Spain is Western Europe’s second-oldest wine producing country, but 3,000 years on, it is producing wines that are among the most modern in Europe.
Wine was made in Andalucia between 1,100 and 500 B.C., initially brought in trade by the Phoenicians and later cultivated by expatriate Greeks. Along came the Romans, who set about planting vineyards to export wine to quaff the thirst of their armies. The Moors invaded Spain in the year 700 and with the invasion came a notable reduction in winemaking, but by the 14th century sherry had become a major export across Europe. However, with this deep history, it wasn’t until the late 20th century and the return of democracy and investment that dramatic progress was made in the development of quality wine from well-controlled vinification.
There are many grape varieties and wine styles across the Iberian peninsula of Spain and Portugal, in part because of a variety of soil types, temperatures and rainfall. When we think of Spain we think of the classic red wine, Rioja, made from the tempranillo grape, with its strawberry-raspberry fruit flavor and toasty oak nuances, but there is more resulting from this late winemaking expansion with cabernet sauvignons and merlots, as well as wines produced from grenache and carignan grapes.
Our first wine is a white wine from Galicia, that part of Spain that is along the Atlantic and north of Portugal. Martin Códax 2019 Albarino Rias Baixas (originally priced at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $15.99 and on sale at $13.99) is a delicate and medium-bodied wine with a crisp, dry finish. On the palate, flavors of pear, apple, peach and lemon zest are framed by bright minerality and hints of spice. Attractive floral aromatics and brisk acidity make this a versatile, food-friendly wine. We enjoyed it with an appetizer of scallops wrapped in bacon. It was perfect for this dish.
Val do Salnés, a region of Galicia, is known as the birthplace of the Albariño grape in a region where 99 percent of all wine produced is white. The soil is granitic and rocky with alluvial topsoil. It is also the coolest and wettest sub-region with an average temperature of just 55 degrees F. Rías Baixas more closely resembles coastal Ireland than it does other parts of Spain. Known as “Green Spain,” the region is characterized by moderate year-round temperatures, ocean mists and an average annual rainfall that in some spots is nearly three times the national average. Some say you can taste the salt air in the wine. I beg to differ, but taste is a personal thing.
Our second wine can be considered a classic. Marqués de Cáceres 2012 Gran Reserva Rioja (originally priced at the New Hampshire Liquor & Wine Outlets at $29.99 and on sale at $24.99) has a dark red color and leaves a hint of brick-red on the edge of the glass. This wine hails from the renowned region of La Rioja, of northern Spain. To the nose there are blackberries and some floral notes. The mouth is full and thick with mature plums, sweet spice, and slight tannins like roasted coffee beans or leather from its time in oak. There is a long dry finish, which was a perfect accompaniment to our wine-braised beef with vegetables and an array of mushrooms. This wine at eight years old is still fresh and promises great potential for aging for perhaps a decade. We opened the bottle a couple of hours before pouring and it continued to open in our glasses.
We enjoyed these wines with close friends on our patio, surrounded by gas heaters that not only warmed us but offered beautiful light to the occasion. The evening grew to be cool, but we were warmed by the company of good friends, hearty fare and the superb wines that paired so well with our courses. As the temperatures continue to dip and we want to spend time with friends and family, light up the heaters, fire up the backyard pits, and enjoy some wonderful Spanish wines that are affordable and need more attention from us.
Matt Berry and Lauren Foster Berry of Milford are the owners of Dahlia Restaurant (dahlianomadic.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram), a series of New England-inspired farm-to-table pop-up dinners they launched last month. Named after the couple’s daughter, Dahlia held its first dinner at Greenleaf in Milford on Sept. 27. A second event followed a week later, at The Birch on Elm in Manchester. Dahlia’s next event, a Halloween-themed dinner, is scheduled for Oct. 25 at Noodz on Elm Street in Manchester. Collaborative dinners are also planned for Nov. 15, with Camacho Knives & Leather in Manchester, and Dec. 6, with Dunk’s Mushrooms & Foraging in Brentwood. Previously, Matt and Lauren both worked at Greenleaf — he as chef de cuisine and she as a pastry chef.
What is your must-have kitchen item?
Lauren: Spoons, in different shapes and sizes, are essential for us, not only for cooking but also for plating. Finding a good spoon to cook with reinvigorates the passion for what we do.
