The Dunaway

Friday I had lunch at The Dunaway in Portsmouth, N.H. . This was not a random choice; I went because owner/chef Mary Dumont was recently chosen as one of the "Best New Chefs" by Food & Wine. If you find yourself in the Seacoast area, I would highly recommend a visit. The restaurant is housed inside of a historic farmhouse in Strawbery Banke . The cuisine draws heavily from fresh, local seafood and produce (including rare herbs, fruits and vegetables grown in Mary's garden behind the restaurant). Since it was lunch, we kept it simple, splitting 2 dishes. The lobster roll, served on a square brioche roll slice diagonally down the middle, had a nice sweet rich taste. The croque madam was full of melted gruyere. Don't even get me started about how good the most important part of any lunch, the homemade lightly seasoned french fries, were! Seeing as this was a celebration of both food AND wine, I ordered a glass of red. The waitress (who was SUPERB by the way) recommended a full-bodied Sorella. I'll admit it was DELICIOUS, I just wish I had known it was going to be $16/glass. Who knew they could charge that in little ole' Portsmouth! Lesson learned: ALWAYS ask to see the wine list no matter WHERE you are eating!