Review #2: Ward’s House of Prime

9 May 2019

I woke up on this final day of this tiring trip tired, unsurprisingly. It was time to say goodbye to Madison, a city I’ve had a soft spot for many years. I’ll miss this town, especially the always-reliable Forequarter…

With the weather still not very pleasant, I started the crawl east, making a few stops along the way and dipping into northern Illinois. I had to make a stop at Belvidere as I eventually made my way to Waukegan. The sun was coming out, but the oversaturated ground was still a muddy mess…I had to change my shoes at this point…

I headed north and arrived in Milwaukee. My flight was not until dinner time, so I had a few hours to kill. Made a few stops, one of them was for lunch. I headed into the construction-addled downtown and dropped into Ward’s House of Prime — one of the best prime rib joints in the country. I had an excellent meal last time here, and decided to have a nice big lunch, since I probably won’t have the chance to eat anything but a nibble at the airport later.

It was a late hour for lunch, so there were mostly customers finishing up. I ordered my food and chilled out with a glass of wine, knowing it wouldn’t take very long. And voilà, here is my side of mushrooms…

It worked well with the main item, my prime rib…

Just lovely. Nice jus, but the meat was done so well it really didn’t need it. Lovely crust, perfectly delicious meat inside, glorious in its richness.

A beautiful piece of prime rib, so good… So few prime rib places left, so I’m glad to be able to enjoy this treat here. I’m not quite keen on their “monster-sized” prime rib eating things, since I really find that an un-enjoyable way to eat (and taste). It’s like people swallowing oysters…what’s the damn point if you don’t chew and taste it? Anyway, that was delicious, and I had room for a wee dessert…

Sadly the pistachio gelato was a bit pasty, but it did the job alongside the coffee. I thanked my now-somewhat-absent server (I was the last customer so I don’t blame her) and headed out. I’m glad this trip ended with a nice meal, but I’m so ready to head home after all the trials and tribulations this past 8 days or so…

Ward’s House of Prime
540 East Mason Street
Milwaukee, Wisconsin

* OF COURSE those trials and tribulations would continue…courtesy of a quickly-deteriorating Southwest Airlines. Having already flown on a un-mothballed antique 737 (due to the grounding of the dangerous 737-Max) earlier this trip, I was dismayed but not surprised this final flight home was delayed by over 3 hours due to maintenance — and we did not land until after 1am. This trip from hell just had to end on a crap note…

Review #3: Forequarter

8 May 2019

The weather has not been kind to Wisconsin this spring, with flooding a major issue due to heavy rains and quick snow melt causing rivers to overflow everywhere. The ground is totally oversaturated, and it didn’t need more rain — which is what we got today. The entire day was downpours all over, and of course it would be the day I chose to explore the western part of the state…

It was a watery mess during most of the day’s travel, which took me to La Crosse where I snaked south along some rather ominous-looking waterways in perpetual downpour. A long day of driving, making several messy stops, I got back to Madison late afternoon, soaked and needing to wash my shoes…

Luckily I had a reservation tonight at Forequarter, one of my favourite places to eat in all of the Midwest. Last time I was in town I had another good dinner, and that’s what would cure me of this malaise from the day’s drenching. And of course, the weather got even worse. I was gonna drink a bit, and this being graduation week I didn’t want to chance driving, so I took a Lyft in. Of course 3 drivers clicked off when the sudden downpour hit…but glad my 4th driver came.

I was soaked just crossing the street to get to Forequarter, and I was shocked…it was nearly empty. I guess it being finals/graduation week, plus the nasty downpour, kept people away? I took my “usual” end-of-the-bar seat…I think I’ve sat there every time I’ve been here over the years.

Relaxed with a nice cocktail and ordered some food. It always feels good to be back here, though I kept an eye at the weather outside. Was not getting any better. Had a bad flashback to a night at the excellent Ludivine in Oklahoma City, where we were in midst of a tornado warning (not to take lightly in OKC) where the street outside turned into a raging river within minutes (I didn’t review that night). Nowhere that bad tonight, but it was not pleasant…until now…

A nice dish of beets with roasted sunflower seeds, which was really nice. I hope I remember I had a large portion of beets…that always scares me in the AM — you know why! But this was delicious. BTW sorry about the odd-looking photos. It’s very dark inside and I had to edit them a little, but it’s hard to get the balance right… Then next up, tempura ramps.

