The Portsmouth Brewery and the Portsmouth Gaslight Bring

Looking for a delicious and sustainable place to dine on the seacoast New Hampshire? The Portsmouth Gaslight and the Portsmouth Brewery offer restaurant goers a unique experience in sustainable dining. Both restaurants are members of the New Hampshire Sustainable Lodging Program (NHSLP).

Both the Portsmouth Gaslight and the Portsmouth Brewery have implemented sustainable practices into their daily business operations, according to information found on the NHSLP website. Each restaurant works to conserve water by serving it to customers upon request only. Dishwashing operations at both restaurants use low flow technology to preserve water. Recycling programs have been implemented at both establishments. The Brewery staff recycles aluminum, glass, paper, plastics, and tin. The Brewery uses napkins made of cloth instead of disposable paper napkins in order to reduce waste. In addition, energy saving lighting and ventilation systems have been installed by the management at the Brewery.

For the committed sustainatarian, both the Gaslight and the Brewery offer delicious vegetarian meal options. If dining at the Gaslight I recommend the Chilled Vegetarian Wrap. It comes stuffed with marinated portabella mushrooms, fresh avocado, tomatoes, leafy greens, and Boursin cheese. All this is topped of with House dressing and wrapped in a massive garlic and tomato covered tortilla.

At the Brewery indulge in a glass of their finely crafted beer coupled with a Brewery Veggie Burger. The cooks at the Brewery make their own veggie burgers out of a satisfying combination of beans, rice, spices, tofu, and vegetables. Many restaurants offer veggie burgers as a vegetarian menu option but place no special care into the burger's preparation. Indeed, I suspect that most of these restaurants buy frozen veggie burgers in bulk and simply heat them up before serving. Not so at the brewery. I promise you that you have never had a veggie burger like this.

Both restaurants also offer meals that will appeal to those who hunger for meat. I will go on the record as being a bad vegetarian in order to tell you about the Jambalaya at the Portsmouth Brewery. It contains a lively blend of chicken, garlic, onions, rice, sausage, shrimp, and tomatoes all smothered in a hearty Cajun beer sauce made from the Brewery's own amber ale. Not for the faint of heart!

If I had to use one word to describe the fare at the Gaslight it would be "variety". The restaurant itself is split into three sections, including the street level restaurant, the deck, and the basement. The deck and street level offer diners a number of unique dishes. Take for example the Glazed Atlantic Salmon. The salmon in this dish is marinated in soy sauce and honey and comes mounted atop a bed of Thai purple rice, stir fried veggies, and coconut curry shrimp broth. The basement dining area serves up brick oven fired pizzas topped with everything from roasted red peppers to teriyaki chicken as well as a number of delicious pasta based Italian dishes.

Both restaurants are located in the historic downtown district of Portsmouth, New Hampshire. Come see the sites and eat a sustainable meal. And remember that when the waiter does not refill your water, it is all a part of the sustainable dining experience!