The Weekly Dish 23/03/02

News from the local food scene

Liquid gold: It’s New Hampshire Maple Month, and several farms and sugarhouses across the Granite State will once again be welcoming visitors for multiple weekends of tours, demonstrations, tastings and family activities, all revolving around local maple syrup production. A full list of local sugarhouses participating inthe month (which includes New Hampshire Maple Weekend, set for Saturday, March 18, and Sunday, March 19) can be found on the New Hampshire Maple Producers Association website at nhmapleproducers.com.

Let the Guinness flow: Join The Peddler’s Daughter (48 Main St., Nashua) for its annual Guinness beer dinner on Wednesday, March 8, at 6:30 p.m. The meal will feature multiple food courses with Guinness beer pairings, like salmon rillettes (poached and smoked salmon combined with house mayonnaise and Guinness brown bread); free range eggs with sage sausage and panko crumbs, and Guinness-braised short rib of beef with a forest mushroom saffron risotto. Branded Guinness souvenirs, raffle prizes and giveaways will also be featured. Tickets are $65 per person and can be purchased online at Eventbrite. Be on the lookout next week for more St. Paddy’s Day-related happenings at area bars and restaurants in our annual listings.

Get your Greek eats: Join Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church (68 N. State St., Concord) for its next boxed Greek dinner to go, a drive-thru takeout event on Sunday, March 12, from noon to 1 p.m. Now through Wednesday, March 8, orders are being accepted for boxed meals featuring dinners of vegetarian dolmades (stuffed grape leaves) with spanakopita (spinach pie) and a bread roll for $20 per person. The event is drive-thru and takeout only — email ordermygreekfood@gmail.com or call 953-3051 to place your order. You can also pay online by clicking “Contribute to Holy Trinity” on the church’s website and following the prompts. The revival of the church’s annual Greek food festival, meanwhile, remains tentatively scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 30. Visit holytrinitynh.org.

Turning up the heat: Portsmouth hot sauce maker The Spicy Shark recently announced the launch of the latest addition to its “6-Fin” series — the Mako Snake. According to a press release, the new sauce became available Feb. 15. The Indian-inspired Mako Snake is a masala-based sauce, made with ghost pepper, Carolina reaper and habanero. According to the release, the sauce’s name and creature, a mythical half shark, half snake, were chosen to represent the “unique and intense” levels of heat and flavor. See thespicyshark.com to find out where you can find the company’s sauces.

Birria Tacos

On the streets of Jalisco, Mexico, in the small town of Degollado, three generations of family members prepare large simmering pots of juicy, tender slow-stewed meat known as birria. The dish is cooked for several hours before generous heaping ladlefuls are served on plates to patrons, featuring a homemade mole sauce, salsa and a side of corn tortillas.

Crowds gather for a plate of birria — pronounced “beer-ryah,” and traditionally made with goat meat — from the family of Jose “El Chino” Reyes. Although Reyes continues to vend with his own father and son, one of his other children found restaurant job opportunities in the United States and eventually made his way to southern New Hampshire.

At Los Reyes Street Tacos & More, which opened inside Derry’s Hillside Plaza last April, Manchester couple Jose Reyes and his wife, Isabel, honor his family’s tradition with simple flavors of authentic Mexican street food. Birria is among their most popular items, and while you won’t find it with goat meat, you can try quesabirrias, or birria tacos inspired by the traditional stew and featuring beef, cheese, onion, cilantro and consommé, or the stewed broth, for dipping.

man and a woman under a red and yellow event tent, serving birria out of large pots
Los Reyes co-owner Jose Reyes’s family are birria street vendors in Degollado, Jalisco, Mexico. Courtesy photos.

It’s a dish that has steadily gained traction across Granite State restaurant menus just in the last couple of years. Isabel Reyes said she believes that’s in part due to the viral nature of social media — the striking golden-red color of the taco shell and the oozing melted cheese look delicious in the many attractive, shareable photos that we eat with our eyes.

Birria tacos start with a simmering pot of slow-stewed meat. After cooking for several hours, the meat (and sometimes also cheese) is stuffed into a corn tortilla, topped with cilantro and onions and thrown on the grill.

The golden-red color of these tacos comes from grilling the tortilla with a coating of consommé from the meat it was stewed in. Being able to dip them in a cup of that same consommé for extra flavor, Reyes said, also makes for a new and unique way to eat tacos for many.

“I feel like everybody at some point … definitely needs to try birria at least one time in their life. It will maybe make you feel like you literally went to eat in Mexico, because it’s a whole experience,” Reyes said. “We do notice a lot of people that come in love to take pictures of the birria and post them on social media. … People love to take pictures of their food, and it’s definitely helped us, because a lot people, if you post a picture of the birria, they’d be like, ‘Oh my God, those look delicious, where did you get them?’”

Amanda Portillo, who runs Rico’s Burritos food truck with her husband, Danilo, also surmised the popularity of birria tacos has largely spread due to social media and word of mouth. The truck, which can often be found at Griffin Park in Windham, introduced birria tacos on the menu as a special last fall to resounding success.

“At first it was once in a while, but [they’ve been] in such popular demand that we have to make them much more often than before,” Portillo said. “It’s a unique entree, and the texture with the broth is different from most Mexican food, so people are drawn to it.”

In Milford, Rosana Vargas of Taco Time decided she would try and make quesabirrias at the suggestion of a customer, who was visiting the state from California. Today they’re among the eatery’s top-selling menu items — taco lovers sometimes travel from miles away to try them.

“People try it for the first time and they just get hooked,” Rosana’s husband, Rey Vargas, said. “We have people that don’t even try anything else on the menu except that.”

