Our first visit to the Covered Bridge Farm Table was by way of the Polar Express.
The Campton restaurant offers easy access from Interstate 93 at Exit 27 — a great plan B for a hungry group who had just visited Santa at the railroad attraction in Lincoln about 20 minutes north.
Our party included two preschool girls, so there was no way we were going to accept a 90-minute wait at the restaurant we originally chose in Lincoln. We turned around and headed south, deciding to visit the one recommended by a Christmas train staffer.
My stepson and daughter-in-law, both graduates of nearby Plymouth State University, had visited the restaurant during their college years back when it was known as the Country Cow.
The business transitioned to its new moniker in 2016, a couple of years after it was made over by the Food Network’s “Restaurant Impossible.” Owner Jennifer Leonzi, who became the sole proprietor as a result of the show, strives for farm-to-table cuisine, according to the restaurant’s website.
The Covered Bridge Farm Table — named for the historic Blair Covered Bridge over the Pemigewasset River — has an eclectic menu, with a mix of traditional comfort food favorites like steak tips and chicken Parmesan and more unusual offerings like Indian Butter Chicken and Moroccan Lamb Shanks. Its Bolognese pasta entree is available in both meat and vegan versions.
Our seven-member party was famished, so we ordered a couple of starters that sounded mouth-watering: steak and cheese fries ($12) and Cowboy Chips ($14). My Lovely Dining Companion and I had dined on soup and salad at home for lunch so we were ready to indulge.
Both of these apps were big hits with our group. The steak and cheese fries were made with thick-cut steak fries, shaved steak, American cheese sauce and sauteed peppers and onions. Imagine a steak bomb that substitutes fries for the sub roll and is twice as messy. Yum.
The Cowboy Chips featured dark russet kettle potato chips covered with melted cheddar, smoked Gouda, bacon, sour cream, scallions and pickled jalapenos. Nachos meets smothered potato skins. We polished these off almost as fast as we did the steak & cheese fries, in no small part because of the two guys anchored on one end of the table.
Both my wife (aka “Grandma”) and son-in-law ordered the fish and chips ($26), fresh deep-fried haddock with french fries and coleslaw. Grandma also ordered a cup of the clam chowder ($6), which she shared with our granddaughters — who both like chowder more than kid-menu fare (though our table included a kids’ cheeseburger and an order of mac & cheese).
“Nana,” the other grandmother in our party, gave the thumbs up for her steak tips ($28), soy-citrus marinated beef served with mashed potatoes and a vegetable, which that night was a medley of green beans, summer squash and corn.
My entree, a fried shrimp dish from the specials menu ($24) also featured the same vegetable medley, which complemented the sweet and spicy prawns nicely.
I traded a couple of the shrimp for half of my daughter-in-law’s Reuben (the meat one, not the veggie one) ($15). It featured thinly sliced corned beef just like our waiter assured her it would and was served on grilled marble rye bread.
None of us had room for dessert except for the youngest of our party. Our waiter was kind enough to bring her a small serving of vanilla ice cream and chocolate sauce sized just right for a 3-year-old.
My wife and I lingered after we said our goodbyes, returning to the bar to enjoy some live music from guitarist/singer Peter Downing and singer Mira George, who performed a great mix of rock, folk and blues by The Band, Bonnie Raitt and other classic rock acts. Extra points for covering the Kinks’ “Lola.”
Our first trip to the Covered Bridge Farm Table was unplanned. We’ll make it our intended destination the next time.