Tuckaway Tavern

The Tuckaway Tavern

And Butchery

56 Route 27

Raymond NH

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When I first heard of The Tuckaway Tavern, I was worried, places with alot of hype around them make me nervous, there comes with them a kind of pressure to like them, not only for what they do, but for those who tell you that you just have to try the place, or because you want to be fair, and not let down your followers, thats why I was abit scared to do this review at first, I found myself thinking "Is this place REALLY as good as the hype?", "Could it all be as good as it looks when they are on tv?", "Is there a downside I don't see?", "Are the rumors about the up to three hour wait times real? and if so, are they truly worth the wait time?", so many questions going through my head, but finally, I decided it was time to just dive in head first, and not be put off by the hype, the awards, and the pressure to do a good review. And I must tell you, in all honesty, I am so glad I did, because The Tuckaway Tavern is truly amazing. 

And by amazing, I really do mean, amazing, their pedigree is incredible, several best of awards given out by New Hampshire Magazine, Yankee Magazine, The Hippo Press, as well as local food programs The Phantom Gourmet and New Hampshire Chronicle, for both the restaurant, and the butcher shop they have attached to them. Yes, you read that right, they have a full service butcher shop attached to them, aside from being an food person's dream, what this means for you as a customer is, say you order some of their best in the state steak tips, and love them so much, you want to take them home to share with your friends, or want to piss off a vegetarian you know, or maybe some crazy shut in relative that you cook for sometimes, that means you can walk right from the restaurant where you just ate them, and buy however many pounds you wish to take home, and the quality is exactly the same, because their butcher shop, is their suppler of all things they make. So you can literally take home the exact same meal you just ate if you wish. Isn't that the greatest and craziest thing you've ever heard? Personally, I love it.

Now before I get into the food, I want to stress something I feel is important, the restaurant itself, is very small, I estimated at most, maybe 100 seats, maybe alittle more, and though that might sound like a good size, remember, with all the hype this place has, people are coming in groups of 4 to 6 and sometimes more, infact when I went, my mother and I were the only group under 4 people that I counted in the entire place, this means the place fills up fast, and there WILL BE A WAIT, infact, we got to the Tuckway almost an hour before they opened, were allowed inside the building about 30 minutes before they started serving, and we were the forth people on the list to get in, and by the time they started serving, there was a line out the door of people waiting to get seated, meaning people know to get there early if they don't want to wait, and from what i gather, yes, the rumors posted on facebook and twitter of up to three hour waits sometimes are infact true. But they do allow you to call ahead and reserve seating for whatever time you wish, and do their best to get you to your reserved table at the right time, but its truly a case of knowing that the wait if you don't get there early, is truly worth it. I can not stress enough though, even though the wait is well worth it, you really should either get there before they open so you're seated right at opening, or call ahead and get your spot for whatever time you want as quickly as you can, this is infact my one issue I could find with the entire establishment, but I guess thats the burden of success.

Now for the food, though I will admit their menu reads like a mad chef's fever dream of unique creations I'm pretty sure you can't get anywhere else, and their social media is riddled with one day only specials that are just as insane, I have to admit, after trying what we did, I would be abit more adventurous with their menu my next time back, though admittedly as new comers there, we stayed in the shallow end of the pool so to speak. We started out with a buffalo chicken dip and house made cajun style pita chips. What this basically is, in simple terms, is a chicken puree, or, for the more astute among you, chicken humus, though i found myself wishing it had come with some blue cheese to add to it on the side, this was phenomenal, I've never even dreamed that chicken could be made this way, and I really wanted more, the pita chips were great as well, some places add spices or salt them, Tuckaway just leaves them as they are to be enjoyed, I couldn't stop eating this, it was just great, and I can't wait to go back for more.

