Commercial Street Fishery at 33 South Commercial Street in Manchester has a new Fall menu. The restaurant prides themselves on taking ordinary seafood dishes and making them unique and creative, and their menu boasts that they serve “food for adults,” (i.e. sophisticated dishes). The new menu includes items such as the Green Goddess Salad, with grape tomatoes, calamata olives, crispy onions and romaine lettuce; a Lobster Maki Roll, made up of yellow fin tuna, tempura crunch and papaya; and House-made Duck Sausage, with pears, bok choy, black plum chutney, and anise duck jus. Other additions include the Angus Beef Carpaccio with baby arugula, pickled red onion, gorgonzola cheese, and red wine vinaigrette; and, finally, the Grilled Bistro Filet served with bacon-cheddar mashed potatoes, garlic spinach and mushroom demi.

Formely Valentino’s Pizza in Milford, Pizzaria Roma (in Market Basket Square on Route 101) is the new name for the successful pizza joint. After putting in a call to the pizzeria, I was told that the place got new owners about two years ago, and the new owners decided to change the name just recently, but the management and the menu stayed the same. If you haven’t paid a visit to Pizzaria Roma (or the former Valentino’s), the restaurant serves up just about every kind of pizza you can imagine, including some of their specialty pies, like the Vegeterian, Italian Combo (with sausage, chicken cutlet, and meatballs) and Sicilian Thick Crust. In addition to pies, Pizzaria Roma also serves homemade calzones, pasta, salads and hot & cold subs, to name a few.

The Village Smokehouse (with another location in Brookline, N.H.) is one of the newest restaurants to arrive to downtown Lowell, Mass. The Village Smokehouse has been open in Brookline for twenty-one years, and credits its success to a secret family barbecue recipe. The Lowell location is almost 3 times the size of the Brookline spot, and an open barbeque pit allows diners to watch their meals being cooked on an open flame. The dinner menu includes items like the Smokehouse’s famous Stuffed Jalapenos, Baby Back Pork Ribs, Beef Brisket, and Texas Sausage. Steaks, burgers and fish are also available, as well as a kid’s menu, helping to make this a family-friendly, affordable and relaxing new restaurant in historic Lowell.

The Village Smokehouse is at 98 Middle Street in Lowell.

Let me start off by saying that I know I have already blogged about The Common Man Restaurant in Merrimack, but the meal I had there the other night cannot go unmentioned. Plus, The Common Man is always consistent when it comes to good food, great service and affordable prices. It also doesn’t hurt that the manager visits every table on a nightly basis.

Saturday evening, I went to The Common Man for a late dinner, and decided to sit upstairs in the lounge area so I didn’t have to wait for a table. Upstairs has the same menu as downstairs, with an additional pub grub menu. The pub menu has regular items such as nachos, burgers and even pizzas, but the Uncommon Flatbread ($5.99) is just as it reads. Topped with smooth butternut squash, sliced apples and cheddar cheese, this warm, perfectly soft Fall-inspired bread was the ideal blend of comforting flavors. On the side, I ordered a heaping portion of Sweet Potato Fries ($4.99), which were fried and seasoned to perfection. However, the real star of this dish was the maple syrup for dipping the sweet potato fries in. You will never go back to fries and ketchup after trying this combo. Assuming there is a Heaven, and assuming I make it there one day, this is the meal I will be eating for eternity.

I had dinner with some friends at Shorty’s Mexican Roadhouse in Nashua the other night, and was pleasantly surprised by the friendly and attentive service, strong margaritas and quality food. The complimentary chips and fresh salsa at Shorty’s was delicious on its own, but my friends and I also ordered some Espinaca con Queso ($7.49) to cleanse our palates before dinner. The Espinaca dip was warm, creamy and chocked full of gooey cheese, with a generous amount of tomatoes, hot peppers, spinach and onions inside of it, ready to be picked up by a fresh, crispy tortilla chip. Washed down with a salty, original margarita on the rocks (with enough tequila to make an alcoholic feel the burn), I was ready for my entree. I ordered the Con Fajita Quesadilla ($5.99, half) which was half filled with chunks of juicy chicken, cheese, onions, peppers and green chilies. The helping was huge, especially for a half order, and the quesadilla was perfectly cooked and seasoned. However, it could have used a little more filling.

