Category: Cover Stories

The joy of hot chocolate

According to Catarina Mahoney, co-owner of Brookford Farm, it’s important to drink hot chocolate in cold weather, which is why she only serves it once a year, at Christmas with the Cows, the farm’s holiday celebration.

“We make it here,” she said. “We developed the recipe ourselves. I use really good cocoa — organic, fair-trade and a full-fat bean. It’s really important for me that the flavor is very strong, so that it really tastes like something.”

For the chocolate-lover

Rachel Mack, co-owner at Loon Chocolate in Manchester, said the best hot chocolate takes you back to basics.

“I love all ways that you can consume chocolate,” Mack said. “And as long as humans have been consuming chocolate, we’ve been drinking it. It started in a little different form than what we consider hot chocolate today, but I like hot cocoa that’s part of that same lineage. Delicious. We have had a cold, cold, cold New Hampshire winter this year. So I think maybe we all need just a little bit of extra hot chocolate for this winter.”

“We do hot chocolate two ways at Loon Chocolate,” she said. “We have a powdered hot chocolate mix, which is easy to make, easy to grab, and to have in your cupboard for when you have those unexpected snowstorms.”

“The mix only has cocoa powder, organic cane sugar and sea salt,” Mack said. “There’s no milk powder added at all. What’s awesome about that is you can add it to whatever kind of milk you want or a dairy-free alternative. So, I know I personally am leaning away from milk right now, so I like having the option for a dairy-free alternative. The other thing you can do, that I think is delicious — it’s a little more of a treat — is to actually turn one of our chocolate bars into a cup of hot cocoa. You can sit down and concentrate and you’re just enjoying that chocolate. I usually take about two-thirds of one of our chocolate bars — that would be one and three quarter ounces, maybe, maybe a little less. And you can use milk chocolate or you can use dark chocolate. I personally really love our Puerto Rico bar to make hot chocolate. It’s a 65 percent dark chocolate. [The intensity of dark chocolate is often measured by the percentage of cocoa solids it has.] So the Puerto Rico bar is a little bit sweet, has a really fudgy flavor, and so when you’re mixing that with whatever kind of milk you want it just has a decadent, creamy deliciousness; it is very chocolate-forward. But I can’t say that I don’t enjoy a little, little extra whipped cream now and then.”

Mack said a good cup of hot chocolate can benefit from the addition of a little spice.

“I add cinnamon quite often,” she said. “It doesn’t take much to really enhance the flavor. And, you know, cayenne makes a delicious chocolate. For as long as people have been drinking chocolate they’ve also been adding spice to their chocolates. It’s classic flavor, and if you are the kind of person who likes your food to bite back a little bit, I think cayenne is delicious.”

Consider the cacao

Maggie Prittie is a chocolate expert.

“I’m a chocolatier, a chocolate maker and a chocolate educator,” she said. When she eats or drinks chocolate she thinks about its history.

“Chocolate started roughly about 5,000 years ago. It was first consumed in a drinking form for the elite. The Spanish came to Central America and they brought it back to Spain and they began chocolate drinking — cacao cafes, which came way before coffee houses. It went from Spain and then to Germany. So it started spreading throughout Europe — but always for the elite.”

So good hot chocolate should be something you would feel good about serving to royalty.

“And that starts with a good chocolate,” Prittie said. “And that starts with the basic products, which is your cacao beans. How are they grown? How are they fermented? How are they dried? Were they properly taken care of? There’s a lot that goes into the proper production of chocolates that many people don’t know about or understand. Personally, I would look at the origin of the cacao and the additives. Be aware of your additives. You want to make sure that you do have some fat in there, which would be your cacao butter.”

European-style

Greg Chenevert is the head chocolatier at Beccari Chocolates in Hudson. He said the flavor of hot chocolate helps people step away from their stress.

“When people come into our shop,” he said, “I insist they sample something. Try whatever you like. Go crazy. It’s fine. We have something we call ‘the chocolate pause.’ When you have Beccari chocolate, the rest of the world fades away for a moment. Whatever’s going on, you have that moment where you’re just focused on the chocolate. And it’s wonderful.”

“A year ago, I got tired of drinking hot cocoa in America. And I’ve traveled to Europe, had European hot chocolate, loved it and decided to come up with a formula, a recipe for that hot chocolate and sell it here. So I spent the time, did the work, and now I’ve got a thick, creamy, European-style hot chocolate. It’s not so sweet. The way that I make it here, it has a touch of sugar in it. I mean a touch — like a teaspoon per quart — because I make it with sweetened condensed milk. I came up with the European, delicious flavor and people liked it. Generally, their statement is that it’s like drinking a chocolate bar. They try it and their eyebrows go right up and wow! And everybody, but everybody does this. We actually turn it into a frozen hot chocolate in the summer, so you can have it year ’round. People love that as well. They were surprised by the concept of frozen hot chocolate.”

Flights of fancy

Many of us have had coffee flights, or beer or wine flights — small samples of different varieties of the food or drink in question, served side by side to allow us to compare and contrast them. At The Spot Eatery in Hooksett there is a hot chocolate flight.

“It’s four different kinds, 4-ounce servings,” said Sarah Lucas, co-owner of The Spot. “We have flight flavors that we’ve set up, but then also you can make your own and just go wild with it.”

The Spot’s flavors of hot chocolate are themed around different places, Lucas said.

“Right now we have a couple of … flights,” she said. “We were inspired by local ski mountains. We have an M&M flavor for Pats Peak. We have a caramel one for Cannon Mountain. We do s’mores; we do mint. Right now, because of the Super Bowl, we’ll have a Drake Maye flavor that I believe is going to be a chocolate chip cookie flavor, but then we’ll do more places. We’re planning a New England version, and a Seattle, which I believe is going to be another coffee-related one, so we’ll have a shot of espresso in the hot chocolate as well.”

Lucas and her staff use milk for their hot chocolate, she said, and semi-sweet chocolate instead of cocoa powder. “And then we also do a couple of white chocolate-based ones as well,” she said.

The hot chocolate bar

For Chris Guerrette, owner of Lickee’s & Chewy’s Candies and Creamery in Dover, four types of hot chocolate sounds good but is just a starting point.

“We do have this crazy thing we do,” he said, “maybe twice a year, with unlimited toppings — a Hot Chocolate Bar. We have, I don’t know, about a dozen or 16 or so toppings available. Customers come in, they get a big giant cup. We fill it halfway with hot chocolate, a whole bunch of marshmallows, whipped cream, and then every topping you could think of under the sun, just like a sundae, you could have as many of them as you want. It’s a little crazy.”

Guerrette said the hot chocolate at Lickee’s and Chewy’s has a dairy base.

“It’s heavy cream. It’s whole milk, a special dark chocolate mix, and we add gourmet chocolate to it as well. So it’s a nice, really flavorful hot chocolate without it sort of being almost over the top where it’s almost too thick or too strong in any certain direction. And we make about 15 different flavors, with Torani syrups, as well as things that we have in the shop like hot Nutella. So we’ll add actual Nutella and then blend that together and then top it with various toppings. The most popular of our toppings is where we take a big old scoop of our house-made marshmallow cream and we put it on top of the hot chocolate and toast it with a torch …. [Y]ou end up actually having to eat that marshmallow with a spoon.”

Cocoa powder vs. hot chocolate powder
Cocoa powder is the dried and ground-up solids of a cocoa bean. It hasn’t been sweetened or played with in any way. It’s nothing but chocolate flavor. As is often the case, you get what you pay for. The higher the quality of the cocoa, the more it will cost.
Hot chocolate powder is a mixture of cocoa powder, sweetener, usually powdered milk, and sometimes dehydrated marshmallows. The two powders are not interchangeable.

Marshmallow topper

Krista Mellina, owner of the Twisted Mallow Co., sells a hot chocolate mix that includes her specialty marshmallows.

“There’s no dairy in it,” she said, “but it’s still very rich and has hints of vanilla from some of the sugar that I put into it — vanilla sugar. But that’s not the focus of my company. It’s been a nice pairing with some mini marshmallows that I’ve made. I’ll cut them up and bag them and attach them to the little bag of hot chocolate. The favorites are vanilla, of course, and peppermint and cinnamon and a raspberry chocolate. Those seem to be the ones that people gravitate toward. I was offering people the vanilla, but they could have a choice. They could pick whatever marshmallow flavor they wanted with their hot chocolate mix as they were buying it.”

Mellina said it’s a bit of a mystery how hot chocolate and marshmallows got together to begin with.

“I think it might have started with Fluff,” she said. “Like parents would put Fluff in their kids’ hot chocolate and then the marshmallows kind of became a thing. Kids love the Fluff. It’s foamy and it adds a little bit of different flavor. Sometimes I feel like my mom did it because when you’re taking your first sips, it’s so hot, it would kind of buffer the hot.”

Regardless, Mellina said, “There’s not enough hot chocolate in our lives. You can always have more.”

The cocoa bomb

When it comes to rich hot chocolate at home, Jaime Metzger, the manager of Granite State Candy in Manchester, said what you’re looking for is called a “cocoa bomb.”

“It is a chocolate shell and it is filled with hot cocoa mix,” Metzger said. “You can fill it with cocoa and marshmallows, you could do peppermint, you could do caramel, you could do anything. The whole fun thing is putting it in and then pouring hot milk or hot water over it and letting it open up. And then you stir it up. Six or seven years ago I saw people making cocoa bombs and said, ‘Hey, we should do that. Why aren’t we doing it?’ So we started doing it in the first year and we couldn’t keep up with demand. We kept getting orders after orders after orders, and finally we had to tell people no, no more. But it’s cool because it’s our chocolate and … you can do it with water, you can do it with milk, you can do cream, you can do any of them.”

Metzger’s personal favorite is a salted toffee version.

“Because,” she said, “you know, salt makes everything better. It just takes it to a whole new level. The shell is half dark chocolate, half milk chocolate, with hot cocoa mix and toffee pieces inside, and then toffee pieces on the outside with a sprinkle of salt.”

Hot, hot chocolate at home

As chocolate expert Maggie Prittie said, Central Americans have been growing and developing cocoa for 5,000 years or more. The Aztecs used cocoa beans as currency and credited chocolate with mystical abilities and increased fertility. There is a legend that the Aztec Emperor Montezuma II drank 50 goblets of it a day. The Aztecs drank it unsweetened and heavily spiced, in a water base.

Here is a recipe, by me, that takes inspiration from cocoa’s origins.

Aztec-inspired hot chocolate

On advice from Catarina Mahoney of Brookford Farm and the staff at Loon Chocolate, this take on hot chocolate has a water base and is dairy-free. Because modern palates are accustomed to chocolate that ranges from semi-sweet to very sweet, this recipe is sweetened with hot honey. It can be adjusted for spice-phobes or vegans. It is very rich and deeply satisfying, with a subtle kick of musky spiciness from the hot honey.

• 1/3 cup (52 g) semi-sweet chocolate chips
• 4 cups (900 g) water – Milk works well, as does rice milk.
• ¼ cup (20 g) unsweetened cocoa powder. (This is not the same as powdered hot chocolate mix.)
• 1/2 cup (168 g) hot honey – This is honey that has been infused with chilies. You can find it in most supermarkets. If you are deeply suspicious of spiciness, you can use regular wildflower honey. If you don’t eat honey, you can substitute half a cup of brown sugar, with a quarter teaspoon of cayenne pepper.
• Pinch of salt
• 1 Tablespoon vanilla

In a large saucepan, combine the chocolate chips, cocoa, salt, and hot honey, with about a cup of water, or whatever you are using as a base. Whisk it over medium heat until it is thoroughly incorporated. You’ll know when you’ve hit that point when you can’t get any melted chocolate to stick to your whisk.

Whisk in the rest of the water, and heat the mixture to a low simmer. Remove it from the heat, and whisk in the vanilla.

