The song "Save a Horse, Ride a Cowboy" makes me think of Dancing with the Stars - where Nick Lachey's brother danced w/ Cheryl Burke in Season 1. Ah, the memories.. that was fun. Alas, this has NOTHING to do with that, but I find this still very appropriate!
Friday evening I returned to The River House in Portsmouth, NH, after walking a bit aimlessly with a friend trying to decide where to eat. Ri Ra? We weren't feeling the ambiance there that evening.. The River House was our second stop on a three stop tour to find someplace easy and comfortable. We never made it to The Common Man. On this occasion, I was happy about that. I happened to be craving a burger and while this isn't the first place I would have thought to go, I will definitely think to go back when the burger craving hits again.
I didn't order the traditional River House burger, which looked fine (my friend got that.) I got the Cowboy Burger (now you understand my choice for the theme of this post!) Their description left me a little bewildered.. considering the Ranch seasoning.. was that Ranch as in "home on the ranch" where you'd envision smoky flavor, worcestershire, etc? or was it Ranch as in Hidden Valley? You may be surprised, as I was, but it was of the Hidden Valley variety.. seasonings mixed in with the meat before cooking. The burger then gets Pepper Jack Cheese and crispy fried onion shoestrings. I opted for the sweet potato fries which then came with a barbecue sauce/ketchup combo so the whole thing was finger-lickin' good (to borrow a tagline from a fast food chain.). It was a hearty portion on a delicious grilled Brioche roll. Paired with a beer (Stella for me), it hit the spot.
I was very pleasantly surprised to find the restaurant full on a VERY quiet evening (the Friday after Thanksgiving), even with their recent dining room expansion upstairs. We were seated downstairs (which was almost full) because upstairs was already so busy. Definitely a promising sign! The service was great, my order was awesome, and aside from having to sit at the entrance to the kitchen, my return visit was perfect. Go back? Yes. Get the Cowboy Burger? YES. Among other things.. I've had their Roast Beef Bacon Swiss Press there a few times as well and it is fantastic; it was a tough decision to stray this time but I am glad I tried something new. Now there are multiple reasons to return.. including their awesome chowder which won at the chowder festival this summer. River House seems to be rockin' the Stock Pot's old location.. I am definitely hoping this establishment sticks around. So far all signs point to yes!
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