Last week I brought you to Puerto Rico.  This week we are back in Dover, NH at the new Ember Wood Fired Grill on 1 Orchard street. (Formerly the Chop Shop).  Jim was really in the mood for a burger and I have been wanted to try this new restaurant, so off we went for Dinner. We got there shortly after they opened so we had plenty of choices as to where to sit. They have a bottle of water on the table already for you.  As we were looking at the menu…well, as I was looking at the menu out came a basket of bread and butter. The bread was really, really good. A slight crisp on the outside and soft on the inside. Jim and I both agreed the only thing that can make that better is if the bread was warm.

You already know Jim ordered a burger, but let me tell you about my dish. I ordered the Lobster Mac and Cheese ($21.00). This dish was so creamy and decadent, the pasta is a house made tarragon Cavatelli.  The cheese sauce was made with three different cheeses, then perfectly cooked lobster added in, along with three slices of thinly sliced bread to put that creamy goodness on! This dish is excellent, the lobster was cooked nicely and chopped so that almost every bite had all that rich goodness.

On to Jim’s burger.  Jim had the Ember’s Burger ($14.00).  When it comes to burgers this one has some great flavors starting with the meat itself.  It is a mixture of both ground tenderloin and ground sirloin with sharp cheddar cheese, and some amazing cherry wood smoked bacon, pickled cucumber, greens, yellow tomato confit aioli and house steak sauce. If that does make your mouth water I don’t know what will. This came with a side of fries. You already know Jim finished that burger and a few bites of my lobster mac and cheese. The rest of my dish came home and Robby finished every last bite!

We did not order dessert but did spend a little time enjoying the atmosphere, warm lit fireplace, old photos of the building when it was once a fire station…back in the horse drawn fire equipment days! A very cozy place on a cool New England evening.

We are looking forward to going back and trying more of what they have to offer. The menu is broken up into small, medium and large plates as well as a Sunday Brunch menu. The menu changes often, but I did see a number of things that would bring us back.  Oysters, grilled romaine salad, spring vegetable pap-Adele to just name a few things. They also have a full bar with a large selection of whiskey choices. I should also mention if you like the Brickhouse Restaurant across the street, there is a good chance you will love Ember as the owner is the same!

I definitely recommend checking them out on Facebook for updated information. They are closed on Mondays and Tuesdays and with the menu changing frequently you will find the most updated information there. Give them a try and let me know what you think!

https://www.facebook.com/EmberWFG/

Enjoy!

A few weeks ago Jim had to go to San Juan, Puerto Rico on business for two weeks. The second week he was there, I decided to take a trip down to meet him there for the duration of his trip for a little warm, sandy beach time. Because he was there on business we were slightly limited with various activities that we could do but, let’s face it, we all need to eat so we had some amazing food choices. I am going to give you our top three places but there were great little places in old San Juan as well.

I arrived in San Juan on a Sunday afternoon and by the time we made it back to the hotel I was ready for some island food! I went from cold NH to hot humid PR, so as soon as I settled in we made it to the Pina Colada Club that was right at our hotel (Caribe Hilton). The Pina Colada Club had exactly what I was looking for…an all Caribbean vibe, music, the restaurant colors and the laid back vibe on a warm vacation. We were seated and had the menu in hand very quickly, not to mention a beer for Jim and a Pina Colada for me…come on now…how could I not get a Pina Colada at the Pina Colada Club? Jim already knew what he wanted as he had already been there once and raved about the fish tacos so that’s what he got. I ordered the appetizer portion of the coconut shrimp skewers. We  shared both plates and it was perfect as the coconut shrimp were super sweet and the fish tacos had some nice spice with the club hot sauce it was served with.

The coconut shrimp were just that, coconut coated shrimp fried to perfection and served with a pineapple marmalade ($15.95). These were very sweet and full of that crispy coconut coating. The pineapple marmalade gave a nice additional flavor. I would order these again but would also order something to contrast the sweet flavor, for us it was a perfect compliment with the fish tacos!

These fish tacos were crazy good and crazy messy, but well worth the drip! These were Mahi Mahi fried fish with avocado, pico de gallo, lettuce, cheese, cilantro, sour cream and the Pina Colada Club hot sauce on the side served on either a hard corn tortilla or a soft flour tortilla. We had the soft tortilla. These fish tacos were fabulous but when you added their hot sauce it hits crazy good. The signature hot sauce is sweet but then hot,  an amazing compliment to everything on the tacos!  We ate every bite of both dishes!  The Pina Colada Club is part of a group of restaurants in the area. To give this restaurant a quick overview, it’s a Caribbean restaurant with all the food you would expect at your local pub. Wings, nachos, salad, sandwiches, burgers, kids menu and full bar. All of this with that laid back “your on vacation vibe”. It was a great way to start my time in San Juan.

The second restaurant I’m going to share with you is Morton’s, the Steakhouse. This is a chain and has restaurant’s all over. This restaurant also happened to be connected to our hotel and we heard rave reviews about this steak house and knowing how much Jim likes steak, it was a must visit!

