Best of NH 2019 Delis, Butcher Shops, Catering, Cafés, Lunch and Breakfast

A breakfast spread at Editor’s Pick the Teatotaller in Somersworth

Editor’s Picks

Bacon Bistro: There’s a little bit of a learning curve at The Bacon Barn in Londonderry. First, you need to know the menu lingo. There’s hog steak (big slab of ham), hog (ham), dead (bacon burned beyond crispy), oinkers (sausage), half & half (not creamer — this is for when you want to order two half-sizes of side orders), cluckers (extra large eggs) and a few other terms. All your favorite breakfast and lunch items are here, and most come with a bacony twist. This beloved food is given its due here, with five options — applewood, peppercorn, jalapeño, bourbon and house bacon — with your choice of preparation, from soft to the aforementioned dead. When a bacon craving hits, this is the place to go.

Breakfast and Agritainment: New Hampshire’s pancake houses are all great in their own way, but at Heritage Farm Pancake House in Sanbornton, your tasty breakfast comes with a side of old-fashioned farm fun. After enjoying a family-style meal with farm-fresh eggs, Fox Country Smoke House bacon, from-scratch pancakes and pure, locally made maple syrup, take the kids to the petting farm or take a horse-drawn wagon ride (or sleigh ride in the winter).

Healthy Meals To Go: No time to spend in the kitchen, yet you crave home cooking? Consider The Clean Take in Concord, a new service that provides meals to go for dining at home. Start with a healthy antioxidant-rich kale and beet salad, and round it out with a nutritious carrot soup and a hormone-free stuffed turkey entrée. They strictly avoid the dirty dozen foods that are high in pesticide, instead seeking organic and local ingredients, and they make most meal components from scratch. They even offer meal plans for those suffering from Lyme disease or recovering from cancer treatment. Just order ahead and pick up from their Capital Two Plaza location on weekdays.

Not Totally Tea: It’s hard to pin down a place like Teatotaller in Somersworth — tea house, coffee shop, breakfast and lunch spot, third place, and hub of a people’s conspiracy to make Somersworth an epicenter of joy, art and human liberation. Not a small task for a tea shop, but then they do serve great teas, most blended in-house where the tea kitchen “infuses our imagination, daydreams and lust for the finer things in life, to create delicious and exciting blends for the experienced tea-drinker (or the uninitiated).” To get a glimpse of the bigger picture, check out their provocative roadside billboard series that makes periodic appearances on the pages of seacoastonline.com.

Outrageous Sandwiches: If you call your place Sandwich Master, you better deliver the goods. This Rindge restaurant definitely lives up to its name with some truly over-the-top options. The Dumpster, for instance, has chicken fingers, fried mozzarella sticks and onion rings topped with more mozzarella plus marinara sauce served on a grilled sub roll. Or how about sandwich on sandwich? The Grilled Cheese Crazy is your choice of ham, turkey or roast beef with lettuce, tomato and your choice of dressing or sauce layered between a grilled cheese sandwich and a grilled bacon and cheese sandwich. Now that’s thinking outside the bun.

Readers’ Poll

Breakfast Place Overall
The Purple Finch
Bedford

Breakfast – Overall
Multilocation Local
Tucker’s
Multiple Locations

Breakfast – Concord Area
The Newell Post
Concord

Breakfast – Concord Area
Multilocation Local
Tucker’s
Multiple Locations

Breakfast Place – Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
The Foothills of Warner
Warner

Breakfast Place – Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
Multilocation Local
Tucker’s
Multiple Locations

Breakfast – Great North Woods Region
Polish Princess Bakery
Lancaster

Breakfast Place Lakes Region
The Farmer’s Kitchen
Farmington

Breakfast Place – Manchester Area
Chez Vachon
Manchester

Breakfast Place – Manchester Area
Multilocation Local
Tucker’s
Multiple Locations

Breakfast Place – Monadnock Region
Parker’s Maple Barn
Mason

Breakfast Place – Monadnock Region
Multilocation Local
The Red Arrow 24 Hr Diner
Multiple Locations

Breakfast Place – Nashua Area
The City Room Café
Nashua

Breakfast Place –Salem Area
Janie’s Uncommon Café
Londonderry

Breakfast – Salem Area
Multilocation Local
MaryAnn’s Diner
Derry, Salem and Windham

Breakfast Place – Seacoast Region
2 Home Cooks
Dover

Breakfast Place – Seacoast Region
Multilocation Regional
The Friendly Toast
Multiple Locations

Breakfast – White Mountains Region
Polly’s Pancake Parlor
Sugar Hill

Brunch
The Old Salt Restaurant at Lamie’s Inn
Hampton

Butcher Shop
Tuckaway Tavern & Butchery
Raymond

Caterer
Celebrations Distinctive Catering
Manchester

Chili Tie
Taco Beyondo
Hillsborough

Chili
Multilocation Local
The Red Arrow 24 Hr Diner
Multiple Locations

Delicatessen
Bubby’s NY Style Delicatessen
Portsmouth

Diner – Overall
Tilt’n Diner
Tilton

Diner – Overall
Multilocation Local
Red Arrow 24 Hr Diner
Multiple Locations

Diner – Concord Area
Northwood Diner
Northwood
(603) 942-5018

Diner – Concord Area
Multilocation Local
Red Arrow 24 Hr Diner
Multiple Locations

Diner – Dartmouth/Lake Sunapee Region
4 Aces Diner
West Lebanon

Diner – Lakes Region
104 Diner
New Hampton

Diner – Manchester Area
Airport Diner
Manchester

Diner – Manchester Area
Multilocation Local
Red Arrow 24 Hr Diner
Multiple Locations

Diner – Monadnock Region
Peterborough Diner
Peterborough

Diner – Monadnock Region
Multilocation Local
Red Arrow 24 Hr Diner
Multiple Locations

Diner – Nashua Area    
Joey’s Diner
Amherst

Diner – Salem Area
The Bacon Barn
Londonderry

Diner – Salem Area
Multilocation Local
MaryAnn’s Diner
Derry, Salem and Windham

Diner – Seacoast Region
Roundabout Diner & Lounge
Portsmouth

Diner – White Mountains Region
Littleton Diner
Littleton

Gourmet To Go      
All Real Meal
Manchester

Sandwich
The Nashua Garden
Nashua

Sandwich
Multilocation Local
The Green Bean
Exeter, Portsmouth, New Castle

Soup
Collins Brothers Chowder
Nashua