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50 favorite restaurants
Hippo readers’ top picks for where to eat
By Hippo staff letters@hippopress.com

We all have our favorite restaurant.

When you go there, the waiters recognize you, the bartender knows how you like your drink and you know the menu without looking at it. It’s your home away from home — or, more specifically, your dining room away from your dining room.

PEOPLE: The new poet laureate
Butts envisions bringing poetry to the people

Walter Butts of Manchester was recently named the state’s new poet laureate, which carries a five-year term. He replaces Patricia Fargnoli. Butts has written three books of poetry, Sunday Evening at the Stardust Café, Movies in a Small Town and The Required Dance. He teaches at Hesser College in Manchester and Goddard College in Vermont. Butts was selected through a nomination process facilitated by the New Hampshire State Council on the Arts and the state Department of Cultural Resources. Butts moved to Manchester seven years ago and prior to that spent about 10 years in Portsmouth, where he and his wife organized a poetry reading series. Visit www.nh.gov/nharts/artsandartists/poetlaureate.html.

THEATER: Courtroom drama
Review: Yellow Taxi premieres adaptation of Jodi Picoult’s The Pact
By Heidi Masek hmasek@hippopress.com

Yellow Taxi Productions has spent close to a year working on the script for The Pact, according to founding artistic director Suzanne Delle. It’s the fourth play commissioned by YTP since it started in 2002, according to the program notes.

LONGSHOTS: Spring cleaning of a cluttered sports mind
by Dave Long

Time to clear out the attack of all the random thoughts that have been piling up over the last few months.

WINE: Parallel wines
The Top Ten and the alternates
By Tim Protzman food@hippopress.com

From the looks of it, New Hampshire’s not a Blue State. It’s not a Red State. It’s a white state, but only by a little bit.

FOOD: So happy together
Beer and cheese: a fine partnership
By Linda A. Thompson-Odum food@hippopress.com

When presented with a tray of creamy brie, bold gorgonzola, sturdy cheddar, or another favorite selection, what beverage should you pair with it? Most people would reach for a bottle or two of wine. But how about a bottle of beer?