January 20, 2010
Commentary, Food, History, Lists
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Breakfast has been king for years. Since 1989 the Hortons have staked a homestead in Hillsborough. Here is the chronology of breakfast in Hillsborough:
Millview 1: On Main Street, the muffins were homemade and available via daily trivia on the blackboard. Cindy did the counter while Marcia did the cooking. Popular hangout from 1989 to 1992.
Millview 2: Same place, different owners. High rent drove out Millview 1 and Millview 2. Millview 2 was Aaron Zipper’s baby from 1992-1995.
Lost Loon: After a strange hiatus, Zipper came back, in Antrim with a place of his own. His well lit little eatery had salmon on bagel (bagel with lox) as its supreme creation. Among is help was Donny who later went to pick up after Hurricane Katrina. The Loon was active from 1995-2001.
Brunchy’s: Perhaps the most interesting establishment, Brunchys was right outside of Emerald Lake Village in North Hillsborough. The stand alone shack had terrible acoustics, cheek-jowl seating, and gossip by the gallon. Many a Saturday morning started with french toast and dirty laundry, Once again landlord larceny drove the likes of George and Jerelle from the kitchen. Brunchy’s ran from 2001 to 2005.
Hillsborough Diner: Eating here was like returning to the womb. The Diner had been the original “place” for breakfast. But a diagreement over cigars put the Diner on the blacklist…until they were the only option left. Chocolate cream pie helped to ease ill feelings. The Diner pretty much carries the breakfast load for the town. They reign currently…2005 to present.
January 11, 2010
Commentary, Economy, Food, Lists
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As stated in another post, Midori was the first, original, and best sushi bar in NH. But Midori is long gone, but many, oh so many, have come yo fill the gaps. Here are some with commentary:
Odd Fellow Building (Nashua): Home to a slew of in/out restaurants from 1991 to 1995.
You You (Nashua): Right by the Nashua Mall, this “fancy pants” place had more emo to it then worth relating now.
Dynamite (Hudson): A favorite of a friend, but decidedly “iffy” to me–more support for the “ugly get worse service” principle.
Kobe (Manchester): A short lived place with niddle of the road service and quality.
Taipei & Tokyo (Bedford, Portsmouth): Introduced by the worldly Rapsis family, T & T is another middle of the road restaurant with nice locations and plenty of parking.
Sakurabana (Portsmouth): Diana, a college friend, brought me to this place when visiting her. Very quaint location with heavy oriental decor.
Yuki (Manchester, Goffstown): Pricey and sterile, but quality nonetheless. Never had good mutual karma with them.
Moritomo (Concord): Replacing Week’s restauant, the Moritomo has staked claim when they were the only game in town. Small and yet thorough–their Simka Roll is heavan with tobiko.
Red Apple (Concord): Under many names at different times, they have a sushi buffet which I have veered away from due to health reasons. An acquaintance once commented about seeiing rats there—more like a reason to ditch a potential date. Both Moritomo and Green Apple went sushi about the same time.
Beijing & Tokyo (Concord): Around 2007 B & T set up shop in downtown Concord. Best described a blue collar sushi bar they showed some top rate customer service during the dark days of 2007. (Also delivery came with two guys not one, delivering).
Thousand Crane (Manchester/Nashua): When I went to work for Vision Title & Closing, LLC in 2003, I was thrilled beyond reason to find a Japanese restauant (Thousand Crane) across the street and Margaritas restaurant downstairs. For four years T-Crane was “the place”. Following the Midori-Moritomo line T-Crane became the next “sushi home” in conjunction with Sara (see below).
Sara (Goffstown): No longer with us, but introduced by the ubiquitous Rapsis family, this Korean-Japanese restaurant was on the way home and thus a “sushi home”. In addition to quality sushi at excellent price, the banchan (extras) were reminiscent of the Midori.
