Category: Food

In the kitchen with Lin Theth

Chef at Street (76 N. Main St., Concord, 333-2125, streetfood360.com)

“I started in the industry as a student. I went to high school in Dover, and I took their culinary program,” Theth said. “I did that program for two years and then proceeded to go to Johnson & Wales for school. I completed my degree there in culinary arts, and I began working at first in Portsmouth, to finish my degree. I had to do an internship, so I did it at Vida Cantina in Portsmouth. I was there for about five or so years. I started as an intern, worked up to line cook, and then I was the chef there for the last couple of years. I began working at Street at our flagship restaurant in Portsmouth. From there, I helped open their secondary location in Exeter, and then I’m currently working at their third location in Concord.”

What’s your must-have kitchen item?

Definitely a knife. Having a good chef’s knife is everything. If you pick the right one, something that’s comfortable, something that’s really tuned to your hand as an individual, you know, you can almost use it for anything.

What would your last meal be?

Anything that my mother would make me, I would gladly have. I grew up eating a lot of pho and that’s something that I could never say no to, so I’d probably say that.

What’s your favorite place to eat out at?

I’ll be honest, I don’t go out much. I typically, you know, as the industry goes, I work a lot of hours, and aside from that, I just prefer to be at home. There’s a restaurant in Lynn, Mass., called Nightshade Noodle Bar and in the summertime they do like a seafood shack situation where they do Vietnamese Cajun cuisine. And I’ve never had it, but I’ve always wanted to try. Fun stuff like that is always very interesting to see.

What’s your favorite thing on your menu?

When I first started here at Street, I used to take the Singapore salad and what I would do is I would have that with a side of Korean tenders, but I would take it and wrap it up in a falafel pita and eat it like a pita.

What’s the biggest food trend you see in New Hampshire right now?

Anything that you see on social media is huge right now. I feel like the fusion is something that people have been really gravitating toward recently. Just like the mix and match of different cultures and a single dish and that kind of thing. I’ve seen a lot of dishes like birria ramen and stuff like that, which is very interesting.

What do you cook at home?

Breakfast is huge for me. I love waking up in the morning, having my cup of tea or cup of coffee and just making breakfast. That’s always one of the staples for me. Just, you know, scrambled eggs, good scrambled eggs, some seasoned potatoes, things like that.

Dipping Sauce
From the kitchen of Lin Theth

This is something that I like to do as just a dipping sauce for proteins — chicken or whatever:

It’s a couple of tablespoons of simple syrup. You can just make it on the stove; just cook [equal amounts of] sugar and water and boil that until the sugar is dissolved. Add a little bit of garlic and chili, just to bring in some heat, just a little zestiness from the garlic. Once that’s cooled, add a couple tablespoons of fish sauce to it and a fat squeeze of lime juice.

It’s pretty simple and easy to make, but it’s one of those things where you have a little bit of everything. It’s sweet, it’s spicy, it’s salty from the fish sauce. It’s great.

A cup of civility

Honey Cup Cafe & Tearoom offers tea and a moment of calm

By John Fladd

[email protected]

If you ask Mara Witt, the owner of Honey Cup Cafe & Tearoom, what Manchester needs, she’ll tell you it’s a tea room. The tea is important, of course, but Witt said that a tea room fills a need many adults have: It’s a space to relax and spend time with other adults; to inject a little civility into their day-to-day routine.

“I think a lot of other women need something to be able to look forward to,” she said. “It just kind of elevates your daily life a little bit to be able to sit down and feel a little bit fancy with little sandwiches and enjoy a warm drink with someone. It’s nice to have something that’s not so alcohol-focused. There’s a lot to do that is alcohol-focused. It’s nice to have a way to go out with someone that you can do in the morning and not feel guilty about it that’s not coffee- or alcohol-focused.”

Since its formal opening in December, the Honey Cup has had a mixed clientele.

