The new Lowell Provisions opened on 110 in Lowell. Has anyone been? Now that grilling season is (almost) upon us, this is good to know. I still remember the marbleized steaks I bought at LP years ago. We grilled em up w/ a 1998 Bordeaux on the back porch. I was courting Gourmet Guy at the time and won him over w/ these succulent steaks. We still talk about that late summer night when he actually thought I liked to cook. But the tricky Centralville butchery might have well been in the witness protection program. So hard to find tucked away off Lakeview on the Dracut line. Their new space I hear is quite clean, orderly and they have fish. I love the idea of buying sirloin and sword in one store, cheese and wine in another, fruits and bread somewhere else. V. French. It may take a little while, but if you have the time, it's worth it. I want a provision report from anyone who’s been, as I plan to make this my summer BBQ HQ.

With a bento box to my left and a peach bubble tea (sans those annoying pearls) to my right. Umm. Talk is of boyfriends, finals and summer internships. I must be in a college bar. It's not actually a bar, althought they do have $3 sam adams (good deal). In the shadow of Zoo-Mass, The Egg Roll is a fun hideout. Swanky jazz on the radio and any kind of roll you can fathom, these college kids got it good. I never had such a cool place to hang when I was 19 and living in Marietta, Ohio. There is a perverse pleasure that comes when eating the chix lettuce wrap here. Using your hands instead of utensils is liberating and primal. Try the EC in June when the rugrats will be back on Long Island, or Dracut. Located on University Ave near Gardner Ave.

Gourmet Guy and I uncorked a 2005 bottle of Bada-Bing Barbera last night from Red Oak Winery in Middleton. Wow! How to explain the complex character of this grape juice ... it rocked on. No Robert Parker here. A friendly wine for a Monday night. But showy enough to crack out w/ prime rib and unexpected company (does this quaint notion happen anymore?). I stumbled upon this Mass. winery (talk about an oxymoron) on Route 114 just north of North Andover and thought, why not? What makes stopping into Red Oak more pleasing then stopping by the local packy, is being able to try the wines before you buy em. Good policy. How many times have you hemmed and hawed over the great marketing on the label, gotten home only to be faced w/ another yellow tail in disguise? Too many, too damn many. The concept is great. Winemaker gets his grapes from Lodi, California and makes the wine (mostly reds) in French oak barrels. You can go inside the wine room and see the casks, offered to me w/o prompting. I recommend the award-winning chard too. I'm going back for a mixed case soon. Local is local is local, right? www.redoakwine.com

Remember when a burger was considered bad food? It was back in those heady pre-Atkins days when meat was shunned. We'll Im happy to report, direct from the diner trenches, that the patty-meets-bun duo is back, this time streamlined and healthy for summer. Bridget's Greek burger at the Dream Diner in Tyngs is made w/ swirls of spinach and nuggets of feta. Tasty? Yes. Good for you? We can kid ourselves into thinking this is a salad in a bun. Hold your fire vegans, we are meant to be carnivores. Monday's a perfect day to grab a burger and a rootbeer float at this nostalgic spot. I'd forgotten how magical this hashhouse is. The Supremes on the radio, omelets and sundaes flying. OK, I'll say it, I felt like a wide-eyed five year-old again when I stopped in on Fri. There is a reason this vinyal-boothed-haven is always packed and it's not the sweet smell of home fries (altho that's good too). Owner Marybeth Shanahan exudes so much warmth, surly biz owners (and you know who you are) could take lessons from her grace. She looks like she could work in Alice's Diner (who the hell is Alice?), but I can't imagine this kindly pink-dessed broad telling anyone to kiss her grits. Located on Middlesex Rd, steps from the Pheasant Lane Mall, Dream Diner lives up to its name. Learn how to make the Greek burger in Wed.'s Sun. www.lowellsun.com/signaturedish.

TGIF food friends. Let's get down to it. Where to spend our recession-proof dollars this wkend? Im longing to try Unums in Nashua. I popped into this Tuscan-themed (trend alert) bistro last wk. and was bowled over by the charm spewing forth. Burnt orange walls, soothing h20fall and two bars, makes this an appealing spot. The 2nd bar is a chef's bar, ie open kitchen seating. Like a sushi bar only w/ flames of fire and linguini flying instead of seaweed and wasabi. The menu too was staggering and refreshing. Daring combos (but in a good way) i've never heard of graced the pages. Okay I don't have it in front of me, but trust me it tantilized. Id lke to hit Unams, 47 East Pearl st. beyond Manhattan on Pearl on the left.
www.unums.com. Also Saffron is a newish spot near the Peddler's Daughter that's getting raves. Where are you dropping fork tonight?

