BEYOND THE PLATE WITH CAROL

Did You Ever Resent It? Growing Up at the 24/7 Red Arrow Diner

What was it really like growing up at one of New Hampshire's best-known 24-hour diners? Carol Erickson sits down with her son Tyler for a rare, personal episode of Beyond the Plate with Carol -- and Tyler remembers it all, from Christmas at the Red Arrow Diner to the famous virgin bell, overnight customers, celebrity encounters, and the kind of hospitality you learn by living it. In this special conversation recorded at The Studio at The Beacon in Manchester, New Hampshire, Carol recalls reopening the Red Arrow Diner at age 23 in 1987, discovering an old handwritten recipe book, and deciding to make the diner smoke-free in 1998. Tyler shares what it was like working third shift, playing Mo the mascot, watching his mother turn a meal into an experience, and later putting those lessons to work in his own Portsmouth restaurant. Together they remember Adam Sandler, Barenaked Ladies, loyal regulars, longtime employees, and a mother-son bond built in the restaurant world. The episode arrives Thursday, November 5, just ahead of the New Hampshire Lodging & Restaurant Association's 2026 Stars of the Industry Awards on Monday, November 9, when Carol will be honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award. The conversation itself is a celebration of people, community, entrepreneurship, and New England hospitality -- not an awards interview. Carol Erickson & Tyler -- Manchester, New Hampshire More about the 2026 NHLRA Stars of the Industry Awards: nhlra.com/stars2026 Carol Erickson ran the Red Arrow Diner for nearly 40 years, and today she hosts Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to the people who helped shape New Hampshire hospitality. It’s not just about the food -- it’s about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering This episode is brought to you in part by 603 Perks -- free for local businesses to join. Want to put your business in front of more people? With a featured listing, Carol personally visits and creates a video that captures what makes your business special -- then it’s promoted through 603 Perks and Beyond the Plate with Carol. 603perks.com A special Thursday episode! New Beyond the Plate conversations normally drop Tuesdays -- subscribe and turn on notifications so you don't miss one. Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Welcome to Beyond the Plate 0:12 - A special guest: Carol's son Tyler 1:06 - Full circle from Episode 1 1:42 - Growing up at a 24-hour diner 2:22 - A late-night emergency call 7:10 - The famous virgin bell 9:50 - Barenaked Ladies and diner songs 12:03 - Famous faces and campaign visits 20:23 - What Tyler learned working there 24:00 - The characters of third shift 26:58 - Learning to respect everyone 29:42 - Carol took a chance at 23 31:11 - A handwritten recipe book 34:32 - Adam Sandler and Hollywood stories 42:00 - Tyler's secret life as Mo 47:48 - Belmont Hall sponsor message 50:21 - Keeping the diner's history alive 51:33 - Going smoke-free in 1998 58:11 - The employees and customers 59:06 - Memories marked on a wall 69:08 - What Carol should be proud of 72:25 - Holidays were diner days 74:02 - Why Carol loves the podcast 76:54 - Tyler's restaurant experience 79:43 - A mother-son moment to remember

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12-Hour Pork in a Convenience Store?! | Mi Familia Kitchen

How the heck are they making food THIS good in the back of a convenience store? In Manchester, New Hampshire, husband-and-wife team Ron and Tyra Torres have turned a tucked-away kitchen inside Parkside Convenience into Mi Familia Kitchen -- a destination for Puerto Rican comfort food, family recipes, and people who keep coming back. In Episode 79 of Beyond the Plate with Carol, Tyra traces her cooking journey to age five, seasoning rice and beans alongside her grandmother. She went on to study culinary arts, work as a sous chef, and help run a restaurant in Lawrence, Massachusetts. Ron shares how they purchased Parkside Convenience in September 2022, spent two years developing the kitchen, and built a business where customers are treated like family. Then there's the food. Carol puts T's Cubano in her "STUPID" category -- her highest praise. The shredded pork shoulder cooks for 12 hours. Ron and Tyra also break down their fresh chicharron (fried pork belly), pernil, mofongo, tostones, potato balls, tripleta, yellow rice, daily sofrito, desserts, catering, and why Puerto Rican cuisine is loaded with flavor without having to be spicy. Their commitment to sharing meals with local kids and neighbors is the part of the story you won't forget. Mi Familia Kitchen at Parkside Convenience -- 675 Hooksett Road, Manchester, NH 03104 Website: mifamiliakitchen.com Carol Erickson ran the Red Arrow Diner for nearly 40 years, and today she hosts Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to the people creating something special in unexpected places. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering This episode is brought to you in part by 603 Perks -- free for local businesses to join. Want to put your business in front of more people? With a featured listing, Carol personally visits and creates a video that captures what makes your business special -- then it's promoted through 603 Perks and Beyond the Plate with Carol. 603perks.com New episodes drop every Tuesday -- SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you don't miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Welcome to Beyond the Plate 0:13 - Meet Ron and Tyra Torres 1:23 - Tyra's grandmother and first recipes 2:01 - Culinary school and Lawrence restaurant 3:03 - Ron's behind-the-scenes role 4:10 - Five kids and a family business 6:54 - Carol's Cubano word-of-mouth moment 7:33 - From Massachusetts to Manchester 8:22 - The convenience-store kitchen idea 11:02 - Two years building the kitchen 13:11 - Ron and Tyra's love story 15:07 - Introducing Puerto Rican food to newcomers 18:52 - What's on the Mi Familia menu? 21:05 - Fresh mofongo and tostones 22:07 - Chicharron and fried pork belly 23:00 - T's Cubano and the 12-hour pork 25:04 - Mac and cheese and new specials 26:10 - Rewards-card idea and custom meals 27:06 - Catering for parties and events 28:05 - Feeding kids and giving back 29:34 - Why people travel for the food 30:03 - Puerto Rican flavor, not heat 32:10 - Why hospitality comes first 37:08 - Teamwork, marriage, and the kitchen 47:42 - Address, kitchen, and lightning round 51:05 - Tyra's fresh daily sofrito 52:08 - The pork chop plate to try 53:10 - Final thoughts and where to visit