John Harvard’s Brew House in Harvard Square (Cambridge, Mass.) may seem like an inviting spot for some brews and pub grub when you’re out and about during an excursion in the city. However, trust me when I say Do Not Enter. I met up with a friend at John Harvard’s last week for some nachos and microbrews before a concert, and was pleased with the several seasonal beers I gulped down, as well as the nachos I consumed, loaded with cheese, tomatoes, jalapenos, black olives, guac, salsa, scallions and sour cream. After inhaling half the nachos, I sat back, contemplating if I should order another beer, and looked down to find a mouse scurrying across the bar floor. Holding back an ear piercing shriek, I pointed out the rodent to my friend, and we both watched it scurry back behind the bar. Upon telling our waiter, he shrugged (as if this happens every day), and had the manager come over; who also wasn’t very apologetic. The manager promised us a discount on our check, but only took off $9.50; barely the cost of two beers. Needless to say, we will never go back.

Gaucho’s Churrascaria Brazilian Steak House at 62 Lowell Street in Manchester offers unlimited Brazilian food to its carnivorous (and even vegetarian) customers. The steak house serves up fresh, sizzling meat on skewers brought to your table by the efficient waitstaff. The waiters come to your table depending on what side the dining card on your table is flipped to: red or green. If the card has the green side facing up, waiters with skewers filled with meat will continuously come to your table, offering their goods. If your card is red side up, the waiters will know you need a breather. I have visited Gaucho’s several times, and have never left hungry; or left my card with the red side up. The restaurant offers vegetarian-friendly sides, including salads, rice and addictive fried plaintains, but the real star of this establishment is the meat. Some of the offerings include bacon-wrapped filet, salmon, chicken hearts, and sausage. The filet wrapped in bacon is quite possibly the best steak I have ever eaten, and the salmon falls apart beautifully with the touch of a fork. I could go on for a while about the rest of the meat, but I’d rather recommend you visit Gaucho’s yourself and feast until you reach the point of entering a food coma.

Move over, Panera Bread: there’s another sandwich and soup shop in town. Aspiration’s Bistro at 103 Route 101A in Amherst (in the purple building before Wal-Mart) serves up gourmet-style sandwiches, soups, desserts, salads, quiche and beverages. The small cafe also has daily specials, in addition to their consistent menu, that you can find right on their website (updated every day). Last weekend, I stopped in for a quick lunch, which resulted in a successful alternative to stopping at Panera Bread or grabbing some artery-clogging fast food. After much consideration, I ordered the half sandwich with a cup of soup ($6.99), opting for their signature turkey sandwich and a cup of tomato basil soup. The sandwich, which I got on multi-grain bread, was pleasantly unique, made with fresh, thick-cut turkey and brie, smothered with a little too much cranberry chutney and lettuce. The tomato basil soup was slightly chunky, proving that it was homemade with fresh, real ingredients (and a lot less salt than canned tomato soup). To wash it all down, I had a glass of cranberry iced tea ($1.50), which was a different twist on the refreshing beverage; the cranberry flavor added a tartness to the sweet drink, resulting in quite the ideal combo of flavors. My only gripe: the young girl behind the counter could have smiled once or twice while she was waiting on me.

null

If you haven’t already noticed, Manhattan on Pearl at 70 E. Pearl Street is no longer in business. The martini and tapas bar was bought three weeks ago, and will open up for business tomorrow (Tuesday, November 11th) under new management, and a new name: Stella Blue. Stella Blue will offer tapas, just like Manhattan on Pearl did, but will also offer an extended wine menu to boot. The new restaurant will even celebrate its grand opening with live music. For more information, you can call the same number as the former Manhattan on Pearl, at 578-5557.

Tripoli Bakery at 106 Common Street in Lawrence, Mass. is one of the best bakeries I have been to outside of Boston. Not too far down the street from Lawrence’s other hidden jewel, Cafe Azteca (which I raved about in an earlier post), Tripoli offers an amazing array of cookies, pastries, cakes, breads and even pizza. The bakery was opened back in 1944 by the Zappala family, and opened their other location at Salisbury Beach in 1945.  While the bakery serves just about everything from elephant ears to bismarcks, my favorite thing at Tripoli is their cannolis. If you’ve ever been to Mike’s Pastry in the North End, you will understand the importance when I say that Tripoli’s cannolis are just as good as Mike’s; just not as big. Tripoli offers chocolate, vanilla and Ricotta cheese filled cannolis, with or without chocolate chips. My personal favorite is the Ricotta with chocolate chips - the Ricotta is always fresh and creamy, and the pastry shell is perfectly light and crispy. And, personally, I can’t fathom eating a cannoli without the chocolate chips on the side; though I’m sure I could manage if I had to. Plus, Tripoli’s cannolis are smaller in size so I don’t feel as bad when I eat more than one.