Chen Yang Li (Bedford, Nashua, Concord): Rated as one the best Chinese restaurants in NH, CYL has high standings for the Japanese side of the menu. Had a Christmas party very recently there, nothing but good things to dsy for James and his gang. Oh, pricey, muy pricey for tuxedo service. Also THE PLACE for Manchester area sushi when Manchester had their sushi ban.
Lee & Mt. Fuji(Peterborough): Now just a few years old, this stylish retro-industrial decored restauant overlooking the falls at the Boiler House puts out a breathtaking beautiful product–pricey and far afield–the place is not to be missed, at least once.
Ichiban(Concord): This national franchise moved in to the classic landmark “Cat in the Fiddle” restaurant. Like Tokyo Joe in Nashua and Shogun in Manchester, Ichiban does sushi. Its trade is in teppanyaki–the grill before your eyes technique. Whereas Moritomo has a modest four tables, Ichiban has dozens. Ichiban does have a quiet room without the song and dance of teppanyaki.
Ginger House (Antrim): A lament of living in Hillsborough has been the distance to sushi restauants. Ginger House opemed in November of 2009, not next door, but at the town next door. In many ways, Ginger House is the typical rural Chinese chop joint—yet it has sushi and sashimi—and a motivated, cheery staff, bubbling with enthussiasm. Ginger House has made the penetration to the deep rural and for that alone they get applause.
December 15, 2009
Lists, Music
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One/The long and winding road is a good place to start. Yes, it is the Beatles and they had an orchestra full of hits. I dig their final cut “The long and winding road” the most. Prophetic and the best goodbye for the ear.
Bee Gees Greatest Hits/Nights on Broadway Much maligned, but durable and universal in appeal (they do have fans). “Nights on Broadway” gets my vote for memorable and yet magical use of lyrics and music.
The Best of the Moody Blues/Nights in White Satin Another pond hopping example of greatness. “Nights in White Satin” can’t be beat. Unforgettable orchestration.
The Best of ABBA/Take A Chance on Me More supergroup poop. “Dancing Queen” being the marquee song, but I find “Take a Chance on Me” to be equally if not more lively. For a vlock of non-native english speakers, they put out well.
The Very Best of Gilbert O’Sullivan/Get Down A minor player in the 1970’s music scene, Gilbert plays the “lone wolf” well. His style sets a unique blend of rock and folk. From this CD I dig “Get Down” a hard rock, anti-social song that borders on punk—perfect for background music for a movie about The Troubles
Elton John Greatest Hits 1970-2002/Tiny Dancer So much to choose from here–Levon, Yellow Brick, or Tiny Dancer. I went for the “dancing in the sand”. The audio-visuals ride through the mind for deep thought.
The Sound of Music/Maria Another girl with issues. English with a continental flair, this ensemble musical rap sheet rides the emotions like Tiny Dancer does.
Carmina Burana/O Fortuna Given this orchestra debuted in the heart of the Third Reich, both time (1937) and place (Frankfurt), one wonders why such a piece of mideval revelry got the Fuhher’s ok. The opening song says it all–Oh Fortune! Since childhood I have played this…as albumn, cassette, and now CD. Like some 14th century Woodstock, Carmina Burana lives on…happily.
Doctor Zhivago/Kontakion Otherwise known as the Funeral Song, this Ukranian masterpiece is soul stirring to the utmost. Zhivago brought so much “Russian’ culture to the American psyche; this despite being shot in Spain and Finland.
Lalaiki Pamir/Amina There are some songs that hold their own, even if in a foreign tounge. I can only guess at the meaning of the lyrics—there are limits to Googlanity. But get into the beat. “Amina” has an intro to raise the dead. Buying the CD was by chance. Back in the early 90’s my brother let me pick a CD to buy at Boston’s Tower records. Strickly on sight, I went to Oleg Fesov route. Give it a fly.
October 11, 2009
Geography, Lists, Travel
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Traveling overseas in spurts, I have seen some of the world’s sites. This list is my biased opinion on places that left some memories.