Well, this didn’t work, sadly. I love ramps but this just killed it. All batter, which was better than most places, but it could have been a shoelace in there frankly. Oh well… I then ordered another cocktail and the next round of food. The place was so quiet they started to let some of the staff go…

Then we have some roasted carrots, which worked nicely as a side to my main course…

Kielbasa from the affiliated Underground Meats. Done very well, it was also a big portion. I enjoyed it, but chose to take a little of the last pieces to go as I also wanted a dessert, knowing how good they are. I went again with the “cookie du jour” selection…

Well, it was more of a shortbread cake, made with pecan and brown butter. Nice little treat. I enjoyed some nice tipple and coffee at this point, since I had nowhere to go, the weather was foul, and I wasn’t driving. But didn’t want to overdo it, so at some point I called it a night, thanked the excellent staff and hopped into my Lyft.

Once again Forequarter has not disappointed, and it remains one of my favourite places in the Midwest to dine and drink and to enjoy a good evening, whatever Mother Nature brings. Still highly recommended.

Forequarter
708 1/4 East Johnson Street
Madison, Wisconsin

Battle of Wisconsin Ethnic Foods…

7 May 2019

I arrived into Milwaukee late morning, no thanks to Southwest’s crazy-early flight and a long layover in Baltimore. The planes they used are so old I wonder how many old 737s they un-mothballed due to the 737-Max crisis. I read there are tons of maintenance-caused delays, but thank goodness our flights only had broken-down toilets (and very dirty planes) but no delays.

I headed out of Milwaukee and went north, making a few stops before I stopped in Sheboygan. Why? I was headed to Green Bay and wanted to have lunch. Like my previous trek through Wisconsin, I sought out Hmong food. I’m so glad the large Hmong community has become more active in promoting its cuisine. But no time to stop for a proper lunch, so I dropped into Union Market to get some take-away.

Union Market is a Hmong/Asian grocery store in Sheboygan that featured a hot food section that is extremely popular. I got my food and I headed north, and at the same time enjoyed some of the excellent egg rolls that are much featured in Hmong establishments in the US…

Delicious, but burning hot, which was probably not a great thing when one is driving. I eventually stop in a small town near Green Bay and relaxed, enjoying the other container…

Oh my, this was good. The spicy sausage had a real kick, and a lovely smoke about it. And the roast pork belly? Just fantastic. Beautiful crackling, rich meat with wonderful flavour. I’d take this over a Chinese roast pork any day. I finished part of this bounty and headed on my way. After a stop in Green Bay, I headed south-west and eventually reached my final destination of Madison.

I’m happy to be back in Madison, a town I really enjoy visiting despite not being the easiest to get to. I’ve had flights cancelled, drove through a derecho to get here, and so forth. Frankly I’ve seen cheaper flights from Detroit to London than from Detroit to Madison, so the best way is always through Milwaukee. But I’m here, and I chilled out at my little hotel before I headed into town for a late dinner, the Hmong bounty is still keeping me going.

I thought about revisiting a few of my favourite places, but saved the best for tomorrow night. I’ve had some mixed experience with ethnic food here, such as Sujeo a few years back, but I read so many good things about Taiwan Little Eats I thought of trying it.

I got there after finding parking on a semi-busy Tuesday night — of graduation week. Oops, bad timing. It took ages for the order to be done, and I was nearly done with my winter melon tea by the time it came out…

Well, it sounded better than it tasted. The braised pork was leaner and far less flavourful than it should be, and frankly a small portion, completely against the ethos of how Taiwan eats really… Just by looking at the customer base there is little reason to “dumb down” Taiwanese cuisine for the custom; I heard plenty of Taiwan-accented Mandarin spoken by customers.

