Manchester, NH. Every four years, it morphs into central command for the national political machine. So if you only head up there once every primary cycle—or are just passing through on your way to the slopes—here are a few spots new to the area since McCain’s last ride in 2008.
You could defy the cold tundra of Manchester this week with a simple cup of java. A better option: slide into this slick downtown martini bar for some lobster mac and cheese and Maple Martinis: maple bourbon, vanilla vodka and maple syrup. Things get maple-ier the closer you get to Vermont.
And if you’re in Bedford (Manchester’s haughty older brother), the barely-a-few-weeks-old newcomer is this rustic cathedral of upscale comfort food, complete with pork porterhouses with baked beans, Caul Fat Wrapped Meatloaf and Luxury Bacon Bloody Marys served with bacon skewers. If anyone asks, your Bentley is in the shop.
Finishing up a long day on the campaign trail or a bruising set of mountain runs (or just tubing at McIntyre) requires sustenance. Say, something combining your love of beer and your craving for seared beef. Enter Firefly’s Guinness-braised boneless beef short ribs. Along with plenty of actual Guinness.
Then again, sometimes the hour of the wolf draws near, and with it comes a fierce calling for the protein-rich fury found in sushi. If that happens, head here for pre-midnight rounds of tempura shrimp, tuna and three kinds of caviar rolls called The Boss. You are what you eat, after all...
The Bedford Village Inn is southern New Hampshire fine dining and rustic charm at its best. And it recently got better with the addition of Corks, the kind of cherrywood-accented den of oenophilia suitable for the shimmering candidate and pundit gods alike. Ask for a seat near Blitzer’s beard.
