A couple of weekends ago spent Saturday night in Portsmouth, NH. Lunch at British Beer Company simply because it was convenient - as usual at this place, portions were huge. Had just an ok dinner at Green Elephant (sister to the Portland, ME location). The roti canai, though tasty, was flakier than other versions we’ve had. They need to provide a larger portion of the curry dipping sauce. B’s green curry was just a notch better than an everyday Thai take-out joint. Way too sweet, a bit soupier than expected, and not enough veggies/tofu to justify the $13 price tag. My green tea noodle miso soup was more successful, though it wasn’t the most picturesque bowl. The pieces of soy protein looked rather wan but it tasted better than it looked.
Before we left the area, we stopped by Kittery to get our Anju fix but there was clearly something wrong - the staff and customers of Anju and the rest of the block were all standing outside. Power outage or fire alarm? So, we skipped that and on our way home, we finally tried Little Big Diner since it was on the late side (2 pm) and I know it’s not the most kid-friendly spot due to its tight quarters. Wow. My shiitake miso veggie ramen was superb and B declared his pork ramen to be even better than Anju. Both were unami bombs. King oyster mushroom buns to start were excellent as well. We hope to make this a semi-regular stop.
Have you ever stopped off at Blind Pig Provisions on Badger’s Island, Kittery, just over the bridge to Portsmouth? Good spot. During the warmer months we enjoy sitting in their beer garden overlooking the Piscataqua River for drinks and snacks…
We pass by often but we always make a bee-line for Anju. Thanks for the data point. We definitely need to branch out. (Another place we never get to is Tulsi.)
I went to Little Big Diner in Newtonville on Saturday and had these as an app as well. Really nice, I loved the springiness of the bao and the bright acid note the pickles brought. I had the spicy miso ramen, which was really flavorful and had perfect texture with the noodles. The egg in it was done absolutely spot on as well. The so said her chicken ramen was good and the banh mi that someone else got looked fantastic.
The space is fairly puny, but I have to say the staff were great at keeping everyone informed as to when seating would be ready. Really like this place, would definitely go back again.
Finally made it to Little Big Diner, and we also enjoyed the king oyster mushroom buns a lot. I had the green curry mazemen, which was delicious and had lovely springy noodles – it’s a sauced rather than soup ramen. DC had a pork ramen which he was less enthusiastic about; he thought it was fine but not particularly interesting (but then he was comparing to where he’s eaten in Tokyo!). Overall, a nice little spot.