And this soy-stewed mixed plate was way too sweet. I know a lot of folks like sweet, but one of the things about Taiwanese flavours is that even when strong they don’t fight each other. The savoury clearly lost here. Well, at least it helped with the large amount of excess rice under the braised pork…

I headed out somewhat disappointed. I guess it’s a very quick eats kind of place for poor (likely homesick) students, but it really doesn’t do Taiwanese food justice. Frankly the winter melon tea was the best part of this entire meal. And before you @ me about whether I know what Taiwanese food is like, my father cooked it for most of my childhood and my grandfather was the mayor of Taipei, so…

I drove back to my hotel, glad I still had a little bit of Hmong food left over from earlier. Thanks to the hotel room microwave, I got to enjoy the last bit of the spicy sausage and pork belly, and was as good as earlier as I sat in my car in Kewaunee. In this battle of Wisconsin ethnic eats, Hmong 1, Taiwanese 0. Not even close.

Union Market
2022 South 17th Street
Sheboygan, Wisconsin

Taiwan Little Eats
320 State Street
Madison, Wisconsin

This is Why I Avoid Japanese Food in the US… (Review: Miyake)

6 May 2019

That was a fabulous (and boozy) lunch at Eventide, but unfortunately my excellent day was ruined by several things out of my control that afternoon. Repercussions from the last few days continued but ebbed mid-afternoon, and I thought that was the end of my grief. Nope. Hotel construction means NON-STOP DRILLING that drove me nuts. So much for getting a little peaceful afternoon siesta… If you’re in Portland, avoid the Holiday Inn there…

So when I headed to dinner at Miyake, I had a headache. So many places in Portland are closed on Mondays, and unfortunately Vinland, where I had a wonderful dinner last time in town, was on a short break. After some very poor “Japanese” food at Daikaya in DC a few weeks ago, I really didn’t want to risk Japanese cuisine in the US again, but decided on Miyake for some reason. Let’s hope this goes okay.

A sake in hand, I looked at the menu. I thought about doing some small dishes and so forth, but started off with an omakase 10-piece set. I enjoyed my drink and was trying to communicate with the sushi chefs, but they seem extremely stand-offish. Not sure why, but whatever. Then they brought over the nigiri set.

Well, a very so-so set to be honest. Several pieces seems to be very dry. Where was my eel? I was utterly puzzled when they said they were gonna bring me eel and I asked if they can do it with salt instead of eel sauce, and they bring me a bowl of table salt? Huh?

I should have remembered not to have sushi on a Monday in a seafood town… I then decided to order a few items ala carte…

Again, nothing very impressive, the mackerel was extremely weak. I wanted to give the ikura another go as I wasn’t sure if my piece earlier was a fluke (an anomaly, not the fish!), but it was not.

The only good item here was the eel, which finally came — which is local and quite excellent. Remember, I asked them not to use eel sauce to just use sea salt on it, and I reminded them…so they just gave me another bowl of table salt and left it plain? Huh? there are more than one way to eat eel, and any self-respecting Japanese chef should know that.

The eel was of good quality so I had an extra set, but the chefs behind the counter were just getting rude now. Sigh, forget it. I settled up and headed out, puzzled about how you can have such unpleasantness from sushi chefs this day and age. Compared to lunch and the excellent seafood at Eventide, this was beyond a complete letdown.

I thought Daikaya taught me a lesson about doing “Japanese” food in North America, but if anything Miyaba is the real anvil here that has left a very unpleasant impression in my mind. Just because the chefs are Japanese do NOT mean Japanese level of service or quality of food.

I got a 4am alarm coming, so I’m just gonna go back to my hotel, forget about the last few days and pass out…and get the hell out of upper New England so I don’t have to think about these past few days again (despite a some good food moments). This has been a disastrous few days, and I’m hoping my luck changes when I get to Wisconsin…

Miyake
468 Fore Street
Portland, Maine

Review: Eventide

6 May 2019

I made my way back to Portland, thankful for the restful stop in Belfast and the bounty that came from Young’s Lobster Pound. I returned my rental car after finding out another part of my travel plan had fallen apart…this trip has been hellish in the background, I tells’ya…

