Revival Kitchen & Bar in Concord, NH
The view from the entry at Revival Kitchen and Bar, Concord, NH. If you are ever in the neighborhood, totally worth stopping in. Or do a road trip. You will not be disappointed. But make a reservation, you’re gonna need one.
This Friday night we meet Derek and Sheri (my wonderful step-son and his beautiful wife) for dinner in Concord, NH at a new restaurant, Revival Kitchen and Bar. They opened in January of 2017, but this is OUR first visit, so it is new to us. Derek and Sheri went there a month ago for their one year wedding annivesary and decided we needed to go too. So here we are.
Bob and I are the first to arrive, as they are always at least 10 minutes late to everything :-). Just a fact, not a problem. Bob and I relax, he peruses the wine list and before you know it, they have arrived! I look at the menu and it is pretty fantastic. This is gonna be hard as everything looks really good!! Time to order some appetizers.
I NEED to have the pan-seared marinated octupus with squid ink olive oil cake, artichoke hearts, romesco sauce and crispy quinoa, plus the potato gnocchi with butternut squash, cranberries, pumpkin cream, pumpkin seeds and sage. Because where am I ever gonna eat these again? Be daring with your food choices, people. The others choose crispy calamari with pickled jalapeno peppers, garlic and smoked paprika buttermilk aioli. A tad pedestrian, but calamari is delicious in any form, so bring it on.
Pan-seared marinated octopus with squid ink olive oil cake, artichoke hearts, romesco sauce and crispy quinoa. From another world and delicious!!
First we need to address the octopus. It is delicious, not fishy at all, and though it is a cliche, it tastes like chicken, to a degree. The octopus is prepared fantastically, not rubbery, which it often can be. Charred and tender. Now for the olive oil/squid ink cake. Not sure who dreamed this up, but the cake is tender, savory, and the squid ink adds no flavor, just color. As in black. The cake is super moist due to the olive oil, but I don't see how it adds to the octopus. Yet there is a "wow" factor here. The artichoke hearts are yummy, the romesco sauce (basically red peppers and nuts) is a great accompaniment to the octopus, and the quinoa is basically a garnish. Look, I remember the first time I tried octopus. It freaked me out. Until I finally got it in my mouth. I was a convert. Done properly, it is delicious, and Revival does it exceptionally well.
Potato gnocchi with butternut squash, cranberries, pumpkin cream, pumpkin seeds and sage. Light and delicious.
The gnocchi is fluffy and light, which is not always the case. They are either heavenly or they are "sinkers". As in lead sinkers. Heavy and ready to put you into a food coma. These are not sinkers. Just look at them. Amazing, and the combination of flavors is inventive and it works.
Crispy calamari with pickled jalapeno peppers, garlic and smoked paprika buttermilk aioli. Fabulous.
Next we have the calamari, which is calamari, but done well. It, too is light and non-greasy, with a lovely sauce. So far, Revival is killing it.
Sheri’s dinner - house salad with crispy shallots, garden vegetables, blue cheese, roasted garlic and a creme fraiche dressing with some seared scallops. The scallops are heavenly!
We are moving on to main dishes. Sheri goes light with a house salad with crispy shallots, garden vegetables, blue cheese, roasted garlic and a creme fraiche dressing with some seared scallops on the side. She shares a scallop with me and they are dreamy!!
Grilled maple-brined pork chops with sweet potato rosti (pancake), crispy brussels sprouts, apple butter and pomegranate syrup. The pork chops are juicy and delicious.
Bob and Derek choose the same entree - grilled maple-brined pork chops with sweet potato rosti, crispy brussels sprouts, apple butter and pomegranate syrup. I have a bite of this too, and it is delicious and all grilly-tasting and when paired with the sauces, just the bomb.
Crispy eggplant with basil and olive oil ricotta, green beans, blistered tomato, roasted pinenuts and olive vinaigrette. Sublime.
For some reason, no-one wants to try my entree. I choose the crispy eggplant with basil and olive oil ricotta, green beans, blistered tomato, roasted pinenuts and olive vinaigrette. Bob is not a big eggplant guy so I tend to order out what I do not make at home. And I LOVE eggplant. It is exceptional. But I eat very little, because I see desserts going by and we are gonna have some!
We go all out on dessert, ordering (4). I decide on the brown buuter walnut carrot cake with ginger mousse, maple buttercream, cream cheese frosting and cinnamon sugar carrot crisps and a carrot syrup. Yeah, read it and think about it. Bob wants the dark chocolate terrine with hot fudge, chocolate crumble, chocolate bark and white chocolate whipped cream. No-one thinks it is a bad idea. Sheri and I also decide we NEED a S'mores egg roll with chocolate dipping sauce, and then as a team, we choose to get some cayenne chocolate and candied corn (not the fake candy, but actual corn which is candied in a simple syrup) macarons, a tender french meringue cookie with a lovely cream filling. We got two and each eat half of one. Dessert is the biggest course of the meal. I hate s'mores but that eggroll is sick. We cut it into four pieces.
Dessert. (1) Brown butter walnut carrot cake with ginger mousse, maple buttercream, cream cheese frosting and cinnamon sugar carrot crisps and a carrot syrup. (2) Dark chocolate terrine with hot fudge, chocolate crumble, chocolate bark and white chocolate whipped cream. (3) S'mores egg roll with chocolate dipping sauce. (4) Cayenne chocolate and candied corn macarons, a tender french meringue cookie with a lovely cream filling with a dusting of cocoa and candied fresh corn. I know.
I would like to add that the service was exceptional. Our server was beyond competent, the drinks were perfect, timing of the courses just right. I am a fan and I will be back. If you find yourself in the Concord, NH area, go to Revival Kitchen and Bar. But make a reservation. They are busy and for good reason.