Category: Food

In the kitchen with Rachel Manelas

Rachel Manelas is the owner of Riverwalk Cafe & Music Bar (35 Railroad Square, Nashua, 578-0200, riverwalknashua.com), which she purchased from longtime owners Steve and Jane Ruddock in April. A Pelham native, Manelas studied baking and pastry arts at Johnson & Wales University before going on to attend Italy’s Florence University of the Arts. Around April 2020, while working as a line cook at Windham Junction, she started an online bakery through Instagram called Life’s What U Bake Of It — that business has since evolved into a website (lifeswhatubakeofit.com) with its own online ordering system for specialty cakes, freshly baked cookies, themed French macarons and more, all available for pickup at Riverwalk. Manelas’s plans as the storefront’s new owner include an expanded focus on scratch-made pastries, as well as an evening menu, all while continuing to offer fresh breakfast and lunch options and house-roasted coffees. A space adjoining the cafe that recently became available will soon be home to a larger kitchen.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

Definitely a spatula, a whisk and a scale. [For] all my recipes, I scale. It makes everything a lot more accurate.

What would you have for your last meal?

Chocolate chip cookies. I could live off of them — they are my weakness!

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I am a huge Italian lover. Tuscan [Kitchen in Salem] usually has a good menu. … Surf [in Nashua] is also really good, and then Pressed [Cafe] is another place in my realm. Watching them start in Nashua and grow has been really cool. … I really like Fody’s [Tavern] a lot too. I work late a lot and they’re right next door, so I’ll go and pick up some food there.

What celebrity would you like to see eating at Riverwalk Bakery & Cafe?

Massimo Bottura. He’s a three-Michelin-star Italian chef, and he just seems like the sweetest, most gentle soul. And his food is really delicious. … I ate at his restaurant, Osteria Francescana in Italy, for my birthday in 2020 and it was amazing.

What is your favorite thing on your menu?

I would say for lunch, the Southwest chicken salad wrap … and then for breakfast, it’s The Feta [sandwich] or the granola with fruit and yogurt, because we make the granola ourselves and it’s really yummy.

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

I would say avocado toasts and bowls have both been really popular. … I’ve added avocado toast here, and I definitely want to be able to do more things like that.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

I love to do homemade pastas. Gnocchi is probably my favorite thing to make, especially with potatoes.

Sweet potato gnocchi with butter and sage sauce
From the kitchen of Rachel Manelas of Riverwalk Bakery & Cafe in Nashua

For the gnocchi:
1 kilogram sweet potatoes
250 grams flour (preferably double zero pasta flour)
1 egg yolk

Bake or boil the potatoes until fully cooked (with a fork pierced through). If baking, 400 degrees for just under an hour, depending on the potatoes’ size, is recommended. Immediately peel the potatoes and mash them while hot. Let the potatoes cool. Once cold, add the yolk and then incorporate the flour. Working in pieces, roll the dough into logs about a half-inch long. Cut into rectangular pieces — ¾ inch to 1 inch — and roll each gnocchi until round. Once round, use a fork or gnocchi board to add texture. To cook the gnocchi, bring a pot of salted water to a boil and cook until the gnocchi floats to the top, which should take around a minute or two.

For the butter and sage sauce:
125 grams butter
5 sage leaves
Salt
Pepper
Paprika
Garlic
Parmesan cheese

Melt the butter in a saucepan, then add in the sage and slightly fry. Add the gnocchi to the pan with a little bit of pasta water. Season with salt, pepper, paprika and garlic to taste. Remove from the pan and serve with grated Parmesan cheese.

Featured photo: Rachel Manelas, owner of Riverwalk Bakery & Cafe in Nashua. Courtesy photo.

Filled with deliciousness

Sunny Cafe now open in Manchester

Dumpling and pierogi bowls are the stars of the menu at Sunny Cafe, a new eatery in Manchester offering several signature options with a variety of toppings and sauces. The fast-casual concept, which opened last month in a newly developed unit on South Willow Street, also features sweet crepes, honey and waffle cakes and locally roasted coffees with all kinds of house syrups.

