Ponce Gourmet is bringing West Coast food to the East
Manchester Journal, by Jade Csizmesia
Friday, July 25, 2008

After signing the lease in March, owners Amber Hamilton and Ron Rodríguez opened Ponce Gourmet in Manchester Center on July 5. The restaurant brings gourmet food and flavor to the community at a reasonable price.

Hamilton and Rodríguez previously owned a gourmet food store in Rhode Island before moving up to Vermont to open Seychelles Boutique and most recently, Ponce Gourmet. Hamilton grew up on the West Coast where every time she turned a corner there was a fun, funky bistro, which is what she wanted to bring to Manchester, she said.

She began with four sandwiches that were understandable to people, and then expanded adding a touch of her own interesting ingredients including herbs and spices. Ingredients are what it's all about, Hamilton said. Also, everything is fresh roasted.

"I fresh-roast the peppers and I fresh-roast the pecans, because you don't get that aroma that goes through the sinuses with something fresh," Hamilton said. "It's the same with herbs. They go through your sinuses and that's what creates that incredible, oh that's so fresh taste.'"

Although there are a lot of sit-down restaurants in town where people can get gourmet food, there is no place in between an expensive restaurant and a plain-jane sandwich shop. Customers are getting their money's worth when they come to Ponce, Hamilton said.

She incorporates higher quality ingredients using European cheeses as well as Vermont cheeses.

Hamilton doesn't order American, provolone, or Swiss cheese because people can get that anywhere. Also, a majority of the food in town is heavy because restaurants load the sandwiches with cheese or sauce. It's not about loading it up though; the trick and the magic with the sandwich that works really well is when quality ingredients are used. Putting 2 layers of meat along with cheddar cheese and a red roasted tomato that is cured in oil gives the sandwich a fantastic flavor, which makes everything else in the sandwich taste amazing, Hamilton said.

Another specialty of Ponce Gourmet is the fresh soups that they make. Hamilton will never use a bought-base because she makes her own from onions and garlic. She makes interesting soups such as a lemon grass and ginger coconut soup, which is a Thai soup. Another favorite is the chilled artichoke soup with a little bit of lemon zest. And since there is so much flavor in their foods, customers don't need a lot, she said.

"You're so filled with flavor that you're like, wow I'm so satisfied with a nice proportioned soup, a little slice of baguette and I have a great little salad,'" Hamilton said.

All of the recipes are their own concoctions, and are also very healthy. One of Hamilton's favorite salads is the lavender goat cheese salad rolled in fresh roasted hazelnuts and pecans over spinach with white grape sherry dressing. It's about using the right ingredients; if you pick the right ingredients, you can do anything, Hamilton said.

And what is a gourmet without baked goods and coffee? Sarah Porter, who graduated from New England Culinary, makes the baked goods, and puts so much flavor into her goods, that again, customers don't need a lot to feel satisfied. The coffee, which comes out of Washington State, is also special. Most home brewers don't get up to the highest temperature and pressure to pull out the flavor, she said.

"There are certain aromas and certain flavors that come out past a certain temperature, and you can't get that with a home brewer," Hamilton said.

The process uses ratios, and it's very specific to the ounce. Customers can taste the complexities. Paying attention to the details, such as monitoring the roasting and checking the coffee every three seconds makes a huge difference, she said.

Rodríguez is Puerto Rican, so he'll be bringing ethnic food to the table including Spanish meatloaf, vegetarian rices, and fried calzones with seasoned meats inside. He also makes a “pernil”, which is a roast pork shoulder roasted for 5 hours, which just falls off, leaving just the bone. Rodríguez's grandfather is from Ponce, Puerto Rico, which is how they came up with the name. It's exotic and customers are always asking, Hamilton said. It's a name that customers will remember.

Since there is so much to food, they change it up every day, and they put all of their passion into it. If a customer doesn't like the food, they'll fix it without question. One of the most important parts to being a successful business is the service and the people behind the food. It is a package including patience, ambiance, service, and a killer product. Hamilton is looking to give people value; she wants them to come back and is not looking to be greedy, she said.

"It's offering something different that's not here. We're taking it to a new level."
http://www.manchesterjournal.com/ci_9983314