Blackened tilapia with grape-currant salsa from Margarita Grill – Reverse Menuneering

Far be it from me to ever assume that northern New Hampshire wouldn’t have any good restaurants to choose from. Granted, they are few and far between, but isn’t everything up there? You have to drive 20 miles just to find a gas station, let alone a gourmet restaurant.

There are a couple of gems that we’ve enjoyed for years, though, in Glen and North Conway: Margarita Grill and Moat Mountain Smokehouse and Brewery.

Every year when we go to Bretton Woods, we try to make it to at least one of these. In the past, we’ve always made it to both, but this year, since Margarita Grill was on our way home from Story Land, it won. Every year, I forget that Margarita Grill is not just your average Mexican restaurant. Everything they make has a unique flair and although the cuisine is scrumptious, the service is so fast that they get you out before your kid melts down, so it’s a win-win.

Join me as I re-create the meal I enjoyed so thoroughly it was nearly embarrassing: blackened tilapia with red grape and currant pica de gallo with roasted vegetable salad and honey rum black beans.

Blackened Tilapia
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This one’s easy: mix a little cumin, sage and brown sugar in a small bowl and add some salt and pepper to taste. Me? I’d go heavy on everything but the sugar and salt. Dredge your fish in it and pan fry until done.

Red grape and Currant Pica de Gallo

Ingredients:

1 cup seedless red grapes, halved
3 tablespoons dried currants
1/4 cup diced red bell pepper
2 tablespoons diced red onion
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
freshly ground black pepper to taste
balsamic vinegar

Combine first six ingredients, then lightly drizzle with balsamic vinegar. Serve with blackened tilapia.

Honey Rum Black Beans

This one’s even easier, since Bobby Flay’s got a recipe for honey rum black beans. Leave out the chorizo and it will be just like the recipe used at Margarita Grill, or so my taste buds tell me.

Roasted Vegetable Salad

This is easy too: greens, roasted veggies, cumin and fresh cilantro vinaigrette. Here’s the catch, though — they don’t use the veggies you’d typically think of. Roasted onions and carrots were on my salad, as well as pumpkin seeds sauteed with cumin, salt and brown sugar.

Sound amazing? Oh yeah, and it’s pretty easy to recreate — what are you waiting for?