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It’s been nice to get such a — pardon the pun — taste of what New Hampshire has to offer. The restaurant scene is really quite vibrant in the state and, while some restaurants, victims of the economy, have closed down, several other fine establishments have sprung up, giving us a smorgasbord of choices in the coming year.
Our readers have been very helpful in offering us tips on which restaurants to try out, some cheers and a few jeers, proving that not everybody has the same idea of what makes a good restaurant.
Here’s what we look for:
Ambiance — Just because a place offers cheap food doesn’t mean it has to be a dump. Cleanliness, décor and seating arrangements go a long way to making a restaurant stand out. Conversely, really tricked-out restaurants with fine linen and nice china don’t necessarily serve good food.
Food — Well this is obvious. The food has to be good. We base our judgment on whether the food is good when compared to other food of its type. We’re not going to rate a taco and a tournedos on the same criteria. That’s how a hole in the wall can score as high for food as a fine dining restaurant.
Service — The ambiance can be good, the food can be good, but nothing can wreck a dining experience faster than a rude, incompetent server. And there’s no reason for it. After all, you’re paying them; they’re there for you, not the other way around.
Value — If you pay a lot and you get bad food and service, that’s obviously not a good value. If you don’t pay much for a hamburger and it’s tasteless and flung on your table by an angry waiter, that’s not a good value either. Value represents a balance between what you pay and what you get for it.
There’s also an element of je ne sais quoi — that indefinable something that just makes a place feel right and makes the dining experience complete.
We’ve named our favorite five restaurants for 2008. However, first there are a few places worth mentioning that didn’t make the top five.
First are two restaurants we reviewed in 2007 that are still well worth a visit: Consuelo’s Taqueria on Amherst Street in Manchester serves excellent Mexican food for outrageously reasonable prices; Damian’s on the River in New Boston has wonderful food prepared by Pelham native, Culinary Institute of America graduate and former Washington, D.C. executive chef Damian Martineau.
Another top 2007 choice was a restaurant that has changed hands: Manhattan on Pearl, which featured flavorful tapas in a hip, upscale, urban atmosphere. The restaurant was recently sold and is now known as Stella Blu — we plan to try it out in 2009.
Then there are two restaurants that would have made our “best of” list for 2008, but have closed their doors: 55 Degrees in Concord, which probably would have been No. 2 on our list, and Ya Mamma’s, a long-time fixture in Merrimack. We were sad to see them go.
So here then, are the five restaurants we liked best out of the 45 we reviewed in 2008:
5. (tie): Shaker Table, Canterbury, and CR Spark’s, Bedford
The Dining Companion and I couldn’t agree on the No. 5 spot, so we decided to split it. Both restaurants rightfully fit here as both scored well and both had things that each of us liked. They’re very different — CR Spark’s being somewhat trendy and The Shaker Table being a classic – but either would be an excellent choice for a special night out.
4. Gill’s, Manchester
We were delighted to find this hidden gem tucked away in a little strip mall on Maple Street. Gill’s offers wonderful Indian food at very reasonable prices. And the service — we were waited on by owner Gursharan S. Gill himself — was impeccable. Be sure to try the butter chicken.
3. Zuruna, Manchester
Another “exotic” Manchester offering, Zuruna features Mediterranean/Lebanese food, which is a favorite of The Dining Companion. Zuruna offers large servings of wonderful homemade food in a metro atmosphere. The service was very good. Dinner prices are reasonable, but at lunch you can get a great meal at bargain prices.
2. Cucina Toscana, Nashua
Some of the best Italian food we had this past year, Cucina Tuscana is another one of those excellent little restaurants in a strip mall that are easy to overlook, but once you’ve been there are hard to forget. There’s nothing fancy about the décor, but the extensive menu and excellent food make this place special. The lobster ravioli is wonderful.
1. Angelina’s, Concord
Another Italian restaurant, Angelina’s was the finest eatery we went to this past year, bar none. This tiny gem, found in a basement on Depot Street, was absolutely flawless. The food is outstanding, the service impeccable and the chocolate pot is to die for. If there’s a restaurant in heaven, this is it.
So get out and have a meal at one of the great restaurants in New Hampshire. Not all fine meals need to break your bank account, as three of our top five (well, six, actually) are reasonably priced choices. Sometimes you just need to get out of the house and let someone else do the cooking and at the same time help the economy.
If you’d like to take a look at any of our past reviews, visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com for Our Gourmet reviews listed by town.
If you have suggestions of dining destinations we should try, send us an e-mail at gourmet@unionleader.com
Bon appétit in 2009!
