Positively Portsmouth

I spent the past weekend in the historic seacoast city of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The quaint winding cobblestone streets, tranquil water views, unique mix of boutiques and shops, and plenty of great restaurants and lively bars make this a favorite New England town of mine.
The fact that a couple of my best friends reside(d) here too doesn't hurt its cause. A Portsmouth get together goes down at least once every few months, thought it has been a long stretch since the last time I was here was in August! This Friday I happened to be in town for a friends 27th birthday party. This took place at his apartment downtown.

I steered clear of the bar offerings and instead drank from a keg of Red Hook ESB all night.

Saturday morning I drank my first Green Monster EVER!

Here is Corinne drinking her SECOND green monster ever and we are officially their newest advocates.
Healthy food bloggers everywhere rejoice!! We've wondered what all the fuss was about for months now. Specifically what is it about these crazy bright green blended spinach smoothies that actually taste good?! Now we know. And now we feel really cool. My morning wasn't without coffee. Not wanting to miss a ray of sunshine on this beautiful 65 degree day, the girls and I headed downtown, our first stop, Breaking New Grounds.

A 2% milk iced latte for me. How amazing does all that latte foam look?

We worked up quite an appetite shopping at some of our favorites (if you're ever in town be sure to check them out) - Ganesh Imports, Water Monkey, Macro Polo, Bliss and more. For lunch we popped into Ceres Bakery located at 51 Penhallow Street. If you're looking for a quick and reasonably priced lunch option, Ceres will not dissapoint. They also boast the largest variety of homemade baked goods in the area.
The interior is bright and inviting, the walls painted a soft lime green. I loved my water bottle - Nh2O. (Get it? New Hampshire water.)

Counter service is relaxed yet efficient, allowing you to design your own sandwiches choosing from a daily selection of bread baked from scratch, homemade spreads and fresh vegetables.

We took our sandwiches to Prescott Park and found a bench to sit and enjoy the harbor views.

Holy sandwich Corinne!

Mine was a tad more manageable. I had black bean hummus, avocado, cucumber and sprouts on crusty white bread. It was a fantastic and filling lunch!

Afterwards, we strolled around the historic Strawberry Banke neighborhood.
Anyone else notice that they match the fire hydrant?

oh little signs of spring!

Here are a few presents I bought for Adam. A lemon-lime flavor of Emergen-C (I swear by this stuff - great immune system booster / take at first signs of illness always), pickle band-aids, and bacon flavored toothpicks.
He loves pickles to the point where I've caught him drinking from the pickle jar and he's been on a weird toothpick kick lately.
Back at home base I munched on a few of these Bailey's Irish Creme Brownies (Corinne - why don't you start a blog and share your recipe with all of us?!)
Saturday night kicked off with the Sam Adam's seasonal brew Noble Pils. Can you believe White Ale has been replaced!? I guess Sammy A and company took a vote on the spring seasonal and Noble Pils was this years 'Beer Lover's Choice'.
It is a refreshing hoppy pilsner ale. There was also some Absolut Boston & Ginger Ale mixed drinks.
If you haven't tried Absolut Boston yet, I'm really not sure what you're waiting for ;) I've gone through a few bottles of this at my place, and should probably think about investing in a few more before it runs its course.
The night continued with dinner at Agave Mexican Bistro with my weekend hostesses / shopping companions / lovely ladies.

And Matt!

umm I think that is the waiters job ;)

At Agave they prepare the guacamole table side.

The waiter explains all the ingredients and then goes to town with his mortar and pestle.

What a fabulous presentation and amazingggg guacamole served with bottomless bowls of warm crispy tortilla chips.
This was my first time at Agave and I had been really looking forward to it. Our waiter rocked. Let me tell you, this guy was a riot. He was super busy (lots of new staff he was helping out and a 20 person table next to us), but the kind of guy who absolutely loves his job. He didn't miss a beat. Rounds of margaritas were ordered, mine being the hit of the table.
I was the soul brave enough to try the tequila of the week infused with red, green and chili peppers. My margarita boasted a blend of your usual sweet and sour margarita with a complex spicy kick. Matt put it best when he stated "Your taste buds don't know what is going on!" It was passed around the table and everyone agreed it was a creative and bold choice. Blackberry was the other tequila of the week infusion which provided a sugary sweet marg. Agave offers 70 different types of tequila. Check out the sleek bar scene.
The bistro has a simple yet tasteful atmosphere. Only a few classic Mexican paraphernalia were spotted, which is different compared to other Mexican joints I've frequented.
You're not overwhelmed. It's relaxing and comfortable.
Bathroom sink anyone? Love this design. For dinner I got the catch of the day tacos which were Mahi Mahi. Three soft shells come piled with tomato, cabbage, cheese and pico de gallo. On the side a homemade habanero mayonnaise sauce and a chipoltle sauce. Holy hot. The habanero mayo was perfect but the chipoltle was too much heat factor for me. The traditional heaping portions of Mexican rice and refried beans coated in melted cheese completed the meal.
We were all stuffed and really enjoyed ourselves. If you're in Portsmouth jonesing for some Mexican, Agave Mexican Bistro located at 111 State Street looks to satisfy.

We met some more friends for drinks at River House Tavern located at 53 Bow Street. This was my first and hopefully last time I'll ever be stopping in for a beer. I ordered a Noble Pils on draft, which was served in a fun Hawaiian beer glass.
River House Tavern boasts a nice view of the water. The staff, however, a less than thrilled to serve us female bartender was an unpleasant end to the evening. Showing a major unnecessary attitude, I felt unwelcome and awkward to even order another drink. The atmosphere was pretty much non-existent with nothing notable to photograph. I'm sure you could have a decent experience, but with other bars of note that have been good to me, I'd have a hard time reccomending River Works.

My favorite Portsmouth bars include Fat Belly's, Poco's Cantina, Gaslight (the outside patio), The Coat of Arms, and my all time favorites being the martini bars - The Red Door and 2 Ceres Street. If you're headed to Portsmouth, you really can't go wrong with any of the above. Need a dinner recommendation? I've got a good portion of the town covered so shoot me an email.
The night ended with a few It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia episodes. Sunday morning Matt whipped up some scrambled eggs with broccoli, green peppers and tomatoes before it was time for me to head out.
A McDonalds drive thru stop might or might not have occurred on the way home after running errands. Healthy food bloggers everywhere, hide your eyes. (I won't fill you in on the # of time's McDonald's escaped the blog...) No, I swear, it's really only been this and one other time since the blog commenced. I like fast food and I suppose I'd have to fess up at some point.....
Train bound back to North Station it was. The small city streets never do me wrong. Thanks for a great weekend Portsmouth, NH & friends.