A Chef’s salute to Portsmouth, New Hampshire
Over fifty years ago, chef and author James Haller found his way to Portsmouth, New Hampshire. The charm of this small seaport town and its inhabitants grew into an affection tender and wise, which Haller celebrates in this love letter to the city and to the remarkable individuals he had the good fortune to come to know.
by Chef James Haller
Foreword by Kathleen Soldati
Introduction by Roland Goodbody
Cover art by Bill Paarlberg
$24.95 © 2021, Hardcover, 7×10, 168 pages, illustrations, Portsmouth stories, and a dozen recipes.
PURCHASE ONLINE from Discover Portsmouth Museum Shop
Also available at RiverRun Bookstore in Portsmouth, NH and at Discover Portsmouth Museum Shop, 10 Middle Street, Portsmouth NH
Readers’ Comments
“Haller has written a charmer. Looking back on Portsmouth, NH in the 70s and 80s tells the tale of a town where anything was possible. These stories made me laugh, and feel extraordinary nostalgia for a time that is no longer. Wonderful storytelling and his creative, untraditional recipes makes this a winning collection.”
— Kathy Gunst, cookbook author and resident chef for NPR’s Here and Now
“The view for many of us today is much clearer, for we have the fortune of standing on the shoulders of giants. When it comes to cuisine in Portsmouth, NH, there is no greater giant than Chef Haller, and no greater time period of formative years for the town’s revitalization than the ones he reflects upon in this book. This is the stuff legends and folklore are made of, but, it’s not legends or folklore. This is the true life account of what it was like being part of Portsmouth during a remarkable era. Chef Haller’s candor and prose really brings to life what it was like to be right in the middle of it, and what marvelous tales they are.”
— Chef Matt Louis, award-winning chef/owner of two acclaimed restaurants in Portsmouth: Moxy and The Franklin
“James Haller brought me to a city I love but also to a fascinating period I missed by a few decades. Oh, I’ve heard about all the characters and legendary restaurants on the Portsmouth restaurant scene back then, but it wasn’t until I read this new book that I understood just how much they contributed to what that scene is today. Reading these humorous and touching stories brought it all to life as only Haller, one of the most important chefs of both that era and now, can. The recipes inside reminded me to tap into my free spirit while cooking and the lively stories brought home the importance of appreciating all the people and places we love while they are here.”
— Rachel Forrest, food and restaurant journalist and former restaurant critic for Seacoast Media Group
“I devoured all the courses of Buddy’s book in one sitting! What a tour de force: to evoke the ghosts of Portsmouth past for all of us lucky ones who remember those halcyon places and people, while giving new arrivals and visitors a kind of living history map to superimpose on the tourist maps they give out at the kiosks. Kathleen’s Foreword is charming and Roland’s Introduction is a small gem in its own right. Wonderful!”
— Marie Harris, poet and author, Desire Lines, Hobblebush Books Granite State Poetry Series
“. . . every chapter, every page, every word was like one of the many meals I ate at Blue Strawbery — unforgettable! You transported me back “home” to a time that will always be in my heart. So many memories of places, people, and events that were the roots of my early life on the Seacoast . . . your recollections had me smiling, laughing, and crying as I turned each page. A love letter to the city, yes indeed it is. Thank you for taking me on this nostalgic journey to a time and place I will never forget and so wish I could return to. You have a best-seller! And I look forward to buying several copies. I give you a five-star rating and my utmost respect and love.”
— Michael J. Tobin, The Footlights Theatre, Falmouth, Maine
“Like so many of us, Chef James Haller was ‘fired by an inexplicable optimism’ when he first saw Portsmouth. Coming from Chicago and New York City in 1969, the young entrepreneur discovered a tiny seaport with its storied past, cheap rent, topless bars, and bottomless potential. His game-changing restaurant helped launch a cultural renaissance. At the End of Ceres Street is an homage to the people and places from that brief but delicious era, served up in a series of saucy sketches from a master wordsmith.”
— J. Dennis Robinson, Portsmouth author, historian, and lecturer
“Chef Haller’s a constant inspiration to all of us in the culinary community both new and old. His pioneering spirit changed the face of Portsmouth. It’s an honor to keep the tradition alive.”
— Chef Jethro Loichle, Ristorante Massimo
Chapter titles:
*Portsmouth Pie
The Arrival
Uncle Snug . . . when something is everything to you
The Dodges
Ceres Street
The Rockingham Hotel
*French Dressing Blue Strawbery
The Artist
*Transcendental Cream Soup
Theatre by the Sea
Paul’s Market and Sher’s Bakery
*Apples and Turnips Huggins
Becoming a Chef
The Hare Krishnas
Moe’s
Ceres Bakery
Marconi’s Blue Fin
*Sour Cream and Coffee Brandy Sauce
The Harbor Sandwich Shop
Wally Beever’s
*Breast of Duck in a Crème de Cassis Sauce
A Stained Glass Studio
The End Crowns All
Bow Sprit Antiques and the Modern Launderette
*Five-minute Breast of Chicken
Pontine
Clarence’s Chowder House
*The Sweet Potato Frappe
Angelina
ACT ONE
Tony’s Hideaway
Ace
G. Willikers!
Jarvis’s
The Homeless Man
Telephone Reservations
Serving Royalty
210
*Polish Doughnuts
re:Ports
The Rosa
Atlantic Video
Macro Polo and Balancing Point
The Comfort Station
My Cousin Lech
The Victory Spa
Galaktoboureko
Newberry’s Five and Dime
*Lobster and Havarti Cognac Cream Sauce
Simpson’s
A Penny Apiece
Peavey’s Hardware
*Carrot and Saffron Cream Soup
The Return
*recipes from previously published Blue Strawbery cookbooks and memoirs by Chef James Haller.