With all that bottled up from the last few days, I decided to just go enjoy myself. I headed to Eventide, the one of the best seafood places in Portland. I got there early enough on a surprisingly sunny day and perched at the bar for the next few hours. Again, giving no fucks to a lot of things, I just went in with gusto…

With cocktail in hand, I ordered the first set of items. Of course that would entail oysters…

A dozen of excellent oysters from various parts of Maine, this sampler gave me an idea for the next order. They were all excellent, but some of them absolutely fabulous. I took note of which so I can order more; the Norumbega and Wild Johns River were definitely up for re-order. And also, we have one of the day’s specials, smoked swordfish belly.

Oh my this was so good. Lovely smoke and texture, absolutely delicious. I can eat several more plates of this! An excellent start as the place was now hopping. This sunny Monday midday was bringing the crowds out. I enjoyed more drinks and ordered another set of food, which appeared shortly…

I of course went with another dozen oysters from Maine, chosen from a select few — Winter Points Selects (Bath), Norumbega (Damariscotta), Iron Island (Brunswick) and Wild Johns River (South Bristol). Absolutely delicious. I could have had another dozen but I also had another of the day’s special, this black bass crudo.

Again, absolutely delicious, the fish of excellent quality. The pepper was an excellent touch, working with the base to bring out the flavours of this treat from local waterways. So good…

I was really enjoying myself, and finally a chance to let my hair down (yes, I’ve actually grown hair, alongside this out-of-control beard) so I kept at the booze. I can see the excellent bartender was keeping an eye on my consumption, this being a Monday lunchtime, so I switched down to wine and tried to take it easier. But that also means more food!

And what better than a selection of fresh littleneck clams? Oh these are so good. I rarely get to have these because I’m often worried about the sourcing, but this is fresh and clean and just delicious. At sushi places I often moan that I didn’t get enough bivalves, so this is just wonderful.

So wonderful I had another half dozen! So good. But it’s also around time to call it. I have an early dinner tonight due to a ridiculous flight time tomorrow morning that my dear friend Simon Majumdar always calls “stupid o’clock” — 5.45am… So I thanked the excellent staff, especially my bartender, and headed out.

I really needed this excellent and boozy lunch. Fabulous quality seafood, from the oysters to the littlenecks, from the swordfish to the black bass, everything was perfect. The booze was excellent as well, thanks to a crafty bartender. A very needed relief from the realities cracking around me, which was going to strike again once I got to my hotel… It just never ends…

Eventide
86 Middle Street
Portland, Maine

Surf & Turf Maine Style…Redux!

2-5 May 2019

It’s been 3 years since I’ve been up in Maine, and one of the more interesting entries I posted back then was “Surf & Turf Maine Style” — and I had the chance to chase the same places up on this trip. Last time both parts of this was quite enjoyable, I was hoping for more of the same 3 years later.

As I wrote earlier, I had arrived into Portland in pain, my foot still healing from a night-time hard knock against my bedframe. It wasn’t fun limping around the airports, but I looked forward to a return to Salvage BBQ in Portland. I had originally planned to visit on my return stop to Portland, but they are closed on Mondays so I had to make this early stop. I had to rush to New Hampshire, so I had to get my food to go with me. Too bad, as I like this place.

I rolled into Dover, New Hampshire, in anticipation of my dinner later that evening at Stages at One Washington (as I wrote earlier). But before then, I opened up my bounty from Portland…

Ah, brisket. I made sure to get a fatty order, and it was quite good — but nowhere as good as the ones from Kerlin BBQ a few weeks ago in Austin. However, it was better than the La Barbecue version, this one having very good smoke though the beef seems to be of noticeably lesser quality.

The ribs were quite good, again excellent flavour. I always like how they do their ribs. Not quite as good as last time, but good. Perhaps these didn’t survive the hour-long drive south as well as I hoped, but they were still good. So in total, Salvage BBQ is still quite good 3 years later, and I hope to be able to eat there if I make it up to Portland again.

A few days later, with my limp slowly going away, with the communications crisis resolving itself in the most insane but clear way, I headed east from my stop in Augusta, the state capital of Maine. I had that wonderful dinner at Otto’s on the River the night before as I headed as far east as I could get in the continental US.