What would you have for your last meal?
Matt: … All of our favorite bad foods. Smash burgers, mozzarella sticks, fried pickles, strawberry milkshakes, things like that.
What is your favorite local restaurant?
Matt: Definitely Otis [in Exeter]. [Owner and chef] Lee Frank is a really good friend of mine, and he’s been a great mentor for me as well. I worked under him as the sous chef. … Lee changes his menu every week, so going to eat there is kind of like putting your faith into his hands, which is an ideology we want to reflect in Dahlia. His clientele really trust his talent as a chef.
What celebrity would you like to see attending one of your dinners?
Matt: [Chef] Sean Brock, hands down. His passion for preserving crops and utilizing classic ingredients really inspired me on a personal level.
What is your personal favorite thing to cook?
Lauren: Mine has always been caramel corn. My earliest memory of being in the kitchen was with my mom, who would make big batches of it for friends and family in our area. The smells of popcorn and caramel are still really special to me and remind me of when I fell in love with cooking for the first time.
Matt: I always tend to come back to New Nordic cuisine. One thing we put on the menu a couple of times at Greenleaf and at Otis was aebleskiver, which is almost like a pancake dumpling cooked in a cast iron pan with divots in it. I also love gravlax, which is cured salmon.
What is the biggest food trend in New Hampshire right now?
Lauren: The farm-to-table trend is definitely really prevalent here right now. Over the last decade, so many more restaurants have focused on local ingredients, and customers have really embraced that as well. Patrons want to hear about the relationships you have, not only with the food but with the people growing it.
What is your favorite thing to cook at home?
Matt: I’m really passionate about making a really good bread. We have a couple of sourdough starters, and we both really like to experiment with different styles.
Lauren: For me, every time I’m cooking at home I always want to make soup. I like to eat soup all year round.
Birch flour biscuits Yields about 12 medium biscuits
250 grams (or about 2 cups) all-purpose flour 100 grams (or about ¾ cup) birch bark flour 1 tablespoon baking powder 1 tablespoon local maple syrup 2 teaspoons salt 85 grams (or about ⅓ cup) butter 177 grams (or about ¾ cup) buttermilk
Preheat the oven to 425 degrees. Set aside birch flour and combine rest of dry ingredients, whisking to combine. Using box grater, grate cold butter. Add to dry ingredients. Using hands or a food processor, mix together until butter is pea-sized and mixture looks like coarse wet sand. Whisk together birch flour and buttermilk in separate bowl. Drizzle over the top of butter and flour mixture, then gently knead to combine, being careful not to overwork dough. Turn dough out onto floured surface and work dough only until it comes together to form a rough ball. After sprinkling the surface of dough with flour, roll it out using a rolling pin to form a rectangle. Fold this in half, rotate rectangle 90 degrees, then flatten dough back out with heel of hands to not overwork dough and to keep biscuits tender. Repeat, folding, turning and pressing the dough back out three times. Using hands, press dough out to form one-inch-thick rectangle. Using two-inch round cookie cutter coated with flour, cut out biscuits and transfer to a cookie sheet covered with parchment paper. Bake at 425 degrees for 10 to 12 minutes, until light golden brown. Brush with melted butter and serve warm. To mill your own birch flour: Collect birch bark from white birch tree (only peel bark from recently fallen trees or collect pieces that have shed naturally — cream-colored pieces that are still pliable and not grey or brittle, and that are free from rot or bug holes). Submerge strips of bark in water. Bring to a boil; simmer for two hours. Dehydrate strips in the oven at the lowest setting overnight or in a dehydrator. Mill strips into flour in a food processor. Let spin until the bark has become very fine, then sift through a fine mesh strainer.
Farmers markets • Concord Farmers Market is Saturdays, from 8:30 a.m. to noon, on Capitol Street in Concord (near the Statehouse), now through Oct. 31. Visit concordfarmersmarket.com. • Contoocook Farmers Market is Saturdays, from 9 a.m. to noon, at 896 Main St. in Contoocook, outdoors through at least Oct. 31. Find them on Facebook @contoocookfarmersmarket for updates. • Henniker Community Market is Thursdays, from 4 to 7 p.m., at Henniker Community Center (57 Main St.), through Oct. 29. Find them on Facebook @hennikercommunitymarket. • Milford Farmers Market is Saturdays, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m., at 300 Elm St. in Milford through Nov. 21. Visit milfordnhfarmersmarket.com. • Nashua Farmers Market is Sundays, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m., at City Hall Plaza (229 Main St.), through Oct. 18. Visit downtownnashua.org/local.