Dave LeBlanc of The Omelette Factory: Roosters & a Big Leap | Ep. 78

Dave LeBlanc spent about 30 years coming back to The Omelette Factory in Ogunquit, Maine. In spring 2025, he and his wife, Sara LeBlanc, longtime Vermont childcare entrepreneurs, bought it -- their first restaurant, and the fourth ownership chapter for the Route 1 breakfast spot that first opened in 1982. On this episode of Beyond the Plate with Carol, Dave sits down with Carol Erickson right in the restaurant to talk about the leap from Vermont to the Maine coast, why they kept a once-seasonal breakfast restaurant open year-round, and the banker's advice that shaped their pitch: "Tell him the story. Don't show him the number." You'll hear how the house-made corned beef, the homemade strawberry jam, the thick French toast and about 40 omelettes came to define the menu, plus the story behind the meat-sauce Red Hots hot dog Carol called "stupid good." Then there are the roosters. One became two, then four, then 26 -- until the town stepped in and the Roosters of Ogunquit turned into a community project with big plans for autism awareness and a youth nature camp. Add a lean first winter, a Lightning Round with a New England clam chowder question, and a hospitality story about strangers looking out for strangers, and you have one of the most heartfelt conversations about family-owned restaurants in Ogunquit, Maine, and all of New England. 📍 The Omelette Factory -- 422 Main Street (Route 1), Ogunquit, ME. Open 7:00 AM to 1:00 PM, seven days a week. 🔗 omelettefactoryme.com | Instagram: @omelettefactoryog | Facebook: @omelettefactoryme | Roosters of Ogunquit: @roostersofogunquit Carol Erickson ran the Red Arrow Diner for nearly 40 years, and today she hosts Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to first-time owners like Dave LeBlanc. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering #BeyondThePlate #NewEnglandFood #MaineEats #TheOmeletteFactory #Ogunquit 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:39 - Welcome to Dave LeBlanc, fourth owner of The Omelette Factory 1:48 - From Vermont childcare to the Maine coast 3:13 - "There's no bad weather" 7:27 - The for-sale sign 8:31 - Staying open year-round 10:00 - "Let's be better humans" 13:31 - The Skinny Pancake years 18:01 - House-made corned beef, jam and French toast 22:01 - What came off the menu 22:46 - The Red Hots arrive 24:48 - "Stupid good" 35:36 - A word from Belmont Hall & Restaurant 36:24 - How the rooster story started 39:40 - The voicemail that changed everything 43:48 - The board of appeals 49:28 - Plans for a charity and a youth nature camp 54:23 - A free perk for small businesses: 603 Perks 57:23 - "Tell him the story" 62:06 - The first winter, 2:15 a.m. 64:14 - Lightning Round 66:38 - The date night spot with the fire pit 72:44 - Red Hots taste test 75:41 - Hospitality story 77:27 - Closing thoughts

5 Recipes Later, They Started a Cinnamon Roll Business

Welcome to Episode 77 of Beyond the Plate with Carol Podacst! This week, Carol sits down with sisters-in-law Brylie Murphy and Kylie Murphy, the duo behind Daily Dough Co., a homemade cinnamon roll stand in Manchester, New Hampshire! It started with one cinnamon roll recipe. Then another. Then about five. By June 2026, sisters-in-law Brylie and Kylie had turned their shared love of baking into Daily Dough Co., a small home-based cinnamon roll stand on Front Street in Manchester, New Hampshire. Carol first discovered their Saturday setup thanks to a friend's recommendation. In this episode, she invites the women behind the rolls to The Studio at The Beacon in Manchester, NH to find out how a family-supported first-week sellout grew into a much bigger local following. The turning point? A surprise message from Joey the Roaming Foodie, who found their Facebook Marketplace post and later shared their story. They talk blueberry and cookie butter cinnamon rolls, rotating specialty flavors, peach cobbler and chai, Friday baking after full-time jobs, and why the 3 a.m. wakeups had to go. Kylie works in drafting and design, while Brylie teaches sixth grade and even brings cinnamon-roll making into her school's Franklin Fridays program. You'll also hear the meaning behind the Daily Dough name, how faith shapes their packaging, why their stand is seasonal, and whether a Thanksgiving or Christmas pop-up might happen. Plus: an unexpectedly serious fluffer-nutter cinnamon roll debate, a Manchester-area coffee recommendation, and a heartfelt conversation about hospitality and ROCA Kids. Daily Dough's regular Saturday stand had finished for the season at the time of recording. Holiday drops were discussed as possibilities, not confirmed events. Follow Daily Dough Co. directly for announcements. 📍 Daily Dough Co. -- Front Street, Manchester, New Hampshire 🔗 Look for Daily Dough Co. on social media for availability and updates. Carol Erickson ran the Red Arrow Diner for nearly 40 years, and today she hosts Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to rising creators like Brylie and Kylie of Daily Dough Co. It’s not just about the food -- it’s about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering This episode is brought to you in part by 603 Perks -- free for local businesses to join. Want to put your business in front of more people? With a featured listing, Carol personally visits and creates a video that captures what makes your business special -- then it’s promoted through 603 Perks and Beyond the Plate with Carol. 603perks.com 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Welcome to Brylie and Kylie 1:15 - Carol finds the Front Street stand 2:27 - Sisters-in-law and housemates 3:16 - How Daily Dough began 4:33 - Deciding to start selling 5:15 - First-week sellout 6:00 - The Saturday stand routine 6:35 - Three flavors and porch pickup 7:28 - Why they stick to cinnamon rolls 8:03 - Cookie butter, blueberry and chai 8:46 - Preorders and full-time jobs 10:00 - Designer and sixth-grade teacher 11:06 - Rolling in the Dough at school 11:52 - Seasonal closing and holiday hopes 13:17 - When momentum took off 13:53 - Joey the Roaming Foodie discovers them 15:30 - The story behind the name 17:01 - From 3 a.m. baking to better routines 19:04 - What makes their partnership work 21:29 - Where new flavors come from 22:52 - Belmont Hall and 603 Perks messages 24:05 - Baking science and sourdough 29:55 - Lightning round begins 32:15 - The fluffer-nutter debate 33:19 - Baking without a playlist 33:40 - A local coffee hidden gem 36:20 - Hospitality and ROCA Kids 38:20 - Closing and possible holiday drop

