Nestled on a hill in the quiet town of Mason, NH is the setting for an unlikely destination but one that brings people far and wide to experience the beautiful gardens and the food inspired by the herbs grown right on the premises. Here you will find Pickity Place.
As you arrive into the parking area, you will notice this little red house. Not only does this serve as the dining area for the restaurant but it also was the inspiration for the illustrations by Elizabeth Orton Jones in Little Red Riding Hood.
For those unfamiliar with Pickity Place, a set five course meal is offered every day and those menus change monthly. All guests enjoy the same thing for each course with the exception of the entrée as there is always a meat and a vegetarian option. The nice thing about having the set menu is that you can review them online and then select which months to visit.
A few other unique touches about the restaurant is that there are three seating’s offered each day: 11:30am, 12:45pm, and 2:00pm and a dinner bell is rung once the staff is ready to begin seating the guests. I would suggest making reservations to guarantee a spot in the dining room.
On this particular visit, our "dip" course turned out to be a small cheese and fruit plate.
Next was the soup course and twice baked Yukon potato was brought out. This was very good and I had wished I had a bigger portion.
Seared citrus was the main focus of the salad as grilled grapefruit, orange, and star fruit were included on a bed of mixed greens with onions and watermelon radish.
Next was the entrée and most of our party chose the beef medallions over barley and burrata risotto. The flavor of the beef was good but the portion was tiny! The risotto was quite tasty.
One member of our party opted for the harvest vegetable strudel served with a Dijon cream sauce. This was a beautiful presentation and I had wished I had ordered it. Each of the meals was served with zucchini as a side.
The highlight of this meal for me arrived at the end when this fantastic tasting lemon cupcake with blackberry butter cream frosting was placed in front of me. Not only did it make for a pretty presentation but it was delicious!!
No visit is complete without a walk around the gardens or a visit to the gift shop.
If you are looking for a way to spend a leisurely afternoon and are looking for a unique dining experience, a visit to Pickity Place would hit the spot.