With differing variations in their own right depending on where you go, here’s a closer look at one of New Hampshire’s hottest taco trends and where you can try an order of birria.

Simmered to perfection

Jalisco, Reyes said, is a Mexican state best known for three things: mariachi, tequila and birria.

“Birria would be the process of how it’s prepared, versus the meat,” she said. “Birria can be any meat, but goat and sheep were the first two that originated in Mexico. … It’s most commonly served for brunch … [and] was not served in a taco the way it is served now.”

Because it’s common for Mexican street vendors to serve corn tortillas with a plate of birria on the side, Reyes said, some people like to scoop the tortilla into the meat and juices like a spoon. Quesabirria tacos, as they’re known today, became widely associated with the cuisines of southern California, and Tijuana, a city in northwestern Mexico just south of San Diego.

Featured on the menu at the Reyes family’s Derry restaurant are Chino’s birria tacos. The slow-stewed beef uses a house recipe combining various methods and ingredients from Jose Reyes’s family with those of his own. He even has a special pot he bought from Mexico that is specifically used for stewing the birria.

The beef, typically mixed with several spices and dried chiles, is simmered for several hours until it’s very tender. The consommé provided with the tacos for dipping, meanwhile, is itself the same broth from that stew that is normally strained and set aside.

4 square plates in a line, holding birria tacos, rice, beans and a dollop of sour cream
Quesabirria plate from Taco Time Cocina & Cantina Mexicana in Milford. Courtesy photo.

“It’s like a ritual. You literally have to put a lot of time into it,” Reyes said of cooking birria. “The stewing itself takes us about four hours, but the whole process altogether is about six hours, because you have to prepare it and marinate it beforehand.”

Birria tacos are always made with corn tortillas — that’s simply because they crisp up better on the grill when assembled compared to their flour counterparts. Like for most traditional Mexican street tacos, Reyes said theirs are then topped with onions and cilantro. Melted cheese is available as an added option.

“A lot of people think quesabirria … is a quesadilla with the birria, but it’s not. It’s still the tacos, but just with cheese,” she said. “That’s why I ended up changing the menu. I left them as Chino’s birria tacos, and I just say you can upgrade it as a quesabirria, with cheese. It was just sometimes confusing having to explain the difference. … It doesn’t [traditionally have cheese], but I feel like cheese just makes everything better.”

Trends and variations

Although just about every birria taco you’ll find in New Hampshire uses corn tortilla shells, there are still all kinds of subtle variations to discover in how they are prepared.

“[Birria] is not something that repeats. Usually the seasoning and the broth recipe changes from family to family and from restaurant to restaurant,” said Louie Rodriguez, whose wife, Karen Lopez, owns Iguana’s Restaurant & Bar in Manchester. “The consommé is very unique from restaurant to restaurant as well.”

Iguana’s is notable for combining Mexican cuisine with that of Lopez’s native country of Honduras. The eatery opened in the former Granite State Escape storefront on Maple Street in late 2021.

Not only does Iguana’s serve birria tacos with shredded beef, but additionally it offers birria taco options with chicken and lamb. Rodriguez noted that even the ingredients and the time necessary for cooking the meat will vary among those three. Lopez will simmer the chicken for one hour, while the beef is simmered for five hours and the lamb for seven hours.

“She recovers some of the fat, and she makes it part of the recipe for the broth that the tortillas are dipped in, in order to grill it,” Rodriguez said. “She uses the fat that [is released] from the meat itself … and that’s what helps make it crispy.”

3 tacos on checkered paper with small cup of sauce
Birria tacos with lamb, from Iguana’s Restaurant and Bar in Manchester. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.

Taco lovers often have their own preferences and ways of eating birria, especially when it comes to the provided cups of consommé, Rodriguez said.

“Some people dip the taco in it, and some people don’t, as a matter of fact,” he said. “Some people love it just crispy like that and they don’t want to touch the consommé at all. But then, you get others that ask for a bowl of it and they just dunk that thing in like they’re dunking a doughnut in milk.”

Over at Lounge 38 Bar & Grill in Nashua, owner Vince Villafan said his birria tacos feature yellow corn tortillas and a melted three-cheese mozzarella blend. Three tacos are served per order with a side of rice and some consommé.

“Many people get full with the birria taco plate, but we do also offer them individually,” he said.

Villafan added that he has noticed more and more of his customers trying birria tacos for the first time.

“I think people have seen pictures and they are really intrigued by it and want to try it,” he said, “but they’ll still ask, like, ‘Hey, what actually is this that I’m eating?’ So there is a lot of information that we give out to people when they are ordering.”

Birria: beyond the tacos

Birria doesn’t have to be just about tacos — some Granite State eateries will utilize the same stewed beef on other menu items as well. Derry’s Los Reyes Street Tacos & More, for example, offers birria burritos with Mexican rice and refried pinto beans, as well as loaded birria fries — those are topped with a cheese dip, an avocado salsa, sour cream and Southwest pico de gallo.

“The birria burrito is a huge hit,” co-owner Isabel Reyes said. “We grill it the same way as the tacos.”

Birria ramen from Lounge 38 Bar & Grill in Nashua. Courtesy photo.

In Litchfield, Day of the Dead Mexican Taqueria offers pizza birria that’s great for sharing. According to owner and founder Karina Flores, the pizza birria is very similar to the tacos but features two large flour tortillas that are stuffed with birria meat, cheese, cilantro and onions, all grilled and smothered with the birria broth. The tortillas are then cut into triangles.

Even birria ramen is a thing — you can get a bowl of that at Lounge 38 Bar & Grill in Nashua.

