Concord might not exactly be a world destination just yet. We’re not the biggest city in the Northeast – or even our own state – but when it comes to food options, we can’t be beat.
Sure, everybody knows about all the pizza and burger joints here, which we all love, but we’re talking about the wealth of authentic international options the city has to offer.
In virtually every part of the city, food from all over the world can be found. Whether it’s Greek downtown or Nepalese on Loudon Road or Japanese on Fort Eddy Road, you can really try something from everywhere without ever having to leave town.
As we had never really tried much true international food around here before, we visited a handful of these places last week to get an idea of what the rest of the world indulges in.
Of course, there are many, many places that we didn’t have time to get to, as there’s only so much time in the week (and so much money in the expense account), but we’ve gathered information from the ones we missed and have put together this personal world tour for your enjoyment.
Korea
For a taste of Korea, we went to Food Basket (you may know it as Go Food Basket), a small grocery store on Washington Street across from the laundromat. It looks like an ordinary convenience store from outside, but inside is an impressive variety of Asian food items, and in the back there’s a deli counter where you can get authentic Korean dishes as well as American-style subs.
The Korean items include Bulgogi (nicknamed Mayflower), beef marinated in home-style Korean sauce served with steamed white rice and two Korean side dishes; and Bibimbap (nicknamed Mt. Washington), steamed white rice topped with seasoned beef, a variety of vegetables and a fried egg.
On a recommendation, we tried a jar of Han’s homemade kimchi – we got a small jar of the radish variety, though there were cabbage and cucumber options, too. She makes the kimchi – a Korean side dish sort of like coleslaw – right there at the store, and it’s a favorite among customers.
This stuff is strong. We opened the jar at home and were immediately blasted with waves of garlic, radish and onion, smells we personally love but understand are acquired scents. The kimchi is prepared in the traditional way, with large cubes of Korean radish, which is slightly less dense than “regular” radishes. In true American tourist-like fashion, we put the kimchi on some hot dogs and it was a brilliant idea. The spice and fresh crunch of the kimchi really livened up the hot dog. Everyone should try it.
China
For some legit, authentic Chinese food, we went to Sunshine Oriental at 121 Loudon Road. This place is notable for offering dim sum, a traditional Chinese offering of small servings – you might think of it as a Chinese version of tapas. They also have all the Americanized Chinese food everyone is familiar with.
But we wanted to try the dim sum. At the suggestion of our server, Tina Tan, part of the family that owns the business, we went with the steamed bun sampler, which includes three steamed buns with your choice of filling. The buns are a snow-white, doughy, bready type of roll with assorted fillings, and they’re traditionally served with more bun than filling. We got barbecue pork, chicken and Nai Wong.
Nai Wong is a sweet, vanilla-ish yellow filling, making the whole thing similar to a Boston cream Munchkin, only way better. The barbecue pork bun was an excellent blend of sweet and savory, and the chicken one was mild but tasty.
We were also given a whole pot of Chinese tea – the tradition of serving endless tea is known as “yum cha,” which means “drink tea” in Cantonese.
Check out Sunshine Oriental for some top-notch authentic Chinese food.
Nepal
It’s on the other side of the world, but when you walk through the door of Katmandu Bazaar in the Lamplighter Plaza on Loudon Road, you’ll swear you just walked into Nepal.
The African and Asian market has lots of staple food and grocery items from those parts of the world, and like the hidden gem that is Food Basket, this place also has a food bar in the back serving up authentic meals.
One of the things Katmandu is known for is its momos, which are dumplings native to Nepal, Tibet and parts of India. We’ve also heard very good things about their chicken biryani and chili chicken, but for this assignment we went with the momos – beef, naturally.
These dumplings felt delicate – the shell was thin enough to see through – and it felt like a special treat. Inside was a well-seasoned, mildly gamey meatball that wanted to slip out of the dumpling after the first bite. We tried some spicy dipping sauce that was a nice complement – it reminded us of sriracha. Though small, these were filling enough to count as a whole meal, so we left very satisfied.
If you want to try something different but want to start with small portions, these momos are for you.
Greece
For some Greek fare, we hit up Gyro House on North Main Street, a place we had surprisingly not been to yet. They have authentic Greek and Mediterranean options such as gyros (obviously), tzatziki, qofte zgare, stuffed grape leaves and sweets like baklava and kataifi.
We were pretty hungry on this particular day, so something small just wouldn’t do. In that case, we ordered a falafel gyro (pronounced “euro” or “yeerow” but not “gyro”), with hummus as opposed to tzatziki. We ordered it as is, meaning there would be french fries inside (you can opt for them on the side if you prefer).
