I ate like a queen last night at Moonstones in Chelmsford, Mass. Scott Plath, who also owns Cobblestones in Lowell, is owner and chef of this chic, yet relaxing, tapas restaurant. We started at the trendy bar that was covered in a sparkling marble countertop, and run by a friendly, attentive bartender. I had the refreshing white Sangria, and shared some pepperoni focaccia for only $4 with my friends, thanks to Moonstone’s happy hour deals from 4 to 6 p.m. When our other friends arrived, we moved to a dinner booth and ordered enough tapas to feed all eight of Jon & Kate’s children. We had some more homemade focaccia, this time made with olive oil, roasted garlic, reggiano cheese and sea salt, as well as the marinated olives with white bean hummus; the artisan three cheese sampler plate, with goat, bleu and baby swiss cheeses; white truffle and parmesan cheese fries; scallops in bacon; and fried buffalo calamari with crumbled bleu cheese. Yes, the amount of food we consumed is shameful, but I’m not ashamed - the food was outstanding. I won’t go into detail about each dish, but the highlights for me were the addicting and not overly greasy shoestring fries, as well as the cheese plate, which came with crackers, candied walnuts and grapes. Washed down with plenty of pinot grigio, this is one meal I will be back for (and that didn’t empty my savings account). My only complaint: some food, such as the scallops, came to our table at room temperature or colder, when they should have been served warm. However, the flavors were perfect, and our waiter was right up there with them, so a few lukewarm plates were quickly forgotten.

Side note: Moonstones has more than tapas, too - entrees, sandwiches and salads are just a few of the other options they provide. Just be aware that entrees range from $20-60, roughly.

Some meals/restaurants are just worth the drive - to Belmont, Mass. My boyfriend and I take ballroom dancing classes at Fred Astaire Dance Studio, and right next door is a little gem called Kitchen on Common at 442 Common Street. Last week we had dinner there between dance classes, and the waiter was attentive, friendly and efficient, as he knew we had to be somewhere in 45 minutes. The menu is more about quality than quantity, and changes frequently due to the fact that Kitchen on Common only uses locally grown, natural and organic ingredients. We both had the lentil soup, with cumin and coriander, as well as the roasted beet salad with candied walnuts and large shavings of fresh blue cheese. We also split a side of herb roasted fingerling potatoes, which were under seasoned, yet surprisingly delicious (what a difference fresh produce can make). The small eatery is also B.Y.O.B., but the specialty wine and beer store next door provided us with some delicious IPAs to wash down a healthy meal without feeling rushed for our next class.

Winter’s long gone, and humidity is almost here, so why not celebrate with some free ice cream? Friendly’s, who’s Happy Ending Sundaes and Jim Dandys can bring a smile to just about anyone’s face, is giving away free ice cream from 12 to 5 p.m. on June 6th, to celebrate their Free Ice Cream Day. Kids and adults who need a creamy fix will receive their flavor of choice in a one-scoop dish or cone. This will be Friendly’s second time giving away their goods for free - last year, the restaurant ended up giving away 300,000 free cones on the first Free Ice Cream Day. Once an endangered species of restaurants, Friendly’s has saved face over the years and has now even jumped on the social media bandwagon by joining Twitter, and creating a fan page and an interactive quiz on Facebook where fans can answer questions to determine which Friendly’s ice cream dessert best resembles their personality.

On Tuesday night, I helped organize a local food blogger and social media meet-up at San Francisco Kitchen, a trendy, Asian fusion eatery in downtown Nashua. Although the tables outside are unfortunately too small to fit a larger party like us, the meal I had inside quickly made me forget where I was sitting.  I started with the seaweed salad, which was surprisingly one of the most delicious dishes I’ve eaten in the past couple weeks. It was literally a small bowl filled with shredded seaweed and sesame seeds – but trust me when I say, it was really good. For an “entrée” (that was actually listed under “appetizers”), I had the hot & spicy lamb skewers, that were cooked to an ideal rare, although some pieces were too fatty for chewing. All-in-all, SF Kitchen turned out to be a prime meeting spot for such an event, and I am still dreaming about that seaweed salad. Next time I go, I plan to have a nice bowl of that…outside. On a side not, the SF Kitchen’s owners’ son sat with us for a bit, and spoke about how the restaurant is working on getting a face on the web (i.e. Twitter, etc.). So stay tuned.

Has anyone else noticed that in this rough economy local businesses have chosen to support each other, versus compete? Says a lot for the neighborhood business owners, doesn’t it? One recent example is The Black Forest Cafe, who has teamed up with LaBelle Winery (both in Amherst). LaBelle Winery prides themselves on using locally-grown New Hampshire fruits to make their wine, and The Black Forest is also known for using natural ingredients in their food. Last Saturday, the cafe hosted a wine tasting with LaBelle Winery owner Amy, and from now until June 13th the cafe will be featuring three LaBelle wines in the dining room at lunch, brunch and dinner, including LaBelle’s Seyval Blanc, Cranberry and Blueberry wines. The wines will be offered by the bottle, the glass, and even a new 2 oz. “try me” size. Being a self-proclaimed wine-o myself, and a fairly healthy eater, this is one pairing I plan to try. Who’s with me?