Phil Meyer of Nourish New England: Cyber Warfare to NH Eats | Ep. 76

Phil Meyer grew up on a dairy farm in Iowa, joined the Air Force at 18, and worked his way into cyber security before becoming the volunteer CEO of Nourish New England, the man behind New Hampshire Eats, and the Farmboy Foodie. In Episode 76, Phil is back on Beyond the Plate with Carol for a redo of his first interview, and it kicks off with a chai latte taste test between Williams & Sons Coffee and Mocha Pot at the Studio at the Beacon in Manchester, New Hampshire. Carol Erickson and Phil trace how a farm kid whose family could taste when milk was going off went from Air Force satellite communications and Lincoln Laboratory to running food communities across New England, including New England Eats, Vermont Eats, and Rhode Island Eats. Phil explains how New Hampshire Eats grew from a small Southern New Hampshire group into a Facebook community with over 212,000 members, why "be nice or be gone" is the rule, and how the group has helped change the trajectory of New Hampshire restaurants. Along the way: the Greek restaurant boom along the 93 corridor, Phil's New Hampshire well done pizza theory, his top three barbecue picks, his burger rankings, the One of Everything Social Club, and a story about a donkey cart full of watermelons in Turkey. Phil also shares a first taste of Nourish New England, the food insecurity nonprofit he and the New Hampshire Eats community created, plus the upcoming New Hampshire World Christmas Market on December 12 and 13 at Owl's Nest Resort in Thornton, New Hampshire. Then it's the lightning round and Phil's hospitality story about turning leftover food into a way to fight food insecurity. 📍 Nourish New England and New Hampshire Eats -- New Hampshire, serving all of New England 🔗 Find New Hampshire Eats on Facebook | Nourish New England Carol Erickson ran the Red Arrow Diner for nearly 40 years, and today she hosts Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to community builders like Phil Meyer. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering This episode is brought to you in part by 603 Perks -- free for local businesses to join. Want to put your business in front of more people? With a featured listing, Carol personally visits and creates a video that captures what makes your business special -- then it’s promoted through 603 Perks and Beyond the Plate with Carol. 603perks.com 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH #BeyondThePlate #NewEnglandFood #NHEats #NourishNewEngland #manchesternh 0:00 - Intro 0:25 - Welcome back, Phil 1:02 - Why we're doing a redo 1:37 - The chai latte taste test 3:13 - A farm-raised palate 5:30 - Mocha Pot's chai 7:43 - From cyber warfare to foodie 12:34 - The donkey cart full of watermelons 😂 14:39 - How New Hampshire Eats started 17:43 - The no-negativity rule: be nice or be gone 21:17 - Beyond New Hampshire: the Eats network 24:08 - Restaurants New Hampshire Eats has changed 27:48 - Greek food on the 93 corridor 33:04 - How Phil recommends a restaurant 35:20 - The great pizza debate 38:30 - "New Hampshire well done" 52:39 - Top three barbecue joints 55:40 - The One of Everything Social Club 58:31 - Favorite burgers 1:02:05 - A taste of Nourish New England 1:09:01 - The Pickity Place adventure 1:15:15 - Lightning Round 1:23:22 - Phil's hospitality story 1:25:07 - New Hampshire World Christmas Market 1:25:32 - The Farmboy Foodie reveal

$95k From the City, $1.2 Million to Run: Why Manchester’s Animal Shelter Needs a Gala | Ep. 75

On Friday, October 23, 2026, Manchester Country Club turns into the Emerald City. The Wizard of Pawz Gala -- There's No Place Like a Furrever Home -- is the annual fundraising gala for Friends of the Manchester Animal Shelter, and in this episode Carol Erickson heads to 490 Dunbarton Road in Manchester, New Hampshire to find out what it pays for. She sits down with Judie Brown, Vice President of the Board of Directors, Executive Director Michael Constance, and Director of Operations Hannah Hurley. Here is why the night matters. The shelter gets roughly $95,000 a year from the city of Manchester and costs about $1.2 million a year to operate. Last year's gala helped pay for phase one of the shelter expansion, which the team had just moved into when Carol visited. This year's gala pays for phase two and helps raise the money for phase three. Judie Brown walks through the whole evening -- a red carpet, a twister, an Emerald City ballroom, a live band and a live auctioneer -- along with tickets ($200), tables of 10 ($1,500), sponsorships for small businesses and the auction items they are still looking for. You will also hear what that money does. Michael Constance explains cruelty cases, where New Hampshire law treats an animal as property and one recent case kept a dog in limbo for more than two years at a cost of about $25,000. Hannah Hurley tells the stories of Reader's Digest, the dog whose wheelchair was funded on Facebook within a few hours, bonded seniors Millie and Bella, Cooper the black cat who has been waiting since July 2025, and Droplet, the stray whose original family spotted him on the shelter's website. Plus how to volunteer, the NH pet food pantry, low-cost spay and neuter clinics, and their favorite local places to eat. 🎟 Wizard of Pawz Gala tickets, tables and sponsorships -- give.manchesteranimalshelter.org/event/manchester-animal-shelters-wizard-of-pawz-gala-theres-no-place-like-a-furrever-home/e822485 📍 Manchester Animal Shelter -- 490 Dunbarton Road, Manchester, NH 🔗 manchesteranimalshelter.org -- adopt, volunteer and donate | Instagram: @fmasnh Carol Erickson spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to community organizations like Friends of the Manchester Animal Shelter. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering Restaurant and small business owners -- Carol partnered with 603 Perks, and it's completely free for businesses. All you have to do is give a perk. Sign up at 603perks.com 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:11 - Carol at the Manchester Animal Shelter 1:18 - Why Michael Constance took the job 2:52 - A day in shelter operations with Hannah Hurley 3:55 - What the board actually does 4:34 - Cruelty cases and the two-year wait 8:04 - What phase one fixed 9:49 - Why the expansion is not just more kennels 11:26 - How fostering works 12:12 - Reader's Digest, the dog who got a wheelchair 13:57 - Judie Brown on watching it get built 15:32 - Carol's 603 Perks shout-out 16:00 - The small animal room and 50 guinea pigs 17:27 - Millie and Bella 19:48 - Ramona and Cooper 22:57 - $95,000 from the city, $1.2 million to operate 24:24 - The Wizard of Pawz Gala and what it pays for 25:31 - Mutt Strutt 26:25 - Tickets, tables, sponsors and auction items 29:19 - What gala night looks like 30:11 - What a successful gala means 30:52 - How to volunteer 32:42 - What to donate and the blanket apocalypse 35:50 - The dog that changed how Michael sees the work 37:20 - The moment that never gets old 38:20 - What they wish people understood 40:31 - A shelter is public health too 41:33 - Lightning round 45:26 - Favorite local food spots 48:00 - One word for the shelter 48:17 - Hospitality stories: Droplet and the cat from Florida 53:27 - How to help and outro

Travis Greene of The Lake Estate: Banquet Chef to Executive Chef in 11 Months | Ep. 74

