port authority

merry christmas!!! detour tangent before i start talking about a place i finally got to try in keene. went to a xmas eve party with lisa hosted by diane (who i worked with last summer in vt). big italian get together with lots of food, alcohol, loud talking and laughter. the aunts and uncles and moms an grandmothers were hilarious! my stomach may never forgive me, but that food was good (as was the fruit punch- i think it was vodka, champagne and something fruity with cranberries and oranges...dangerous stuff). but getting back to the main point of this post!

song and i celebrated Xmas early together monday night by finally trying port authority cafe, right off gilbo ave (next to yolo and across from lindy's) in downtown keene. their website isn't working, but if you look them up on facebook you can get their time and food. we got there a little after 6 pm and there was only one other couple there. which is a bit sad b/c the food was good (on the pricier end for keene) and there was just the waitress and the chef. we sat at the bar and tried to choose from the huge selection. the menu is two pages with one page pretty much all for vegetarian or vegan options.

i got the grilled cheese sandwich with a side of sweet potato fries ($14.17 w/o tip). the sandwich had 4 different cheeses with lettuce, tomato and a sauce that tasted like mcdonald's special sauce (not sure how i feel about that...). i think the sauce made me feel like the sandwich taste more processed than it probably was. the fries were good, nice and crisp.

song got the afghani lamb, fig and coriander stew with farro and kale ($14.70). it smelled delicious and i tried some of her kale (i wish my kale would taste like that!). the menu had a lot of ethnic choices- from ramen, miso soup, burgers to asian vegetable bowls (i was recommended the serenity bowl by the chef but the black beans kind of threw me off, will have to try that one next time). the food was great, the chef was a bit strange (someone who recommended the place described him as the soup nazi in seinfeld) and a sign at the door reads that they cannot accommodate parties of more than 4. it's a tiny place, their music selection is pretty awesome (they were playing spanish christmas music while we were there). i hope they have more frequent business during non-holiday times, b/c their food is good. next time i'll try something asian-inspired.

merry christmas!!! i hope everyone has a wonderful holiday with family/friends and lots of yummy food.