My mother had their Meatbal Melt, which is their homemade meatballs, served with homemade tomato sauce and provolone cheese between two of the most well toasted s;ices of garlic bread ever! The cheese melted perfectly into the sandwich and the meatballs just disintegrate in your mouth like a good meatball should, it could however have used abit more tomato sauce. It was served with what I must say had to be the freshest coleslaw I think either of us had ever had, I honestly think they made it right before bringing it out to us, it was that fresh and flavorful, not that kind of coleslaw thats still good, but you can tell has been sitting around for awhile, though i must admit, I kind of think that sort of thing would never happen at Tuckaway, I really doubt they'd let their standards get to that point. I had what is called The Whole Tucking Farm, or as some of you might know it, that last picture over this paragraph thats had you drooling as long as you've been reading this, The Whole Tucking Farm is as follows; a 1 pound freshly ground beef burger, with a fried chicken cutlet on top of that, as well as a thick cut slice of smoked bacon, all covered in cheddar cheese and what they call Tuck Sauce, which is sort of a thousand island meets a thin but flavorful vinaigrette style salad dressing. This monster was beyond words, along with the fresh cut fries, this thing will fill you up, but you will still want more, it has to be one of the greatest things i've ever eaten in my life, you get abit of everything in every bite, some beef, some chicken, some bacon, some cheese, the sauce thats just oozing all out of the burger, I really am struggling to find words that fit just how good this burger was, well aside from yelling "go put it in your stomach now!" over and over in a loud booming voice, which I could do, but it might make things abit awkward between us, and nobody wants that, so seriously if you make it out to Tuckaway Tavern, the whole tucking farm is a must try.

There isn't much else to tell about Tuckaway Tavern, the food was beyond amazing, the staff was fast, extremely polite and helpful, and the food came to us in maybe the fastest time I've ever had at a restaurant, this place truly is worth allof the hype its been given, and I strongly suggest making a trip there if you're in the area, and if my review hasn't convinced you, then allow that image of their meat counter in the butchery shop, and the picture of their signature lobster roll to help with that, by the way, though i do not eat seafood, I feel I should point out, on mondays and tuesdays, their gigantic lobster rolls are by one, get one free, just figured you seafood fans would like to know that. Anyway, why ar you still reading this, get in the car and get out to Tuckaway, its well worth the drive, and the wait.

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Chris

Vicuña Chocolate Cafe and Factory

Vicuña Chocolate Cafe and Factory

15 Main St.

Peterborough NH

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Afew days ago, i was sitting at home watching a local magazine style show that focuses on places and people all over my beloved granite state, when something caught my eye, now its not uncommon for them to feature things out here in my part of the state, we are after all an artistic and musical mecha of sorts, well for New Hampshire anyway, but this had nothing to do with that, this had to do with a local woman named Neely Cohen, all around titan in the pastry and chocolate world as well as a former winner on the Food Network program "Sweet Genius", who with a kickstarter campaign started Vicuña Chocolate Cafe and Factory in a small hole in the wall sized shop literally 4 minutes from where i live in Peterborough. Now, i do love my chocolate, blame my mom's love of dark chocolate for that, and i do love to share wonderful places to go or buy amazing things to eat, and the idea of one of these places literally being down the street from me pushed this place right to the front of my must see line. And oh my god am i glad i did that.

Now going in, I knew that this place was an everything made on properly type of location, their chocolate bars are made in house, their pastries are made in house as well, as is some of their more unique items, they are the only place in New Hampshire, and by a quick googling, one of the only places in the US, where you can sit in the cafe, and partake of an old world tradition that is starting to make a come back the world over, drinking chocolate, think of it like a purer form of hot chocolate or hot coco, they also are one of the only places I am aware of that offers a tea made from the husk of the Cocoa pod from which the beans used to make chocolate comes from, tea being a secret passion of mine, I'd never heard of this before, apparently its very healthy for you, which is nothing new, well atleast to the those in the know on the whole "dark chocolate is good for you" movement.

We went in first thing on a Sunday morning, before the crowds showed up, i like to do that, it gives you time to look around and really get a good look at the place. We met Neely the owner, who was very friendly and talkative, and incredibly knowledgeable about her craft, and when you look into her history with chocolate, which goes far beyond winning a competition show on Food Network, way beyond, she has actually picked cocoa pods at the very farm where she gets her supplies from. There is even a place in the cafe were you can watch the staff making the chocolate on property, they weren't working when we went in, but I would assume it gives the place a sort of magical Willy Wonka's Chocolate Factory like feel, but you know, with out a creepy boat ride through a tunnel or midgets that are forced to work there for asylum from the ravages of their homeland or any of the many unsafe dangers Wonka had on property. Honestly, if we had more time, i would have loved to sit and try their drinking chocolate, it smelled so very good, plus it seems like the kind of experience i need to have in life, sitting down, with a nice chocolate and coco nib brownie and having some drinking chocolate, sounds old timey, but awesome. My only real complaint about the cafe itself is it felt like it needed arm chairs, but i guess with their product the stains would be insane to clean. Oh well. Still a great place honestly.