Being executive chef was always the dream for Travis Greene -- he just never expected to find that kind of fine-dining opportunity in the Lakes Region. He started as a first-year culinary student at Lakes Region Community College, plating baked haddock for the public at a student-run cafe. Now he's the Executive Chef at The Lake Estate on Winnisquam, one of New Hampshire's newest luxury resorts, running a Dining Room, a Bar, a poolside grille, a wine cellar, and four event spaces that hosted roughly 500 guests in a single weekend. From Hart's Turkey Farm in Meredith to Steele Hill, five years in dining services at Plymouth State University, Hermit Woods Winery, and The Common Man's Lakehouse Grille, Travis built almost his entire career ten minutes from where he grew up in Northfield, New Hampshire. He joined The Lake Estate's opening team as Banquet Chef alongside Chris Viaud and Aaron Millinghaus, and stepped into the Executive Chef role eleven months later. In this episode, Travis talks about competing in the 2025 New Hampshire Food Bank Steel Chef Challenge alongside Marcus Samuelsson, breaking down a whole red snapper live on stage, earning a 2026 NHLRA Chef of the Year finalist nod, and building dishes like Brussels sprouts with lemon-chili ricotta and a crispy skin chicken with Carolina Gold rice and Aleppo honey jus, sourced from Vernon Family Farm in Newfield and Row 7 Seed Company. He also opens up about raising two kids in the Lakes Region he calls home. 📍 The Lake Estate on Winnisquam -- 725 Laconia Road, Tilton, NH 🔗 thelakeestatenh.com Carol Erickson spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to rising creators like Travis Greene. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:12 - Welcome to Chef Travis Greene 0:31 - The 2012 culinary student article 1:49 - Getting his GED, finding his path 2:28 - What LRCC taught him 3:11 - This winter's kitchen training program 4:06 - From Hart's to Steele Hill to Plymouth State 5:02 - Becoming Banquet Chef at The Lake Estate 5:40 - Guest plug: Chef Travis Greene 6:24 - 2025 Steel Chef Challenge with Marcus Samuelsson 7:22 - 2026 NHLRA Chef of the Year finalist 8:04 - Banquet Chef to Executive Chef in 11 months 9:00 - Building the opening kitchen team 9:30 - A day in the life at The Lake Estate 13:27 - Why he loves the expediter role 14:54 - Dining Room, Bar, Folly Grille, and the winery 16:01 - The Brussels sprouts dish 17:01 - Crispy skin chicken and Sean Brock 20:26 - What "New Hampshire food" means to him 24:00 - Chasing the cabbage trend 28:11 - Staying close to home in the Lakes Region 30:23 - Family life and two kids 33:34 - Cooking for the NH Food Bank 37:06 - Five-year goals and James Beard 39:10 - A hospitality story from Hermit Woods 40:18 - Outro

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Jenny Cyr: She Quit Macarons to Feed Cancer Patients Instead | Ep. 73

Jenny Cyr of Live Life Bites never planned any of this -- she was 14 years old washing dishes at a small bakery, and now her protein bites are feeding cancer patients at a treatment center affiliated with Dana-Farber. In this episode, Jenny sits down with Carol to trace the whole path: a Pastry Arts degree from Johnson & Wales, staging in NYC kitchens under Bobby Flay and Todd English, burning out and becoming an art teacher in Hampton, NH, and nine years bartending at 900° in Manchester just to stay close to food. During COVID, Jenny started selling French macarons out of the trunk of her car -- $1,200 in sales her first December alone. She and her husband Mitch soft-launched Lemon + Lavender Pastries at the Kittery Farmers Market in June 2023, and by 2024 they'd built Live Life Bites, a line of clean-ingredient protein bites that's grown from nine bags at their very first market to roughly 550 bags a week, sold in almost 40 locations across Maine and New Hampshire. Two weeks before this recording, Jenny retired the macarons for good to go all-in on the bites -- including a new wholesale partnership with New England Cancer Specialists, whose “Food Is Medicine” Passion Project sent 200 bites through a treatment center in under two weeks. 📍 Live Life Bites -- founded in Buxton, Maine, sold throughout Maine and New Hampshire (including Exeter, Manchester, Bedford, Portsmouth, and Rye) 🔗 livelifebites.com Carol Erickson spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to rising creators like Jenny Cyr. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:12 - Welcome to the studio -- meet Jenny Cyr of Live Life Bites 0:51 - Two brands, one story: Lemon + Lavender vs. Live Life Bites 3:16 - Pastry school, Johnson & Wales, and life in Europe 6:08 - Her first wholesale accounts -- a flower shop, then a Portland hotel 6:28 - Why an active, outdoorsy couple built a protein bite instead of a cookie 7:26 - The “ghetto bag” protein bites that sold out in 5 minutes 😂 9:46 - 40 locations, two states -- and retiring the macarons for good 10:18 - Where the name “Live Life Bites” actually came from 11:36 - Staging in NYC under Bobby Flay and Daniel Boulud 17:36 - What “staging” even means -- and bumping into an executive chef 😂 29:46 - This episode is powered by Belmont Hall & Restaurant 31:14 - The new wholesale deal: New England Cancer Specialists 32:19 - “Food is medicine” -- why this partnership hit different 37:40 - From 9 bags to 550 bags a week 38:04 - Cafe Luna and Foley’s -- their first big believers 48:53 - Pushing into New Hampshire: Warrior Yoga, McKinnon’s, Portsmouth 55:20 - Her favorite farmers market vendor (and the drink that started it) 56:28 - The hospitality story: Mel Harrington’s Sunday Supper 1:00:39 - Closing thoughts

Bianca Alicea of Mama Bear’s Cookies: A Whimsical Cookie Cottage in the NH Woods | Ep. 72

Bianca Alicea of Mama Bear's Cookies didn't set out to become a baker. She ran a successful jewelry manufacturing business in Rhode Island with her mother -- then sold everything, packed up her family, and moved to the quiet woods of Sullivan, New Hampshire for a completely different life. When COVID hit while they were still unpacking boxes, Bianca started baking cookies to keep herself sane. Her family got a little sick of being the taste testers. The neighbors loved them. And what started as a small self-serve stand became one of the most talked-about food destinations in the Monadnock region -- a whimsical, bright yellow cookie cottage at the end of a dirt road with a crooked window, a pink door, and no cashier in sight. In this episode, Carol Erickson sits down with Bianca to talk about building the cottage with her father (who got plenty of questions from neighbors about that intentionally crooked window), changing the entire menu every single week, the "you-vote" menu where her cookie crew picks the flavors, the honor system that runs the whole operation, stuffed cookies, cookie fries, snacking peanut butter jars, her partnership with Feeding Tiny Tummies in Keene, and what it's really like to foster newborns while running a business from home in rural New Hampshire. Plus -- the guilty pleasure meal nobody would expect from a gourmet cookie baker, and the Italian family holiday tradition that shaped everything Bianca does today. 📍 Mama Bear's Cookies -- 1 Paquette Drive, Sullivan, NH 03445 🔗 mamabearscookies.shop | Instagram: @mamabearscookiesnh Carol Erickson spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to rising creators like Bianca Alicea. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:12 - Meet Bianca Alicea 0:30 - The whimsical cookie cottage 1:07 - The Mama Bear name 1:25 - Why Bianca chose cookies 2:19 - Rhode Island roots & jewelry 2:47 - Christmas after New Year's 3:07 - Moving to New Hampshire 3:38 - Mama Bear's Cookies, Sullivan NH 4:01 - COVID sparked a baking obsession 5:05 - The self-serve cottage idea 5:48 - Building the cottage 6:10 - Carol's first visit 7:03 - Packaging & marketing 8:01 - The crooked window 😂 8:27 - Inside the cottage 9:01 - The mug exchange 10:04 - Peanut butter, milk & post-its 10:41 - Does the honor system work? 11:00 - No bears and no locks 😂 11:45 - Minnesota buys the whole table 12:24 - A week in Bianca's life 13:05 - Stuffed cookies & cookie fries 13:46 - Growing up with Italian bakeries 14:59 - A new menu every week 15:05 - The you-vote menu 16:18 - Sour cherry pistachio flop 16:54 - Dubai chocolate & trends 17:55 - Feeding Tiny Tummies 18:06 - Fostering connection 19:12 - NH Food Bank backpack program 20:58 - How fostering began 21:13 - Moving to NH in 8 months 22:07 - Fostering newborns 22:53 - Seven foster children 23:35 - Belmont Hall sponsor 24:18 - Ordering & shipping cookies 25:00 - A true destination spot 25:43 - Santa's Cookie Cottage 😂 26:18 - The Cookie Crew community 27:03 - Sullivan Country Store 28:04 - Imposter syndrome & winter 29:03 - How to start fostering 29:43 - Fostering: joy & heartbreak 31:23 - Saying yes to one more baby 😂 32:50 - Anything we missed? 33:40 - Packaging & cookie favorites 35:03 - Lightning Round 35:14 - Sweet or savory? 35:21 - Baker or cook? 35:41 - Guilty pleasure: taquitos 😂 36:20 - Four-coffee production days 36:38 - One cookie forever: Biscoff 37:12 - Baking until 4am 37:30 - Best dunking cookie 37:39 - Cookies in three words 37:52 - Favorite New England staple 38:07 - Carol's fish cakes 38:32 - Iggies in Warwick, RI 38:41 - Favorite Keene spots 39:55 - Carol doesn't like breakfast 😂 40:31 - Grandpa Jim's hospitality 41:42 - Everyone is welcome 42:37 - Visit Mama Bear's Cookies