“This space itself, it gets a lot of sun in the afternoon, so that’s exactly where the name came from,” said Londonderry native Yev Makarov, whose sister Yelena owns the cafe. “We wanted to create a place with a very happy, sunny atmosphere for people to come to. That’s why it’s very airy and very open … [and] our logo is even a dumpling that looks like the shape of a sun.”

Makarov, whose sister finished culinary school about a decade ago, said that food has always been her passion and that starting her own business was something she had always wanted to do.

“She has always been big into baking, cooking and preparing food,” he said. “Dumplings and pierogi go way back in the Slavic culture — of course, my grandparents were eating them. … We love to go out to eat and there’s just nobody around that serves our style of dumplings, or pierogi, especially in a bowl the way we do them with all these different toppings and sauces. You can obviously get them plain if you want, but then we have signature bowls for the dumplings and signature bowls for the pierogi that we’ve customized the way we like them.”

Dumplings can be filled with beef and chicken or beef and pork — ordering a regular-sized bowl will give you 20, Makarov said, while a large bowl has 25. Specialty bowls include the Shakin’ Bacon — topped with bacon, cheese, green onion, ranch and sour cream — and the Kickin’ Pepper bowl, which has banana peppers, cheese, green onion, red pepper and spicy mayonnaise.

Pierogi, which are potato-filled, are slightly smaller in size, giving you 15 for a regular bowl and 20 for a large. Those include a mushroom cheddar bowl with caramelized onions and sour cream; and a loaded mashed bowl with cheese, bacon and green onion. Of course, if you just can’t decide, you can completely customize your dumpling or pierogi bowl to your liking.

Sunny Cafe even has sweet pierogi bowls that are cherry-filled, as well as a few traditional baked options like honey cakes and waffle cakes. Crepes, meanwhile, run the gamut on their sweet offerings, from the cafe’s signature chocolate strawberry crepe with Nutella and bananas to a cinnamon swirl crepe with brown sugar and a white chocolate sauce. The cafe partners with Hometown Coffee Roasters of Manchester to feature hot and iced coffees and a full line of espresso drinks. Black and green teas sourced from Numi Organic Tea were also recently added.

Makarov said additional baked items are in the works, while savory crepes — such as a tuna salad flavor and other options — are likely to be added to the menu too.

Sunny Cafe
When: 50 S. Willow St., Manchester
Hours: Monday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 7 p.m. (7 a.m. to 7 p.m. starting Sept. 6) Closed on Sundays.
Cost: Free admission; food is priced per item
More info: Visit sunnycafenh.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram or call 935-8658

Featured photo: Courtesy photo.

From Rio to Nashua

Brazil Fest returns to Greeley Park

A large one-day celebration of Brazilian culture with authentic food options, live music, samba dancing and an inflatable soccer tournament, Brazil Fest has grown significantly since its inaugural event in 2016. The free event returns to Greeley Park in Nashua on Saturday, Aug. 27.

“Last year was huge. I think it was probably our biggest year yet,” said Mariana Silva, who co-organizes Brazil Fest with Bruno D’Britto. “It’s like a day in Brazil, you know, the whole experience [is] like people going to spend a day in Rio without having to travel there.”

According to Silva, the event was originally started as a way for Brazilian people in the area to come together and get to know one another. In 2017, Brazil Fest happened to fall on the same weekend as the Nashua Area Artists’ Association’s annual Greeley Park Art Show, with each event taking place on one side of the park. Many art show attendees since then have returned to Brazil Fest each year, Silva said, turning it into a celebration for the entire community.

meat and hard boiled eggs on a bed of shredded greens
Feijão Tropeiro, a traditional dish from Sabor Brasil in Nashua, one of this year’s returning Brazil Fest vendors. Courtesy photo.

At least 12 area restaurants and community members selling different types of authentic Brazilian dishes are expected to attend, Silva said, the largest number of vendors in the event’s history. Gu-La Haven and Sabor Brasil, both of Nashua, are two of the returning eateries, as well as Delicious Bites. Options will include pastel fritos — which Silva equated to Brazilian empanadas — and acarajé, a dish made from peeled beans deep fried in palm oil.

