I may be behind the foodie times - is it possible? - but I just got wind that Sopranos Pizzeria on Main Street (owned by the same masterminds behind The Pizza Man in Merrimack) has a few new specialty pizzas on their menu. Now again, this might not be breaking news for everybody, but it is for me, and trust me when I say I’m excited. The three new entries on the popular pizza joint’s menu are: chicken bacon ranch, chicken broccoli alfredo, and potato bacon. In other words, heart attacks on crust, but it’s pizza - why try and make it healthy when, sometimes, it should just be bad for you? The chicken bacon ranch, for instance, substitutes sauce for ranch dressing, and is then topped with crispy chicken cutlets, bacon, and mountains of cheese. You can even order the pie buffalo or barbeque style. The potato bacon ranch just sounds like carbohydrate heaven, and includes both sauce and ranch dressing. I might be getting heartburn just thinking about it, but these pies I’ve got to try.

Anyone tried a slice of one of Sopranos’ new creations yet?

On Thursday, November 5th from 6 to 9 p.m., Kathy Berger, owner of Huephoria, will be holding a barn sale in Candia. Huephoria sells items like hand painted wine and martini glasses, and the event will also feature local businesses like Petunia’s Home Furnishings of Goffstown and Opus of Manchester. But what does this have to do with food? The Sugar Mommy will be providing guests with her homemade treats. I’ve sampled The Sugar Mommy’s food at the San Francisco Kitchen Tweet-up a few months ago, including her rich chocolate peanut butter cups and buttery, perfectly baked cookies. To save face, I refrained from eating the entire table covered in her food, but every bite was a sugar masterpiece that could have easily been coated in some addictive substance. It’s not confirmed what The Sugar Mommy will be making for Berger’s event yet, but hopefully we’ll get to sample some of her pumpkin bread, chocolate dipped apricots, or her cranberry white chocolate cookies. One can dream, right?

I know I’ve complained about Starbucks before (and probably will again), but lately, Starbucks has been kicking Dunkin’ Donuts’ butt. I’ll swing the extra buck or two any day for strong coffee and (usually) good customer service. My current love for Starbucks began several weeks ago when I finally discovered that you could enjoy their pumpkin iced coffee without having to order their sickly sweet pumpkin spice latte. Now, I order a venti iced coffee with a shot of pumpkin syrup. Not only is it the perfect balance of pumpkin and coffee flavors, but it’s also almost half the price of the pumpkin spice latte. Compared to Dunkins, Starbucks also has a wider variety of breakfast options, and now that I’m having to grab breakfast on the go several days a week, I don’t want to have to choose between just a bagel, a muffin, or a doughnut. Starbucks has breakfast wraps, yogurt with granola, fruit cups, and not-so-waist-friendly baked goods, like banana bread and coffee cake. For the fall season, to accompany their pumpkin coffee, Starbucks is even offering items like pumpkin scones and pumpkin cream cheese muffins. If Starbucks keeps this up, America could be running on their coffee before we know it. Plus, the baristas at Starbucks listen; they haven’t messed up my coffee order once yet.

Which do you prefer - Starbucks or Dunkins?

Talk about cheap eats: The Pasta Loft in Milford might just have the best deal in town. The popular American-Italian eatery (which has an additional location in Hampstead), has recently introduced their Frugal Fare Menu where you get two entrees for the small price of $20. The items on this frugal menu aren’t low budget, though. The high quality offerings include Surf & Turf, Lobster Stuffed Shells, Citrus Scallop Salad, and Chicken Saltimbocca Florentine. There’s nothing for the vegetarians or vegans, but us omnivores can chow down, without having to sacrifice a week’s worth of pay.

Just when I thought The Black Forest Cafe’s food couldn’t taste any better, they go ahead and start serving certain sweets at a discounted price. Two mini white chocolate chip dried ranier cherry oatmeal cookies for $1 anyone? Every 14 days, the cafe will be offering a different kind of cookie with a smaller price tag than usual. According to chef Bruce Walters, starting these “Cookie Jar Specials” not only gives their customers a chance to save some cash, but also allows the cafe to try out new recipes. The white chocolate chip dried ranier cherry oatmeal cookies are the first batch, which was kicked off on September 21st. Did I mention you can get two of the cookies for free when you try their new fall espresso drink, Caramel Apple Latte, hot or iced? To keep up-to-date on the current cookie specials, become a fan of The Black Forest on Facebook.