 

As for their products, I mean thats why we're all interested in this anyway isn't it? They sell their in house made chocolate bars, chocolate chip and sea salt cookies, coco nib brownies, drinking chocolate, poor over coffee and cocoa husk tea. Now let me first tell you this, the coco nib brownies, are with out a doubt, the greatest brownie I have EVER had. They are moist and batter like inside, while still full of flavor from the nibs, and from the perfectly crispy outside, i seriously wanted to keep eating them till i couldn't handle putting anything else in my stomach, they were amazing, and honestly worth the drive to this place alone. The chocolate chip and sea salt cookies are just as amazing, a nice crisp bottom, a nicely golden browned top, with nothing but moist cookie dough like inside with giant chunks of chocolate, and just enough sea salt on the outside to make it taste amazing, i really wish she had these and the brownies in dozens, I'd go broke, but I really wish she did, it would be a gold mine. I honestly would love to go back for some of their drinking chocolate and husk tea, they seem incredibly good by the way they smelled from behind the counter. But really, you're all wondering about the chocolate bars themselves aren't you? They offer five kinds of chocolate bars, of which, they are made with bolivian dark chocolate, which is about 80% pure, too those that don't know, 80% pure is as close to pure chocolate as you will ever get, they mix the ground up coco beans that make the chocolate with only pure cane sugar grown not far from the cocoa beans themselves, which means you're getting a chocolate bar thats chocolate content is honestly possibly the most pure you will find anywhere in the world. As for their five flavors, they are pure chocolate, sea salt, yellow chili, coffee, and nib flavored, and now and then they make limited editions, when we went in, we got the last two of their honey and candied ginger bars, which btw, were like heaven in chocolate form. Seriously, you all need to try this stuff atleast once, its truly amazing, and ever so good, honestly there aren't enough words for how good the bars are, I am actually drooling abit wanting to go back for more while I type this, which really is something.

 

So the big question, is it all honestly worth it? Now I will say this, though the brownies and cookies were reasonably priced, between $3 to $4 per, which isn't all that bad, for the chocolate bars themelves, it is a case of paying extra for the high end quality, the fact there are only two things in the bars you are gonna pay for the purity, the bars are around $9.50 ot do per bar, which I am sure some of you just had a heart attack over, but honestly think about the quality of what you're getting, a chocolate bar that has only chocolate and pure cane sugar in it and is between 80% to 85% pure, which is about as pure as you can get with chocolate anywhere in the world, anywhere, and as most of you know, for that kind of quality, you do have to pay abit more for. So in the bigger picture its abit pricy, but you won't regret it, so its more of a not every weekend thing like the brownies or the cookies, but still a great treat. Honestly once you get to Vicuña and you try all they have, you won't be surprised why, though they are only open on weekends, and only in business sense last October, they've already been in Bon Appetit Magazine, New Hampshire Magazine, The Boston Globe, and many other publications both local, national and international. So if you're ever up around my little town in the middle of nowhere on a weekend, and you feel like trying something sweet and unique, then give Vicuña a try, honestly, you will fall in love, just as i did..... seriously i want one of their brownies like right now.... like RIGHT now.

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Chris

Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen

Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen

237 South St

Milford, NH

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I guess this week has become a rarity for me, more then one review in the same week, and more so, two of those reviews, are of the same kind of place, a lovely little out of the way burger joint in the middle of my lovely valley that most of my state doesn't know exists, btw, my third review will be probably tomorrow and something totally different, but anyway back to this. After my review of Local Burger afew days ago, I was pointed in the direction of a place that is literally a little roadside burger spot, its called Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen, and I figured with it not being to far away, and I never being one to pass up a burger, because, you know, being american, I would give this little out of the way spot a go. And my oh my am I glad that I did. I must admit through I was expecting traditional stuff you would find at a roadside diner, burgers, hot dogs, chicken, ect, i was not expecting to find such high quality and lovely versions of it.