“Acarajé is very unique because you can only find it in the state of Bahia in Brazil,” Silva said. “Not everybody loves it, but the people who do will travel for it. Last year, I had people travel for like an hour and a half just to eat the acarajé, because you can’t really find it anywhere.”

If you attend the festival during lunchtime hours, Silva said, there will be opportunities to order to-go boxes of traditional Brazilian-style barbecue with rice and beans. Coxinhas, which feature fried dough filled with shredded chicken, sauce and vegetables, and molded into the shape of a teardrop, are another featured option commonly consumed as a snack. For sweeter indulgences, there will be brigadeiros, or traditional Brazilian chocolate truffles.

“The brigadeiro is very, very famous,” Silva said. “Every single birthday party as a child in Brazil, you know, you needed to have that. That was more important than the cake itself.”

In addition to the food, there will be an inflatable soccer tournament, plus several live performances on the park’s stage throughout the day. Two DJs and a group of Brazilian samba dancers, dressed similar to those who famously perform in the annual Rio Carnival, will be there.

Capoeira, a traditional Brazilian-style martial art with dance elements, is also part of this year’s performances. Silva said door prizes like gift certificates to participating businesses will be drawn during the afternoon, which all attendees will have a chance to win.

Brazil Fest
When: Saturday, Aug. 27, noon to 6 p.m.
Where: Greeley Park, 100 Concord St., Nashua
Cost: Free admission and parking; foods are priced per item
More info: Contact event co-organizers Mariana Silva at 438-4263 or Bruno D’Britto at 760-848-4797

Featured photo: A samba dancer (left) at last year’s Brazil Fest in Nashua. Courtesy photo.

The Weekly Dish 22/08/25

News from the local food scene

• Birthday brews: Join Great North Aleworks (1050 Holt Ave., No. 14, Manchester) for its seventh birthday bash on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 1 to 7 p.m. The afternoon will be filled with new beer releases, a “kitchen takeover” from chefs with the New Hampshire Food Bank, games, and live music from Alli Beaudry, Kevin and Paul Nelson. No tickets are required — all proceeds from food sales will be donated back to the New Hampshire Food Bank. Visit greatnorthaleworks.com.

• NHLC opens Concord outlet: The New Hampshire Liquor Commission opened a new 12,000-square-foot NH Liquor & Wine Outlet store in Concord on Aug. 11, at Exit 17 of Interstate 93, according to a press release. The new store features more than 4,000 sizes and varieties of wines and spirits. According to the release, the store also has special sections devoted to premium and ultra-premium spirits and wines, along with new LED fixtures and oversized aisles, similar to those of other recently built outlets. Since 2012, the New Hampshire Liquor Commission has renovated, relocated or constructed new Liquor & Wine Outlets in more than 30 communities. New outlets in Manchester and Nashua are on the way next. Visit liquorandwineoutlets.com.

• QC Cupcakes on the move: Manchester’s Queen City Cupcakes will be moving its operations a few doors down to join forces with its sister gift shop, Pop of Color (816 Elm St.), according to a recent announcement posted to its email newsletter. “Pop of Color started as a couple of shelves inside of the cupcake shop until we outgrew the space and moved Pop down the street,” the announcement reads in part. “Many of you see our crew running back and forth on a daily basis to cover both shops. Although a great way to get steps in, not always the most convenient for coverage.” Construction is underway on a large back room that, according to the post, was “under-utilized.” The goal is to complete the move by the end of this year, or by January 2023. Visit qccupcakes.com for updates.

• LaBelle Winery recognized: LaBelle Winery has earned several awards in this year’s Eastern States Exposition (“The Big E”) Wine Competition, according to a press release, including in the categories of Best New Hampshire Wine and Best New Hampshire Grown Wine. LaBelle also received a gold medal in the competition for its Shimmer sparkling wine, as well as several silver and bronze medals for many of its other products. Wines that are awarded medals are displayed inside the Wine and Cheese Barn during the course of The Big E in West Springfield, Mass., which, according to the release, is the sixth-largest annual agricultural fair in the United States. This year’s event will take place from Sept. 16 through Oct. 2. Visit labellewinery.com.