“I have definitely been pleasantly surprised with the amount of men,” Witt said. “It turns out that a lot of men really enjoy drinking tea. But they also like the tea room; they like the aesthetic. They find it a nice relaxing place to be.”

Although the Honey Cup serves coffee and even a few low-octane cocktails, the focus is on tea and tea-adjacent foods.

“We have a focus on vintage comfort foods,” Witt said. “The idea is a bit like a vintage lunch counter.” To that end, there are breakfast items, baked goods like scones, and finger sandwiches. “And then we do a formal tea on Saturdays and Sundays at two o’clock by reservation,” Witt added, “which is a full afternoon tea service.”

The Full Afternoon Tea is an example of curating a grown-up experience for Witt’s customers. “It’s modeled after a Victorian English version of afternoon tea,” Wit said. “We serve three tiers. The bottom tier is always finger sandwiches; we do chicken salad, deviled egg, [and] cucumber sandwiches of course, and then salmon — a lox sandwich. The second tier is always scones, so we usually have two kinds of scones to choose from. We serve that with authentic clotted cream, lemon curd, and jam to put on the scones. And then on the top we always have a [pastry] assortment — things like petit fours or macarons. Each person has a personal pot of tea and it’s a bottomless pot so they can try all the teas on our menu.”

Honey Cup Cafe and Tearoom. Photo by John Fladd.
Honey Cup Cafe and Tearoom. Photo by John Fladd.

A big part of creating a comfortable space has been building an aesthetic, Witt said.

“I guess I’m what you might describe as a maximalist. I think I identified with that. [Our look] is very vintage, floral, and a little feminine. I wanted it to feel kind of like a parlor, like you’re going to the parlor in someone’s house and enjoying tea time there, like they did in the olden days.” To that end, the wallpaper in both rooms in the cafe has a bold floral design. There are comfortable chairs to sit in, and even a sofa. Witt pointed to a floral spray in one corner of the tea parlor. “In my loan paperwork, I said I need $5,000 for a floral installation,” she said. “And my loan officer said, ‘Absolutely not.’ So I did them myself for not $5,000 and so far everyone likes my floral arrangement.”

While walk-in customers make up a sizable portion of the Honey Cup’s business, Witt’s strategy is to lean into events.
“We can host private events after four,” she said. We’re closed at three, so we can do private room rentals for sure. And we have the catering as well. I think we’ll do well with the room rentals once the word is out about that.”

The space is perfect, she said, for small gatherings like book clubs and showers.

“We’re doing a ‘Blind Book Club’,” she said, “where I wrap all the books and nobody knows what book it is before they buy it. The first time we did it, it sold out in one week and we sold all the books. Readers love it; it’s like a blind date. We set a date, then meet to have a little tea and discuss the book. And the response is just like people love it, like blind date with a book … and then we’re going to meet here on Jan. 25 and have a little tea and discuss the book. I really wanted to have a community place for knitting clubs or book clubs or things like that or a place to just come in the morning and just sit and relax.”

Honey Cup Cafe & Tearoom
150 Bridge St., Manchester, 836-6008, honeycupnh.com
Open 7 a.m. to 3 p.m. seven days a week. Catering and room rentals are available. Special events are listed on the Honey Cup website.

Featured photo: Mara Witt, owner of Honey Cup Cafe and Tearoom. Photo by John Fladd.

The science of shaking

Cocktail making is an exercise in physics

A cocktail shaker is a surprisingly sophisticated piece of equipment. According to Griffin Star, bartender at 815 Cocktails & Provisions in Manchester, this is especially true of a “Boston shaker,” the type preferred by many bartenders, which is made up of two metal cups, one large, and one small.

“When we’re building a cocktail,” Starr said, “we build it in the small shaker first, with the ice separated in the bigger half.”