Featured Photo: Matt Berry and Lauren Foster Berry
On the menu of nearly every seafood restaurant and Irish pub in New Hampshire, fish & chips — featuring battered and deep-fried whitefish, usually haddock or cod, with french fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce — is a pair of quintessential New England comfort foods. Local chefs and restaurateurs talk about the way their fish & chips are prepared and how they put their own unique spins on the fried classic, from the type of fish to the batter they use.
Fresh catch
Haddock is far and away the most prevalent fish used for fish & chips in the Granite State. Janet Johnston of The Lobster Boat in Merrimack said not only is it a common whitefish found in the Northern Atlantic, but it’s also a great option due to its leanness and sweet flavor. The Lobster Boat gets fresh fish deliveries six days a week, its haddock already deboned and skinned.
“It holds together when you cook it and comes out real tender and flaky, making it really nice for fish & chips,” she said.
While cod is also an acceptable option, Johnston said its thicker and firmer texture compared to haddock makes it a better fish for grilling than frying.
Eric Griffin of Grill 603 in Milford, which also uses fresh New England haddock for its fish & chips, had been using cod before coming to New Hampshire four years ago. He previously owned and operated a restaurant in the Chesapeake Bay area of Virginia.
“In the South you really can’t get good fresh haddock,” Griffin said. “The natural sweet flavor and flaky texture of the fish, in my opinion, is superior to cod when you cook it just right.”
How the fish is cut up and portioned will depend on where you go. Some restaurants, like Surf in Nashua and Portsmouth, and Hooked in Manchester, serve up one large filet of haddock. Griffin said he likes to prepare it at Grill 603 a little differently.
“We actually cut ours into one- to one-and-a-half-ounce sized pieces, which allows the fish to cook very quickly and evenly,” he said. “A lot of people that come into the restaurant and order it sometimes aren’t prepared for that, but when they take a bite, it’s all over.”
More diverse than the fish itself is the way it’s battered and fried at each eatery in the state. The Lobster Boat, according to Johnston, has used a yellow corn flour-based batter for decades, while at Grill 603 Griffin has his own batter he gets imported from North Carolina.
“The batter we use is super light and flavorful, and very fine, which is why we cut up the fish the way we do when we fry it,” he said. “We also batter each portion to order.”
Michael Lyle, corporate chef of Michael Timothy’s Dining Group, said a tempura batter with gluten-free rice flour and water is used for the fish & chips available at Surf.
In Concord, The Barley House has its own curry beer batter for its fish & chips. Chef Jon Frobese said beer sourced from Concord Craft Brewing is added to the eatery’s tempura batter, as well as some curry powder to enhance its flavor and Smithwick’s Irish ale for added color.
A fishy history
The origin of fish & chips as we know it today can be traced back to mid-19th-century England — the National Federation of Fish Friers recognizes it as “the undisputed national dish of Great Britain” and a “cultural and culinary symbol” of the country, according to its website. Exactly when and where the first plate of fish & chips was ever consumed is where things get, well, fishy. According to The Oxford Companion to Food, an encyclopedia edited by Alan Davidson and published by Oxford University Press, claims of the dish’s invention have been made in both London and Lancashire, some 200 miles to the northwest, around the year 1860, although fried fish and cooked potatoes had both existed separately for a time before. The Wordsworth Dictionary of Culinary & Menu Terms, compiled by Rodney Dale, identifies “chips” as an English colloquial term for french fries.
Pretzel crusted fish & chips from Backyard Brewery & Kitchen. Photo by Matt Ingersoll.
From the late 1800s through about World War II, Davidson writes, the number of fish & chips shops steadily grew across England and Ireland by the thousands. Some merchants, he added, attempted to package and sell fish & chips in used newspapers as a way to keep costs down, although this practice was largely phased out by the 1960s for sanitary reasons.
