Offbeat Eats

Back in 2021, one of my favorite breakfast spots, Country Kitchen in Newport, NH, announced that they wouldn’t be reopening after Covid-19 closures. I miss that spot; it was definitely a bit of a dive, but the food was good, the prices quite affordable, and they really had a nice selection of locals that were always dining there. But the place wasn’t closed for long, in 2022 it was announced that the building was reopening, this time as Jalisco Mexican Bar and Grill.

As I mentioned a while ago in my review of Claremont Union Episcopal Church’s Strawberry Harvest Supper, I’ve been trying to avail myself of the various community meals that spring up around the Upper Valley. Harvest suppers. Fire department fund raisers, Non-profit fundraisers, and that sort of thing. As I find them, I like to work them into my schedule. This year, I noticed in the Kearsarge Shopper an announcement for Newport, NH’s Church of the Good Shepherd’s fall Roast Beef Dinner on November 1st (yes, this means I’m 9 weeks behind at the moment; working on it…).

The last few years, Chef Jeff Porter has been moving around a lot. He was getting good reviews in South Carolina when he moved back to back to his hometown of Newport, NH, and after some time working as a chef at one local golf course, he opened a food truck in Newport. After a pretty good start in the food truck, he moved to brick and mortar, moving his restaurant, Breaking Bread, into another country club, the Newport Country Club (which I’ve never been to, but it’s one of those spots that seems quite itinerant, since it’s been a good half dozen different restaurants in my years living here). Finally, a pair of storefronts on Newport’s Main Street became available next to the police station, and he moved Breaking Bread downtown. On one of our recent trips to an event in Newport, we finally had a chance to stop by and check it out.

A few years ago, the old courthouse in Newport, NH was renovated and converted into a restaurant, called, simply, The Old Courthouse. It’s been a welcome addition to the area’s fairly meager “fine dining” scene, with a rather nice dinner menu, as well as one of the area’s better Sunday Brunches. However, what has often drawn me to the Old Courthouse is that they often have some pretty good theme dinners. In this case, they recently were celebrating Polish-American Heritage Month with a series of Polish dinners. Seeing that Carol is of Polish descent, and I’m of Lithuanian descent, and the area don’t really have a lot of Eastern European dining options, we decided to check it out.

Today’s post is about guilty pleasures, and the eating of food that you either know or suspect is (a) unhealthy, and (b) of slightly dubious quality, but for some reason you feel compelled to enjoy it. One of the best examples I can think of is Coronis Market, in Newport, NH. I’m not even sure I’d call Coronis a convenience store, it’s one of those “beer, beverage, and munchies” store in Newport. However, they advertise on all their signage that they have “Famous Grinders”, which at one point several years ago compelled me to actually try one.

(Closed) Since I live in Grantham, if I feel the need to duck out for a quick bite, it’s often easier to drive down to Newport, NH than the Upper Valley proper, since (a) it’s closer (9 miles vs 16 miles), and (b) there are actually some interesting places to eat in Newport. Indeed, among other places, it sports a good (and reasonably authentic) Mexican place (the oddly-named Lil’ Red Baron, which for some items I prefer it to Gusanoz), a pretty good tavern (Eagle Tavern), and a drive-in complete with carhops. I’ll focus on the last one for this review (since I ate there today).