It's time to savor the summer eating outdoors

Portsmouth Herald
·2 min read

Here we are, staring down September and Labor Day weekend. It's time to grab that last little bit of summer for yourself, enjoying a great meal outside at your favorite restaurant. Here's some new spots to try out this weekend.

Jon McCallion, who has opened JTaps in Somersoworth, seen Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, believes serving small plates can be successful and also help surrounding restaurants.
Jon McCallion, who has opened JTaps in Somersoworth, seen Friday, Aug. 26, 2022, believes serving small plates can be successful and also help surrounding restaurants.

JTaps opens in Somersworth

Jon McCallion has always wanted to open a small-plate bar, and now he has. Tapas, drinks and fun — that’s the promise of JTaps, the latest addition to the Somersworth's downtown at 80 Market St.

He sees his restaurant as not in competition with others, but rather as a place where people might stop for a drink and a bite before heading to another local restaurant for dinner or to pick up takeout or to an entertainment venue, helping out his fellow business owners.

From left, co-owner Cambrea Fisher and general manager John Crittenden assemble the furniture at the outdoor seating area of Wing-Itz in Hampton on Wednesday, August 24, 2022.
From left, co-owner Cambrea Fisher and general manager John Crittenden assemble the furniture at the outdoor seating area of Wing-Itz in Hampton on Wednesday, August 24, 2022.

A patio perfect for Patriots season

The Wing-Itz in Hampton is creating a new outdoor patio that will open in September. The outdoor patio at the Lafayette Road (Route 1) eatery will be a great place for a family to eat dinner, watch a game and hang out while the kids play lawn games nearby.

Sweet Dreams Bakery is now up for sale. Co-owners and brothers, David and Chris Italiano, inherited the bakery in 2007 and they now want to do something on their own.
Sweet Dreams Bakery is now up for sale. Co-owners and brothers, David and Chris Italiano, inherited the bakery in 2007 and they now want to do something on their own.

Sweet Dreams Bakery up for sale

Sweet Dreams Bakery co-owners David and Chris Italiano recently announced the sale of the 34-year-old town staple known for its homemade baked goods. They're looking for a new owner to whom they'll hand over all their recipes and who won't change a thing about the successful business. The bakery was founded in 1988 by their father Charles Italiano and his wife Laura Ferrante and the brothers inherited the business when Charles died in 2007.

The Indonesian Festival on Saturday, Sept. 10 in Somersworth will feature many types of Indonesian cuisine for you to try.
The Indonesian Festival on Saturday, Sept. 10 in Somersworth will feature many types of Indonesian cuisine for you to try.

Explore Indonesian cuisine at upcoming festival

The biggest Indonesian festival in New England is returning this year to the Hilltop City with traditional, authentic Indonesian street food that will highlight flavors from throughout Indonesia.

Anne Jennison, an Abenaki storyteller and historian, is working with staff at the Strawbery Banke Museum to grow a garden featuring Abenaki crops, like corn, beans, and squash, at the museum. Pictured in the front row is ceremonial tobacco, with Abenaki rose flint corn growing behind it.
Anne Jennison, an Abenaki storyteller and historian, is working with staff at the Strawbery Banke Museum to grow a garden featuring Abenaki crops, like corn, beans, and squash, at the museum. Pictured in the front row is ceremonial tobacco, with Abenaki rose flint corn growing behind it.

Growing indigenous crops in Abenaki garden at Strawbery Banke

The Strawbery Banke Museum and Abenaki leaders have worked to create a new Abenaki garden, where the museum is growing indigenous crops for the first time this year. Corn, squash and been are among the best-known crops they're growing but there's also ones not so well known like tobacco, sunflower, Jerusalem artichokes and ground cherries.

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Enjoy,

Jane Murphy, Editor, Local Flavor

This article originally appeared on Portsmouth Herald: It's time to savor the summer eating outdoors