Review #4: Stages at One Washington

2 May 2019

My upper New England trip began badly the night before, as I kicked my bedframe extremely hard. Ugh…when I woke up I found myself barely able to walk, dried blood all over my foot. Damn, this was a bad one, and I had to get to the airport. I ended up taking a Lyft there instead of going by Metro as the stupid construction entailed a detour around the block, and I wasn’t gonna risk causing more foot damage…

I flew into Portland and limped to my rental car and headed out. I made a few stops in town, which really tested my foot at times… But that was rewarded by a stop at Salvage BBQ, where I grabbed some excellent ‘cue to go; this will be chronicled in a future posting. I then headed south, making a few stops, before I arrived in Dover, New Hampshire just across the border.

My readers and food afficionados will know exactly where I’m headed this evening, back to the fabulous Stages at One Washington. My favourite restaurant in North America, headed by Evan Hennessey, one of my favourite chefs in the world. His cooking has become so incredibly good it’s a crime that so few people have visited Dover for his wizardry. Though at times I fear once this place is discovered by the “50 Best” chasers it will join that list, and this quaint little place would become something else.

I limped the long way downhill from my hotel to the One Washington complex, arrived and was seated at the counter. Stages is about as close to a North American version of a kappo kaiseki as you can get, and tonight was just Chef Hennessey and his guests. No support staff, just him running the tasting menu, pouring wines, doing dishes, etc…like the first time I came here (although he’s not running 3 different tasting menus at once!). It’s good to be back, and soon the dining experience began…

Chef Hennessey is already hard at work when he greeted me, and he poured the water and wine and got back to finishing the first course of the evening…

We start with a bit of a shock to the system, the acidic hit on this herbal dish is really strong. But unlike so many Copenhagen-influenced places, the acid here recedes very quickly, and works extremely well with the maple smoked dill. The turnip worked well also, and strangely the dill oil reacted in a very noticeable way with the Italian white that was paired. A nice palate opener for sure, and acid is all but gone. This is what the Copenhagen school-of-acid should really learn to do, not have it linger and ruin the taste of everything else…

Next up is a dish based on the humble rutabaga, which was excellent, being drawn out so well by the miso made from chickpeas. The black garlic sauce really helps integrate the butternut into the dish too. Excellent stuff again. Then with a switch in wine to France, we have the oyster dish.

The oyster, a rare non-New Hampshire-sourced item (it’s from nearby New Brunswick), was cooked in goose fat, which brought an extra dimension here. The urchin emulsion didn’t really work for me here, and honestly this was the weaker dish of the night, all a bit disjointed. A rare miss. Next up, scallop.

They had been finished on birch bark, and it really shows. Lovely smoke here bringing out the sweetness of the scallop. I thought the Faroe Islands have ruined me for scallops, but this was darn good. And the use of the ginger oil and kombucha with the fermented carrots was something very new for me, as it created a strange, almost in-your-face tropical flavour. Wow, I was gobsmacked by how this turned out. And some foraged orpine as well, to round things out. This is exactly why I love Chef Hennessey’s cooking!

Next up is one of Chef Hennessey’s specialties, the duck… And of course I was so looking forward to it I forgot to photo it…oops, my bad. But the dish is spectacular, the duck from a white pekin, cooked absolutely perfect. An interesting take is that it rested on a bed of celeriac porridge, which worked very well. A fabulous dish, so sorry about the photo fail here!

Following that, I was sure not to miss the photo for the beef dish. Chef Hennessey has put beef on the menu for the first time recently, using an older Irish Dexter from his local trusted farm. Beautiful short rib, cooked for 3 days to get to this amazing texture and flavour. With some gnocchi and ramps and chestnut mushrooms, we have a total winner of a dish here. Wow…

I was a little sad that the savouries were essentially over, but was also in full anticipation of the “cheese” course, as Chef Hennessey is always extremely creative with them. And tonight it’s no exception…

Wow…this beautiful dish is actually centred around a locally-produced blue cheese, with a very deep and strong flavour. All of that is tempered by the visually-stunning yolk, but balanced mostly by the amazing local maple syrup. I can eat about 5 plates of this! You really need to eat this in concert of all the parts, as each of them — especially the cheese and maple — is extremely powerful and perhaps too powerful on their own. But together? Wow…

That blew me away. Excellent dish as we transition into the dessert segment. The main dessert today is based on beets…

A nice item with frozen yoghurt and beets and violet, with a touch of salt. A dessert that’s not running on sweet, this is how I like it. A nice cool item when all mixed together. And finally, the last item — which Chef Hennessey is preparing with extra care — is presented…

Yep, it’s milk and cookies, specifically his daughter Emma’s cookies. Some fabulous chocolate here in the delicious cookies, working so well with the “milk” that is infused with lavender and rich with cream. And strangely, both elements worked super well with the mid-level tokaji that was poured as a pairing. Wow, this is one of the times that you have three very different elements all meshing so perfectly with each other, taking different parts of the palate without clashing at any point.

Emma actually runs the service if it is a Saturday night, so it’s too bad it’s a school night tonight and I couldn’t thank the dessert chef in person! But what a lovely thing for a proud father to do, a fabulous personal touch few restaurants in the US could — or would — match.

Ahhh…what a wonderful evening here. It may be the best evening of dining I’ve had here overall, and that says a lot. Chef Hennessey’s cooking has evolved so much that he can present amazing items from the New Hampshire bounty that often times is limited by weather. And most importantly, he’s mastered the fermenting game in a way that it’s not an evening of acidity (followed by antacids or worse) that comes from the Copenhagen school of low pH. Just fabulous.

Again, if you want an amazing dining experience, as close to a North American version of a kaiseki dinner, you really need to come to Dover. It’s a quick trek from Boston, and the timing of the trains enable diners to even run back to Boston afterwards. Think of it as one of the best destination restaurants in North America that you can get to quickly from anywhere in New England. Trust me, you’ll not regret it!

Best restaurant in North America, reaffirmed.

Stages at One Washington
1 Washington Street, Suite 325
Dover, New Hampshire