How do you solve a problem like a pineapple?

A man walks into a bar with a pineapple on his head.

The bartender asks, “Hey, what’s with the pineapple?”

The man says, “It’s Tuesday; I always wear a pineapple on Tuesday.”

The bartender thinks for a second, then points out, “Yeah, but it’s Thursday.”

The Pineapple Man slaps his palm to his face and groans. “Ugh! I can’t believe this; I’m so embarrassed.”

Did you find that joke a little frustrating and confusing? Welcome to the World of Pineapple.

Most of us have been there. You’ll be working your way through the supermarket, trying to decide what to make for dinner tomorrow night.

(You’ll probably go with meet-loaf. You spell it like that because you generally improvise it. Your mother never used a recipe for meatloaf, and pride or stubbornness or something keeps you from looking up an actual recipe for it, so you’ll end up winging it. Again. And like always, your husband or girlfriend will look at the vaguely loaf-shaped dish placed in front of them and ask, “Are you sure this is meatloaf?” And you’ll answer like you always do, “Yes, absolutely. Honey, meet Loaf.” It’s little traditions like this that relationships are founded on.)

Anyway, you’ll be walking through the produce section, eyeing the cilantro suspiciously, when your attention will be grabbed by a giant display of fresh pineapples. Overtaken by the Spirit of the Islands — Oahu, Easter, Coney: one of the islands — you will impulsively decide to buy one.

Until you pick it up and realize that you have no idea how to pick out a good one.

There is a lot of advice out there for picking a ripe pineapple and most of it is iffy at best. You’ll hear that you should try to pull one of the leaves out, or squeeze it, or heft it in your hand to see if it feels heavy for its size. (If you don’t know how to pick out a pineapple, how in the world are you supposed to decide if it’s heavy or not?)

In reality, your best options are to go by color and smell.

Color: Get the pineapple that is the closest to a shade of golden-orange as possible. This can occasionally be deceptive, but the deeper a shade of green a pineapple is, the more likely it is to be underripe.

A better guide is smell. Hold the pineapple in your hand, ignore the people around you and close your eyes. Imagine yourself somewhere warm and tropical. Imagine pushing yourself through the crowd at an outdoor market. Visualize an old man in a straw hat sitting next to a giant pile of pineapples warming in the sun. Imagine the smell that would come off them.

The pineapples, not the old man.

Now sniff your pineapple’s butt. Does it smell like that tropical marketplace? Even a little? If so, you’ve got your pineapple. If all you smell is your own rising sense of awkwardness and embarrassment, move on. (With all that said, you’ll probably have a better chance of scoring a good pineapple at an Asian or Latin market, where they cater to people who Know Their Pineapples, and who will not be trifled with.)

Ultimately, though, from a cocktail perspective, how much does this really matter?

Yes, you could get a great fresh pineapple, take it home, disassemble it and turn it into a Very Nice Drink. Or — and I’m just throwing ideas out, here — you could buy some of the pineapple that the people at the supermarket have already cut up for you, or even — stay with me — use canned pineapple. Once you’ve added lime juice and rum and a Spirit of Adventure, would you be able to tell the difference?

So I tried it out this afternoon. I made three identical drinks, using identical amounts of identical ingredients, except, of course, for the pineapple, and even shook them over identical amounts of ice for identical periods of time.

Using canned, precut, and fresh pineapple, was there a difference?

Yes.

Was it a Very Big Difference?

Not unless you had all three in front of you and could compare them. The fresh pineapple Aku-Aku (see below) was noticeably more subtle and pineapple-y than the other two, but the way I see it, an afternoon spent wrapping yourself around a pineapple drink — regardless of the pineapple you use — is better than an afternoon when you’ve deprived yourself of such a cocktail.