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Tyler Isabelle of Hap’s Roast Beef: My First Guest Was My Son | Ep. 1

Throwback -- this is Episode 1, originally recorded in spring 2025 and first aired June 19, 2025. Hap's Roast Beef closed in July 2025. Seventy episodes ago, before Beyond the Plate with Carol had a studio, a logo, or a single subscriber, it had two chairs at a table, a camera Carol Erickson's son set up for her, and that same son sitting across from her. This is Episode 1 -- Carol's very first podcast -- recorded with Tyler Isabelle of Hap's Roast Beef in Portsmouth, New Hampshire, eight days after Tyler and his partner Amanda Long brought home Carol's first grandbaby. Tyler grew up inside the Red Arrow Diner. He jokes that he was born in the basement, and he worked every job across all four New Hampshire Red Arrow locations -- dishwashing, prep, the line, front of house, manager. In January 2023 he and Amanda took over Hap's, a forgotten sub shop on Lafayette Road with missing ceiling tiles and a lot of history, and spent two and a half years turning it into one of the most talked-about roast beef sandwich spots on the New Hampshire Seacoast. In this episode Tyler walks Carol through perfecting North Shore style roast beef -- pink and rare, never gray -- and the 1986 Berkel slicer that finally made it right after oven cooking, convection and sous vide all failed. He explains the New England beefer world, a Facebook community roughly 50,000 members deep that will absolutely tell you when your beef is off, right down to napkin count and beef-to-bun ratio. He tells the story of the Hap's bathroom -- the black toilet, the gold fixtures, the murals and fine art, its own scent machine and its own one-song playlist -- and why he thinks every restaurant owner in New England should invest in their bathroom. And he opens up about closing Hap's, becoming a dad, and personally hand-picking Tostimo's Pizza Kitchen out of Seabrook, New Hampshire, to take over the Portsmouth space so the community would be in good hands instead of watching the lease go on the open market. Hap's closed for good in July 2025, which makes this one a time capsule. Watch it for the story of how a shuttered roast beef shack got its shine back, for a mother and son talking shop as equals, and for the first time Carol Erickson ever hit record. 📍 Hap's Roast Beef -- 2222 Lafayette Road, Portsmouth, NH (the location is now Tostimo's Pizza Kitchen) 🔗 hapsportsmouth.com Carol Erickson has spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the owner of the Red Arrow Diner -- four New Hampshire locations, all open 24/7 -- and hosts Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to second-generation operators like Tyler Isabelle. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:23 - Carol's very first guest 1:06 - Where Carol finds new places 1:47 - Born into the Red Arrow 2:32 - Maine, Amanda, and Hap's 3:16 - Who Hap's was named after 4:32 - The year he changed nothing 5:02 - The 1986 slicer 5:47 - Pink and rare, never gray 6:19 - Inside the beefer world 7:34 - Every job at the diner 7:54 - Diner doodles become Hap's doodles 9:01 - You have to see this bathroom 😂 11:12 - Its own scent and its own playlist 😂 12:07 - Invest in your bathroom 13:23 - Becoming a dad 14:52 - Why Hap's is closing 15:54 - Sauces and spice packets 17:22 - Finding the right successor 18:46 - Tostimo's takes Portsmouth 19:38 - You have to start somewhere 20:21 - Carol's first radio show 22:06 - Closing

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Deb McCluskey: From Lil’s Cafe to 7 Restaurants | Ep. 71 Beyond The Plate Podcast

Deb McCluskey bought one small cafe in Kittery, Maine in 2021. Five years later, she and her son Michael McCluskey run seven restaurants across Maine and New Hampshire -- and she signed the lease on the seventh one without telling him. Carol Erickson sat down with Deb inside Salty Spirits, the 500-square-foot oyster and cocktail bar in Kittery Foreside with just 14 seats at the bar, to walk through all seven concepts one by one: Lil's Cafe and its famous crullers in Kittery, the Islander Cafe on the water in New Castle, New Hampshire, Stella's Cafe in Dover, June's Cafe in Newmarket, Henry's Bagel and Deli on Route 1, Salty Spirits, and Dudley Street Pizza. Deb talks about frying donuts alongside her grandmother, washing dishes at 14, the fifteen years she spent working for Michael Landgarten before buying Lil's from him in the middle of COVID, why Henry's has no espresso machine, how an entire raw bar menu gets made in one toaster oven, and the year her son got seriously ill while three brand new restaurants were opening. Carol brings nearly 40 years of her own diner experience to the table, and the two of them land somewhere real about what regulars actually mean to a family-owned restaurant. 📍 Salty Spirits -- 76 Wallingford Square, Kittery, ME 🔗 saltyspiritskittery.com | lilscafe.com | junescafenh.com Lil's Cafe (Kittery, ME) | Henry's Bagel and Deli (Kittery, ME) | Dudley Street Pizza (Kittery, ME) | Islander Cafe (New Castle, NH) | Stella's Cafe (Dover, NH) | June's Cafe (Newmarket, NH) Carol Erickson has spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner and its four New Hampshire locations, open 24 hours a day. Alongside the diners, she hosts Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to multi-concept operators like Deb McCluskey. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:12 - Live from Salty Spirits 0:54 - Frying donuts with her grandmother 1:21 - Dishwasher at 14 2:52 - The six months she regretted 3:32 - Buying Lil's during COVID 6:47 - How the Foreside grew up 8:58 - The Islander Cafe in New Castle 12:33 - The cruller recipe that never changed 14:36 - Through the kitchen to the bathroom 16:42 - A record store in a bank vault 20:46 - Stella's Cafe and Lilian's middle name 26:34 - June's and the 130-year-old building 31:41 - Belmont Hall & Restaurant 32:30 - Henry's Bagel and Deli 37:37 - Michael's ten-year oyster bar dream 42:28 - One toaster oven, whole menu 43:34 - "No new businesses" 😂 48:04 - Signing the lease in secret 😂 50:29 - Andrew takes over at Lil's 52:05 - Regulars who become family 53:33 - "Do you know my name?" 😂 54:54 - Lightning Round 1:00:25 - The triple vegetable guy 1:04:20 - Closing thoughts