Makes just over a quart (32 fluid ounces) of hot chocolate, or approximately five servings.

The hot cocoa panel

• Catarina Mahoney is co-owner of Brookford Farm (250 West Road, Canterbury, 742-4084, brookfordfarm.com)
• Rachel Mack is co-owner at Loon Chocolate (195 McGregor St., No. 121, Manchester, 932-8887, loonchocolate.com)
• Maggie Prittie is a chocolatier and chocolate educator (worldwidechocolate.com/community/prittie-chocolat)
• Sarah Lucas is co-owner of The Spot Eatery (1461 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, 664-4249, thespoteatery.com)
• Chris Guerrette is the owner of Lickee’s and Chewy’s Candies and Creamery (53 Washington St., Dover, 343-1799, lickeesnchewys.com)
• Krista Mellina is the owner of Twisted Mallow (533-8455, twistedmallowcompany.com)
• Greg Chenevert is the head chocolatier at Beccari Chocolates (203 Central St., Hudson, 577-8817, beccarichocolates.com)
• Jaime Metzger is the manager of Granite State Candy Shoppe (832 Elm St., Manchester, 218-3885, granitestatecandyshoppe.com)

Featured photo: Lickee’s and Chewy’s Hot Chocolate Bar. Courtesy photo.

Experts weigh in on this fully loaded party-ready snack

Nachos might be the most social food; they are meant to be shared.

Jon Carnevale, the owner of Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse in Manchester and Nashua, agreed. “I think that’s the great thing about nachos,” he said. “I think it certainly really lends itself to just being social and going out with friends and enjoying yourselves, enjoying company. It’s something that, like our nachos here, they’re huge. So they can feed one, two, three people to an order, depending on the appetite. … [Nachos] have something primal about them — eating them with your hands. …There’s a connection there that doesn’t exist for some other dishes.”

According to Andy Sanborn, owner of Draft Sports Bar in Concord, it’s possible that nachos have become the No. 1 bar food. “We have some great nachos and it raises the question … are nachos overtaking chicken wings and tenders as the go-to snack for America,” Sanborn speculated, “and we think it could be. We have some awesome, awesome wings here that I’m very proud of. But it could be nachos over wings. They’re that popular.”

“Nachos are just like an easy grab-and-share item. I think that that’s what’s appealing to people,” said Elissa Drift, owner of Local Street Eats in Nashua. “Nachos are endless; you can put whatever you want on them and just really customize them to make them unique or different, colorful, and flavorful. And I think that is what the big appeal is. I’m a sucker for a nacho. I love a good cheesy nacho. But I just think it’s honestly just that a fun little grab and bite and you can put a little bit more on, a little bit less on, and it’s … just the versatility that it has to offer.”

For Jaime Metzger, manager of Granite State Candy in Manchester, it’s that versatility that makes nachos great.

“There are just endless options,” Metzger said. “You know, you have a chip and then you just, you have, there’s so many ways to, there’s so many ways to nacho. You can do sweet, you can do savory, you can add whatever toppings you want. It’s a group thing, but it can be individual — no judgments. Nachos aren’t judgy.”

The Chips

Nacho professionals agree that good nachos have to start with a base of good chips.

“We make our own chips with our own spices on them,” Andy Sanborn said. “I think that’s important. It keeps them fresh. It keeps them new. It gives them an individual taste.”

The tortilla chips at Shorty’s are made in-house, too. “Yeah, you’ve got to cook those every day,” said owner Jon Carnevale. “Those are done in-house again, seasoned by us.” While Carnevale and his staff don’t make tortillas from scratch, he emphasized that they make chips from them every day.

This focus on freshly made chips can extend beyond tortilla chips. Jeff DiAntonio, chef at The Peddler’s Daughter in Nashua, makes fresh potato chips for the base of his Irish nachos. “We cut our own chips,” he said. “We use 90-count russet Idaho potatoes, and then we fry those off to order.”

Other nacho-makers are less invested in making chips in-house but have high standards for the qualities of the chips they use.

“I get these really excellent corn chips from my vendor,” said Stanley Tremblay, owner, chef and head brewer of Liquid Therapy in Nashua. “They’re nice and thick with just enough salt to be tasty, with a good crunch, and they’re fairly thick so they withstand the toppings without getting soggy. So it’s really a primo chip that I love. It’s a real nice, crunchy, good yellow corn.”

The Cheese

Sharing equal billing as the most important element of an order of nachos is the cheese.

Jon Carnevale said the best cheese for nachos requires extra effort.

“You absolutely have to grate your own cheese,” Carnevale said. “You don’t want to use pre-bagged cheese that you’d find in the supermarkets, because it’s dry. It doesn’t have the moisture content that it would if you grated your own. That’s one of the big points. You don’t get the cheese pull, you don’t get that kind of luxurious cheesiness that you get if you grate your own.” The stretchy, melty cheese feels better in a person’s mouth, he said, and gives a plate of nachos important visual appeal.

“We use cotija cheese,” said Camaron Carter, co-owner of Sunstone Brewing in Londonderry. Cotija, pronounced “co-tee-hah,” is a dry, crumbly, Mexican cheese, a little like feta. “It just adds a little bit more saltiness to it. We like nachos that are more of the dip version of a nacho instead of your classic melted cheese on top. With melted cheese, you peel it off and you end up with that nucleus in the middle that everyone’s fighting over. This way, we kind of like this version of a nacho where it’s a lot easier to eat, easier to share.”

Andy Sanborn likes to have cheese options. “We use a tri-blend mix of cheese,” he said. ”But within our restaurant, we have something like seven different cheeses. So our ability to utilize different cheeses to hit differently on the taste palette is important.”

“We use a blend, a 50-50 blend of cheddar and jack,” said Jeffrey Spencer, a prep leader and shift supervisor at Margaritas Mexican Restaurant in Manchester. The cheddar gives the nachos a deeper cheesy flavor, he said, and the jack gives them a gooey, melty quality. “We have it shredded for us. It’s a specific brand that’s made for us specifically. They send us the blend; it has a box labeled Margaritas, mixed cheese.” This provides a consistency to the cheese; it is reliably the same every time.

The Build

We’ve all been disappointed at one time or another by finishing off delicious toppings only to be left with half an order of dry, broken chips. All our nacho experts agreed on the importance of making certain that all the chips are paired with toppings.

“We start with a skillet,” said Jeffrey Spencer, “and we put beans down on the skillet. Then we put a layer of chips and then we cover them with queso sauce. Then we do another layer of chips, add the protein, and then our mix of cheeses on top. And then when it comes out of the oven, it gets pico [pico de gallo, a fresh salsa], pickled jalapeños, guacamole and sour cream to add some brightness to set off all the stodge. We make our own queso. It’s not like from a can.”

“A key point is that you’ve got to do two layers,” advised Jon Carnevale. “You have to have one layer of cheese, more than whatever toppings you’re looking to add. You’ve got to have the right chip-to-cheese ratio. That’s very important, so you don’t have a little cheese on top and then a bunch of dry chips on the bottom. We do it in two layers here and we have a method that we stick to to make sure we preserve that ratio.”

Jeff DiAntonio is also a proponent of equal chip coverage, also in layers. “We [cook nachos] on a sheet pan in the oven,” he said. “We have a nice layer of chips and a little bit of cheese, and then a little bit more chips, cheese, and then the toppings go on top of that.”

For Stanley Tremblay at Liquid Therapy, though, the whole concept of layers of nachos seems fraught with danger. “Ours are cooked in the oven,” he said, “not under a broiler. The most important thing though is that everything is all on one layer, so you never get a bad chip.’

Andy Sanborn said that contrary to popular opinion putting together a really good plate of nachos can actually be fairly labor-intensive.

“I think you have to put in the work to make great nachos,” he said. “Look, you know, someone can just throw some tortilla chips out of a bag onto a pizza tin and throw some cheese on it, throw it in the oven and add some tomatoes, jalapeños and onions and call it a day. There are plenty of people that do that, and it works for them. We make everything from scratch at our restaurant; we want to make [our nachos] memorable.”

CLASSIC INGREDIENTS

Most people have a baseline image of nachos: tortilla chips, cheese and some fresh ingredients.

“The biggest thing for nachos is that you have to make a lot of them,” said Jon Carnevale. “That’s the key. And that’s what we do here at Shorty’s. I think sour cream has to be in there. Pickled jalapeños will go on them. Because you have all the richness from the cheese and all those other ingredients, you have the pickled jalapeños to kind of keep it in focus. It’s a good balance to that richness. It adds a little heat too. But it should be a little sprinkle. It’s not to overpower the plate, but just a little accent. We add a scoop of guac on each order of our nachos; that adds something. If you’re looking for meat, I’d pick good old-fashioned gringo ground beef, or even our chili. We make our Jailhouse chili in-house every day. And that on nachos is fantastic, especially this time of year.”

INNOVATIONS

What if you want to be a little more adventurous and experimental with your nachos? Nachos provide a great canvas to showcase special ingredients.

Short rib nachos

According to Michael Martin, chef at Miller’s Tavern in Manchester, highlighting a special ingredient on an order of nachos means the ingredient has to be of the highest quality. “We make our short ribs from scratch,” he said. “We have a house recipe that we use. Our short rib is slow-roasted for four hours so it’s tender and full of flavor. It’s so good. To top it off you can get it with our … barbecue sauce. We make nachos with pork or with the short rib. Most people go with the short rib. And then we top that with melted cheddar cheese, our house-made pico de gallo, along with our house-made barbecue sauce. You can add sour cream or diced jalapeños.”

Irish nachos

One increasingly popular form of nachos substitutes potato chips for tortilla chips. Jeff DiAntonio at the Peddler’s Daughter said potato chips support an even larger number of directions to take nachos in.

“These are something different. It’s not your typical corn tortilla. … The potatoes are a different spin on the ordinary nacho you get. We fry the chips to order, and we’ll top them with cheddar jack cheese, onion, tomato, sour cream and scallion for a basic one. But then we also have options to add barbecue pork, grilled chicken and bacon to them,” he said.

Street corn nachos

The nachos at Sunstone Brewing take their inspiration from Mexican street corn, which as its name suggests, is sold on the streets of Mexico, roasted and topped with lime juice, crema, and salty cheese.

“The base [of our street corn nachos] is a cream and cream cheese based street corn dip,” said Camaron Carter, “with corn, peppers and jalapeños. Obviously there’s the corn, which is fire roasted. And then you have some green and red peppers in there as well. Then on top you have the grilled chicken with some pickled jalapeños on top, some cotija cheese. And then chopped green onions to finish it. It was on our very first menu when we opened and people have loved it so much that it’s been there ever since.”

“I think our classic Sunstone Golden Ale goes perfectly with nachos,” Carter said. “It’s nice and light and not too hoppy. It has a breadiness to it that kind of helps deal with all the saltiness of the chips and all of that. I think it’s kind of perfect, especially if you’re watching a football game or any sports and having some nachos and some beers. You kind of want something light like that, that won’t overtake some of the flavors that you get from the nachos.”

Korean nachos

One very adventurous variation on traditional nachos is Liquid Therapy’s Korean-inspired Seoul-ful nachos.

“It’s a nice easy base of 100 percent corn chips,” Stanley Tremblay said, “with some cheddar jack on top. And then I have my shredded pork and my shredded chicken that I make in-house. That goes over the top. Then I’ll add some red onion, some mushrooms and some peppers. I add a little more cheese on top and a gochujang drizzle. If you’ve ever had Korean barbecue — it’s sweet, it’s tangy, it’s got a little heat. It’s got everything you want to have in something that’s super delicious and stick-to-your-ribs and comfort food.