Chipping in
Almost every New Hampshire eatery offering fish & chips will serve you the fish with a side of french fries, and usually a small bowl of coleslaw and tartar sauce for dipping.
The Lobster Boat, Johnston said, uses a soybean oil that’s changed out every day for frying. The coleslaw is also homemade every morning.
In Nashua, The Peddler’s Daughter hand-cuts all its own fries using fresh Idaho potatoes. Chef Jeff DiAntonio said each serving of fish & chips also comes with two jars each of house-made ketchup and lemon tartar sauce.
Just like with its haddock, Surf prepares its fries in a gluten-free-friendly deep fryer, serving its fish & chips with a side of house tartar sauce.
“We make our own mayonnaise, whipping egg yolks with olive oil, and then we fold in some onions, capers and parsley,” Lyle said.
Grill 603 also makes its own coleslaw and tartar sauce, Griffin said.
“We actually use dill relish for our tartar sauce, which gives it a nice tart, zingy flavor,” he said.
Where to get a plate of fish & chips
From house-battered haddock or cod to hand-cut fries and homemade tartar sauce, here are some restaurants, brew pubs and other businesses in southern New Hampshire that offer their own unique takes on fish & chips.
• 110 Grill (875 Elm St., Manchester, 836-1150; 27 Trafalgar Square, Nashua, 943-7443; 110grill.com) offers fish & chips on its entree menu, featuring North Atlantic cod fried in seasoned flour and served with french fries, tartar sauce and coleslaw.
• 1750 Taphouse (170 Route 101, Bedford, 488-2573, 1750taphouse.com) offers fried beer-battered haddock with hand-cut fries, coleslaw, tartar sauce and a lemon wedge.
• Auburn Tavern (345 Hooksett Road, Auburn, 587-2057, auburntavern.com) offers fresh fried haddock with french fries and coleslaw on its seafood menu.
• Backyard Brewery & Kitchen (1211 S. Mammoth Road, Manchester, 623-3545, backyardbrewerynh.com) uses pretzel-crusted haddock for its fish & chips, which is served over hand-cut fries with pickle slaw and handmade tartar sauce.
• The Barley House Restaurant & Tavern (132 N. Main St., Concord, 228-6363, thebarleyhouse.com) offers fish & chips featuring haddock fried in a curry beer batter and served with french fries, tartar sauce and coleslaw.
• The Beach Plum (3 Brickyard Square, Epping, 679-3200; 16 Ocean Blvd., N. Hampton, 964-7451; 2800 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, 433-3339; thebeachplum.net) offers fried haddock with french fries, coleslaw and a dinner roll that’s available as a smaller basket or a larger dinner size.
• Buckley’s Great Steaks (438 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 424-0995, buckleysgreatsteaks.com) offers fish & chips on its house specialties menu, with coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Cactus Jack’s Grill & Watering Hole (1182 Union Ave., Laconia, 528-7800, cactusjacksnh.com) offers Jack’s fish & chips on its house specialties menu, featuring fried haddock, fries, fried onion, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Casey Magee’s Irish Pub & Music Hall (8 Temple St., Nashua, 484-7400, caseymagees.com) offers Guinness-battered fried cod for its fish & chips entree, served with house fries, homemade coleslaw, tartar sauce and a lemon wedge.
• CJ’s Great West Grill (782 S. Willow St., Manchester, 627-8600, cjsgreatwestgrill.com) offers haddock fried in a tempura batter for its fish & chips, which are served with fries, onion rings, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Clam Haven (94 Rockingham Road, Derry, 434-4679, clamhaven.com) is expected to remain open for the season through Oct. 31. The eatery offers several fried fish plates like haddock, clams, scallops, and lobster tails, served with french fries, onion rings and coleslaw.
• Copper Door Restaurant (15 Leavy Dr., Bedford, 488-2677; 41 S. Broadway, Salem, 458-2033; copperdoor.com) offers fish & chips on its lunch menu, featuring haddock with a tempura breading, house fries, coleslaw and remoulade.
• Cork N Keg Grill (4 Essex Dr., Raymond, 244-1573, corknkeggrill.com) offers fish & chips, hand-breaded and served with coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Diz’s Cafe (860 Elm St., Manchester, 606-2532, dizscafe.com) offers fish & chips that feature deep fried and breaded Atlantic haddock, served with french fries and house-made tartar sauce.