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Nick Carnes & Dan Haggerty: Manchester’s First Alcohol-Free Bar | Ep. 70

Nick Carnes and Dan Haggerty have close to 40 years in restaurants between them, and they just opened a bar that will not pour you a single drop of alcohol. Without is Manchester, New Hampshire's first fully alcohol-free bar and restaurant, on the corner of Elm Street and Hanover Street across from City Hall -- and Carol Erickson recorded this entire episode of Beyond the Plate with Carol inside it, before the doors officially opened. Nick Carnes runs Shoppers Pub & Eatery in Manchester and co-owns the Moka Pot and City Club Golf. Dan Haggerty co-owns Industry East and Stashbox with Jeremy Hart, and co-owns the Moka Pot alongside Nick. Without is the first thing the two of them have built together from the ground up, in a small triangular room with one wall of windows -- and it started with a conversation over dinner about a corner spot that went up for sale ten minutes later. In this episode: why they are trying to retire the word "mocktail," the 99-page training guide behind an 11-drink menu, Hawaiian chef Josh's spam and pineapple arancini and scallion pancake tacos, the tuna poke bombs wrapped in tofu, the 780 tarot cards wallpapered across a five-by-five bathroom, what they say to the people online telling them it will never last, and why both of them believe hospitality is the only thing keeping restaurants alive right now. 📍 Without -- corner of Elm Street and Hanover Street, Manchester, NH (across from City Hall) 🕒 Opening hours: Wednesday and Thursday 5 to 10, Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 🔗 Instagram: @without_nh 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! 👇 Follow Beyond the Plate everywhere: YouTube: youtube.com/@beyondtheplatewithcarol Instagram: @beyondtheplatenh Facebook: Beyond the Plate NH TikTok: @nhbeyondtheplate Spotify: Search "Beyond the Plate with Carol" Carol Erickson spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering ABOUT BEYOND THE PLATE WITH CAROL Carol Erickson sits down with the people behind New Hampshire's food and hospitality scene. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. Follow Beyond the Plate: Instagram: @beyondtheplatenh TikTok: @nhbeyondtheplate Facebook: Beyond the Plate NH YouTube: @beyondtheplatewithcarol Linktree: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH Follow Carol: Instagram: @carolsew24 0:00 -- Intro 0:11 -- Welcome inside Without 0:59 -- Two guests, two past episodes 1:39 -- Sitting inside the finished vision 3:20 -- 27 seats, and Dan's Union Leader line 😂 4:18 -- Where the concept came from 4:49 -- Manchester's 1980s sober bar 6:25 -- "You're insane for doing this" 7:00 -- Answering the internet 9:18 -- Not just juice 10:51 -- 99 pages, 11 drinks 12:43 -- Why they hate "mocktail" 14:19 -- Nowhere to hide the flavor 15:49 -- Running a liquid kitchen 16:49 -- Minimalist vs. eccentric 17:36 -- The food menu 19:38 -- Spam and pineapple arancini 20:44 -- Nobody asked about the food 22:36 -- What you feel walking in 24:45 -- Hospitality is what survives 29:13 -- 780 tarot cards 30:02 -- Carol's son Tyler and Hap's 32:54 -- Shoppers gets a refresh 35:27 -- Industry East and Stashbox 40:37 -- How Nick and Dan met 44:54 -- "It's for sale" 47:06 -- Comedy, music, chess night 51:19 -- Six restaurant guys, one photo 57:15 -- Lightning Round 58:59 -- Guilty pleasure meals 😂 1:06:19 -- Hospitality stories 1:11:31 -- The bathroom tour

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Corey Fletcher: The Dish He Trusted But Never Tasted | Ep. 69

Corey Fletcher started out washing dishes at a family-style restaurant in Milford, New Hampshire -- and almost 30 years later, he owns one of the busiest kitchens in downtown Concord. Revival Kitchen and Bar opened on Depot Street in 2016, taking over the space of the shuttered Sunny's Table, and it has been a farm-to-table anchor of the Concord, NH restaurant scene ever since. In this episode, Corey Fletcher tells Carol about the seared sea scallop dish that has been on the Revival Kitchen and Bar menu since day one, the lobster poutine he put on the menu with total confidence and then didn't taste for a month and a half, and the nine-year run of house-made French macarons that now go out 250 at a time in flavors like blueberry chamomile with Concord Bee Company honey. He also breaks down what black garlic actually is, how he sears a scallop, and why he refuses to charge $44 for swordfish over plain rice. They get into the hard parts too -- surviving COVID with a takeout deal and Burger and Beer Fridays that families ordered eight and ten at a time, keeping a kitchen team together for five-plus years, and building a beverage program around New England distillers like Tamworth Distilling. Plus Corey's life outside the kitchen: bird hunting, deer hunting, foraging for chanterelles and black trumpets, and an 11-year-old daughter who already helps him portion burgers and pipe macarons. 📍 Revival Kitchen and Bar -- 11 Depot Street, Concord, NH 🔗 revivalkitchennh.com Carol Erickson has spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to chef-owners like Corey Fletcher. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:12 - Welcome to Corey Fletcher 0:27 - Two dishwashers walk into a studio 1:35 - Elijah's in Milford, NH 1:54 - The culinary vacuum 😂 2:18 - Baldwin's on Elm, Manchester 2:47 - Nantucket, then Concord for good 5:31 - How Revival Kitchen was born 6:01 - Concord's Main Street comeback 6:42 - Building a farm-to-table menu 9:21 - Hunting, foraging, and mushrooms 10:00 - Carol walks in with no reservation 12:36 - Doing the rain dance 😂 13:42 - The copper table problem 14:36 - The scallop dish since day one 16:01 - The lobster poutine confession 😂 17:04 - Value on the plate 18:29 - When COVID hit Revival 19:26 - Burger and Beer Fridays 20:45 - Picnic tables and DoorDash eggs 😂 23:57 - Nine years of French macarons 24:04 - It is not a macaroon 😂 26:16 - Building the late summer menu 30:15 - Black garlic, explained 31:57 - Life outside the kitchen 32:50 - Carol's archery adventure 😂 35:51 - His daughter in the kitchen 36:47 - How he met his wife 37:04 - Private events at Revival 38:16 - The beverage program 41:24 - Lightning Round 44:06 - Best New England classic 47:23 - A hospitality story 49:12 - Closing thoughts