“I also created an Asian-style pickle, with rice wine vinegar, a little apple cider vinegar, some ginger, some soy sauce, some heat from red pepper flakes, some garlic, and I fine-chopped some radishes, carrots and napa cabbage, with more red onion and garlic. I do a quick pickle to kind of create this kind of kimchi-meets-pickle salsa. A little cup of that goes out so people can put that on at their leisure on top of the nacho to get that, you know, little bit of continued Asian feel and warmth and deliciousness,” Tremblay said.

“My vendor had this awesome gochujang sauce that I was able to plug and play with, and it all just kind of came together. I even made chili out of it as well. I did a chicken pork chili with some peppers and onions and beans and then put a little gochujang with that pickle medley as well and people ate it up. So I think this year it really seems like that spicy-sweet setup is getting traction in the restaurant industry. I’ve noticed that a lot with my, you know, my Buffalo and I’ve got some other things that I made with a ghost pepper aioli with some honey and some other stuff. It has this full mouth feel, full tongue effect, bringing in all those different senses,” Tremblay said.

Carnitas and Buffalo chicken nachos

“For our Buff [Buffalo] chicken nachos,” Andy Sanborn said, “we fry chicken tenders that we dice, then we wet batter them again with our own wet batter. We fry the chicken off and then we have our own Buffalo sauce that we toss the chicken tenders in before we put them on the nachos. So you’re getting good, fresh, uniquely battered and uniquely Buffalo-y Buffalo sauce chicken on top.”

“For our carnitas nachos, we make pork carnitas [shredded roast pork] the old-fashioned way,” he said, “and then we have a southwestern cowboy queso dip that we include with the cheese. It actually kind of goes on top of the cheese near the end to give it yet another flavor profile, so it’s not just tortilla chips, cheese, tomatoes, onions and jalapeños. It’s more involved than that as something to eat.”

“We actually do our own smoking here,” Sanborn noted. “We smoke the pork off first. When we make our carnitas, it’s pork that’s smoked in-house. It’s dry rubbed in-house with our own special sauce and with our own special spices, which is secret. And then we smoke it until it’s finger soft. People talk about ribs falling off the bone, but you want your pork shoulder to break up easily because it’s easy for people to chew on. We kind of pride ourselves in our taste palate on our smoked pork.”

Ice cream nachos

Nachos are flexible enough to support sweet versions as well as savory ones.

Jaime Metzger invented ice cream-based nachos for Granite State Candy.

“Ice cream nachos are a lot of fun, actually,” she said. “Basically, it’s pieces of waffle cone in the shape of round nacho chips. You can pick two different ice creams or two of the same ice creams. And you get your choice of two sauces. Again, you could do the same sauces or you could do different ones. Hot fudge, caramel, peanut butter, marshmallow, strawberry, the list goes on. And then you get to pick two toppings. So you can pick a candy topping, you can do sprinkles, you can do whipped cream, you can do any of those. And then there you are.”

“My only complaint,” Metzger said, “is, we have hard ice cream — versus soft serve — so sometimes the chips break when you try to dip them in the ice cream and that bothers me. We give spoons with it, though, so you could take the spoon and use it to load the chips.” Ice cream nachos are really good to order on a date, she said. “I’ve definitely seen couples get it. Like he picks and then she picks and they do their thing, because it’s two of everything. For an additional fee you can get an extra bag of the waffle chips if you don’t think there’s enough that comes with it. You can buy another bag of waffle chips. Any additional toppings or anything are available upon request, for an additional cost. I mean, you can go crazy and put tons and tons of things.”

Where to find these nachos

Traditional nachos:
Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse 1050 Bicentennial Drive, Manchester, 625-1730, shortysmex.com, Nachos – starting at $12.99
Margaritas Mexican Restaurant Manchester 1037 Elm St., Manchester, 647-7717, margs.com, Loaded Skillet Nachos – $16.99

Short rib nachos:
The Miller’s Tavern 1087 Elm St, Manchester, 854-8442, themillerstavern.com, $18.95

Irish nachos:
Peddler’s Daughter 48 Main St., Nashua, 821-7535, thepeddlersdaughter.com, starting at $13

Korean nachos:
Liquid Therapy Brewery and Grill 14 Court St., Nashua, 402-9391, liquidtherapynh.com, Seoul-ful Nachos, $16

Carnitas and Buffalo chicken nachos:
The Draft Sports Bar and Grill Concord Casino, 67 S. Main St., Concord, 227-1175, draftsportsbar.com

Ice cream nachos:
Granite State Candy Shoppe 832 Elm St., Manchester, 218-3885, granitestatecandyshoppe.com, $8.95

Featured photo: Korean Nachos at Liquid Therapy. Courtesy photo.

The joys of hiking in winter

This year the Appalachian Mountain Club marks its 150th anniversary as the country’s oldest outdoor hiking group. It’s worth noting that the club’s first trip was to New Hampshire’s White Mountains. The state is both beloved and feared among hikers, with terrain rugged enough for aspiring Mt. Everest climbers to train on.

There are 48 peaks over 4,000 feet in the state, but it’s also a magnet for casual hikers seeking bracing air and brilliant vistas. The organization serves both constituencies, and AMC New Hampshire chapter’s Chair, Diana Moore, equally enjoys strenuous and relaxing hikes.

Moore recently talked about AMC NH’s efforts and more.

A schedule of classes and activities offered by the organization is available at the outdoors.org website. The AMC NH Winter School happens Feb. 27 through March 1 at their Cardigan Lodge facility in Alexandria, with instruction in winter mountain travel, backcountry skiing, and snowshoeing for all levels.

“You get to stay at the lodge, meet a bunch of really cool people, and learn something,” Moore said. Classes in introductory, intermediate and advanced winter hiking, and classes in leadership, are included. “It’s really an amazing experience that I would recommend for anybody.”

Organized hikes are also offered, like a snowshoe journey up Mt. Crotched in Francestown on Feb. 17 rated as moderate. Indoor activities, like a monthly Climbing Social at NH Climbing & Fitness in Concord, are also available. They offer a chance to network and climb away from the elements. The next one happens Feb. 19.

Moore grew up in Philadelphia and first hiked in the Poconos, though her first trip there she recalls asking, “where are the mountains?” After living in South Florida for a few years, she moved to New Hampshire in 2012. “I really missed the four seasons,” she said. “I wanted to go someplace where winter was winter.”

While in a relationship with someone who’d done not only the New Hampshire 48 but all 111 in the Northeast in winter, Moore hiked up Mt. Liberty, her first in winter conditions (it was November, so it wasn’t official — that requires a calendar winter date). She was awestruck when they arrived at the peak.

“I couldn’t believe how amazing it was, and she said, ‘welcome to my world.’ That was the turning point for me, I just never looked back,” she recalled. “I learned as much as I could about winter hiking, and became a hike leader for the AMC. That’s pretty much the story.”

Easy to moderate hikes like those listed below can usually be done with regular footwear.

“It depends on the terrain,” she said. “If there’s no snow on the trail, you can just use your bare boots. If there’s a packed snow, you’d use your micro spikes, which are really easy to carry in a little day pack.”

Moving to snowshoes may be necessary, she continued, “if you find that your feet are starting to post-hole, where you sink down really deep and make a big footprint. You don’t want to do that. You can hurt yourself. You could twist your ankle, but it also ruins the trail for everybody until it all melts in late spring.”

Before heading out, consult the AMC Winter Hiking Essential Gear List, at bit.ly/4a5J2uh.

Moore likes hiking around the Massabesic Lake Watershed, run by Manchester Water Works. “Hiking out to Audubon Center there, that’s probably one of my favorite trails,” she said. “About 4 miles … just a lovely little hike. Another is Tower Hill Pond, a 3-mile loop right outside of Manchester.”

Finally, Moore highlighted AMC NH’s inclusion efforts. “I did want to plug in LGBT Outdoors, we have a New England chapter for that, and I am one of the ambassadors,” she said. “There are other groups out there as well for people who want to hike in a place where they feel safe to be their authentic selves.”

One of hikers’ favorite apps

Before planning a hike it’s a good idea to consult alltrails.com. Since launching 15 years ago, the path-finding app has grown to the world’s most popular tool for getting out in the wilderness (there’s also a website). Its database reports on length, terrain, difficulty and average completion time for more than 450,000 trails.

One of the most valuable aspects of AllTrails is its community of hikers, diligently documenting conditions so folks are prepared for a muddy bog born from a rainstorm, or a hike that requires crampons instead of microspikes. Trail reviews are added daily, and checking them before venturing out is very, very useful. A “freemium” app, AllTrails base plan has trails with photos, reviews, and basic details, GPS navigation (when a cell signal is available), and the ability to save lists of favorites. At $36 per year, the ad-free Plus plan adds offline maps and features like 3D preview and criteria-based search. AllTrails Peak is $80 a year, with more customization and a built-in plant identifier

Resources
Appalachian Mountain Club – outdoors.org
AllTrails – alltrails.com
New Hampshire State Parks – nhstateparks.org
State of New Hampshire Fish and Game Department – wildlife.nh.gov
New Hampshire Family Hikes – nhfamilyhikes.com
Interest- and lifestyle-centric Facebook groups include Hiking Buddies NH 48 and Belknap Range Hikers, and there are more than a few subreddits to search, including r/NH4K and r/newhampshire (with 144K members).

20 winter hikes

Here are 20 local hikes that are favorites of AllTrails users, which they have rated as easy to moderate. The trail information and hikers reviews and notes here are from AllTrails trail descriptions.

• Bear Brook, Cascade, Sentinel PIne, Hayes Farm, Big Bear Loop

Location: Bear Brook State Park (Deerfield Road / Podunk Road, Deerfield). Length: 4.1 miles with 305-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Moderate, 1.5–2 hours. More at nhstateparks.org. This route combines a series of trails within Bear Brook State Park. AllTrails calls it “a delightful, shaded trail through secondary forest along wide and well-maintained paths.” The trail features a mix of rolling hills and flat sections, and a portion meanders alongside a river.

• Benson Park Hiking Trail

Location: Benson Park (Kimball Hill Road / Bush Hill Road, Hudson). Length: 3.2 miles with 249-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 1–1.5 hours. More at hudsonnh.gov. Located on the grounds of Benson’s Wild Animal Farm, a zoo opened in 1924 and since abandoned, this is a fascinating place to hike, even in the snow. Highlights include attractive mixed trails, well-maintained paths, and sections featuring old zoo remains.

• Blodgett Hill and Rocky Trail Loop

Location: Horse Hill Nature Preserve (Amherst Road between Lester Road and Tomaslan Drive, Merrimack). Length: 3.4 miles with 328-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Moderate, 1–1.5 hours. More at merrimackoutdoors.org. This preserve, once the home of early Merrimack settler Captain Spalding, offers sweeping views of lush valleys and rolling hills, along with some steep and rocky sections. One recent winter hiker reported well packed trails, however, with most sections offering a clear path for walking.

• Bow Woods Loop

Location: Bow Bog Brook (Robinson Road / Vaughn Road, Bow). Length: 2.4 miles with 144-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 0.5–1 hour. More at bownh.gov. Maintained by local volunteers, this conservation area is a habitat for all kinds of wildlife. In better weather there are ducks on the pond and woodpeckers in the trees. This simple, charming trail showcases Bow’s natural beauty and is an ideal destination for a refreshing break outdoors.

• Dorrs Pond Loop

Location: Livingston Park (Hooksett Road / Campbell Street, Hooksett). Length: 1 miles with 13-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 0.5–1 hour. More at manchester.gov. A kid-friendly walk in the park with lovely views. It loops around the perimeter of Dorrs Pond. This is another favorite of AMC NH’s Chair Diana Moore. Weather permitting, Dorrs Pond is also open for ice skating.

