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Serving: Lunch - Monday-Friday, 11:30 a.m. – 3 p.m.; Monday –Thursday, 4:30-9:30 p.m.; Friday, 4:30-10:30 p.m.; Saturday, 4-10:30 p.m.; Sunday, 4-9 p.m. Cuisine: American Prices: Dinner entrées average $24. Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant in six categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
Ambiance: 9/10
OG: C.R. Sparks is modern, clean, open and upscale. Nicely decorated, it’s a very pleasant room, but it’s wide open, so it is a bit loud. Still, we had a nice table that afforded us some privacy and soon we didn’t even notice the ambient noise. Score: 4.5
The Dining Companion: I liked the place. The room we were seated in was large and airy with high ceilings and beautiful wooden beams. It had a very nice fresh and clean feel, although while looking around the room, I was trying to picture its future use as a Lexus dealership — which will happen sometime in 2009. Score: 4.5
Appetizers: 18.5/20
OG: The artisanal cheese tower ($10.95) really appealed to me on the evening we went to Sparks. It’s described as a daily inspiration of three selected cheeses, but I was definitely not inspired when it arrived and — horrors! — one of the three cheeses was a goat cheese. Regular readers know that, as completely unhip as it is, I abhor goat cheese. Of course, it wasn’t the restaurant’s fault, but when my face fell and TDC explained my distress, the waiter immediately removed it and brought me a lovely piece of brie instead. Kudos to the waiter and kudos to the nice assortment of cheese, which came with honey, nuts and fruit. Score: 9.
TDC: I thought I would try their baked stuffed oyster appetizer ($13.95), as I have enjoyed many such dishes at other establishments, and was glad I did. These oysters were stuffed with applewood smoked bacon, sun-dried tomatoes, spinach and Parmesan. The smoky flavor of the bacon and the burst of intense flavor from the sun-dried tomatoes blended well with the fresh oysters. It is a would-order-again dish. Score: 9.5
Entrees: 18/20
OG: Feeling carnivorous, I opted for the grilled hanger steak ($21.95), which consisted of tasty chunks of balsamic marinated beef cooked to perfection. They were tender and savory. I also liked the sides — creamed spinach, potato gratin, and crisp onions — which created a fine medley of flavors. I love creamed spinach — yes, I am tragically unhip — and the potato gratin was creamy, with a fine flavor that offset the beef well. Score: 9
TDC: I decided to stick with the seafood theme and went with the sesame crusted tuna ($26.95). The tuna was served rare, with wasabi mashed potatoes, bok choy and a soy-ginger vinaigrette. The tuna was delicious with the soy-ginger sauce light and not overpowering. The wasabi mashed potatoes had just the right amount of bite. The only item that was not prepared to my liking was the bok choy, which caused the score not to be perfect. However, I would consider ordering this dish again if it wasn’t for all the other interesting entrees offered on the menu. Score: 9
Desserts: 16.5/20
OG: My choice, the lemon cheesecake ($7.50) was creamy and tart — not too sweet and a refreshing and delicious end to a nice meal. I’m usually a chocolate lover when it comes to dessert, but this dessert would make me break out of the chocolate mold (so to speak) more often. Score: 9.5
TDC: I went with the raspberry peach baked Alaska ($8.75). It was good, but I felt that the peach was overpowered by the flavor of the raspberries. Score: 7
Service: 9/10
OG: This is a no-brainer. The service was almost flawless — delivery was well-paced and the orders came out correctly. Plus, the server was attentive and accommodating— after all he did go the extra mile with that cheese plate. Score: 5.
TDC: The server Kristopher, was very attentive and took the extra step when OG mentioned that she strongly disliked goat cheese. He was very quick at solving that by talking to someone out back and quickly coming back with a substitution. Score: 4
Value: 18/20
OG: Sparks isn’t an every-night kind of place and the prices are definitely not every-day kind of prices. But as far as I was concerned the prices are not excessive for what you get: well prepared food in reasonable portions served by a competent wait staff in a relaxed atmosphere. That’s well worth a little extra.Score: 9
TDC: C.R. Sparks isn’t the cheap family meal out, but if you’d like to go out for that fine meal for that special occasion, I can definitely recommend it. Score: 9
Total: 89/100
Have any comments for Our Gourmet or a suggestion for a restaurant you’d like to see reviewed? E-mail gourmet@unionleader.com