Chef Evan Hennessey: Winning the 2026 James Beard Award | Ep. 68

He wanted to be a Disney animator. Instead, Chef Evan Hennessey became the first chef in New Hampshire history to win the James Beard Award for Best Chef: Northeast -- and this year, he opened his fourth venture in Dover. Carol sits down with Evan right at Stages at One Washington to talk about the whole arc -- from a dishwashing job with no career plan, to staging in some of the country's best kitchens, to building three completely different restaurant concepts and a culinary travel company, all without leaving his hometown. In this episode: • What it actually felt like to hear his name called on that James Beard stage • How he discovered his own foraged ingredient -- a rare "sea truffle" red algae • The full, very sweet story behind his daughter's cookies, served at the end of every tasting menu at Stages • A walkthrough of Stages, The Living Room, and his brand-new Mediterranean spot, Topolino • Why he started "Staging At Stages," a hands-on apprenticeship program for young chefs Stages at One Washington | 1 Washington St, Dover, NH | stages-dining.com Subscribe on YouTube, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and like, comment, and share this episode. New episodes of Beyond the Plate with Carol drop every Tuesday. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering ABOUT BEYOND THE PLATE WITH CAROL Carol Erickson brings nearly 40 years of hospitality experience as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. Follow Beyond the Plate -- find us everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH Follow Carol: Instagram @carolsew24

Andy Day: Competing for New Hampshire in Favorite Chef | Ep. 67

Andy Day built way more than a bar -- he's the owner and chef behind Cask & Vine in Derry, NH, and the founder of both Doire Distilling and Daydreaming Brewing Company, all under one roof. This week's episode is mixed up a little bit -- we're on location at Cask & Vine in Derry, New Hampshire! Carol sits down with Andy to talk through how a 2010 beer festival turned into an entire craft beverage empire -- and how Andy Day became Chef Andy Day, now in the finals for the Favorite Chef competition hosted by Chef Carla Hall In this episode: How a barrel-aged beer at a film festival changed Andy's whole path Building three completely different concepts under one roof Andy's entry into the Favorite Chef competition presented by Chef Carla Hall, benefiting the James Beard Foundation The story behind the Super Duck Three Way sandwich Keeping his whole team employed through the pandemic Cask & Vine 1 East Broadway, Derry, NH 03038 caskandvine.com facebook.com/CaskandVine If you loved this episode, subscribe to Beyond the Plate on YouTube, follow us on Instagram and Facebook, and like, comment, and share with someone who needs to see it. New episodes every Tuesday, with on-location specials like this one along the way! This episode is brought to you by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering ABOUT BEYOND THE PLATE WITH CAROL Carol Erickson, owner of Red Arrow Diner since 1987, sits down with the people behind New Hampshire's food and hospitality scene. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. Follow Beyond the Plate -- find us everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH Follow Carol: Instagram @carolsew24

John Milliard: From Toast Boy to Pappy’s Owner | Ep. 66

John Milliard ran the toaster at Pappy's Pizza & Subs when he was just 12 years old. Over three decades later, he owns the place -- and he's carrying forward the legacy of the man who mentored him, founder Ron Pappas. In this episode, Carol sits down with John at Pappy's on Elm Street in Manchester to talk about buying back his mentor's restaurant, the three-month renovation that brought it into a new era, and what it means to honor someone who changed the course of his life. They cover: ● The story behind the "Toast Boy" nickname and how it led to ownership ● Ron Pappas's legacy running Pappy's from a wheelchair -- and what it taught John about giving back ● The 2022 purchase and the full-scale renovation that followed ● Pappy's most iconic menu staples, plus the 20-inch pizza eating challenge ● What John thinks Ron would say if he walked through the door today Pappy's Pizza & Subs 1531 Elm St, Manchester, NH 03101 ilovepappys.com Subscribe to Beyond the Plate with Carol on YouTube, follow along on Instagram and Facebook, and like, comment, and share this one. New episodes drop every Tuesday! This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant -- Carol's family restaurant, now owned by her sister. [Belmont Hall address / website / social -- confirm exact details before publishing] ABOUT BEYOND THE PLATE WITH CAROL Carol Erickson, owner of Red Arrow Diner since 1987, sits down with the people behind New Hampshire's food and hospitality scene. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. Follow Beyond the Plate -- find us everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH Follow Carol: Instagram @carolsew24

Meet Oli An 8 Year Old’s Life in Lucca, Italy | Ep 65

What's it really like to be 8 years old and growing up outside the walled city of Lucca, Italy -- with a go-kart, a backyard full of chickens, and grandparents who make their own tomato sauce every summer? On this special episode of Beyond the Plate with Carol, Carol sits down with her great-nephew Oliviero -- Oli, as the family calls him -- for a conversation that has nothing to do with restaurants and everything to do with what makes a childhood in Tuscany so special. Oli walks Carol through a day in his world -- go-kart racing (red, obviously), taking care of his chickens, the treehouse he plays in with his brothers Leonardo and Ludo, and Nonna's homemade tomato sauce that gets them through the winter. He explains the history of Lucca's walled city like a local tour guide, shares what he loves most about visiting Popsy and Nonna in New Hampshire, and answers a full round of rapid-fire questions -- pizza or pasta, racetrack or playground, gelato or cake. This one is pure family, pure fun, and a reminder of what "beyond the plate" really means -- the people, the traditions, and the everyday moments that make a place home. 🌍 Lucca, Tuscany, Italy -- just outside the historic walled city This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH Carol Erickson ran the Red Arrow Diner for nearly 40 years before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting story to tell -- and once in a while, that means bringing family into the studio too. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond.