• Downtown Cheers Grille & Bar (17 Depot Road, Concord, 228-0180, cheersnh.com) offers deep fried and lightly breaded haddock on its entree menu, served with french fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• The Farm Bar and Grille (1181 Elm St., Manchester, 641-3276, farmbargrille.com) offers fish & chips that feature more than half a pound of haddock per order, fried and lightly breaded, and served over a bed of waffle fries and house-chopped slaw.
• Firefly American Bistro & Bar (22 Concord St., Manchester, 935-9740, fireflynh.com) uses beer-battered local whitefish for its fish & chips, which are served with french fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• The Flying Goose Brew Pub & Grille (40 Andover Road, New London, 526-6899, flyinggoose.com) uses beer-battered haddock filet for its fish & chips, which are served over pub fries with coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Fody’s Great American Tavern (9 Clinton St., Nashua, 577-9015; 187½ Rockingham Road, Derry, 404-6946; fodystavern.com) uses beer-battered cod for its fish & chips, which are served with hand-cut fries and tartar sauce.
• The Foundry Restaurant (50 Commercial St., Manchester, 836-1925, foundrynh.com) offers tempura-battered fish & chips with coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Giorgio’s Ristorante & Bar (270 Granite St., Manchester, 232-3323; 707 Milford Road, Merrimack, 883-7333; giorgios.com) offers the Greek fish & chips, which feature beer-battered haddock over Greek fries, topped with arugula, caper and lemon butter.
• Goldenrod Restaurant (1681 Candia Road, Manchester, 623-9469, goldenrodrestaurant.com) offers a haddock plate on its entree menu, served with french fries and coleslaw.
• Grill 603 (168 Elm St., Milford, 213-6764, grill603.com) uses fresh New England haddock for its fish & chips that is dry breaded Carolina style and served with gourmet fries and coleslaw.
• Holy Grail Food & Spirits (64 Main St., Epping, 679-9559, holygrailrestaurantandpub.com) offers golden fried beer-battered haddock loins, served with homemade chips.
• Hooked Seafood Restaurant & Ignite Bar & Grille (110/100 Hanover St., Manchester, 644-0064, hookedonignite.com) offers fish & chips that feature deep fried haddock, french fries, tartar sauce and coleslaw.
• Jamison’s (472 Route 111, Hampstead, 489-1565, jamisonsrestaurant.com) offers fresh haddock for its fish & chips, which include hand-cut fries, slaw and house tartar sauce.
• Johnson’s Seafood & Steak (1334 First New Hampshire Turnpike, Northwood, 942-7300, find them on Facebook @johnsonsnorthwood) offers fish & chips that feature hand-battered haddock filet and homemade tartar sauce.
• Lakehouse Tavern (157 Main St., Hopkinton, 746-1800, lakehousetavern.com) offers beer-battered haddock for its fish & chips, with fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• The Lobster Boat Restaurant (453 Daniel Webster Hwy., Merrimack, 424-5221; 273 Derry Road, Litchfield, 882-4988; lobsterboatrestaurant.com) offers fish & chips available in small or large sizes on its menu, featuring golden fried haddock with a side of coleslaw.
• The Lobster Claw (4 S. Main St., Derry, 437-2720, lobsterclaw2.com) offers a variety of fried seafood dinners, with options like haddock, flounder, clams, scallops and more. Each dinner is served with french fries and coleslaw.
• Main Street Grill and Bar (32 Main St., Pittsfield, 435-0005, mainstreetgrillandbar.com) uses beer-battered fried haddock for its fish & chips, which are served with french fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Makris Lobster & Steak House (354 Sheep Davis Road, Concord, 225-7665, eatalobster.com) offers a variety of fried seafood plates in its own homemade batter, with options like haddock, shrimp, scallops, clams and oysters. Each is served with fries and slaw, and there are optional replacement sides like onion rings, Cajun fries and sweet potato fries.
• Murphy’s Taproom (494 Elm St., Manchester, 644-3535, murphystaproom.com) uses red ale-battered haddock for its fish & chips, which are served with coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Murphy’s Taproom & Carriage House (393 Route 101, Bedford, 488-5975, murphystaproom.com) offers fish & chips on its entree menu, which feature Samuel Adams-battered haddock, house fries, toasted fennel slaw and tartar sauce.
