School vacation week is officially over yet I was able to take the most delightful, relaxing, four day trip to Northern New Hampshire and Vermont this weekend with the most amazing woman. This is a short review of the various eateries, lodgings, and activities we took in broken down by location.
Lincoln, New Hampshire
Lodging - Pemi Cabins (www.pemicabins.com). Charming little cabins on the inside which the website is prone to be misleading about. Although it looks like they are not directly next to each other, they are - only feet separating some. That being said, they are their own freestanding buildings and they are absolutely adorable on the inside. Close the blinds, light a fire and it is like you are in the middle of the woods, not on the side of a highway. Relatively inexpensive, incredibly friendly and not overbearing hosts. All in all recommended for a quiet place to stay that won't run you too much.
Dining - The Woodstock Station (www.woodstockinnbrewery.com). One of the few places that had any cars parked out front we opted for the Station instead of the fancier restaurant attached to it (which clearly had the same kitchen going). Starting off with the "award-winning" sampler of four beers we were hopeful yet these beers were indicative of the entire experience food wise. The beer was decent, warmer than necessary, and the aftertaste (especially on the Maple Porter) was just unpleasant. The "award-winning" sweet potato ravioli were covered in a spicy sauce which completely covered up any sweet potato flavor (who is handing out these awards people?!) The California Pizza should win the award for most barely cooked piece of unpleasantness ever (although that was not mentioned in the menu for some odd reason). Not to mention the fact that each tiny slice had at least five full artichokes on it and it was literally dripping with garlic butter. The veggie burger was good aside from the cheese being unmelted and it being a little on the greasy side. The waitress was pleasant, the mudslide was absolutely delicious, and the hordes of Irish were entertaining.
Entertainment - Sled Ventures (www.sledventures.net). Having never gone snowmobiling before we were both very excited (and not particularly anxious about it either). Although the operation began by seeming a bit shoddy (no hands on lesson on how to drive, no safety explanations) the guy who ran the joint and went with us was ideal. He wasn't overly talkative, he kept us moving through the woods at good speeds around 50 miles per hour. He took enough stops so that Vicki and I could trade places and get a whole lot of driving in each.The drizzle barely mattered and the fog made it all sorts of exciting at times. Snowmobiling is fun and this company made it enjoyable.
Bristol, Vermont
Lodging - Inn at Baldwin Creek (www.innatbaldwincreek.com). Most bed and breakfasts seem to be very hit or miss. Overbearing or under attentive hosts, classy or creepy lodging, there is always a good and a bad to it. Now, the Inn at Baldwin Creek, as strictly an option for lodging was almost flawless. The Treehouse room is absolutely adorable (albeit a little large for just two people). The entrance leads you past two Dick Van Dyke beds and down a few stairs into an adorable room with a huge bed (which might be the most comfortable bed in the history of the world), an electric fireplace, and just some great design choices. It is completely segregated from the rest of the house so this room is really special. We took peeks at three other rooms while we were there and although they were decent it was clear that the Treehouse is the room that the most time, effort, and love has been put into. We both highly recommend this room.
Dining - Mary's at The Inn at Baldwin Creek (www.innatbaldwincreek.com/marys). Now, onto the less positive. Another "award-winning" restaurant, Mary's started off so promising and ended up so disappointing. The decor was cozy, fireplace, friendly atmosphere, nice. The waitstaff was overly friendly (must have been specifically trained as such since both of them used the same exact lines in similar situations on the floor). The menu sounded delicious and they were even willing to work with us around our vegetarianism. Vicki's pomegranate cranberry Bellini was delicious and my gingerbread apple crisp (rum, cider, gingerbread syrup) was decent but not chilled enough and certainly too rummy.
