Our favorite season is finally here (sorry, summer!), and you know what that means: cozy comfort food and absolutely no shame in going back for seconds. We took one for the team this week, sampling our way through the fall favorites across all Happy Day restaurants to find the dishes worth falling for. We judged on flavor, how well each dish captures the season, and how memorable it was. After a very difficult week of eating, we’ve narrowed the field to our Top 10 Fall Foods, plus our Top 5 Fall Desserts & Drinks. Consider this your official guide to eating your way through autumn, one delicious bite at a time!

10. Toasted Cheese Ravioli, Tomato Bros

Forget the pillowy softness of typical ravioli. This appetizer arrives with a shattering crunch that makes everyone look up from their menus. It sounds like crunchy fall leaves underfoot, and then you reach the filling: warm, gooey, and savory, a perfect contrast to the crisp, golden exterior. Add Tomato Bros’ unique atmosphere, and we left content and already planning our next visit.

9. Birria Tacos, Zany’s

Be honest, you saw this one coming. Three large corn tortillas get dunked in Zany’s birria broth before they ever touch the grill, and that first step shows up in every bite. Crispy, cheesy edges envelop rich, tender birria, and the whole table was eyeing each other’s plates. On the first cold snap of the year, with brisk air stinging our cheeks and hands deep in our pockets, these are the tacos we wanted waiting for us.

8. Lobster Stuffed Crimini Mushrooms, Mystic Café

Fall food usually means pumpkin and cinnamon, so a dish with a little coastal luxury is a delightful curveball. Tender, meaty crimini mushrooms are filled with chunks of lobster folded into a silky three-cheese blend. The gentle sweetness of the lobster plays against the woodsy mushrooms, and the buttery, cheesy aroma reaches you before the plate even touches the table. Order it when you want to feel fancy on an ordinary weekday, or when the first dark evening rolls into the valley and dinner should feel like an occasion. It’s our most unique fall dish, and the one people will be talking about on the drive home.

7. Chicken and Waffles, Main Street Grill

This dish is super easy to get wrong, but Main Street Grill would never do us like that. The chicken is lightly breaded and seasoned so well that you’ll find yourself guessing at the spices between bites. It sits on a waffle with crisp edges and a soft middle, scattered with toasty pecans and finished with sweet syrup that pools in every little square. The salty, sweet, and crunchy parts all land at once. By the last bite, nobody at our table wanted to get up and go back to work.

6. Twice Baked Spaghetti, Tomato Bros

A classic staple of the season. Tomato Bros serves this one all year, but it hits different right about now. This pasta casserole delivers everything you love about classic spaghetti with the hearty, layered structure of lasagna. A golden, bubbly top melts over sharable layers of noodles and sauce, making it the perfect centerpiece for a table of hungry friends.

5. Turkey Melt with Tomato Basil Soup, Mystic Café

This gourmet comfort sandwich stacks turkey with melty cheese and a sweet jam, then wakes everything up with fresh jalapeños for a bright, fiery kick. The bread is griddled until perfectly crispy, and the cheese pull is exactly what you hope for. Then there’s the soup. Mystic Café’s house tomato basil is THE fall soup, and it feels made for dunking this sandwich. Together they taste like the evening you finally pull out the flannel and Charlie Brown and the Great Pumpkin makes its way onto your TV. Does it get more fall than that? Didn’t think so.

4. Salsa Corn Chowder, Tomato Bros

Tomato Bros makes its way onto the list again. This chunky, rustic soup is like a bowl of autumn harvest. The natural sweetness of the corn balances the subtle heat of the peppers, all tied together with a creamy backbone. Pair it with a piece of crusty bread on a gray afternoon when fog hangs over the river and you need to hit pause on the whole week.

3. Smoked Nachos, Zany’s

If you’re into football, this one’s for you. Tangy BBQ and a subtle jalapeño cheese sauce are topped with perfectly seasoned birria beef AND brisket, and the result tastes just like kickoff. When the plate landed in front of us, we were met with a smell that can only be described as “home.” The toppings are abundant and carefully layered between the chips, so every bite is a good bite, and every bite is a slightly different flavor. Be careful: order these and they might just become your new comfort food.

2. BBQ Short Rib Mac & Cheese, Main Street Grill

Not all mac & cheeses are created equal, which is why this one blew us away. Rich, creamy cheese with the perfect consistency envelops cavatappi noodles, then it’s topped with smoky pulled pork, crispy onions, and a drizzle of BBQ sauce. It’s smoky, hearty, and the ultimate fall comfort food. Once you taste it, your standards for Thanksgiving will be much higher.

1. Loaded Potato Pizza, Southway Pizzeria

Here it is, our number one fall pick. Creamy ranch sauce forms the base, and you already know there’s no way this could go wrong. It’s topped with red potatoes, bacon, green onion, and cheddar with house seasoning, and each bite will make you reminisce about your mom’s loaded potato soup. It beat out the rest because it’s the one dish nobody else is doing, and it nails the flavors of the season. Eat it in Southway’s dining room or snuggled up on the couch. Either way, you won’t regret ordering it.

Ready for a sweet treat? The second list will have your mouth watering, and the first stop is just down the street.

5. Pumpkin Streusel Dessert Pizza, Southway Pizzeria

Creamy, spiced pumpkin is topped with cinnamon streusel crumbs and a drizzle of frosting, all on an ooey, gooey, yet crispy crust. It’s an excellent follow-up to the Loaded Potato Pizza (trust us on this one). You get all the fall flavors you’ve been craving, with a delicious Southway twist.

4. Pumpkin Spice Martini, Tomato Bros (limited time)

If you’re yearning for something sweet, this dessert-leaning cocktail is waiting for you. It’s decadently smooth, with the warm spices of pumpkin pie and a velvety finish that makes for a complex, structured sip. If the air is crisp and you genuinely considered wearing knee-high boots today, this drink is for you. Bring a friend or two and call it a fall tradition. Since it’s only here for a limited time, don’t wait too long.

3. Caramel Apple Empanada, Taco Time (seasonal)

This one can seem intimidating, but it’ll win you over after one bite. Think of the apple orchards the Lewiston Orchards neighborhood is named for, and the sticky-fingered joy of a caramel apple at a fall festival. Now picture all of that tucked inside a crispy, golden shell that shatters just a little when you bite in. Tender spiced apples melt into a warm, gooey caramel sauce, and it’s just a bit dangerous to eat on the go. Dunk it in whipped cream for extra sweetness, or enjoy it plain as a hand-held pie.

2. Banana Bread Latte, Mystic Café

Fall is when your coffee goes from iced to hot, and this is the perfect drink to make the switch. Imagine walking into a kitchen as a loaf of banana bread comes out of the oven, with brown sugar and cinnamon hanging in the air and steam still rising. Now imagine that in a cup. This dessert-style espresso blends everything cozy about banana bread into a creamy, velvety latte, with gentle sweetness up front and a strong espresso kick underneath. It wakes you up faster than a splash of cold water, but with a hug instead of a shock. It’s perfect for a foggy morning commute along the river or a mid-afternoon slump.

1. Pumpkin Cheesecake, Zany’s

Now the moment you’ve been waiting for. THE sweet treat of the fall is Zany’s Pumpkin Cheesecake. Move over, giant Costco pumpkin pie, there’s a new favorite moving in. Available exclusively at Zany’s, this new cheesecake is creamy and delicate, yet bursting with the flavors of the season. It has the dense, smooth consistency of a traditional cheesecake, yet it imitates the flavor of pumpkin pie almost too perfectly. If you aren’t convinced, just order it.

Did we miss your favorite? Reply and let us know what you’re eating this season!