Blue Bunny Tiffin Stall
Chinna Waltair Andhra Padesh India
Food stalls in India are often called Tiffin Stalls. They vary from stick covered huts to tiled, a/ced place with electricity and running water. In Vizag, there was and may still be a place made of hammered shipping crates, siting a mere dozen where cooking was done over a fire and washing of steel plates was done by hand. It became the am hangout for University of Wisconsin students in 1986-1987. The owner wore a lungi that had dancing psychedelic blue bunnies on it (hence the name). It was also where the Muslim motorized rickshaw drivers got their tiffin (and a great view of downtown Chinna Waltair).
Great Wall of China
Beijing China
You can’t miss it or mistake it. It is superlative on so many levels. I only saw a small length of it and that was enough to get my approval. Well worth going to–where awesome engineering and boundless history cubby up.
Taj Mahal
Agra India
Another masterpiece of Asia, though more sublime and delicate than the Great Wall, Up close or at a distance, it is art and architecture in perfect harmony and perfection. Hell of a tombstone, a wonder of the world, and again worth going to see, feel, and be a part of.
Stonehenge
Salisbury Plain England
I was there shortly before it was closed off by fencing. You can still see it. But I was able to touch it and be up close. Druids or not, the place has appeal for the ones who sweated the boulders into place and built perhaps one of the earliest tourists traps in history.
Tianamen Square
Beijing China
Another score for China. They do things big, more like supersize. Although a “square” it is no rinky-dink Boston Common. It is the definition of the word HUGE. The Hall of the People’s Assembly is on one part of one side and that again is a case of size matters.
Forbidden City
Beijing China
Royalty can be very royal in this case. A near neighbor to Tianamen Square, the Forbidden City is a vast spectacle of columns, buildings, and gardens, a “housing perk” for the divine to live among the mortal. Tour groups from all over the country and world overrun the place. It is literally follow the flag as getting lost can be a major hassle.
Muslim Quarter
Xian China
Another place where getting lost is easy is the city of Xian. It was a booming metropolis when I visited it in 2000. I can’t imagine how big it is now (ditto for Beijing). The Muslim Quarter is the old part of town, and I don’t mean Chaing Kai-Chek. This was the “eastern terminus” for the Silk Road, the superhighway to the late B.C. era. Here was where history began and Xian was where faint echos of far away lands were heard. Trade has changed and yet remained the same. Lamb skewers cook on fiery grills like for thousands of years. Smoke and spice, heat and dust mingle in the air. This is the edge of Central Asia. Come see brave explorer, breathe the incense and the opiate wind, hear the bells and the hawkers cry, watch for the shadows, for those that watch you, do so with one eye.
Benares
Uttar Pradesh India
Benares or Varanasi, it is a city of the living dead. Thousands of Hindu temples, plus innumerable other holy sites, including Buddhist Saranath on its outskirts. Built along the sacred Ganges River, Benares sweats, sticky, humid, rotting yet filled with bright flowers and clothes, chai with coriander and chapati and beggars. It appeared briefly in Octopussy (James Bond), but is best experienced first hand. The city makes the rest of India look modern. But what of a city that was 1000 years old when Jesus did his study abroad? Count Benares as one of the world’s holy cities.
Bahia
Uvita Costa Rica
I did my Peace Corps service here. It was a beach resort without the “resort”. No electricity, no running water, no paved roads or bridges. It was primitive, the jungle was not that distant in time or place. Yet it was peaceful and beautiful, a luxury of healthy living without the carcinogenic accouterments of today. Of course sharks, crocs, poisonous and dangerous plants and animals were a constant–but so were earthquakes and a long, long monsoon season. Today it is all high tech and modern. Such is progress,
September 6, 2009
Geography, Lists
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As a kid I got to travel a fair amount. As an adult I traveled too. Among the places I have seen I have compiled a list of Memorable Places USA
Greeley Park (Nashua, NH): It was mybackyard’s backyard, literally out my backdoor. A city park it stretched from Manchester to the railroad tracks. There were tennis courts, ball fields, pools, slides, and outdoor gym equipment including some very serious swings. The toilets were in a stone fortress (where many a wedding took place). There were fields and woodlands, ice cream trucks and special events. Few things were’nt done there (from the sublume to the foolish). From weed to adult mags, to used sterno and lost frisbees, one never knew what could be found there. God bless the Drunken Bugle Corps and all who wail on her.