To a casual customer sitting at a bar, shaking a cocktail seems fairly straightforward, even simple, but Starr pointed out that making a quality cocktail requires paying attention to several aspects of physics. One of the most important of these is being aware of the air pressure inside and outside the shaker. When a bartender combines the two halves of a Boston shaker, introducing room temperature liquids in the small half of the shaker to the ice in the large half, he or she needs to create a tight seal, to prevent a proto-cocktail from leaking out as it is shaken.

“You want to seal down the tin,” Starr said. “You want to give it a good, hard slap at an angle.” At this point, Starr demonstrated his slapping technique with a drink he was in the process of making. As he slapped the smaller half of the shaker into place, at an angle, there was a small, audible hiss as air was forced out of the shaker, creating a slight vacuum.

Starr said that learning how to slap a cocktail shaker properly took him a while. “It took me until at least four or five months into actually bartending,” he remembered. “To actually get used to the muscle memory and not having my palm hurt when I struck it probably took about five months.”

Once a bartender starts shaking a cocktail, things get complicated pretty quickly, Starr said. If there is an egg white in a drink, when the alkaline egg white meets an acidic citrus juice, for instance, pressure can build up inside a shaker. “When you are shaking with those egg whites, generally you want to keep one palm on the top half, one palm on the bottom half,” he said. “That way you’re just keeping everything sealed in and it doesn’t just blow up in the tin and go right all over your face.” If there isn’t an acid-base reaction, though, the air inside the shaker shrinks as it cools, Starr said, creating a stronger vacuum. “It’s a drop in pressure,” he said, “so there’s a suction.”

Then there’s the matter of how long or hard to shake a cocktail.

“Obviously it all depends on what ingredients you are using,” Starr said. “At home, you’re probably going to want to use all the ice that you possibly can to fill up the tin with, because as we know with thermal dynamics, if you use just a little ice, it’s going to melt quickly and dilute your drink a lot quicker. I usually do a 10- to 15-second shake, but it’s good to keep in mind how long you’re doing it. A good way to [know you should stop shaking is] that feeling of the tin getting cold in your hand. As soon as it chills right at that centerpiece where you’re holding it, that’s a good sign that you’re done shaking.”

The final step of cocktail shaking is also the flashiest: the strong but casual slap a good bartender uses to separate the two halves of the shaker. This is where the angle of the smaller half of the shaker comes in, Starr said. “The slap is with the heel of your hand at the junction where the two glasses meet and because it’s at an angle you’re slapping it on the opposite end of where it’s angled.”

Starr said that in his opinion using good technique is a sign of respect for a drink and for the customer.

“I don’t want to put out anything that’s incomplete,” he said.

The Weekly Dish 25/01/02

By John Fladd

[email protected]

• Cooking compeition:Tickets for this year’s Steel Chef competition are on sale. Hosted by restaurateur and celebrity chef Marcus Samuelsson, this competition will take place at Armory Ballroom at the Doubletree by Hilton Manchester Downtown on Monday, March 17. Approximately 680 guests will watch a live, timed cooking competition featuring some of New Hampshire’s best chefs. As the competition between chefs heats up, guests will enjoy a dinner curated by Chef Samuelsson, plus live and silent auctions and more. Proceeds will benefit the New Hampshire Food Bank. Tickets start at $150 and sell out quickly. Visit nhfoodbank.org/steelchef.

• Chef’s table: Flag Hill Winery (297 N. River Road, Lee, 659-2949, flaghill.com) is accepting reservations for January’s Chef’s Table Dinners on Saturday, Jan. 11, and Saturday, Jan. 18. Dinner reservations are $75 per person, which includes a four-course dinner and wine/spirit/cocktail pairings with each course. Visit Flag Hill’s website.

• Wine week: Reserve your seat for the Cakebread Cellars Wine Dinner at the Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford, 472-2001, bedfordvillageinn.com) on Wednesday, Jan. 22, from 6 to 9 p.m. This exclusive five-course dinner is paired with the wines of Cakebread Cellars, one of Napa Valley’s most esteemed wineries. Each course has been crafted by the BVI’s Executive Chef to complement the elegance and complexity of these renowned vintages. Tickets are $125 per person through Eventbrite.com and are extremely limited.

