The best Mexican food I have ever eaten is made in Lawrence, Mass. Cafe Azteca, at 180 Common Street, is a hole-in-the-wall, authentic Mexican restaurant that everyone needs to visit at least once in their lifetime. The small restaurant has the atmosphere of most Mexican eateries (Spanish music playing, colorful decor), but their food is unlike any other. Their complimentary nachos alone are always hot and crispy, and the accompanying salsa is made with only fresh ingredients; not just poured out of a jar in the back. For the entrees, I so far have only tried their quesadillas and burritos, but they also offer more exotic dishes, such as mole poblano and sauteed shrimp and steak in a spicy habanero salsa with cactus strips.  If you’re a guacamole fan, ask for it on the side; like the salsa, it’s fresh and full of flavor. To wash all the authentic Mexican cuisine down, I recommend their original margarita, on the rocks. One glass will have you singing along with the Spanish music.

Black Orchid Grille at 8 Temple Street in Nashua has made some delicious-sounding additions to their formal dining menu. The restaurant prides themselves in modernizing old American classics, and their new items stay true to this theme. The new menu includes crepes with MacIntosh apples, Gorgonzola cheese and pecans; goat cheese salad with shallot confit and duck cracklings, osso buco and duck confit; and daily specials of ravioli filled with seasonal ingredients. If you don’t like the sounds of any of these new items, I still recommend paying a visit to the Black Orchid Grille; they offer upscale dining at an affordable price, and also offer a full martini and wine bar.

In 1988, my family and I ate dinner at D.W. Pizzeria at 78 D.W. Highway in Merrimack on its first day of operation under owners Dimitrios & Lisa. We enjoyed the family-run pizza shop’s food and friendly atmosphere so much, that we continued to go almost weekly for the next 10+ years. My father, who is a big advocate for good customer service, continued to go back not only for the food, but also because the owner, Dimitrios, always greeted us with a smile and, because he was always there, reassured my father that he was keeping track of what was going on in his kitchen. Dimitri even lived directly behind the pizzeria at the time (I’m not positive if he still does or not). However, since I went away to college and moved out of my parents’ home, I have not paid a visit to this hometown pizza shop in years; until last night. Excited to re-visit a childhood memory, I was severely disappointed by the lack of customer service and poor quality food. Instead of being greeted by Dimitri’s warm smile, I was welcomed…or not welcomed…by barely a smirk, and not an ounce of eye contact. Dimitri wasn’t anywhere in sight, either. To make matters worse, my large, half vegetarian, half cheese pizza was 2 minutes undercooked, and could have used a generous drizzle of olive oil and some garlic. Something on the veggie pizza (pretty sure it was the mushrooms) tasted like the smell of leather shoes, too. The fries, however, were perfectly crispy; but, unfortunately, they don’t call themselves “D.W. Fries.”

Giovanni’s Roast Beef & Pizza is coming to 14 Broad Street in Nashua at the end of November. The restaurant, which has been in business for about 15 years, has locations in Hooksett, Salem, Londonderry and, their newest location, Manchester. Now the restaurant is expanding into our neck of the woods, and will be offering the same menu to its new Nashua area customers. In addition to pizza, subs and sandwiches (especially their roast beef sandwiches), the menu also offers salads, calzones, pasta dishes, hamburgers, steak tips and wings, to name a few. At the existing locations, delivery is available as well as online ordering for additional convenience. No confirmation on if the same services will be offered in Nashua, but keep an eye on Giovanni’s website for further updates.

You’ve probably heard of The Loft in North Andover, Mass. on “Phantom Gourmet,” but looking at the restaurant and its food on the TV is nothing compared to actually being there. Located in a 160-year-old building, The Loft (located right next to Joe Fish) offers delicious comfort foods, steaks and seafood; to name a few. Our waitress, who also is a skilled bartender, even concocted a made-up martini just for me, because I was indecisive on what kind I wanted (my only requirement was vodka…and lots of it).

For dinner, I ordered the Crab Haddock Casserole ($18.99) with steak fries and white & green string beans as my sides (other sides include mashed potatoes, baked potato, a house salad, rice pilaf and cole slaw). The casserole was made up of fresh, flaky haddock baked with crab stuffing and lobster cream sauce, sprinkled with buttery cracker crumbs. The dish was filling, without giving me that I-feel-like-I-just-ate-Thanksgiving-dinner pain, and the thick-cut fries were perfectly salted and successfully fried (crispy outside; soft inside). The martini wasn’t half bad either.

