Las Olas Taqueria

30 Portsmouth Ave.
Exeter, N.H.

I have become quite a fan of Las Olas Taqueria's "Clean Wave of Eating". Opened by Matt Burke in January 2008, this little joint has fresh Mexican food with a great taste and quite the local following. The restaurant is set up cafeteria style and your meal items are made to order right in front of you as you slide down the line. The service has been consistently fast, neat and friendly. The decor is vibrant and gives you a bit of a tropical feeling. It's a place that you might expect to come across in South Beach, FL, but is a welcomed surprise in Exeter, N.H.. All the ingredients according to Matt are prepared fresh daily and he tries to incorporate local meats into the menu where possible. It's opened daily for lunch and dinner and the prices are right for families to feel good about going and not breaking the bank. If you are in the Exeter area, it's definitely worth checking out. I find the portions to be more than enough and my favorite dish is their Vegetarian Burrito with black beans ($5.90). They also serve up salads, tacos, quesadillas, bowl meals and have specials posted on a regular basis. Sometimes I will treat myself to an order of their fried plantains which are often available as a side dish. I wish I could find these more readily available on the Seacoast, they are one of my favorite treats! The food is simple and fresh, making it very easy to be consistently a good restaurant to visit for lunch or dinner. Just look for the Palm Tree sign at the end of 108 and I hope that you enjoy this little Mexican oasis as much as my friends and I do.

Wentworth Hotel-Bubbles & Jazz Sunday Brunch

The Sunday Brunch at the Wentworth Marriott Hotel in Newcastle, N.H. is THE BEST available on the Seacoast. It will set you back about $40 per person, but it is sooooo worth it. They have a jazz duo that plays each afternoon while the brunch is served from 10am to 2pm. The price of the Brunch includes all you can drink Mimosa's and/or Champagne. The buffet spread includes breakfast pastries, rolls, a cold plate station which has salad options, shrimp and oysters on the half shell, soup, an omelet/egg station, several hot lunch entree selections as well as breakfast choices that include meats and sometimes stuffed french toast or banana fritters, a carving station (usually 2 choices), Chef Jon is usually manning the hot interactive cooking station and always has something really delicious for you to try (from Lobster Raviolis to Mahi-Mahi with a pineapple chutney)! I can't leave out the dessert table which always has tasty little treats to choose from (I'm a huge fan of the chocolate covered strawberries which seem to be a staple thank goodness!) and the portions are small almost bite size on most so you don't feel bad trying a couple different sweets!

I have been attending the Sunday Brunch at the Wentworth for a number of years and although I have checked out alternatives to compare it to, there just hasn't been anything that has beat this one. I have been to several that are menu Brunches, but I think those those lack the luster that a well put together buffet brunch offers. I have also attended the Wentworth for a number of holiday brunches over the years (instead of cooking at home with a small family) and they go all out with the decorations and the food selections. The staff is attentive and very friendly, the spacious ball room is always beautifully decorated and the jazz music sets the tone for a leisure afternoon well spent in the company of friends and or family. Since this best brunch on the N.H. Seacoast is at a hotel, I like that you can feel relaxed enough to either dress up a little or go casual and comfortable. If you feel you need to take a nice walk after your brunch, feel free to walk the grounds of the hotel. There is a nice walkway that goes around the front side of the property as well as the docks that you can stroll in season while checking out the yachts that are in.

I have never been disappointed in the service or the wonderful selection of food that tempts me at the Wentworth Brunch and if you plan on making a reservation to check it out yourself, make sure you say hello to Chef Jon for me!