The proof is in the veggies: The Hippo named them Best Vegetarian Menu and Best Salads for 2009, and New Hampshire Magazine gave them Best Wraps. The Seedling Cafe, tucked away behind Main Street, is showing off their newly expanded dining room…and menu. The Cafe, which is known for their vegetarian-friendly lunch items, now has a breakfast menu for the lacto-ovos and omnivores alike. The new menu boasts new wraps like The Allie, which is stuffed with scrambled eggs, red onion, tomatoes, avocado, cheddar cheese, organic baby spinach, all grilled on a wheat wrap. Each wrap can even be made into a scramble, or gluten-free wraps are available, and each is served with a fruit salad. Daily specials are also included in the new menu, like the Belgian Waffle of the Day topped with fresh fruit compote and N.H.-made maple syrup, as well as Quiche of the Day made with seasonal, local and organic ingredients. Perfect timing, as the farmer’s markets are starting to open up around the state. What are some other restaurants the local vegetarians like to eat at?

A church-turned-Irish-pub is not something I stumble upon everyday, but boy was I excited when I did this past Wednesday night. The Holy Grail Pub in Epping proves that some eateries are worth the extra drive. This family-owned pub still boasts the large, stained-glass windows and architecture that the original St. Joseph’s Church had back when it was built around 1896, and the Irish-inspired menu had all the classics my ancestors would be proud of, including Bangers and Mash, Shepherd’s Pie and Corned Beef & Cabbage. However, the menu also included a wide variety of entrees, salads, sandwiches and pasta. We started with the Black & Tan-battered Onion Rings with BBQ sauce (a special that night), which came out hot and fresh in five minutes. The rings were perfectly crunchy and not too greasy, and the black & tan batter gave them a unique beer-battered flavor. For dinner, I got the Grilled Portobello sandwich which almost made me wish I was a vegetarian so I could eat it everyday. This gigantic portobello was coated in balsamic marinade and grilled, smothered in creamy, melted goat cheese and garnished with perfectly roasted red peppers and baby spinach, all sandwiched between a demi baguette that was so fresh, I assumed it was baked that afternoon right on the premises. Served with a pickle and sweet potato “chips” (circular, crinkle cut sweet potato fries) and washed down with several delicious brews, this was an amazing dining experience. Our waitress Robin was also friendly (without hovering) and knowledgeable about the menus, and brought all our food to the table as soon as it hit the plate.

When the weather is warm, we all have an excuse to eat ice cream on a daily basis. Fortunately for us Southern New Hampshire residents, there are plenty of ice cream stands to choose from. I recently blogged about the seasonal openings of Axel’s and King Kone, and The Big One ice cream stand in Nashua is now also open, and equipped with new ice cream flavors for the 2009 season. I visited the stand, with lines out to the street, last weekend, and was impressed by the new offerings, including flavors like German Chocolate Cake and Green Monster. I decided on the hot fudge sundae made with Totally Turtle ice cream (vanilla ice cream chocked full of brownie chunks, caramel and cashews), but it was a hard toss up between that and the fruit parfait. If you haven’t had a fruit parfait from The Big One, you haven’t lived - it’s your choice of ice cream layered between your choice of fruit topping…I suggest the pineapple and strawberries, with chocolate fudge at the bottom. Summer has never tasted so good.

Now that the warmer weather is here, I don’t plan to be inside very often, and this past weekend I made a point to be outside for most of it. On Sunday, my boyfriend and I hiked up Mount Monadnock (my out-of-shape body, ruined by hibernating during the winter months, is still recovering) and then enjoyed a delicious, yet light, dinner at Acqua Bistro in Peterborough. Determined to enjoy the last hours of the weekend and the warm weather, we chose a table on the patio by the river, which was decorated with elegant, white string lights and surrounded by the sound of a waterfall in the distance. Our meal started with a few locally brewed beers (Geary’s out of Portland, M.E. and Harpoon) along with some fresh focaccia bread dipped in rosemary-infused olive oil. We then shared an appetizer, full of fresh, homemade red pepper hummus, warm grilled pita bread, chunks of feta cheese, tomato and olives which were the perfect complement to the humid air and our tired bodies. For a meal, my vegetarian counterpart ordered the Baby Spinach Salad, chocked full of more feta, grilled eggplant, dried tomatoes and substituted the lemon dressing for the balsamic pommery mustard vinaigrette. I ordered the New Orleans Style Crab Cakes which were three, tapas-style crab cakes, perfectly crispy on the outside, and seasoned well with chunks of fresh crab, accompanied with spicy, garlicy tomatoes and red pepper. For dessert, we split a strawberry rhubarb parfait, with generous heapings of fresh, homemade-tasting whipped cream between layers of the pureed, sweet and tangy rhubarb. Overall, it was a relaxing, delicious meal well deserved after a good hike, with a romantic setting to boot.

This crisp, spring weather has me thinking of a few very specific food items I’d like to shove down my gullet, but margaritas and fresh, spicy salsa with some nice salty tortilla chips is what I crave most days. Fortunately for me, my next 5 & Dine article is on chimichangas, so my Mexican craving will soon be curved. And fortunately for all of us Mexican food cravers, a new joint is coming to 1001 Elm Street in Manchester. Jalapenos Mexican Grill is “coming soon” to Elm, according to their website. Not sure exactly when this new eatery will be opened, but keep close watch to their site for opening day. I eat jalapenos like a pregnant woman eats pickles, so I am pretty psyched about the name alone. What’s your favorite Mexican restaurant in the area?