Dining Out: Dave's Spicy House

Dave's Spicy House is far from mundane

By Rachel Forrest
April 24, 2008

Foodies like to brag about the "authentic" ethnic food we find, sometimes to the point of pretentiousness.
It goes something like this: "You think that's real Cambodian food? No man, you haven't had real Cambodian food until you've tried this little place in Queens. You have to go down this alley — no street name — and walk into a storefront for a dress shop and walk into the back through a curtain. Say I sent you. There are maybe four tables.

Dining Out: Dave's Spicy House
220 Route 108, Somersworth, 740-4568
Hours
Monday-Thursday 11 a.m.-9 p.m.; Friday and Saturday until 10 p.m.
Food . ***
There's a whole heck of a lot of spice if you like in hearty, authentic cuisine.
Service. *** and a half. Friendly and enthusiastic staff makes you feel
welcome.
Ambience. ***. Plain and simple décor.
Overall. *** Brag to
your friends about how you ate very spicy food that's pretty much like you would
have in Indonesia.
Five stars - Excellent
CHOICE TIPS
If you like
spicy food, try:
Shalimar India Restaurant, 80 Hanover St., Portsmouth,
427-2959
As hot as you want it to be!
Taste of India
55 Main St.,
Dover, 742-8306

Try the lunch buffet on Sunday for a great smorgasbord.

There you'll get real Cambodian food!" Better yet, we like to talk about how we had the ethnic cuisine in the actual country of origin, the more exotic the better. "Whoa, the Num banh choc in Phnom Penh was awesome! "Culinary snobbery abounds.
I do it all the time. And I'm going to do it now. I believe I have found the most authentic Southeast Asian cuisine in our area. It's Indonesian. And yes, I have been to Indonesia. Dave's Spicy House indeed has spicy Indonesian food. Their tagline is "Fine Indonesian Cuisine," but that's really a misnomer. When we think of "fine" cuisine, it's usually a fancy, refined version of the norm and here the food is what you might get in a little neighborhood spot in Indonesia — it's plain, not fancy fare, and some of it is very spicy.
The restaurant itself is also pretty plain. Notice the big screen TV — they use if for karaoke at night. Go up to the counter and peruse the food in the steam table, which changes daily depending on what's at the market. It's not pretty food, mostly brown and there are whole crispy fish, usually tilapia, in there as well. It's all very inexpensive, too. At lunch you can get a huge pile of food with rice, vegetables, and two different dishes for under $7. I tried many dishes here including the chicken curry, yellow with the curry, mild with coconut milk and tangy with flavors of lemongrass and ginger. It's not the curry we're used to though, all boneless and tender, it's small pieces on the bone so be careful. Spicy pork stew (tino rangsak) is indeed very, very spicy. I actually let out an audible gasp prompting a nearby diner to ask, "What is a good Irish girl doing eating all this spicy food?" I told him I was rebelling against my meat and potatoes upbringing. The pork is in small pieces, tender and infused with ginger.
Rendang is large chunks of beef stewed in coconut milk. It's not all that spicy but the coconut makes it tasty. I did find it chewy and dry and wished it was more tender like pot roast. I also tried a chicken stew that was much like the pork. It was extremely hot (hurts so good!) and had hints of the exotic in flavors of clove and ginger. Be very careful of the bones in this one. I just used my hands to pick them out. The vegetables served with the dishes include a toss of large bean sprouts with sautéed collard greens or whisper-thin noodles with greens, carrots and onions, which were very good. I tried Gado-gado as well, a traditional vegetable salad with cucumber, green beans, tofu, eggs, and shrimp crackers layered with a sweet peanut sauce. This was more than enough for a meal, fresh and light. Desserts here come in to go containers set out in front of the counter. I tried a little bun filled with sweet black bean paste, not unlike a steamed bun you might get in a Chinese dim sum spot. Also interesting was a lime green pound cake that tastes like a pound cake, green or not. I tried the avocado juice for a drink, which is really a sweet green milkshake drizzled with chocolate syrup. It's very filling, I'm sure very nutritious, and really not as wacky tasting as it sounds. I love avocado and I love chocolate, so why not?
Dave's is a welcome respite from the mundane and we should all try more exotic foods when we can, if only to step out of our comfort zone and get in touch with the world outside of New England. Get it spicy here and take a little trip to Indonesia.
Rachel Forrest is a former restaurant owner who lives in Portsmouth. Her column appears Wednesdays in Go&Do. Her restaurant review column, Dining Out, appears Thursdays in Spotlight magazine. Hear her on Wine Me Dine Me„¢ with co-host Susan Tuveson Fridays at 6 p.m. on WSCA-FM 106.1. She can be reached by e-mail at rachelforrest1@aol.com.