farm (285 Elm Ave., Antrim, 588-2157, find them on Facebook @chrismich3farm) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m., with a variety of maple products available, from maple syrup to maple cream, sugar, candies, walnuts and more.
• Connolly’s Sugar House (140 Webster Hwy., Temple, 924-5002, find them on Facebook) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., for tours. Connolly’s, which is also a family-owned dairy farm, will have its own maple ice cream made fresh on site with its syrup.
• Dill Family Farm (61 Griffin Road, Deerfield, 475-3798, find them on Facebook) Open on Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring maple syrup samples available, in addition to maple candy, cream and sugar for sale.
• Fletcher & Family Sugar House (2528 E. Washington Road, Washington, 340-4035, fletcher-farm.com) Open on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring maple syrup, candy and sugar for purchase, in addition to some free samples. Coffee, hot chocolate and doughnuts will be served in the morning and hot dogs and chips will be served for lunch.
• Folsom’s Sugar House (130 Candia Road, Chester, 370-0908, folsomsugarhouse.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Tours will be ongoing throughout each day, and there will be a variety of specialty products available, from maple syrup, candies and cream to maple barbecue sauce, mustard, pepper seasonings and pancake mixes.
• Gould Hill Farm (656 Gould Hill Road, Contoocook, 746-3811, gouldhillfarm.com) Open on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring free maple syrup samples, as well as cider doughnuts and maple hard cider for sale. The Contoocook Cider Co.’s tasting room will also have live music by Colin Hart from 1 to 4 p.m. that day.
• Ice Mountain Maple (276 Queen St., Boscawen, 341-4297, icemountainmaple.com) Open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and on Sunday from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., offering maple syrup and candy for sale, as well as maple coffee.
• Jessie James Maple Farm (164 Allens Mill Road, Gilmanton, 267-6428, jessiejamesmaple.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring its own maple syrup for sale, in addition to other specialty products like maple mustard, maple chipotle seasoning and cinnamon maple sugar.
• Journey’s End Maple Farm (295 Loudon Road, Pittsfield, 252-6669, journeysendmaplefarm.com) Open on Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring live maple sugaring demonstrations, a local vendor pop-up event and a variety of maple products for sale, from maple syrup to iced maple lattes, maple shakes, sundaes, cotton candy and more.
• Kaison’s Sugar House (75 Forest Road, Weare, 660-6019, find them on Facebook @kaisonssugarhouse) Open on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring maple sugaring demonstrations and maple products for sale like syrup, lollipops and candy drops (cash only).
• Kearsarge Gore Farm (173 Gore Road, Warner, 456-2319, teamkgf.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., for maple sugaring demonstrations and syrup samples.
• Ledge Top Sugar House (25 Oak St., Boscawen, 753-4973, ledgetop.com) Open on Saturday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring maple syrup and other products for sale.
• Main Street Maple and Honey Farm (186 Main St., Belmont, 527-9071, mainstreetmapleandhoney.com) Open on Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring maple syrup making demonstrations and a variety of products for sale.
• Mapletree Farm (105 Oak Hill Road, Concord, 224-0820, mapletreefarmnh.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring self-guided maple sugaring tours and a variety of maple products available, like maple syrup, cream, candy and more.
• Matras Maple (821 Catamount Road, Pittsfield, 724-9427, find them on Facebook @matrasmaple) Open on Saturday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. and Sunday from 12:30 to 5 p.m. There will be maple syrup making demonstrations and all kinds of maple products for sale, like maple cream, maple sugar and local ice cream topped with maple syrup and crunchy candies.
• Munson’s Maple (44 Blueberry Hill Road, Raymond, 303-8278, find them on Facebook) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., for maple tours, samples and products for sale.
• Old Pound Road Sugar House (37 Old Pound Road, Antrim, 588-3272, oldpoundroadsugarhouse.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring maple tours and a variety of free samples, like coffee, maple syrup and candy.
• Parker’s Maple Barn (1316 Brookline Road, Mason, 878-2308, parkersmaplebarn.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. for maple tours, and specialty products like gourmet maple coffee and maple glazed doughnuts will also be available for sale.
• Peterson Sugar House (28 Peabody Row, Londonderry, 383-8917, pokeypeterson038@yahoo.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from noon to 5 p.m., featuring maple sugaring demonstrations, maple syrup samples and various maple products for sale.
• Pfeil Family Farm (311 Cram Hill Road, Lyndeborough, 801-3158, pfeilfamilymaple.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring maple syrup for sale as well as coffee, doughnuts and other various maple products.
• Remick Country Doctor Museum & Farm (58 Cleveland Hill Road, Tamworth, 323-7591, remickmuseum.org) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., featuring outdoor maple sugaring demonstrations and maple syrup for sale while supplies last.
• Ridgeland Farm (736 Loudon Ridge Road, Loudon, 520-4337, ridgelandfarmnh.com) Open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring tours of the sugarhouse and samples of maple syrup and maple peanut butter fudge.
• SMD Maple Syrup (6 Falcon Drive, Merrimack, 978-815-6476, find them on Facebook @smdmaplesyrup) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., featuring maple syrup making demonstrations, samples, maple syrup for sale and more.
• Somero Maple Farm (21 Poor Farm Road, New Ipswich, 562-0822, someromaplefarm.com) Open on Saturday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring free maple syrup making tours and a variety of products available for sampling and for sale.
• The Sugar House at Morning Star Farm (30 Crane Crossing Road, Plaistow, 479-0804, find them on Facebook @thesugarhouseatmorningstarfarm) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 9:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering its full line of maple products, which include syrups, cream, jelly, mustard, nuts, candy, confections, homemade doughnuts and more.
• Sunnyside Maples (1089 Route 106 N, Loudon, 848-7090, sunnysidemaples.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring maple sugaring demonstrations and several maple products for sale in its gift shop, like syrup, cream, mustard, candy, seasonings, coffee, pancake mixes and more.
• Trail Side Sugar House (246 Currier Road, Andover, 748-1307, trailsidesugarhouse.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., offering maple tours, samples and demonstrations. Available products all weekend will include maple syrup, candy, cream, barbecue sauce, mustard, doughnuts, cotton candy, nuts and whoopie pies.
• Turkey Street Maples (673 Turkey St., Chocorua, 323-9320, turkeystreetmaples.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., featuring maple sugaring demonstrations and various maple products available for purchase, including syrup and cotton candy.
• Two Sappy Guys Sugar Shack (324 Joppa Hill Road, Bedford, 860-7992, find them on Facebook @2sappyguys) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring fresh maple syrup for sale.
• Windswept Maples Farm (845 Loudon Ridge Road, Loudon, 491-9130, windsweptmaples.com) Open Saturday and Sunday, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m., featuring maple demonstrations and maple syrup, maple sugar candy and other products for sale.
Featured photo: Maple sugaring tours at Ben’s Sugar Shack in Temple. Courtesy photo.
