We love going out to eat for breakfast and we love it, even more, when we can meet up with family members. For this outing, we met up with our niece Heather, her husband Corey and their son Logan. Their daughters Carly and Jordyn could not make it as they were busy with their Memere Deb doing fun things! Kitchen Cravings is located at 15 Airport Road in Gilford, NH. Open 6 am to 2 pm daily for breakfast and lunch.  It’s a place that we heard about through Heather and Corey so we were excited to meet up with them and have a nice breakfast!

When you walk in you are instantly hit with that wonderful smell of breakfast, coffee, and freshly made bread.  Then you see a case full of amazing pastries, cinnamon rolls, muffins and even some gluten-free items! We were seated in the rear of the restaurant close to toys, books, and puzzles just perfect for Heather and Corey’s energetic little one Logan!

This restaurant is only open for breakfast and lunch but they have a full menu with everything you would expect and some you won’t.  They have a large variety of homemade loaves of bread and biscuits and several varieties of gluten-free bread and choices. I was hungry and ready to eat so I ordered something they call the trainer that includes pancakes (I had blueberry), eggs (I had scrambled) bacon, sausage and hash browns. I’m not totally sure what I was thinking as it was a lot of food! It was all really, really good. Pancakes were fluffy, eggs were cooked nicely, bacon was just a tad overdone, but hey it’s bacon and I’m not giving it up. Sausage and hash browns also very good and just what you would expect.

Heather and Corey both ordered a similar dish with the sausage gravy and homemade biscuits.  I need to mention the sausage gravy is award-winning and come on homemade biscuits… is your mouth watering yet? Heather was sitting across from me and I did all I could do to not put my fork right through that sausage and biscuit plate.  It looked and smelled amazing but you will be happy to know I contained myself.  I mean I was trying to be a good example for Logan and not eat off everyone’s plate although secretly I think Logan wanted some of that too although he was happy with his pancakes and sausage!

Jim is last, but not least, and I think he was as hungry as I was as he ordered the Huevos Ranchero’s with fried eggs, refried beans on corn tortillas smothered with their own salsa and melted cheese. Served with homefries, salsa, guacamole and sour cream. Now that’s a breakfast plate!  Jim did not complain at all.  In fact, he cleaned his plate. There is no doubt we all left feeling full and happy!

Although we were here for breakfast they have some amazing sounding lunch items too.  Not only is the sausage gravy award-winning but so is the chili. The lunch menu is just as big as the breakfast menu.  The same goes for the lunch menu… so many things you expect and some surprises along the way. Everything from sandwiches, burgers, veggie burgers, hot dogs, chili dogs, salads and an array of sandwiches. One of the sandwiches I saw had my mouth watering is something I could eat any day of the week.   That is something they call “Tony 2 Toes the Italian Grinder” with ham, pepperoni, salami, sweet onion and peppers, pickles, lettuce, tomato, banana peppers baked with provolone cheese on an artisanal roll, served with fries. What a sandwich that would be! I’m wearing my sweatpants for that one!

Needless to say, we enjoyed our time at Kitchen Cravings and appreciated how kid friendly they are.  We were there for some time and entertaining Logan was pretty easy although they may not have been thrilled with us playing a stacking game with all of the little creamer containers on the table with Logan, our little buddy loved it! We missed seeing Carly and Jordyn but know we will be out with them again!

We love spending time with our nieces and nephews and their significant others as we have found some amazing restaurant destinations. Many of them you can find in my older restaurant reviews, but don’t worry we have a few more nieces and nephews.  We hope to get some more restaurant destinations, but in the meantime, if you are visiting the Gilford area, Lake Winnipesaukee or seeing a concert at The Bank Of N.H. Pavillion, go check out Kitchen Cravings. You can also find them on the web and on Facebook so go ahead and give them some love!

http://www.kitchencravingsnh.com/

Enjoy!

This week is all about restaurant reviews.  I have three of them for you this week as I am trying to get caught up after taking so much time off! Hop and Grind restaurant is a unique new restaurant in Durham NH. They are located at 17 Madbury rd. (Madbury Commons area). They are open daily starting at 11:30 am.

If you know Durham, NH you know it’s the home to the University of New Hampshire.  There is a lot of activity and the hustle and bustle of the kids and staff in the college community. This little restaurant really fits into Durham for a number of reasons.  The decor at Hop and Grind is unique and colorful, the food is well thought out and priced just right for the college community.  The service is friendly with the food coming out hot, fresh and quick for everyone on the go.

Hop and Grind is a burger joint but not your typical burger joint.  They craft their own burgers, they have scratch made sodas and sell a large selection of local craft beer. Hop and Grind is also the baby brother to the Tuckaway Tavern Restaurant that you have seen on Food Network. New Hampshire restaurants are really stepping up in the food business!

When you first walk in, you head to the counter where you pass a cooler full of various waters and soda that you can grab before placing your order. You can place your beer or wine order at the same counter. The menu is not very big so it’s pretty easy to pick what you want.  It’s all about the burgers here. Jim and I both ordered the Hi-5 burger that has string onions, sweet pickles, cheddar cheese, American cheese and hop sauce.  Jim had the French fries with his burger.  I had the crispy onion strings. Once you order you are given a number,  then you can find a seat. This is where it can get tricky as it’s not a big restaurant. They have a number of seats at the bar and window area. Then they have a handful of 2 and 4 seat tables and a couple larger tables for bigger parties or community like seating. I’m not a huge fan of the community type seating, but we were able to grab a table that was for 6 people and shared it with two other fine folks. Not a big deal, but it’s not really our thing.

