Category: Food

Elm House of Pizza opens in Manchester

Back in the 1970s, Elm House of Pizza was a downtown favorite among Manchester locals for its grinders, spaghetti dinners and dozens of pizza pie varieties. Decades later, a new Queen City eatery is channeling that nostalgic neighborhood vibe while offering its own spin on a traditional house of pizza.

The latest iteration of Elm House of Pizza, which opened March 15 in the old Theo’s restaurant, is the project of business partners Tim Baines of Mint Bistro and Bob Scribner of The Wild Rover Pub. Last summer the pair took over the 102 Elm St. space, which had most recently been Frida’s Tacos & Tequila but was Theo’s for more than 30 years before that.

Baines said the name was chosen as an homage to its 1970s predecessor — he recently shared a screenshot of its grand opening flyer from December 1973 on social media. The original Elm House of Pizza was a mile up the road at 866 Elm St. While there aren’t the same ingredients or recipes as from years past, what you will find in the new spot is what he calls a modern twist on a traditional house of pizza, featuring everything from house pies and appetizers to fresh seafood dinners, pastas, burgers and more.

“We were taking a look at what we thought might be missing in Manchester, and we really felt that the south end neighborhoods are underserved in the pizza category,” Baines said. “This is kind of an iconic space. Theo’s had a great run here … and we just thought it was a great location away from the hustle and bustle of Elm Street.”

Pizzas come in two sizes, with vegan cheese and gluten-free cauliflower crusts available as substitutes and individual slices likely offered every Monday through Friday until 5 p.m.

There’s a build-your-own option with dozens of toppings to choose from, in addition to several specialty pizzas — the House Pie, for instance, features tomato sauce, Italian sausage, ricotta cheese, a hot honey drizzle, and “cup-and-char” pepperoni, or smaller pepperoni pieces that form into cup shapes to trap the pizza’s natural juices.

“We’re definitely excited about how the House Pie is received. The flavors really come together in a magical way,” Baines said. “The cup-and-char pepperoni is different. … I think you’re starting to see it become more popular.”

But there’s also more to look forward to than the pizzas. Fresh haddock and scallops are served daily, as well as house entrees like spaghetti and meatballs, chicken or eggplant Parmesan, chicken and broccoli alfredo, marinated steak tip dinners or shrimp scampi. Gluten-free zucchini noodles can also be swapped for cavatappi on any of the pasta options.

Sandwiches are served with either hand cut fries, coleslaw, potato salad or a vegetable of the day, and include steak and cheese subs, meatball subs, lobster rolls and several types of burgers. The appetizers menu has unique options of its own, like house pepper jack cheese sticks with marinara sauce, loaded potato skins, bacon-wrapped scallops and garlic Parmesan cheese curds.

Most of the restaurant’s renovations took place in its bar area, which has been expanded. The drinks menu features an assortment of domestic and local craft beers, in addition to a few red and white wines and a selection of house mixed cocktails.

“Even though we’re not a sports bar, I certainly envision it being a great place to come watch a game, [or] maybe grabbing pizzas for the family and having a couple of beers while you’re waiting,” Baines said. “Most pizza places wouldn’t focus as much on the bar, but we want that to be a significant part of what we’re doing here.”

An outdoor patio at the rear of the restaurant seats about 40 people, and Baines said there are talks to extend the outdoor dining capacity in the parking lot during the summer. Online ordering and delivery are also expected in the coming weeks following the eatery’s initial opening week.

Elm House of Pizza
Where: 102 Elm St., Manchester
Hours: Sunday through Thursday, 11 a.m. to 9 p.m., and Friday and Saturday, 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
More info: Visit elmhop.com, find them on Facebook and Instagram, or call 232-5522 to place a takeout order

Feautred photo: Meat Lover’s Pizza. Courtesy of Elm House of Pizza.

Destination India opens in Derry

A new eatery has brought Indian cuisine to downtown Derry, offering authentic meals from several regions across the country. Aptly named Destination India, the restaurant and bar held a grand opening ribbon cutting ceremony on March 12 following a brief soft launch period.

Co-owner and chef Navanath “Navi” Avhad comes from Mumbai and has cooked Indian cuisine all over the United States. Connections with restaurant owners and friends eventually led Avhad to New England — he worked at Tulsi Indian Restaurant in Kittery, Maine, for a time before opening Destination India with three business partners: Ram Bodke, Megha Bodke and Pranav Ambekar.

Avhad, who currently lives in Manchester, said the four ultimately chose Derry both because of its large population and the lack of an authentic Indian restaurant downtown.

“I always drive on this road, and I see all the cuisines, like Italian, Mexican [and] Chinese,” he said, “but something was missing, and that was Indian.”