The Aku-Aku

  • 5 1-inch cubes of pineapple — 85 grams, or 3 ounces
  • 2 grams (.08 ounce) fresh mint leaves — around 2 Tablespoons
  • 1 ounce fresh squeezed lime juice
  • ½ ounce simple syrup
  • ½ ounce peach brandy or schnapps
  • 1½ ounce golden rum

Muddle the pineapple and mint together in the bottom of a cocktail shaker. Smash them together thoroughly. Really press the issue. Try not to splash yourself.

Add lime juice, syrup, brandy, rum and five ice cubes (around 80 grams). No, it really doesn’t matter how much ice you use, but since I had weighed it anyway, in the Name of Science, I thought I’d just put it out there.

Shake thoroughly for 30 seconds.

Strain into a coupe glass or other small, stemmed glass.

Face west-southwest — the direction of Polynesia — as you drink it.

You might be forgiven if you think this will be a fairly sweet drink — pineapple, plus peach brandy, plus simple syrup — but it’s a surprisingly refreshing and grown-up drink. The mint gives everything a faint hint of muskiness and sophistication. The glass’s stem keeps the drink cold. Your delightful personality and sense of inner peace keep the conversation excellent.

Take it from the houseplant I spent 20 minutes talking to after testing and drinking three of these.

Featured photo. The Aku-Aku. Photo by John Fladd.

Cinnamon sugar bread pudding

Bread pudding is a fairly simple dessert that has a comforting quality to it, or at least to me it does. I know, summer may not be the time to think about a dessert that’s most delicious when served warm, but this recipe is too good to delay for cooler weather.

The most important things to know about this recipe focus on the bread. Challah really is the best choice. The bread is light and airy, which allows it to absorb a nice amount of butter and cinnamon-sugar mixture. The lightness of the bread also prevents the bread pudding from being overly heavy. Also, of note is that you really need to toast the bread. This not only allows the butter to melt, but it also provides a little bit of texture that is key to this dessert.

When you make this dessert, be sure to have some sort of topping nearby. If you want to keep it simple, some vanilla ice cream or whipped cream will make a fine finish for the bread pudding. If you’re looking to utilize your culinary skills, a bourbon sauce makes a lovely topping. You can find two different recipes for that on my website. Regardless of which topping you choose, I hope you find the bread pudding to be as comforting as I do.

Cinnamon sugar bread pudding
Serves 8

8 slices challah
2 Tablespoons granulated sugar
2 teaspoons ground cinnamon
1-2 Tablespoons salted butter
3 eggs
2 cups whole milk
⅓ cup granulated sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
½ cup chopped pecans

Toast challah slices.
While bread toasts, combine 2 tablespoons sugar and cinnamon in a small bowl.
Spread butter on each slice, and sprinkle with cinnamon sugar mixture.
Cut toast into small cubes.
Grease sides and bottom of an 8” × 8” pan with butter.
Place bread cubes in prepared pan.
In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, 1/3 cup sugar and vanilla.
Pour over bread, stir well.
Cover and refrigerate for at least an hour.
Add pecans and stir well.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees.
Uncover bread pudding, and bake.
Check after 30 minutes. If still wet, cover with clean foil and bake for 10 to 20 more minutes.
Allow to cool for 20 minutes before serving.

Featured Photo: Courtesy photo.

In the kitchen with Lauren D’Agostino

Lauren D’Agostino of Manchester is a plant-based chef, cooking coach and the owner of Chef Lauren’s Table (cheflaurenstable.com), which specializes in a variety of initiatives promoting a plant-based lifestyle. Programs include the Kitchen Mindset Lab (cheflauren.teachable.com), a virtual nine-week series of plant-based cooking lessons that can be accessed either live via Zoom or on demand for a total of 12 weeks following registration, along with downloadable recipes and meal guides. A full schedule of sessions running now through next spring is available to view online. D’Agostino is also available for hire as a private plant-based chef for small events and intimate gatherings, and has a few upcoming public appearances where she’ll offer some plant-based menu samples — find her at The Green Beautiful (168 Wilson St., Manchester) on Thursday, Sept. 1, and at The Social HQ (103 Nashua Road, Londonderry) on Thursday, Sept. 15. A native of Westford, Mass., D’Agostino graduated from the University of Massachusetts at Amherst before going on to study pastry arts at Le Cordon Bleu College in Cambridge. Her interest shifted from pastries to plant-based foods both through her own personal lifestyle and following her completion of the holistic health coach program at the Institute for Integrative Nutrition. In early 2020, D’Agostino released her first cookbook, which focuses on plant-based and gluten-free recipes using essential oils. A second plant-based cookbook is forthcoming.

