COVER STORY
Fare with flair
A cozy tugboat
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MORE INFORMATION
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Dunfey's Aboard The John Wanamaker One Harbour Place, Portsmouth, N.H. 603-433-3111. Fall and winter: Dinner served Tuesday through Saturday. Reservations recommended. Appetizers $6-$9, entrees $16-$26. Outdoor seafood and barbecue menu served spring and summer, entrees $7-$20. Directions: I-95 north to exit 7 (Portsmouth). Turn right at end of exit ramp and follow signs for Strawbery Banke Museum into town. Left onto State Street toward bridge. Bear right and go down slight hill under bridge. Dunfey's and a parking garage will be right in front of you.
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Dunfey's in Portsmouth
A harbor sunset, a romantic fogged-in dock, the moon framed by the steel angles of the Memorial Bridge, a chill wind and a slight chop in the water - the setting is all the more perfect when viewed through the porthole of a cozy antique tugboat.
The most expensive and infamous tug of its time, the John Wanamaker is now docked and serving dinner in Portsmouth, N.H., just an hour north of Boston. The casual outdoor dining decks are closing for winter, but the season for lingering over a fine meal in the warmth of the inner cabins is just starting.
This Roaring Twenties beauty, glowing with polished wood and burnished brass, is not to be confused with your usual dinner cruise ship. For one, you never leave the harbor, although the seals, kayakers, and fish that might swim by the portholes provide enough sense of sea traffic. The imposing 61/2-foot-wide steam stack, as well as every other nautical curve and quirk, set a decidedly more authentic seafaring tone. The working glassed-in steam engine (the motor is electric now) that grandly pumps away in the center of the lower dining room is not your usual decor.
The Wanamaker is not even your average tug. The luxurious mahogany paneling and fine craftsmanship are the product of scandal. Corrupt Philadelphians used $175,000 in public funds ($135,000 over the usual 1920s cost) to build this tug as an extravagant party boat. They claimed it was just what the city requested: a heavy duty ice breaker and hauler with rooms for union negotiations and the like.
When word seeped out about the crystal, monogrammed china, and unseemly revelry among the wicker chairs and coco mats, citizens were outraged. Scrambling to smooth things over, city officials quickly christened the tug in honor of the late, respected philanthropist John Wanamaker. From then on, charity fund-raisers were the only parties held onboard.
Today the Wanamaker is host to Dunfey's, and chef Jim Cannon presents an ever-changing menu of new American cuisine.
With limited space in which to stow ingredients, Cannon creates dishes daily with whatever owner Walter Dunfey rounds up fresh from local suppliers. This can range from scallops delivered direct by local divers to bluefin tuna purchased right off the boat.
The indoor menu offers elegant but straightforward fare such as grilled Maine lobster with corn relish, seared Atlantic salmon with chive creme fraiche, and beef tenderloin with fresh mozzarella and basil. The delicate, brothy fish chowder served year-round has the sweet, clear flavor of a fresh catch.
Choices for the more adventurous palate show off Cannon's international flair. A recent menu featured yellowfin tuna lightly seasoned and flash-grilled just long enough to add the surprisingly well-suited flavors of fire and spice to the usually cool tones of sushi. The accompanying chilled coconut sticky rice, roasted shiitakes, seaweed salad, and mango puree filled the plate with color and exciting flavor contrasts.
The bitter edge of sugared walnuts paired with cool baby spinach and a pear vinaigrette perfectly balanced a rich Roquefort and chevre tart appetizer.
The fall and winter menu will feature game specialties including duck, venison, and quail.
If you're seated overlooking the water in the stately upper fiddley (a cabin named for its fiddle shape) where the after bar was originally located, be sure to stroll through the lower dining area to view the engine and take in the unusual eye-level view of the water. No need to worry about getting seasick. The Wanamaker is a heavy hulk, only occasionally shifting gently in the water.
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