A Night Out in Bedford, NH
Rockin’ in the Burbs
Bedford has been going through quite the growth spurt in the past year. With the addition of the beautiful new NH Liquor & Wine Outlet and rumors of a Trader Joe’s, Bedford has become a New Hampshire retail destination in its own right. Tucked in amongst the strip malls are some options for a fun evening out.
In need of a ladies night, I invited one of my best girlfriends to join me on this excursion. And what’s girl talk without a cocktail in hand? Enter: The Copper Door, the upscale addition to the T-Bones family. And yes, The Copper Door actually has a copper door, although it was so heavy we could’ve used a Trojan Horse to get through. Inside, we dismounted and beelined for the bar. It was a packed house and we had to hover for a bit before a couple of seats opened up. Patrick made us two excellent Cosmopolitans and we shared the tenderloin beef sliders and crab cakes off the bar menu. We debated ordering more but decided to pace ourselves so we could graze continually throughout the night.
We chatted with some of the folks around us and asked if there was anywhere we could go in Bedford to catch some live music. They pointed us in the direction of Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse, which was just down the road from The Copper Door on Rte. 101. We arrived just as the band was about to start and grabbed some seats at the sub-bar, a long, curved high-top table with stools on both sides. Since the actual bar at this Shorty’s is so small, this area worked as an annex to it and proved to be a fun, social gathering spot. From across the room, a booming voice shouted over the music “COURTNEY!” and there in all his unmistakable glory was my long lost friend, Mad Dog. Ever being plugged into the local music scene, he filled me in on the duo that was playing (Rob & Jody) and I realized that I had seen them before in downtown Manchester. They were as outstanding as I remembered — the husband playing guitar and the wife singing her Melissa Etheridge-y heart out and working the crowd. I will definitely seek them out again.
After a few sets, some quesadillas and some Margaritas, we made our way to the Bedford Village Inn for dessert, also located on Rte. 101. In addition to the main dining room, the BVI also has a wine bar and, what suited us the best on this winter evening, a more casual tavern. We ordered a glass of wine from their extensive list and shared their famous chocolate bag. Like crème brûlée, you have to tink-tink-tink into the chocolate shell to get to the goodness inside. As beautifully as it’s presented, unfortunately we had to knock the bag on its side in order to do so. Not being shy girls, we dug right in and turned that chocolate bag into a chocolate crime scene.