• New England’s Tap House Grille (1292 Hooksett Road, Hooksett, 782-5137, taphousenh.com) uses beer-battered haddock for its fish & chips, which are served with seasoned french fries, coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Newick’s Lobster House (317 Loudon Road, Concord, 225-2424; 431 Dover Point Road, Dover, 742-3205; newicks.com) offers a variety of fried seafood plates, served with either chips or fries, including haddock, scallops, clam strips and coconut shrimp.
• The Peddler’s Daughter (48 Main St., Nashua, 821-7535, thepeddlersdaughter.com) offers beer-battered fish & chips, which feature fresh haddock loins cut up in house and fried, then served with house cut fries, homemade lemon tartar sauce and ketchup, and malt vinegar.
• The Red Blazer Restaurant and Pub (72 Manchester St., Concord, 224-4101, theredblazer.com) offers fish & chips that feature hand-breaded haddock and are served with french fries, coleslaw and homemade tartar sauce.
• Rocco’s Pizza Bar & Grill (297 Derry Road, Hudson, 577-9866, roccospizzanh.com) uses hand-battered haddock for its fish & chips, which are served with french fries and coleslaw.
• The Shaskeen Pub and Restaurant (909 Elm St., Manchester, 625-0246, theshaskeenpub.com) uses beer-battered haddock filets for its fish & chips, which are served with shoestring fries, house slaw and tartar sauce. You can also switch out the fries for roasted root vegetables or smashed potatoes.
• Shopper’s Pub + Eatery at Indian Head (18 Lake Ave., Manchester, 232-5252, shoppersmht.com) offers fish & chips on its entree menu, which include lightly battered haddock served with fries and slaw.
• Stark House Tavern (487 S. Stark Hwy., Weare, 487-6002, starkhousetavern.com) uses beer-battered haddock for its fish & chips, which are served with hand-cut fries and slaw.
• Surf Restaurant (207 Main St., Nashua, 595-9293; 99 Bow St., Portsmouth, 334-9855; surfseafood.com) offers fish & chips on its entree menu, featuring haddock filet fried in a crispy tempura batter, and served with coleslaw and fries.
• T-Bones Great American Eatery (25 S. River Road, Bedford, 641-6100; 404 S. Main St., Concord, 715-1999; 39 Crystal Ave., Derry, 434-3200; 77 Lowell Road, Hudson, 882-6677; 1182 Union Ave., Laconia, 528-7800; 311 S. Broadway, Salem, 893-3444; t-bones.com) uses crispy haddock for its fish & chips, which are served with coleslaw and tartar sauce.
• Tailgate Tavern & Marketplace (28 Portsmouth Ave., Stratham, 580-2294, tailgatetavernnh.com) uses North Atlantic haddock filets for its fish & chips, which are hand-dipped in a house made tempura batter and golden fried, then served with fries and coleslaw.
• Tandy’s Top Shelf Pub (1 Eagle Square, Concord, 856-7614, tandyspub.com) offers a fried haddock platter on its entree menu, served with fries and coleslaw.
• The Town Cabin Deli & Pub (285 Old Candia Road, Candia, 483-4888, towncabin.com) offers fish & chips on its seafood menu, featuring deep fried and battered haddock filet served with coleslaw and hand-cut fries.
• The Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery (58 Route 27, Raymond, 244-2431, thetuckaway.com) offers buttermilk fish & chips with fries, slaw and New England tartar sauce.
• Zachary’s Chop House (4 Cobbetts Pond Road, Windham, 890-5555, zacharyschophouse.com) offers lightly fried fish & chips with fresh cod.
• 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.
A few weeks ago I traveled to Shin Boku Nursery in Wentworth to attend an all-day workshop on Japanese pruning techniques. Many of the techniques are useful to any gardener.
The workshop was organized and taught by Doug Roth, the publisher of Sukiya Living magazine (rothteien.com), a journal about Japanese gardening that my wife and I subscribe to. It provides practical and aesthetic advice that I find useful anywhere. Mr. Roth lived for years in Japan and apprenticed under a Japanese master, ultimately receiving accreditation as a journeyman gardener.