• Thinking about spring: Farmers, gardeners, food system pros and organic advocates, get your tickets now for NOFA-NH’s (Northeast Organic Farming Association of New Hampshire) 23rd annual winter conference, “Sowing Hope, Cultivating Joy,” to be held on Feb. 8 at Southern New Hampshire University (2500 N. River Road, Manchester). This event includes workshops and networking with others interested in growing food and nurturing community. Tickets are offered on a sliding scale and lunch tickets are sold separately. Workshops on the schedule include such topics as “Growing Blue Fruits,” “Creating a Community Farm” and “The Cows Don’t Milk Themselves.” A keynote address will be given by Chef David Vargas of Portsmouth’s Vida Cantina. See nofanh.org for details and to register.

• Closing: The Stonewall Kitchen retail location in downtown Portsmouth (10 Pleasant St.) is closing after 26 years, according to a Dec. 23 story in the Portsmouth Herald. Stonewall products are sold at various New Hampshire shops and supermarkets, and the company has other retail locations around New England.

Rum Cake

This recipe is adapted from one that was published in a Bacardi advertisement from 1976. It holds up.

  • 1 cup (133 g) finely chopped roasted, salted pecans
  • 1 box (375 g) yellow cake mix
  • 1 3.4-ounce package instant vanilla pudding mix
  • 4 eggs
  • ½ cup (225 g) milk
  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter
  • ½ cup (225 g) dark or black rum

Preheat oven to 325°F.

In a small saucepan, brown the butter: Over low heat, melt the butter, and stir or swirl almost constantly until it turns brownish gold, a tawny color, not unlike a lion. Remove it from the heat, and let it cool to room temperature. Strain it to remove the milk solids you’ve so cleverly rendered out.

Use a large spoonful of butter to grease the inside of a Bundt pan. If you have experienced the heartbreak of a Bundt cake not coming cleanly out of its pan, and ripping itself into pieces; if you are intimidated by Bundt pans; if you have young children you do not want to expose to intemperate language — there is a solution: absurd amounts of butter. Wash your hands, and really slather the butter on, hitting every corner and crevice. Make certain you give special attention to the central column. If you feel like you have buttered it enough, you need to add more. Obsessive over-indulgence is the order of the day here.

Sprinkle your finely chopped pecans across the bottom of the Bundt pan. This will be the top of your cake.

In a large bowl, combine all the other ingredients, including your browned butter. Stir the mixture until there are no dry bits or lumps, then pour it into your waiting Bundt pan. Use a silicone spatula to transfer all of it.

Thump the pan on your countertop with authority. Give the cake batter a good, hard stare to let it know that you aren’t fooling around, then give it a couple more solid thumps. This will make sure that all the batter has been seated into your carefully buttered crevices.

(The pan’s crevices, that is. Yours are your own business, and beyond the purview of a cake recipe.)

Bake the cake for about an hour, or until the center reaches 200°F. Remove it from the oven and let it cool in the pan for 15 or 20 minutes.

Invert the cake onto a plate. I like to rise up on my toes, then jerk the pan and plate downward with some force. You should be rewarded with a soft thump.

Carefully remove the Bundt pan to make certain everything turned out well (literally, in this case), then replace the pan on the cake, and re-invert it, so that you are looking at the bottom of the cake.

With a wooden skewer, stab the cake 100 times, then set it aside while you make some rum syrup.

Rum Syrup

  • ½ cup (1 stick) butter
  • ¼ cup water
  • 1 cup (198 g) sugar
  • Another ½ cup (225 g) dark or black rum

In a small saucepan, probably the same one you used earlier, bring the butter, water and sugar to a boil. Boil it for another five minutes, then remove it from heat. Let it cool a few minutes, then stir in the rum.

Slowly pour about half the rum syrup over the cake. Give it a minute or two to absorb into the cake through all those holes you poked, then pour the rest of the syrup over it.

