Author: John Fladd

The Weekly Dish 26/5/28

• Looking for a purr-fect name: There are plans for a new cat cafe in downtown Concord. Entrepreneurs Star Chagnon and Taylor Marshall had hoped to call it “Purrs and Pours” but have discovered that the name is already in use. Chagnon and Marshall are looking for input from the greater Concord community for a new name for the mixed-use space, which they hope to open by the end of the summer. One half of the business will be a traditional coffee and tea cafe, with a separate “cat lounge” next door, where customers will be able to relax with cats from local rescue organizations. Chagnon and Marshall have posted links in their social media accounts that will allow the public to weigh in with possible names for the new cat cafe. Search for “Purrs and Pours” on Facebook, TikTok or YouTube, and leave your suggestions for a new name for the cafe.

• Wine and fairies: Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828, wineonmainnh.com) will host a fairy garden workshop and wine tasting Thursday, May 28, from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Wine on Main’s website describes it as “a whimsical evening of creativity, laughter, and fairy-sized fun. In this hands-on workshop, you’ll design your very own miniature fairy garden to take home, complete with charming accessories, faux plants, moss, and magical touches. No soil, no watering, just pure enchantment that lasts.” Tickets are $65 each through the Wine on Main website.

• Charcuterie assembly: There will be a charcuterie workshop Thursday, May 28, from 6 to 8 p.m. at the Manchester Distillery (284 Willow St., Manchester, 978-308-2867, manchesterdistillery.com). Boards and Barrels will teach attendees “the art of building stunning charcuterie boards. Every ticket includes a craft cocktail. Good boards, great spirits, and a few laughs,” according to the Distillery’s webpage. Tickets are $81.88 per person, through eventbrite.com.

• Kitchen inspiration: The Palace Theatre (80 Hanover St., Manchester, 668-5588, palacetheatre.org) will host its 19th annual Kitchen Tour on Sunday, May 31, from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. This self-guided tour will showcase kitchens in homes in Amherst, Hooksett and Merrimack and is the Palace Theatre’s biggest annual fundraising event. Registration will take place beginning at 9:30 a.m. at Granite State Cabinetry (384 Route 101, Bedford, 691-3124, gscabinetry.com). Tickets are $55 in advance or $65 on the day of the event, through the Palace Theatre’s website.

• Springtime cookie decorating: Posy Cottage Cookies (801-7590, posycottagecookies.com) will present a June Cookie Decorating Night at Station 101 (193 Union Square, Milford, 249-5416, station101nh.com) on Monday, June 1, from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Get creative and decorate some delicious spring-themed cookies. This event is for all skill levels, 9+. There will be five cookie designs and four colors of royal icing. Tickets are $64.80 each, through the Posy Cottage website.

• Cooking with wine: Learn to use wine in South American recipes. LaBelle Winery Derry (14 Route 111, Derry, 672-9898, labellewinery.com/labelle-winery-derry) will host a fun and interactive cooking demonstration and tasting featuring authentic South American recipes on Wednesday, June 3, from 6 to 7 p.m. Tickets are $40 each through the LaBelle website.

• 603 Food Truck Festival: The Southern New Hampshire Chamber of Commerce, in partnership with the Town of Salem, invites you to the 603 Food Truck Festival Wednesday, June 3, from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. in the Chamber’s parking lot at 81 Main St. in Salem. To celebrate 603 Day, many vendors will be offering special featured items for just $6.03.

The power pull

Less Leg More Heart raises funds with Fire Truck Pull

Christina Hurley has given the question of what kind of fundraiser to hold a lot of thought.

She is the Founder and Executive Director of Less Leg More Heart, an organization dedicated to helping amputees get resources to help them thrive.

“We started eight years ago,” she said, “and we sort of threw spaghetti at walls for years trying to figure out what our niche sort of flagship events would be. There are a lot of galas and similar types of events. We wanted to create something that was unique, that had a little something for everyone, and that was able to involve a larger demographic in the community and create a real sense of inclusion and accessibility and community spirit.”

Which, in a nutshell, resulted in this weekend’s Fire Truck Pull.

This Sunday, May 31, from 1 to 5 p.m., Less Leg More Heart will host its third annual Fire Truck Pull and Festival. Participants pay for the bragging rights to physically pull an antique fire truck with a rope, competing with other individuals or groups. It is the sort of event that fuels bragging rights and spurs competition. According to Hurley, it was inspired by another, even more grunt-filled event in Maine.

