'Tasting in Portsmouth' Event Was a Sweet Success

Well over 100 patrons and supporters of the attended the "Tasting in Portsmouth" fundraising event Friday night and a good time was had by all.

Many local restaurants provided samples of their wares, so there was no excuse for anyone to go away hungry. I manned the table as a volunteer and am now a strong advocate for their Portugese Fish Chowder, which was absolutely delicious.

Next to me was the table, serving a specialty dish, sweet potato hash and scallops with a maple goat cheese sauce - also delicious. Many other local food and beverage vendors were on hand to support this event, my personal favorites being (fresh vegetables and desserts), Edible Arrangements (great chocolate-covered frozen bananas), Coddington Brewing Company, and Newport Vineyards, several pizza shops, including , and the (great stuffed clams). I'm grateful to all of the vendors who supported this event. They all deserve our patronage for helping out our community. Take someone out for dinner this week in Portsmouth to show your appreciation.

While wandering around and sampling all of this fine food and drink, the nice thing about this event was the chance to chat with Portsmouth notables and friends. Town Council President Joe Robicheau and Council members Judi Stavens, Keith Hamilton and Jim Seveney were there, as well as many local committee members and neighbors.

The Portsmouth Garden Club contributed dozens of floral table arrangements, which were subsequently auctioned off at the end of the evening, along with some of the food and wine contributions. I was able to get two small pizzas from North End Pizza and a bottle of California Chardonney for $10 - a real bargain.

This was a fun event - something like a big, friendly cocktail party with heavy hors d'ouvres - and all for a good cause. We need to do more things like this in Portsmouth. I'm already looking forward to next October!

If anyone has photos of this event, please upload them here on Patch.