Set the cake aside for an hour or two to completely integrate the rum syrup, then re-re-invert it onto a serving plate.

Rum cake goes exceptionally well with not-very-sweet coffee or tea. The sweetness and moisture of the cake makes a clean contrast with a hot beverage. The rumminess makes a good contrast to the hard work and disappointment in your life.

Champagne send-off

Where to enjoy your final meal of 2024

Has spending the holidays with your family inspired a deep appreciation of restaurant dining? Here are some area restaurants that will be open on New Year’s Eve, Tuesday, Dec. 31 (and a few also offering New Year’s Day events):

• 815 Cocktails & Provisions (815 Elm St., Manchester, 782-8086, 815nh.com) celebrate the new year with a Rodeo Ball from 8 p.m. to midnight. Put on your cowboy boots, fringe and bedazzled attire for a night filled with music, complimentary hors d’oeuvres, cocktails, burlesque by Siren of the Circle, magic by Benjamin, an unlimited photobooth and more. Tickets are $140 through eventbrite.com.

• Alan’s of Boscawen (133 N. Main St., Boscawen, 753-6631, alansofboscawen.toast.site) is open from 11 a.m to 10 p.m. The Freddy Partridge Band performs beginning at 8:30 p.m. Tickets for the band are $20.

• Artisan Hotel at Tuscan Village (17 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-8450, marriott.com) will host a four-course Dueling Piano Dinner Show from 7 p.m. to midnight in the hotel ballroom. The Flying Ivories will perform throughout the evening. Enjoy light bites at 10 p.m., and after the event head outside to catch a fireworks display at midnight. Tickets are $300 at tuscanbrands.com. There will also be a NYE Party and Fireworks Show at the Verandaat the Artisan from 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. Enjoy an evening filled with music from the DJ, exclusive views of the midnight fireworks show, and special featured entertainment; enjoy a variety of food stations, including a raw bar, truffle gnocchi, scallops wrapped in bacon and more. Tickets are $240 each at tuscanbrands.com.

• Averill House Vineyard (21 Averill Road, Brookline, 244-3165, averillhousevineyard.com) will celebrate from 6:30 to 9 p.m. with three events. You can enjoy Dinner in an Exclusive Private Vineyard-themed Igloo for Four or in Averill House’s Private Gazebo. Dinner includes a wine pairing and five preset Brazilian courses. At 9 p.m. (midnight in Brazil) there will be a toast to the new year. Tickets (for four people) are $399. There will be a more conventional Inside New Year’s Eve Dinner in the dining room, which will also feature a five-course Brazilian dinner with wine pairings. Tickets are $89 each. Purchase tickets through the Vineyard’s website.

• The Barley House (132 N. Main St., Concord, 228-6363, thebarleyhouse.com) will offer specials such as prime rib, lobster tail and sticky toffee pudding from 5 to 9 p.m.

• The Bedford Village Inn (2 Olde Bedford Way, Bedford, 472-2001, bedfordvillageinn.com) will serve a four-course prix fixe dinner. The cost is $110 per person, and seating times are from 5 to 9:30 p.m. There will also be a New Year’s Day brunch served Wednesday, Jan. 1, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the dining room, the BVI’s original restaurant. Visit the Inn’s website.

• The Birch on Elm (968 Elm St., Manchester, 836-1958, birchonelm.com) invites you to a New Year’s Eve night of elegant indulgence beginning at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $200 through eventbrite.com and include unlimited passed appetizers, a raw bar, two drinks, and a Champagne pour when midnight nears.

• Buckley’s Great Steaks (438 DW Highway, Merrimack, 424-0995, buckleysgreatsteaks.com) will be open for dinner from 4 to 9 p.m. Dinner specials will be posted at facebook.com/BuckleysGreatSteaks. Reservations are recommended.

