Restaurant Review
Last weekend we spent some times in Portsmouth N.H. walking, shopping and then off to enjoy one of our favorite restaurants, the Flat Bread Pizza Company. The Flat Bread company started in Amesbury MA. in 1998. They are all organic and source most of their ingredients from local farms. They now have 11 restaurants with most of them being in the New England area and one in Hawaii. While we were there, we had a funny conversation with our waiter. He asked us what we wanted to drink and my husband asked him if they had diet Coke thinking there is no way this organic place is going to have diet Coke! Well guess what, the waiter laughed and said well, yes we do! He said that is the one and only thing that is NOT organic in the restaurant as the owner loves his diet Coke and was not giving it up! Needless to say Jim was pleasantly surprised.
This was kind of a strange day for Jim and I as it was our son, Robby’s 18th birthday, and he was celebrating his birthday with his uncle Barry and aunt Sydney SKYDIVING! He traveled completely across the country on his own to jump out of a plane at Skydive Elsinore in Southern California with his uncle! Crazy if you ask me, but if you look at the pictures you can see he really enjoyed his time! So Jim and I spent the day shopping and celebrating without him and we even got dessert which we never do!
On to the food! One of our favorite pizza’s is the taco flat bread pizza as it is delicious! All of your favorite Mexican flavors in a pizza! This is made with all natural beef from Neiman Ranch with homemade organic taco seasoning, organic red onion, cilantro, tomatoes, crushed tortilla chips, whole milk mozzarella, imported Parmesan cheese and their own garlic oil and blend of organic herbs. IT is then finished off with shredded lettuce and sour cream! Absolutely delicious!
We also ordered another flat bread pizza that was a special that day. It was a sweeter pizza with organic Granny Smith apples, a maple glaze with thick cut crispy bacon and of course lots of cheese! This too was very good! But wait there is more ! We also had the brownie sundae! IT was Robby’s birthday after all! The brownie sundae was so good. The brownie gets heated in the wood burning oven and topped with two scoops of ice cream, chocolate sauce, fresh whipped cream and a sprinkle of powdered sugar! This was warm, so chocolately and gooey, gooey goodness!
We have been to Flat Bread Pizza Company many times and will continue to go back time and time again! if you have not tried them or find yourself in the area stop by and give them a try, you will love it!
Enjoy!
FLAT BREAD LOCATIONS
138 Congress street Portsmouth N.H.
Amesbury MA.
Hampton N.H.
Portland ME.
Bedford MA.
North Conway N.H.
Canton CT.
Maui, HI.
Somerville MA.
Providence R.I.
Martha’s Vineyard MA.
Has anyone in the Dover, NH area had the chance to go to the new restaurant Ikko Japanese Steak House at 879 Central Avenue in Dover? Jim and I had the opportunity to go to their grand opening a couple weeks ago and it was fabulous! They were serving samples of their appetizers, sushi, and of course, they had a full hibachi dinner with your choice of shrimp, chicken or steak! Oh, and also serving their Mai Tai’s ? Yup! Those too!
They had so much food coming out so quick I did not have much of a chance to get pictures! But one of everyone’s favorite appetizers was the Chicken Maki Roll, this was delicious! Everyone at our table raved about it. It was an absolute favorite! The Chicken Maki Roll is deep fried with cream cheese, carrots, crab and asparagus served with a sweet chili sauce…..so good, I just can’t tell you! This dish alone brought us back less than one week later! Just that good! We also had the shrimp tempura. This had a light crispy coating and was also deep fried and as you can guess…these were terrific too. Oh yes, I almost forgot, we had a steamed dumpling too!!
Jim sampled some of the sushi but he ate is so fast I have no idea what he had I just know it was very tasty and gone in an instant!!
