Thinking Ahead to Sunday Supper

Date: 03.05.2010 | Category: Restaurant Beat

by FarmPlate

The Hanover Inn’s buttoned-down New England exterior belies the wide-open culinary possibilities found inside. The historic inn on the Dartmouth College Green offers white-tablecloth dining in The Daniel Webster Room, more casual foods plus wine and beer tastings at Zins Winebistro and al fresco fare on The Terrace. All three serve up the delicious tastes of the Upper Valley’s agricultural bounty thanks to Executive Chef Jason Merrill.

We caught up with Chef Merrill yesterday, eager to learn what he’s planning for Sunday’s comfort food supper at Zins. The $15-a-plate special has become a big draw for students, professors, families, visitors and anyone else hungry for really good food. The chef half-apologized saying he didn’t know just yet what the entrée will be. “We’ll figure that out on Saturday afternoon. Menu and flavor inspirations come to me pretty naturally. It might be mac ‘n’ cheese made with local cheeses, of course, or a chicken pot pie or meatloaf.”

A native Vermonter, Merrill is passionate about putting fresh, local foods on his menus. In fact, 75 percent of the ingredients on the menu come from a 50-mile radius of the inn. Every winter, Chef Merrill meets with seven local Vermont and New Hampshire farmers to chart the Inn’s produce, meat and dairy needs for the coming year. He admits he’s looking forward to the first harvest of spring. “I cannot wait for fresh peas and those sweet little pea tendrils.”

Chef Merrill’s local suppliers include:
Blue Ox Farm, Enfield, New Hampshire
Crossroad Farm, Fairlee, Vermont
Fable Farm, Barnard, Vermont
Long Wind Farm, East Thetford, Vermont
Luna Bleu Farm, South Royalton, Vermont
Robie Farm, Piermont, New Hampshire
Spring Ledge, New London, New Hampshire

To find out what’s on the menu for Sunday’s supper at Zins or to reserve a table anytime at the Hanover Inn, call 603.643.4300.

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