28 July 2017 Three Peat at Stages at One Washington

Three Peat at Stages at One Washington

July 28, 2017 By

View from my Seat

This was our third time to Stages at One Washington, Chef Evan Hennessey’s award-winning restaurant in Dover, NH. Our meal and experience was once again a win on all levels. See my 2016 meal recap.

Chef Hennessey and his staff are the epitome of hospitality and we feel like welcomed family each time we visit. The food is creative, presented in the most inventive-yet-simple way and offers flavors that are pleasantly unfamiliar, intriguing and delectable. The experience of the chef’s counter, overlooking the open kitchen and food plating area, is not only entertaining, it provides a view, literally, into what goes into presenting food of this caliber that diners don’t often have an opportunity to see.

Guests entrust their meal selections to the kitchen staff, typically Chef Hennessey and a sous chef. On the evening we visited, Chef Hennessey was joined by Chef de Partie, Elena Faltas. One can opt for a four, eight or 10-course menu, all very affordable – we actually feel that our eight-course meal with ingredients of this level, prepared with such finesse should cost more than $100. The meal began with an amuse bouche followed by eight courses consisting of savory and sweet courses. To say dishes change with the season and based on what’s local would be the understatement of the year. Chef Hennessey and his staff are constantly foraging ingredients from the forest and the seashore. For a fascinating view of their foraging efforts, follow Chef Hennessey on Instagram. It’s truly eye-opening to see the level of efforts that goes into their food.

Here was the menu when we dined at Stages in mid-July:

Complex flavors and textures aren’t easily achieved. Stages pickles, preserves, smokes and uses other intricate methods to accomplish the savors in each inventive dish. I personally appreciate the heck out of this talented team.

The wine and beer list is smart with some unusual (in the best possible way) finds that pair beautifully with the food. I opted for the wine pairing while my husband ordered from the craft beer list that’s heavily influenced by Bad Lab Beer Co., a local brewery Chef Hennessey is developing a neat restaurant concept for that should be opening very soon.

Our special trip to southern New Hampshire and Stages rewarded us with yet another fabulous meal. For fellow food-obsessed friends, dining at Stages at One Washington is very much worth the drive from the NY metro or Boston area.

Wednesday – Saturday: 6PM – 11PM.

One Washington Street, Dover NH 03820. 603-842-4077.

Cheers,

Veronique

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Best Dishes 2016

December 31, 2016 By

My job had me on the road more than not in 2016 and while I’ve had many, many unforgettable meals this past year, I’ve tried to narrow down the 15 best dishes I enjoyed during the past year. Here’s the list in restaurant name alphabetical order.

Ai Fiori – New York, NY. Eating at this Chef Michael White restaurant is a luxurious treat and lobster seems to be an appropriate ingredient to have in the beautiful dining room. The Lobster with Asparagus and Morels was one of the best lobster dishes I’ve had.

Buca Yorkville – Toronto, ON. Branzino is my favorite fish and at Buca, the Cyprian sea bass is expertly-carved tableside in its pure raw state and topped with Prosecco, olive oil and lemon.

Escape – Montclair, NJ. The seafood grits with a giant portion of sea urchin was just a fabulous dish at the now defunct Escape.

FLX Table – Geneva, NY. Very cool dining experience at Chef/Master Sommelier Christopher Bates’ new chef’s table restaurant in the Finger Lakes. The multi-course dinner showcases locally-sourced ingredients and the dish I thought stood up among the winning lineup was the Uber B.L.T. consisting of tomato, sweet summer corn and lamb bacon. The presentation was glorious with a pool of tomato water in the bowl of the plate and beautifully-arranged raw and dried tomatoes, the bacon and corn then avocado and Thai basil.

Grace – Chicago, IL. I treated myself to Grace this year and wasn’t sorry for the splurge. The Alaskan King Crab dish was gorgeous, light yet flavorful. It’s served artfully with char roe, cucumber, floral cream and tangerine lace. The king crab salad is positioned at the bottom of a v-shaped glass filled with herbs and flowers then a flavor-neutral tuile seals the salad. Crack the tuile with a spoon and the crunchy bits add an unexpected texture to the delicate crab.

