Category: Food

News from the local food scene

• Drive-thru Greek eats: Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (111 Island Pond Road, Manchester) will hold a drive-thru food fest on Saturday, Oct. 24, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., rain or shine. Now through Oct. 21, orders are being accepted for a variety of fresh Greek eats, including lamb/beef or chicken gyro plates with fries, spinach petas, and several pastries and sweets, like baklava, koulourakia (crisp braided butter cookies), kourambiedes (butter cookies in powdered sugar) and loukoumades (fried dough sprinkled with syrup and cinnamon). Pre-paying online is required (no walk-ins). To place your order, visit foodfest.assumptionnh.org.

• Spooky servings: Get your tickets now for a Monster Mash dinner at LaBelle Winery (345 Route 101, Amherst) on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 6:30 to 10:30 p.m. The Halloween-themed event will feature a plated multi-course dinner, with items like artisan breads and whipped butter, mini bowls of pumpkin bisque, ricotta pumpkin cannelloni in a sage brown butter sauce, herb roasted Statler breast of chicken with pumpkin pilaf, and a meringue ghost tartlet for dessert. There will also be themed cocktails at the bar, a costume contest and dancing. Tickets are $69 per person (event is 21+ only). Visit labellewinerynh.com.

• Final outdoor markets: The final day of the Nashua Farmers Market’s summer season is scheduled for Sunday, Oct. 18, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at City Hall Plaza (229 Main St.), while several other outdoor markets in the Granite State are set to conclude not long after. The Henniker Community Market, for instance, will wrap up its season on Thursday, Oct. 29, from 4 to 7 p.m. at the Henniker Community Center (57 Main St.). Then on Saturday, Oct. 31, from 8:30 a.m. to noon the Concord Farmers Market will hold its last date of the season on Capitol Street. The Milford Farmers Market, meanwhile, is scheduled to continue outdoors a bit later into the fall, through Saturday, Nov. 21, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 300 Elm St. in Milford (across the street from the New Hampshire Antique Co-op).

• Farewell to The Seedling: Another Granite State eatery has permanently closed its doors due to complications posed by the pandemic. The Seedling Cafe & Catering in Merrimack, which suspended operations back in March, announced in an Oct. 1 Facebook post that it will not be reopening. Owner Karen Theriault had purchased the cafe, which was in Nashua at the time, in late 2016 before moving it to the lobby of the Residences at Daniel Webster in Merrimack in the spring of 2018. “I truly expected to reopen and had been planning to do just that, but sadly it will not happen,” Theriault wrote, going on to thank her customers for their loyalty and to encourage people to support small businesses whenever possible.

