Kat Food: Flavors of the Valley

This past November, I returned home from the German FSP in Berlin with an overweight suitcase carrying 15 extra pounds of Haribo gummies, German chocolate and tubs of marzipan. Granted, my suitcase wasn’t the only thing that came back significantly heavier than when it left.

But inspiration for this food blog didn’t solely come from Berlin. It also came from a weekend trip to Dublin with a fellow ’12. In true Dartmouth fashion, we modified the frat circuit to a food crawl, and realized how much we were missing by confining ourselves to the dining halls of Dartmouth College. You can only make the perfect HP sandwich so many times (RIP Panini Press).

Kat Food will be dedicated to bringing you the most up-to-date food news — menu specials, restaurant events, food festivals — in the greater Hanover area. The goal is to give you the highlights and lowlights of dining outside of DDS, so that you don’t, well, eat anything that actually tastes like cat food.

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This Sunday, I drove 10 minutes to Hartford High School for the 10th Annual Flavors of the Valley food festivities. The all day-event brought local farmers and chefs together to show off their best products and dishes. Vendors ranged from dairy and produce farmers to candy makers and chocolatiers. Entrance fee was $8.00, but food samples were unlimited.

Highlights:

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• Lyme Inn: This dark horse vendor stole the show with its clam fritters. Deep-fried on the spot, they were light and fluffy, and not fishy at all. The menu is reasonably priced (comparable to Murphy’s) and the restaurant would be a great way to beat the crowds during Parent’s Weekend. Dinner is Wednesday to Sunday starting at 5 p.m., and Sunday Brunch is from 11:30 a.m. to 2:30 p.m.
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• Cherry Hill Farm: Located in Springfield, Vt., this farm offers pick-your-own berries during the summer. Varieties include raspberries, gooseberries and black and red currants. Despite the fairly long drive (about 40 minutes), it would be a great sophomore Summer off-campus event.
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• Murphy’s: The restaurant is creating a hybrid starter from its nachos and jumbo lump crabmeat sliders. The new appetizer? Corn chips with guacamole and crabmeat. Nothing bold, but a nice change of pace from Murphy’s staple menu items.
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Lowlights:

*Canoe Club: A lackluster performance — the Pasta Bolognese was creamy, but a bit bland as the “onions and herbs” mentioned on the menu were missing. The Upper Valley caprese was fresh, but nothing exciting. Time for some upgrades.

*Being mistaken for a Hartford High student: No wonder I’m always carded at Stinson’s.

Flavor pics:

Maple syrup had, unsurprisingly, a strong showing.

 

One farm had a terrarium with fluffy chicks on display- thankfully they were a few tables away from vendors serving chicken.

 

Several tables had samples of local ham and bacon.

 

Chocolate cheese was on of the more unusual products present.

 

More than a dozen jars of jams and pickles including everything from the mundane (a very nice apple jam) to the strange (pickled tongue?).

 

One woman used a human blending system to make green smoothies.