Literally just off the highway in Milford New Hampshire, in what looks like a small house converted into a small diner with pretty ample outdoor seating, is a little place called Papa Joe's Humble Kitchen, at first, it looks kind of like you might be in the wrong place, or maybe you're in some kind of general store converted from a home, or some other crazy thing that you would see in a small town like this, believe me, up here, I've seen homes turned into many a crazy form of store or place to eat, I think its a new england thing honestly. When you walk in the door to Papa Joe's you notice first how small the place is, and though thats not really a deal breaker, I've had some of the best food i can think of in the smallest places along the side of the highway, and honestly, I kind of was digging the whole few small tables and a makeshift lunch counter with chairs and the open kitchen right there infront of you feel, there is something authentic and truly american about such places, and i kind of worry sometimes these kind of places to eat are dying out, which honestly would be a real shame.

The menu at Papa Joe's really isn't that large, afew specialty burgers, side from your standard fair of regular burgers, double burgers and bacon cheeseburgers, they also have "the taco burger" which is a burger seasoned with taco seasoning, and served with salsa, sour cream and cheese, "the oriental cowboy", which is a burger with teriyaki, wasabi ranch dressing, chinese noodles, and coleslaw, "the cardiac burger" which is a double burger with genoa salami, pepperjack cheese, onion rings, cheddar cheese, bacon, jalapenos, lettuce and creole mayo, and "The Spartan Burger", a cheeseburger covered in barbecue sauce, a hot dog, bacon, onion rings and lettuce. The Spartan is a burger created to celebrate the local high school basketball team won the state high school basketball championship. There are also burgers named after, what i am assuming are the owners kids, "Matt's Steakhouse Burger", with cheese, bacon, onion rings, and ranch dressing, and a "Kelsey Burger" which is basically a buffalo burger, oh and they have a veggie burger incase you know some prius driving hippie who doesn't really care for any kind of meat.

Their sides, though also not a large amount, are pretty awesome, aside from five kinds of french fries; regular, bacon and cheese, chili, buffalo and ranch, and cajun, style, they also offer sweet potato fries, onion rings, and poutine, that weird crazy canadian thing with gravy and cheese curds, they also offer both a regular and chili and cheese hot dog option, you can also get fried pickles, fried chicken tenders, a bowl of chili, a BLT, a grilled cheese, they also offer salads and afew cold sandwiches as well, if you're not up for the off the griddle stuff. They also have an incredibly large take home and catering menu, which you can order or buy at the diner itself, and though I didn't try any of these, so be able to fairy assess them, I will admit, i kind of wish afew of the things on those menus were available in the diner itself, all they seemed to be missing for a perfect menu for their kind of location was some chicken wings, shepard's pie, meatloaf, this creation of theirs called "chicken cobbler", and afew other things, as well as desserts, all of which were available in their expanded take home/catering menu, but to be fair, faulting them for such choices would be kind of silly and down right bitchy, but who knows, maybe they'll change these things down the road, time will tell right?

My mother, who once again joined me on this adventure in stomach filling, ordered The Spartan and a small order of onion rings, I ordered the Bacon Cheeseburger with pickles, some chicken tenders and the bacon and cheese fries, unaware that the chicken tenders came on a bed of fries, which was ok, it allowed us to try two different kind of fries as well as the onion rings, we each got a diet coke and sat down and watched the awesome show that is cooking in a small roadside eatery like this. The cook and his two children, who i am assuming were the other workers were amazing in what they did, one kept prepping, the other worked the counter and prepped, and as is the normal main attraction at such an establishment, the cook went to work. I wasn't paying total attention to what he was doing, but i gotta tell you, this guy is amazing at what he does, he seasons the burgers with, what I am guessing, is a form of steakhouse spice rub, or maybe one of the many dry rub barbecue mixes out there, whatever it was gave the burgers the perfect mix of griddle and almost a smokey like flavoring, its like I've said before, its all about the seasoning when it comes to using fresh beef vs. prepackaged, and you can tell how much a cook cares by how well a burger is seasoned, sometimes they go overboard, and thats ok, but this time, not the case, perfect, with just the right amount of grease to give it that true "side of the highway" feel, honestly thats something you can't bottle, you have it, or you don't. the bacon was a nice middle ground, crispy and flavorful, but not to crunchy, and not all the fat cooked out, honestly thats the best way you can cook bacon. On The Spartan, the odd addition of the butterflied hot dog makes the burger a whole new thing, as it was said, its like going to a cook out and having everything all at once, so much so, i apparently need to try it myself when we go back again. The sides, honestly were perfect, the fries were light and crispy, often times in this kind of diner you find the fries are just heavy lead like balls of grease, and when you add the cheese and bacon, they just become magically good, though they use pre-melted cheese, or as a friend overseas calls it "vat cheese", thats fine, normally cheese wouldn't give you the same flavor or texture, plus its real chopped up bacon, which kind of makes up for it. The Onion Rings were pretty light and crunchy, also made on properly, i am rather picky about my onion rings, i like mine with thin slices of onion, these were alittle thick for me, but my mom liked them, infact she couldn't keep stop eating them till she forced herself too, always a good sign when that happens. The chicken was also pretty amazing, nicely cooked inside and out, crispy outside fluffy light inside, nice and tasty, I wasn't aware they came with fries, which is something they might wanna tell you on the menu, but as i said before, that was just a welcome surprise. Honestly the food was pretty damn good, specially for a place that looks like it was made out of someone's grandparents house.