ZAMPA- Epping, NH

www.Zampa.com
The interesting thing about Zampa I think is you don't really expect it. Not where it is, or what it looks like from the outside. When I first dined at Zampa a few years back, it was like I discovered something that only a few people in the know knew about. The menu does change (although it keeps a few staple dishes) and is created by chef and owner Julie Di Tursi and the Sous Chef, Alex Thomas. They try to use mostly local products and organically fed and sustainably raised meats, fish and dairy. I have dined here for several years and I have only been disappointed once in my experiences and it just so happened to be this latest visit to Zampa that was the disappointment. It happens, you can't win them all right?
We sat at one of the high tables next to the bar for dinner. I ordered a glass of Vina Los Robles Pinot Nior ( I know, ME ordered RED wine, unheard of!). The bar at Zampa is cute and seats only 6. Most that take a seat at it are waiting for a table. The restaurant is small and cozy. It is decorated simply with red walls, green trim and the tables are sparse and have tiled tabletops.
Instead of serving a bread basket, here at Zampa they serve a stash of bread sticks with a chipolte aioli. It's a nice change of pace I think. The food here is all cooked to order so before you go, know that you shouldn't be in a rush. I started off with The Roasted Beet Salad ($7.95) which is baby greens, roasted beets, grilled onion, blue cheese, toasted hazelnuts and has a sweet ginger vinaigrette. the salad is BIG so worth the almost $8 i think. The toasted hazelnuts was a nice change too from candied pecans which most restaurants serve. My dining partner ordered the Lavender Honey Spare Ribs ($8.95). These baby back pork ribs with a rosemary-lavender honey glaze are really tasty. Another good appetizer is their Arancina ($7.95). Tonight I ventured off of the menu and went with a Special dish, the Salmon Wellington ($19.95). It was a large serving of Atlantic Salmon with dill and mushrooms wrapped in a puff pastry served with mashed potatoes and a creamed cabbage. It was...Eh. My expectation was high and not met. It was a little too fishy tasting and I thought the salmon could have been wrapped with some more flavor than what it had. I was a little bummed. It seriously was the first time I have been to Zampa and was disappointed. My date had their homemade veggie burger ($8.95) and although it is small (so don't go thinking a regular burger, think more of a slightly large slider), I order it from time to time because I really like the flavor. Its a homemade patty of roasted mushrooms, seasonal veggies and is served with a scallion aioli. Other current menu selections that I can say I have had and enjoyed are their Eggplant Parmesan ($16.95), homemade Fettuccine & meatballs (15.95) and teh Half Roasted Chicken ($18.95).
Our server Sarah was a little off this time, but maybe it was because she assumed a slow night and it became quite busy, quite fast.
Since Zampa is a small restaurant, I highly recommend you call for reservations Thurs, Fri and Sat nights. You should be fine walking in earlier in the week. Although, this last visit was "ho-hum" I won't give up on Zampa and I invite you to try it for yourself and see what you think.

Black Trumpet Bistro

http://www.blacktrumpetbistro.com/

29 Ceres St.

Portsmouth, NH

Owned since March 2007 by Chef Evan Mellett and his wife Denise, the Black Trumpet is a hidden gem on Ceres St. in Portsmouth.

Taking advantage of available seating in the upstairs wine bar, I was excited about dining at the Black Trumpet. We were greeted immediately and our waitress promptly arrived at our table with our menus and the extensive wine list. Shocker, I ordered a glass of Cabernet and my friend Kristin enjoyed a glass of pinot grigio while we read over the menu. I decided to mix it up a bit tonight and started off with an order of their Stuffed Grape Leaves with pomegranate youhurt ($6). Kristin decided she was going to go for that too. We really enjoyed these flavorful little dishes! The pomegranate youhurt served with them was a unique and different flavor combination, but really enjoyable. Very creative and full of flavor. Next, I went with the Chef’s Meze Plate: a daily assortment of three little dishes in one ($13). Tonight's meze plate consisted of veal saltimbocca, a bamboo rice encrusted sea scallop and a puree of white beans, with garlic and ginger. I thought the large sea scallop was perfectly prepared, the veal saltimbocca was also perfectly cooked and had a wonderful richness to it. I wasn't a big fan of the white bean puree though. It was bland (even though you could definitely taste the ginger) and lacked that extra zing. We finished off our food adventure at the Black Trumpet with their Cheese plate of: Pont l’Évêque – France – Pasteurized cow’s milk, ripe and fragrant, supple and creamy. Paired with Meyer lemon pomegranate syrup. ($11) it was accompanied with sliced crostinis. I am a huge cheese fan (cheese, wine and chocolate, anytime, anywhere!) and love to have the opportunity to try new cheeses while dining out. I like how theirs is served on a slate cheese board with the cheese name written across it in chalk. This was for me the perfect way to finish our meal. Although we glanced at the dessert menu and it all sounded great, we were full and ready to head back out for some more Christmas shopping in downtown. I will have to remember to save room next visit for some dessert. Here is where I need to mention my friend Kristin's love of the fresh Artisan Breads that the Black Trumpet serves. She also wants me to say that they are not stingy with serving it and even giving you more when you finish the first batch. The butter was blended with black sesame seeds and herbs and had a really nice rich flavor to it. Kristin was a crazy person eating the bread, but she didn't care and made mention she will go back just for more! ha ha ha! Our waitress was friendly and really knew the menu well, the overall service with everyone making sure your water glasses stayed full and you were being taken care of was great. It's nice to be able to get out somewhere and really enjoy the food, the atmosphere and the service. The restaurant location has a great feel of history to it and is decorated simply with warm colors and low lighting. I think the wine bar is great to go with friends and the seating in the dining room downstairs screams GREAT DATE place! I strongly recommend you call for reservations since seating is limited. We were winging it and lucked out with getting a table in the wine bar quickly when we arrived. Everything is made in house and they strive to use local, fresh ingredients.