What is your must-have kitchen item?

A whisk. It’s so simple, but [it’s a] game-changer.

What would you have for your last meal?

I would have a really pull-out-all-the-stops panini. I love a panini with a crusty bread, some melted plant-based cheese and just tons of flavorful filling ingredients. And then I would have a cannoli.

What is your favorite local restaurant?

I always have a really enjoyable dining experience when I go to Campo Enoteca [and] Republic. … I think they do a really nice job.

What celebrity would you like to host a dinner for?

Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart, because I just think that would be hilarious. They’d be great dinner guests.

What has been your favorite experience cooking for a client?

A couple of summers ago, I did a 30th birthday party for a woman who had no idea that I was coming. It was her wife who hired me as a surprise … and we went back and forth planning the menu all hush-hush. The menu really meant something to her, that her wife would go to such lengths to make sure she and her friends would enjoy the experience.

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

I would say plant-based as a whole. … What I’m excited to be seeing more of is healthy, fresh [and] local food options that are both fun to eat and flavorful, but are also functional and nutritious for the human body.

What is your favorite thing to cook at home?

Plant-based pizza is totally my favorite. … I love pizza because it’s so easy and versatile, and you can do anything with it. It’s different every single time I make it, but it also always feels familiar to eat it.

Chickpea salad four ways
From the kitchen of Lauren D’Agostino of Chef Lauren’s Table

Basic recipe: “chicken” salad
1 15-ounce can chickpeas, drained and rinsed
¼ cup diced celery
¼ cup diced red onion
2 Tablespoons chopped parsley
2 Tablespoons plant-based mayonnaise
1 teaspoon Dijon mustard
½ teaspoon salt
Pinch black pepper

Enhanced recipe: Buffalo “chicken” salad
2 Tablespoons hot sauce
Enhanced recipe: “tuna” salad
½ a lemon, juiced
1 teaspoon dried dill
2 teaspoons kelp granules

Enhanced recipe: “egg” salad
½ teaspoon black salt
½ teaspoon apple cider vinegar
½ teaspoon turmeric powder
¼ teaspoon onion powder

Mash the chickpeas, either using a food processor (pulsing until coarse and leaving a few larger pieces) or using your fist in a medium-sized bowl (a potato masher also works well). Add all the other ingredients to the bowl and stir to combine.

Featured photo: Lauren D’Agostino, private plant-based chef and owner of Chef Lauren’s Table. Courtesy photo.

A multicultural feast

We Are One Festival returns

A celebration of the region’s Latin American, African and Caribbean cultures, the We Are One Festival features authentic food, live music and dance performances. The free event, now in its 21st year, returns to Veterans Memorial Park in Manchester on Saturday, Aug. 20.

The festival as it is known today first came together in 2013, after two separate events that were held in the Granite State throughout the previous decade — a Latino Festival first organized in 2000 by Latino Unidos de New Hampshire, and an African-Caribbean celebration founded the following year by Ujima Collective — combined their resources. This is the first year since the pandemic hit that the event is back in full swing, said Shaunte Whitted, co-chair of the We Are One Festival’s planning committee with Sudi Lett. In 2020 it was reorganized as a community health fair, while last year’s festival had no live performances.

One of the biggest draws to the festival has always been the food and, as in previous years, you’ll find a diverse lineup of options available throughout the day. Local vendors have traditionally included restaurants and community members, with a wide variety of cuisines represented.