So I guess the big question is, if you're driving by this little roadside, and you are feeling abit hungry, should you stop in and have a bite, or drive about 5 minutes south and into the center of Milford where there are some award winning places to eat all in one large circle, well the answer is simply, YES. See, lovely little hole in the walls like this are a dying breed here in america, oh sure there are those that are surviving and doing well, and you see them on local, regional or national television, but these small ones that don't really have big followings, or that many aren't aware of, are dying out. And honestly, the food here is far too good to let fade, sure I don't see Papa Joe's going away anytime soon, but its what it represents, the small place carving out a small niche of space in a landscape littered with fast food that barely serves meat, and doing it for the love of cooking good food for those that love to eat it. And to be honest with you, I can't wait to go back to Papa Joe's, the food, the places to eat, both indoor and out, are such a great location, and its actually a pretty good value too, honestly, if you're up for a drive into the country, where the air is fresh and clear and you can eat some lovely food in a lovely country setting, you should GPS Papa Joe's and give it a try. You will love it. I know I sure did. Oh and if you plan on coming back, get the free burger club card, for every tenth burger you order, you get one free, so if you have kids, that kind of is a great idea... 



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Chris


 

Local Burger

Local Burger

82 Main Street, Railroad Square 

Keene, NH

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I will let you all in on a secret, no matter how hard I might try and hide it by making it sound like i know my stuff about fancy foods and tons of homemade things, deep down, like every all american man, i am a burger guy. i know, shock right? Now when i go out for a burger, though I shamefully admit i have a weakness for a burger king bacon double cheeseburger, most of the time, i would rather go somewhere, abit upper scale, or that is atleast actually made of beef. And though that quest has taken me to many a local burger joint, its only recently taken me to a place, literally called, Local Burger. No, seriously thats its name, and i personally think its brilliant.

 

Located in the heart of Railroad Square in Keene, New Hampshire, is the second location for, what i am assuming is an attempt to expand into a regional chain, with their flagship location being located in downtown Northampton Mass. Local Burger is trying to be, as best i can tell, a somewhat more organic option to those that would wanna go to a higher end burger place like a Five Guys or one of those other higher end chains that are starting to spread out all over the united states. Local boasts locally raised grass fed beef as one of their choices of burger you can get, as well as one from the upper end of the Angus grading scale, though between you and me, i still kind of think the angus grading scale is nothing more then a marketing buzz term, but I digress, they also offer a turkey burger if you're not into beef, as well as a portabello mushroom made burger, and an all beef hot dog, cuz, why not? From these few choices, you can build your burger, or turkey burger or hot dog, or mushroom they're making to think for some reason is a burger even though it will always be nothing more then a horrible horrible mushroom all its life, sadly each topping you add costs a small amount to put on, which i assume is where they "get ya" as people say. but to be fair they do offer a pretty good amount of toppings for a small place, and they aren't all that badly priced per extra, but honestly, I don't like the idea of having to pay afew cents extra for barbecue sauce on my burger when Ketchup is free on the tables, that seems kind of redundant to me.