I reached Eastport, the easternmost city in the United States, and enjoyed the views, but annoyingly my phone kept flipping into roaming mode by picking up Canadian signals instead of the piss-poor AT&T signal. Frankly, AT&T signals have been so bad this trip, it helped to contribute to the drama I had the other day. Really unreliable. But it was enjoyable to see the end of the country and I headed back west until I reached my stopping point of the day in Belfast.

I returned to Belfast after 3 years to re-visit Young’s Lobster Pound. Last time I was hear I had a lobster fest in the privacy of my motel room, and I re-enacted that with gusto this time around. I rolled into town mid-afternoon, having not eaten anything, so I tore into this beautiful creature quickly after checking into the surprisingly pleasant Yankee Clipper Motel…

Oh my this was good. Juicy, excellent meat for sure. These things just taste different when you’re in Maine and they’ve just came out of the water. The cooking was simple, and no cracking so there was a lot of liquid inside to enjoy. I’ve had the weird ability to crack lobster shells with my teeth since I was 8 years old using my baby teeth, and you’d be surprised how quickly I can cleanly de-shell a lobster when I’m somewhere private!

And the one thing that’s totally clear — cold-water lobsters kicks the arse of warm-water lobsters, no mattery how big they are…a poor reminder of my weak lobster in Orlando at the now-extremely-disappointing Vito’s Chop House…

Delicious late lunch. I didn’t do much more as I had to catch up on a few things thanks to all the accumulated emails and such from the last few days, and cleaning up all the lingering mess from that 36hrs of communications drama while I was in Vermont and without a steady signal. That took most of the late afternoon, though I enjoyed a stroll along the coast as well.

Yes, another one! This is for dinner! It was still hot, preserved perfectly in the box and newspaper wrap. This one was as delicious as the first… When in Maine, right? Who knows if I’ll make it up again, so had to do it. A wonderful way to enjoy the true essence of Maine.

Young’s Lobster Pound did not disappoint, they do have some of the best lobsters in Maine. Good enough to demand a detour from anywhere in the state, and it closed out the successful repeat of my “Surf & Turf” mission. So good…

Salvage BBQ
919 Congress Street
Portland, Maine

Young’s Lobster Pound
2 Fairview Street
Belfast, Maine

Review: Otto’s on the River

4 May 2019

I woke up the next day with a pounding headache, not from the few drinks I had last night but a drama that escalated out of the issue I was trying to solve. Needless to say, a clusterfuck when I was trying to ensure something went smoothly. The price of trying to do something in connection-challenged rural Vermont. And it kept getting worse all morning as I headed north.

I tried to relax by strolling through the magnificent Hope Cemetery in Barre, one of the most beautiful cemeteries in the US, as many artisans relocated here for its excellent granite. I then headed back east, and into northern New Hampshire, making a few stops before I made it back into Maine. More drama when I stopped for a quick bathroom break, and I think despite it blowing up in such a crappy way the very long-running issue has been resolved permanently. So despite the chaos and mess, I think it’s actually become a better long-term outcome in so many ways.

Life is so much easier when you give no fucks, frankly…

I drove off through Maine, snaking through some of the small, quaint towns before arriving into the capital city of Augusta, where I planned to stop for the night. As I’ve noted before, capital cities often have surprisingly good eats, partly because politicians and their benefactors often spend money far beyond what the city could boast otherwise quality-wise. Good examples are Yono’s in Albany (New York) and Parlor Market in Jackson (Mississippi).

Tonight’s destination is Otto’s on the River, which looks quite nice from what I’ve read. I headed there on a cool Saturday night, surprised how empty the downtown area is — alas, it is the weekend, and this is what happens at state capitals, the political machine moves out. So I ended up having dinner in a half-empty restaurant on a Saturday night, which is a shame.