“This year, I’m very excited to report that we have six registered food vendors with the city, [which] is actually a little more than what we usually have. I think we normally average around four,” Whitted said. “There’s going to be some African dishes, Caribbean dishes, Spanish food and comfort [and] soul food. … We’ll have empanadas, rice and beans, baked macaroni and cheese, various chicken entrees, collard greens and banana pudding parfaits.”

Don Quijote Restaurant in Manchester, for instance, is a longtime participant of the festival that will be returning as a vendor once again, Whitted said. Newcomers include Gumaa’s Bar & Grill, which opened in January in the Queen City’s Kalivas Union neighborhood — it’s known for its traditional African and Caribbean meals like oxtail stew, jerk chicken, goat meat and fried tilapia. Also attending this year’s festival will be A Taste of Monrovia, an eatery hailing from Worcester, Mass., that serves options native to Liberia, a coastal country in West Africa.

“They do a lot of spicy soups,” Whitted said. “They have palava … and it’s a smoked meat or fish that’s usually accompanied in the soup. I myself have tried the African pepper soup.”

Soel Sistas, a Nashua-based catering and meal prep business specializing in soul food and Southern comfort classics, will also be attending, as will Sub Zero Nitrogen Ice Cream, which recently opened a shared space with Prime Time Grilled Cheese, its first Manchester location.

A full schedule of performances is in store for this year’s festival, including hip-hop, R&B and soul singers, an African drum band, Latina dancers and more. Most have either 15- or 30-minute live sets planned on the stage, Whitted said, while DJ 4eign — from the Boston-area radio station JAM’N 94.5 — will also be there from noon to 4 p.m. Other components of the festival will include a health fair, sponsored by the Manchester NAACP and the NH Black Women Health Project.

We Are One Festival
When: Saturday, Aug. 20, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Where: Veterans Memorial Park, 723 Elm St., Manchester
Cost: Free admission; food is priced per item
More info: Email festival co-chairs Shaunte Whitted at shauntewhitted@yahoo.com or Sudi Lett at sudi.lett@gmail.com
Event is rain or shine.

Featured photo: Scenes from the We Are One Festival. Courtesy photos.

A taste of the Middle East

Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival returns to Manchester

By Jack Walsh

listings@hippopress.com

For the past 50 years the Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival has taken place at Our Lady of the Cedars Melkite Catholic Church in Manchester. The three-day event returns from Friday, Aug. 19, through Sunday, Aug. 21, and will feature a variety of authentic Middle Eastern items to order.

The festival is a celebration of Middle Eastern culture — primarily through Lebanese food, as Our Lady of the Cedars Church was founded by Lebanese families. Rev. Thomas Steinmetz of the church said that the event has greatly evolved over the past 15 or so years and continues to grow.

kebabs lined up on grill
Scenes from the Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival. Courtesy photos.

“It used to be smaller,” he said. “On a Sunday afternoon we’d do it behind our old church, the little church that we had on South Beech Street. … When we moved to our current location, it allowed us to expand the festival, and it’s been much larger for the past 15 or 16 years.”

Options at this year’s event will include lamb and chicken kebab dinners, tabbouleh salad, traditional Lebanese pastries and more. In addition to a wide variety of food there will also be a bar, along with Middle Eastern music and traditional cultural dances. For the kids, there will be a section full of activities and games, as well as a petting zoo and a bounce house.

Marylou Ashooh Lazos, head of the festival’s food production, suggests people order their food ahead of time online in order to make sure that they get their chance at grabbing some of the more highly anticipated dishes. The threat and impacts of Hurricane Henri during last year’s festival forced its cancellation on the final of the three days. But despite this, Lazos said, event organizers sold out of all their prepared food.

According to Lazos, the lamb shawarma, prepared in a wrap with tahini sauce, parsley, tomato and pickles, is the most popular meal at the festival.

“It started with the meat that was left over from the lamb kebabs that couldn’t be skewered neatly,” she said. “We used to cut them into shaved ribbons, so it’s very tender meat, and we trim off all of the fat.”

