Last weekend, we decided to spend a day down in SE New Hampshire, and this gave us a good opportunity to check out someplace new for breakfast. After a little bit of research, I decided to try a relative newcomer to the generally sparse Concord breakfast scene, The Newell Post, on Fisherville Road in north Concord (almost in Penacook). The Newell Post opened in April of 2012, and their goal is operating a “small, warm, and welcoming restaurant”, offering breakfast and lunch.
Settling in to a nice cozy booth, the waitstaff was very friendly and outgoing, telling us that their main chef was from the Carolinas, and that he was able to whip up good crab cakes and a good Hollandaise sauce. With those recommendations in hand (although I was mightily tempted by the corned beef hash omelet as well), our breakfast order was simple: I ordered the Eggs Benedict, while Carol went for the Crab Cake.
Starting with the Benedict: this was a rather nicely done Benedict: the eggs were perfectly poached, with soft yolks enrobed in nice fluffy whites. Add in a nicely seared layer of Canadian bacon and a well-toasted English muffin, and a nice generous portion of a very nicely done Hollandaise, and I was rather pleased with this Benedict; it’s one of the better ones I’ve had.
Carol fared even better with her Crab Cake: I’ve found that once I get north of Maryland, crab cake quality tends to suffer rather quickly, but Newell Post had a rather nicely done product: a generous portion of flaky crab meat, a rich binder, and a good crisp coating that made for one of the nicest crab cakes that either one of us have had in a while, and probably the best we’ve found in New Hampshire. I’d definitely consider coming back just for more crab cakes.
The one disappointment with Newell Post: the home fries. Home fries can be a great side dish, especially if really nicely seared up on a flat-top. Here, they were just… there. 1-inch cubes of deep-fried potato that weren’t really cooked nicely (if you are going to deep-fry them, they should be like fat fries: crispy on the outside, and fluffy on the inside); indeed, they were bordering on undercooked. I wanted to like these more, but in the end, they mostly seemed to serve as a placeholder on the plate.
Don’t get me wrong, I really like my breakfast at Newell Post: both breakfast entrees were spot-on. They’ve just got a bit of tweaking to do with the home fries before the entire breakfast is dialed in. I’m sure they’ll continue to improve.