Heirloom Kitchen – Old Bride, NJ. Chef David Viana cooked up perhaps the best duck I’ve had. The masterly-seared duck breast is served with sherry herbed barley, granola, parsnip, date purée, maitake mushroom and duck jus. The earthiness of the roasted maitake and the sweet/savory date purée compliment the rich duck perfectly.

Hot & Soul – Ft Lauderdale, FL. My year-end best dishes compilation wouldn’t be the same without an entry from my favorite Ft Lauderdale restaurant. The Mushroom Manchego Toast is a must to start off a meal at Hot and Soul. The shareable dish with its creamy sherry sauce is a winner.

Kalofagas – my home in NJ. Toronto-based chef and cookbook author Peter Minaki prepared a dish of spaghetti with uni (sea urchin) sauce at my home this year that was simply outstanding. Briny uni-tomato sauce coated the al dente pasta perfectly.

Lorena’s – Maplewood, NJ. Meals at Lorena’s are never less than stellar and this year, my favorite dish at the popular restaurant was the Cavatelli Carbonara. Instead of the eggs being incorporated in the sauce in a traditional way, Chef Campos serves it poached with a runny yolk to coat the pasta.

Razza Pizza Artigianale – Jersey City, NJ. While it’s best known for its outstanding pizza, my favorite dish at Razza is the Bread and Butter service featuring house made butter that has the right funky flavor and crusty, pizza oven-baked bread.

Redux – Madison, NJ. Chef Ubhaus serves up delicious, comforting food and calling out Disco Fries as my top dish at his restaurant undersells his culinary talents. Having said that, this dish is pure decadence with SLABS of St Andre cheese over properly-made fries and rich veal gravy.

Square Root – New Orleans, LA. The meal I had at Square Root was one of the finest I enjoyed this year. The Red Fish with Horseradish Bubbles was THE dish in the long list of dishes we were served. The red fish was properly-cooked and bubbles made from horseradish were blown in the open kitchen, right in front of us.

Stages at One Washington – Dover, NH. Yes, two of my favorite dishes were enjoyed at Stages this year: Lomo and Egg and Cabrales-Stuffed Raspberries. Chef Evan Hennessey is simply brilliant and raspberries and blue cheese are now a favorite.

The Bachelor Farmer – Minneapolis, MN. Pork Meatballs, Spätzle in Lobster Broth was one of the several outstanding dishes I had at this Minneapolis gem. Pork and lobster? Yes, it totally works.

I’m looking forward to 2017 and the food adventures I’ll enjoy.

Happy New Year!!

Veronique

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16 August 2015 Stages at One Washington – A Truly Unique Dining Experience

Stages at One Washington – A Truly Unique Dining Experience

August 16, 2015 By
My View

My View

In the last two years, New Hampshire has produced three semifinalists for a James Beard Award – the food industry’s version of the Oscars. One of these talented chefs is Evan Hennessey, Chef and Co-Owner of Stages at One Washington.

After finding this culinary gem in its unlikely location, we quickly realized Stages doesn’t sell out most nights from walk-in diners. Stages is situated on the third floor of what, at-first-glance, appears to be an industrial warehouse but is in fact the historic Washington Street mill in Dover, NH. Stages is a dining experience like no other. The award-winning restaurant serves what it dubs “Progressive New England” cuisine. The ingredients used by Chef Hennessey and his team are, as would be expected of this type of restaurant, farmed, foraged and fished within New England.

Using his “what grows together goes together’ mentality, Chef Hennessey conceptualizes and delivers dishes that could feature fish cooked with seaweed or boar paired with produce the animal grazed on.