“We love ramen noodles ourselves here, and so we thought why not cook those same noodles in the birria broth,” Lounge 38 owner Vince Villafan said. “The beef is the same, but we’re just essentially cooking the noodles inside the broth after the meat has already been cooked … and then we just throw on the cheese, onions and cilantro.”

Where to get birria tacos

Birria tacos (also frequently known as quesabirria when you add cheese) have popped up on menus of many local restaurants and food trucks. Here’s a list of places where you can get them in southern New Hampshire — some offer them all the time, while others will serve them as specials on select days, or only on certain days of the week. Do you know of an eatery in the Concord, Manchester or Nashua areas offering birria tacos that we may have missed? Tell us about it at food@hippopress.com.

Baja Tacos and Burritos
494 Amherst St., Nashua, 417-5532, bajatacosburritos.com
Birria tacos are regular menu staples of this Nashua eatery, featuring three per order on homemade corn tortillas, with consommé available for dipping.

Cinco’s Cantina
1 Brickyard Square, Suite 9, Epping, 734-2191, cincoscantina.com
Cinco’s Cantina’s Epping restaurant is the second of two owned by brothers Crescencio and Miguel Alberto Tellez, who opened the first one in downtown Dover in late 2014. Birria tacos are served a la carte, featuring stewed beef topped with freshly sliced radishes, onions and cilantro, and served with lime wedges and salsa.

Day of the Dead Mexican Taqueria
454 Charles Bancroft Hwy., Litchfield, 377-7664, find them on Facebook @dayofthedeadtaqueria
A stone’s throw from Mel’s Funway Park in Litchfield, Day of the Dead is owned and operated by Karina Flores and her family, who also run Monarquia Mexican Restaurant in Amherst’s Salzburg Square shopping center. Birria tacos are among the most popular dishes at Day of the Dead, which also offers pizza birria.

El Ranchito Bar & Grill
44 W. Hollis St., Nashua, 864-8157, elranchitobarandgrillnh.com
Birria tacos are among the most popular menu staples at El Ranchito — they feature corn tortillas with slow-braised beef, and a side of consommé for dipping.

Iguana’s Restaurant and Bar
245 Maple St., Manchester, 935-8917, find them on Facebook @iguanasrestaurantandbar
Iguana’s Restaurant & Bar opened in the former Granite State Escape space on Maple Street in Manchester in November 2021, its menu featuring a combination of authentic Mexican and Honduran dishes. In addition to quesabirria tacos with shredded beef, Iguana’s regularly offers chicken and lamb options — all come three per order with a side of consommé.

La Carreta Mexican Restaurant
545 Hooksett Road, Manchester, 628-6899; 1875 S. Willow St., Manchester, 623-7705; 44 Nashua Road, Londonderry, 965-3477; 35 Manchester Road, Derry, 421-0091; lacarretamex.com
Both Manchester La Carreta Mexican Restaurants offer quesabirrias, featuring slow-stewed beef topped with cilantro and onion and served with a side of consommé. La Carreta’s Londonderry and Derry locations, meanwhile, offer them on Wednesdays only.

Los Primos Mexican Restaurant
3 Amherst Road, Merrimack, 420-8860, losprimosmexnh.com
This Merrimack restaurant opened in late January 2020, in the former space of a D’Angelo sandwich shop. Birria tacos and quesadillas are available.

Los Reyes Street Tacos & More
127 Rockingham Road, Unit 15, Derry, 845-8327, losreyesstreettacos.com
Los Reyes co-owner Jose Reyes of Manchester comes from multiple generations of street food vending in Mexico — his father, grandfather and brother all continue to serve traditional goat birria on the streets of his family’s home state of Jalisco. The Derry restaurant, which opened in April 2022, honors Reyes’s family’s traditions with Chino’s birria tacos (the name borrowed from his dad’s nickname), featuring slow-stewed beef in corn tortillas with cilantro, red onions and consommé on the side. You can also turn them into quesabirrias by adding cheese, or try other related items like the birria burrito or the loaded birria fries.

Lounge 38 Bar & Grill
38 E. Hollis St., Nashua, 459-8314, lounge38restaurant.com
This Nashua restaurant, which opened in October 2020, blends traditional Mexican and Puerto Rican cuisines for many of its menu items. The birria taco plate features three fried tortillas filled with slow-stewed beef, cheese, onions and cilantro, served with Spanish rice and consommé on the side for dipping. Single birria tacos are also available a la carte, while other birria-inspired dishes include burritos, quesadillas and even birria ramen noodles.

Mi Jalisco Restaurante Mexicano
300 S. Willow St., Manchester, 606-2184, mijaliscomanchester.com
Quesabirria tacos are among the many grilled taco options at this Manchester eatery, served with rice, beans and pico de gallo.

Nuevo Vallarta Mexican Restaurant
791 Second St., Manchester, 782-8762, vallartamexicannh.com
Birria menu options at Nuevo Vallarta include three birria tacos per order — topped with cilantro and onions and served with rice, beans and consommé for dipping — along with birria burritos and quesadillas.

Puerto Vallarta Mexican Grill
865 Second St., Manchester, 935-9182, vallartamexicannh.com
Like its sister establishment, Nuevo Vallarta, this Manchester eatery offers birria burritos and quesadillas, in addition to birria tacos topped with cilantro and onions, and served with rice, beans and consommé for dipping.

Rice & Beans 603
288 N. Broadway, Unit D, Salem, 890-1626, find them on Facebook @riceandbeans603
Longtime Manchester-area food trucker Tony Elias took over this Salem restaurant, his first brick-and-mortar location as owner, in mid-January. Birria tacos prepared with traditional Puerto Rican spices are among his regular menu items, in addition to empanadas and sandwiches.