Someone mentioned the incredible cocktail menu at Moonstones yesterday and I happen to be holding the six-pager right now. Looks like Moonstones is bringing sipping back. Beginning w/ single malts, brandy and cognac, dessert drinks made w/ Starbucks Coffee (stop the presses) Godiva and Baileys — hot in winer, cool in summer — harkens back to the days when drinking was an art, not a game. Too bad this place is right off 495. Im sticking to a one and a half drink min. Carafes of sangrias, light wines, big wines, bad wines and the power list (that's just the reds) should slake any vino snob around. Im getting thirsty. You want beer? Hoegarden from Belgium, Sapporo, James Boag from Tasmania and (yeah!) Brooklyn
Larger keeps it real. Are the Cliff Notes version of this libation bible out there? Points for fresh takes w/ ginger caipirnha and acai margarita. And who won't be tempted by the kumquat royale? This lounge-forward hotspot on 110 in Chelms. is set to open May 20. See ya on the moon!. www.moonstones110.com.

Who presses the best lunch out there? I've noticed an inordinate ammount of these grilled sandwiches lately. They're infesting like ants. Opps bad food analogy. Can you tell I've been out in the garden? Seems everyone and their barista is making paninis in Greater Lowell. These toasted Italian/cheese meals that ryhme w/ martini are the new grinder. They do em up at Cafe Aiello, Brew'd, Olive That and More, and where else...? Bad Dawgs. Not yet. But Im sure a panini hot dog is in the works. So it got me thinking, who prepares the best panini around? The last one I had was at Cafe Madrid over the winter, a cubano feed, and it was superb. What's your fav?

Apparently lots. There seems to be a naming rights war going on in DTL over two (count em two) wine and cheese shops opening this summer. It's an embarrassment of riches folks. Time was not long ago when wine options downtown were Conlons and ... Oh yeah Conlons. Now we have C'est and C'est Wine, Say Cheese opening on Merrimack and back Prescott streets. You see the problem. Owners of both similar shops, Mark and Ricardo, will not back down from what they both say are original names. I don't care what they call them, just open already so we can wine and dine ourselves while we're young. Ricardo ( of the famed Gorham St. trattoria) is bringing in cheese, artisinal bread, oils, and wine, wine, wine to a cool cave-like space GG toured on Thrusday. It looks and feels good. And his partner Stephanie is no gourmand slouch. Cutting her culinary teeth (ouch) at the Cheese Shop in tweedy Concord, she's the real deal. Now over on Murkymack in the space once happily humming w/ Friend Fabric Art, Mark (whose last name will be held because I don't remember it) is set to open a fresh flower, wine/cheese, everything you need to feel wonderfully fufilled shop by Mother's Day. He allegedly has registered his name w/ the state and Ricky allegedly has not. No one's backing down. C'est la vie. Just open already, hey guys. Really does anyone care what these foodie shops are called?

We all scream for ... Monkeys? That's the playful name of the new ice cream shop set to open Mem Day 08 in DTL. Matt and Franky of the Mambo Grill gave me a tour of their newest venture yesterday where Moody's Buried Treasure stood on Merrimack St. and shared their plans. The fun shop will feature ice cream from Annabelles, the wildly popular creamery on Ceres Street in Portsmouth. Soft-serve frozen yogurt (it's about time someone thought of this) will be DIY. A froyo bar will take center stage in the middle of the tiny shop where healthy topping like fresh berries will beckon us all. "I could eat yougurt and berries everyday," said Franky. Roger that.
One wall will be dedicated to penny candy and since Andy of Brew'd Awakening fame is a co-partner, there will be coffee too. (Love it!). Not sure yet if Monkeys is seasonal. They are weighing the options of selling chocolate in the winter. Im one of those weirdniks who craves froyo in Feb. So wassup w/ the name?
"We sat around and asked ourselves what makes us happy. And I said 'monkeys make me happy,'" said Matt. Can't ape that. Haven't you always wanted a monkey?

Finally the weather's nice. Today's a great day for lunch out. Not hunched over your computer. That game is so last February. I'm heading to Manhattan on Pearl in downtown Nashua. I hear this five-year old tapas joint has been rebuffed to keep up w/ the new restaurants opening in Lowell's sister city to the north. Shrimp w/ lime and some such tapas is what Im after. Also they have some great-sounding new drinks, watermellon and passion fruit infusions, which I'll have to go back to try.
Is anyone down w/ drinks at lunch? Big in the '80s, ive noticed a return to the mid-day, mid-week liquids. Several martinis were being downed last wed. around 2 p at Paradiso. I might do a white wine, but sucking down a tini is a sure way to check out for the rest of the afternoon. Now that it's spring and lunch is back, where's the best place in Greater Low to go when you don't feel like brownbagging it?