We ordered a few things from each part of the menu and the first major issue was when they were delivered. We ordered appetizers, soup, and two main courses. When asked if we would like them separately and in what order we explained the common order they would come in and definitely separately. The first thing to arrive was the French Red Onion Soup which proved to be the only really tasty item to eat the entire night. The next thing to arrive was the Baked Ziti. This was honestly worse than something a twelve year old would make it you left them in charge of a pasta dish. The sauce was soupy and at the bottom of the dish. The portion was tiny. The lump of mozzarella on top was barely melted and the whole dish was lukewarm throughout (aside from the somehow scalding pot which was very misleading). I would have been upset getting this at Friendly's - and it would have cost a quarter of what it did here. Oh, that and it wasn't even ziti. The kitchen was kind enough to fry the Sweet Potato Fries without duck fat although doing so made them take nearly twenty minutes to prepare and they were soggy. They were still sweet potatoes so I wasn't entirely disappointed yet they were definitely the second least impressive sweet potatoes I have ever had (see the night before for the least impressive). The Roasted Garlic Flatbread Pizza was burnt and sloppily put together. Again, I could make a more delicious pizza when I was twelve. Even at 4 am in college after a long night out on the town I would still have made something more impressive. For dessert we opted for the all you could eat chocolate buffet which was by all means average. The cream puff looked like it was from Shop Rite, the truffles were filled with raw cookie dough (best I can tell) and the three different flavors all tasted identical. The creme brulee was cold and clearly not fresh. And seriously, how do you mess up chocolate chip cookies? I don't know personally, you'd have to ask them. The chocolate mousse was good though. Color me incredibly unimpressed with this whole dining experience as a whole (even the fifteen percent discount for being a guest was a rip off since it was fifteen percent off one single entree - a whopping three dollars in savings). We will not be eating here again.
Woodstock, Vermont
Lodging - Applebutter Inn (www.applebutterinn.com). An adorable bed and breakfast a little outside of the Village of Woodstock. Really friendly hosts (Michael and Barbara are adorable and so incredibly thoughtful), a beautiful house in a less traveled area, this is a terrific place. Although there were issues with the water temperature, the Cameo Room offered a nice electric fireplace and an incredibly comfortable bed. The location is key, and the breakfast was absolutely delicious.
Dining - Mangowood's at the Lincoln Inn (www.mangowood.com). Chef Teresa Tan is amazing. Not just in her terms of her abilities as a chef but as a human being as well. I had been in touch about a special dining experience for Vicki and myself and not only was Tan open to the idea, she e-mailed back and forth with me for some time to figure out the exact best situation for us - and boy did she. The eight course (give or take) Chef's Table found us sitting in the kitchen, feet away from her as she worked her magic - no other customers in sight. The staff of four were friendly, thoughtful, and so incredibly professional while still having a good time. Tan and Co. treated us terrifically, and she created dishes with specific ingredients that had been requested, walking us through the process, giving us space to enjoy each other yet always willing to attend to us in any way we needed. From spinach bites to risotto cakes. From tofu fries to some wild creme brulees. Never before has a chef been so accommodating and so willing to share their craft with their customers. Every dish was unique, every dish was creative and even those that were overpowering in their flavor were something that we would not have traded for the world. I could not write enough about how terrific of a dining experience this was and how creative of a chef Theresa Tan is as well. So very highly recommended.
Our menu;
1st Course:
Spinach, pine nuts & mushroom ball;
Deep fried lychee ball with goat cheese and pistachio;
Blue cheese walnut ball
2nd Course: Black pepper sesame tofu fries, sweet chili aioli
3rd Course: Sundried tomato, capers & olive goat cheese creme brulee
4th Course: Green Curry Tomato Red Lentil coconut Bisque
5th Course: Indonesian style slow cooked spicy potatoes
6th Course:
For Victoria - Crispy whole red snapper, stir fry noodles with Napa cabbage, cilantro ginger sauce
For me - Creamy coconut risotto cakes, Thai Peanut Pesto Sauce
Dessert: Blue cheese & Fig Brulee
When it really comes down to it, food, weather, lodging, and entertainment are important yet pale in comparison to the importance of a terrific travel companion. It could have been freezing rain the whole time, us sleeping in a tent, eating taquitos and drinking Schlitz and I would have been the happiest man in the world. What a terrific weekend.