Thursday, October 15, 2009

Ron's Landing, Hampton, N.H.













379 Ocean Blvd
Hampton, N.H.

Open year round, Wednesday through Sundays from 4pm to close, Ron's Landing has some nice ocean front dining options. If you're going for a relaxed setting for dinner along Route 1A with ocean views, the menu options here at Ron's Landing are a good bang for your buck. Honestly, I have never had dinner here in the downstairs dinning room or the upstairs dinning area along the windows that overlook the North Beach, but I have been many times to have dinner in the upstairs lounge. I enjoy that in addition to the regular dinner menu options, if you get a table in the lounge, they also have a GREAT selection on their pub menu. Ron's also has a lighter fare menu with excellent meal choices on it. The prices are lower and the portions are still large and that is what I think a lot of us are looking for these days, good food at good prices and the pub menu and lighter fare menu at Ron's Landing provides that. There is live entertainment on Friday and Sunday evenings in the lounge. Usually it's a one or two man band that squishes into the corner of the bar area, but the music is good and the bar is often filled with locals. The have an extensive wine list, but I often just opt for the house Cabernet which is Sycamore Lane and only $5.95 a glass. The food has been consistently good (with one exception of a mishap my father had with a fried haddock sandwich and a piece of metal that broke off the fryer basket, but that was taken care of). The service however on occasion has been less than desirable. The bartenders work the tables in the lounge for the most part and are friendly and on top of things which makes for a a nice and relaxing evening. It can get pretty busy in the lounge, so you might have to wait a bit to score a high table or a few seats at the bar, but it's worth the short wait. I sometimes order for dinner off of the appetizer menu, the Sea Scallops wrapped in bacon served with sweet pepper soy dipping sauce $(11.95). It's that sweet pepper soy dipping sauce that separates these treats from the sea from ones I have had at other restaurants. The sauce brings a new taste that is well matched to the scallops. Off of the pub menu, I like the Bistro Burger ($9.95) which is an 8 oz Angus sirloin burger served with fries and a pickle, the Chicken Parmesan ($12.95) is worth every penny. You get a large, juicy chicken cutlet that is pan fried and topped with marinara, Mozzarella and Parmesan cheese and served on a mound of Cavatappi pasta. I don't think I have ever been able to finish the whole portion, but a few of my guy friends sure can. The last two dishes I wanted to mention are on the Lighter Fare menu and they are the Toasted Almond Salmon ($15.95) served with Hoisin glaze, over a Frangelico cream with sliced apple and toasted almonds, accompanied by house blended rice (but I hate that the rice is in a mold shape, it just doesn't look right served like that). Lastly, my favorite dish here at Ron's Landing is the Chicken Fontinella ($13.95), a sautéed chicken breast with prosciutto, sun-dried tomatoes, artichoke hearts and spinach, tossed with fresh egg fettuccine, finished with fontina cheese and a balsamic reduction. I love, love, love this dish (picture shown). Each time I have had it, it has been cooked perfectly and the fresh egg fettuccine is very good.