Foodievents

Portsmouth Restaurant Week Kicks off Today

Here's a tip: Go to New Hampshire and eat!
Here’s a tip: Go to New Hampshire and eat!

OK, OK. Grub Street has been known to criticize Restaurant Week, and we’re definitely not alone. Let’s face it: It can be a bit of a … rip-off. Do you really want the opportunity to pay upwards of $20 for a three-course lunch at a restaurant that just might confine you to plebeian options like roast chicken, salad, and maybe (just maybe!) your choice of dessert? Yes, Restaurant Week is sometimes a letdown. At its best, though, RW can be a wonderful thing, a chance to explore exciting eateries hitherto undiscovered, sometimes cheaply. This holds true a few miles north in Portsmouth, where tons of local mom-and-pop spots plan to participate in their very own Restaurant Week, kicking off as we type this.

Here’s a tip: Go to New Hampshire and eat!

We usually pilgrimage across state lines in the summer to plunge ourselves into the ocean and then gorge on fried clams, so this is a nice reminder that there’s plenty of good eating to be done even during the chillier months. Prices are gentle, too: The 3-course prix fixe menus at restaurants around town include lunch $16.95 per person, or dinner for $29.95 per person.

Grub-friend/Portsmouth critic Rachel Forrest, who’s provided us with regional insight for various slideshows, offers a helpful round-up of participating restaurants and their accompanying apps, plus must-orders at spots throughout the city. Beef empanadas at Brazo? Shark bites at Mombo? Don’t mind if we do, New Hampshire!

Portsmouth Restaurant Week Kicks off Today