Phantom Gourmet: The Tuckaway Tarvern And Butchery
RAYMOND, N.H. (CBS) -- Imagine a place where you can start your meal with a mountain of nachos smothered in pulled pork and chili, move on to a burger topped with bacon and fried chicken, and finish with an enormous S'mores Sundae atop a graham cracker brownie.
Well stop imagining and head straight for The Tuckaway. Located in Raymond, New Hampshire, The Tuckaway Tavern and Butchery is where over-the-top eats are the norm. So there are appetizers like Steak Fries smothered in steak and cheese, entrees like a Texas-sized meatloaf covered in onion strings and desserts like that outrageous S'mores Sundae. And it all comes from the brain of Executive Chef Bobby Marcotte.
"There's always something going through my mind as a chef, I'm always thinking about the next thing that's gonna get a wow factor," Marcotte said.
Burgers here always get a big reaction. There are more than a dozen to choose from, all served on freshly branded buns. But whichever one you order, Tuckaway owner Paul Simbliaris knows you'll love it as much as he does.
"Well I think if you have our burger, you're gonna find out it's the best burger you've ever eaten in your life. Hands down," Simbliaris said.
The food here is reason enough to visit, but this place is more than just a restaurant. In addition to the casual 200-person dining room, the Tuckaway is also home to a country store with antiques and craft beers, and an enormous butcher shop offering more meat than you can imagine, from burgers, to steaks, to 24 styles of sausage.
"It's a great concept, it doesn't exist anywhere in New England. We recreate ourselves every single day here."
"It's not things you're gonna get anywhere else. We have specialty items, locally produced items we want that special feel, we want a specialty shop that you can't necessarily get everywhere else."
And for a chef like Bobby, having all this great product right at his fingertips means he's always coming up with delicious new dishes for the restaurant.
"Utilizing the butcher shop is where I start with most of my influence."
"You know everyday I'll run up and down the case..."
"As a chef, to have a butcher shop and a restaurant together, it's just a dream come true really."
Watch Phantom Gourmet on Saturdays and Sundays at 10:30 and 11 a.m. on myTV38