The Green Bean Cafe Opens Wentworth Marina Location

The very cool San Francisco area vibe regarding every aspect of the The Green Bean cafes (Bean) reflects Exeter native Lori Whitney’s tenure in Mount View in California’s Silicon Valley. She opened the first Bean there and, to the great benefit of NH seacoast residents, transplanted the Bean when she returned to Exeter in the ‘90s. In this case, Thomas Wolfe was incredibly wrong regarding being able to successfully come home again.

The New Hampshire Beans have the bonus of Whitney’s California transplant husband Jeff Turner, whose prior career involved advocating for tenants who experienced housing-based discrimination, joining the business. Turner joked that “we went into business together and then went into therapy together.”

Turner seriously described his and Whitney’s roles as “she’s vision, I’m execution.” He added that he handles contract negotiations and similar business-related aspects of their company.

Whitney opened her recently renovated Exeter cafe fifteen years ago, started a second restaurant at Pease eight years ago, opened at the Portsmouth Community Campus three years ago, and opened her beautiful open-air Wentworth Marina location in May. I had the privilege of enjoying her excellent company and incredibly tasty food at the Wentworth café.

Before discussing the restaurants, the dog-friendly nature of the business deserves mention. I played with an adorable Yorkie at the Wentworth location, and Whitney immediately brought the pooch water when I told her that he looked thirsty.

Whitney told me that dogs were very welcome at the Wentworth location and that many people brought their dogs when they ate in the courtyard of her Exeter location.

Every location serves breakfast and lunch; the Pease and Community Campus restaurants are open Monday through Friday, and the Exeter and the summer-only Wentworth locations are open seven days a week. The Wentworth location additionally serves the lunch menu, which includes what Whitney accurately described as “fabulous” burgers, in the evening on Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

The Wentworth location additionally can be considered the Turner and Hooch location because it sells Red Hook and Pete’s Organic beers. Whitney shared that she sold Red Hook because that company “donates a lot to charity events.”

My telling Whitney that Red Hook was donating a portion of its proceeds from Ben Harris Beer, which is a cream ale, to a fund for Harris’ baby prompted Whitney to immediately call her Red Hook sales representative to request that beer when it became available to vendors. (Harris was a Red Hook brewery worker who died in April 2012 when a keg that he was cleaning exploded.)

When asked about plans for further expansion, Whitney stated that the next Bean location would in downtown Portsmouth “if the right opportunity presented itself.” She additionally expressed interest in operating that location as a partnership, rather than a franchise, with someone.

Pleas for Whitney to open a Newburyport location near my home have fallen on sympathetic, but deaf, ears for years.

Whitney stated that the origin of the Bean name genuinely was an inspiration from above. She shared that “I said out loud ‘I need a name;’ it [The Green Bean] trickled out the sky into my head.”

Whitney gets her breads and rolls fresh from Borealis Breads in Wells, Maine, and converts any day-old items into croutons or bread pudding. I can personally vouch for the awesomeness of the rosemary focaccia and the hamburger rolls and feel safe asserting that the other breads are just as awesome.

My only beef (pun intended) is that Whitney, ala Trader Joe’s, removed my absolutely favorite item from the menu. Her roast beef with Boursin was indescribably tasty, but Whitney told me that there was not enough demand for roast beef to justify keeping it on the menu.

The turkey bacon (homemade) pesto sandwich that I savored while enjoying a great sea breeze and watching boats come and go came a very close second to the roast beef sandwich. I will try the warm ham and provolone with (homemade) roasted red pepper mayonnaise on my next visit.

Whitney immediately picked up that I would not publish her statement that her burgers are “fabulous” without trying one. The quality of the other food, Whitney sharing that getting ground chuck that a Kittery, Maine, meat shop ground fresh each day, and Whitney adding that the burgers contain a “secret ingredient” did create optimism regarding her claim of awesomeness. Whitney just smiled when I referred to Sweeney Todd in response to her comment regarding a secret ingredient.

I am very pleased to report that the cheddar and (homemade) chipotle mayo burger that I brought home for dinner was beyond awesome. Despite sitting in my refrigerator for a few hours before I nuked if for my dinner, the burger did not have an iota of congealed fat. It was also still one of the best burgers that I have ever had despite the punishment of being cooled and zapped.

The chipotle mayo was an ideal blend of those tastes, and I confess that I allowed the coincidence of John Belushi’s disgusting cafeteria scene in “Animal House” coming on while I was eating to justify using my hamburger bun to mop up the little bit of the mayo that had dripped out. I had enough willpower to resist licking my plate clean.

The Bean’s desserts are just as good, but even more addictive, than the sandwiches and burgers. The chocolate chip cookies, which I believe also include a “secret ingredient,” are truly the best that I have ever had. I want to go away to camp or school just so that I can get a care package of these cookies.

The chocolate cupcake with peppermint buttercream frosting and chocolate drizzle are just as good as the cookies and truly outshine every more expensive cupcake that I have bought at cupcake shops in the U.S. and Vancouver. The weight of this treat, which has its own “secret ingredient,” indicates how dense it is, and it is exceptionally moist.

Like all of her cooking, Whitney added the perfect amount of peppermint. I could clearly taste it, but it did not overwhelm the other perfectly blended flavors.

Turner sums all of this up very well in describing the Bean’s philosophy as “we try to make everything fresh and wonderful.” In my humble opinion, they far exceed that goal.