Meet Oli: An 8-Year-Old’s Life in Lucca, Italy | Ep. 65

What's it really like to be 8 years old and growing up outside the walled city of Lucca, Italy -- with a go-kart, a backyard full of chickens, and grandparents who make their own tomato sauce every summer? On this special episode of Beyond the Plate with Carol, Carol sits down with her great-nephew Oliviero -- Oli, as the family calls him -- for a conversation that has nothing to do with restaurants and everything to do with what makes a childhood in Tuscany so special. Oli walks Carol through a day in his world -- go-kart racing (red, obviously), taking care of his chickens, the treehouse he plays in with his brothers Leonardo and Ludo, and Nonna's homemade tomato sauce that gets them through the winter. He explains the history of Lucca's walled city like a local tour guide, shares what he loves most about visiting Popsy and Nonna in New Hampshire, and answers a full round of rapid-fire questions -- pizza or pasta, racetrack or playground, gelato or cake. This one is pure family, pure fun, and a reminder of what "beyond the plate" really means -- the people, the traditions, and the everyday moments that make a place home. 🌍 Lucca, Tuscany, Italy -- just outside the historic walled city This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH Carol Erickson ran the Red Arrow Diner for nearly 40 years before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting story to tell -- and once in a while, that means bringing family into the studio too. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond.

Ryan of Crazy Dreamers: Free Money Fridays, Honest Reviews & Life as a NH Content Creator | Ep. 64

Ryan of Crazy Dreamers never planned any of this. A random line his wife said years ago -- "keep dreaming, you crazy dreamer" -- became the name of the New Hampshire food content account that's now grown to roughly 20-26K followers on Facebook and more than 50,000 on TikTok. Ryan builds all of it around a full-time job at his family's concrete company in New Hampshire and raising his 4-year-old son, also named Ryan. In this episode of Beyond the Plate with Carol, Ryan of Crazy Dreamers sits down with Carol Erickson to talk about the England trip that made his food content explode overnight, his surprisingly strict food rating scale (he has never once given a 10), the real story behind his viral Free Money Fridays series where he hides cash across New Hampshire towns for followers to find, and his personal rule of always paying for his own food at every restaurant, food truck, and NH eatery he reviews so nothing skews his honest opinion. Ryan and Carol also swap notes on food content creation, local NH restaurant recommendations -- including Messy Mike's Barbecue, Sig's Kitchen, Buckley's Burgers and Steaks in Hampton, and Alibi Aftermath in Manchester -- his podcast Lonnie and Ryan, and what it actually takes to keep short-form video viewers hooked in an age of shrinking attention spans. 📍 Crazy Dreamers -- based in New Hampshire, content filmed statewide (search "Crazy Dreamers" on TikTok and Facebook) 🔗 Search "Crazy Dreamers" on TikTok and Facebook to follow along, including Free Money Fridays-- linktr.ee/crazy_dreamers Carol Erickson spent nearly 40 years in the hospitality industry as the longtime owner of the Red Arrow Diner before turning her attention to Beyond the Plate with Carol, a New Hampshire-based podcast covering food, restaurants, and hospitality all across New England. Every episode, Carol sits down with the chefs, entrepreneurs, content creators, and everyday people with an interesting New England story to tell -- from family-owned restaurants and food trucks to rising creators like Ryan of Crazy Dreamers. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! Find Beyond the Plate everywhere: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH 0:00 - Intro 0:10 - Welcome to Ryan of Crazy Dreamers 0:38 - Follower count reveal -- 50K+ on TikTok, 20-26K on Facebook 1:06 - Life before food content -- the Thrift Mind years 2:32 - Becoming a dad changes everything 2:47 - The England trip that changed it all 3:33 - Posting British McDonald's reviews 😂 4:33 - Is Crazy Dreamers still a family project? 5:43 - When Ryan knew Crazy Dreamers was really taking off 7:02 - Guessing Carol's age 😂 9:00 - Strategic content or just having fun? 10:52 - Guest plug -- find Ryan and Crazy Dreamers online 11:04 - The psychology of hooking short-form video viewers early 14:23 - Ryan's rating scale explained -- why nothing is a 10 15:22 - Free Money Fridays -- how it works across New Hampshire 17:12 - The "mhm" bio explainer 22:47 - How Crazy Dreamers got its name 22:54 - Ryan's podcast, Lonnie and Ryan 25:56 - What Ryan loves about podcasting vs. short-form video 28:02 - Why New Hampshire keeps showing up in Crazy Dreamers content 32:38 - Balancing a full-time concrete company job, content, and family 33:19 - Ryan's rule: always pays for his own food 35:50 - Lightning Round -- NH food recommendations 45:52 - Closing thoughts -- what's the dream for Crazy Dreamers? 48:16 - Outro

Jim & Deanna Varney: Solar-Powered Coffee in Steel Cans | Ep. 63

Jim Varney spent 25 years designing consumer products -- until he saw one of his own designs sitting in a pile of "trash" at a modern art museum, and it changed everything. Now he and his wife Deanna run Wavelength Coffee Roasters out of a solar-powered former rope mill in Shirley, Massachusetts. In this episode, Jim and Deanna talk about the industrial design background that led to their steel-can packaging (no foil bags here), why they use air roasting instead of the 150-year-old drum roasting method, how Deanna's library science background became an unexpected business asset, and what they're calling their "spaghetti year" as they figure out what sticks. Plus, a lightning round covering pancakes vs. waffles, night owls vs. morning people, and the one thing Jim didn't expect people to be surprised about. 📍 Wavelength Coffee Roasters -- Shirley, MA 🔗 wavelengthcoffee.com 🔔 New episodes drop every Tuesday -- hit SUBSCRIBE and turn on notifications so you never miss one! 👇 Follow Beyond the Plate everywhere: Linktree: linktr.ee/BeyondtheplateNH YouTube: youtube.com/@beyondtheplatewithcarol Instagram: @beyondtheplatenh Facebook: Beyond the Plate NH TikTok: @nhbeyondtheplate Spotify: Search "Beyond the Plate with Carol" This episode is sponsored by Belmont Hall & Restaurant. Manchester, NH -- family-owned for over 90 years. belmonthall.net | Instagram: @belmonthallandcatering | Facebook: @belmonthallandcatering ABOUT BEYOND THE PLATE WITH CAROL Carol Erickson sits down with the people behind New Hampshire's food and hospitality scene. It's not just about the food -- it's about the journeys, the community, and what drives people to go beyond. Follow Carol: Instagram: @carolsew24 0:00 - Intro 1:20 - Meet Jim and Deanna Varney 2:00 - From engineering coffee equipment to running the machines 3:50 - Working retail coffee in college 5:50 - The value of working in food service 7:15 - Getting the itch to leave industrial design 9:00 - The museum moment 😳 11:00 - "Can we do something better?" 14:00 - Founding Wavelength in 2025 15:00 - Falling in love with coffee grower stories 16:10 - Deanna's library science background as a business asset 19:20 - Explaining air roasting vs. drum roasting 23:35 - The solar power story at Phoenix Park 26:30 - Finding a home in an old rope mill 29:00 - The steel can packaging decision 36:20 - Wanting to be part of the local community 38:40 - Manchester's coffee shop density 39:40 - What a coffee "cupping" actually is 1:00:20 - Lightning Round 1:03:45 - Where Wavelength wants to be in 5 years 1:04:00 - Closing thoughts

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