We knew before going here this was not a low cost place, but we  had some serious high expectations going in that night. We arrived just a bit early and were able to take a quick peek around the restaurant and noticed some fun stuff! They have a picture wall filled with many, many famous people all with framed pictures throughout the lobby.  (Jim asked where his picture was, no one could understand why it was not there!) But there was also a wall of small closet doors with named plates. Are you wondering what they are? Well, they are small wine cabinets for all of their VIP guests, and let me tell you, they have many!

We were promptly seated in a much more formal atmosphere than we are used to but don’t worry, we had a fabulous time with the servers and waitstaff! We were seated at a beautiful window seat overlooking the beach/ocean area. It was the one and only night that it rained on my trip. The beach was clear and the water had some nice waves and just as beautiful as it was earlier in the day regardless of the rain.

Before we knew it we had a warm loaf of bread and plate of butter in front of us. I am not a huge bread person, but this bread was fabulous…and who gets a plate of butter? I never knew that was a thing? It was darn good so if it’s a new thing, I’m okay with it! Bring on the bread and butter!

We did not order an appetizer after all that bread, but we did place our order. Jim ordered the mixed grill; a combination of steak and shrimp and scallops and I ordered the dinner portion of the shrimp Alexander. While we waited for our dinner we enjoyed speaking with various staff members and we learned that anytime Adam Sandler is in the area this is a restaurant he visits. We also learned some Spanish, as well as a great wine recommendation for dinner. How could we ask for anything more while waiting on dinner? Fabulous!

Jim’s dinner was nothing less than spectacular and perfectly cooked. The picture does not do it any justice. The steak was grilled nicely to a perfect medium, scallops cooked with crispy bacon around them, grilled shrimp and asparagus along side a roasted lemon to drizzle. If Jim could have licked the plate, it just might have happened.

My dish was the Shrimp Alexander.  I’m not a steak girl so I went to the seafood and this is one of the dishes they are known for.  It’s an herb breaded fried shrimp in a butter sauce…yummm, so rich, tender and succulent. Delicious, another lick the plate dish!

We have heard about their desserts, so we knew we were not leaving without the “Legendary Sundae “. While we waited for the sundae, we noticed a large group of golfers come in.  It hit us that there was a professional tournament in the area that week and these were some of the players. How cool is that?! They were at the next table over and could not help but overhear some of the golf stories they told, but then our dessert came and no matter what they had to say we were distracted with our amazing dessert. This dessert had a warm chocolate cake, caramel, chocolate, whipped cream and of course a cherry on top. This was so decadent and not something we would normally order, but wow am I glad we did!

To sum this up in just a few words is tough, it was not cheap, menu is well thought out, food cooked to what you wanted and don’t leave without a dessert!  Morton’s is known for their award winning wine collection, prime aged beef, succulent seafood and signature sides. I don’t think I need to say more about the desserts! The wait staff and management exceeded our expectations. If there is a Morton’s in your area check them out on line for times, locations and menus. I hope they are as good as the Morton’s we experianced in San Juan.

Last but not least is the Ropa Vieja Grill. So, being a foodie and checking out what you should eat in San Juan or anywhere in Puerto Rico. The one dish came up every time was Mofungo! I know , what the heck is Mofungo? Well, long story short it’s a fried mashed plantain dish.  Most places in San Juan have their own version of Mofungo. We were coming to the end of our time in San Juan and have already had some fantastic dishes but still no Mofungo.   BUT, we had been asking around about the best place to go… hotel staff, other guests and locals……Ropa Vieja Grill was the place to go.

We arrived to a small, very cute place and a very attentive staff. We were seated with water, menus and not much longer a bread basket with warm bread and butter. So far so good. I knew what I wanted but I just did not know what version of Mofungo I wanted.  So I asked our server and he did not even blink an eye and said I wanted the flank steak Mofungo.

Ok, that’s what I ordered and found it funny that he could have told me to order the most expensive plate on the menu and I probably would have ordered it, but this was the dish he told me I had to try. Jim ordered the Empanda De Res, with rice and beans. This would be our version of chicken fried steak!

My Mofungo was fried plantains on the bottom with shredded steak on top. It arrived, smelled really good and tasted incredible. I can’t even begin to tell you how flavorful that steak was. The plantains are dull on their own and more of a vehicle for whatever it is being served with. Put that steak on and the Gods have sung! So freakin’ good. Plantains on their own…ugh…flavored flank steak from Ropa Vieja grill, bring it any day!

Jim’s a beans and rice guy every day of the week. This day was no different the only question was,  what was the protein gonna be? He chose the American version of a chicken fried steak and of course those rice and beans. His dish came with caramelized plantains… oh my Lord…those plantains were beyond good! I think if I reached over to Jim’s plate one more time he may have smacked my hand.

We completely understand why this restaurant was recommended literally by everyone we spoke with, local and tourist alike. They also have a website with location, hours and menu.

To sum up our foodie time in San Juan, it was terrific! Lots of great local places, old San Juan places and amazing local Mofungo and seafood dishes to be had. If you are traveling to the area don’t be afraid to check out not only these places, but the smaller local places as well. We did not eat at a bad place during our time there.

Enjoy!