Guides
Dream of warmer days when traveling to these four superb places to eat showcasing Caribbean and South American cuisines.
Ansanm’s chicken paté with avocado and watercress salad. / Image courtesy of Ansanm
For all the charms of New England winter (powdery snow! crackling fires! a purpose to have on a fleece onesie all working day!), the darkest and coldest year has a way of outstaying its welcome in the Northeast. Determined to avoid heading the way of Jack Nicholson in The Shining, a lot of flee south to the tropics seeking sunshine, sand, and munchies additional exciting than beef stew and bread.
But you do not have to pony up 1000’s of bucks for a rejuvenating taste of hotter climes. Within the snowbound hills and valleys of wintertime New England, you will obtain some of the region’s most succulent preferences of Caribbean and South American cuisines, from shrimp ceviche to rum-infused pineapple cake. Many thanks to these four relatives-owned dining places, you can have the most effective of each worlds—skiing or tobogganing by day, tucking into a tropical smorgasbord come sundown.
Ansanm
Milford, New Hampshire
When chef Chris Viaud began hosting a sequence of pop-up dinners at his initial cafe, Greenleaf, his mission was to showcase the Haitian dishes that he grew up taking in in the United States. The 1-off feasts were this sort of a hit that Viaud resolved it was time to amount up to brick and mortar, and in tumble 2022, he opened Ansanm. The fragrant eatery pairs traditional Haitian cooking with a modern day perception of edible creativeness.
The fried-rooster sandwich, topped with pikliz, crispy plantains, and epis aioli, is served on dwelling-made adobo brioche. The golden-brown pork shoulder and the curry chickpea stew are loaded with more than enough seasonings to warm you up from a extensive afternoon of clomping around in the snow. And the buttery patés (patties) stuffed liberally with seasoned meats or mushrooms and veggies convey a quintessential Haitian avenue meals to the center of southern New Hampshire. Toss in a Mango Sunset blended consume, and it is a trip to try to remember.
20 South St., Milford, New Hampshire, 603-554-1248, ansanmnh.com.
Melaza Bistro’s shrimp ceviche. / Image courtesy of Melaza Bistro
Melaza Bistro
Woodstock, Vermont
There is one thing about isolation that can spur innovation, and in Woodstock, Vermont—a common New England village known for lined bridges and many denominations of maple syrup—one restaurant has been melding and remixing Caribbean flavors for more than a ten years. At Melaza Bistro, domestically elevated meats and greens are remodeled into tempting smaller plates like sweet corn and roasted poblano-stuffed empanadas with guava dipping sauce, or jumbo garlic shrimp with grilled crostini.
Chef David Diaz delivers the affect of his Puerto Rican heritage and the encompassing islands to the menu, which also features several heartier solutions, together with chili- and coffee-dusted filet mignon medallions and saffron-simmered vegetable paella. A fresh new mojito or rum punch will add an more layer of tropic escapism to your food, particularly if it’s just one of those people long, darkish New England evenings when snow is piling up outside the house the home windows of the restaurant’s toasty, greenery-festooned dining home.
71 Central St., Woodstock, Vermont, 802-457-7110, melazabistro.com.
La Fogata
Pittsfield, Massachusetts
In 1993, when Miguel Gomez designed the move from Colombia to the Berkshires, he rapidly recognized that tracking down bona fide Colombian cuisine—let by itself the raw elements wanted to whip up family classics—was likely to entail a literal journey. Immediately after quite a few pilgrimages to New York markets to source staples like mole, Gomez located himself sharing his cooking with associates of the Pittsfield local community.
Right now, when you step into La Fogata (translation: “the bonfire”), one particular of the first factors that you will possible place is a picket shelf in the vicinity of the entrance made up of some of those people valuable substances that Gomez traveled significantly to purchase, and when you open up the dine-in menu, the fruits of all those cross-point out marketplace voyages communicate for themselves. Established the stage with yuca con hogao—cassava topped with sautéed tomatoes and onions. Escalate the food with pargo rojo frito, fried purple snapper with environmentally friendly plantains, or churrasco, a significant grilled steak with vivid chimichurri sauce. And be positive to depart room for a deliriously sweet assisting of the home tres leches cake.
770 Tyler St., Pittsfield, Massachusetts, 413-443-6969, lafogatarestaurante.com.
Go See Tyce BBQ
Saco, Maine
Reliable southern-design and style barbecue can be a white whale for New England gourmands. But a diverse alluring genre of smoked melt-in-your-mouth meats awaits people in coastal Maine, just south of Portland. In a cozy cottage decked out with vivid shades of yellow and eco-friendly, the team at Go See Tyce serves up heaping parts of barbecue from even farther south—Jamaica.
Go See Tyce’s Jamaican-style barbecue imbues juicy cuts with marinades and spices that open up a nebula of flavors much past New England. No matter if you crave a miniature mountain of peppery beef brisket, ribs, and jerk pork, the shiny flavor of mango-coconut scallops, or new entire fish smothered in escovitch sauce (a tangy vinegar-based vegetable dressing), the eclectic and evolving menu at Go See Tyce has yielded a loyal adhering to of readers. It’s takeout only, so you’ll want to find a cozy location for savoring your Jamaican feast after pickup. But regardless of whether you are holed up at a close by lodge or heading back to Boston right after a weekend of wintery seashore strolls, a multi-study course supper from Go See Tyce will make the return of the summertime sea breeze truly feel just a very little bit nearer.
810 Portland Rd., Saco, Maine, 207-494-8025, goseetycebbqllc.com.