There will also be available options for vegetarians, such as falafels made with chickpeas and fava beans, as well as lubyeh, or green beans cooked in a garlic and tomato sauce and topped with seasoning. This will be on each prepared plate — or you can order a lubyeh dinner, featuring the green beans served over rice pilaf with bread.

A meal making a return is mujadara, a meatless dish made with lentils and rice that’s also gluten-free.

“We used to make mujadara the traditional way with cracked wheat, but we switched that to respect our gluten-sensitive people,” Lazos said.

Desserts, meanwhile, will include a lighter version of baklava known as baklawa, as well as ghrybe (almond butter cookies with powdered sugar) and coosa pita, a creamy custard made with eggs, milk, sugar, cream of wheat and coosa (a summer squash, similar to zucchini) that’s layered between sheets of phyllo dough.

While this is a fundraiser, Steinmetz and the church aims to make this a weekend event of fun to bring families together within the community.

Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival
When: Friday, Aug. 19, 5 to 10 p.m.; Saturday, Aug. 20, noon to 10 p.m., and Sunday, Aug. 21, noon to 5 p.m.
Where: Our Lady of the Cedars Melkite Catholic Church, 140 Mitchell St., Manchester
Cost: Free admission; foods are priced per item
Order online: mahrajan-nh.com

Featured photo: Scenes from the Mahrajan Middle Eastern Food Festival. Courtesy photos.

The Weekly Dish 22/08/18

News from the local food scene

• Celebrate with spuds: Join The Potato Concept for its one-year anniversary celebration at Rockingham Brewing Co. (1 Corporate Park Drive, Unit 1, Derry) Friday, Aug. 19, from 4 to 8 p.m., which also happens to be National Potato Day. Lauren Lefebvre and Brandon Rainer of The Potato Concept will be serving several of their specialty loaded baked potato flavors, including jambalaya, barbecue vegan tofu and the loaded classic, the latter of which features bacon, cheddar cheese, lettuce, tomato, chives and sour cream. Each of these options is $12 and includes a sweet potato cupcake with marshmallow frosting from Bearded Baking Co., and Rockingham Brewing Co. will have its Rum Raisin Spud Heavy on tap. Axes on the Go, a mobile ax throwing venue, will also be out in the parking lot. Visit thepotatoconcept.com.

• Greekfest Express returns: Assumption Greek Orthodox Church (111 Island Pond Road, Manchester) is holding its annual Greekfest Express on Saturday, Aug. 27, from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Now through Aug. 21, orders are being accepted for a variety of freshly cooked Greek dinners, like marinated lamb kebabs, half-roasted chicken, pasticho (Greek lasagna) and Greek-style meatballs in a tomato sauce. All dinners come with rice, Greek-style green beans and bread, while other available a la carte options include open-faced ground beef and lamb gyro plates with fries, spinach or feta cheese petas, and tossed Greek salads with or without grilled chicken or gyro meat. For desserts, there is baklava, loukoumades (fried dough balls), and various Greek cookies, like koulourakia (crisp braided butter cookies) and finikia (honey walnut cookies dipped in honey syrup). Pickups will be drive-thru only on the church grounds — no walk-ins. Visit foodfest.assumptionnh.org

• Ballpark brews: There’s still time to get your ticket to this year’s Gate City Brewfest, a family-friendly event returning to Holman Stadium (67 Amherst St., Nashua) on Saturday, Aug. 20, in its traditional format for the first time since 2019. Organized by Bellavance Beverage Co. in partnership with the City of Nashua, Gate City Brewfest is expected to feature more than 150 individual beers, ciders and seltzers to try from dozens of local and regional purveyors, all in a wide variety of styles. While the event’s signature chicken wing competition will not be returning this year, there will be a greater food truck presence, along with a full schedule of live music planned. Tickets are $50 per person at the door, $15 for designated drivers and attendees under 21, and free for kids ages 12 and under. See gatecitybrewfestnh.com or visit issuu.com/hippopress to check out our story on the event, appearing on page 25 of the Aug. 11 issue.

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