Rico’s Burritos Food Truck
475-4898, ricosburritosfoodtruck.com
Plaistow couple Danilo and Amanda Portillo launched this food truck last summer. Rico’s Burritos gets its name both in inspiration from their son, Ricardo, and for the Spanish word meaning “tasty” or “delicious.” The truck has a regular presence at venues across northern Massachusetts and southern New Hampshire, perhaps most notably at Griffin Park (101 Range Road, Windham). Birria tacos are offered on the truck as a special, featuring three per order with a few freshly cut lime wedges and consommé for dipping.

Riviera Nayarit
116 W. Pearl St., Nashua, 521-8602, riverianh.com
Named after the popular tourist destination off the Pacific coast of Mexico, Riviera Nayarit opened on West Pearl Street in Nashua in March 2021. Individual birria tacos featuring slow-stewed beef are available a la carte.

Taco Time Cocina & Cantina Mexicana
11 Wilton Road, Milford, 554-1424, tacotimenh.com
Rosana Vargas and her husband, Reymundo “Rey,” are the owners of Taco Time, originally launched as a food trailer in 2018. Since then, Taco Time has expanded into a brick-and-mortar restaurant, which opened in January 2021 near the Milford and Wilton town line. Taco Time’s quesabirria plates are among their more popular menu items, featuring grilled corn tortillas of tender braised beef with cilantro and onions, and a side of consommé for dipping.

Taqueria Y Pastelitos To Go
917 Valley St., Manchester, 232-3348, taqueriaypastelitos.com
Three birria tacos come per order from this Manchester restaurant, featuring marinated beef topped with cilantro and onions. They can also be ordered as meals with rice and beans.

Tim’s Drunken Sauces and Rubs
244 Elm St., Milford, 967-4242, find them on Facebook @timsdrunkensauces
Parked outside of DHR Fabrications in Milford, this food trailer usually serves quesabirria tacos four days a week, from Thursday through Sunday.

Chicken Parm meatballs

Sometimes you want chicken Parmesan — a hearty, filling meal that makes you think a nap is a good idea. Other times you want all the flavors of that meal but want to feel a little less weighted. This recipe is here to do just that.

These chicken parm meatballs deliver all of the cheesy, herby flavors of their namesake but are baked, not fried. Even better, as they are meatballs, they could be served on their own as an appetizer, or they could be made into an entrée, either atop a bowl of pasta or nestled in a sub roll.

This recipe is pretty straightforward in its ingredients and directions. For the ground chicken I used a blend of dark and white meat. If you want to make it even healthier, ground chicken breast would work well. For the bread crumbs, panko is essential. It provides more texture than a typical bread crumb would. For the mixing, I highly recommend using your hands. That will allow better distribution of herbs and cheese throughout the mix. Using a spoon most likely won’t provide the same effect.

Say goodbye (or see you later, anyway) to fried chicken parm, and hello to chicken parm meatballs.

Chicken Parm meatballs
Makes 20

1 pound ground chicken
1/2 cup panko
1/2 cup grated Parmesan
1 large egg
3 cloves garlic, minced
1/2 teaspoon kosher salt
1 teaspoon dried oregano
1 teaspoon dried basil
1/2 teaspoon freshly ground black pepper
1 to 2 cups marinara
3/4 cup shredded mozzarella

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Coat a baking sheet with nonstick cooking spray or a thin layer of olive oil.
In a large mixing bowl, combine ground chicken, panko, Parmesan, egg, garlic, salt, oregano, basil, and black pepper.
Mix well. (I prefer to use my hands to make sure it is thoroughly combined.)
Form mixture into balls the size of walnuts.
Place on the prepared baking sheet, an inch or two apart.
Bake for 12 minutes.
Cover the bottom of a medium-sized casserole dish with marinara.
Add meatballs and top with additional marinara.
Bake for 15 minutes.
Remove from oven, and sprinkle with mozzarella.
Bake for 15 additional minutes or until the mozzarella is fully melted.

Featured Photo: Chicken Parm meatballs. Photo by Michele Pesula Kuegler.

In the kitchen with Sue Poulin

Sue Poulin is the co-owner of Bouillon Bistro (123 Union Square, Milford, 718-3305, bouillonbistro.com), known for its rotating menu of scratch-made artisan soups, chowders and stews. Poulin left her corporate career to purchase Wicked Pissah Chowdah, at the time located on South Street just off the Milford Oval, from founder Ellen Muckstadt in June 2020. She and business partner Lisa Gamache have also since opened a second location in Townsend, Mass. Last October, Bouillon Bistro of Milford reopened in its current spot on the opposite end of the Oval — the restaurant is unique for featuring a different lineup of six home-cooked options every single day.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

One thing that I never thought I would ever have … is this big paddle. It’s probably eight inches wide and 24 inches long, and it’s great because it scrapes the bottom of the pot as you’re making your mirepoix in the beginning and all the butter and the vegetables. It grabs all of that before any burning happens. … This paddle has really become the be-all, end-all tool in the kitchen. A spoon never really does the job.

What would you have for your last meal?

Prime rib, medium rare, with au jus, a baked potato with all the fixings, and a side of any kind of vegetable.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I think that Buckley’s does such a phenomenal job. … I like to use their Hollis bakery, and I’m really impressed by what they do there.

What celebrity would you like to see eating in your restaurant?