Service was friendly and quick, and I relaxed with a drink and ordered. Luckily no drama to resolve anymore, so I didn’t have to look at that bloody phone much this evening. And soon my starter arrived, and I smiled…

A nice Maine dish for sure, a delicious seafood cocktail with lobster and shrimp. All excellent quality, as you’d imagine being in Maine. Good start. Then after a little while my main course came, and wow…

Now this is a big pork chop. Gloriously fatty, this is the way pork should be cooked! Beautifully pink inside (scroll…), there’s no dryness here. Lovely, one of the best pork dishes I’ve had this year for sure. This evening has been a pleasant surprise!

I was pretty happy with this evening so ordered a dessert and a drink…

The lemon pie was okay, nothing special. With a bit of coffee, I was happy and full. I thanked my excellent server, who actually comped me my after-dinner drink despite it being such a slow night. I’m so glad I chose to stay here this time than Bangor, where I had a disastrous dinner after a stop the last time I was in Maine.

I headed back to my hotel, thankful for another good meal. So rare I’ve had 3 good dinners in a row, and no pain issue or communications drama this evening, so that makes tonight even more thankful for me.

Otto’s on the River
287 Water Street
Augusta, Maine

Review: Simon Pearce Restaurant

3 May 2019

I headed west out of New Hampshire early in the morning, still thinking of that fabulous dinner at Stages at One Washington. My foot was better, but still not back to normal, and the weather was looking ominous as I snaked through the south-west part of the state into southern Vermont.

Vermont is spectacular any time of year, from the sunniest summers to the whitest winters, and especially when autumn brings the colours. But unpredictable spring can also be quite beautiful, the view from when I visited the grave of the legendary Charles Bronson. The weather was deteriorating as I pulled into Quechee in Central Vermont, sitting on the picturesque Ottauquechee River near the New Hampshire border.

Stunning location, nice little hotel, but there was barely any signal where my room is — as during most of my day’s path. Little did I know this would cause me endless grief later on…

Most people know Simon Pearce as the foremost glass designer in the US; however, at the brand’s flagship location, there is also a well-known restaurant, and that was my stop for the evening. A beautiful location, the restaurant is based in a converted mill right on the river.

I arrived a little early on this busy Friday night, although my reservation was for a later hour. I enjoyed a martini at the bar but had to deal with a pressing issue involving an opportunity that was totally unexpected — and required a rather quick reply. Snaking through Vermont meant I had sporadic signal all day and couldn’t do much about anything, and it also entailed issues & conflicts that I did not know could be resolved in such a short time, so that plagued my mind all through dinner as I tried to sort things out by phone — which is never a good idea.

The wait made me hungry, so I ordered rather quickly. And perhaps a questionable sign, the starter came out very, very quickly…

If a pasta dish shows up so fast, it means it was sitting there, and that’s never a good thing. Yep, this tagliatelle with ramps was cold and the pasta a little undercooked. Either it was just sitting there, or they brought me someone else’s dish that was mistimed. Very disappointing start, as the dish was not bad — would have been excellent if it had been properly warm!

I was a little worried, but my main course came out in a more “normal” time — the duck.

Oh my this was fabulous! I was worried after the starter, but this was cooked perfectly with no temperature issues. The duck was also quite fabulous quality-wise, nice and fatty but not hard to eat. The sauce wasn’t really necessary with how good this duck was. One of the best I’ve had this year, and puts the duck that was way upsold at Matthew’s in Jacksonville last month to total shame.

That was a very pleasant surprise, but the issue I was trying to resolve is not resolving itself. And with phone signal barely there at my hotel (wifi is good for emails but when you can barely call and text…), I was preoccupied. So I ordered a dessert.

Crème brûlée, but nothing spectucular. I enjoyed a closing drink and thanked my server before heading off. The building was now rather quiet, and I headed out for the short trek back to my hotel. Not a bad dinner, some Friday night-related issues and it could have been excellent, but it was enjoyable enough. I’d recommend this place — perhaps on a less busy evening.

My pending issue never got solved, and I ended up turning down the opportunity. But trying to solve the situation caused endlessly more problems that got blown way out of proportion. I so wish I never got that email earlier in the day…

Simon Pearce Restaurant
1760 Quechee Main Street
Quechee, Vermont

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