It did not take long for our food to arrive but before it arrived I have to say I was a little skeptical as Jim likes his burger medium and I like mine well done.  This place was so busy with people coming and going I wondered if they would just get the burgers on the plate, not really caring about the specific wellness.  I was wrong…both burgers were cooked just as we asked!  These burgers were very good and I’m not a burger girl. Now, the fries and crispy onion strings, let’s start with the fries…very good crispy on the outside and tender inside, a solid French fry! Now the crispy onion strings, these are super thin and super crispy.  Jim and I both ate those. Delicious!

Let’s talk about the amazing variety of burgers they offer.  It’s not just beef burgers like we had.  They also have chicken burgers that are all natural and hormone free. They have one called the hot chick with hot sauce, blue cheese, cilantro celery and carrot slaw, with a cool ranch sauce. I have to say that sounds really good! They have pork burgers and veggie burgers too. Maybe a pork burger called Uncle Ham with apples, dry aged bacon, brown sugar apple chutney, smoked Gouda, sage with a cider glaze. Sounds tasty right!  I also like the sound of the Beet Box burger with beets, quinoa, apple chutney, smoked Gouda and sage and honey butter, wow!

A couple of other choices that I’m kind of loving and that have become really popular lately is their fried chicken sandwich.  Get this,  they have a Honky Tonk chicken sandwich that is a Nashville hot chicken sandwich with pickles, slaw and sticky hot chili honey. Hot chicken sandwiches have been popping up everywhere over the past year and I love it!

So that’s a quick overview of sandwiches but they have some mouth-watering sides as well. Next time I go I am definitely trying their salt and truffle vinegar fries.  I love the salt and vinegar combination on anything and I know I already love the crispy onion strings. If you like fried mac and cheese or fried pickles, they have those too!

Earlier I mentioned their house crafted sodas.  They have several flavors including lemon, lime, orange, blueberry mojito  and raspberry Ricky.  If you like craft beer, this is a great place as they have sourced a number of local craft beer from places like Moat Mountain, 603, Allagash, River Walk and Ballast Point to just name a few. They have a full list on their website.

https://www.hopandgrind.com/

You can also check them out on Facebook. Go ahead and check out Hop and Grind you will enjoy some delicious burgers and cold local craft beer!

Enjoy!

Bully Hill Vineyard is located in Hammondsport N.Y. and was one of the places we stopped at while visit Amanda, Steve and the twins last summer. Although there are many, many vineyards in the Bath,  NY area where we were staying, this one particular vineyard always came up with one of the must go to places in the area. Who were we to dispute all of the recommendations! So after visiting a local aviation museum, we went to lunch at Bully Hill.

The first thing we noticed pulling in the parking lot was how beautiful it was overlooking Keuka Lake.  The view is just amazing. Bully Hill Vineyard is not just a winery, it has a restaurant, gift shop, a wine store and tasting shop. Let’s start with the restaurant, shall we?

We arrived in time for lunch and were seated quickly and shown the daily specials. One of the first things we noticed was this was a gratuity-free restaurant meaning, no tipping. We wondered a little bit about this and wondered how the service was going to be. Well, rest assured our waiter was terrific. We had water at the table,  our wine and appetizer order placed in time. We chose the spinach artichoke dip to start. This was amazing. It was creamy, rich, smooth, and velvety served with warm bread slices. This dish came out piping hot and it was so good I don’t think we gave it one minute to even cool down. If no one was looking I think we would have fought over the last bite of this rich tasty dish, what a way to start lunch!

And, since we were at a vineyard I ordered a glass of wine. One of the recommendations I was given was to try the Bass Riesling with flavors of apple and nectarine. Jim does not drink wine at all and I am picky about the ones I like so I was not sure what to pick, but the Bass Riesling was just right. Sweet, but not too sweet, with light fruit tones. Perfect for our lunch!

I ordered their Margherita Pizza with, tomato, basil, garlic, and mozzarella. Sounds pretty basic right? It is, but what made this pizza stand out as that each layer was nicely seasoned, the tomatoes were salted just enough to bring out the sweet flavor to combine with the basil and mozzarella. This was really good and also a lot of it, enough to bring back to the RV and enjoy later!

Jim had the Smoked BBQ Sampler Platter with smoked, pork, chicken and brisket with sides of beans, coleslaw, and a biscuit. Now that’s a huge lunch but it did not intimidate Jim in the slightest bit.  He was ready to dive in and did just that! He joined the clean plate club for this lunch! Needless to say, it was delicious and Jim can be picky when it comes to smoked meats. He does not like anything that has an overly smoked flavor and this platter had a touch of smoke and wonderful BBQ flavors.

After all that food we did not have room for dessert but we were ready to take a walk around the property and check out the gift shop and the wine store and tasting area. First stop was the gift store. They have everything wine related there,  from wine-related apparel, glasses, sauces, and jellies all made with wine.They even wine gummy bears! So many things to see in this shop!
Next stop was a small walk to the wine store where you can purchase their wines, taste test and take a tour! They have wine for everyone’s taste. Blush, red, white and sparkling wine. We left with six bottles to take back to NH to enjoy. We loved Bully Hill and look forward to going back.

For some important information on Bully Hill Vineyard, they close for the winter season but will be opening back up on Memorial Day. So if you are traveling through the area or happen to live in the area and have not checked Bully Hill yet, Take some time out and go for lunch, you ont be disappointed ! Don’t forget to get more information online and follow them on Facebook!
https://www.bullyhillvineyards.com/

Enjoy!