One of the saving graces of Local Burger though, is their "House Favorites" which is where i am assuming most of their orders come from, as well as their sides, I will get into the sides in alittle bit, but for now, lets have a look at the "House Favorites", again, its a small number of choices, but honestly, they're pretty damn amazing, atleast what we had on our trip in, there is "The Westhampton Burger", which is basically a bacon cheeseburger but with barbecue sauce on the bottom and ranch dressing on the top, in a surprising turn, they've brought the St. Louis staple of the "Juicy Lucy" here, for those that don't know what that is, its a double cheeseburger, fused into one, with the cheese in the middle, its tricky to make because the cheese must be perfectly melted so it oozes when you bite into it, the company's signature burger the "local burger" which is a double bacon cheeseburger with mushrooms and red peppers, both me and my mother who accompanied me on this visit are deathly allergic to mushrooms, so we kind of avoided that and the "amherst burger", which is a portabello mushroom burger, others include the "farmhouse turkey burger", which is a turkey burger with cheese, bacon, and some creation called honey dijon maple mayo, which sounds just amazingly good all things considered, a teriyaki burger which is a regular burger but with a spice of pineapple and teriyaki sauce, a southwestern burger which is just cheese and chili peppers, and because why not give us a curveball, a hot dog coated in Cap'n Crunch cereal and fried, then covered in buffalo sauce and blue cheese dressing, because, you know, when you aim at college kids in a college town, hang over food is a must.

For our burgers, I had the westhampton burger, medium rare as a burger should be, the bacon was awesomely cooked, the burger was perfectly seasoned, the roll was even nice and hearty, I like when a place puts that kind of detail into their work, a bun is important even if most don't think its just there, it shows the care they put into putting together their menu, which is always a plus with me, the burger was seasoned great, my guess is salt, pepper, garlic powder, onion powder on each side as it cooks, honestly it was one of the best burgers I've had in months. My mother, who joined me on this adventure into foodery had the Juicy Lucy, having seen it many times on various tv shows and feeling happy the weekly special wasn't a kangaroo burger (I'll explain later), she got hers with just pickles and a tomato, cuz well thats how she was feeling like rolling today I guess, honestly, watching the cheese ooze out of that stuffed burger and pool in the basket it came in, truly was a thing of beauty, I was actually kind of jealous, well till she broke off a bit and told me i had to try it, this was my first experience with the juicy lucy, and it surely will not be my last, something about the mixing of the burger and the cheese being cooked inside the meat that just makes it so much better, honestly if you ever get a chance to try this thing, do not pass it up, you will regret it.

To go with our burgers we figured we would try some of the sides, their sides, like the burgers aren't very large in number, but thats alright, a small menu keeps a kitchen pretty much ontrack, their sides are truly where their uniqueness shines i think, they consist of; Handcut French Fries, Handcut Sweet Potato Fries served with maple mayo, Beer Battered Onion Rings with spicy ketchup, Fried Pickles with ranch dressing, Cap'n Crunch coated chicken tenders with a choice of afew different sauces either on them or to dip in, and buffalo blu cheese fries, which as you can guess are fries, covered in buffalo and blu cheese sauces. To try and get a good feel of the menu, we tried the regular fries, because a burger joint has to have good fries, the fried pickles, because my mother had never had them before, and the cap'n crunch coated chicken tenders with some honey barbecue sauce on the side, because, seriously how can you not try something like that if its on the menu? Its like begging you to try them. The fries were excellent, they weren't to crispy, and they weren't too soggy, they were seasoned perfectly and really were addictive, but they were no where near as addictive as the chicken tenders though, honestly, us here in the New England region are aware of a certain television food show that uses the term "a dish worth driving too", honestly, i would rive the half hour to Keene just for these tenders, i had no idea grounding up Cap'n Crunch cereal and coating fresh cut chicken tenders with it, then frying them would change the texture and the flavoring so much! but it did! in a good way! I honestly would go back just for that one side alone. Sadly through, the fried pickles, I could not say the same for, they have the same problem that i find most places that make their own pickles have, they can't properly give the pickle the several months it needs to fully transform into a pickle, they always leave them for only afew days, which though it gives you a nice crunchy pickle, doesn't really give you much more flavor then one bite, and afterwards all you taste is cucumber, Local Burger's fried pickles are no different, you get enough pickle taste in your first bite to know what you're eating, then you find yourself not really excited to take the next cucumbery bite because its just to bland, added to the fact they coat them weirdly, I at first thought they used the same cereal they use for the hot dog and the chicken, but I was wrong, this stuff tasted like a mix of flour and sand, but mostly sand, it was very mealy, gritty and lacking any kind of seasoning to compliment or enhance the fried pickle within, honestly, I've never been one to take three of something out of a full order then toss it, but we had no choice, both of us agreed they weren't worth it. Lucky though for Local Burger, that the rest of what we tried of theirs was beyond stellar, it was truly a great meal, and honestly, for two specialty burgers and afew sides, and drinks, coming in at alittle under $40.oo total wasn't all that bad in the bigger picture, and more importantly, when we left, we left happy, not feeling too full or bloated or heavy like sometimes happens at places of this type, I think thats a great sign. Another thing i should mention, though we didn't try the weekly special, this week a burger called "The Twisted Sister", which is a burger with peanut butter, jelly, bacon and sriracha hot sauce on it, if you do alittle looking, you'll see that they have some amazing weekly specials, sometimes even using more exotic meats like Kangaroo and Caribou among other crazy things and crazy combinations, the idea of which really makes me wanna go back soon!