Chef Hennessey

Chef Hennessey

About Chef Evan Hennessey

Chef Hennessey, a graduate of Le Cordon Bleu at the Atlantic Culinary Academy, is an award-winning chef who’s cooked alongside iconic culinary masterminds including Charlie Palmer, Grant Achatz, Andrew Carmellini and Thomas Keller. With a résumé showcasing stints at Per Se, Café Boulud and Aureole, Chef Hennessey now applies his classical French techniques to create artistically inspired dishes with downhome New England flair. Chef Hennessey was a semifinalist for Best Chef Northeast at the James Beard Awards in 2014 and was also a 2014 StarChefs.com Rising Star Chef Winner for Coastal New England.

Prix-Fixe & Tasting Menus

There are three dining options at Stages: four, eight and 10-course prix-fixe tasting menus.  These experiences are offered from Wednesday through Saturday and guests typically sit in the kitchen at a table accommodating nine guests. On special events nights, patrons can opt to eat in the dining room.

On the evening we visited, we had the pleasure of sitting at the kitchen counter with a unique bird’s eye view of the chefs crafting dishing with a unique opportunity to interact with the chefs throughout the evening. The four-course menu is $45, with optional wine pairings for an additional $30. I couldn’t help but tell Chef Hennessey that he should be charging more for this prix fixe option – $45??!! The 10-course tasting menu is $105 with optional wine pairings for an additional $50. There’s also what’s dubbed “8 for $80” and that’s the option we selected with wine pairings for an extra $40.

I’d be hard-pressed to determine which dishes we enjoyed best as every single morsel of food was stellar. Some stand-outs among a lineup of culinary gems:

Duck Egg, Spigariello, Potato, Summer Squashes, Thyme – the duck egg was, predictably, perfectly-cooked, runny yet thickly unctuous. Spigariello is a leafy green similar to rapini that’s slightly peppery and a perfect contrast to the richness of the yolk. 

Carbonara, Capellini, Duck Prosciutto, Spring Peas, Cream – I’d seen a photo of this dish on Chef’s Instagram and commented that I hoped it’d still be on the menu when I visited. When Chef Hennessey served us this incredible dish, he said with a grin “This is the dish you’ve been waiting for”. This light-yet-rich dish was beyond any descriptors I can muster – perhaps the best pasta dish I’ve had.

Oyster Stew, Sea Blight, Sea Rocket, Agretti, Smoked Pollock Cracker, Brown Butter – beautifully cooked, plump oysters in a decadent, buttery broth complemented by briny sea rocket and a texturally-pleasing smoked Pollock cracker.

NH Boar, Kohlrabi, Turnip, Beets, Kale, Mustard – the expertly-cooked boar served with the rich “gratin” of turnip was smartly paired with tangy beets.

Cod, Agretti, Oyster Chip, Oyster Sauce – the cod, with its nicely seared exterior, was moist and served with a pleasingly-salty oyster broth that I was tempted to slurp right off the plate.

Mushroom, Envy Soybeans, Herbs, Flowers – a true work of art with earthy flavors and a bit of zip from diminutive flowers Chef Hennessey picked off a plant in a pot on the counter.

Chocolates, Salt, Strawberry, Black Currant, Great Hill blue, Thai Basil – not to be outdone by the starters and entrées, the desserts were masterpieces. The various chocolate presentations, tanginess of the currant and the licorice notes of the Thai basil made for a perfect ending to a perfect meal.

Flyer Goat Farms Camembert, Lime Basil Custard, Sumac, Pineapple Weed, Green Strawberries – this is likely the most beautiful, elegant and delicious dessert I’ve had. The rich, melty Camembert was an interesting contrast to the refreshing citrusy custard and the sweet/tart green strawberries.

KitchenWe reside near New York City and are world travelers and we agreed this was one of the very best meals we’ve had. From the intimate space to the smart wine list to the friendliness of the staff to the magnificent food, our visit to Stages will live on in our minds for a long time.  

Reservations should be made in advance due to the intimate size of the dining room and chef’s counter and can be placed online or by calling 603-842-4077.

Stages at One Washington – One Washington Street, Suite 325 Dover, NH 03820 603-842-4077.

Cheers,

Veronique

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