• Eagle, Life, Esker, and Weeblo Trail Loop Location: Hammond Nature Preserve and Walker Forest (Dunbarton Center Road / Woodhill Road, Bow). Length: 3.8 miles with 380-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 1.5–2 hours. More at bit.ly/4jUlWKB. An old sawmill site in the Hammond Nature Preserve, this is a mostly wooded trail that winds through brooks, past swampy areas, and through open fields. Though easy to navigate with well-marked trails and scenic views, it has icy sections and potential for muddy areas, so use micro spikes.

• Eastman Meadow Trail and Beaver Brook Trail Loop

Location: Beaver Brook Association (Worcester Road / Irene Drive, Hollis). Length: 2.5 miles with 118-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 0.5–1 hours. More at beaverbrook.org. A popular warm-weather hike for fans of wildflowers, this one’s pleasant and quick, but in winter it can get icy, so pack micro spikes. Begin from the parking area on Worcester Road and follow Eastman Meadow Trail north into the woodlands to reach Spatterdock Pond. Then walk clockwise around the pond. Return to the parking area via Beaver Brook Trail.

• Foster’s Pond and Dave Dunn Trail Loop

Location: Foster’s Pond Conservation Area (Park Street / Nashua Road, Windham. Length: 1.6 miles with 42-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 0.5–1 hour. More at windhamnh.gov. This walk through a nature preserve with terrific pond views is a quick and easy way to get the blood flowing, but micro spikes are recommended nonetheless. Be on the lookout for five fairy houses placed by Girl Scout Troop 22200 a while back.

• Kenard Trail to Martin Trail

Location: Pulpit Rock Conservation Area (Chestnut Hill Road / New Boston Road, New Boston). Length: 3.1 miles with 374-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 1–1.5 hours. More at plcnh.org/pulpit-rock-trails.The end of this hike features Pulpit Rock, which AllTrails calls “an amazing mini canyon/waterfall feature that is smack dab in the middle of this wildlife preserve.” Lots of variety in the terrain, but it’s easy walking throughout.

• Lake Massabesic Trail

Location: City of Manchester Water Works (Audubon Way / Spofford Road, Manchester) Length: 3.7 miles with 170-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 1–1.5 hours. Find more at nhaudubon.org. This route offers beautiful winter scenery, peaceful trails, and birdwatching opportunities (fewer in winter, but still…). Challenges may include icy and muddy sections. AllTrails reviewers recommend using traction aids like microspikes and getting an early start.

• Marion Davis Trails

Location: Miller State Park (Route 101, Peterborough). Length: 2.7 miles with 800-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Moderate, 1–1.5 hours. More at nhstateparks.org. Offers a steady climb through hardwood forests, leading to a summit where on clear days hikers can see as far as the Boston skyline.​ Due to spots of heavy icy, mushy and packed snow, leaves and mud, a recent AllTrails hiker put on spikes “almost immediately and didn’t take them off.”

• Mine Falls Green Trail

Location: Mine Falls Park (Stadium Drive / Riverside Street, Nashua). Length: 2.1 miles with 75-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 0.5–1 hour. More at nashuanh.gov. One of many trails in this urban park, it’s well maintained and perfect for beginners or those seeking an undemanding hike. Bordered by the Nashua River and the Mill Pond canal system, its 325 acres include forest, wetlands, and open fields.

• North Mountain Loop Trail

Location: Pawtuckaway State Park (Reservation Road / Tower Road, Nottingham). Length: 5 miles with 859-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Moderate, 2.5–3 hours. More at nhstateparks.org. Though rated moderate by AllTrails, this can be especially challenging in winter, with steep sections and icy terrain. A recent New Year’s Day hiker needed both micro spikes and poles for stability. For the hardy, though, it’s a great hike and can be combined with the equally intense Boulder Trail Loop.

• Old Rail and Red Pine Trail

Location: Mast Yard State Forest (Blackwater Road / Horse Hill Road, Contoocook). Length: 4.2 miles with 85-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 1–1.5 hours. More at hopkintonconservationland.org. A loop hike that can be buggy during warmer times, it offers nice flat terrain. Some frozen water crossings may force hikers off trail at least once, but this trek can be done without microspikes or snowshoes; good traction boots are usually enough.

• Overlook, Landing, Deer, and Porcupine Ridge Trail Loop

Location: Musquash Conservation Area (Hickory Hill Drive / Chestnut Hill Drive, Londonderry). Length: 3 miles with 262-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Moderate, 1–1.5 hours. More at londonderrytrails.org. Located in Londonderry’s largest conservation tract, this hike has well-maintained trails but can get a bit boggy during transitional weather, with a few tripping hazards along the way. Great views of open fields and quiet solitude are worth it.

• Spencer Smith Trail

Location: Center Strafford (Parker Mountain Road, Center Strafford). Length: 2.8 miles with 623-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Moderate, 1.5–2 hours. More at nhfamilyhikes.com. Lots of rocks and roots; the trail starts gradually but becomes steep as it continues uphill. “The first bit of climbing is pretty legit,” said one AllTrails contributor. The summit is rewarding, with a spectacular view of Bow Lake.

• Tower Hill Pond Loop

Location: City of Manchester Water Works (Tower Hill Road, Manchester). Length: 3.9 miles with 170-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 1–1.5 hours. More at nhaudubon.org. Recommended by AMC NH Chair Diana Moore, this hike has little elevation change and a few rocks in the path. It can get icy, so while micro spikes aren’t essential, they can help.

• Van Loan and Anne and Pic Trail

Location: Van Loan Preserve (across from Benedictine Park, Bedford). Length: 1.6 miles with 134-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 0.5–1 hour. More at plcnh.org/van-loan-preserve-trails. <ade possible by a donation of a conservation easement to Bedford Land Trust by the Van Loan family in December of 2000, this easy hike offers lovely scenery, easy navigation and lots of flat, open sections. An opportunity for sledding at the end might also be of interest.

• Weir Road Trail

Location: Boscawen Town Forest (Weir Road / Elm Street, Bow). Length: 2.7 miles with 377-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Moderate, 1–1.5 hours. More at boscawenconcom.org. This moderate hike offers a serene atmosphere, beautiful vistas and well-marked paths. Challenges include icy and mucky spots, especially in shaded areas. A recent AllTrails hiker noted that the trail was “fairly well packed down, with few people” and called it “nice and peaceful.”

• Wendy’s Loop

Location: Silk Farm Wildlife Sanctuary (Silk Farm Road / Clinton Street, Concord). Length: 0.4 miles with 6-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 0.5–1 hour. More at nhaudubon.org. New Hampshire Audubon maintains this short, easy trail around a harvested pine forest. It’s perfect for youngsters.

• Wildcat Falls via North Loop Trail

Location: Wildcat Falls Conservation Area (Currier Road / Hemlock Street, Merrimack). Length: 1.6 miles with 65-foot elevation gain. Difficulty: Easy, 0.5–1 hour. More at merrimackoutdoors.org.This is a nice mostly flat loop through the woods and along the Souhegan River leading to Wildcat Falls. Highlights are gorgeous views, lovely wooded trails, and beautiful waterfalls, but challenges include icy conditions and narrow paths, according to AllTrails.

NH Fish and Game Department’s 10 Essentials for Winter Hiking
“Hiking in the winter demands more. More preparedness and more planning. More outdoor experience and ability, and — perhaps most easily overlooked — more time. The cold months require better decision-making and a more cautious mindset. The same trail you hiked in summer six months ago is a different world now. Just as a wind chill intensifies the cold, winter has a way of magnifying mistakes.”
—NH Fish & Game Department

Ten Essentials for Winter Hiking:
Map
Compass
Warm Clothing: Sweater or Pile Jacket, Long Pants (wool or synthetic), Hat (wool)
Extra Food and Water
Flashlight or Headlamp
Matches/Firestarters
First Aid Kit/Repair Kit
Whistle
Rain/Wind Jacket and Pants
Pocket Knife

Featured photo: Dorrs Pond Loop. Courtesy photo.

A look at the making of the tastiest of foods

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

As with most wonderful things that seem straightforward and simple at first glance, the subject of french fries gets surprisingly intricate and granular the deeper you look at them. And while you can look at them through any number of lenses — the best types to dip in milkshakes, or the best ones to fall in love over — today we’re going to look at six important factors: the variety of potato used, the shape they are cut into, how they are cooked, what type of oil they are fried in, how they are seasoned or topped, and what we dip them into.

Consideration No. 1: What kind of potato?

While there are thousands of varieties of potato, according to the website Potatoes USA (potatogoodness.com) “only” 200 or so are commercially available in the United States. Each variety has its own characteristics, some of which make them suitable for french fries, others not so much. Unfortunately, french fry experts can’t agree on which is which.

Matt Berry, the executive chef at Unwined Wine Bar and Bistro in Milford, has put a lot of thought into this.

“I joke around all the time about how we have very over-engineered french fries,” Berry said. “When we were going to put fries on the menu, I wanted to do something a step above just frying potatoes. I wanted, in essence, to make the perfect french fry. So I thought about what that meant — what criteria, if you will, make up the perfect french fry. And we wanted a really light, crispy exterior and a really light, fluffy, almost creamy interior.” To that end Unwined uses an Idaho Russet potato, which is often described as a “floury” potato. When it is cooked it has a fluffy texture. This is the type of potato often used in mashed potatoes.

Renee McMaster is the owner and operator of a food truck called HotMess Poutine. She also spends a lot of time thinking about french fries — or, as she puts it, Quebec-style fries. She too, uses Russet potatoes, but they are not her first choice.

“I just got back from Quebec,” she said. “In Quebec we use red potatoes and I think it makes the french fries even better. The reason why I don’t use the red potatoes here is that it’s very hard to find a big red potato here. The red ones are a lot more sweet. I think they make [fries] a lot better. I would use red potatoes with peanut oil if I had my choice. In Quebec we use potatoes like we match wine. So here we use russet potatoes but we keep the skin on the potatoes for more flavor.”

Red potatoes are what is frequently called a “waxy” potato. They keep a firm texture when they are cooked, which makes them excellent for roasting or to use in potato salad. For McMaster the flavor of the reds outweighs texture issues. Or it would, if she could find large ones.

Consideration No. 2: How do you cut the potatoes?

For many people, perhaps the most noticeable difference between types of french fry is the shape of the fry. The shape will affect the crispiness of finished fries and even their flavor. A waffle fry will present itself completely differently than shoestring fries, which in turn are a world away from steak fries.

The most common cut of fries in this part of the world is the straight-cut matchstick, an inch or two long. Most restaurants that advertise “hand-cut” fries are talking about this shape.

By “hand-cut” a restaurant almost certainly means using a lever-controlled french fry press that pushes raw potatoes through a metal grid to achieve that shape. Not even the most dedicated cook in a commercial kitchen is willing to cut hundreds of potatoes with a chef’s knife. John Ramsey, the owner of Stark House Tavern in Weare, said that would not be practical for his kitchen.

“We go through about 1,200 pounds of potatoes a week,” he said. “So it’s a substantial part of our business.”

What Ramsey does make, in addition to traditional straight-cut fries, are house-made tater tots. “We got the idea from traveling to Indiana for football games a couple of times a year,” he said. “At one stop, we were in Cleveland at a brew pub. We ordered tots and they made them to order. They were essentially deep-fried mashed potatoes, very pillowy. That was our inspiration.”

Tater tots are also part of the fried-potato repertoire at 603 Brewery in Londonderry.

“All of our fries are hand cut here,” said 603 Brewery sous chef Charley Moore. “Our regular fries are punched every morning, and then for our waffle fries we use a special tool called a mandoline. That lets us get it to the shape that we want and the size that we like.” During happy hour, 603 offers all three types of fries — traditional straight-cut, waffle fries, and tater tots — as part of a french fry flight with four types of dipping sauce.

When Josh Buxton, the owner of Buxton’s Restaurant in Derry, was developing his french fry recipe, he decided to use a more substantial cut of potato.

