Irish Benedict and home fries. At The Wooden Soldier in Fairhaven, VT.

Quick bites: stopping for tacos at El Tenatito in Quechee, VT.

Sardine Rose (Montreal, Quebec) During our March trip to Montreal, prior to our outing to the 2026 Pied de Cochon Cabane à Sucre, several of us arrived two evenings before the event, and decided to go out for a light dinner. Since ...

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of Sardine Rose, a pleasant Portuguese café with some excellent grilled chicken reminding me of my many trips to Portugal. And some great pasteis de nata as well.

offbeateats.org/2026/04/sard...

Ugly Duckling (Portland, Maine) For my third morning in Portland, instead of having another hotel breakfast, or doing a repeat trip to the excellent Becky's Diner, I decided I needed to try something a little more, well, Offbeat. A...

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of Portland, Maine's Ugly Duckling. Great coffee and pastries, and some excellent sandwiches featuring their own house-made English muffins.

offbeateats.org/2026/04/ugly...

Sunday morning crêpe. At Odysea Coffee in Bristol, NH

Tomaso's Canteen (Portland, Maine) At the edge of Portland's Eastside is an old dive bar, Tomaso's Canteen. For decades, this was a legendary dive bar, Sangillo's Tavern, known for its 8am opening, cheap beer, and rough crowds, and it was a well-known hangout for those coming off a night shift. Unfortunately, various events at Sangi

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of Tomaso's Canteen in Portland, Maine. Your basic dive bar, but with craft beer, and one of the better places to experience a classic Maine "Red Snapper"-style hot dog.

offbeateats.org/2026/04/toma...

Becky's Diner (Portland, Maine) My robotics judging in Falmouth required me to get up fairly early in the morning, before most every decent breakfast joint in Portland is open. But since Portland remains, to this day, an active fis...

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of Becky's Diner in Portland, ME. A good old-school diner, opening early, with both classic diner and seafood fare. And a great Irish Benedict.

offbeateats.org/2026/04/beck...

Eventide Oyster Co. (Portland, Maine) My recent travels to Portland, Maine, during one of the less-popular times of the reason (New England's "Mud Season" between Winter and Spring), turned out to be rather fortuitous in that, despite my ...

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of a Portland, Maine classic: Eventide Oyster Co. Excellent oysters. Great lobster rolls. And, surprisingly, a top-notch ice cream sandwich.

offbeateats.org/2026/04/even...

Chicken Shawarma bowl, at Zaytoona in Burlington, VT.

Quick bites: brisket and al pastor tacos, and a tostada, at Taco Gordo, Burlington VT

Quick bites. Some good tartare on a perfect square of potato pave (at Devil Takes a Holiday in Burlington, VT)

Cabane à Sucre Au Pied de Cochon, 2026 Edition (St. Benoît de Mirabel, QC) As our regular readers know, approximately every two years we do a group trip up to Montreal, rendezvous with friends, and head out to the surprisingly rural outskirts of the Montreal area (St. Benoît...

Sharing our #OffbeatEats review of another of our Quebec expeditions to go the Au Pied de Cochon Caban à Sucre maple feast. This years featured 13 different dishes delivered in 4 courses, served over three hours, with maple variants of classic Québécois cuisine.

offbeateats.org/2026/04/caba...

Tropical Night at the Venetian Soda Lounge

Tasya's Kitchen (Somersworth, NH) A recent weekend spent judging a high school FIRST Robotics competition had me driving over to Falmouth, ME for the weekend. An unfortunately fact of life of western NH living is that there isn't any...

A recent trip to coastal Maine had me taking the shortcut route across NH, which led me to discover that Somersworth, NH, has a nice culinary surprise: an Indonesian restaurant, Tasya's Kitchen. And a great beef rendang, as covered in #OffbeatEats:

offbeateats.org/2026/03/tasy...

Elaborate pastry with raspberry jelly and pistachios

Fancy pastry case

At Farine et Cacao in Montreal.

The Little Rest Stop (Sturbridge, MA) As I mentioned in my review of Cedar Street Café, since the hotel we were staying in didn't have on-site breakfast, it was a good excuse to go check out some of the local establishments, despite the r...

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of The Little Rest Stop in Sturbridge, MA. A great little breakfast and lunch spot, with some awesome specials like house-made hash.

offbeateats.org/2026/03/the-...

We Have to Talk About This Hot Dog From the Tennessee Tech Concession Stand - SoBros Network A couple weeks ago, Aura and I hopped in the car and drove out to Cookeville to catch a fabulous afternoon of basketball inside the confines of the Hooper Eblen Center on the lovely campus of Tennesse...

I have to admire this blogger’s dedication.

sobrosnetwork.com/2026/03/we-h...

Cedar Street Café (Sturbridge, MA) While we were staying at the Sturbridge Host hotel for a few days (whose on-site restaurants, weren't, at least for the winter, open), we decided each morning to venture forth and try various local br...

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of Cedar Street Café in Sturbridge, MA. Another great option for breakfast or lunch around Sturbridge, and a great classic Monte Cristo.

offbeateats.org/2026/03/ceda...

House-made pastrami and egg on rye English muffin. At Ugly Duckling in Portland, Maine.

Ahhh, Maine Red Hots.

Irish Benedict at Becky’s Diner, Portland, Maine.

Since I’ve already scoffed at the seafood allergy gods, might as well scoff at the lactose intolerance gods as well…

Eventide Oyster time

Beef Rendang at Tasya’s Kitchen in Somersworth, NH

The Duck (Sturbridge, MA) In early February, we gathered with a bunch of our friends for Nor'Easter Island, which is a wintertime event put on by the Greater Boston Vintage Society where we gather at the Sturbridge Host hotel ...

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of The Duck in Sturbridge, MA. Great classic tavern food in a converted barn loft, including an excellent Thursday night prime rib special.

offbeateats.org/2026/02/the-...

The Hartland VT Famous Roast Beef Suppah. The ne plus ultra of church basement suppers.

At Harry’s Cocktail Lounge in Quechee, VT

Hash and eggs breakfast, at Fiskdale, MA’s Little Rest Stop.

Cappadocia Cafe (White River Junction, VT) One of the shortcomings of the greater Upper Valley area is that we've got a bit of a shortage of breakfast spots, especially if you are looking for something a bit more varied than "American Diner". ...

Sharing my #OffbeatEats review of White River Junction's Cappadocia Cafe. From the same owners as Tuckerbox Turkish next door, they serve up authentic wood-fired flatbreads, pastries, and other traditional Turkish baked goods.

offbeateats.org/2026/02/capp...

Torpedo-shaped woodfired flatbread filled with egg, cheese, and sausage

Sucuk, egg, and cheese pide from Cappadocia Cafe in WRJ, VT