The Loft is located at 1140 Osgood Street in North Andover.

Wine is to food what peanut butter is to jelly: the two are just meant to be together. At IncrediBREW in Nashua, the pairing of these two items is highly praised, and extremely successful.

Last week, I attended a Wine Pairing at IncrediBREW, expecting a few homemade wines and a snack or two. To my extreme pleasure (especially considering I was starving after a long day of work filled with handfuls of office candy and caffeine), plates full of appetizer-sized dishes had been prepared by a culinary school graduate employee of IncrediBREW. To make the smile on my face even wider: the “menu” for the pairing included 6 kinds of wine, plus a Chocolate Raspberry Tiramisu for dessert, where the ladyfingers were soaked in homemade Chocolate Raspberry Port (instead of the standard espresso).

The hosts for the evening (including the employee who prepared all the food) were very informative about each kind of wine, and why it paired so well with the specific piece of food. My favorite pairing of the night: the German Riesling Auslese, paired with corn, avocado and shrimp on top of a spicy tortilla chip.

Bottles of each wine were even available for purchase after the pairing. The night also only cost me $15 - the average price of one bottle of wine, yet I got a full meal on top of it. Not a bad Thursday night.

Giorgio’s in Milford has expanded its menu of well-known martinis and Mediterranean & Italian cuisine with a Sunday brunch. The restaurant kicked off its not quite breakfast, not quite dinner menu on the 14th of this month, and the menu includes an omelette station, a carving station, and even a Swan Chocolate’s chocolate fountain. To wash down your buffet-style meal, mimosas are also offered. Giorgio’s plans to serve the buffet-style brunch every Sunday from now on, starting at 10 a.m. and going until 2 p.m. No word on how much this brunch will cost you, but if Giorgio’s breakfast creations taste anything like their chocolate gelato or highly recommended mixed drinks, I doubt you will be disappointed.

Peddler’s Daughter in Nashua (and Haverhill) is celebrating St. Patrick’s Day 6 months early with their “Halfway to St. Patrick’s Day Celebration.” Whether you are Irish, wish you were Irish, or just like having an excuse to drink during the day, then plan to make a visit to Peddler’s this Saturday, Sept 20th.

Starting with eggs and kegs at 8:00 a.m., the celebration in Nashua will include authentic Irish food (corned beef and cabbage anyone?), and drinks at the bar, of course (I recommend the Black and Blue). Live music will also be provided, with performances by Colm O’Brien in the afternoon and EJ Oullette and Crazy Maggie in the evening. Oh, and make sure to wear green.

Not a fan of Irish food? Try some sushi this weekend instead, and just head to Peddler’s for the beer and music.

Ah, Fall: the season of foliage, brisk weather and pumpkin-flavored coffee. Last season, I was hooked on Honey Dew Donuts’ version of the nutmeg-licious morning boost, but this year, I am all about Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte.

The seasonal latte tasted like, well, pumpkin as opposed to being overwhelmed with the strong flavor of nutmeg, which some pumpkin coffees fail at. The drink was also not weighed down with the sugary syrup that Starbucks can be famous for. Instead, it was like drinking a liquid pumpkin with just the right amount of sugar, and an overwhelming amount of caffeine, thanks to the espresso. Luckily for me, I like to spend the day hallucinating from a caffeine overdose, but for you amateur coffee drinkers, beware. And if you’re not a fan of shelling out $5 for an iced coffee, trust me that Starbucks’ Pumpkin Spice Latte is worth a taste at least once this season, before it’s put into hibernation until next year.

I recently paid a visit to Hot Rize Bagel Cafe & Espresso Bar in Merrimack for the first time in almost a year, and I was happy to see that some things never change.

The quaint bakery had a quick-moving line late Sunday morning, and were on the brink of filling all of their bagel baskets with freshly baked bagels to carry them through the late morning customers. The young staff was friendly and eager to please, making it easy to order without feeling the Dunkin’ Donuts’ hurry-up-and-order anxiety. I opted for a multi-grain bagel with scallion cream cheese; a successful combo, as the flavorful cream cheese helped to balance out the obviously healthy bagel (er, as healthy as a bagel can be).

For a limited time, Hot Rize is also offering a Pumpkin White Mocha latte…that may not be its technical name, but the latte includes pumpkin and white chocolate; what more information do you need?