AUGUST - VF - Three new restaurants add flair to culinary summer fare in North Conway

CONWAY — The economy is on everyone's minds, but entrepreneurs have never let those worries slow them down.

While some local restaurant locations remain vacant, others have been occupied in recent months by new operators as the height of the normally busy summer season kicks in.

Three of those recently opened restaurants in North Conway include Smoke and Water Grill at Willow Common at 1857 White Mountain Highway; McGrath's Tavern at 3645 White Mountain Highway; and Two Black Dogs Country Pub on Reporter Court.

They join the array of other fine restaurants in Mount Washington Valley.

Smoke and Water Grill

Smoke and Water Grill is located at Willow Common, at the site formerly leased by Vito Marcello's Italian Bistro.

(Vito Marcello, meanwhile, in May moved his family's Italian restaurant back to its original site, where it first opened in 1988 as Bellini's on Seavey Street in North Conway Village.)

Smoke and Water is owned and operated by Lisa and Jay Hill, operators of the Hill's Top BBQ and Family Restaurant in Glen.

After Vito Marcello's lease ended June 1 at the Willow Common location, the Hills took over the Willow Common site.

“We were in touch with [Willow Common landlords] Scott and Jim Lees, and we thought this would be a good opportunity. We offer great steak and seafood, as well as an extensive children's menu,” said Jim Hill in an interview at the expansive restaurant and bar.

For starters, try the Lobster Cargot (like escargot, except the Hills' version is served not with snails, but with lobster, garlic butter and gruyere). Or order the grilled shrimp duo, which features sauces and spinach stuffing (it's also served as an entree).

For soup, you'll savor the bowl of lobster stew (fresh lobster, cream and butter), the onion soup gratinee, or the New England clam chowder.

The menu includes succulent burgers and pulled pork sandwiches (including a lobster roll with fresh picked Maine lobster meat in a buttered and grilled roll with mayonnaise, lobster sauce or melted butter).

Smoke and Water also offers a brick oven pizza.

Seafood dishes include grilled salmon, a haddock filet, and a baked seafood casserole (haddock, shrimp, scallops and lobster).

Pasta dishes include the house specialty, summer lobster saute; and frutta di mare (red or white sauce, fettucini with shrimp scallops and lobster).

Beef dishes include prime rib Fridays and Saturdays, the filet trio (asparagus and Bernaise, demi and lobster); and New York sirloin, grilled and topped with the house herb butter.

Smoke and Water is open daily for lunch and dinner, starting at 11:30 a.m.

Lounge manager is Robin Brown, formerly of Fandangle's. The lounge features entertainment Friday and Saturdays, 6:30 to 10 p.m., featuring such talent as Tom Dean and Chuck O'Connor.

For more information, call 733-5990 or visit www.smokeandwatergrill.com.

McGrath's Tavern

Always engaging and a lover of good stories, Seammus McGrath has built a legion of friends in his 12 years in the valley, and many fans in his 11 years of working in restaurants, most recently at the Shovel Handle in Jackson.

He and his parents, Jim and Maryellen McGrath, purchased the former Wild Boar Tavern at foreclosure in February in North Conway, and opened the new establishment in late May.

Creative lunch and dinner fare is featured, from burgers and sandwiches, to filet mignon and pistachio-encrusted salmon.

“Everything is homemade here, including the salad dressings and our soups — people are loving our creamy, rich chowder, and our French onion soup is to die for,” said McGrath. “I figure, why bother buying the product when we can make it 10-times better ourselves?”

McGrath is particularly proud of his juicy “Seammus' Pot Roast” — it consists of  slowly braised beef, sliced and served in gravy, with roasted vegetables.

“It braises for eight hours. We make the braising liquids into the gravy, so it's extremely flavorful. It's so tender, you can eat it with a spoon!” enthused McGrath.

The Guinness stew features big hunks of lamb in a thick and rich Guinness broth with roasted vegetables.

Entertainment is featured Thursdays, with such groups as Audio Kickstand and Los Huevos packing them in so far.

Take-out is available. On good weather days, the outdoor deck is open for lunch. Hours are 11:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. daily, and dinner is served 4:30 to 9 p.m. and until 10 p.m., Fridays and Saturdays. For more information, call 733-5955 or visit www.mcgrathstavern.com.

Two Black Dogs Country Pub

Nestled in Reporter Court in North Conway Village at the original site of Maestro's,  the newly-opened Two Black Dogs Country Pub is one of those off-the-beaten-path kind of locales that adventurous diners love to happen upon.

Owner Bill Haines and his wife Leigh have an extensive background in owning and operating restaurants.

With several local restaurants featuring Irish fare, Haines said he and Leigh felt there was “an opening” for a pub and restaurant that served English-styled food.
Looking for a name, they opted to call the new establishment “Two Black Dogs Country Pub,” after their two black canine  companions.

The restaurant is an olde English-style pub with fish and chips, steak and Stout Pie and Bangers in a Blanket as the British favorites. New American cuisine is also on the menu. Soon a private dining room for large parties and special events will become part of the pub.

The menu is varied and full.

Appetizers include a smoked salmon brie, crisp calarmari, and clams casino.

Maine lobster bisque is popular, as are such salads as the salmon spinach and Pistachio Caprese.

Sandwiches may be ordered with hand-cut French fries, and include Philly cheese steaks, hot roast beef, pastrami reuben, crab cake and pub burgers. Guinness onion straws and sauteed mushrooms may be added to the burgers.

Platters include the old English standby, fish and chips; and such other favorites as mac-and-cheese, meatloaf, chili, Picadilly Pasty (curry chicken, carrots, onion, celery, peas, chicken gravy and a flaky crust) and “Fin, Feather and Shell” — breaded and fried cod, chicken breast and shrimp, remoulade, goat cheese, grits, and country farm salsa). A pan-seared rib eye steak tops the price list at $18.95.

A children's menu is also available, serving Mac-and-cheese, meatloaf, fried shrimp and grilled cheese sandwiches.

The restaurant and pub serves lunch and dinner from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m., Wednesday through Monday. For more information, call 356-3663 or visit twoblackdogspub@myfairpoint.net.