Shin Boku (shin-bokunursery.com) is a specialty nursery that offers trees and shrubs trained for use in Japanese-inspired gardens. The owner, Palmer Koelb, has been growing specialty trees pruned in the Japanese style there since 1986, and some of the larger trees (in five-foot-diameter pots) he has been training for even longer. There is a lovely Japanese garden there as well as specimen trees for sale.
The workshop began with a lesson on ladder safety. Japanese pruning ladders made by Hasegawa were present for us to see and use. These ladders are tripod ladders made especially for pruning. They are made of welded aluminum and are very light.
Their two front legs flare, shaped much like a side of the Eiffel Tower, and a third leg is hinged so that it can be swung out and placed inside or behind a hedge or tree. Not only that, the third leg can be extended or shortened to work on hillsides. The feet are clawed, so they dig into the soil, but they come with rubber “sneakers” to use on pavement or stone. The steps are wide and comfortable on the feet, and some have an upper platform for working.
After a day of using the Hasegawa ladders, I was convinced that they offer safety and convenience way beyond what my old-fashioned step ladders and extension ladders offer, particularly on rough terrain and hillsides. When I got home I made arrangements to buy my own from Alan Bissonnette in Chichester. He represents New England Ladders (neladders.com), which has representatives and warehouses around the country.
The ladder I selected is a 10-footer, one with a platform at the eight-foot level, and a grab bar on the top. I have been using it on hilly terrain, and love that not only can I adjust the length of the third (back) leg, but it has a chain connecting the front legs and the back legs to assure that the ladder cannot splay more than recommended. I was tempted to get an eight-foot ladder, but have been pleased with the extra height. I like being able to look down on the top of a medium-size crab apple tree to see what needs to be removed. My new ladder weighs just 30 pounds.
In Japanese gardens the trees are often trained to irregular shapes. That can be accomplished by regular pruning and understanding how to direct growth. The tip of a branch produces auxins, or plant hormones that control growth and fruiting. By cutting back a branch to a junction of branches, one can direct growth. Cut off the tip and one of a pair of side branches, and the growth will essentially follow the direction of the remaining branch. In this way, a tree can be made to twist and turn over time.
Some evergreens produce so many branches and leaves that the interior of the shrub or tree gets little or no light. The interior of those specimens can then lose their leaves (commonly called needles), leaving a dark interior that is unattractive if an outer branch is damaged or removed. You can prevent that with judicious pruning.
I recently worked on a bird’s nest spruce. It was a large shrub that was getting too tall and wide, and the homeowner wanted me to make it smaller. This, I explained, is a multi-year project: if I just cut off the top branches, the brown interior would be exposed and unsightly.
Here’s what I did: First, I cut back this year’s growth to stop the shrub from getting bigger. Then I removed some small branches to allow punches of light to get inside the tree. That will stimulate dormant buds to grow new leaves. I did this primarily where two branches were growing parallel — I removed one, left the other. I did this not only on the top of the shrub but on the sides as well.
In the workshop each of us received a copy of Sukiya Living Textbook: Advanced Tree Pruning. It is nicely illustrated with photographs showing several different styles of pruning techniques, mainly for evergreen shrubs and small trees.
If you are interested in turning a tranquil corner of your property into a small Japanese garden, I suggest you subscribe to Sukiya Living magazine. It comes out bi-monthly and, according to its website, covers “various aspects of Japanese architecture, horticulture, art, and philosophy. Topics range from centuries-old design principles to modern, how-to construction and maintenance techniques.”
I hope one day to travel with Doug Roth on one of his tours of gardens in Kyoto, Japan. Meanwhile, I can dream.
Featured Photo: Pine shaped in the Japanese tradition at Shin-Boku nursery. Courtesy photo.
The latest from NH’s theater, arts and literary communities
“Pandemic Posies” by Kevin Kintner
• Floral art: Local artist Kevin Kintner has a pop-up exhibit of floral-themed paintings he has done during the pandemic, on view now through at least the end of October, Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7:30 p.m. at 814 Elm St. in Manchester. “The world had become full of anxiety and fear, and my first instinct was to paint those stressed-out emotions on canvas,” Kintner said in an email, “but it turned out what I needed to paint was escape. I wanted bright color and energetic light and joyous movement and something alive.” Call 682-0797.