St. Croix River (Maine/New Brunswick border): This goes back to summer of 80 or 81. My brother had taken a two week canoe trip with Maine Wilderness and had a great time. I naturally followed the next year. But instead of sun and fun I got cold, wet rain, day after dreary day. With the movie Deliverance on my mind I went deeper into the Maine wilderness. I did not get along with my fellow travelers. The blueberry pancake mix had artifical blueberries (in Maine!!!!!!!), and yeah I got dunked into the chilly Croix. The worst and most memorable was getting shot at from the Maine side by some nut jobs. Not only was I now a member of the Spent Cartridge Club, but I was convinced I would never see NH again.
Camp Coniston (Grantham, NH): God’s gift to the YMCA. A family icon since the late 60’s, Coniston was and is a playground and a garden of Eden for the pure, wholesome growth of kids to adults.
LAX (Los Angeles, California): Yeah an international airport. Take-off point for two trips to Asia and site for a most restless overnight, I appreciate it for what it was and why its there. Life was sure different pre-9/11. Spend a night camped out in the International Terminal. I don’t think so–but then again I have not checked “Airport Camping” since before 9/11.
Dinosaur World (Eureka Springs, Ark): Home also to a 200 foot Jesus, the cement jurassics were more to my liking. Back in thw 70’s my Dad and Grandma took me to this park where half a dozen life size and painted giants dotted the landscape. Cool, real cool. Prett tame by today’s snooty standards. School chums thought I must be have been working the sterno. But nope. No dope.
Farragut North (Washington, DC): Great a Metro stop. How profound. Well back in the summer of 83 it was where the day began and ended. I was a fresh faced, naive knitwit from NH “interning” on Capitol Hill. Despite a flawless character, I was more of a drag then an asset. I pined for lost love and to this Farragut North was the summer’s epicenter for the good, bad, and unforgettable of the Summer of 1983.
Union Building (Madison, Wisconsin): Summer of 1986. UNH was past tense. India lay ahead. And Madison lay between. Living (and learning) in the nation’s heartland I loved the Union Building for beer, brats, popcorn, and pop rock. I may not have quite mastered Telugu, but I got a good dose of CSN & Y and Bucky Badger yogurt.
U Wisconsin Madison Library (Madison, Wisconsin): Site of the most serendipidous event yet recorded. I only went there once, but obce was enough. I ran into one Ramesh Polisetty. He had just graduated from UWM and was starting a job soon in Nashua, NH, my hometown. I had just been graduated and after Madsion I was headed to Vizakhapatnam his “hometown” (his dad was in the railroad business so he moved often). Once we got over the mutual incredolouslessness, we decided to plan on meeting each other’s family. So it was and so it became. And to this day we are still friends.
Coca-Cola Museum (Atlanta, GA): If ever there was a temple to commerce this place gets my vote. Not only is the process and history laid out, but there is a tandem room for sampling the elixir. Cripes did I drink myself silly. My host Cody can attest to my “altered state”. If the South ever wants a rematch om the Civil War, I know who will win in the soda refreshments category. Not that I am a pimp for corporate America, but CC puts on a good show.
Andover Inn (Andover, MA): Mein Got! What a spread. Went there for a wedding (David/Carolynn) and left with a whole new attitude. This locale has a claim to fame that puts other to shame. Andover Inn is the only place in New England that serves rijstafel. Rijstafel is an Indo-Dutch buffet that defies the senses. Course after course comes coursing thru. Beer and rice are the pillars between which they run. Hot, spicy, sweet, cool, tender, hard, tart, tangy. That is rijstafel and only (I mean ONLY) at the Andover Inn. Rijstafel may not be for the meat and potato crowd.