“Some of our mentors are in the veteran space,” she said, “and Travis Mills, who runs a wonderful foundation up in Maine to recalibrate veterans, does an airplane pull. And they were mentioning the facets of it and how successful it’s been over the years. And so we started to look in our area, southern New Hampshire, about doing something similar like that. But, you know, airplanes have a little higher barrier to entry; fire trucks seem to be a little bit more up our alley. They are certainly fun for the kids and something fun for the strongmen in the area and athletes. We toyed with that three years ago and found it to be really successful. And now we’ve done it every year. This is our third annual Fire Truck Pull and Festival. It is a multifaceted event that has a large vendor village and a car show, as well as a fire truck pull. Children lead it off by pulling power wheels, and they’re rigged and educated by local New Hampshire strongmen. And then individuals will pull an antique, smaller-sized truck and then teams sign up to pull our larger rig — the 40,000-or-so-pound rig.”

There is something primal about pulling a fire truck, Hurley said, that speaks to each individual in personal and different ways.

“We’ve actually added some divisions to our awards this year,” she said. “We have really great trophies for the fastest team pulls — for first, second and third, but then we also have the strongest singles for men and women. This year we’ve added a costume award, a spirit award, a crowd favorite award, and a grit award. There’s an opportunity for folks to come out and be part of a community. We celebrate having people with all different types of abilities and different types of accessibility devices. In fact, several amputees last year, even from wheelchairs, participated in a pull and the strongmen would push it.”

This event has even surprised Hurley with how successful it has become, she said. “It’s just been really neat to see how folks just keep pouring out. We were unprepared for the 400-plus people who came to the event last year, and that’s a great problem to have.”

Less Leg More Heart’s Third Annual Fire Truck Pull and Festival
When: Sunday, May 31, from 1 to 5 p.m.
Where: Arms Park, 10 Arms St., Manchester
More: lesslegmoreheart.com/events

Featured photo: Courtesy photo

Double chocolate orange cranberry cookies

  • 1 cup (120 g) all-purpose flour
  • ¾ cup (80 g) dark rye flour
  • ½ cup (42 g) unsweetened cocoa powder
  • 1 teaspoon baking powder
  • ¾ teaspoon baking soda
  • ¼ teaspoon salt
  • ¾ cup (1½ sticks) butter, melted
  • 1 cup (213 g) brown sugar
  • zest of 1 orange
  • 2 eggs
  • ¼ cup orange juice
  • 6 ounces (about 170 g) dark chocolate chips
  • 1 cup (71 g) dried cherries or dried sweetened cranberries

Preheat oven to 350°F.

Line three or four baking sheets with silicone liners or parchment paper

In a medium mixing bowl, whisk together the dry ingredients — the all-purpose flour, rye flour, cocoa powder, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Set aside.

In a stand mixer, or with an electric hand mixer, beat the brown sugar and melted butter together. Add the orange zest and juice, then the eggs one at a time. Beat the mixture until fluffy — about two minutes.

Turn the mixer to its lowest setting, then spoon the flour mixture in, until it has all been incorporated. Stir the chocolate chips and dried fruit into the batter, then chill in your refrigerator for at least 45 minutes.

Scoop six golfball-sized balls of cookie dough onto a baking sheet and bake for 12 to 15 minutes. Let the cookies cool on the baking sheet, then transfer to a plate or a storage container.

These are dark, fudgy cookies that are brightened by the zippiness of the orange and the flavor of the dried fruit. While not overly sweet, these are very rich. One to two of these cookies is perfect with an ice-cold glass of milk.

Featured photo: Double chocolate orange cranberry cookies. Photo by John Fladd.

Dessert walk

Try a sample of treats at the Springtime Sweet Stroll

“In a nutshell,” Emma Stetson, the owner of Wine on Main in Concord, said, “there are five stores, all in a row on North Main Street, and during regular business hours on Saturday, each of us will have a local baker with a different treat that they’ve chosen. We’re calling it a Sweet Springtime Stroll.”

Stetson regularly partners with small baking businesses for wine tasting events, she said, and felt inspired to take that idea a little further.

“I have longstanding connections with a couple of bakers,” she said. “One woman named Katie Pope [of Confections by Kate NH] I’ve worked with for many years on cookies. Another woman, Ashley [Savoy] from Savvy Sweets and Treats, we work together on cupcakes and macaroons. There are so many talented local bakers who want to collaborate with us, it’s been hard to find space for everybody, because I already have existing connections and people that I work with for our regular in-store events. So I thought that if we were able to do a bigger event with multiple bakers and multiple stores involved, it would be a great way to showcase people I wouldn’t otherwise have kind of the space in the regular schedule to work with. I wanted everybody to be able to have a platform, so I figured this was a way for all of the people who were coming asking to work with us to have a day where everyone could feature their products.”