“I said, ‘You know what? Let’s give people a french fry, but let’s do it differently.’ I wouldn’t call them a wedge, but they’re one and a half to two inches long, and they’re in a wedge style,” Buxton said. He uses small waxy yellow potatoes for a firmer texture; they are par-cooked, then sectioned off.

The River Road Tavern in Bedford has gone in the opposite direction. According to kitchen manager Joe Carey, it was important to find the narrowest cut of shoestring potatoes available. Super-skinny cuts of potato have more surface area to crisp up in the fryer, he said.

“Ours are three-sixteenths of an inch thick, so they get nice and golden and crispy. They don’t get as soggy as some of the thicker fries. We don’t hand-cut them. We actually buy them, but we get them special ordered, so they are always consistent. We’re the only ones around that serves them this thin.”

Crinkle-cut fries

Crinkle-cut french fries sound like a really good idea. Cutting the potatoes in a zig-zag pattern gives them a much larger surface area-to-volume ratio than regular straight-cut fries, and should be extra golden-brown and crispy. Unfortunately, when ordered at most restaurants, they usually come to the table, undercooked, pale and soggy.

Joe Carey from the River Road Tavern said it’s a bit of a mystery.
“I don’t know what’s going on with them,” he said. “I don’t know if they just aren’t being cooked long enough. I’ll be honest, they’re my least favorite cut. I like crispy fries; if you don’t like crispy fries, then maybe the crinkle-cuts are for you, but I just, I think they’re bland, even when they’re seasoned.”

Charley Moore from the 603 Brewery agreed. “[Crinkle-cuts] seem to steam and hold in the moisture a little more,” he said. “With any kind of potato, you want to pull out as much moisture as possible. That’s what gives you your crispiness. They [crinkle-cut fies] seem to hold in more water. Once you bite them, even when you fry them up, they seem to soften faster.”

Consideration No. 3: How are the french fries cooked?

Every style of fry is different to some degree, but many of the best fries have a few steps in common.

After cutting the potatoes, most ambitious french fry makers soak them in cold water.

“We put them in cold water overnight in the refrigerator,” John Ramsey said, “to leach the starch out. If you don’t do that they’ll burn without being crispy. They’ll turn brown but be sloppy, limp fries; no one likes that.”

“We usually soak them for three to four hours to pull off some of the starch,” Charley Moore from 603 Brewery said, “then we rinse them off again so they’re not foamy.

Matt Berry from Unwined is even more exact. “We give them a quick overnight ferment,” he said, “in a one and a half percent salinity bath.”

Another common french fry technique is frying the potatoes twice — once at a low temperature to cook the interior of the fry, and a second time at a higher temperature to crisp up the outside. The first, low-temperature fry is referred to as “oil blanching.”

“We blanch them and then we cool them down,” John Ramsey said, “and then we cook them to order with a high temperature.” Although he doesn’t blanch the potatoes in oil, Josh Buxton said it is extremely important to precook potatoes before frying them to serve to customers.

“We just boil them in salted water,” Ramsey said. “They’re cooked whole and that also helps season them. We don’t want them to be too soft. When we drop them in the fryer we’re just looking to crisp them up.”

Consideration No. 4: What kind of oil are they fried in?

There are two schools of thought when it comes to french fry oil. One is to use a mild, neutral-tasting oil that won’t distract from the flavor of the potato.

“We use a canola oil for our fryers,” Joe Carey from the River Road Tavern said. “We’ve used peanut oil in the past, but with all the allergies we’ve moved away from that.”

“Our trick is we use canola oil,” Renee McMaster from HotMess Poutine said. “Olive oil is really good for potatoes, and peanut oil as well … if I use a red potato I will use peanut oil.”

Some olive oils are excellent for frying — the ones with what is called a high smoke point, meaning that they won’t burn at frying temperatures. Virgin and extra-virgin olive oils usually have a low smoke point and will fill your kitchen with caustic smoke. A good rule for cooking with olive oil is that the pricier it is, the worse it is for frying.

The other approach to french fry oil is to use an extremely flavorful oil (with a high smoke point) to add savory notes to the finished fries.

“We only use beef tallow,” said John Ramsey from the Stark House Tavern. “There’s no vegetable oil in the whole building, and no seed oil. It’s all tallow and olive oil.” (If you’ve ever heard an older relative rhapsodize about how good McDonald’s french fries used to be, this is what they are talking about. Until the 1980s, McDonald’s fried everything in beef tallow, which was affordable for them and delicious for their customers. But, as Robert Frost wrote, ‘Nothing gold can stay.”)

Harpoon Brewery in Manchester also leans into savory fry oil — customers can ask to have their french fries finished in duck fat.

“It just honestly produces a better product,” said Harpoon’s Steve Shoemaker. “The denser fat and flavor of the duck goes somewhat deep into the french fries. It just produces a much better fry. I’ve tried beef tallow. I tried various iterations of canola, corn, peanut oil, all of those things. This seems to work ultimately the best.” Because duck fat is denser than vegetable oils, he explained, it takes longer for the water vapor to be forced out of the potatoes, giving the whole enterprise a comparatively golden-brown and savory finish. The kitchen at Harpoon has multiple fryers working at any given time, he said. “If somebody is a vegetarian, we can cook [the fries] in a combination of canola and sunflower oil. That way they have options.”

Consideration No. 5: Toppings and seasonings

While there is a beauty to the simplicity of hot, crispy french fries served with a sprinkle of salt, a well-made batch of fries can serve as a canvas for more ambitious presentations.

Peter Macone is the co-owner of the Republic Brewing Co. in Manchester. He said Republic’s fries are outstanding on their own but what really sets them apart is how they are finished.

“They’re cooked to order,” he said, “then tossed with Aleppo pepper, fine herbs — which is just an assortment of, you know, French herbs chopped — and salt and pepper. But one thing that is always a little bit of a surprise for people is the fried capers. We crisp capers with our fries. You can walk by tables often and hear customers sort of debating what it is that’s in their fries that’s so good. People often refer to our fries as, they’ll say ‘truffle fries,’ and in your head, you’re thinking, ‘It’s nothing like a truffle flavor,’ but they just know that the flavors stand out.”

“We toss them in chives,” Josh Buxton said, “and salt and Parmesan cheese, and then we just toss in a very little drizzle of oil so that the cheese and the chives can stick to them.”

John Ramsey from the Stark House Tavern said french fries are infinitely adaptable — “we’ll use truffle oil with Parmesan,” he said, or “we’ll make a short rib poutine with cheese curds.”

But it is tater tots that really shine with extra toppings.

“We have several different ways we serve them. On the menu with barbecue brisket, or we’ll toss it in Buffalo sauce with blue cheese crumbles, or ranch dressing, and we have a sweet chili sauce we make with some sesame oil, like a sesame vinaigrette, a little Asian taste to it,” Ramsey said.

Fries and wine
We asked Emma Round, owner of Unwined Wine Bar and Bistro in Milford, “What wine would you suggest to go with french fries?”
“The best Champagne you can get, always. And I highly recommend devouring both in a bubble bath or hot tub!!”

Consideration No. 6: Dipping sauces

Purists may prefer ketchup or a splash of malt vinegar with their french fries, but something about dipping sauces brings out an extra level of creativity in some cooks.

“[Fries] come with a special fry sauce of ours,” Joe Carey from the River Road Tavern said. “It used to be part of a recipe for a spicy tuna roll; then someone dipped a fry in it one day and we decided that it went from a sushi sauce to a fry sauce for potatoes, and now we sell it by the pint. It comes with every order of fries or every sandwich that comes with fries. It has a sesame base, so it tastes almost like a peanut sauce, but there’s no peanuts in it whatsoever. I can’t share the rest of the ingredients, but it’s creamy and really savory.”

603 Brewery’s French Fry Flight comes with four different sauces.

“Obviously, we have our classic ketchup,” Charley Moore said. “And then we have our pub mustard, which is a blend of different mustards and our Winni Ale. Our beer cheese, which is made with our 603 IPA. And then there is our secret sauce, which is a blend of sauces we create in house.”

Matt Berry at Unwined is extremely proud of their fry sauce.

“The sauce we have with our fries right now is kind of infamous,” he said. “It’s a cherry pepper ranch-style sauce. It’s a buttermilk ranch, and it starts its life as an aioli. Then we add just-pickled cherry peppers that we rinse the seeds out of and puree roughly in the food processor. That’s folded in with confit garlic and chives and herbs. But the real secret that to me makes ranch ranch is tarragon. We use a lot of fresh tarragon in it.”

Josh Buxton refers to his french fry sauce as a “labor of love.”

“We make a great little potato,” Buxton said, “but I think the aioli that we make is what ties it all together. We make a Calabrian chili honey and we mix it with confit garlic. We make our own mayo and then we blend in some chili crunch. The honey takes at least three or four days to really combine the flavor. Confit garlic takes a few hours. You know, we make our own chili crunch. I think there’s more labor of love into the sauce than the actual potato.”

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Fry Panel

• French Fry Flight — 603 Brewery (42 Main St., Londonderry, 404-6123, 603brewery.com) is open Tuesday through Thursday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 10 p.m., and Sunday from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.
• Herbed potato wedges — Buxton’s Restaurant (Metro Market, 158 Rockingham Road, Derry, 818-4105, buxtonspizza.com) is open Wednesday through Saturday from 4 to 9 p.m.
• Duck fat fries — Harpoon Brewery Manchester (Queen City Center, 215 Canal St., Manchester, 945-3797, harpoonbrewery.com/manchester-brewery) is open Wednesday and Thursday from noon to 9 p.m., Friday and Saturday from noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 6 p.m.
• Poutine and french fries — HotMess Poutine (973-7001, facebook.com/goeycheese) serves southern New Hampshire throughout food truck season.
• Shoestring fries — River Road Tavern (193 S. River Road, Bedford, 206-5837, riverroadtavernbedford.com) is open Monday through Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Fridays and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
• French fries and tater tots fried in beef tallow — Stark House Tavern (487 S. Stark Highway, Weare, 487-6002, starkhousetavern.com) is open Tuesday through Saturday from 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday from noon to 8 p.m.
• Fries with capers — Republic Brewing Co. (72 Old Granite St., Manchester, 836-3188, republicbrewingcompany.com)
• Tarragon fries — Unwined Wine Bar and Bistro (1 Nashua St., Milford, 213-6703, unwinednh.com) is open Wednesday and Thursday from 5 to 10 p.m., and Friday and Saturday from 4 to 10 p.m.
  

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Featured photo: Courtesy photo

Your packed winter schedule of performances big and small

From now until the final full day of winter on March 19, there’s live music happening almost every day. A couple of days here and there are dark, but nearly 400 shows are in the calendar. Some places are changing up their game, like Pembroke City Limits, which is launching a new menu in February but still hosting lots of acts.

“Late last year, we started to book more out-of-town musicians who are out on the road doing mini-tours, traveling either from Texas, Nashville, New York, and that has worked out very well,” PCL owner Rob Azevedo said in early January. “It’s not without daily challenges, but we are trending in the right direction and we feel very positive.”

Riley’s Place in Milford began as a music-centric comfort food restaurant and upped the ante when the new year began with ticketed events. Ahead are tribute acts like The Young Americans, who do David Bowie on Feb. 28, and The Space Cowboys covering Steve Miller on March 21, along with local originals like Charlie Chronopoulos on Jan. 17. There’s more — so much more; it’s a busy time. Here’s a day-by-day guide (see page 11 for venue info).

Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem
Harmony, rhythm and indelible songs are all hallmarks of Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, an Americana quartet that’s been together for 25 years. From Newport Folk Festival to Solid Sound and beyond, they have traveled the country offering up wit, camaraderie and pure musicality to renew the human spirit. They perform Friday, Jan. 23, at The Word Barn and Thursday, March 12, at Flying Goose. Photo courtesy the band by Joanna Chattman

Thursday, Jan. 15

• Randy Roos & Urethane, 6 p.m., Hermit Woods Winery
• Dueling Pianos, 7 p.m., LaBelle Derry
• Jody Robichaud, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• The Gravel Project w/ The Speed Of Sound, 7 p.m., Press Room
• The Forest Forgets, Proelium, Kucktus, Agenbite Misery 8 p.m., Shaskeen
• The Setlist, 8 p.m., Stone Church

Friday, Jan. 16

• Tim O’Brien & Sam Grisman with Victor Furtado, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Scott Solsky, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Amulus, 8 p.m., Stone Church
• Joe Law Band, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• Local Chaos with 3 Degrees (Tool tribute) and The Dirty Taps, 8 p.m., Jewel
• Telula, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Blues Brothers The Next Generation, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• DAAD Rocks, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Saturday, Jan. 17

• Dakota Smart, 1 p.m., Contoocook Cider Co.
• Kids Are Alright Showcase, 2 p.m.; Dusty Gray, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Artty Francoeur,4 p.m., Little Lies (Fleetwood Mac Tribute), 8 p.m., Stone Church
• Jack Ancora, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• Slack Tide w/ Pardon The Spins, 6 p.m., Press Room
• Slapnutz (Slipknot Tribute), 6 p.m., Bungalow
• Gallery Nights: New Year, New Vibe, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Soggy Po’ Boys, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Ashes of the Priest/Sun and Steel/Pulsifier/Bag Lady 8 p.m., Jewel
• Charlie Chronopoulos Unplugged, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• The Dave Matthews Tribute Band, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Bad Habit, 9 p.m., Wally’s
• The Monster Stage w/ Empty Halls 9 p.m., Shaskeen

Sunday, Jan. 18

• Sunday Jazz Brunch – JR, 10 a.m., Bill Laurance, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Village Acoustic Community Jam, 4 p.m., Stone Church
• Bruce in the USA, 7 p.m.. Nashua Center for the Arts
• 1964 The Tribute, 7 p.m., Dana Center

Willy Chase
An ongoing local music series in Contoocook includes Willy Chase, a singer/songwriter currently finishing his debut record, Thicker Than Water. It’s easy to imagine the Foo Fighters turning Chase’s song “Timeless” into a stadium anthem, and he also does a lovely cover of Dylan’s “Forever Young.” Appearing at Four Front Cellars on Jan. 23 and Contoocook Cider Co. on March 29.

Monday, Jan. 19

• Chris Klaxton 4tet, 6 p.m., Press Room
• Local Artist Series: Emily’s Garage Band, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s

Wednesday, Jan. 21

• Hank Osborne, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Jackson and the Janks w/ Cold Chocolate, 7 p.m., Press Room
• Rebirth Brass Band, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

Thursday, Jan. 22

• AM Gold Yacht Rock, 7 p.m., LaBelle Amherst
• Andrew North & the Rangers, 7 p.m.. Pembroke City Limits
• Diaspora Radio plays David Bowie’s Blackstar, 7 p.m., Press Room
• Drum Tao, 7 p.m., Capitol Center
• The Samples, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Beautiful Losers (Bob Seger Tribute), 8 p.m., LaBelle Derry
• Reprise: Phish Tribute, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace
• Tim Theriault, 8 p.m., Stone Church

Friday, Jan. 23

• Fox & The Flamingos with Phoenix Syndicate, 8 p.m., BNH Stage
• The Fab Four: HELP!, 7:30 p.m., Capitol Center
• Garrett Smith, 5:30 p.m., Front Four Cellars
• Artty Francouer, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Eliza Neals, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Back To The Eighties Show with Jessie’s Girl, 8 p.m., The Music Hall
• Deer Isle w/ Coyote Smoke & The Mountain, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Rusty and the Rhythm, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• Zeppelin Reimagined, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• 7 Day Weekend, 9 p.m., Wally’s
• Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, 7 p.m., Word Barn

Saturday, Jan. 24

• PCL Winter Festival, 2 p.m., Blind Date, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Amorphous Trio, 4 p.m., Stone Church
• Dave Clark, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• Shapethrower w/ Martial Law, Quadro & Hard Target, 6 p.m., Bungalow
• Tree 7 p.m., Shaskeen
• The Magic of Motown, 7:30 p.m., Capitol Center for the Arts
• Jazz Parlor featuring Mike Frengel Trio, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Van Halen All Era Tribute with Cathedral, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Beatlejuice, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Lee Dewyze, 8 p.m. (also 1/25), Music Hall Lounge
• Pink Talking Fish, 8 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• Murphy Clark Band, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• The Wedding Smashers, 8 p.m., Stone Church
• Winter Party with Wettybop, Artist Graves, Sokomodo, Spvnyvn, R3birth & Jephirsun Danger, 8 p.m., Jewel
• Neon ’90s, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Sunday, Jan. 25

• Jim Dozet Trio Jazz Brunch, 10 a.m., Jimmy’s
• Jazz Sanctuary, 2 p.m., Pembroke City Limits

Jordan T-W
As a premier purveyor of Irish music, Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki is always busy in March, along with his trio. There’s a St. Patrick’s Day show from the master fiddler, backed by bass player Chris Noyes and guitarist Matt Jensen in downtown Concord. But he’ll also perform an evening of Celtic love songs on Valentine’s Day — green on red, if you will. Saturday, Feb. 14, The Word Barn, and Tuesday, March 17, BNH Stage.

Monday, Jan. 26

• Local Artist Series: Corduroy, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s

Tuesday, Jan. 27

• Wild Pink w/ Dead Gowns, 7 p.m., Press Room

Wednesday, Jan. 28

• The Last Revel, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Night Kitchen, 7:30 p.m. (also 1/29), Flying Goose
• Megan From Work w/ Sorry Safari & Fun City Fan Club, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Thursday, Jan. 29
• Palaver Chamber Series – Night Sky and the Number Pi, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Paul Driscoll Record Release Show, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Jacob Chung Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• 1 Wild Night, Bon Jovi Tribute, 8 p.m., LaBelle Amherst
• Bennie & the Jets Elton John Tribute, 8 p.m., LaBelle Derry
• Ramble On Rose, 8 p.m., Stone Church
• Rigometrics Night 1 w/ Saguaro, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Londonderry Hockey Booster Club Dueling Pianos, 6:45 p.m., Tupelo

Friday, Jan. 30

• Willy Chase, 5:30 p.m., Front Four Cellars
• Gene Loves Jezebel / Black Season Witch / Gossip Collar / Silver Rein, 7 p.m., Jewel
• Almost Queen, 7:30 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• Griffin William Sherry, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• No Static, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Are You Ready For It? A Taylor Experience, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Foo! Tribute to Foo Fighters with Nutshell, 8 p.m., BNH Stage
• King Jonny Drag Show, 8 p.m., Stone Church
• Rigometrics Night 2 w/ Caylin Costello Band, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Ritual Arcana, Scuzzy Yeti, Sundrifter, The Outlourdes 8 p.m., Jewel
• Stoned Wasp, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• The Warped Tour Band, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Saturday, Jan. 31

• Justin Cohn, 1 p.m., Contoocook Cider Co.
• BEO String Quartet, 2 p.m., Concord Audi
• Anthony Vito Fiandaca, 4 p.m., Ghosts of Jupiter feat. Nate Wilson of moe., 8 p.m., Stone Church
• Ben Clark, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• Neighborhood Concert Series Kotoko Brass, 6 p.m., City Wide Community Center
• Are You Ready for It? A Taylor Experience, 6:30 p.m., Flying Monkey
• Scalawag, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Fortune, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• No Static, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Bat Magoon Band, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• Boogie Wonder Band, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Crush: Dave Matthews Band Tribute, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace
• Drown Your Boots, 8 p.m., Press Room
• 100 Proof, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Sunday, Feb. 1

• Ameranouche, 10 a.m. A Band of Brothers, 7:30 p.m.; Salsa Nights, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Hello Newman ’90s Night, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Monday, Feb. 2

• Local Artist Series: Chris Fitz Band, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s

Wednesday, Feb. 4

• CROWNED28: Tribute to Legendary Women in Music, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

Thursday, Feb. 5

• Emanuel Casablanca, 7 p.m., Press Room
• Rachel Sumner & Traveling Light w/ Kat Wallace, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Ellis Paul, 7:30 p.m., Flying Goose
• Gabe Dixon, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Moondance: Van Morrison Tribute, 8 p.m., LaBelle Derry
• Scenes: A Billy Joel Experience, 8 p.m., LaBelle Amherst

Friday, Feb. 6

• Hickory Horned Devils, 7 p.m., Riley’s Place
• North Country Hit-N-Run Party Band 7 p.m., Jewel
• Roots of Creation: Grateful Dub, A Reggae Infused Tribute to The Grateful Dead, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey
• Stanley Plays The Dead, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Another Tequila Sunrise, 8 p.m., The Music Hall
• Dis n Dat Band, 8 p.m., Stone Church
• Hell Beach, Another One Down, Oh The Humanity, Breaking Up 8 p.m., Shaskeen
• Lotus Land (Rush tribute), 8 p.m., Tupelo

Saturday, Feb. 7

• Emo/Pop Punk Afternoon, 2 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Ryan Allen Meier, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• Dr. Acula / Across Five Aprils / bela kiss. / Hard Target / Greyloch, 6 p.m., Bungalow
• Jake Swamp & The Pine with Kali Stoddard Imari, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Northern Cross: CSNY Tribute, 7 p.m., BNH Stage
• Stanley Plays Jimi, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• A Tribute Night to the Eagles, 7:30 p.m., Capitol Center
• Joe Law Band, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• Lotus Land (Rush tribute), 8 p.m. Tupelo
• Grateful Dub Reggae Dead Tribute, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Just like John Denver
With his wire-rim glasses and Colorado bangs, Rick Schuler is a convincing John Denver doppelgänger, and his Rocky Mountain High Experience offers an enjoyable mix of hits like “Country Roads,” “Thank God I’m A Country Boy” and “Leaving On A Jet Plane,” along with song stories for a nostalgic journey back to the soft rock ’70s. Friday, March 13, Nashua Center for the Arts, and Saturday, March. 14, Colonial Theatre.