I do love myself a good John Mayer song. … So I think if he came in, had some soup and played some acoustic music for us, then that would be a great day.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

For soup, the beef barley is my ultimate favorite. There’s just so much flavor in that one, and it’s so hearty. … Then for non-soup, it’s the braised beef Ragu, which is chuck roast meat in a tomato sauce, and it’s processed over a long period of time and all that juice is then poured into the pot. It’s so good.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

We get so many requests daily [to] offer more gluten-free, vegetarian and vegan options. … Whereas those options were things that only a handful of people used to request in the past, now the tides have turned where that’s the majority.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I find that because I blend so many things together in the pots at work, that when I cook at home I like to keep it very simple. So I’ll typically do something like a chicken, rice and vegetable dinner, or a filet mignon with a potato side or a vegetable side.

Lemon chicken orzo (broth finish)
From the kitchen of Sue Poulin of Bouillon Bistro in Milford

½ stick butter
1 teaspoon black pepper
2 bay leaves
3 cups chopped onions
3 cups chopped celery
3 cups chopped carrots
10 cups chicken stock
Dry chicken bouillon to taste
3 cups cooked cubed chicken
3 cups baby spinach
Zest of 1 whole lemon
Juice of 1 lemon

In a pot, combine the butter, black pepper, bay leaves, onions, celery and carrots and saute until softened. Add the chicken, chicken stock, chicken bouillon, spinach, lemon zest and lemon juice. Simmer on low until the temperature reaches 165 degrees. Serve with orzo noodles.


Featured photo: Sue Poulin of Bouillon Bistro in Milford. Courtesy photo.

Burgers, bacon and beyond

The Hidden Pig opens in downtown Nashua

New life has been breathed into a Nashua restaurant building that has sat dormant for more than three years. The Hidden Pig opened Feb. 9 in the former Riverside Barbeque Co. storefront on Main Street, bringing with it a thoughtfully crafted menu of gourmet burgers, sandwiches, rice bowls, doughnuts and even bacon boards — yes, boards filled with juicy slabs of candied bacon.

The eatery may be new to the Granite State, but it’s actually the second Hidden Pig location for owner Phil Bentham II, a native of Methuen, Mass., who opened the first one in downtown Haverhill in 2018. Bentham, who’s been working in the industry practically his entire life, got his start at Salvatore’s Italian Restaurant in Lawrence, which was also where he would meet future Hidden Pig head chef Brandon Allardice.

Unexpected and consistent success in Haverhill would soon open the doors for Bentham — along with his wife, Ashley, who mostly handles operations and marketing — to look into the possibility of a second spot. Through a Realtor friend, he learned of an available restaurant space overlooking the Nashua River. It had last been occupied by the Riverside Barbeque Co., which closed in December 2019 after a nearly decade-long run.

wooden restaurant platter displaying assortment of doughnuts
Doughnut board. Courtesy photo.

At nearly 4,000 square feet, The Hidden Pig’s Nashua restaurant more than doubles the size of its Massachusetts counterpart, with completely renovated interior dining and bar areas.

“The ‘hidden’ part of the name is a play coming from the idea of being a hidden gem north of Boston,” Bentham said, “and then we started incorporating little bits of bacon in all of our food, kind of like they are ‘hidden,’ almost.”

While some barbecue-inspired items like burnt ends and pulled pork are offered, Bentham said The Hidden Pig is not a barbecue restaurant; rather, he categorized the concept as more of a gastropub with particular focuses on burgers and local craft beer — and, of course, bacon. Lots of bacon. Look no further for it than the bacon board, which comes with a homemade bacon shallot jam and baguette crostinis; or any one of the burgers, most of which are topped with bacon or pork belly, or have a bacon-infused aioli or jam.

“We try to be a bacon- and a gourmet burger-focused restaurant, for sure,” Bentham said. “We try not to get too weird with the burgers, but we do do some funky stuff. … Our most popular burger … is called the Big Bad Wolf. It’s got a blueberry jam spread on there, mixed with a maple bacon aioli, and then it’s got a piece of pork belly and cheddar cheese.”

The Hidden Pig is also known for its Sunday brunches — those menu items are available from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., with highlights including Fruity Pebbles chicken and waffles, and Reese’s “overload” buttermilk pancakes. Doughnuts are a huge deal too, from maple bacon glazed to Oreo and Reese’s flavors, and even a “Dunkaroonut” with animal crackers and sprinkles.

“We do a doughnut board with a big handle … and we decorate it with four, five, six doughnuts on there,” Bentham said. “We put it right in the center and people just go to town on it.”

The craft beer side is where Bentham said The Hidden Pig’s Nashua restaurant will mostly differ from Haverhill, and that’s because he is looking to incorporate more New Hampshire brews on tap. For the past few years, he has worked with Ali and Rob Leleszi of Rockingham Brewing Co. in Derry to brew a house New England-style double IPA that also comes canned.

The restaurant is open six nights a week, with the bar usually staying open an hour later than the kitchen, depending on the night.

“If there’s a good crowd, we’ll continue to stay open,” Bentham said. “There’s not really much up here, I feel, as far as on a Sunday evening, so hopefully we can change that.”