The concept of Sweet Springtime Stroll is fairly straightforward, Stetson said.

“Everybody buys a ticket ahead of time. It’s $25 per person. They check in here at Wine on Main and get a passport and a wristband. In their own time, throughout the day, and in any order they want, they can visit each store and each baker and show their wristband and passport and redeem a different sweet treat in each store. It’s all included in the ticket price. If they don’t eat all the various sweet treats — which will include macarons, cookies, cupcakes, and peanut butter cups — they’ll be able to take them home with them, with no additional purchase required. The $25 gets them a treat in each store. And additionally each store that’s hosting a baker will have special coupons and promotions that day for people who are participating.” Stetson will offer a discount on wine purchases, for instance.

Carol’s Confections (carolsconfections.com) will be the guest-bakery-in-residence at Wine on Main on Saturday.

“She’s going to have some really decadent cookies for people to collect,” Stetson said. “I love her chocolate cookies with a bold red wine, like a cabernet sauvignon.”

Ashley Savoy of Savvy Sweets and Treats will serve cookies and French macarons.

“I’ll be actually stationed with two businesses,” Savoy said. “And so I’ll have sourdough chocolate chip cookies and macarons. I haven’t decided which macaron to make yet. This is great exposure for all of the businesses that are going to be involved. Sometimes it can be hard as a cottage baker to get the word out to people about what you do, without a brick and mortar location. This is a way to connect with the community, and give people a little taste of what’s local and what’s around.”

Sweet Springtime Stroll
When: Saturday, May 23, between 1 and 4 p.m.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased in person at Wine on Main (9 N. Main St., Concord, 897-5828) or through the Wine on Main website at wineonmainnh.com/event/sweet-springtime-stroll. All proceeds will go to the bakers.

Featured photo: Ashley Savoy from Savvy Sweets and Treats. Courtesy photo.

Taco party downtown

Manchester’s Taco Tour returns

Manchester’s annual Taco Tour will take place Thursday, May 28, from 4 to 8 p.m.

For one afternoon each year, the city closes downtown to traffic and invites the world to dive deeply into dozens of interpretations of tacos.

According to the event’s website, tacotourmanchester.com, “Taco Tour Manchester is the one day of the year where downtown Manchester restaurants and venues all serve delicious tacos! Elm Street will be shut down for locals and visitors alike to have a terrific time sampling all the tacos that they can possibly eat during the four hour long festival. Taco Tour Manchester is most importantly a chance to visit our wonderful downtown and discover something new from our amazing restaurants.”

Restaurants and civic organizations from around Manchester will present their versions of tacos to an estimated 20,000 taco enthusiasts for $3 per taco. According to its organizers, more than 100 area restaurants will participate in this year’s event.

One of those restaurants will be Slightly Crooked Pies (1209 Elm St., Manchester, 661-4575, slightlycrookedpies.com). Lauren Cline is the owner. She is excited about seeing Taco Tour “from the other side of the table.”

“My family and I have done it a number of years in a row, even in the rain,” Cline said, “and it is amazing to see the energy downtown with all of those people. I can’t wait to watch it from that perspective.”

Cline and her staff are preparing two taco-inspired pies for Taco Tour, she said.

“We’re doing our mini hand pies, which are basically the same as an empanada. And we are going to do a peach mango one dusted in Tajin [spice mix] and apple cinnamon churro. They look like a crimped taco,” Cline said.

Dakota Jones is a New Hampshire-based food influencer, who publishes content under the name Food With Heart [instagram.com/foodwith_heart]. She is a big fan of the Taco Tour. It is the way many people discover Manchester, she said.

“It is the world’s largest taco tour. … It combines local community and tourism, but with a kind of community feeling,” Jones said.

Jones’ advice for going to Taco Tour is to go with friends. “It’s great to go alone,” she said, “but it’s also great to go with more people. I like to have someone else with me, so we can get in different lines. … If you go with a group, you get to actually experience more because you can all share a taco.”

Restaurants will be competing for the title of Best Taco and Most Creative Taco, the website said. Last year’s winners were Thai Food Connection for Best Taco and Stashbox for Most Creative Taco, the website said.

There will be two contests for die-hard Taco Tour fans this year, the website said.

