FOOD & DRINK
Feeding Neighbors (and Beyond)
There’s no “S” hidden beneath his shirt, but a lot of people think he’s a hero nonetheless. During the worst of the pandemic this past year, Kaylon Sweet, owner/chef of Osteria Poggio restaurant in Center Harbor, provided meals, free meals, to thousands of people who were having a tough time. After the pandemic shut down his restaurant, he used his kitchen and his suppliers (“I told them, if you’re throwing stuff out, I can use it”) to begin the effort that would create 9,000 meals. And it didn’t stop there. Among other things, he formed partnerships to raise money for organizations that feed the hungry. More outreach efforts, like a community kitchen, are planned. As Sweet says, “A restaurant can be more than a restaurant. I know if you put good out in the world, it comes back to you.” And, he adds, “It’s not just me.” He credits all those who are helping him in the work. Some of the high praise from the community: “It is people like Kaylon that truly make the world a better place,” writes Sara. Courtney writes: “They’re always looking for ways to give back to the community, even after all of the hardships the restaurant industry faced this past year.” osteriapoggio.com
COURTESY PHOTOS
Bedford purplefinchcafe.com
Multiple Locations pastry.net
Multiple Locations tuckersnh.com
Frederick’s Pastries BAKERY Concord Area
Bread & Chocolate Concord Facebook
BAKERY Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
Blue Loon Bakery New London blueloonbakery.com
BAKERY Great North Woods Region
Polish Princess Bakery
Wolfeboro yumyumshop.com BAKERY Manchester Area
Bearded Baking Co. Manchester beardedbaking.com BAKERY Monadnock Region
Culture
Milford culturenh.com
Tucker’s
BREAKFAST PLACE Concord Area
The Windmill Restaurant
Concord windmillfamilyrestaurantinc.com BREAKFAST PLACE Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
Lou’s Restaurant & Bakery Hanover lousrestaurant.com
BREAKFAST PLACE Great North Woods Region
The Wilderness Restaurant Colebrook Facebook
BREAKFAST PLACE Lakes Region
The Farmer’s Kitchen Farmington farmerskitchen-nh.com BREAKFAST PLACE Manchester Area
Poor Boy’s Diner Londonderry poorboysdiner.com
BAKERY Nashua Area
BREAKFAST PLACE Manchester Multilocation Regional
Merrimack and Hollis buckleysbakerycafe.com
Bedford and Portsmouth thefriendlytoast.com
Buckley’s Bakery & Café
Industry East opened on Hanover Street in Manchester just as the pandemic turned the restaurant business upside down. Despite the added challenges, Jeremy Hart and Dan Haggerty created a charming, intimate bar with an intriguing list of both cocktails and dishes, which range from oysters on the half shell to duck confit stuffed popovers. If something like the Lookin’ California (gin, aperol, thyme, orgeat, acid-adjusted grapefruit) or Gentleman’s Choice (mezcal or vodka, orange and carrot shrub, lemon, honey, Thai chili) aren’t to your taste, order the Lemme Get UUHHHH ... and they’ll whip up something just for you. industryeastbar.com
The Purple Finch Café BREAKFAST PLACE Overall Multilocation Local
Yum Yum Shop
Craft Cocktails
BREAKFAST PLACE Overall
BAKERY OVERALL Multilocation Regional
BAKERY Lakes Region
Chef-and-pastry-chef duo Matt and Laura Berry take cooking seasonally seriously, using mostly what the land provides. You won’t find them at a restaurant, at least not their own — they hold intimate pop-up dinners with elegant tasting menus at venues around the state, including outdoors at local farms. Dahlia, named for their daughter, is a nomadic restaurant, and it can be a bit elusive. Reservations fill up fast, and anyone hoping to experience their cooking will need to sign up for alerts at the website and keep an eye on social media. dahlianomadic.com For anyone with food allergies (or kids with allergies), finding safe — and tasty — items can be challenging. Windham-based Homefree produces their line of packaged snacks in a dedicated bakery completely free of peanuts, tree nuts, eggs, wheat, dairy, soy (except lecithin), fish, shellfish and sesame. The staff even wears Homefree clothing and shoes to avoid tracking in allergens, and the kitchen is strictly gluten-free as well. These are just some of the precautions they take, meaning these are truly treats you can trust. Plus, they taste good! The mini cookies come in a variety of flavors, including chocolate chip, lemon, vanilla, chocolate mint and more. homefreetreats.com
Dover harveysbakery.com
Lancaster polishprincessbakery.com
Pop-Up Dining
Safe Snacking
BAKERY OVERALL
Harvey’s Bakery and Coffee Shop
The Friendly Toast
BAKERY Salem Area
BREAKFAST PLACE Monadnock Region
Windham klemmsbakery.com
Milford damngoodgrub.com/ riverhousecafe
Klemm’s Bakery BAKERY Seacoast Region
Popovers on the Square Epping and Portsmouth popoversonthesquare.com BAKERY White Mountains Region
Red Wagon Bakery Canaan Facebook
BARBECUE
KC’s Rib Shack Manchester ribshack.net
BARTENDER
Becca Paine Machina Kitchen & ArtBar Keene machinaarts.org
The Riverhouse Café
BREAKFAST PLACE Monadnock Region Multilocation Local
The Red Arrow 24 Hr Diner
Multiple Locations redarrowdiner.com BREAKFAST PLACE Nashua Area
Suzie’s Diner
Hudson suziesdiner.com BREAKFAST PLACE Salem Area
Maddie’s
Salem maddiesnh.com
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