The Harrisville General Store offers a selection of lunch foods in addition to grocery items and local specialty products.
products from local ingredients with a focus on quality and terrior. The region is home to several quintessential general stores. Dublin General Store has great soups, sandwiches and cookies. Sullivan Country Store has cider doughnuts and sandwiches and wraps. Harrisville General Store offers a range of options from empanadas to pizza. DINE LIKE A LOCAL Restaurateurs have created dining experiences in the Monadnock area that put fresh twists on family recipes and cultural mainstays. No matter what you’re in the mood for, you can dine like a local, enjoying delicious food in a welcoming space across the region. Not far apart in downtown Keene, restaurants are serving up dishes from Asia (Thai Garden and Kurama Omakase), Mexico (Margaritas), Italy (Town Square Tavern) and Mediterranean (Granita Enoteca). Muse Bistro defies genre with a menu ranging from cold soba noodles to goat-cheese coquetas. The Stage in Keene, at the head of the town square, has been in the Benik family for four decades. Yellow Bell Café is a go-to stop for American comfort food with a modern twist. New this year, Otto’s is named for the family’s 10-year-old foodie son. Tempesta’s Restaurant in Keene has been a family eatery for 25 years and is now in its largest location yet. Lindy’s Diner opened in 1961 and continues to serve up classic diner fare. 21 Bar & Grill in Keene is a staple in the community and creates a monthly cocktail with proceeds going to a local nonprofit. Meanwhile, Fireworks Restaurant designs its dishes based on local and organic produce. Birdie’s is a breakfast and lunch place by day and an event space by night, founded last year by Beth and Matt Wood. 24 | Gre at e rMon ad n o ck .co m
In Walpole, The Restaurant at Burdick’s lures foodies with its elegant dining room and French-inspired menu. The Hungry Diner is a farmer-owned farm-to-table restaurant with a commitment to sustainable agriculture. Locals rave about the surf-and-turf fare at The Smoking Trout in Marlborough, which expanded their hours to include breakfast last year. (And don’t miss the crispy cheese.) In Troy, Royal Spice serves fresh naan to accompany soups, meat and vegetable curries, and pakoras. Strolling through downtown Peterborough on a summer evening, you’ll spot diners sitting outside at Coopershill, enjoying the ambiance of an Irish pub as they feast on bangers and mash or Guinness stew with a side of colcannon. Sometimes the setting is so special it shares top billing with the menu. The Waterhouse in the heart of Peterborough’s Depot Square, for instance, gives you a table right beside tumbling Nubanusit Brook. The Peterborough Diner began in 1949, and recently hosted the cast of Broadway’s “Our Town,” which included celebrities like Katie Holmes and Jim Parsons. Don’t miss the award-winning seafood chowder at Harlow’s in Peterborough. It recently invested in a new deep-fryer, so crispy fries could be in your future. Maple syrup lovers have come to Stuart & John’s Sugar House in Westmoreland since 1975 for the always-comforting pancakes with the real stuff on top. And when warm weather arrives, families begin making their pilgrimages to Kimball Farm in Jaffrey, home to lobster rolls, burgers and the biggest “small”-size, farm-fresh ice cream cone in the region, with flavors you may have forgotten: buttercrunch, grape-nut, rum raisin. Also in the local food scene is Smokehaus Barbecue, which opened its Dublin location in 2023. n
Unique, locally owned dining options abound from restaurants such as the Waterhouse in Peterborough or Elm City Brewing and Fireworks Restaurant in Keene.
K E L LY F L E T C H E R , D I R T A N D G L A S S , O L I V E R P A R I N I , J O N A A N T H O N Y J . D H E P A G A N O N
TOWNS WITH HEART
