We know Reading and North Reading residents don’t just stay in town when they want a night out and a break from cooking.

Restaurant coming and goings, new business and the best dishes and recipes are among the items that have appeared on area Patch sites over the past month.

Below is a look at the restaurant and food stories local Patch sites have covered over the past month. Read through our round up for the latest food news in the area.

READING

There is a new bakery in Reading. Cookies and Cream  on Haven Street offers cakes, cookies, pies  and specialties like key lime pie parfait and cheesecake with chocolate pudding, whipped topping and Oreo cookie. They also serve breakfast and lunch.

NORTH READING

Lindsay Felix grew up in North Reading and still lives in town with her husband and three children. For the last 10 years, she has been making cupcakes from scratch for the community free of charge. After an overwhelming amount of orders, Felix decided to start her own cupcake business online this past May and now is ready to open a store. Mrs. Felix’s Cupcakes will open in town this summer. Felix is still unsure of the date, but hopes it will happen by the end of July.

All of her cupcakes, that she refers to as "simple and delicious," are homemade from scratch without preservatives or any traces of peanuts.

The selectmen voted to extend the hours of the patio at the Great American Tavern to 9 p.m. for the summer. The board struggled with the decision, as the restaurant's neighbors attended the meeting and voiced their opinions about the excessive noise the restaurant creates.

The management at Great American Tavern has been dealing with complaints since last year. The lights and noise created by patrons and live bands have been an issue. The problem with the lights has been fixed, as they are now on a timer and the landlord changed the bulbs to help remedy the situation. However, noise still remains an issue. Patrons talking outside while smoking, peeling out of the parking lot when leaving, and live music from the bands are all problems for those who live nearby.  For more on the story, check out Reading-North Reading Patch.

WILMINGTON

Residents flocked to the farmer's market on opening day.

The selectmen recently approved a license for a new Dunkin' Donuts.

TEWKSBURY

Need a way to cool off and ice cream isn’t cutting it? A Tewksbury man started a shaved ice truck recently. The concept of Kona Ice is a simple one; A truck, complete with refrigeration, that delivers and serves shaved ice treats.  That description, however, doesn’t begin to explain the true experience that is Kona Ice.

ANDOVER 

A new truck offers sweet somethings right at your doorstep. Pipe Dream Cupcakes is a truck that sells cupcakes. The truck alerts residents on their Facebook page of where they are going to be in the Andover/North Andover area each day.

A new restaurant called Sauce recently opened on Essex Street. The shop serves gourmet burgers, wings, fries and craft beers. 

Park Street Pub Owner Rick Pruneau is a fixture behind the bar but did you also know he lives a secret life?Pruneau has played Santa Claus all over the world. 

NORTH ANDOVER

Spring is in full bloom, and that means seasonal produce.

Smolak Farms is launching a new Pick Your Own Fruit Community Supported Agriculture group, in which you can buy a share (or half share) and enjoy the benefits of locally grown fruits.

The PYO Fruit CSA will be available from strawberry season through the apple season. There are 50 shares available. There will be 25 PYO Fruit shares available for Wednesdays and 25 PYO Fruit shares available for Thursdays. 

LYNNFIELD

If you happen to be traveling in San Diego anytime soon, you can stop by one of the two Bite of Boston Submarines locations run by former area residents Bob and Hope (Aschenbrand) Major. Bob is a Burlington native while Hope formerly lived on Hart Road with her family in Lynnfield and attended school in town before moving to Stoneham in the 10th grade.

While this eatery is on the other side of the continent, its local influences are all over the menu. The Lynnfield sandwich is roast beef, bacon, melted cheddar, onions, and bbq sauce. The Burlington’s Best sandwich is smoked turkey, bacon, melted cheddar cheese and bbq sauce.

The newest business in Lynnfield, Loui's Pizza and Roast Beef, opened up last weekend and reports that so far, it is enjoying brisk customer traffic. Many area residents may remember the 470 Broadway location as the former home of Mr. Santo Hair Design.

The eatery is run by Loui and Nora Kotsaninis, who have lived in Lynnfield for the past four years. Prior to opening the new business in Lynnfield, the husband and wife team owned and later sold Stella's Pizza in neighboring Saugus.

DANVERS

FroYo is taking over the North Shore! Starting first with Daily Harvest Cafe's Harvest Berry last summer, the craze has continued with PinkBerry opening in North Beverly two weeks ago, and Orange Leaf opening in Salem this past weekend. 

And now, Top It Your Way Yogurt Bar will make its way into Danvers at the Giblee Plaza on Route 114 (85 Andover St.) before the end of the month, according to a sign outside the business. 

The self serve yogurt bar will feature 12 soft serve frozen yogurt flavors that will change weekly. Fresh fruit and toppings will be available to scoop onto the yogurt. Prices are by weight.

After a year of inactivity, the former Miyako Steak House liquor license was approved to be transferred to a new American pub-style restaurant on Route 1.

Attorney Paul Crochiere told selectmen the liquor license transfer would allow for Steven Tedesco, the owner of the business complex at 100 Newbury Street, to begin a new business venture.

The restaurant will seat 130 people, with an 18-stool bar. The restaurant, Crochiere said, is designed to be a family-style restaurant, featuring American- style pub food. 

PEABODY

Kids at the Center School and their parents are working on their green thumbs this summer.

During the spring, a group of 16 students signed up for a weekly class with local gardener Ray Stoey to work a small fenced-in plot of raised garden beds in front of the school. Each Wednesday, the students met with Stoey to learn about gardening and plant a wide range of crops, including peas, lettuce, spinach, kale, swiss chard, tomatoes, chives, cucumbers, carrots and radishes.

Any excess vegetables were donated to the city's food pantry, Haven from Hunger.

Italian dining is coming back to the Northshore Mall.

The owners of a new eatery called "Scosso" will be appearing before the Licensing Board Monday night for a public hearing on a full liquor license.

Peabody attorney John Keilty, who is representing North Shore Food Group, LLC, says the owners also operate the Venetian Moon Ristorante in Reading and plan to offer a similar style of Italian dining with a martini bar at Scosso. 

Keilty said the owners and Simon Property Group have a lease agreement for the space vacated by Bertucci's in 2009.

Italian Eatery OK'd for Liquor; Slated to Open Mid-September

Peabody Diner a Hit in the East EndBrats, Kinder Eggs, German Beer...Karl's Moving to Peabody