Next was the hibachi dinner. All of the dinners come with Japanese onion soup, salad, your choice of rice or noodles and your choice of protein ! The protein choices are endless! They have shrimp, chicken, steak, lobster and scallops to just name a few! I had the chicken and Jim had the steak! Everything that we ate was mouth watering! So much so we went back just a couple days later!! Not only was the food amazing the service on nights we went was incredible. We were seated right away, drinks on the table and order taken just as fast! Our appetizer came right out along with our soups and salads and no sooner were we done with the appetizer, our empty plates were taken away and our dinner was served!
If you can’t guess by now we LOVED Ikko and highly recommend a visit if you’re in the area!
Enjoy!
All I can say is… FINALLY! Dover has a Mexican restaurant. OK, one that is not a chain. Don’t get me wrong I am not opposed to chain restaurants, but I personally would rather support a local small business. I am also thrilled that we are getting restaurants and business’s that are open on Sunday’s. This restaurant has only been open for about two short weeks at the time of our visit and I am thrilled to say we enjoyed every bit of it!~
We were greeted by a very nice hostess who promptly seated us at a table in front of the bar area. Before we took a breath we had warm chips, salsa and a menu to look at! That’s a great start in my book! The chips and salsa were very tasty. I am a sucker for warm chips and the salsa was freshly made with a nice hint of cilantro. Our waitress was quick to come by and ask us if we might like something from the bar. I asked her what her recommendation was and she was very quick to say the house margarita, so that was the beverage of the day. The margarita was full of flavor and very fruity, garnished with a slice of orange and plenty of orange flavor in the drink itself. Although I did like the margarita, I found it to be slightly weak, but good overall. Oh, did I mention the bartender? Every now and then he would sing with the Mexican music playing in the restaurant. Nothing like an afternoon serenade…and he was not bad either!
On to the menu, they have a great selection to choose from and guess what? it’s not all FRIED!!!! They have guacamole (made table side), a few different types of nachos, chicken wings with your choice of sauce, taco’s, burritos , enchiladas, soups and salads. Wait…that’s not even close to everything they have. I have not mentioned the fish taco’s, shrimp tacos, sampler platters, combo plates! Oh, the variety and there is still more but you will have to take a trip and check it out!
The one slight pitfall, and I think it was just where we were seated, is the lighting. It was very low and made it a little difficult to read the menu. Jim jokingly took out his iPhone and turned the flashlight on for me. If it would not have been so embarrassing, I might have actually used it!
I ordered the El Tapatio and let me tell you it is delicious! it is made with chicken breast, sautéed onions, chorizo and melted Mexican cheeses. This comes with a side of guacamole salad, Pico de Gallo, sour cream, rice, beans and flour tortillas! WOW! All of that for only $13.99!! I could not come close to eating all of it or even half of it. I loved eating the meat mixture with the warm nacho chips! This dish is warm, comforting and had great flavor! I would order this again any day!
Jim ordered the Quesadilla , Tostada and Enchilada lunch special for $8.99. His meal was also huge as well as oh so scrumptious! This special came with a cheese quesadilla, bean tostada , beef enchilada along with beans and rice! Jim was able to finish about three quarters of it, but still had to take some home!
Overall this experience was fantastic and a must go to restaurant! Needless to say we will be back sooner than later and hope you find some time to visit Cinco De Mayo!
Enjoy,
Have you been to the new Patty B’s Restaurant location on Dover Point Road? If you said no, I highly suggest you get in your car and drive! Drive there NOW! You can thank me later! Jim and I went on a Friday evening and LOVED EVERYTHING about it! The decor, the lighting, the colors, the seating! LOVED IT! I also liked that they had some taller tables by the open kitchen area where you might be able to catch a glimpse of the magic that happens there! We had a wonderful server, Sam, who just happens to be the owner’s daughter! She was so knowledgeable, gave us great suggestions and her service could not have been better. She recommended the Italian Margaritas with sugar on the rim. Well, it was a Friday night after all. I had the Margarita and Jim had a cold beer. Both excellent!
