In the beautiful but extremely rural Hanover, Hew Hampshire, our team stopped for a much needed and much deserved dinner. After a 6:00a.m. departure for the first of our two flights to Manchester, NH, a 1.5 hour bus ride to Hanover, and an hour long practice, we needed something good.
As we walked into the restaurant, we knew we weren’t in Durham anymore. It looked like an upscale log cabin with an amazing salad bar, which Jesse’s is famous for. Everything we could have ever wanted in a salad was there including every vegetable imaginable (even beats), egg, avocado, shrimp, nuts and a selection of fruit. The house dressing was delicious, although I went with balsamic vinaigrette—my go to.
After I decided to have the Shrimp Scampi, I took some time to look around the seating area. It was completely adorned with moose heads (hooves included), antique pots and pans, huge snowshoes, boxes of gunpowder and all kinds of other miscellaneous northeastern knick-knacks.
The Shrimp Scampi came with no pasta, which was surprising, but aside from the lack of pasta, the shrimp, vegetables, and baked potato were delicious. My other teammates ordered either steak with vegetables and a baked potato or salmon with the same sides. Everyone seemed to enjoy their meals—either that or we were all too ready for a shower and 10:00pm “lights out” to think or comment on it.
Last but not least, a rich and delectable serving of chocolate mousse was brought out to each of us as we watched our men’s team beat UNC via iPad. Unfortunately, despite a delicious pre-game meal, we suffered a heart-breaking double overtime loss to Dartmouth. Hopefully the memories we make during times like meals on away trips will stick with us longer than the losses we endure on the field. Goalie Spoon will certainly never forget this authentic, New England dining experience.
Goalie Spoon 