Where to Eat and Drink During the 2017 New Hampshire Film Festival
You’re an independent film buff at heart, and the 2017 New Hampshire Film Festival is delighted to have a menu of films to excite your palate. But the city you are visiting this weekend? The little city of Portsmouth? It also happens to have more than its fair share of dining establishments to leave your stomach *really* happy.
Best of all, you’ll find a tasty variety of restaurants within walking distance to The Music Hall and the other downtown film venues. For the full gamut, Google and Yelp, but here are a few perfect for popping into for apps and drinks between film sessions.
Here we go:
The District — They bill themselves as “upscale-casual restaurant/bar with farm-fresh New American fare, craft cocktails & patio seating.” We’ll recommend the Daddy Issues cocktail: Bulleit rye, luxardo maraschino liqueur, Fernet Branca, house bitters, orange peel; or why not shock your pals by ordering a really old school session beer? Coors Light. To sample some of the local, try the Throwback Brewery Seasonal 22 oz from a farm down the road in North Hampton. Sample apps include Fried Pickles and Sriracha Wings. Mmmmm.
Flatbread Co. — There’s no beating around the bush at this restaurant, and there’s no need to. Its main attraction is in its name: Flatbread, oh, yeah! We recommend whatever the special of the day is, they have some doozies. One recent special: the Carne — Local organic baby spinach, ground lamb, mozzarella, organic red onion, banana peppers, feta, parmesan and their organic herb blend — finished after baking with homemade Tzatziki. We don’t know about you, but they had us at banana peppers. Wash it all down with whatever local craft brew they have on tap. The Seacoast isn’t only rich in pizza, it’s rich in nano-breweries!
Thirsty Moose Taphouse — We’re not sure where the name comes from, but there’s one thing for certain, the moose is no longer thirsty after hitting this hot spot. If your bartender disappears for a second after you place your order, it’s just because with more than 160 tap lines and 116 brews, sometimes they need to run to their second bar line. And food does not disappoint. We recommend the buffalo chicken dip with the Fire Starter Cider by North Country Hard Cider Company out of Rollinsford, NH.
Martingale Wharf — For some of the best views while drinking a brew (or doing anything, really), head to Martingale Wharf and snag a table outside. The synopsis you’ll get by Googling is “New American fare with seafood galore served in a flashy setting with a sprawling water-front deck.” The bar inside, part sea glass mosaic, is quite flashy as well. If you think you’ll catch a chill outside, think again; there are fire pits, heaters and courtesy blankets. Speaking of fire pits: We recommend the S’more A La Martingale (dark chocolate and fudge brownie with white chocolate chips torched marshmallows, caramel, crumbled graham cracker and vanilla ice cream) and a glass of the 2013 Klinker Brick Old Vine Zinfandel. Ahhhh.
The list goes on and on and on…Make sure to check out the following Participating Restaurants in this year’s Film Festival:
- The One Hundred Club
- Atlantic Grill
- BRGR Bar
- Cava
- Portsmouth Gaslight
- Robert’s Maine Grill
- Row 34
- Anju
- Pocos/Two Ceres
- Tuscan Kitchen
- Vida Cantina
- Nibblesworth
(By J.L. Stevens)