The Hidden Pig
Where: 53 Main St., Nashua
Hours: Tuesday through Thursday, 5 to 10 p.m.; Friday, 5 to 11 p.m.; Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., and Sunday, 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. (brunch only) and 3 to 9 p.m. (dinner only)
More info: Visit thehiddenpig.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram or call 402-9640

Featured photo: Bacon board. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 23/02/23

News from the local food scene

African eats at the library: Join the Nashua Public Library (2 Court St.) for a Taste of Africa on Saturday, Feb. 25, from 2 to 4 p.m., featuring LaFortune Jeannette Djabea of Mola Foods. Attendees will have the chance to immerse themselves in African culture and cuisine, sampling small plates of food hailing from different parts of the continent while enjoying music and meeting Djabea. A native of Cameroon, Djabea founded Mola Foods in 2016, and expanded her brand of globally inspired spice blends and chili relishes in the form of a retail store front, tasting room and commercial kitchen, which opened at 9 Simon St. in Nashua in February 2021. Since debuting them last April, her Taste of Africa lunch and dinner series has been wildly successful, with events continuously selling out at her shop. The Feb. 25 event is free and sponsored by the Friends of the Nashua Public Library, but registration is required. Vegan options are also available for attendees. Visit nashualibrary.org.

Almost time for ice cream: Brookline soft-serve ice cream stand Sundae Drive (346 Route 13) will hold its opening day of the 2023 season on Saturday, Feb. 25, according to a recent post on its Facebook page. Since 2018, the Route 13 ice cream stand near the Brookline and Milford town line has been known for its rotating flavors of soft-serve, in addition to its seasonally inspired themed sundaes — last year, for instance, they offered a special “red, white and blue” strawberry shortcake sundae for Memorial Day weekend, featuring vanilla soft-serve with fresh strawberries, blueberries, whipped cream and sprinkles. According to the post, Sundae Drive is also now booking events for the 2023 season, like birthday parties, weddings and work gatherings. Follow them on Facebook and Instagram @sundaedrivenh or call 721-5209 for details on their specials.

Drink wine, win a prize: There’s still plenty of time to participate in the New Hampshire Winery Association’s annual Wine Trail for a chance to win prizes. Through April, participants can visit 10 or more Granite State locations on the trail and collect “stamps” in their passports. Each year, the Association holds a drawing to select prize winners. Available prizes include a $250 gift certificate redeemable at any of the member wineries; a one-night stay at RiverCrest Villas in Epping, and two tickets to a wine tasting at neighboring Flag Hill Distillery & Winery in Lee; and a $50 gift certificate to Fire & Spice Bistro in Newfields. Passports are available at any of the wineries on the tour, or they can be downloaded at nhwineryassociation.org. Mail them no later than May 15 at Squamscott Winery (P.O. Box 1050, Newfields) to be included in the drawing.

The remedy for February

“Hi,” the lady in the apron says to me.

I look up from a pile of tangerines. “Hey. How are you?”

“I’m good. You?”

I fall back on my stock answer when I don’t really want to think too much about how I actually am: “You know how it is — the power, the money, the respect, the women. Frankly, it would crush a lesser man.”

“I can imagine. Are you finding what you want?”

And that’s when it hits me: What do I want? I have no problems that a rational man would complain about. And I realize that she’s almost certainly talking about my produce needs, not my emotional ones.

And yet—

What do I want?

I’m overwhelmed by an image. I’m on a bamboo veranda, overlooking the dark cyan* waters of the South China Sea. (*I looked it up later on a paint chip.) An overhead fan whooshes. A gentle breeze carries the scent of salt and white ginger. I’m reclining on something made out of teak.

This is all a bit much to lay on my new friend of 35 seconds, so I ask her where the macadamia nuts are.

Sill distracted by my tropical vision, I end up buying pineapple juice and paper umbrellas. It’s February. It’s time for pancakes and tiki drinks.

The pancake part is easy.

Pancake batter should be thinner than you think, as should the pancakes themselves. Fluffy pancakes are a false standard put forth by Big Pancake; go with the thin ones. You absolutely will not regret it.

The syrup is up to you, but there should be a small pitcher of melted butter. As for the cocktail —

Singapore Sling

  • 2 ounces dry gin
  • ½ ounce kirsch (cherry brandy)
  • ¼ ounce cognac
  • 2 ounces pineapple juice
  • ¾ ounce fresh squeezed lemon juice
  • 1¼ ounces cherry syrup from a jar of maraschino cherries
  • 1 to 2 dashes Peychaud’s bitters
  • 1 to 2 dashes orange bitters
  • 2 ounces plain seltzer

Add all ingredients except the seltzer with ice in a cocktail shaker. Shake until the ice starts to break up.

Pour, with your now-cracked ice, into a tall glass — the type is up to you. A tiki mug would work well. So would a Pilsner glass. You could make a case for a clean peanut butter jar.

Top with the seltzer and stir gently. Garnish with at least five maraschino cherries.

The first sip of a proper Singapore Sling is deceptive. You will wonder if you forgot an ingredient. Considering the pineapple and cherry juices, you’d think it would be sweeter. Should it be this pink?

Do you know what puts negative thoughts like that in the front of your brain?

Stress and anxiety. Also, February.

By your third sip, do you know what are losing their grip and slipping down your cerebral cortex? The Negativity Triplets.

This is what you need.

Featured photo: The Singapore Sling. Photo by John Fladd.

In the kitchen with Justin O’Malley

Justin O’Malley is the chef de cuisine of Greenleaf (54 Nashua St., Milford, 213-5447, greenleafmilford.com), a seasonally inspired farm-to-table restaurant that opened in May 2019. O’Malley grew up in Lowell, Mass., getting his start in the restaurant industry at age 16 as a dishwasher. It was while working at Papa Razzi in Burlington, Mass., that he first met Greenleaf owner and founder Chris Viaud. After graduating from the Culinary Institute of America — and completing an externship cooking in the owners’ suite of Fenway Park in Boston — O’Malley worked at North Andover Country Club for about a year before coming to New Hampshire to join the staff of Greenleaf in August 2021. There he worked his way up the ranks, assuming the role of chef de cuisine in January.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

It’s probably the Vitamix [blender], with all of the purees and different things that I like to do.