I would like to note that the Black Trumpet is currently offering a Stimulus Package Sunday-Thursday nights. For only $19 you will have an opportunity to enjoy a 3 course meal consisting of a soup or salad, a light entree or open faced sandwich and a dessert. The menu will change often so I definitely think you should give it a try at such a great price!

Pimentos-Exeter, NH

Last night I was out and about the Exeter area with a friend of mine. We were done work for the day and wanted to shoot downtown for a drink or two. We went to the downstairs lounge at Pimentos at 69 Water St. I like the lounge here. It has a nice feel to it and the drinks are average in price. We got a high table top and decided we were going to share a lite bite while chatting and catching up with each other. Our waitress suggested the stuffed dumplings. She said that they use to have pumpkin ones that were delicious and now had new ones on the menu that were artichoke and baby spinach stuffed dumplings with a goat cheese sauce. I figured we would give it a whirl. I drank my glass of house Cabernet and my friend drank a glass of Blue Moon (bottle, not on draft). OK, let me ask you this, picture in your mind what you think DUMPLINGS should look like....you see them? OK, our waitress brings this plate over of 4 very small, very flat ravioli looking things that are covered in the goat cheese sauce. First thing out of my friends mouth was "those are NOT dumplings!" I was puzzled myself, but we each tried one. They weren't anything to write home about, that was for sure. The goat cheese sauce was very bland and didn't really have that goat cheese bite you often taste when it's a sauce. Four tiny, thin raviolis for $9.00....WHAT? Are you serious? The regular dinner menu at Pimentos has some nice sounding dishes on it, but I think they are overpriced. Exeter didn't need a wanna be fine dining restaurant, they need some place reasonably priced with good food to keep the people coming back. The upstairs dining room was empty and including us there were 5 others in the downstairs lounge. Our waitress came over to clear our plates and asked us what we thought of the dumplings and I told her I didn't think they were much like dumplings at all and that they had no real flavor to them. She still stuck with her story that the pumpkin ones were really good, but that maybe she shouldn't be recommending these new artichoke and baby spinach ones. A few minutes later when she brought the check, she said "I stuck my finger in your sauce on the plate when I took it and I agree, the sauce was really bland." That was interesting. We finished our drinks, paid and left. I will go back to Pimentos downstairs lounge again, but only to have drinks. I will pass on the lite bites next time. I think maybe they are overshooting here with the menu. Guess time will tell how business does for this new joint.
UPDATE OF PIMENTOS-3.14.09- I'm done with this place. I have been back 3 times since I wrote up the review and last night was the last attempt to see what others like about this restaurant. As soon as my friend and I sat down (downstairs at one of the high tables in the lounge area), the waitress came over to let us know that they are out of ALL chicken dishes and sandwiches, the haddock sandwich and the steak tips. I asked her how is that possible for a Friday night? She said they were busy Thursday night and didn't get any of those items back in for the weekend. I ordered Malbec and for dinner had the steak baguette (the waitress recommended this) that came with their pomme frites. The meat was fatty and the pomme frites were really oily. I didn't finish my meal because I was full....of disappointment once again! My friend was hungry and liked the hamburger she ordered. I asked about desserts, but was informed the kitchen was closing so if I wanted something I should decide quick (it was almost 10), I passed. When I was brought my 2ND glass of wine, it was full of cork pieces. I drink a lot of wine (don't take that the wrong way, ha ha ha) and I wasn't going to drink this glass. I asked nicely for a new glass of Malbec and watched our waitress bring it over to the bartender. The bartender looked at it and then looked at me with one of those looks like tells you she really doesn't care about the cork in your wine and was bothered that she had to repour. When the waitress returned with it, she asked if she could bring us our check because she wanted to go home for the night and that the bartender would pick up our table. We cashed her out and although we were there for about another 45mins, no one ever came back to our table to check on us or ask if we wanted anything else. I guess because the bartender was busy hanging out at the bar serving one of the owners, a few other workers off the clock and a couple of friends. Bye Pimentos, good luck.