New Hampshire- is BYO legal/accepted?

I see Paul lives in NH, though not area where I am going. I'm going to be in Keene/Peterborough area in July as Betsy plays Monadnock Music again. Just wondering if it's legal to bring wine into restaurants,and whether if so it's generally accepted (wth reasonable corkage charges, of course). Also, in the past there have sometimes been deals at NH state stores. Are they still worth checking out?

About BYO in New Hampshire - I don't know.

Regarding the State Liquor Stores: The large one off exit 6 of rte. 3 in Nashua, NH has quite a large wine selection and an impressive selection of Bourbons and single malt Scotches.

-Paul W.

thanks Paul. A little Googling showed that seems pretty restricted for BYO, though a couple of places in Manchester area (a school run place at SNHU in particular) were mentioned several times.
http://www.gobyo.com/popup.php?act=regulation&ls_id=33

Nashua isn't on my route. I'll bring some bottles for dinners where we cook/eat in, and I guess take my chances on lists when we eat out.

i feel compelled to comment on the BYO thing. it is illegal here in Michigan with one major exception. the other point is that it is up to the local police to enforce that aspect of the law and many don't know or care - bigger fish to fry and all that.

there are two basic ways to structure the state's laws. one is to make each individual responsible for their own actions - including drinking too much and any consequences. the other is to make the license holder responsible for the product it is serving and any consequences. the latter is the basis for Michigan's laws. the establishment where the alcohol is consumed is responsible for the consequences and without a license that can be suspended or the possibility of imposing a fine, there is no control whatsoever and a confused issue of responsibility.

the completely unintended exception is for restaurants in hotels. obviously hotels must be able to have guests bring their own alcohol to their rooms; but the wording of the actual law included the entire premise including any restaurant.

David,

So you can BYOW in any restaurant in a hotel in Michigan? If so, do the all the local managers know this?

Tom T.

that you CAN - legally - doesn't mean that you MAY - which is up to the particular establishment of course. do they all know it? hard to say.

Dale, my brother Peter lives in the area and indeed works in Keene. I asked him your question and this is his reply:

"My understanding is that there are very few BYOB places in NH. I'm unaware of any in Keene/ Peterborough ... but I've never asked. I would think that Luca's in Keene (a superb mediteranean cusine restaurant) would be a place to ask. Nicola's Tratoria, a very fine Italian restuarant also in Keene, would be a place to ask as well."

Hope this helps.
Cheers, Carl

Thanks, Carl!
I'll call Luca's and Nicola's before I go up. Even if I can't bring my own, it's good to have the restaurant recs!

Head about another venue in Keene yesterday. It is the Blue Trout Grill. Nice menu and wine list. When in New England you should really have some seafood! http://bluetroutgrill.com/

Thanks for ideas, Carl. I was only up for a few days, and we only ate out once. We did go to Keene, unfortunately, we had not made reservations, and our preferred destination (Luca's) was filled. Food looked quite nice, everyone seemed happy, but we would have had a 1.25 hour wait. Our backup (Nicola's) was on vacation. We ended up at the Stage Restaurant, a very acceptable tavernish place with nice sidewalk seating. Very good calamari (though the lemon aioli was a tad too sweet), ok salads, good burgers, slow service (which was ok, we enjoyed setting).

Dale, we're glad you and yours seemed to enjoy our humble state.

Cheers, Carl

Carl, we are going to be in Meredith next week for about five days. Do you have any restaurant recommendations in that area?

That is a great area Carrie; very rich in restaurants as well as many other activities. Hike Red Hill if you get a chance.

Coe House Restaurant, Center Harbor
Canoe, Center Harbor
Common Man, Ashland (original of what is now a mini chain)
Giuseppe's Restaurante, Mill Falls Marketplance, Meredith (best Italian restaurant in a wide area, we always stop)
Mame's, Meredith

That's for starters. Have a great trip.

Carl

That is a great area Carrie; very rich in restaurants as well as many other activities. Hike Red Hill if you get a chance.