What would you have for your last meal?

I would go with a traditional omakase, which is basically like a chef’s table for sushi.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

Probably the Nashua Garden. Every time I’ve been there, they make a solid sandwich.

What celebrity would you like to see eating at Greenleaf?

Kid Cudi [rapper Scott Mescudi].

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

Duck in general is one of my favorite things to mess around with. It goes really well with sweeter flavors.

What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?

I think I’ve seen a short rib [dish on] every menu [at every restaurant] that I’ve been out to.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Usually something pretty simple. Fried rice is always nice — it’s quick and easy, it’s just kind of tossing everything in a pan.

Roasted garlic mashed potatoes
From the kitchen of Justin O’Malley, chef de cuisine of Greenleaf in Milford

For the roasted garlic:
1 bulb garlic
1 teaspoon olive oil
1 pinch each salt and pepper
Preheat the oven to 350 degrees. Cut the top off the bulb of garlic, exposing the cloves. Place the bulb on a sheet of aluminum foil and season with olive oil, salt and pepper. Wrap the bulb tightly in foil and roast in the oven until soft and well browned (about one hour).

For the mashed potatoes:
2 pounds russet potatoes
¼ cup unsalted butter
2 cups warm milk
1 bulb roasted garlic
Salt and white pepper to taste

Peel the potatoes and cut them into 1-inch pieces. Place the potatoes into a pot with enough cold water to cover. Season the water with a heavy pinch of salt and place on the stove set to high heat. When the water starts to boil, reduce the heat to medium. Simmer until soft (about 15 minutes). Strain the potatoes and return them to the pot. Place the pot back on the stove over medium-low heat to dry the potatoes (about one to two minutes). Add the butter and roasted garlic. Mash using your favorite method (a potato masher or fork will work). Slowly add the milk until your desired consistency is reached. Season with salt and white pepper to taste. Serve immediately.


Featured photo: Justin O’Malley, chef de cuisine of Greenleaf in Milford. Courtesy photo.

Local pours

Mardi Gras wine festival returns to Derry

Early in the fall of 2021, the Rev. Chris Gaffrey of St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Derry attended a wine tasting at LaBelle Winery — and he left feeling inspired.

“The next day I was talking to some parishioners about it and one of them said, ‘Oh, we should do a wine tasting here,’” Gaffrey said. “I said, ‘Even better: why don’t we get a whole bunch of wineries [to] come together and do a wine tasting here? We can turn it into a fundraiser.’”

The idea sparked so much interest among the church community that they would end up celebrating Mardi Gras the following February with an inaugural wine festival. The event was a resounding success. Two of the five participating wineries, Gaffrey said, would sell out of product before the night was even over.

“Every one of the vendors said to us afterward, ‘Are you doing this next year? Please invite us,’” he said. “We had food, music, prizes [and] games. … Everybody seemed to have a good time.”

Indeed, the festival, set to return for a second year on Saturday, Feb. 18, will feature all five of the wineries from the first event, in addition to a few new faces. It’s happening inside the church’s Aquinas Center and will include a night of wine sampling along with a variety of home-cooked food options, raffle and door prizes, games, live music and more.

“It’s just a great wholesome cultural event … that also highlights our blossoming New Hampshire wine industry,” Gaffrey said. “I’m really excited that it’s basically a pretty good cross-section of New Hampshire winemaking. … We’ve got two from the Lakes Region that are coming down and then one that’s coming from the White Mountains.”

Tickets are available both in advance online and at the door. If you buy them online you also have various add-on options, from Mardi Gras beads and masks to up to four wine glasses. If you like what you try during the evening, there will also be the option to buy bottles of it on site.

“The attractive thing about this for the wineries … is that unlike [at] some other fundraisers or church events, we’re actually able to offer them the capacity to sell,” Gaffrey said. “So if somebody makes a purchase in the wine festival area, either one of the wineries will have a runner or we’ll have somebody helping out to take the purchased bottle to a table … for pickups at the end of the evening or when people leave.”

As for food, Gaffrey said several church members are contributing everything from assorted meats and cheeses to Italian wedding soup and some Cajun dishes like jambalaya — he himself is planning to cook a shrimp gumbo. Frank Howard of the church’s Lazarus Ministry of Praise will provide live music, and attendees will have the opportunity to purchase raffle tickets for a chance to win special baskets that the participating wineries are putting together.

Proceeds from the festival, Gaffrey said, benefit some ongoing church renovation projects, in addition to some outreach programs and initiatives, like its food pantry.

Second annual Mardi Gras wine festival
When: Saturday, Feb. 18, 6 to 9 p.m.
Where: The Aquinas Center at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church, 26 Crystal Ave., Derry
Cost: $40 per person, or $70 per couple; tickets are available at the door or in advance online
More info: Visit stthomasderry.org or see “A Mardi Gras Wine Festival” on Facebook
Event is 21+ only. Smart casual or business casual attire are recommended. Mardi Gras masks are optional.

Featured photo: Last year’s Mardi Gras wine festival at St. Thomas Aquinas Catholic Church in Derry. Courtesy photo.

From the heart, for the heart

Crafts, Drafts & Barrels tasting benefit returns to Concord

February is American Heart Month, a time to raise awareness of cardiovascular health nationwide. In New Hampshire it also marks the return of a special tasting benefit for the cause.

The fifth annual Crafts, Drafts & Barrels, happening on Friday, Feb. 17, at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center in Concord, will bring together local restaurants, drink purveyors and other organizations together for a night of bites, pours, live music, raffles and a silent auction, all to raise funds for Concord Hospital’s Cardiovascular Institute.

