Join us on August 5th for another NH Tweet Up at The Portsmouth Gaslight deck. Our sponsors include Sabrina Inc., Adobe, RiverRun Bookstore, and Long Trail Brewing Co.

Tweet Ups have become all the rage, which is great to see especially within a local community. Please join us at The Portsmouth Gas Light deck this August 5th and be ready to network, share, and possibly collaborate with other Seacoast folks, no matter what your cause. We’ll have appetizers, music, drink specials, and give-aways. You can register for free at gaslighttweetup.eventbrite.com.

Social Media Day is this Wednesday, June 30th, 2010. The day was originally organized by Mashable.com and now there are over 525 Meetups nationwide, including our own right here in Portsmouth, NH at The Press Room located at 77 Daniel Street. Social Media Day Portsmouth also includes an enormous benefit to help raise money for Team Mountain, as they race to support The Greater New England Chapter of the National MS Society and the Molly Rowlee Foundation.

The Portsmouth Herald describes the event…

Independence! features live music performances from two generations of NH Seacoast singer songwriters and a brilliant selection of visual art and photography from the region’s artists. Enjoy the company of Portsmouth’s colorful business and arts community and sample fine foods from some of the area’s best restaurants and cafes.

Live music performances by Martin England and the Tan Vampires (featuring Jake Mehrmann). Local artists Jess Scott, Colin James, and Jocelyn Toffic will also be on hand with their latest work on display…

The event begins sharply at 6:00 PM and admission is only five bucks, so meet me at The Press Room and help make a great cause even greater through the power of Social Media and Community Networking…

Check in on FourSquare, Yelp, and Twitter. Facebook your friends and make our local community shine!

On Thursday, May 6th join us for The Portsmouth NH Tweet-Up at The Red Door, located at 107 State Street in downtown Portsmouth, NH. This is our second time hosting and this year we’ve got 6o+ folks registered to join us upstairs at one of the hippest martini bars in the seacoast area. RiverRun Bookstore is donating another gift certificate, which we’ll raffle off along with a brand new, engraved iPod. If this is your first Tweet-Up, expect a lot of mingling and networking. They’ll be people from all backgrounds in attendance. Do you have questions about Social Media? Information Technology? Graphic Design? SEO? Looking to share some information? Don’t be afraid to introduce yourself. Enjoy some great music, fantastic drinks, and meet your followers face to face. Space is limited, sign up now!

Okay, I was the first one to wish for a quick and easy winter, knowing whole-heartedly that living in New England means a long, harsh winter of ice storms, snow, sub-zero temperatures, and plenty of shoveling, snow blowing, and trips to the local car wash.  Be careful what you wish for – we’re on the doorstep of March and so far this winter has been a complete dud in New England. It’s been unseasonably warm, weather patterns are bringing snow to the mid-Atlantic region of the United States and the ski areas throughout northern New England are without a natural white landscape.  There’s plenty of downhill skiing, but if you’re like me – looking for areas to cross country ski, snow shoe, or try out that new toboggan – good luck. Last weekend I traveled to Gilford, NH looking to go ski touring, but the area at Gunstock was closed. The next morning, I drove further up north to Jackson, NH and found an open facility, but the conditions were poor. There were bare spots, icy patches, and the depth of the snow was inconsistent. We ended up ice-skating at Nestlenook Farm instead, which was rather exciting. I zipped up and down the pond, going under the sleigh ride bridge and ending it with a fire and a warm drink at a popular local coffee house in North Conway, NH. Inside the coffee house, people were talking about the lack of Mother Nature’s winter white wonder – asking themselves why Washington D.C. and Virginia got the jackpot this year. The lack of snow has a rippling effect in the already brittle economy. And I mean beyond the ski resorts… Less snow means less salt on the road, which in turn means less work for snowplows and all that other machinery we hear out our windows during winter driving conditions. Have you visited a car wash lately? Yep, there’s less income for area car washes, too.  Despite my selfish thoughts about not wanting a long winter and preparing for Spring back in October – I am a New Englander. I expect snow. I expect cold weather in February and not temperatures in the 50s and rain. It just isn’t right.

Last evening, I ate the best hamburger I’ve ever tasted. I know, we’ve probably all heard that line muttered somewhere before, but believe me – this was no ordinary burger. This was the BT Burger. All the ingredients were tiptop and the combined flavors were absolutely  tremendous. What is a BT Burger and where can you get it? It’s the Black Trumpet Burger and it’s on the Early Winter menu, which I’m not exactly sure how long will stick around, perhaps until it’s mid-winter? All I can say is you better get one while you can.

The Black Trumpet menu describes the BT Burger like this:

NEFF (North East Family Farms) beef patty with melted gruyère cheese on a housemade bun served with truffled skin fries, black trumpet catsup and housemade pickles.

I’m sure the special seasoning inside the beef patty is one of the restaurant’s most kept secrets… but it really is the best burger I’ve tasted, hands down. The excruciatingly beautiful taste of the burger overshadowed the delicate, yet simply delicious potato skin fries bathed in the chef’s truffle oil.  The portion is just right – not too much, not too little and it’s a reasonable price for such a classy take on a what is known as a simple dish. How did I wash it down? With a Victory lager, which can only be found on tap in Portsmouth, NH at The Black Trumpet.  They usually have three rotating beers on tap, all three unique and all three are usually regional or craft-brewer beers. If you do visit the restaurant and order the burger, I just hope you enjoy it as much as I did.

Don’t be afraid to let your mouth water…

The Black Trumpet is my favorite restaurant in this little seaport town and it’s located at 29 Ceres Street, Portsmouth, NH