Okay, I can only hope I keep my weight on the losing end after keeping up an eating out schedule, only for the sake of this blog ofcourse ;) First of all, a shout out to the TBones in Bedford, for the wonderful casa caprese salad with grilled chicken that feels like such an indulgence but has kept me on my weight loss path, I bow down to you!
This week will be a hurdle, a lunch and dinner out today, followed by lunch in the office and dinner out tomorrow, both business related. Ay yi yi...just have to be choosy.
Attended the Made in NH Expo on Saturday. Teddy ran into someone he knew during our morning walk who handed him two VIP passes, how could we say no? Interesting stuff...what stunk is there were various local vineyards but you couldnt sample the wine!! The food samples were in abundance, we tried a delicious maple flavored cotton candy, I'm not a cotton candy fan per say, but this was wonderful, a little piece mind you, but then I found out their shop is located in Peterborough, where I will be in that area in May, and they offer tours of their maple sugar plant, so you know I'll be getting me some more of that!!!! I'm proud to report I only ate one small piece of chocolate sample, and believe me, that was a tough thing! Teddy bought me some small pottery items from a local potter for our fireplace mantel, I love pottery. We bought this really nice mission fig jam, the lady who makes it also goes to the Thursday farmers market here in Manchester so I'm sure I'll be seeing her again. All in all, some nice things, but at $8 pp to get in, it was nice having those VIP passes, we were there for about an hour. I do like supporting local businesses, and is was a nice way to do so...reminded me of the craft fairs I love going to, but on a smaller scale. There were only two potters, i would have liked to see more goods and less food...
Richards Bistro...once an institution here in Manchester for fine dining, right on up there with Hanover St Chophouse but as a more refined less costly gourmet meal. Last two years, not so much, they had a new chef, I'm not sure its his fault, but the food quality went down slightly...anyone who was with me on New Years two years ago can attest to that, when all three of us who ordered their signature baked stuffed lobster had to send it back due to them being undercooked, obviously undercooked for that matter, surprised they left the kitchen. I heard the "new" chef recently left, but its only by coincedence that Ted and I ended up their, trying to find a place on Sunday for lunch with Ted's Mom, the usual places being very crowded, then we saw the billboard outside Richards for "$10 brunch" so we figured we would give it a go.
the one thing that never changed in quality at Richards was the bread basket...fresh baked assorted breads, a meal in themselves. For Breakfast, they had the "breakfast version" of their breads....cinnamon roll, raspberry scone, bagel, poppy seed muffin, coffee cake...very yummy....plus assorted whole fruits and some wonderful cheese. And this is just the beginning, their welcome basket to the diner. Teddy ordered the $10 breakfast burrito, quite yummy and hearty...it didnt come with any fussy side dishes or even potatoes, but it was big and delicious...thin steak with veggies and cheese. I got the salmon hash with poached egg. I'd like to say it was perfect...the hash was decent, but my eggs were overcooked for poached. lost a little flavor there, but that didnt stop me from eating it up. My dish was $13 Ted's Mom got the best dish - chicken asparagus and feta in a phyllo wrap. Now, my MIL usually eats very small meals or is very generous in sharing. This was one of those rare occassions where she finished her plate...you couldnt even get your fork on there without her pulling it away!!! I'm so glad she enjoyed it though, and she did give me one small bite for the sake of my review, and I would not have shared the meal as well, it was divine ;) The phyllo was perfectly cooked, light and buttery. It reminded me of the haddock wrapped in phyllo Ted had at Vlora in the backbay. Her dish came at a higher price $18, but that sustained her throughout the day, again, very good portion. What I like about Richards is they do not skimp for the cost...think about the fresh bread basket and whole fruit they started us with. You certainly get your money's worth. No dessert, but they always bring complimentary fresh made wine chocolates...i gave mine to Ted for fear any extra calories after such an indulgent weekend would do me in for sure. So, is Richards back? This was just breakfast, but would definitely go back for dinner...i think its making its way back home, but I'm not quite ready to change my 2011 New Years plans just yet...will keep you posted...
No comments:
Post a Comment