Sunday, Feb. 8

• Linda Pouiliot Trio, 10 a.m., Jimmy’s

Monday, Feb. 9

• Local Artist Series: Dwayne Haggins Band, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s

Tuesday, Feb. 10

• moe., 7:30 p.m., Capitol Center

Wednesday, Feb. 11

• Emily King, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace
• Jerry Bergonzi & Sean Pentland Quartet, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Juanito Pascual Trio, 7 p.m.. Music Hall Lounge
• Frank Viele, 7 p.m., Press Room

Thursday, Feb. 12

• Congregation X, 6 p.m., Hermit Woods Winery
• Crys Matthews, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Damn Tall Buildings, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Paul Hughes Songs for Lovers, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Story Songs of the ’70s, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Tusk, 7:30 p.m., Capitol Center
• Vance Gilbert, 7:30 p.m., Flying Goose
• Booty Vortex Valentine’s Disco Party, 8 p.m., LaBelle Derry

Friday, Feb. 13

• Shake it Off! A (Taylor’s Version) Tribute, 7 p.m. (also 2/14 and 2/15), Palace
• Vintage Vocal Quartet w/ Taylor O’Donnell, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Lizz Wright and Kenny Banks Sr., 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Young Dubliners, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Captain Fantastic, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Dub Apocalypse, 8 p.m., Stone Church
• The Incidentals, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• Something Wonderful Tonight (Harrison/Clapton Tribute),8 p.m., The Music Hall

Saturday, Feb. 14

• Chris Lester, 1 p.m., Contoocook Cider Co.
• Love Me Tender (Afternoon With Elvis), 2 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• Dakota Smart, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• The Big One: A Drag Affair, 7 p.m., Flying Monkey
• Evening of Celtic Love Songs with the Jordan TW Trio, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Halley Neal and Sam Robbins, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Truffle, 7 p.m., Stone Church
• Dirty Blond Band – The Pure Blondie Experience, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• The Sicilian Tenors, 7:30 p.m., Dana Center
• Emo Night Brooklyn, 8 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• The Glass Onion, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• JJ Grey & Mofro, 8 p.m., The Music Hall
• Twen, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace
• ’80s Night w/ Wildside, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Sunday, Feb. 15

• Soggy Po’ Boys Mardi Gras, 2 p.m., Rex
• Soggy Po’ Boys 7 p.m., Andres

Monday, Feb. 16

• Local Artist Series: Jumbo Circus Peanuts (Fat Tuesday), 7 p.m., Jimmy’s

Wednesday, Feb. 18

• Chrissi Poland Forever Muscle Shoals, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Stomp, 8 p.m., The Music Hall

Thursday, Feb. 19

• Trade, 6 p.m., Hermit Woods Winery
• Peter Wolf & The Midnight Travelers, 7 p.m., The Music Hall
• Zachariah Hickman’s Power Outage Party Nights, 7 p.m. (also 2/20 and 2/21), Word Barn
• Jaleel Shaw, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Radio Flashback ’70s and ’80s classic rock, 8 p.m., LaBelle Amherst

Friday, Feb. 20

• Larry Fleet, 7 p.m., The Music Hall
• Joshua Tree Tribute to U2, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey
• The Fabulous Thunderbirds, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Who’s Bad: The Ultimate Michael Jackson Experience, 7:30 p.m. (also 2/21 and 2/22), Palace
• The Winehouse Project, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Hugo Journey Tribute, 8 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• Truffle , 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• Whitesnake Experience Returns w/ Guns of Brighton, 8 p.m., Jewel
• Country Girl Summer, 9 p.m., Wally’s

CSNY tribute
Relive the halcyon Laurel Canyon days of rock’s first supergroup with Northern Cross, New England’s own tribute to Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young. Along with their legendary four-part harmonies, the band touches on all the many genres of music they performed, from country rock to heartfelt ballads, along with acoustic, electric and psychedelic rock. Saturday, Feb. 7, BNH Stage, and Thursday, April 2, Labelle Derry.

Saturday, Feb. 21

• Taylorville, 4 p.m., Colonial Theatre
• Mark Dionne, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• Black Violin, 7:30 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• Mamma Mania! ABBA Tribute, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey
• Walter Parks & The Unlawful Assembly, 7:30 p.m., The Music Hall
• Damn The Torpedoes, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Fox and The Flamingos w/ Coyote Smoke, 8 p.m., Stone Church
• Get the Led Out, 8 p.m., Capitol Center
• Neon Wave, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• Not Fade Away Band plays Dead-Zeppelin, 8 p.m., Press Room
• Evil Empire, Rage Against The Machine & Stone Temple Pilots Tribute, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Sunday, Feb. 22

• Bryan Killough Trio, 10 a.m., Sunny Jain’s Wild Wild East, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Jonatha Brooke, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge

Monday, Feb. 23

• Local Artist Series: Northern Cross, 7 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Tierney Sutton & Tamir Hendelman, 7:30 p.m., The Music Hall

Tuesday, Feb. 24

• The Barr Brothers w/ Land of Talk, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace

Wednesday, Feb. 25

• CJ Chenier, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

Thursday, Feb. 26

• The Sons of Town Hall with Ben Cosgrove, 7 p.m., BNH Stage
• Mallet Brothers Band, 7:30 p.m., Flying Goose
• 16th Annual New England Blues Festival, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• DDXS Tribute to Duran Duran and INXS, 8 p.m., LaBelle Derry
• Haggis X-1 (Craig Downie), 8 p.m., 3S Artspace
• Sans Souci Jerry Garcia Band tribute, 8 p.m., Stone Church

Friday, Feb. 27

• Garrett Smith, 5:30 p.m., Front Four Cellars
• Le Vent Du Nord, 7:30 p.m., Dana Center
• Pokey LaFarge, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• The Robert Cray Band, 7:30 p.m., Colonial
• Sister Sadie, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Corinne Bailey Rae, 8 p.m., The Music Hall
• Pointless Culture & Cosmic Triumph, 8 p.m., BNH Stage
• The Smithereens w/John Cowsill, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Stone Hill Station, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place
• Fast Times, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Saturday, Feb. 28

• Alex Cohen, 1 p.m., Contoocook Cider Co.
• Chris Lester, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• Brad Dubay, 7 p.m., Andres
• Recycled Percussion, 7 p.m. (also 3/1), Nashua Center for the Arts
• Tano Jones Revelry, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Heartless: A Tribute to Ann Wilson of Heart, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Joel Ross, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Lyle Lovett & John Hiatt, 7:30 p.m., The Music Hall
• Classic Stones Live, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• The Young Americans, 8 p.m., Riley’s Place

Sunday, March 1

• Johanna Landis Trio, 10 a.m., Jimmy’s
• Lynch Mob w/ All Sinners, 7 p.m., Tupelo

Monday, March 2

• Another Tequila Sunrise, 7:30 p.m., Palace

Tuesday, March 3

• Keb’ Mo’, 7:30 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts

Wednesday, March 4

• Highway to the Rangerzone Open Mic, 6:30 p.m., BNH Stage
• Sons of Town Hall, 7 p.m., Music Hall Lounge
• Mia Asano, 8 p.m., Tupelo

Thursday, March 5

• D.K. Harrell, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s

Friday, March 6

• Sarah Borges, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Mnozil Brass, 7:30 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• Téada 7:30 p.m., Dana Center
• Glengarry Bhoys, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Thrash Party, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Saturday, March 7

• Paul Driscoll, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• Cherish The Ladies, 7 p.m., BNH Stage
• Gnarly Darling The Mountain, 7 p.m., Word Barn
• Junkstar w/ Matt Charette, 7 p.m., Pembroke City Limits
• The Bakers Basement, 7:30 p.m., The Listening Room
• Lindsay and Jason 7:30 p.m., Concord Audi
• Steve Forbert, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Boat House Row Yacht Rock, 8 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts

Sunday, March 8

• Little Miss and the Boom Trio, 10 a.m., Jimmy’s
• Bedford Big Band, 2 p.m., Rex
• Andrew North Solo LP Release Show (Lounge), 4 p.m., BNH Stage
• NE Bluegrass Band, 6 p.m., Andres
• Amelia Day, 7 p.m., Press Room

Wednesday, March 11

• Freese Brothers Big Band 7:30 p.m., Concord Audi
• Some Velvet Sidewalk w/ Plant Fight & Dummy Ache, 8 p.m., Press Room

Thursday, March 12

• Britt Connors Band, 6 p.m., Hermit Woods Winery
• Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, 7:30 p.m., Flying Goose
• Scott Sharrard, 7:30 p.m., Jimmy’s
• Solas 30th Anniversary Tour, 7:30 p.m., the Music Hall
• Being Petty – Tom Petty & the Heartbreakers Tribute, 8 p.m., LaBelle Derry

Friday, March 13

• Rocky Mountain High Experience John Denver Tribute, 7:30 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• Church Of Cash, 7:30 p.m., BNH Stage
• ’70s Story Songs: Tribute to Gordon Lightfoot, Harry Chapin, Cat Stevens, 7:30 p.m., Flying Monkey
• The Iron Maidens, 9 p.m., Wally’s

Saturday, March 14

• Rocky Mountain High Experience: A John Denver Tribute Starring Rick Schuler, 4 p.m., Colonial
• Dave Clark, 5 p.m., Twin Barns Brewing
• Swing Dance Night Featuring New Hampshire Jazz Orchestra, 7 p.m., BNH Stage
• Tribute to R.E.M. with Dead Letter Office, 7:30 p.m., Rex
• Hey Nineteen Steely Dan tribute, 8 p.m., Tupelo
• Max Creek, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace

Sunday, March 15

• An Afternoon with Dervish, 2 p.m., Rex
• Randy Brecker, 5 and 7:45 p.m., Press Room
• Everclear, 7 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• Rick Wakeman and Son, 7 p.m., Tupelo
• Gubbulidis w/ Jesse Bardwell, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace

Monday, March 16

• Clock Out, Retract, Condition, & Satiate, 7:30 p.m., Press Room

Tuesday, March 17

• Jordan Tirrell-Wysocki Trio, 7 p.m., BNH Stage
• Wednesday, March 18
• Music of Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit and Rings of Power, 4 p.m., Music of Hans Zimmer & Others – A Celebration of Film Music, 7:30 p.m., Colonial

Thursday, March 19

• W4RP, 6 p.m., Hermit Woods Winery
• Brendan James, 7:30 p.m. (also 3/20), Music Hall Lounge
• Earthkit w/ Cursed On Earth, Kong Moon, & Creator DGM, 7:30 p.m., Press Room
• Red Hot Chilli Pipers, 7:30 p.m., Nashua Center for the Arts
• The Simon & Garfunkel Story, 7:30 p.m., Capitol Center
• Infinity Song, 8 p.m., 3S Artspace
• Len Price w/ Chelsea Curve and Stars Like Ours w/ DJ Sherman, 8 p.m., Stone Church

VENUE GUIDE
3S Artspace 319 Vaughan St., Portsmouth, 3sarts.org
Andres Institute of Art 106 Route 13, Brookline, andresinstitute.org
BNH Stage 16 S. Main St., Concord, ccanh.com
Bungalow Bar & Grill 333 Valley St., Manchester, 792-1110
Capitol Center for the Arts 44 S. Main St., Concord, ccanh.com
City Wide Community Center 14 Canterbury Road, Concord, ccanh.com
Colonial Theatre 609 Main St., Laconia, coloniallaconia.com
Concord City Auditorium 2 Prince St., Concord, theaudi.org
Contoocook Cider Co. 656 Gould Hill Road, Contoocook, contoocookcider.com
Dana Center Saint Anselm College, Manchester, tickets.anselm.edu
Flying Goose 40 Andover Road, New London, flyinggoose.com
Flying Monkey Movie House 39 Main St., Plymouth, flyingmonkeynh.com
Front Four Cellars 13 Railroad Ave., Wolfeboro, frontfourcellars.com
Hermit Woods Winery 72 Main St., Meredith, hermitwoods.com
Jewel Music Venue 61 Canal St., Manchester, 836-1152
Jimmy’s Jazz & Blues Club 135 Congress St., Portsmouth, 603-5299, jimmysoncongress.com
LaBelle Amherst 345 Route 101, Amherst, labellewinery.com
LaBelle Derry 14 Route 111, Derry, labellewinery.com
The Listening Room Prayers of Nature Studio, 33 Howard St., Wilton, prayersofnature.com
Music Hall Lounge 131 Congress St.., Portsmouth, themusichall.org
Nashua Center for the Arts 201 Main St., Nashua, nashaucenterforthearts.com
Palace Theatre 80 Hanover St., Manchester, palacetheatre.org
Pembroke City Limits 134 Main St., Pembroke, pembrokecitylimits.com
Press Room 77 Daniel St., Portsmouth, pressroomnh.com
Riley’s Place 29 Mont Vernon St., Milford, rileysplacellc.com
Shaskeen Pub 909 Elm St., Manchester, shaskeenirishpub.com
Stone Church 5 Granite St., Newmarket, stonechurchrocks.com
The Music Hall 28 Chestnut St., Portsmouth, themusichall.org
Music Hall Lounge, 131 Congress St., Portsmouth, themusichall.org
Tupelo Music Hall – 10 A St., Derry, tupelomusichall.com
Twin Barns Brewing 194 Daniel Webster Hwy., Meredith, twinbarnsbrewing.com
Wally’s Pub 144 Ashworth Ave., Hampton, wallysnh.com/
Word Barn 66 Newfields Road, Exeter, thewordbarn.com

Featured photo: Rani Arbo & daisy mayhem, from the band’s website raniarbo.com; photo courtesy the band by Joanna Chattman

Mocktails and non-alcoholic spirits and wine offer grown-up flavors without the booze

By John Fladd
jfladd@hippopress.com

Until relatively recently, your non-alcoholic options when out on the town were fairly limited. You could order iced tea or soda, or maybe some fruit juice. According to bar owner Dan Haggerty, that situation has evolved over the past few years; there has been an upswing in customers looking for alcohol-free options.