This thing was way bigger than we were expecting, which made us very happy. It was brimming with crispy-looking fries and fresh-looking lettuce and tomatoes. There were even some pieces of falafel poking out.
Every bite of the gyro was a pleasure, and each one contained different little bits of flavor and texture – tangy feta, smooth hummus, crunchy falafel, starchy fries, crispy lettuce. Not having had much falafel recently, this was a nice treat that made us want to develop a strong falafel habit in the immediate future.
By the time we were done, we didn’t have room for any baklava or rice pudding, but that leaves us an excuse to go back. …
India/Africa
There’s one place in Concord that offers a variety of foods from India and Africa but doesn’t serve meals, but we checked them out anyway. We’re talking about Concord Mart at 242 N. Main St., which is a little gem hiding in plain sight.
Owner Dhruba Shrestha is from Nepal, but his store caters to palates from the whole region surrounding that country. He also pays close attention to his customers and what they like – some families that used to be regular customers have recently moved away, so he no longer stocks certain items that those specific families would always get, he said. This practice ensures he always has just what the customers want.
When you first walk into the store, you’ll see some familiar items like nuts, dates, raisins and other things that are popular among American customers, but once you start to look around you’ll notice items with distinctly international flair.
There’s a side room full of cooking supplies such as big bags of extra-long-grain parboiled rice, various types of flower, beans, spices and noodles. If you have the knowledge, you could probably make almost anything using the ingredients you can find at Concord Mart.
There are also sweets such as ginger candies and guava wafers, and salty snacks like prawn-flavored chips. For non-food items, you can get all kinds of incense as well as traditional medicinal herbs such as senna leaves, pipli and ashwagandha. There’s even a limited selection of wine and a not-so-limited selection of tobacco products, mostly the kind for people who like to make their own cigarettes.
This place is small, but it packs quite a punch and is very much worth a stop in the next time you’re on Main Street.
More options
As we mentioned, we didn’t have enough time (or room in our stomachs) to visit every international food hub in Concord, but we were able to pull together a big package of information about a lot of the other places in the city where you can try some flavors of the world.
Aissa Sweets: This bakery makes traditional Syrian sweets that they sell wholesale to stores all over the place, including the Concord Food Co-Op and Granite State Naturals at 164 N. State St. Up until the beginning of this year, Aissa Sweets had a sit-down café on Hall Street serving hot sandwiches as well as their treats (the baklava is among their signature items, and it’s great – we’ve tried it), but with the new year came a new direction, and the company is strictly a wholesale and special-order business now. Check them out at aissasweets.com.
House of India: This restaurant at 6 Pleasant St. offers traditional Indian dishes with some slight changes aimed at appealing to more palates. It’s a smaller restaurant, but you can think of it as cozy. This place is known for using a tandoor – a traditional charcoal-fired clay oven in the shape of a pitcher. Check them out at houseofindianh.com.
Siam Orchid: This Thai bistro at 12 N. Main St. is a family-owned restaurant specializing in traditional Thai fare. You can get classic Thai dishes like tamarind duck and plar goong here – you’ll be hard-pressed to find these things anywhere else in the state. Go to siamorchid.net for more.
Moritomo: The Japanese sushi and steak house in the Fort Eddy Plaza is known equally for their sushi and steak, and they also have a hibachi grill. Even though it’s tucked away in a strip mall, don’t sleep on this Cappies-winning restaurant. Go to moritomonh.com for more.
Hermanos Cocina Mexicana: Hermanos, at 11 Hills Ave., is a nice place to munch on some specialty nachos while taking in some live jazz on a weeknight. They really take their nachos to another level at Hermanos, so if you’re going there to try one thing, get a plate of your favorite kind (we’re fans of the famous garlic and chicken nachos). Go to hermanosmexican.com for more.
The Crazy Goat: The restaurant with perhaps the oddest name in town, The Crazy Goat at 76 N. Main St. offers a blend of European and American cuisine with a focus on Mediterranean. Some traditional meats served include cevapi and carnacha sausage, a Balkan specialty. Go to crazygoatconcord.com for more.
El Rodeo: This restaurant at 22 Loudon Road serves classic, authentic Mexican fare, notably their complimentary homemade salsa and chips. Try a margarita, too – you can’t not. Go to el-rodeo-nh.com for more.
Angelina’s Ristorante Italiano: Angelina’s, at 11 Depot St., is a good date-night destination for fans of Italian food. It’s a white-tablecloth, no-TV kind of place, which means you can concentrate on your meal. Apart from loads of Italian lunch and dinner options, there are also dozens of wines to choose from. Go to angelinasrestaurant.com for more.