• Cask & Vine (1 E. Broadway, Derry, 965-3454, cask.life/cask-and-vine) will celebrate its 12th anniversary, which is coincidentally New Year’s Eve, with an I’d Hit That Fiesta. There will be a collection of curated beers along with a tequila toast, pinatas and more. Reserve your spot with a $25 deposit through the Cask & Vine website.

• The Grazing Room at the Colby Hill Inn (33 The Oaks, Henniker, 428-3281, colbyhillinn.com) will present a New Year’s Eve Sparkling Dinner from 7 to 10:30 p.m. (Overnight guests can continue to celebrate until midnight.) It will be a five-course dinner with sparkling and still wines. The cost is $190 per person. The following day there will be a Back to the ’80s Brunch. Dress as you were in the ’80s. The cost is $45 per person, which includes a round of your choice of mimosa, bloody mary, signature mocktail or honey-grapefruit martini; starter buffet and hot (by order) entree choices feature shrimp & avocado shakshuka, steak & eggs, chocolate-stuffed French toast or house-cured lox eggs Benedict.

• Copper Door (15 Leavy Drive, Bedford, 488-2677, or 41 S. Broadway, Salem, 458-2033, copperdoor.com) is accepting dinner reservations on until 9 p.m. and will close at 11 p.m. New Year’s Day will be regular business hours.

• Cotton Restaurant (75 Arms St., Manchester, 622-5488, cottonfood.com) will serve its regular menu from 5 to 8:30 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

• Ring in the new year at the Derryfield Country Club (625 Mammoth Road, Manchester, 669-0235, derryfieldgolf.com) from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. with the Chad LaMarsh Band. There will be high-energy dance music, spanning tunes from the ’60s to current tunes in genres ranging from classic rock, rap, metal and pop dance. Tickets are $30 through eventbrite.com.

• Evolution Bistro and Bar (930 Elm St., Manchester, 836-3970, evolutionnh.com) will serve a special New Year’s Eve tasting menu from 6:30 to 11:30 p.m.

• Firefly Bistro and Bar (22 Concord St., Manchester, 935-9740, fireflynh.com) will serve its regular menu from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. on Dec. 31, and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Jan. 1

• The Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille (40 Andover Road, New London, 526-6899, flyinggoose.com) will be open for its regular business hours, 11:30 a.m. to 8 p.m.

• Fratello’s Italian Grille (155 Dow St., Manchester, 624-2022, fratellos.com) will be open from 4 to 9:30 p.m. There is a link to the menu for the evening posted on the Fratello’s website.

• Gauchos Churrascaria Brazilian Steak House (62 Lowell St., Manchester, 669-9460, gauchosbraziliansteakhouse.com) will be open from 7 p.m. to midnight.

• There will be a New Year’s Eve Dinner at Greenleaf (54 Nashua St., Milford, 213-5447, greenleafmilford.com) with multiple seatings, starting at 5 p.m. It will be a multi-course prix fixe menu for dinner including a celebratory glass of bubbles, amuse bouche and special bread service. There will be wine pairings available for an additional fee. Menu accommodations for allergies or dietary restrictions are available upon request at time of reservation. Tickets are $125 each, also through Greenleaf’s website.

• LaBelle Winery Amherst (345 Route 101, Amherst, 672-9898, labellewinery.com) will host a Masquerade New Year’s Eve Party from 7 to 10:30 p.m. This celebration is the ultimate full package with a three-course plated dinner, and dancing to a live performance by the Freese Brothers Big Band. Dress your best and get ready to dance the night away. Tickets are $99 each through the Winery website.

• All La Carreta Restaurants (North End Shops at 545 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 628-6899; 1875 S. Willow St., Manchester, 623-7705, 172 Hanover St., Portsmouth, 427-8319; 139 DW Highway, Nashua, 891-0055; Derry Meadows Shoppes, 35 Manchester Road, Derry, 421-0091; Londonderry Commons, 44 Nashua Road, Londonderry, 965-3477, lacarretamex.com) will be open for regular business hours. On Jan. 1, the Hooksett Road restaurant in Manchester will be closed for a private event, the restaurants in Portsmouth, Derry, and Londonderry will open at 2 p.m., and the Nashua location will be open during regular business hours.

