Dining Out: Hart's Turkey Farm, Meredith, NH

Thanks to the wonderful women hubby works with, we got some recommendations right off the bat for places we could eat and review - thanks, Ladies! (You KNOW who you are...)

The very first place they said we HAD to go was Hart's Turkey Farm in beautiful Meredith, NH.   They were rated one of the best in NH in 2013 and after having lunch there for the very first time, I totally understand why!

We've driven by Hart's a thousand times, if we'd gone by once.  You have to pass it if you are heading north to the Lakes Region or most points north in New Hampshire.  We only have so many roads, you know...

They are open daily at 11:15 except for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  It's like Thanksgiving there, 363 days a year!  You don't have to have a turkey dinner there, the menu is actually quite extensive.  You can view it HERE.  I viewed it quite a bit before the trip, so I wouldn't get there, be overwhelmed and not try something I wanted to have.  It would be easy to do - there are multiple ways to enjoy turkey (including a small, regular and jumbo turkey dinner with the fixings) as well as ranch (beef), sea (self explanatory), pasta, salad, soup/chowder and sandwich options. Since we were at a turkey farm restaurant, we went turkey - no big surprise there.  My momma taught me NOT to order fish at a steak house...just sayin'.

Right after we were seated our waiter brought us this very interesting carrot relish and crackers.  Brian eyed it and waited for me to sample it.  I found it surprisingly good.  We could tell there was celery and green peppers in it and a vinegar/sugar dressing.  I'm not a huge fan of saltines, but they allowed the flavors to stand out.  A nice start to the meal.

Before we'd even gotten there, we'd decided on trying the turkey sampler as an appetizer.  It was a late lunch for us (a slow start and, well, I missed the turn and we had to turn around on the interstate) so we thought it was 1) a good way to try a few things and 2) a way to get eating quickly since we were STARVING!

The sampler was excellent!  It had a turkey croquette (which we split), fried turkey nuggets (no batter, just plain meat), turkey tempura (resembled chicken fingers, my DD's would have said) and some turkey pot stickers.  Along with them were cranberry sauce (perfect with the croquette), duck sauce (loved with the pot stickers and the tempura) and hot mustard (Bri loved!  Me, just used a wee bit).

We each decided on a sandwich to try.  Hubby went with the Jerk Turkey Burger.  At first he didn't find it spicy, but as he made his way through the sandwich, the flavor intensified and he enjoyed it.  He's like that - spicy things are all good in his book.

I went right for the turkey, apple, brie sandwich.  It was AMAZING!  You had this delicious piece of turkey breast meat, pieces of spicy/cinnamon flavored apples and warm, melted brie.  Heaven in a sandwich in my humble opinion.

The wait staff was friendly and helpful, but not overbearing.  We did hit it at a very slow time, early afternoon, but they are very accustomed to large crowds and it says they can seat 500.  Location-wise they would have to be - smack dab in the entrance to the Lakes Region, home of the summer crowds going to Lake Winnipesaukee and then there's the whole motorcycle weekend things that happen up there.  Craziness.

There were some facts on the placemat I found fascinating, on a busy day they serve:

• one ton of turkey
• 40 gallons of gravy
• 1,000 pounds of fresh potatoes
• 4,000 dinner rolls
• over 100 pies

That's a LOT of food!

We would highly recommend a stop there if you are up that way.  Good food, nice view, a 5 star in our little black book.

Happy dining,
Carrie