EVENTS listed free

Calendar of Calendars

Orange Events Calendar

Amherst Area

Jumptown

WFCR Events Calendar

North Quabbin

At the Orange Library

FOOD NEWS - 

New Salem General Store - Full deli with soup and good take-out sandwiches. Boar's Head meats. Pizza on Fridays. "Home cooked" breakfasts. No place to sit inside.

The Country Store - in Petersham opened again in August, 2011. Dan and Elaine Martone offer grocery items, hot coffee, sandwiches and soups. The back of the store hosts the Friday Market after the market's on the common season is over.

Country Style Pizza at 11 Tunnel Street Athol has re-opened as Luigis Pizza and Wings. Burritos and Quesadillas. Luigi's claim to the "best pizza in town" may be well founded.

1880 House - Closed - The 1880 House in Orange, a great stop along the way for a sandwich and coffee, closed. The restaurant offered an interesting menu of salads, wraps, grilled wraps and 11 different toasted paninni. 

Tea Garden Asian Grill, the former Chef Wok near Athol Town Hall and Starrett's. Quick service, food served hot and reasonable lunch prices.

Anne's Dairy Drive-in, on 2A - closed for season.

ASIAN CHOICES are to be found in the region and China Gourmet, just east of the Route 2 Rotary on Route 2A in Greenfield need apologize to no one. It is the best of the regional bunch. A robust banquet of traditional Asian offerings has been augmented by fresh sushi dishes. Just a good place for those who aspire to eat with chopsticks.

Looking for Lunch in Gardner? Stop in for the buffet at Yen Yen near Ocean State Job Lot and Aubuchon Hardware. Fresh Bok Choy and gingery sauces on offer along with a bottomless bowl of tasty hot and sour soup. Under $10.

Shelburne Coffee Roasters on Route 2. Pastries and  locally roasted fresh coffee. A good quick stop when out on the road.

The Black Crow Tavern  -- closed

Roadside Reviewed (SEASONAL) : We tried the  burger and ribs at Carter & Stevens last evening.  Great, really great... everything was done to near perfection.  Best burger I think I've ever had (from their own, grass-fed herd) and ribs, crispy on the outside, moist and tender inside, made even more delicious with some of their homemade sauce. Friendly, attentive grillmaster and other folk working there. Don't ignore the ice cream for afters. I also give it (have only tried the coffee flavor, so far) rave reviews.  Made from the milk of their own cows, and wonderful.  The last evenings for the barbeque this season are soon upcoming (8/31 and 9/1/07)...so don't miss it. MM FLYNN

Tea House Restaurant, 326 East Main, Orange. A completely renovated building and a friendly staff  along with a broad selection of typical Asian food dishes will likely make The Tea House a permanent and much welcomed addition to the area's list of restaurants.

The Big Fish - Inland Waterway - Miami, FL. If you get to Miami, definitely go to this place. Sit outside on the stone quay by the canal and watch the manatee chase the minnows. The tug boats and cargo ships alone are the best show in town. Even if the Italian seafood was not excellent, this would be worth it.

Yummy Garden - South Barre - Uninspiring but capable presentation of Sichuan and Cantonese dishes. Capable service and fresh ingredients. The hot and sour soup is pretty good and lunch from the special menu is under seven bucks.

Country Mischief - Templeton Common. We had a good potato and leek soup the other day. If you have to shop for kitschy Americana, then stop for lunch at the same time.

McCusker's Market - Miller's Falls, a grocery with a deli full of tasty sandwiches and dishes. McCusker's is busy on spring and autumn weekends, packed full of good energy. A great place to stop for a sandwich and some soup with coffee. The deli has a broad selection of tasty cheeses.

Orange House of Pizza - CLOSED.

202 Restaurant and Driving Range - Herrick's Tavern. On the Daniel Shays Highway near Route 2. Enthusiastic young staff delivers reasonably priced entrees for lunch, at the outdoor window and in the Tavern. They also have batting cages and live music.

Miller's River Cafe (inside Trailhead Gifts in Orange) -- sandwiches, etc.

Burgers and Beer - Now at the Corner Pub in Athol. Dishing lunch up from a new kitchen. Weekend entertainment.

Miss Saigon - Next to the fire station in Amherst in a strip mall and hard to see as you drive by, but certainly worth stopping for an extensive Vietnamese menu including Vietnamese hot and sour soup. If you haven't found it, find it. Try it.