There has been so many food events/news around Nashua that I’ve been lacking on the restaurant reviews, but I need to share this next upcoming event with you before I move on. I was speaking with the ladies over at Frederick’s Pastries in Amherst last week for a story running in Wednesday’s Feast on Fall desserts, and, in the process of speaking with them, I found out that they are holding a Purple Velvet Torte Day on Saturday the 26th. Why purple? It’s the owner’s favorite color, and why should velvet cake only be red? The cake-masters at Frederick’s are giving away free samples of their purple torte from 12 to 2 p.m. in Amherst with a live broadcast by 106.3 Frank FM. While the thought of eating anything purple scares me, I trust that Frederick’s will make a delicious cake creation. Plus, it’s free.

Sadly, it’s almost time to forget about fresh, salt water seafood and focus on warm, comforting meals for the autumn season. But seafood and summer fans alike can hold on to the warm weather season for a few extra days thanks to Saffron Bistro. On September 28th, seafood lovers can enjoy 5 courses and a dessert at the fixed price of $60. The five course meal begins with a raw Nantucket Oyster floating in a house made Bloody Mary shot, followed by a Lobster Johnny Cake and Pan Roasted Skate wing, made with Parisian gnocchi, corn, tomato, basil and a reduced balsamic glaze. The third course will be Little Neck Clams, followed by Grilled Line Caught Swordfish served with four grain salad, melted lemon and green onion butter with toasted leeks. To wash this sea-inspired dinner down, Saffron will be serving Passion Fruit Sorbet to cleanse dinner guests’ palates after the big meal. Basically, this is your last chance to enjoy the flavors of summer before Fall completely takes over.

Has your going-out-to-eat-money been negatively affected by this little thing known as a recession? If so, be thankful that Restaurant.com cares. The site has some pretty amazing deals for strapped-for-cash diners, like $25 gift certificates to local restaurants for the mere price of $10. $10 gift certificates are only $4! The site isn’t skimping, either - participating area restaurants are among the most popular, including Florence’s in Merrimack; Elisha’s Restaurant in Milford; and Market Place Diner in Hollis. Now you don’t have any reason not to treat yourself to a meal out.

Has anyone used the Restaurant.com service? Is it just as easy as it sounds?

The first ever Wicked Wine and Brew Fest, held at Mel’s Funway Park in Litchfield on Saturday, was a great event, despite the rainy weather and the minor initial-event-mishaps. The beer and wine tasting options were various, including Pumpkin Ale from Shipyard and Green Apple Riesling from IncrediBREW’s Grape Time Winery, and although the lines were long, they moved swiftly. My favorite tasting of the day was Silver Mountain Ciders’ wines of Lempster, N.H. They let me try a sample of each of their featured wines, including the Blueberry Apple, Traditional Hard Cider, and the Apple Wine with Grape Brandy that would knock any wine-o on the floor

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The tents kept all of the attendees dry from the unfortunately wet weather, and The Sausage King of Nashua as well as Woodman’s Seafood & Grill were on hand to provide tasters with some munchies. I attended the event with my non-meat-eating boyfriend, and although we hit up the True Nut Company’s tasty almond concoctions several times throughout the day (their Maple Basil Almonds are a must try), the rest of the food selection was meat-only (and mostly fried). After we did our beer rounds, we decided to walk over to Woodman’s sit-down restaurant, right at Mel’s Tee Off, before hitting the wine tables. We opted for the grilled cheese with fries and a side of onion rings - the only vegetarian-friendly items listed on the menu, besides the garden salad we noticed later. Another small downside to the event: you could barely hear the live music provided by the bands Rise! and Tore Down House when you were waiting in line under the tents. Overall, the tasting was a great success and a lot of fun, and we were able to try a variety of local brews and wines without waiting in line for hours. What was your favorite part of the Wicked Wine and Brew Fest?

If you’ve ever been to New York, or known anyone from New York, you’ve probably heard of the unappetizing-sounding dish called the ”garbage plate.” The garbage plate was created in 1918 by a genius (in my book) named Nick Tahou, who owned Nick Tahou Hots in Rochester, N.Y. Although no one will ever be able to recreate it completely, as Tahou was smart enough to trademark his signature dish, T-Bones has added a N.Y. “Garbage Plate” Burger to their menu; along with 19 other new dishes. The Garbage Plate Burger is made with two slices of pan-seared meatloaf topped with fried potato “wheels,” coleslaw, red onion, Buffalo sauce, and American cheese, sandwiched within a grilled roll.

The original garbage plate, however, is defined as a combination of a hamburger, red and white hots, Italian sausage, Haddock, chicken tenders, grilled cheese, ham OR eggs; and two sides of either baked beans, French fries, home fries, or macaroni salad. This mess of a plate is then topped with one or more of the following, depending on your preference: ketchup, mustard, onions, and/or hot sauce, and served with bread.

How do you think T-Bones’ “Garbage Plate” Burger measures up to the original classic?