The event had previously taken place in March, according to Concord Hospital Trust philanthropy officer Moriah Billups, but the decision was made to move it up by a month this year to take advantage of the Valentine’s Day holiday the same week.

“It’s a great opportunity for attendees to taste beer, spirits or wine, but there are also a lot of other things to do,” Billups said. “I think, with it having a lot of opportunities for so many attendees, we thought it would be a good way to pair it with Valentine’s Day. … You can go out with friends or family. It doesn’t have to be a spouse or a loved one. It can be anyone.”

Organizers are taking over the entire space of the Discovery Center for the duration of the event, giving attendees full access to all its exhibits with the exception of the planetarium. Billups added that, weather permitting, the center’s observatory will also be open for viewing.

Admission also grants attendees access to all of the food and beverage samples provided by the vendors. Those who purchased VIP tickets can get into the event an hour earlier than general admission ticket holders — at 6 p.m.

“We try to make sure that every group brings something a little different, so that there aren’t three tables with the same thing,” Billups said of the benefit’s participating vendors. “I’m very excited about Live Juice — they’re going to be bringing some vegan and heart-healthy options. They’ll have a curried chicken salad, some cheese and cracker samples and then a vegan dessert option. … They’ll be located in an area of the Discovery Center that will be focused on hydroponic growing … so we’re doing that to just kind of bring awareness to eating your vegetables and making sure that you’re doing what you can to keep your heart healthy.”

Other eateries will include The Common Man, which will have their house-made chips and French onion dip; O Steaks & Seafood, serving their own macaroni and cheese; and Bone Daddy’s, a Bedford-based barbecue competition and catering team that will serve pork sliders. As has been the case during previous years, Billups added, all attendees will receive a $15 gift card to T-Bones Great American Eatery and a chocolate chip cookie.

Wine and spirits will be provided by Martignetti Companies of Northern New England, with craft beer coming from New Hampshire Distributors — both will offer a diverse range of selections, Billups said. New this year will be mocktails offered by Wood Stove Kitchen, a producer of small-batch all-natural drink mixers in a variety of flavors.

Libation Education ticket holders will attend a special 45-minute class beginning at 5:30 p.m. that will be taught by representatives of Martignetti Companies and Concord Craft Brewing Co. The theme is “He Said Beer, She Said Wine,” and the class will focus on different food pairings for beer and wine. Billups said those who participate can then join VIP attendees around 6:15 p.m.

Live music will be provided by The Lone Wolf Project during the tasting, while a silent auction will be available to all attendees. Billups said most of the prizes are experiential — there will be chances to win everything from four tickets to an upcoming New Hampshire Motor Speedway race in 2023 to a four-course chef’s tasting with Corey Fletcher of Revival Kitchen & Bar. Bidding begins at 6 p.m. and continues until about 8:20 p.m., in order to give general admission ticket holders enough time to see all the available items.

“We have a sparkling raffle which is called ‘Date Night for a Year,’ and so it includes essentially 12 different date night ideas … or they could be during the day too,” Billups said. “Some of those include a one-night stay at the Hotel Concord and some ski passes to Pats Peak.”

Crafts, Drafts & Barrels raised nearly $85,000 last year. Billups said the goal is to at least exceed that amount this year. All proceeds benefit the hospital’s Cardiovascular Institute, a one-door access service combining cardiac and vascular care that’s also available at Concord Hospital’s locations in Laconia and Franklin.

“Cardiovascular disease is the leading cause of death for both men and women, and so we aim to bring awareness to the cause as well as raise funds,” Billups said. “Last year we raised funds for a new operating room … dedicated to the cardiovascular suite. … So it [supports] different resources and equipment for our doctors … and also just programs that help our patients live a better life.”

Fifth annual Crafts, Drafts & Barrels
When: Friday, Feb. 17; general admittance is from 7 to 9 p.m., and VIP admittance begins at 6 p.m.
Where: McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center, 2 Institute Drive, Concord
Cost: $75 per person general admission; $125 VIP admission and $175 Libation Education admission, which includes access to an exclusive 45-minute beer and wine food pairing class with Concord Craft Brewing Co. and Martignetti Companies of Northern New England, beginning at 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available both in advance online and at the door the night of.
More info: Visit ch-trust.org, find the event page on Facebook @craftsdraftsbarrels or call 227-7162
Event is 21+ only. Each attendee also receives a $15 gift card to T-Bones Great American Eatery and a chocolate chip cookie. All attendees will receive access to exhibits at the McAuliffe-Shepard Discovery Center. Depending on weather conditions, the center’s observatory may also be open for viewing.

Participating food and beverage purveyors

• Bone Daddy’s Competition BBQ (@bdbbq)
• Coca-Cola (cokenortheast.com)
• The Common Man (thecman.com)
• Concord Craft Brewing Co. (concordcraftbrewing.com)
• Concord Food Co-op (concordfoodcoop.coop)
• Concord Hospital Catering Services (concordhospital.org)
• Gibson’s Cafe (gibsonsbookstore.com/cafe)
• Granite Restaurant & Bar (graniterestaurant.com)
• Live Juice (livejuicenh.com)
• Martignetti Companies of Northern New England (nhwines.com)
• New Hampshire Distributors (nhdist.com)
• New Hampshire Doughnut Co. (nhdoughnutco.com)
• O Steaks & Seafood (osteaksconcord.com)
• T-Bones Great American Eatery (t-bones.com)
• Wood Stove Kitchen (woodstovekitchen.com)

Featured photo: Scenes from NOFA-NH’s annual winter conference. Courtesy photos.

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