Newburyport Chili Con-Carnival Cook-Off at The Grog Restaurant, Oct. 17

Photo, courtesy of The Grog Restaurant, Newburyport, Mass.

Just got word from Laura at The Grog Restaurant at 13 Middle St., in Newburyport, Mass., that the second annual Chili Con-Carnival Cook-off will take place Saturday, October 17th, 2009, 12 noon to 3 p.m., under the tent of the Grog's parking lot.

Live music, raffles and, of course, great chili will benefit Our Neighbor's Table in Amesbury, The Pettengill House in Salisbury and Community Services of Newburyport. Participating restaurants include Amesbury Sports Park, Carry Out Cafe, David's Tavern, Giuseppe's Fresh Pasta & Fine Food. Chef Howie's Hobo Cafe, The Korner Kitchen, Michael's Harborside,The Port Tavern, The Purple Onion, The Rockfish, Stella's of Middle Street, Ten Center Street, The Thirsty Whale ...and more to come!

In addition to the official judging, those attending the cook-off will have a chance to vote for their favorite chili.

Admission is $10 for adults, children under 12 free

Additionally, restaurants and individual chili-aficionados are certainly welcome to join the competition! There is no entry fee. Please call the Grog at 978 465-8008 or stop by the restaurant to pick up an entry form.

For more information on The Grog (one of our favorites!), click on the link above.

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Scenic Fall Dining at The 1761 Old Mill Restaurant, Westminster, Mass.

Article and photo by Eric H.
It's always an added bonus that when embarking on a scenic fall New England drive, you find a restaurant with surrounding scenery that ends up as the most visually pleasing part of the trip.

That's the case with the 1761 Old Mill restaurant in Westminster, Mass. It's hard to find a nicer restaurant scene than the Old Mill's beautiful waterfall, a covered bridge, duck pond and surrounding forest. Inside the former saw mill's several well-maintained dining rooms, you'll be comforted by trip-back-in-time accents like old wooden floors, a roaring fireplace (welcoming you at the lobby), and post and beam ceilings. The menu selections at lunch and dinner are as appealing as the scenery with some fabulous New England staples like chicken vegetable pie, Atlantic sea scallops, prime rib, roast country duck, and for dessert, apple crisp.

Here's a restaurant that's beautiful to look at -- and with excellent food -- to create an overall most pleasant fall dining experience. It's also pretty darn good, any other time of the year, too!

For a full review on The Old Mill, click on the link above.

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Remembering Shakey's Pizza in Nashua, N.H.

Article by Eric H.

With its corporate chain restaurant status, Shakey's Pizza Parlor, on the Daniel Webster Highway, in Nashua, N.H., might not have been your classic New England dining spot, but it sure was classic in the sense of fond local dining childhood memories.

The dark, cavernous room with a player piano and Laurel and Hardy movie playing made the hand-tossed fresh pizza even that much better. Add some full-bodied root beer and Shakey's became one of our our favortite "cheap eats" places within radar of our Arlington, Mass., home. Going to Shakey's usually occurred after a day of beach fun at Silver Lake State Park in nearby Hollis, N.H.

Shakey's is long gone, a victim of Pheasant Lane Mall area development. I often wonder if Shakey's would have the same favorable effect on us today. The answer is probably "yes," as you can never go wrong with good pizza, a rollicking player piano and Laurel and Hardy getting into mishap after mishap!

For more on Shakey's and other New England restaurants that are no longer with us, we encourage you to read our "Great memories of New England restaurants that are no longer with us" article.

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Latest Review: Lakeview Farms Restaurant in Bellingham, MA

The latest restaurant review at VisitingNewEngland.com is for Lakeview Farms in Bellingham, MA. A family-style restaurant that also features a seasonal outdoor ice cream stand, Lakeview Farms has undergone extension renovations and looks terrific in its gleaming, knotty-pine look. Lakeview Farms has also hired former Daniel Webster Inn chef John Hollis to create some wonderful house specialties -- all under $10.00 at this writing. Turkey pot pie and fresh-roasted turkey dinners are two signature specialties, as well as a meatloaf dinner with pommorodoro sauce and provolone cheese. To read more about Lakeview Farms, please click on the link above.

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