Table + Tonic Sets New Precedent for Hospitality in New Hampshire

The echo through the valley follows the timeless trickle of water known as the Saco River: “Saccccooooo”

call the college kids, their voices following them around each bend. This is where students and families alike have trekked for outdoor fun for decades — tubing, canoeing, camping and cracking a cold one.

The time comes to pull out lunch from the cooler and the sun is hot. We push aside the beers inside. They’re American and yep, they’re what Dad drinks when working in the garage. Everyone reaches for a limp ham and cheese sandwich, all hastily wrapped at the Subway just that morning. Except for me and my friend Jim. Us, mouths water when we show off our red curry chicken wrap with field greens, vine-ripened tomatoes and pickled red onions, and a turkey melt with housemade pesto and cheddar from just over the border in Maine. They’re both on fresh-baked, gluten-free bread, made with care by Local Grocer owners and herbalists Heather Chase and Russell Van Deursen. The veggies are sourced from just up the road at their family farm in Intervale, New Hampshire, and their little sandwich and coffee haven has been going strong since opening in 2010.

Table + Tonic © Carley Wade

These days, their location is a one-stop shop with a yoga/wellness studio on site and a new restaurant, Table + Tonic

, that offers creative and delicious comfort foods for skiers and gluten-free/vegans/dairy-free folks alike (it recently made the cover of New Hampshire Magazine as one of the state’s most exciting new restaurants). The upstairs luxury Airbnb apartment looks like the love child between Restoration Hardware and Yankee Magazine. This isn’t the string of campers you’re used to seeing on your trek up north, or the F150s with tents tied down in the back. It’s a new way of dining and living.

Perhaps, like the ever-changing flow of the Saco, the tide is turning here in New Hampshire. Live Free or Die, the state motto, seems to be what stubborn people stick to when sticking it to The Man (apropos, there’s still no sales tax). Stick-to-your-ribs cuisine like burgers and nachos are easy to find. Chances are your cell phone still cuts in and out thanks to the proximity of the White Mountains and lack of cell towers, but that’s always been part of the charm. This is getting off the grid for a while — literally. Getting away from it all, meaning there’s no need to get dressed up, put on airs or real shoes — this has and always will be a draw.

Table + Tonic vegan brownie © Carley Wade

Now there’s a new one. This wellness complex on Route 16 offer the best of all worlds: a modern respite just two hours away from Boston and a world away, and gourmet dining without the white tablecloths (in fact, my server at Table + Tonic’s breakfast wore a camo hunting jersey and jeans). As someone who used to summer here every year, the essential character is the same. The country store downtown, the outlet malls for back-to-school or Christmas shopping, mini golfing, hiking Mount Washington or snowshoeing its base in the winter — still all here. But what’s been added is invaluable.

The loft-style apartment is utterly breathtaking, especially around Christmastime. From the second floor above the restaurant, there’s a patio with stunning views of the mountain and a remote-operated fireplace. Whites, creams, and grays — with two masculine leather couches and navy and earth tone textured throw pillows — are instantly inviting. There’s a master king bedroom, an upper loft with a neat staircase and queen bed, and another day bed in the huge living room. It’s enough space to fit six adults for a ski weekend, but, at about $140 a night, priced just right for a couples’ getaway.

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Table + Tonic parsnip soup © Carley Wade

Candle-lit dinner is definitely romantic, and it’s fun to kick it off with a cocktail (or several). Why not, when you’ve only got to walk upstairs for bed? Herbs for the tipples, along with the floral arrangements, all are prepared by Heather before mixologist extraordinaire Paul Begley works his magic. Executive Chef Richard B. Schmitt has been a fixture in the Valley for years, and was excited to take on a new challenge when T+T opened in July 2018. “The growers would email me Monday, Wednesday I’d get confirmation emails, and Thursday they’d all be in here washing their produce in the sink,” Schmitt said of their first summer in business.

Table + Tonic vegan scallops © Carley Wade

What’s more challenging for him is keeping wintertime comfort food exciting, he says, especially with fewer fresh vegetables to play with, but his December menu does so with aplomb. These days, I’m not canoeing as much with my college friends, but instead excited and satisfied to steer vegan with my husband. We opt for the chickpea meatloaf with olive oil whipped potatoes and a mushroom demi glaze, and the “surf and turf,” coffee-rubbed tempeh with vegan “scallops” (mushroom stems) and the same potatoes on the side. No one leaves hungry, just surprised vegetarian cuisine could be quite so satisfying. “It’s not about substitutions to make something ‘vegetarian,’” says Schmitt. “It’s about making something new entirely, something creative. I always have ‘safe’ choices on my menu — it’s always inclusive, despite serving so many different health needs — but there’s always something to entertain myself, and an eater willing to try new things.”

That includes recent desserts like an ice cream trio with hibiscus, blue butterfly pea powder and matcha green-tea flavors, and a CBD oil ice cream he even dyed green. “We had a few groups in here, one table of eight. They got two servings and all took a spoon. They weren’t from the U.S., so their eyes just lit up with the opportunity to try something like this,” said Schmitt.

Live free or die, indeed.