Dona's Pizza II - serves up a traditional Italian Pizza menu in Athol's upper common. Limited seating but a busy take out and all-day delivery business. 

Closed in Orange - The new Chicken Coop Restaurant on East River Street which opened in early February 09 to serve family-style food, no alcohol at the former Mike's Place closed in December. Re-opened back to its roots as Mike's Place.

Closed in Orange - Lion Den Pub.

Northeast Pizza in the Quabbin shopping plaza on Route 122 in Barre offers no surprises, no excitement, just a dependable standard offering of pizza, salads, subs and Calzones. $1.99 small sub monthly special. The food is hot and good and served quickly with a smile. Prices are average.

McKusker's Market, Shelburne Falls, produces fresh and healthy sandwich choices for residents and travelers. Dean's Beans supplies the coffee and the cookies are to die for.

Eddie's - 460 South Street in Athol, CLOSED

Lazy Mary's Pizzeria & Bakery in Hardwick. On a recent Thursday night, we found a busy pizza shop offering thin crust Italian brick oven Pizza, fast and friendly service and fresh ingredients at prices in-line with other pizza makers around the region. Small pizza starts at $7.99, large plain at $11.99.

The Ale House - downtown Gardner - is a comfortable space that has operated in the past as Papillon and as Il Forno.  In this incarnation, the same brick walls are the main decoration. A retort for micro-brewing has been added at the rear. We stopped for lunch the other day and tried a rack of ribs, a pastrami reuben and a burger. Beverages included two cups of coffee and a lemonade. The ribs were the best of the three offerings with a thick sauce. The service was excellent and the ribs were good. The burger was pedestrian and the pastrami decidedly middle of the road. For $57 (including tip) we  expected better.

Oriental House Route 2A west of Orange center has been many things over the years, including, on occasion, a good place to eat. We stopped in for lunch the other day on advice of a friend and were pleasantly surprised by tasty, well-presented Asian food. Service was fast - the meal was tasty and moderately priced. A good place to eat again.

Pete n Henry's - We took a ride by Pete and Henry's in Royalston the other day and wondered how we had strayed so far and so long from a regional classic. If you hanker for heaps of fries and clams with bellies - beef or a personal pizza - go there. Its still a traditional New England roadside seafood and other stuff kind of place even though the original owners have long since passed  it on to new owners willing to keep on doing what works. Head north on 202 and turn left just under Route 2. It's out there in South Royalston.

Picasso, a Mediterranean Grill, The Common, Barre in the space formerly known as Ricco's.  -  Ari Pugliesi, former manager of  The Country Store, has opened his own restaurant. It's a family affair - Chris is the fry cook - featuring a fresh and interesting menu with a Mediterranean touch. Entrees are $12.95 to $15.95. Picasso now has a liquor license .

Johnson's Sugarhouse Restaurant and Gift Shop. Wheeler Ave., Orange. Roadside, Done Right! The Johnson family has grown from a farm to a sugar house to a restaurant and gift house. We stopped on a Friday to sample the spare ribs. A slightly sweet, with a maple-flavored sauce just slid off the bone. A true delight. Home-made doughnuts, biscuits and a fair weather side porch for ice cream makes this drive into the country truly worth traveling - and sometimes waiting - for. Johnson's is no secret, so arrive early or plan to wait.. 

Patriots Roast Beef and Grill, East Templeton. Settled into an extended doublewide trailer on the edge of an auto repair shop parking lot, the owners have been serving up great pastrami, ribs and roast beef and have recently added pizza. Modest prices and quick service combine to make this a real surprise. Across the street from the Cumberland Farms on Patriots Road.

Place your Ad

Latchis Grille, 6 Flat St., Brattleboro VT. New American cuisine, elegant, relaxed. On-site brewery.

Cinnamon's, Main Street in Downtown Athol, features moderately priced meals, a huge overflow dining room and the occasional inspired deviation from standard fare - the Quesadilla was a tasty menu addition the other day.

 Pizza Factory - Center of Orange - Another as expected menu with quick service on subs and pizza. Takeout and delivery available.

Amherst Chinese - Fresh, local and organic in season - a large vegetarian menu. A tasty institution.

Athol House of Pizza - aka AHOP -A veteran with the expected toppings and reasonable prices for sandwiches and pizza. A wide selection of dinner items. Moderately priced. Open 7 days. Delivers in Athol.

Del Raye Bar & Grille, 1 Bridge St., Noho. Swanky like in New York. French-American menu.