“More and more people have started saying, ‘You know, I’m not really drinking tonight,’” he said. Haggerty is the co-owner of two bars in downtown Manchester, Industry East (28 Hanover St.) and its sister establishment Stashbox (866 Elm St.), as well as a soon-to-open dry bar called Without.

“We’ve definitely seen an uptick in people who are cutting down [their drinking] to once a week or whatever it might be, but more and more people have been asking for drinks without alcohol. Maybe they’re trying to be more healthy. I think there’s been a bit of a shape shift in just the societal view.”

Andrew Solis has a theory that, like so many things, attitudes toward drinking changed noticeably in the wake of the Covid epidemic. He said being isolated during lockdown gave many people an opportunity to change habits. Solis is the co-owner of Cut Above Zero-Proof Spirits, a line of alcohol-free spirits. He noticed a cultural shift during the pandemic.

“I’d say most people didn’t keep their habits pre-Covid during Covid,” Solis said. “They either went one way or the other. We saw a lot of consumers drink more alcohol.” At least at first. “But all of us were looking at ourselves in Zoom screens and our mirrors more often than we would before that. I think perception of our appearance and our health was shifted slightly because of that. And so I think we see that carrying over after Covid, [not drinking] has become a socially acceptable habit. It lost that stigma, I think, that existed always, which is if someone’s not drinking and they used to, there would be whispers: ‘Do they have a problem?’ ‘What’s going on?’ ‘Are they sick?’ Now it’s seen as a positive and a proactive choice.”

Brittany Gagnon is the owner of Blossom and Vine Creative in Goffstown and leads monthly workshops teaching home entertainers to make alcohol-free drinks.

“What I try to get across to people,” Gagnon said, “is that if you’re choosing not to drink, whether it be long-term or whether it be just for that one event, there are other options if you’re interested in something more than simply sparkling water and juice mixed together. There are nice options that you can put together and feel like you’re having something special because you are having something special and something that’s high-quality without feeling like your only choice is alcohol, if that’s not something that you want. I try to introduce people to some of the options so that they can try some and get an idea of what they might like, what they might want to look into more.”

Familiar cocktails with alcohol-free spirits

It wasn’t too long ago that finding non-alcoholic spirits was a challenge.

“I don’t want to say they weren’t even around,” said Joseph Mollica, Chairman of the New Hampshire Liquor Commission, “but they weren’t on anyone’s radar 10 years ago.” He said the state liquor stores have been working with the hospitality industry in New Hampshire to serve non-drinking consumers better. “We’re kind of a tourist state,” he said. “People want to go out and celebrate with their friends whether they’re having an alcohol cocktail or a nonalcoholic cocktail. It’s keeping people in the restaurants. [Non-alcoholic beverages] have really come a long way and we’re pretty excited about it.”

New Hampshire’s liquor stores now carry a range of non-alcoholic products, Mollica said.

“Our top 20 stores have the full selection — Ritual is the name of one of the companies. They have a whiskey alternative. Cut Above is another company; they have a gin, a whiskey, and they have a blanco [tequila]. We probably have 100+ [items] out in the stores that are available to purchase the whole year round.”

Andrew Solis from Cut Above said his company makes zero-proof spirits with flexibility in mind.

“We know that the majority of people who consume adult non -alcoholic beverages may also consume alcoholic beverages,” he said. ”So Cut Above was designed to be a one-for-one replacement in their favorite cocktails. But it’s also designed to be used with traditional spirits. The example I like to give is I like to make a gin and tonic when I’m preparing dinner. Now I just use half of the gin that I always used, then sub in our gin for the other half, and now it’s 50 percent less ABV [Alcohol By Volume], 50 percent less alcohol content in that cocktail, and I don’t really, like I say, miss that other ounce. It’s a way to put the consumer in the driver’s seat when it comes to the amount of alcohol they’re consuming.”

Brittany Gagnon depends on zero-proof versions of familiar liquors that the people in her workshops are familiar with.

“So there are two non-alcoholic drinks that are my go-to when I’m entertaining,” Gagnon said. “One is the non-alcoholic margarita; that tends to be a crowd-pleaser. Most people enjoy margaritas. And so that one with a tequila alternative is always a good choice. Another one that some people like the strong taste and some don’t, but for those that like gin, I do a non-alcoholic gin and tonic and I use, there’s an organic brand called Olive Nation. They make a juniper extract. If you put one eighth of a teaspoon of juniper extract, lime, and a nice tonic water, it tastes exactly like a real gin and tonic. You don’t miss the real thing at all.”

Alcohol-free beer or wine

Emily Holbrook Jennings is a sales representative for Vinilandia New Hampshire (vinilandianh.com), a wine importer and distributor. Her theory is that the demand for non-alcoholic drinks isn’t as new as it seems.

“I think that the demand has probably been there,” she said, “but the products haven’t been there to support it.”

Jennings said alcohol-free wines have become more complex in recent years.

“[Consumers] want something that tastes, I say nice,” she said, “as in having like maybe some more bitter flavors — more like an Amaro base. People like vermouth and they like that kind of style, but they don’t want anything sticky sweet and they don’t want soda. I think sweetness isn’t generally in the adult palate. We work with a lot of producers that grow organic grapes and they take like the highest level of control of quality that they can so they’re producing a better-quality product. I think they’ve come a long way. [The producers of a] lot of the wines that we carry use reverse osmosis so the alcohol actually spins out, versus pasteurization, which before that sort of cooked the alcohol out so you can imagine that didn’t taste very good. Now these are all coming from true winemakers who have figured out how to do the de-alcoholization part.”

Another advantage of zero-proof wines, Jennings said, is that they allow drinkers to stretch out the time they spend drinking with friends.

“They allow people to enjoy session drinking [this is a term wine enthusiasts use to describe staggering their consumption of different types of wine]. They can have a fun sparkling wine or something like that and still feel festive but not be actually drinking, you know, prosecco or Champagne. The non-alcoholic wines allow them to celebrate all day without getting drunk, kind of like taking a break in between, so say you do have a Champagne or prosecco to start with, and then the next drink that you had would be a non-alcoholic sparkling drink. So you’re kind of balancing it out, taking a session of this and a session of that, kind of just slowing down your alcohol intake.”

Mocktails

“Mocktail” is a term that has become popular in recent years to describe a mixed drink specifically designed without alcohol. These have become especially available at high-end cocktail bars. Sarah Maillet, co-owner of 815 Cocktails & Provisions in Manchester, said her staff takes a lot of time and effort to design mocktails for guests with sophisticated tastes.

“The biggest priority,” she said, “is that it doesn’t feel like a downgrade. Adult alcohol-free drinks need complexity, balance, appeal and intention. You have to think about bitterness, acidity, texture, aromatics — not just sweetness. We think about mouthfeel, presentation, glassware, garnish and how the drink fits into our overall menu. It ends up feeling just as deliberate and elevated as any other cocktail. Our job is to bring the same level of creativity and respect we give any other drink on the menu.”

Dan Haggerty from Industry East and Stashbox said he and his staff always have several mocktails on the menu and rotate them frequently.

“We like to switch them up,” he said. “Like we do with any menu item, if there’s one that’s a really big hit, we’ll keep it on [the menu]. But we do like to rotate them. That’s kind of the fun part [of designing] mocktails is you don’t have to come up with deciding whether or not this should be a vodka drink or a tequila drink. Whatever the flavor of the drink is that you came up with, that’s what it is. The pressure is off essentially, right? So it lends itself to being extremely seasonal and also you can kind of switch them up whenever you want really, right? People are looking, you know, specifically speaking to Stashbox and Industry, we are a bar that serves alcohol. So we don’t want to put a million choices on the menu. Again, having a smaller number available does also lend itself to switching them up more often, you know? And we keep a lot of those ingredients on hand anyway, so if there’s one that might not be on the menu at that time, we can probably still make it.”

Mocktail recipes

Tamarind Fizz

Inspired by a recipe from A Cut Above, drinkcutabove.com. Andrew Solis and Blanca Silva-Solis, the owners of Cut Above, describe this as “a perfect blend of sweet, tart, and botanical.”

1 ounce Cut Above Gin, Cut Above Mezcal, or a 50/50 blend
4 ounces tamarind soda
1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
Lightly cracked ice
Fresh mint for garnish

In a mixing glass, combine the zero-proof spirits, lime juice, tamarind soda, and cracked ice. Stir gently for 30 seconds to chill completely.

Strain over fresh cracked ice in a tall glass.

Bruise the fresh mint — you can roll it between your palms, slap it against your wrist, or crush it against your countertop with the heel of your hand. Garnish the drink with it. The aroma of fresh mint will boost and improve the flavor of your tamarind fizz.

Raspberry Dreams

From the New Hampshire Liquor and Wine Outlet’s New Hampshire Mocktail Month Guide, available online at liquorandwineoutlets.com/responsibility.

2 ounces homemade raspberry puree (see below)
1 ounce simple syrup
½ ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
4 ounces carbonated water

To make raspberry puree, thaw a bag of frozen raspberries. (Frozen berries will work as well as or possibly better than fresh ones. Because you are pureeing them, the sometimes sad texture of prefrozen berries will not be an issue.) Run the berries through a blender for a full minute, then strain the puree through a fine-mesh strainer; raspberries have a truly shocking amount of seeds.

In a mixing glass, add ice, raspberry puree, simple syrup, and lime juice, and stir to combine. Add the carbonated water, and stir very gently, so that everything is well mixed but the seltzer hasn’t lost its fizz.

Strain over fresh ice in a tall glass, and enjoy with a straw.

Cucumber Sparkle

A crowd-pleasing batch cocktail.

12 ounces (1.5 cups) fresh squeezed lime juice
8 ounces (1 cup) cucumber syrup (see below)
16 ounces (2 cups) tonic water
16 ounces (2 cups) seltzer
Garnish — 1 lime, thinly sliced

In a large container with at least a gallon capacity, whisk the lime juice and syrup together. Gently stir in the tonic water and seltzer. If you are serving this in a punch bowl, float a large decorative block of ice. I have a small Bundt pan that I like to fill and freeze for a ring of fancy ice.

Cucumber Syrup with maddeningly vague measurements

Wash a couple of cucumbers, and chop them into half-inch dice. Don’t worry about peeling them. Freeze the cucumber pieces until they are solid — a couple of hours or overnight.

Transfer the frozen cucumber pieces to a medium saucepan and add an equal amount (by weight) of white sugar. Cook over medium heat. This mixture will seem too dry until the cucumbers start to give up their juice. The freezing process will have pierced all the cell walls, and there will be a surprising amount of juice. Stir occasionally. At some point you might want to encourage the process along with a potato masher. Bring to a boil briefly, to make sure that all the sugar is completely dissolved.

Remove from the heat and let the mixture cool for half an hour. Strain with a fine-meshed strainer and bottle. This will keep for a month or so in your refrigerator. Aside from its use in drinks, this syrup is really good mixed into your morning yogurt.

Featured image: A Breakfast Nook. Photos on this page and page 9 are of drinks crafted by Sian Quinn, the creator of mocktails at 815 Cocktails & Provisions in Manchester. The cocktails and mocktails can often be formulated to add or take out alcohol, depending on the drinker’s preference.