“For the first time ever, Taco Tour Manchester is opening the Grand Marshal selection to the community. One lucky attendee will be randomly selected to eat the inaugural taco and officially open Taco Tour Manchester 2026 in front of thousands of fellow taco lovers at the all-new Inaugural Ceremony at Veterans Park. One winner will be selected at random during the Taco Tour Manchester Inaugural Ceremony at Veterans Park on May 28, 2026. Entrants must be present at Veterans Park by 3:30 p.m. on May 28, 2026 to be eligible to win,” the website said.

Additionally, Taco Tour fans can register on the Taco Tour website to win “an ultimate Taco Tour Manchester 2026 experience”: “This year, Taco Tour Manchester is giving away two VIP experiences, with each winner receiving access for themselves and one guest to join the exclusive VIP Tour through Downtown Manchester … VIP guests will skip the lines, enjoy tacos included at participating Greater Manchester Chamber member restaurants, meet local restaurateurs, and sample beverages along the way — all while experiencing Taco Tour like never before.”

The evening will also feature music. There will be a stage on Hanover Street featuringDave Corson (4 to 5 p.m.), Alli Beaudry (5:20 to 6:20 p.m.) and Brother Seamus (6:45 to 7:45 p.m.), the website said. A band stage will be at the Brady Sullivan Plaza on Elm Street will feature Joe Deleault and Cody James (4:15 to 5:30 p.m.) and The Jonathan Sarty Band (6 to 7:30 p.m.), according to tacotourmanchester.com/concert.

Saint Philip Greek Food Festival
When: Friday, May 15, and Saturday, May 16, from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Where: St. Philip Greek Orthodox Church, 500 W. Hollis St., Nashua, 889-4000, stphilipnashua.com.
More: There will be free parking, a shuttle bus, Greek dancing and live music. Visit nashuagreekfestival.com.

Featured photo: Taco Tour 2025. Photo by Vinny Marino. Courtesy Greater Manchester Chamber.

The Weekly Dish 26/5/21

• A new Aroma Joe’s: There is a new location of the coffee joint Aroma Joe’s at 700 Mast Road, Manchester, between Manchester and Goffstown. It is open from 5:15 a.m. to 9 p.m. Thursday through Tuesday. Contact Aroma Joe’s #222 at 628-5099 or aromajoes.com.

• Cigars and bourbon: The 7-20-4 Lounge ( in Twins Smoke Shop, 80 Perkins Road, Londonderry, 421-0242, facebook.com/7204Lounge) will host a “perfect pairing” Friday, May 22, at 6 p.m. Pair a $20 Rocky Patel Sixty Toro — a hand-rolled Nicaraguan cigar — with your choice of a single pour or Old-Fashioned made with Eagle Rare 10-year-old bourbon. Reservations are not required.

• The roof is open: Rooftop Social (20 S. Main St., Concord, 406-5666, artsalleyconcordnh.com/portfolio/rooftop-social), the third-floor bar at Arts Alley, will open for the season Friday, May 22. The bar’s website describes it as “Elevated but unpretentious — the perfect setting for crafted cocktails, shareable small plates and unforgettable moments under the city sky.”

• Dungeons and Drafts: To Share Brewing (720 Union St., Manchester, 836-6947, tosharebrewing.com) will host Dungeons and Drafts on Sunday, May 24, from 1 to 4 p.m. Bring your own Level 5 character or choose from one of theirs. Whether you’re brand new to D&D or a seasoned player, everyone is welcome at the table. Arrive by 1 p.m. sharp to secure your spot. Seating is limited based on the number of DMs available.

• Cocktail clarification workshop: CodeX B.A.R. (29 Main St., Nashua) will host Clarified Clover Club: The Art of Clarification on May 24 at 4 p.m. Discover the magic of milk washing, the classic technique for transforming cloudy cocktails into crystal-clear, silky-smooth drinks. Learn the full milk-washing process while enjoying a beautifully balanced Clarified Clover Club cocktail, made with gin, raspberry and citrus. The cost is $24.99.

• Knife skills: Tuscan Market (Tuscan Village, 9 Via Toscana, Salem, 912-5467, tuscanbrands.com) will host a class for home cooks in knife skills Tuesday, May 26, from 3 to 5 p.m. Learn proper knife safety, grip and positioning to improve your skills at home. Guests will participate in the preparation of a tasting, while the Chef demonstrates techniques at the end of the class. The cost is $49.31 per person, through tuscanbrands.com/cooking-classes.

• Making gnocchi: Tuscan Market will also host a cooking class Wednesday, May 27, from 6 to 8 p.m. to teach home cooks to make fresh ricotta gnocchi and pair it with a vibrant Sicilian caponata. The cost is $64.74 per person, through tuscanbrands.com/cooking-classes.

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