Ethnic food withdrawal in Upper Valley...

[greenstate]

We sorely miss all the ethnic eateries in the Boston area and we can't seem to find any in the Upper Valley/White River Jct. Any recommendations and suggestions will be devoured.

[Yankunian]

Argh. This thread brings back so many memories - I lived in the Upper Valley a few years ago and it was very tough to find interesting places to eat (or drink!). I do miss Yama, though - their kimchee was really good, and I strongly recommend their bibimbap and their chap'che (an addictive noodle dish.) Pane Saluto is also great... but I have to say, the Upper Valley is pretty much the worst region I've encountered yet for ethnic food. Good luck.

[greenstate]

Except for Pane Saluto,a very good Italian place in Woodstock, those are the only ethnic places we are aware of. How sad...Am very interested in trying Yama. What is bimbimbop and what else would you recommend there?

[Jeda]

Teehee, I didn't even think of Italian for "ethnic." I'll have to check out Pane Saluto. I do enjoy Colatina Exit in Bradford for a guilty pleasure sort of Italian-American thing. And Home Hill Inn has excellent French food. Bibimbap is served as a bowl of warm white rice topped with sauteed and seasoned vegetables, beef, a fried egg, and chile pepper paste. The ingredients are stirred together thoroughly just before eating. There's also a stone pot version, where it comes in a big stone bowl that's hot and sort of crisps the rice that's against it. And sometimes you break an egg into it and cook it against the side of the pot. Interactive cuisine! I do like yama - though my boyfriend grumbles that he's always hungry after we leave. You can ask the servers for suggestions for authentic Korean dishes, or their favorites... I like the "twig tea" that they serve, too. Some items are misses, though, I think the yakitori was no good. I'm serious about befriending some students/grad students/post-docs for meals/cooking lessons. Sometimes the best bet. Good luck!

[professorbeezer]

The African place moved to the corner of RT 4 and ? in lebanon its in a gas station. Really great people and pretty authentic food.

Yama is excellent too.

Looking for inspired? The Parker house has some of the best fish specials (coconut based bouliabasse) Scallops were phenomenal- I ever had.

[Bri]

Last I heard, the gas station place was closed.

[professorbeezer]

Thats such a shame! I hope not - such cool people and good food!

[mr breadpuddin]

I went to taste of Africa in the gas station only a month ago and it was excellent, can someone local swing by and see if it is still there? If it isn't it shoudn't be a total loss, you can eat at the Four Aces, which is a beutiful diner even if the food isn't perfect (and being in heathen New Hampshire it is pretty smokey too).

[greenstate]

Four Aces???? Are you kidding? Used to be a beautiful diner,
maybe. It's filthy now and the food certainly is not perfect.
What does that place have to do with ethnic food or even good food?

[kaszeta]

I can confirm it. Mel, the owner, had to close due to lease reasons on 27 November. He's still running the catering business, and is trying to make lease arrangments with Dartmouth once the new building on South Main in Hanover are finished.

[Bri]

Any updates on whether the owners have opened up something else? Also, what's the name of the catering business? Can you tell I'm desperate for ethnic food too? My job takes me to W. MA pretty often though so I hit Springfield or Noho for the fixes I can't get in VT and NH.

[kaszeta]

The catering business is Tastes of Africa, [e-mail].

The owner is supposedly going to be opening a place in the South Main block in Hanover once it's done. He's also usually at the Norwich Farmers Market on Saturdays.

[Bri]

Thanks!

[Jeda]

India Queen and Jewel of India, Hanover - good bad Indian food, the Jewel is a bit fancier than the Queen; the Queen's proprietor often gives out tequila shots at the end of a meal.

Mai Thai, Hanover - good bad Thai food. Something comforting about this in the winter - all you can eat lunch buffet.

There used to be an African restaurant (A Taste of Africa) in White River Junction, then they operated a lunch stand in the weird little mall in Hanover that houses the Talbots... not sure if it's still around... they did catering...

Standard Chinese-American food in the Talbot's mall.

Yama Restaurant, West Leb, my best bet - Korean/Japanese restaurant in West Leb - very good bimbimbop and I enjoy the little accompaniments to the meal.

There's a Chinese couple that offers cooking classes at the Food Co-op, and they make pretty tasty things, though I realize it's not a restaurant... you also might want to check out some of the Dartmouth College student group fundraisers/meals -- good, homemade stuff.

Not that this is necessarily what you're looking for, but Peyton Place Restaurant in Orford, NH makes their own chorizo and delicious chorizo potstickers. They also sometimes do excellent duck burritos and vietnamese bouillabaisse... more inspired than straight up "ethnic" food, but always delicious.

... and that's all I got.

[Ike]

Just passed through the area and ate at both Jewel of India and India Queen. And yes, both could be classified as good "bad Indian" food. Or maybe good "middling Indian" would be more accurate. India Queen is cheaper and IMHO slightly better than Jewel, although it's a close call, and we tried more dishes at Queen than at Jewel. The proprietor at Queen was friendlier too. We stopped at Jewel during a long road trip and they were only offering take-out because it was 15-20 minutes before closing, and we were ravenous, so we gobbled up the food on the hood of our car! Didn't even realize there were more restaurants right up on Main, and everything was probably about to close since it was 9:45 p.m. in the middle of the summer (when few college students are around).

Jewel is at 27 Lebanon St. and India Queen is in the back of the Campions complex on Lebanon St. (though technically its address is 44 S. Main St.). Oh, and I'd say India Queen is kind of a dive, but in a good way. Jewel seemed to have slightly nicer atmosphere but I'd choose Queen instead.
http://www.indiaqueen.net/

I've gotta say, in terms of Indian food, even Indian food in rural areas of the U.S., neither place is fantastic -- e.g. neither can hold a candle to the two great Indian places in Salisbury, MD, and if that isn't the middle of absolutely nowhere, then I don't know what is. But Queen was pretty decent.

Wish I'd known where Yama was. From now on, I'm travelling with extensive CH print-outs stuffed into my glove compartment.

[Bri]

I highly recommend Yama. Eaten there many times and never a bad dish, plus great service.

[professorbeezer]

Hanover has fairly good indian and thai but other than that and sushi we have been going through the same withdrawl!