Over all, I would say we had an exceptional time, sure there were afew things that weren't all that good, the things i mentioned, and i could maybe nitpick that the drinks are no larger then a medium at best, but you do get unlimited free refills, so i guess that balances it out, and that the cook times seemed abit long, but,we also were their first customers of the day when they opened today, so maybe that needed alittle time to heat the cooking stuff? I could do that, but honestly, i'd be just looking to find things wrong with a place that is truly a hidden jem amist the rest of the food places in the Railroad Square area of Keene, which is not only the heart of downtown Keene, but where the local state college's main campus is located as well, as you can see by my outdoor shots i made sure to include, the location is killer, right on a main road, you've got a giant common area right next door that during the summer, well on days that aren't raining, are filled with anything from street performers to weird protesters, they also have outdoor seating right there along the main drag under those beautiful trees, seriously there are to many things perfect about this place, honestly if you can, you should take a drive up to Keene and have a look, though i will admit, parking is a pain, but if you don't mind a walk down an old timey main street full of shops and places to eat, there are many parking lots and parking garages along the way, so, make a day of it if you aren't from the area, honestly you wouldn't regret it one bit.

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Chris

Kimball's Farm

Kimball's Farm

158 Turnpike Road (Rt. 124)
Jaffrey, NH

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This is more of a love letter to a family favorite location, and a local tradition, then a review if I am being honest, and i feel thats ok, because sometimes it can't just be about the fancy places to go and have a sit down meal, sometimes things can be about a family that owns 4 dairy farms through out southern New Hampshire and Northern Western Massachusetts, and how once you try it, you will never want ice cream from anywhere else, ever again, because truly, you've found the best there ever has been, and you refuse to subjugate yourself to a lower form of the product. Yes, before you laugh in disbelief, Kimball's Farm ice cream is truly THAT good.

I wrote this because today, for the first time in what seems like well over a decade, my mom and I ventured out to Kimball's Ice Cream, which its attached small time grill and general store, we had gone here most of my life as a child, making the drive from Lowell MA. atleast few times a year, either to the Jaffery one, which is near where i live now, and where the pictures are of, or the location in Westford MA, which i think is the original location. For a city kid like me, it was always a treat, where we were pretty much left with the only choices of ice cream being Dairy Queen, a Frosty from Wendy's, or those trucks that drove around selling ice cream sandwiches and the like, Now thats not to say there is anything wrong with places like Dairy Queen and the like, but you can't get an oreo sundae thats just covered in home made still hot when you get it hot fudge and whipped cream freshly made that day at your local DQ, no matter how hard you wish it to be true. Believe me, I've tried.

What makes Kimball's stand out, isn't really the unique home made ice cream or any of the other things you can get there, for me, its the memories, the drive out there, the whole time wondering what flavor you were gonna get out of the many they have available, if you're gonna get a sundae with cookies and cream, or one with peanut butter chocolate chip, or are you gonna go out in left field and get a bubble gum flavor in a waffle cone, you know, to be different, so many choices, so many to even think, and it was that whole feel, that memory that always brings you back to your childhood. Very few places can do that sort of thing to me, maybe i'll do a series on them, where I go back to places I used to go all the time as a kid but not so much as an adult for one reason or another, "Childhood Favorites" or something like that? I'll think of a name, I'm a creative raggle taggle gypsy if there ever was one.

