Time to enjoy Fall Restaurant Week

Jane Murphy, Portsmouth Herald
·2 min read

As November settles in, it still feels like late summer here. The leaves have lost their vibrant colors but about half are still clinging to the trees, half are carpeting the ground in autumn hues. It's time to head to our local restaurants where there's more room than a month ago and fall treats to enjoy. Fall Restaurant Week gives us the nudge we need to make a reservation and try out that place you've been meaning to try out. Go ahead, indulge yourself and your favorite dining partner. Winter is coming, but it's not here yet.

Fall Restaurant Week is here

Justin Corriss, sommelier and front of the house manager at Raleigh Wine Bar & Eatery, won the Cocktail Challenge with his drink, The Shipbuilder's Punch, during the Restaurant Week Kickoff at Jimmy's Jazz and Blues Club on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.
Justin Corriss, sommelier and front of the house manager at Raleigh Wine Bar & Eatery, won the Cocktail Challenge with his drink, The Shipbuilder's Punch, during the Restaurant Week Kickoff at Jimmy's Jazz and Blues Club on Wednesday, April 20, 2022.

Fall Restaurant Week Portsmouth and the Seacoast opens Thursday, Nov. 3 and runs through Nov. 12. Make your reservation for lunch or dinner at portsmouthrestaurantweek.com.

Make your Thanksgiving plans with local restauranteurs

Seacoast restaurants, eateries and bakeries are preparing to make your Thanksgiving dinner. It's time to get your orders in.
Seacoast restaurants, eateries and bakeries are preparing to make your Thanksgiving dinner. It's time to get your orders in.

It's not too early to make your reservation for Thanksgiving dinner or place an order with a local restaurant to have them do the cooking. We're just three weeks away from Turkey Day.

Pairing insects with beer for dinner?

On Thursday, Nov. 3 at 6 p.m., the Portsmouth Brewery is going to host “Bugs & Suds,” a special beer dinner with a most unusual theme: insect-based cuisine. Insects have been an important source of human nutrition across the globe for millennia, and they are starting to appear on dinner tables here in our country.  Bugs may turn out to be one of the keys to sustainable food production in a climate-changed world as well.

Forty of our most adventurous guests will sit down to a delicious, multi-course meal featuring dishes created by Chef Desmond Smith and Sous Chef Jorge Lopez, paired with beers selected for the occasion by head brewer John Bergeron. Tickets are $65. For tickets and the menu, visit portsmouthbrewery.com.

It's good on The Bench

Teresa Mullane is opening The Bench on Route 1 this week in the former location of Fast Eddie’s and Good Eats.
Teresa Mullane is opening The Bench on Route 1 this week in the former location of Fast Eddie’s and Good Eats.

After just a few months in business for breakfast and lunch, The Bench in Hampton is adding dinner.

Smoke BBQ to open in Kennebunk

Josh Maynard is the owner and head chef of Smoke BBQ, which is targeted to open at 58 York Street in Kennebunk in November 2022. He is seen here inside the eatery on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022.
Josh Maynard is the owner and head chef of Smoke BBQ, which is targeted to open at 58 York Street in Kennebunk in November 2022. He is seen here inside the eatery on Tuesday, Oct. 25, 2022.

Josh Maynard is opening a new barbecue joint in Kennebunk. Smoke BBQ, which is located where Herb's Seafood once stood at 58 York Street, is aiming for a mid-November opening.

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: Fall Restaurant Week is on tap in Portsmouth NH Seacoast