Oh, yay! My friend Dan had been my Lord of the Pies companion last year, but he hadn’t been able to join Moonie and me on our first few stops. But a couple of weeks ago the three of us finally checked out Elmwood Diner. I’ve been to the Elmwood for a bunch of delicious breakfasts and lunches since they opened last year – some of the many adventures from the spring and summer that Moonie and I have yet to get around to posting – but it was Dan’s first time there and Moonie’s and my first time trying their pizza. This should be good!

It was also my first time being there at night. The Elmwood recently changed to winter hours, so it’s open from 6 a.m. to 8 p.m. five days a week (closed Mondays and Tuesdays). Moonie loved the cozy evening ambiance, meaning he had to run around hugging each of the candles on the tables.

He also had to play hide and seek in the vintage-looking fridge holding bottles of soda.

And try on some shirts, too.

Then Dan and I got down to business. Usually it takes two combined Lord of the Pies coupons to earn a full-sized pizza, which is how Dan and I got into the habit of trying our RI Food Fights pizzas together. Elmwood Diner, however, is extra generous; each individual coupon is good for an oval 14″ pizza with tomato sauce and a blend of cheddar, provolone and mozzarella cheeses. For an extra charge ranging from $1-5, Lord of the Pies participants can add all kinds of toppings or upgrade to specialty pizzas, which include an intriguing “breakfast pizza.”

Dan, a vegetarian, chose roasted tomatoes as his extra topping. Moonie and I put our heads together, whispering, and then finally were ready to order. “Beans!” Moonie shouted, and the server smiled and departed with the order. “Beans?” asked Dan as she left. “What kind of beans are they? Baked? Refried? Pinto?”

“I have no idea,” I said, raising my voice to be heard over Moonie singing the “Beans, beans, good for your heart, the more you eat, the more you fart” song. “He just really wanted beans for some reason.”

We both glanced at Moonie, who’d moved on to the “Beans, beans, the magical fruit, the more you eat, the more you toot” verse in between giggles.

After four rounds of the song, our server delivered the healthy plate of greens for me and Dan and the plate of chicken tenders and fries sneaky Moonie had surreptitiously ordered for himself.

I did get him to try a bite of the greens before he dug into his fried plate. He agreed with us that the salad was delicious – a tasty blend of fresh baby veggies dressed in a noticeably seasoned (just shy of salty) house vinaigrette.

Moonie loved his chicken tenders, which are locally sourced and Southern fried.

He practically took a bath in the dipping tub of honey mustard!

He was kind enough to offer Dan and me some of his fries, too.

Moonie insisted on dipping each of our fries for us. The dude loves to dip.

Our pizzas arrived, and I confess I didn’t get a chance to photograph my and Moonie’s pizza, which turned out to be covered in yummy black beans. We ate it too quickly to document. But Moonie did pause long enough to pose with Dan’s roasted tomato pizza – before stealing some slices.

You’d think my little dude would be full after tasting salad and finishing a plate of chicken tenders and fries and most of the bean pizza and part of the tomato pizza, but that tiny tummy knows no bounds. When the Elmwood’s adorable owner, Zoë, came over to introduce herself and check on how we’d enjoyed our meal, Moonie immediately asked if Zoë had any dessert specials. “You’re in luck,” she told him. She had just made some delicious little apple cinnamon tarts, still warm from the oven. Dan and I were too full to order any. “I’ll take two,” Moonie told Zoë. “He’ll take ONE,” I corrected.

And one he got.

Which he’d nearly finished off before I snapped a photo.

Moonie continued singing his fart song on the ride home, pausing every few verses to ask when we could come back to Elmwood Diner and visit his new friend Zoë and have more chicken tenders and pizza and pie. “And greens,” I added.
“And greens,” he agreed. “Even those were super yummy!” He then changed his lyrics to “Greens, greens, good for your heart…”

There’s hope for my little junk food addict yet.