POW Museum (Sumter, GA): Pretty sober place. I visited it soon after opening. Hometown targeted history museum where we see how our boys and girls suffered under the care of our enemies. Most powerful peice was the stockade for Andersonville. Life was tough as a rule back then. But add cruel imprisonment and uckkk!
Memorial Field (Hanover, NH): Where Dartmouth football plys its trade. Since I was a little one, the family ventured there to see Dad’s college team go at it. Back in the day we’d tailgate. And there was the post game party. We’d take our seats in the “balcony” section where fall in the Upper Valley was to be marveled at. To this day, we of the Johnson Horton clan make the journey.
Golden Dragon/Kahala (Nashua, NH): The Dragon was the original “Chinese” restaurant in my eyes. It was the only place downtown I could get a PuPu Platter. It was also were I saw my first bar fight and got propositioned by a whore. The Dragon is timeless.
The Kahala was the standard “family” Chinese restaurant in 1970’s/80’s Nashua. Mai Tai, Moo Shoo, and Dragon Lady crept into the vocabulary because of the Kahala.
Spring Street Junior High (Nashua, NH): Yes there was Mt. Prison (Mount Pleasant) Elementary School. But Spring Street (aka was truly the melting pot of Nashua youth. We were tough, sophisticated, and squeezed between a funeral home and a post office (and fronting a Catholic Church). We were cool and hip and ate our lunchs in a basement bomb shelter. We had a tunnel to link the two buildings (Quincy and Spring Street or Main). Our teachers went by the names of Crawford, Dube, Sinkavich, Axton, and Minichiello. We were right downtown with Super Sub, Crosby’s Bakery, and The Library within easy reach. It was a big jump to cross the Nashua river from the wealthy North End. They tore the place down, every stinkin brick.
Every stinkin brick.
Honorable Mentions:
Alex Shoes, Wingate Pharmacy, King Ridge Ski Area, Indian Head Ski Area, Blanchard Hill Ski Area, Portland Harbor, Martha’s Vinyard, James Hall, Camp Sargent, Nashua Country Club, Nashua Mall, Royal Ridge Mall,
September 1, 2009
Commentary, Economy, Food, Lists
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Food shopping has always been a fun adventure for me. For many years I lived in Nashua NH where choices included the tiny Kirkpatricks (aka Pascallys), the venerable Jeanottes, and the slightly more stylish Jean’s. 21st Century was the downtown market of choice. Soucy’s was further afield, but a landmark nonetheless. Across the highway was Alexander’s–a SUPER market by any stretch, even in the late 70’s. Then came college, India, and the Peace Corps. By the early there were the Big Three. No matter where I have moved in NH, the Three were yje ones to choose from. Here is how they rate:
Market Basket: Located everywhere but near me (their worst fault). The selection is basic, the service is old world courteous (ties and blue coats); they among all still offer free coffee to customers; and MB has the lowest prices hands down. I love them for who they are and what they are not–basic, blue collar, best value.
Shaws: Between Market Basket and Hannaford sits Shaws. The selection is wider and with a white collar feel. Pricing is decidedly more steep. But guess whos local–Shaws. Thus the dilemma–drive far for MB or stay close with Shaws? Shaws does have services and their groceries for gas gets my vote (Kudos for Irving Oil). They also have nice coupon programs.
Hannaford (formerly Alexanders): These people know how to be sophisticated. Selection can’t be beat. They have stuff and at prices making Shaws (in general) a bargain. I used to visit Hannaford in emergencies and for “can’t find elsewhere” things. Happily Hannaford pulled a great one. As an uninsured I was facing $$$ medication costs. Osco at Shaws was no help. But my doctor suggested Hannaford. For a low annual fee I get meds at a most reasonable rate. Hannaford figures the program brings in potential shoppers. I’ll give em that. I’ll even give em my business. I may not be a regular, but I do need to eat so I can find enough for a bagful.
There are other markets: Vista, Trader Joes, and Price Chopper in the Upper Valley. Goffstown has Sully’s. Washington DC had Safeways, while Vizag had Karachi-walla. Costa Rica had tiendas.