For those that are wondering what we got, my mother got a hot fudge sundae with peanut butter swirl ice cream, my mom's ice cream weakness is anything with peanut butter in it for anyone thats wondering, and I had what I referenced earlier, a hot fudge sundae with Oreo ice cream and nuts ontop, I should have asked for chocolate sprinkles, or "jimmies" as we call them regionally, but the girl waiting on us was kind of dimwitted and I really didn't wanna make her think to hard, seemed like a nice girl aside from that, and aside from a plastic napkin dispenser attacking my mom randomly, we had a pretty good time, and plan on going back soon, so until then, enjoy these two extra pictures of the scenery...

Truly is a lovely place isn't it? In the middle of those rolling fields and pastures, you'd never guess that right behind this place is the old Jaffery Airport where we used to have epic firework shows, would you? lol It just adds to the charm really. Honestly if you're near by, and want a nice out of the way place thats just so wonderful and such a part of the town its in, and surrounding areas, then come on up to the Jaffery location, or if you're near one of the family's other three locations, hit them up too, honestly you can't go wrong. 

Well thank you all for sticking with me for this little ramble down memory lane, I'll be back with real reviews really soon.

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Chris

Michelle's Gourmet Popcorn

Michelle's Gourmet Popcorn

Michele's Sweet Shoppe, Epsom, NH

Michelle's Sweet Shoppe

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As you all know by now, I, and those who guest review for me as well, have an endearing love for local products, local businesses, and ofcourse local food. As a lover of popcorn, you can imagine how excited I was to discover that there was not only a local company that made popcorn, but infact they're a very big deal when it comes to the popcorn business, winning not only best in New Hampshire several times in their few years in business, but also being a favorite of hollywood red carpets and award shows, many of which include their product in the swag bags given away at such events. I was elated to discover this, and even more excited when one day I discovered that my butcher shop, The Meat House, which I have spoken of here before, was one of the places you can buy Michelle's products, which I happily started buying and trying their many different flavors sold there.

Michelle's Popcorn comes in 25 regular flavors with anywhere between two to four seasonal flavors as well as a special limited run of a special Christmas flavor available only in December. They vary in flavors from the common flavors like Carmel, White Cheddar, Salt and Vinegar, Nacho Cheese, Chocolate, and the like, to more creative and distinctively regional flavors like New England Maple, which is a carmel and maple flavored popcorn, and the new england stand by Moose Tracks, a sort of chocolate, carmel and peanut butter combination that is found in everything from ice cream flavors to chocolate bars here, they also have some interesting flavors i've never come across anywhere else, flavors like pizza, ranch, garlic and rosemary, peanut butter, apple, cinnamon sugar, and many others that just sound like the kind of thing you have to try or you'll feel abit like there is a hole in your life. 

Though I've tried many of their flavors, I can tell you, my favorite is by far their classic carmel flavor, sure its simple, and its like getting chocolate or vanilla in an ice cream shop with dozens of flavors, but I like the classic stand bys, something comforting and homely about them. Though I do admit their dark chocolate and their peanut butter cup are amazingly good, as is their cookies and cream, though if i am to be honest, these aren't the kind of thing you can eat in one setting, the chocolate they use is so excellent but its also so rich and sweet that you really can't have it all in one setting, well atleast I can't, but that is by no means a negative thing, and i will admit their Nacho Cheese flavor really isn't all that good, personally I felt it tasted a tad stale, but I assume that might also be just the bag I got, so I can't really hold that against them, or their otherwise stellar popcorn that I tend to go abit crazy for when I can get it.

My only real complaint, if I have one at all, is that you can't get all their flavors at all of the places they sell their product outside of the home store in Epsom, and though I can order the flavors i can't normally find, I think their shipping rates, for something that will only be traveling about an hour and 20 minutes, is abit expensive, but thats a personal gripe not really anything about the company themselves. As a whole I am very impressed with their products, and really should make a trip to their home store and pick up some of their other products, after all I am a sucker for fudge covered oreos and home made peanut butter cups.

So if you happen to see some Michelle's in one of their many locations they sell at, or if you're outside of New England and wanna try this lovely local treat, and order it over the internet, pick your flavor carefully, and then try not to go crazy waiting for the package to arrive, you will not be disappointed, its truly something special. So much so, infact, when I recently shipped out some sauces i made to some friends around the world, I included a bag of Michelle's Carmel popcorn as a surprise, which I was told was a very welcome one indeed.

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Chris