• The Lucky Moose Casino & Tavern (16 Gusabel Ave., Nashua, 864-0175, luckymoosecasino.com) will offer a New Year’s Eve dinner special from 5 p.m. until the kitchen closes at midnight featuring three courses for $41.99

• Murphy’s Taproom & Carriage House (393 Route 101, Bedford, 488-5975; 494 Elm St., Manchester, 644-3535, murphystaproom.com) will be open on New Year’s Eve. There will be live entertainment in the Manchester location, and comedy at the Bedford restaurant. Both restaurants will offer a Champagne toast.

• New England Tap House Grille (1292 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, 782-5137, taphousenh.com) will be open for regular business hours, 4 to 10 p.m.

• O’s Steaks & Seafood (11 S. Main St., Concord, 856-7925, osteaksconcord.com) will open at 4 p.m. and take reservations until 10:30 p.m.

• PastAmore (103 Route 101A, Amherst, 578-9696, pastamorerestaurant.com) will serve a set menu from noon to 9 p.m. It will be closed on Jan. 1.

• Pembroke Pines Country Club (45 Whittemore Road, Pembroke, 210-1365, pembrokepinescc.com) will host its second annual New Year’s Eve Party from 7 p.m. until midnight. There will be live music, comedians, a dinner buffet, dancing, a midnight Champagne toast and more. Tickets are $125 each at pembrokepinescc.com/1759-events.

• There’s a NYE Bash in The Grotto at The Prime at Sky Meadow (Sky Meadow Country Club, 6 Mountain Laurels Drive, Nashua, 888-9000, skymeadow.com) beginning at 8 p.m. There will be a complimentary Champagne toast and a la carte food. Tickets are $25 through the Sky Meadow website. There is a 48-hour cancellation policy.

• Second Brook Bar & Grill (1100 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, 935-7456, secondbrook.com) will serve its regular menu from 11 a.m to 8 p.m. on Dec. 31, and from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. on Jan. 1.

• Shaskeen Pub (909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246, shaskeenirishpub.com) will hold its annual New Year’s Eve Bash from 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. There will be an open bar, a free buffet, a free Champagne toast, and music by Dj Myth. Tickets are $60 through Ticketleap.com.

• Surf Restaurant (207 Main St., Nashua, 595-9293, surfseafood.com) will be open from 4 to 9 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and closed on New Year’s Day.

• All locations of T-Bones Great American Eatery (25 S. River Road Bedford, 641-6100; 404 S Main St., Concord, 715-1999; 39 Crystal Ave., Derry, 434-3200; 77 Lowell Road, Hudson, 882-6677; 1182 Union Ave, Laconia, 528-7800; and 311 S. Broadway, Salem, 893-3444, t-bones.com) will close at 10 p.m. on New Year’s Eve and will be open during regular business hours on New Year’s Day.

• The Tomahawk Butchery & Tavern (454 DW Highway, Merrimack, 365-4960, tomahawktavern.com) will serve its regular menu from 5 to 10 p.m. on Dec. 31; it will be closed on Jan. 1.

• Union Public House (194 Main St., Nashua, 699-8112, union-nh.com) will serve its regular menu from 4 to 11 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.

• All Vallarta Restaurants (Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill, 865 Second St., Manchester, 935-9182; Nuevo Vallarta Mexican Restaurant, 791 Second St., Manchester, 782-8762; Vallarta Tequila Bar, 827 Elm St., Manchester, 836-3106, vallartamexicannh.com) will be open during regular business hours on New Year’s Day. Nuevo Vallarta will be closed on Dec. 31. The other restaurants will close at 5 p.m. on New Year’s Eve.ntown Manchester each May to eat tacos prepared by local restaurants and businesses.

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