Moxy! I have so much to say about this amazing place. Moxy Restaurant is at 106 Penhollow street in Portsmouth N.H. I have heard some amazing things about this restaurant and we finally made it there a few weeks ago. They are only open at 5 pm nightly. We had reservations (I highly suggest reservations) and were promptly seated as soon as we walked in. Moxy is an award winning modern American Tapas Restaurant, small plates! We loved this as we could try so many menu items, not just one or two. Our waitress suggested we order everything at one time if we knew what we wanted, so we did just that.
The first plate to arrive was the crispy Rhode Island Calamari ($8.00). This was served with scallions, fennel and a pepper relish. The calamari was lightly breaded and fried just right. We devoured this dish, but thankfully our second dish had already arrived!
This is Moxy Bread! ($5.00). This is grilled bread with grated tomato and hickory nut farm goat cheese. This was also good but, we really loved the calamari!
Next up was the Beef Short Ribs Marmalade. This is one of my favorite dishes of the evening! ($9.00) It had so much flavor… the pickled onions gave a big pop of flavor, the short rib was so tender, the crunch of the grilled bread, and I love blue cheese! Put all of it together and it was delicious!
We aren’t done yet! Next up was the Misty Knoll Farms Pan Seared Chicken Thighs ($13.00). This is one of the bigger menu items they offer and was also Jim’s favorite item of the night! The chicken thighs were served with creme fraiche, pickled ginger, cilantro and lettuce to wrap everything in! The chicken was incredibly tender and the pickled ginger was really tasty. When you put it all together in the lettuce is was the perfect bite!
We can’t leave without dessert! Although we were both feeling full we could not resist the Whoopie Pie Sliders! ($8.00). You don’t just get the whoopie pies you also get an amazing silky smooth chocolate dipping sauce! These were just what you would expect…a sweet filling, chocolaty outside and a decadent dipping sauce. Yes, we ate them all!
Although Moxy’s menu is small and focused with so many local farm ingredients there are so many things on the menu that will keep us coming back for more! Fried clams, roasted beef bone marrow, fried chicken sandwich and crispy potatoes are just a few other amazing looking dishes they have!
And don’t forget they are an award winning restaurant with awards from the Boston Globe, Food and Wine and we have to mention 2016 and 2015 James Beard Best Chef Northeast semi finalist! This is a must visit for anyone in or anyone planning to come to the area! They are on Facebook and have a web page that gives you the menu, hours and an easy way to make a reservation! http://moxyrestaurant.com/
Enjoy!
