By Frisky Stal
Canterbury Shaker Village’s new restaurant, The Shaker Table, is a spectacular building of contemporary Shaker design, the first building you see to the left on Shaker Road as you approach the Village from the west. But it isn’t simply the design that calls attention to Village visitors but the new menus that can take you from Shaker Herbed Meatloaf to Grilled Berber-Spiced Pork, from chilled Blueberry-Lavender Soup to Roast Venison Rack with a Roasted Grape and Port Wine Demi-Glace. Add an excellent wine list and you’re in for a culinary adventure.
The building’s exterior replicates the historic Blacksmith Shop on whose foundation it rests while the interior décor captures the warm Shaker colors in the wood paneling, trestle tables, and woven tape chairs. Designed with an open kitchen and windows that offer sweeping views of the rambling Village hillside, the restaurant is both spacious and relaxing. In addition to the main dining rooms there is a outdoor dining patio for sun-dappled warm days. An upstairs function room serves bus, private and corporate groups.
The building’s exterior replicates the historic Blacksmith Shop on whose foundation it rests while the interior décor captures the warm Shaker colors in the wood paneling, trestle tables, and woven tape chairs. Designed with an open kitchen and windows that offer sweeping views of the rambling Village hillside, the restaurant is both spacious and relaxing. In addition to the main dining rooms there is a outdoor dining patio for sun-dappled warm days. An upstairs function room serves bus, private and corporate groups.
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| Painted Fungus |
The Shaker Table was conceived with Eldress Bertha Lindsay’s motto close by, “Take the ordinary and make it extraordinary.” Diners will find the old Creamery Restaurant’s Shaker-inspired favorites juxtaposed with a very contemporary American cuisine, complemented with certified organic fruits and vegetables supplied from the Village gardens. The desire to rely on nature’s nearby bounty has meant that many cheeses, meats, maple syrup and other products come from local producers, some just up the road. A greenhouse was built recently on the Village grounds and now yields rotating lettuce crops and heirloom vegetables, many of which have been appearing on the menus since the restaurant opened August 1, 2004. The bakery has greatly expanded and so has its offerings of breads, homemade pastries and desserts.
The daily lunch menu ranges from sandwiches such as Curried Chicken Salad with grapes and currants, to Seared Sea Scallop Salad, soups, and house specialties, such as Spice-Crusted Pork Tenderloin. The dinner menu features several popular Shaker recipes including the chilled Blueberry-Lavender Buttermilk Soup and Roasted Shaker Chicken stuffed with pears, fennel, pecans and raisins. Other dinner choices include the Rack of Venison, wild Alaskan King salmon, quail, and a Canterbury Seafood Coquille with lobster, shrimp and scallops in a cognac cream. Artisan breads, fresh-baked on the premises, are served with all dinners. The pastry chef’s offerings highlight a changing medley of elegant and delicious desserts, definitely worth saving room for!
The Shaker Table is open daily for lunch from 11:30-3 p.m. May through October and on weekends in November and December. Dinner is served from 5-8:30 p.m. Thursday-Sunday. Reservations can be made at 783-4238. For complete menus and hours of operation visit www.shakers.org. Canterbury Shaker Village is located north of Concord off I-93, Exit 18 or Rt. 106 at Shaker Road. The Shaker Table is the first building on the left as you enter the Village.
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| Autumn in the Beet Green Forest |
Courtesy of HeartofNH
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