• Authors online: The Toadstool Bookshops present a virtual author event with Julia Munemo on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 2 p.m. Munemo will discuss her new book The Book Keeper: A Memoir of Race, Love, and Legacy. The memoir is “equal parts love story, investigation, and racial reckoning” and recounts how Munemo “unravels and interrogates her whiteness, a shocking secret, and her family’s history,” according to a press release. The event is free and will be held over Zoom. Visit toadbooks.com/event/bookkeeper or call 352-8815.
Merrimack Public Library presents a virtual author event over Zoom with sports journalist Marty Gitlin on Tuesday, Oct. 20, at 6:30 p.m. Gitlin, who has covered baseball for nearly two decades, will discuss his new book The Ultimate Boston Red Sox Time Machine Book, a history of the baseball team’s greatest and most fascinating players, events and moments. He will tell stories, show photos and game highlights, share trivia and answer questions. Registration is required. Visit merrimacklibrary.org or call 424-5021.
The Pembroke Historical Society and the Pembroke Town Library present a virtual author visit with Maine author Leslie Lambert Rounds on Thursday, Oct. 22, at 7 p.m. Lambert Rounds will discuss her book I Have Struck Mrs. Cochran with a Stake: Sleepwalking, Insanity, and the Trial of Abraham Prescott, which comes out on Oct. 20. The book looks at the 1833 Pembroke murder of Sally Cochran and the trial of Abraham Prescott. The event will be held on the platform WebEx Meetings. Registration is required. Visit pembroke-nh.com/library or call 485-7851.
• Live theater: Don’t miss the final performances of The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester) youth theater’s Beauty and the Beast Jr.on Friday, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m., and Saturday, Oct. 17, at noon. Tickets cost $15 for adults and $12 for children. Visit palacetheatre.org or call 668-5588.
The Seacoast Repertory Theatre (125 Bow St., Portsmouth) presents the musical comedy Nunsense from Thursday, Oct. 15, through Saturday, Oct. 17, and Sunday, Oct. 25, through Sunday, Nov. 8. When a nun accidentally poisons and kills 52 of her sisters, she and the surviving sisters at the parish put on a variety show to raise funds for the burials. Showtimes are on Thursday at 7:30 p.m., Friday at 8 p.m., Saturday at 2 and 8 p.m., and Sunday at 2 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets cost $30 to $48. Visit seacoastrep.org.
• Virtual travels: The 34th annual Omer T. Lassonde juried exhibition, presented virtually by the New Hampshire Art Association, is on view now through Friday, Oct. 16. It features works by NHAA members and non-members in a variety of media following this year’s theme, “Travels Near and Far.” The exhibit honors Omer T. Lassonde, who helped found NHAA in 1940 to exhibit the work of contemporary artists throughout the state. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.
Exhibits
• “MOSTLY ANIMALS – SOME PEOPLE” Featuring work by New Hampshire Art Association artist Jef Steingrebe. NHAA’s Robert Lincoln Levy Gallery, 136 State St., Portsmouth. On view now through Nov. 1. Gallery hours are Wednesday and Thursday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 6 p.m., and Sunday, noon to 5 p.m., but are subject to change. Visit nhartassociation.org or call 431-4230.
• “POSSESSED” Six artists explore the ideas of possessions and obsessions through their personal relationships with things, both physical and conceptual. Twiggs Gallery, 254 King St., Boscawen. On view now through Nov. 1. Gallery hours are Thursday and Friday, 11 a.m. to 5 p.m., and Saturday, noon to 4 p.m. Call 975-0015 or visit twiggsgallery.wordpress.com.
• “MANCHESTER’S URBAN PONDS: PAST, PRESENT, AND FUTURE: A CELEBRATION OF THE MANCHESTER URBAN PONDS RESTORATION PROGRAM’S 20TH ANNIVERSARY State Theater Gallery at Millyard Museum, 200 Bedford St., Manchester. On view now through Nov. 28. Tuesday through Saturday, 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Admission $8 for adults, $6 for ages 62 and up and college students, $4 for 12 through 18 and free for kids under 12. Call 622-7531 or visit manchesterhistoric.org.