Coe House Restaurant, Center Harbor
Canoe, Center Harbor
Common Man, Ashland (original of what is now a mini chain)
Giuseppe's Restaurante, Mill Falls Marketplance, Meredith (best Italian restaurant in a wide area, we always stop)
Mame's, Meredith

That's for starters. Have a great trip.

Carl

Carl, this is great, thank you! I have a feeling we'll definitely hit Giuseppes. Len's greatest weakness is good Italian food. We'll try some of the others as well, I'm sure. Thank you again. We look forward to a relaxing few days.

That is a great area Carrie; very rich in restaurants as well as many other activities. Hike Red Hill if you get a chance.

Coe House Restaurant, Center Harbor
Canoe, Center Harbor
Common Man, Ashland (original of what is now a mini chain)
Giuseppe's Restaurante, Mill Falls Marketplance, Meredith (best Italian restaurant in a wide area, we always stop)
Mame's, Meredith

That's for starters. Have a great trip.

Carl

Carl, this is great, thank you! I have a feeling we'll definitely hit Giuseppes. Len's greatest weakness is good Italian food. We'll try some of the others as well, I'm sure. Thank you again. We look forward to a relaxing few days.

Hey Carl, me again. Which one of the above would be considered the best for New England seafood?
Thanks! Heading up there this afternoon!

Common Man. For the "special meal", Coe House. They all serve seafood.

Common Man. For the "special meal", Coe House. They all serve seafood.

So far so good. Went to Guiseppi's our first night. Had incredible clam pizza. Last night went to a dinner catered by Common Man. Tonight we're going to hit a clam shack for fried clams or lobster rolls. We're here 'til Sunday and are finally starting to relax....

Carl, we left NH yesterday and hated to leave. So beautiful. Also, Len took me to Newfound Lake one day where he used to spend summer vacations as a kid. I think I even like that area better than Meredith. A little less commercial. We hiked Elwell trail near there. It was a great place to take the dogs off-leash.
We also got to hike about halfway up Red Hill. We didn't really have it on our agenda for that day so we were a little ill-prepared. Not enough water with us and Cooper has bad "hocks" so we didn't want to push him too hard. It's a great trail though--we got quite the cardio workout! Here's a photo of the boyz taking a little breather on the trail. (They loved the hike and are much more agile on those rocks than their parents are.)

Red Hill.jpg

We hit one of the highlights of the trip on the way back from Red Hill Saturday. We stopped at Moulton Farms for some corn to make that evening and I could have spent an hour there. Unbelievable bakery, their own jams and pasta sauces, meats, seafood, and fantastic produce. You probably already know about this place, but if not, you may want to check it out...

Moulton Farms.jpg

Thanks for all of your recommendations, Carl!

Carrie,

Glad you enjoyed our wonderful state. What with all the rain, it's been particularly verdant this summer. But the mosquitoes can be murder at times.

-Paul W. in NH

Carrie,

Glad you enjoyed our wonderful state. What with all the rain, it's been particularly verdant this summer. But the mosquitoes can be murder at times.

-Paul W. in NH

Thanks Paul! We did enjoy it, So much so that if we ever retire, we'd love to get a summer lake place there. (Near a golf course, of course. )

We lucked out with the weather. It was picture perfect. You are right though--the mosquitos are bad. Even during the day, they found us anytime we were in the shade. Having lived in the desert for the past 10 years or so, I'd kind of forgotten about how bad mosquitos can be in other parts of the country.

We are still in MA, and have a few more days to enjoy the great seafood and authentic Italian fare...Ah....(We'll soon be back in Pinehurst which is pretty much a culinary wasteland. It's a darned shame.)

Of all the dumb luck; there was a terrific rewiew on Canoe in the New Hampshire Union Leader (a.k.a. "Onion Leader") today. Now the joint will be mobbed and the prices up! Drat!!!

To boot, we found out today that our local super had discontinued Wolfgangs's boxed stocks, and replaced them with Emeril's and RR's!!!!!! Curses.