The Countess and my daughter, The Principessa, journeyed north from Boston late in the afternoon on Mother's Day to the seaside community of Portsmouth, New Hampshire.  Our destination was the Coat of Arms, a British style pub where Chef Chadli Sassi presides over the kitchen.

On the way my phone beeped and I had a text message from the Grand Duke Ryan wishing me a Happy Mothers Day.  The Principessa couldn't receive a message like this because she doesn't text!  What is a Countess to do when she can't get her sons and daughter into the modern age of iphones and Facebook? Thank goodness for grandchildren...they can keep up with The Countess !! I conveyed a message from his mother and Ryan and I chuckled a bit over his 'old-fashioned' mother :)

Chadli greeted us at the door and gave us a warm welcome.  It was delightful to chat with him about his journey as a chef from France to St. John in the Virgin Islands to Portsmouth and to find out what his recommendations for our dinner would be.  He is a wonderful host and a fantastic chef.  A visit to the Coat of Arms is recommended to all my friends as you travel up and down the New England coast.  You won't regret it.

We started our meal with a cup of Baked French Onion Soup and ....


 
 
I ordered Smoked Haddock & Leek Pie
Delicately smoked Maine haddock with leeks in a garlic cream sauce, topped with puff pastry

and The Principessa ordered Guinness Marinated Tenderloin Tips
Hand cut tenderloin tips marinated in their own recipe and grilled to your liking

When Chadli came back to our table to make sure we were happy with our dinners, he told us to make sure to save room for dessert as he had a special surprise for us!!



Golden Syrup Pudding and Bakewell Tart with a side of Guinness and Glenlivet!  Oh yes, a fine dessert it was!!!

The decor of the Coat of Arms is old English Pub style and no pub would be complete without a telephone booth....


Such a lovely day with my daughter.  We both lead very busy lives and don't have these opportunities often enough, so it was a day to be appreciated.

We bid a fond adieu to the Coat of Arms and went back to the Castle Bedelia with full tummies and take home bags for the next day.  A win, win situation all around.

Since we never did get a picture of the two of us together yesterday, I will put up one from a trip to London that we took a few years ago.....

We had hopped a plane to see Idina Menzel reprise her role as Elphaba in Wicked in London.  Yes, they had Guinness and Glenlivet there too :)

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