Walpole Village Tavern ~ Walpole, NH

Good Eats in Town ~ 6th Issue from “Life as Russ”

It’s been a while since my last posting on Good Eats in Town. It’s not because there aren't any more good places to eat or that we’ve not gone out. It’s just that we are creatures of habit at casa Huntley. We find something we like, and do it over and over and over. But, at long last, we broke the mold and tried something new, and it was well worth it.

Actually, I had visited the Walpole Village Tavern for the first time a few weeks ago with an old buddy. We stopped for lunch after looking at a piece of land over in Vermont. I had seen this place, in picturesque Walpole so many times, and had always wanted to go in, but I just never did for some reason. We went in for a sandwich and a beer and I loved it right away, just like I thought I would, from the look of it. I thoroughly enjoyed a Chicken Quesadilla and R had a delicious looking Rueben.

So Thursday, the kids were spending the night at my brother’s house and we had the evening to ourselves. I wanted Tracy to check out this place, too, so we headed to Walpole around 7:00.  We arrived, and the place was packed! Amazing… this quiet little New England Town, dark and seemingly turned in for the night, and yet to our surprise, this one establishment in the center of the village was packed with dozens of people. Thinking about it, I’m reminded of the Inn at Bree, the Prancing Pony, if you follow my meaning.

There were two seats open at the bar, which we commandeered in quick fashion. Tracy ordered a coffee and I ordered Longboard Lager. Then we perused the menu. There is a wide variety of choices, some very fancy, expensive and delicious sounding meals and a few pages of more publican fare at very reasonable, publican pricing.

I had seen the BBQ pulled pork sandwich with sweet potato fries on a website, and really had already decided before I got there, that I was going to order that. Of course, I still struggled, with so many tasty items to pick from, but first instinct is usually best when looking to satisfy gustatory inclinations.  I wasn’t wrong.  The pulled pork was perfect and the sweet potato fries…I’ve never had them like that…fantastic!

But it wasn’t just the food. The entire atmosphere made the experience. We sat down at the bar, as I said, and immediately struck up conversations on both sides and across the bar. Tracy had her camera, which roused a lot of interest, but we assured everyone we weren’t from a magazine or newspaper, and we weren't spies looking for ne’er-do-wells. The whole idea of blogging, foodies and macro pics of food became a hot topic, as did the Red Sox on the screen over the bar.

 

We had a fantastic time!  Afterward, we walked across the street to Burdick’s restaurant and Chocolate shop and after having our fill of all the various samples, chose a dark chocolate bar and coco-powdered cacao beans for desert…but that’s another story.


The Walpole Village Tavern is located in the center of Walpole Village:

10 Westminster Street
Walpole, New Hampshire 03608

Phone: (603) 756-3703