Jim was really in the mood for a steak and cheese so that is what he had and I had the Shrimp Scampi. His steak and cheese was HUGE and filled with savory beef and topped with melted cheese. He ate every single bite!!!
My shrimp scampi was also H
UGE! The shrimp (insert moment of silence here) yes, it was that good. Cooked perfect with just the right amount of spice and a hint of heat! Pasta that too… perfectly cooked! This dish comes with a side of garlic bread . This garlic bread deserves its own post..no joke that too was insanely good, crispy, garlicky and buttery! Excuse me for a moment as I 
wipe the drool! Take some time to stop by Patty B’s. I know you will enjoy it as much as we did! We will be going back very soon. Next time sitting at the tables by the kitchen to watch the magic!
A couple weeks ago I had the chance to go to Pickity Place in Mason N.H. IT was INCREDIBLE! It was fun to read and hear about the history of Pickity place. This little cottage was the inspiration for Elizabeth Orton Jones when she illustrated her version of Little Red Riding Hood. (Little Golden Books 1948). The little cottage was just adorable and just what you would expect when thinking about Little Red Riding Hood!
This little cottage is nestled deep in the woods on a dirt road, not a neighbor could be seen! The gardens are amazing. I have never seen such a large herb garden. Every herb imaginable could be found. As you walk through the gardens there are the cutest little sitting areas that you would not expect to see. They have a garden store with the most precious cat that makes his home there. There is also a “drying” shed where they dry all of their herbs, as well as their flowers. They also have this quaint little shop where they sell all of their dried herb dips, salts, oils, vinegar and lots of other specialty food and gift items. Needless to say I made a few purchases! After touring the grounds, we had lunch reservations for 11:30, so we waited patiently with several other visitors until they rang the lunch bell, then we are all seated with the first course on the table awaiting us!
When you are seated they already have crackers and dip waiting for you. Today the dip was Garden Patch Dunk. IT was very good… full of vegetable flavor. Then our waitress came over and gave us our drink choices as well as our entree choices. The menu is VERY limited but the best food I have eaten all summer! I had the raspberry orange ice tea to drink and my dear friend, Rosalie had the Lavender Lemonade. We both really enjoyed our beverages. Both drinks were very light and fresh.
The soup course arrived very quickly, and today the soup was a chilled melon soup with crispy prosciutto. The soup was very light with a crunchy texture of the prosciutto. My lunch companion did not like the crispy bits but I liked the change of texture.
Next was the Caprese salad over Farro with a sun dried tomato vinaigrette. This salad was like no other! I am not kidding it was to die for, it had the freshest lightest dressing with herbs, fresh greens and a marinated buffalo mozzarella cheese slice along with an edible flower to top it all off! We talked about how good that salad was all afternoon!
We also received a basket of potato chive focaccia with dipping oil. The bread was so fresh and the chive really came through, all of this before the main course! 
For my entree I chose the sweet and sour pork over a plum slaw, served with glazed carrots with ripe peaches.
Rosalie had the roasted vegetables on rosemary skewers served over a Parmesan polenta. Both dishes were very tasty. The rosemary really shined through on the vegetable dish and my pork dish was cooked perfectly with a crunchy coating on the outside!
We were both so full but there was no way we were passing up dessert. as everything we had so far was just delicious!
Dessert was a blueberry tart with pistachio Gelato! The dessert was just as you would expect …absolutely AMAZING! The fresh tart was filled with gorgeous blueberries in a homemade tart shell then the pistachio Gelato…oh my…that was so creamy and rich and oh did I mention there was a caramel drizzle on the plate ? ! YUP! OH SO GOOD!
Pickity Place is an amazing place to go for lunch. This would be a great place to take your daughter or maybe go with a book group or just with your favorite friend or significant other ! You really need reservations as this is a very small cottage and seating is tight! They have three lunch seating per day (11:30, 12;45, and 2:00). They also have a website. www.pickityplace.com Stay tuned for Monday, I will have a very special recipe for you!
Enjoy,
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