Second Brook Bar & Grill now open in Hooksett

For Jeanne Foote and her husband, Tom, who grew up in the North End of Manchester, opening their newest restaurant just over the town line in Hooksett is a homecoming of sorts. In fact, Second Brook Bar & Grill, a casual comfort and homestyle eatery that opened last month, is named after the nearby brook by the railroad tracks that they frequented as high school students.
“Second Brook, for me, was about making lifelong friends and good memories, and that’s what we’re trying to do here,” Foote said. “New friends are coming in, old friends are coming in. … It’s like a class reunion here every other day of the week. It’s so much fun.”
Foote spent more than a decade working at The Puritan Backroom and at Billy’s Sports Bar before going to Durham to open Bella’s Casual Dining in 2012. On Christmas Day last year, just months after Bella’s closed its doors, she said, she was en route picking up Chinese food to her son’s house when she noticed the vacant building space that would become Second Brook Bar & Grill, which was most recently occupied by DC’s Tavern.
“We had a concept in mind,” she said, “but then Covid hit, so we had time to think about what we really wanted, what our name was going to be, and who we were going after.”
Jackson Poulson, who worked at The Country Tavern in Nashua before its permanent closure in May, was brought on as head chef to help construct the eatery’s menu. Many of Second Brook’s tables and booths also come from The Country Tavern, Foote said.
“[Poulson] had some really good recipes, and I had some really good recipes from Bella’s, so we just kind of collaborated,” she said.
The boneless chicken tenders, for instance, are hand-tossed and deep fried, and available as plain, barbecue, Buffalo or garlic Parmesan flavors. The appetizer menu also contains popular staples like shepherd rolls with an au jus demi-glaze, pan seared scallops with a bacon lemon butter sauce, eggplant Napoleon with pesto alfredo and deep fried Buffalo chicken balls.
All soups and chowders are made in house, like the Cajun shrimp chowder and the French onion soup. The menu also features fresh pasta dishes and plated entrees, like Bella’s chicken pot pie with carrots, peas and corn; the baked stuffed Jumbo shrimp with homemade stuffing; and the pulled pork casserole with onion straws, mashed potatoes and cheddar cheese.
The corned beef Reuben is one of the leading sellers on the menu’s sandwich section, according to Foote, but other options include a crispy coconut chicken wrap with house honey mustard Craisins, almonds and goat cheese; a barbecue pulled pork burger with cheddar cheese, coleslaw and pickle chips; a beer battered fish fillet served on a grilled brioche roll with lettuce; and a vegetarian wrap with roasted zucchini, squash, mushrooms and eggplant.
Second Brook’s bar menu has more than a dozen domestic and local craft beers, as well as some white and red wines and all types of specialty cocktails.
Between two and three lunch and dinner specials are also usually available per day, Foote said. Featured desserts are a brownie sundae and a New York-style cheesecake with strawberries, although you might see some specials there too.

Second Brook Bar & Grill
Where: 1100 Hooksett Road, Unit 111, Hooksett
Hours: Monday, and Wednesday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Sunday, 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. Closed on Tuesdays.
More info: Visit secondbrook.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram @secondbrookbarandgrill or call 935-7456

Featured photo: Seafood sampler with shrimp, haddock and scallops baked in white wine and butter. Courtesy photo.

News from the local food scene

• Virtual sweetness: The Toadstool Bookshops of Nashua, Peterborough and Keene will hold a virtual author event via Zoom on Saturday, Oct. 10, at 11 a.m. featuring Erin Renouf Mylroie, who will present her new cookbook 101 Greatest Cookies on the Planet. She’ll also conduct a baking demonstration using one of the recipes from her book, which features ideas for all types of cookies for every season. The recipe she’ll go over will be on how to make maple shortbread cookies. Visit toadbooks.com/event/101greatestcookies or visit one of the three shops to purchase the book.

• Food trucks at Canobie: Canobie Lake Park (85 N. Policy St., Salem) will host its final food truck festival weekend of the season on Saturday, Oct. 10, and Sunday, Oct. 11, when several local food trucks will be set up inside the park from noon to 3 p.m. each day. Both days will feature Massachusetts-based food trucks Trolley Dogs, North East of the Border and The Chubby Chickpea. On Saturday, Prime Time Grilled Cheese, a Manchester food truck specializing in artisan grilled cheeses, will be there, while the Walking Gourmet food truck, based in Windham, will be at the park on Sunday. Park admission with advance registration is required ($39 for adults, $29 for seniors and attendees under 48 inches tall, and free for kids ages 3 and under). Visit canobie.com.

• Lamb shanks to go: There’s still time to order your lamb shank dinner to go at St. George Greek Orthodox Cathedral (650 Hanover St., Manchester). Dinners of lamb shanks, rice and green beans will be available for pickup at the church on Saturday, Oct. 17, from 4 to 7 p.m. The cost is $20 per person and orders must be placed by Oct. 11 by calling the church office. The church had canceled its annual Glendi food festival earlier this year, usually held in mid-September, but has been holding smaller drive-thru events featuring Greek eats to promote social distancing. Visit stgeorgeglendi.com or call 622-9113.

• Halloween at the market: Costumes are encouraged during the Bedford Farmers Market’s final day of the season, a Halloween themed market, on Tuesday, Oct. 13, from 3 to 6 p.m. in the parking lot of the former Harvest Market (209 Route 101, Bedford). The market will feature a variety of specialty treat tables throughout the afternoon. Visit bedfordfarmersmarketnh.org.