Jumpin' Jay's Fish Cafe, Portsmouth, New Hampshire

We had a very delicious French-style lunch at Jumpin' Jay's in Portsmouth.
My pan seared New England scallops were served with a creamy lobster remoulade sauce, red bliss mashed potato, roasted asparagus, a small side of beet salsa and a simple Caesar salad. The scallops were amazing, and worked beautifully with the mashed potato and the lightly salted asparagus. The bread had a slight sour dough taste which was perfect with the rich cream sauce. The beet salsa was a little disappointing though. It was extremely dry and barely a portion. It was hardly worth putting on the menu! That aside though, I'd definitely recommend Jumpin' Jay's for lunch.

They also have an oyster bar which looks like it would be great fun. They pride themselves on serving fresh and mostly local seafood. The decor was monochromatic and quite optical. All the help wore black, so any touch of color really popped!

150 Congress Street
Portsmouth, NH 03801-4019
(603) 766-3474

Maine Pies

This was our first four berry pie in the old-fashioned "Moody's" diner  in Waldoboro. I forget the exact combination of berries, but it was delicious. It was almost jewel like, with this amazing ruby red juice oozing out from under the pastry. It was served warm with a nice scoop of vanilla ice-cream. 
Our second pie sampling was a super fresh blueberry pie from Giant Stairs Seafood Grille. This pie was busting with fruit and had just come out of the oven a few hours before.

Four berry pie, Moody's Diner, Waldoboro, Maine 04572 (207) 832-7785

Maine blueberry pie, Giant Stairs Seafood Grille, 2118 Harpswell Island Road, Bailey Island, Maine 04004  (207) 833-5000

Arepera, Montreal, Quebec, Canada

This is the place to go for Venezuelan cuisine! I'm no expert but this was a great introduction for me. We fell into this very colourful, cosy and super friendly restaurant as we were strolling through the streets near Rue Saint-Denis and Boulevard Saint-Laurent on a rainy Saturday night. We started off with a wonderful avocado and watercress salad, with chopped tomatoes and a zingy dressing made from lime, avocado and fresh cilantro. This has to be one of the best salads I’ve ever had, and it’s going to be one of my regular dishes from now own. Arepera has a huge range of fresh juices such as sugar cane, watermelon, tamarind and tomato, but not the usual type of tomato!

The shredded beef stew was delicious, and came with a refreshing side of salsa and home made corn bread (arepera). Definitely stop by next time you're in Montreal, and let me know what you think.

Arepera

4050 deBullion (coin Duluth), Montreal, Quebec H2W 2E5

Tel: 514-508-7267