Avhad said the menu has some familiar dishes like vegetable samosas filled with potatoes, green peas and spices; chicken tikka masala, which is boneless chicken breast marinated in yogurt and spices and simmered in a tomato and cashew sauce; and multiple curries, with proteins like lamb, goat, chicken thighs or coconut shrimp. You’ll also find some lesser-known items, like chicken vindaloo, or chicken marinated in a vinegar mixture, cooked with potatoes in a hot gravy. According to Avhad, vindaloo is an especially popular dish in Goa, a state on the southwestern coast of India that was once colonized by Portugal. Many Goan dishes were in fact influenced by Portuguese cuisine due to the country’s centuries-long rule of the state — another option on the menu with Goan origins, he said, is shrimp balchao, or sauteed shrimp in a tangy, spicy sauce. It can be ordered as an appetizer or a main course.

Chicken Chettinad, or chicken cubed and cooked in fresh ground pepper, curry leaves, cilantro and spices, is also a traditional Southern Indian dish you’ll see on the menu. Other items are representative of northern Indian states, like paneer butter masala, or sauteed cheese that’s simmered in a tomato cashew cream curry sauce.

“We have the option of mild, medium and hot … for the spice level for our dishes, and people like that,” Avhad said. “We also have many vegetarian options for people.” One such dish is navratan korma, which literally translates to “nine-gem curry.” The different fruits, vegetables and nuts are the “gems” that make up the curry.

Some available items are cooked in a tandoor, a cylindrical clay oven that can reach temperatures of up to 900 degrees. In addition to tandoori chicken, shrimp and salmon, fresh flatbread called naan is baked fresh to order — you can get plain, butter or garlic naan, or a peshawari naan, which is filled with assorted nuts, coconut and dried fruits.

For desserts, Avhad makes his own kulfi, or Indian ice cream, in flavors like mango, pistachio and malai, a type of fresh cream. There’s also rice kheer (Indian rice pudding), gulab jamun (deep fried dumplings cooked in a cardamom syrup) and mango lassi, a smoothie-like blended drink of yogurt, water and spices.

Even though Destination India was open for takeout and delivery only during its initial soft launch, Avhad said his staff were busier than they ever could have expected — they even had to stop taking orders that first Saturday night to get caught up. The eatery is now open for full in-house dining, in addition to takeout and delivery through DoorDash, and is looking into adding more tables outside when steadier warm weather returns.

Destination India Restaurant & Bar
Where: 14A E. Broadway, Derry
Hours: Tuesday through Sunday, 11:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
More info: Visit destinationindianh.com, find them on Facebook @destinationindianh or call 552-3469

Feautred photo: Navratan Korma (nine-gem curry.) Photo courtesy of Destination India.

Order now for outdoor SouperFest

Roasted Red Pepper & Butternut Squash Bisque from O Steaks & Seafood, Hungarian Mushroom Ale from the Concord Food Co-op, Smoked Brisket Chili from Georgia’s Northside — those are some of the soups on the menu for the 12th annual SouperFest, and you can only get them if you order ahead.
The event, hosted by the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness, will be held Saturday, March 20, at White Park in Concord.
In the past, Souperfest was held inside a school and brought in 800 to 1,000 attendees. Thirty-five soups were prepared mostly by home chefs and served to hungry patrons.
“People just had as much soup as they wanted,” said Greg Lessard, board vice chair of the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness.
This year, eight local restaurants will be preparing the soup, which must be pre-ordered on the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness’s website, concordhomeless.org. Anyone placing an order will select a half-hour window of time to pick up their soup.
With last year’s SouperFest getting canceled in March, Lessard said, soup orders are already pouring in for this year. The other five options are Pumpkin Apple Bisque from The Barley House, Clam Chowder from The Common Man, Vegetarian Chili from Hermanos Cocina Mexicana, Lentil Soup from The Works Cafe and Miso Noodle Soup from Col’s Kitchen.
“It’s a wonderful selection. You’re hard pressed to say ‘I’m only taking two of these,’” Lessard said. “The choices are so great you just can’t say no.”
Col’s Kitchen is a new face in Concord’s restaurant scene, having just opened in August. O Steaks & Seafood, meanwhile, has been participating in SouperFest since home chefs made up the bulk of the competition.
All proceeds from SouperFest will benefit the Concord Coalition to End Homelessness.
“[The Coalition] has a number of different programs that support people that are experiencing homelessness,” Lessard said.
These programs include an emergency winter shelter, a resource center and more.

SouperFest: Hosted by Concord Coalition to End Homelessness
When: March 20, 3 to 5:30 p.m.
Where: White Park, 1 White St, Concord
More info: concordhomeless.org/souperfest-2021

Featured photo: Hungarian Mushroom Soup from the Concord Food Co-op. Courtesy photo.