Tour the Town : Newmarket, New Hampshire

Y’all know I’ve absolutely fallen in love with all these small towns up here in New England – but I thought, why don’t I share the adorable little town we live in?!

I have to say it was really interesting doing some research on the town we live in and finding out the history behind the mills that take up so much of our town. But my favorite part was getting to know the people who own these amazing local eateries and talk with them about their places and passions!

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h i s t o r y

Newmarket was incorporated in 1727, and given full township ten years later in 1737. The Lamprey River runs right through town and the mills – which in the 1800’s processed cotton brought in from the South – harnesses it’s power from the river. The Newmarket Manufacturing Company built seven textile mills, housing buildings for workers and other “support buildings”, the Newmarket Manufacturing Company only closed within the last 90 years. The two room stone school house built in 1841 is still standing as are 350 other historical sites listed in Newmarket.

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Currently the old Mills have been completely transformed into apartments, stores and restaurants. In fact in the 70’s the headquarters for Timberland Boots were in the Mills and during those years they grew from a small “working mans boot” to a fashion icon. Currently Newmarket is littered with small locally run businesses that are really something to behold. Each shop has it’s own unique character, with owners working day in a day out, knowing their customers names. That passion, familiarity and community creates this feeling in the air that you just can’t find when you walk into a big box store.

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On a nice day we can walk from our house right to downtown Newmarket, the walk is lovely – as we live on environmental conservation lands – and there are ancient trees as well as rickety old homes to look at on our short walk into town. Once we get “into town” there is plenty to do. We of course, love to eat – and there are plenty of places to do that! More on that later.

Walking into town from our home we hit a little side street first, walking down a few blocks there is a tree covered park for the kids to play at. Farther into town we walk downhill past shops and restaurants, the town church with a clock tower – that we can hear chiming at our house – and down to the Lamprey River. We love feeding the ducks at the inlet/boat ramp area and walking against the stream up to the waterfall.

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This coffee, breakfast and lunch joint is a haven for all types of people. Families, business men and women, hippies, college kids from UNH that’s down the road and everyone in between. This place brings everyone together with some great food, a laid back vibe and fun character. True to it’s name the Big Bean has a self serve coffee bar, espresso machines and specialty coffee drinks that are to die for!

Their food is full of flavor and flare, the dishes, and their names are just as funky as the decor, with menu items called “The 420”, “The Hippie” and “Wouldn’t it be Nice”.

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My new bestie Laura owns and operates The Newmarket Creperie. She is one bad ass lady y’all! She makes some AMAZING crepes, but if you ask me her home fries are a very very VERY close second.

Laura actually opened an ice cream parlor 9 years ago and offered a few sweet crepes on the menu, at her husbands suggestion, and the rest is history! Laura still serves some mean ice-cream sundaes – but this woman was made to make crepes y’all.

Her most famous orders are The Banana’s Foster Crepe – which includes warm syrupy bananas served over a powdered sugar crepe with sweet sweet vanilla ice cream on top.

The Spring Fling is refreshing and crisp, I mean the name says it all! Fresh crunchy Spinach, sweet strawberries, sweet and tart blueberries, balsamic and creamy feta, all folded together in a crepe, literally the perfect spring/summertime lunch!

When Laura told me that her home fries were pretty popular she actually said AND I QUOTE “I think we have the best home fries in New England.” I’m a hash brown girl myself, so I’m not gonna lie, I though “yeah… ok…” 

Y A L L 

Laura literally has the best home fries I have EVER HAD IN MY ENTIRE LIFE. She wasn’t lying!

So here’s my issue with home fries vs hash browns – home fries aren’t crispy on the outside, and are often seasoned way too much and tend to be soggy, hash browns on the other hand are crispy on the outside, soft on the inside and aren’t covered in a bunch of spices. Laura has figured out how to make the perfect hybrid of the two. Crispy and crunchy chunks of perfectly seasoned potatoes – she offers them plain, smothered in gravy with cheese curds, and with chili and hollandaise sauce. I honestly can’t tell you which one is best, because they are all the best!

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The Joinery is a perfectly balanced joining of tastes and flavors. Open for dinner, the menu offers selections from three “categories” Soil, Sea, and Pasture and offers traditional plates like Fried Chicken, Fish Sandwiches and Burgers, as well as unique dishes like Grilled Cauliflower Wedges with Buttermilk Cheese, and Lamb Shawarma with Spicy Pickled Beets.

Brenden, Tyler and Sam are the masters behind this incredible menu – a mash up of quality fresh veggies, homemade fermented toppings and superb meats – joining together for a tasty dining experience.

As I was chatting with Brenden, the head chef of the Joinery, he was telling me that they try to get their produce and proteins locally, using the thinking “How close to here can we get this?” when ordering their veggies and meats. Brenden was telling me that they actually get their pork from a farm right down the road. I love that they support local farmers, and care about the quality of their food, too often you go out to eat and can taste that your entire meal was basically just heated up in an oven, and there is nothing less satisfying than that.

The Joinery has an open kitchen so you can watch your food being cooked, it’s incredible watching these men create these delicious meals like the warmed Kale Salad, and the Fish Sandwich that’s piled so high you can hardly fit it in your mouth!

The Joinery also joins together the old and the new with their decor, the wooden planks are all reclaimed barn wood from the 1600’s!

Thank You so much to all these amazing eateries for letting us come and taste test your incredible meals!

xoxo

h

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