One nice thing about road tripping to Maine from the TriState area is you drive right through Portsmouth, NH. Portsmouth is a beautiful town where you could probably spend a full vacation if you want to. In my family, however, it has always been a stop along the way. We would get out of the car after about 5 hours driving up from Jersey, and as kids we went to the Children’s Museum to play before having lunch in town.
Now, as an adult, we skip right to the lunch and spend some time walking around the town. There are a number of restaurants lined up along the water, and this time we decided to try River House. It has beautiful views and it’s great to be able to sit outside.
And dream about the houses across the water.
And watch the boats and the bridge. It’s really quite lovely.
Their menu is extensive and varied.
We started with the warm lobster artichoke dip. Lobster and artichokes are 2 of my favorite food, so I was thrilled.
And I loved that it came with big ol’ chunks of lobster in it.
We also tried something on a skewer. I wish I remembered what this was… but 2 years later, it has evaporated (and we already know about the fate of the notebook I bought).
One person in our party got The Cowboy Burger, which was dusted with Cowboy Ranch seasoning, chargrilled, topped with spicy Pepper Jack cheese on a toasted Brioche roll, finished with crisp onion straws, and a side of their house made Chipotle ketchup. He really enjoyed this burger.
We also got a swiss burger with sweet potato fries.
And my sister and I split The Tall Ships Plate, which was a 6 inch sweet Maine lobster roll on a grilled brioche bun with a cup of chowder and some sweet potato fries.
The lobster roll was made the way I like it… on a roll with plenty of butter, one leaf of lettuce, and big chunks of lobster that weren’t drowning in mayo. It was very good, but I can’t say it was the best I’ve had.
The chowder was hearty and flavorful, but so creamy that I think we only had a few bites each.
This is a good restaurant to satisfy a lot of different palates (they even have a gluten free menu now!) with gorgeous views and very good food. We really enjoyed ourselves here, and I’m sure that has a lot to do with the beautiful weather and views.
Total Nom Points: 7 out of 10
