Lexie’s Restaurants
With five year-round spots across the Seacoast, a sixth seasonal location and a food truck catering between 150 and 200 events a year, Lexie’s Restaurants (421 Central Ave., Dover; 175 Main St., Epping; 82 Lincoln St., Exeter; 212 Islington St., Portsmouth; 88 State St., Newburyport, Mass.; 61 Beane Lane, Newington; 815-4181, peaceloveburgers.com) is a burger-focused eatery proving that the American classic truly is limitless. “We have a really creative menu … [with] almost an infinite number of combinations because of all of the different sauces and toppings,” said Tucker Plimpton, director of operations and a partner at Lexie’s. “We also have some awesome builds with fun names, [like] the Green Muenster burger, the Urban Cowboy burger and the Burning Down the House burger, just to name a few.” And even if beef burgers aren’t your thing, there’s plenty for everyone to enjoy at Lexie’s, from the hand-cut Idaho russet fries and spun-to-order milkshakes to house-made black bean burgers — aptly dubbed “Beanies” — and the crispy fried fish tacos. The Scene recently caught up with Plimpton to talk about some of his must-try menu recommendations when you visit one of Lexie’s restaurants, as well as the burger chain’s overall success and growth on the Seacoast.
How long has Lexie’s Restaurants been around?
Portsmouth opened in February of 2010. That was the first one, so we’re coming up on 15 years there. … Newburyport and [Lexie’s] Landing [in Newington] opened … between 2013 and 2014. Those were pretty closely connected. … Then, after that, we opened Lexie’s in Exeter in 2016, then the food truck right after that in 2017 — we got the first food truck then, and then now the newest iteration of it was in 2018. … From there, we opened Lexie’s in Epping, and that was in the fall of 2022. … There is a slight difference [in the menu] in both Lexie’s Landing and Lexie’s in Newburyport. … Newburyport is just a little shrunk down menu, and then the Landing has a couple of burger options … but then it also has some fried seafood, since we’re right on the water.
What makes Lexie’s Restaurants unique?
I think it’s just the quality of the product. … We use prime-grade beef — a really excellent-quality product at the top of the grading scale as far as beef goes. … We also hand-cut all of our own fries [using] skin-on Idaho Burbank potatoes — the best you can get. … I think it’s also the creativity and the fun that we’re able to have with the menu. One recent thing that we have done is we now have standardized specials across all of the year-round locations, so now you can find … a burger, a fry and a shake special that goes continuously. … It just gives us a chance to be a little more creative and kind of drive that same level of consistency.
What is your favorite thing on your own menu?
My go-to as of late is something we call the Put a Ring On It burger. … It [has] barbecue sauce, chipotle aioli, bacon, American cheese, onion rings and the best part, which is a sunny-side-up egg. A fried egg on a burger is just one of those things that if you love it it’s kind of a must-have. … For a french fry, I love our Bistro fry, which [has] Parmesan cheese, herbed aioli, bacon bits and parsley. You don’t find anybody who really isn’t a fan of those. … Then for our milkshake, I think our sweet and salty milkshake is excellent. It’s a vanilla ice cream base with caramel and some sea salt. Those three things, I think, are kind of a perfect meal from us.
What is something that everyone should try?
The Urban Cowboy, I would say, is our most popular seller. It’s onion rings, bacon, cheddar cheese, avocado, chimichurri and barbecue sauce on a burger. That one is kind of fun — you get the sweet, the tangy, [and] a little bit of sour [flavors]. … Something else that’s kind of slept on are our fish tacos. It’s a fried cod taco with our house-made slaw, sweet pickled onions, American cheese, Sriracha aioli and a little bit of lettuce. Those are really great and a good alternative for people looking to go with something other than a burger.
What celebrity would you like to see eating at Lexie’s Restaurants?
I’m the ultimate Michael Jordan fan, so I think seeing No. 23 at Lexie’s would be pretty incredible for me, personally.
What is an essential skill to running a restaurant?
A commitment to really high-quality food and service … and that goes for both the customer service in the front end to the execution in the back of the house. … You can have some awesome products that you’re bringing in, but if the execution isn’t there and people don’t really feel welcome or that they can belong there or find a home there, they just aren’t going to come back. … I think another thing that’s important is creating a good culture for the people that are going to work for you. If you don’t have good staff, or you don’t take care of them or treat them well, the whole thing isn’t going to work.
What is your favorite thing about being on the Seacoast?
There is so much to do in such a short period of time. You don’t have to travel very far to have fun or to find something really great to eat. … And let’s not kid ourselves — being this close to the ocean, it’s really hard to beat!
— Matt Ingersoll
Photo courtesy of Lexie’s Restaurants
