Looking for a restaurant for your upcoming small function? Or, do you need catering at your business or home? Then look no further. Your local Reading restaurants have you covered. Cafe Capri, 355 Main Street, offers an extensive catering menu of pizza, calzones, subs and specialty pasta and will deliver to most areas of Reading. Check out the website for a menu and more information or call 781-944-9898.  Fuddruckers, 50 Walkers Brook Drive, is located inside Jordan's Furniture, is a well known hamburger franchise that is a great place for children's birthday parties. The phone number is 781-…

Many Reading restaurants offer the option of signing up to join their email clubs in order to receive unadvertised coupons and specials. Sometimes they may ask for your birthday information in order to email you a special to use that month, and a few restaurants even offer instant coupons just for signing up. Although most of the restaurants offering membership in their email clubs are National chains, the Reading Foodie found some locally owned establishments which also offered the option of signing up by email. 1. Cafe Capri, 355 Main Street, has offered an extensive menu of pizza, calzones…

The Crab Cakes appetizer at Sam's Bistro can be only be described as truly delectable: two generous-sized cakes made with lump crab meat, bread crumbs, and spices. Lightly pan-seared and then baked, the crab cakes are topped with leafy greens and served with a cayenne pepper remoulade and black bean-corn salsa. This appetizer, at $10.99, is big enough to share or can be enjoyed as a meal along with soup. Sam's Bistro, 107 Main Street, has been open since July 2010 and specializes in American cuisine. Michael Palmer, who also owns Stearns & Hill's Bistro in Melrose, owns and operates the …

The weather is finally improving, and that means that we have the rare New England pleasure of being able to dine outsie. You might think that you have to travel to Boston for outdoor dining, but our Reading Foodie this month rounded up places with outdoor dining right here in town. Bertucci's, 45 Walkers Brook Drive, a chain known for Italian fare is also a good choice for families as it offers a wide children's menu. The patio has 8 tables and, although they have call-ahead seating, you cannot specifically request to be outside. The restaurant is open Sunday-Thursday from 11am-10pm and …

The Chocolate Truffle, 294 Main Street, is featured a raspberry caramel for this year's Boston Bakes for Breast Cancer—but you can get this bite any time you like. The selection has a rich dark chocolate topped by pink white chocolate squiggles outside, and a gooey caramel, with a subtle taste of raspberry jam on the inside. While it is luscious and a delight to savor, it also helped support an important cause: Proceeds from the sale of the raspberry caramel benefited breast cancer research at Dana-Farber Cancer Institute. A family business, Reading residents Erin Calvo-Bacci and her husband …

Mother's Day (Sunday, May 8) is fast approaching, and what could be better than taking your mom or wife out to celebrate? In honor of moms everywhere, Reading Patch went searching for Mother's Day specials at local restaurants. Although only one of the restaurants offered any Mother's Day-specific specials, most suggested making a reservation for the day.  Going to brunch on Mother's Day can be very relaxing. The following restaurants offer breakfast, brunch or both: 1. Christophers, 580 Main Street, is only open from 7am-2pm for breakfast and lunch. The breakfast menu is available all day …

Curling up with a good book and a piping hot beverage can be a simple pleasure on a cold and snowy winter day. And if you're a foodie, that "good book" could very well be a culinary murder mystery. There are a number of excellent series on the market today, including one set in the Boston area. Here are some of my favorites. The Diva Cooks a Goose (Berkley Prime Crime, 2010) is the fourth book in the Domestic Diva Mystery Series by Krista Davis. Set in Alexandria, Virginia, this novel continues the adventures of Sophie Winston and comes with delicious recipes and organizing tips. Cook the …

How often do we associate certain foods with a particular holiday or event? I think most of us would answer 'frequently.' A birthday isn't quite the same without a cake, and chocolate is a must-have on Valentine's Day. Food is also important in the religious holidays of Chanukah and Christmas and the cultural festival of Kwanzaa. All three will be observed in December. I recently asked several members of our food and restaurant community to share a holiday memory, story, or tradition from their own lives that involved food. Their stories follow. Gregory Chesnulovitch opened the Olde Redding …

Lynda Jolicoeur, who has been working at Aroma Café on Main St. for seven years, comes from a large family. She is the twelfth and youngest child of Portuguese immigrants and the only child born in America. Ask her to describe what Thanksgiving was like when she was young and she'll answer "crazy. My mother sometime had 40 people in our house in Somerville. We didn't have a table large enough to fit everyone, so we ate in three shifts." Fast forward to present day and you'll find that some things haven't changed. Thanksgiving is still a day for gathering together with family, giving thanks, …

Mention comfort food and any number of sweet and savory dishes come to mind. But in Reading, comfort food has often meant Harrow's Chicken Pies. For over 70 years, people have been coming to 126 Main Street to pick up pies for lunch or dinner. While times and trends have changed, today's recipe is the same one used by Charles and Winifred Harrow when the business opened back in 1938—slow-cooked white meat chicken and rich homemade gravy with potatoes and carrots optional. At that time, it should be noted, Harrow owned a chicken farm and the chicken pies were more of a side business. That's …

Silver anniversaries are special occasions, but especially so for a restaurant. In July, Christopher's celebrated 25 years in business. The casual eatery at 580 Main Street serves breakfast and lunch seven days a week. Bill and Laurie Cushing own the business, which is named after their son. Christopher's first opened in Wakefield in 1985; a second Christopher's opened in 1992 on Main Street in Reading. (The Cushings sold the Wakefield restaurant in 1994.) To make room for a Bank of America branch, Christopher's moved down one storefront in 2008. Relocating almost doubled the space and the …

Welcome to the first edition of The Reading Foodie! Every month, you'll find news about Reading's food and dining community—openings, monthly specials, menu changes, and more. As the holidays approach, I also hope to give you tips to make entertaining easier. New in town is Sam's Bistro, which opened July 6 at 107 Main St. Michael Palmer and his wife, Amy, own the restaurant, which Palmer described as "an upscale family steak house with classic décor—lots of mahogany stained wood, soft lighting, big leather booths and banquettes." He chose Reading because "it seemed as though the town needed …