Letters to the editor -- December 2005

Pizza in western Massachusetts

If you want to cover all of Massachusetts and not just metro-Boston,  consider driving west of 128 to Amherst. Antonio's Pizza is excellent. And, in Northampton, Pinnochio's is the favorite among  college students. Paradiso offers unique up-scale pizza.
Karen S.

Letters to the editor -- November 2005

Thai and Greek food recommendations

Hi again,
 
Reading further into your "best of" column, I found two more categories I think you should review further;  the best Thai food has got to be Thai Moon in Arlington and the best Greek food that is as authentic as it comes can only be found at the Greek Corner in Cambridge.  Please try them!  And if you're ever looking for the best steak and cheese, check out Carl's in Waltham.
 
Regards,
 
Kim

Best pizza

I don't know how you could have missed Sweet Tomatoes in Newton (two locations) and Falmouth.  Fabulous, Neapolitan style pizza!!!!!  You must try them out for future updates.
 
 
Kim

Great Italian restaurant

I ate at The Villa in Wayland (filling!) then looked it up, curious, and found your site. There, you asked
readers to submit their favorite Italian restaurant.

It's a bit of a trek from Magnolia and I admit it's not quite in New England; still -- my favorite Italian restaurant is:

http://www.ristorantetoscano.it/

It's fun to watch the locals come in during the off season when it's their place -- many of them like to dress up for Toscano.

The location is spectacular, the food -- in endless variety -- great, the service excellent.

Bill I.
Magnolia, Mass.

Letters to the editor -- October 2005

Remembering Joe D.'s

We miss a little pizza shop that was located in Burlington, Mass.  It was called Joe D' s Pizza....this restaurant had the best Italian pizza in the area, along with great breakfast and dinners.  Its specialty was a great pepper steak sub and also had great clam chowder. This restaurant was first located in Woburn, Mass., and relocated to Burlington in 1977.

Patrick D.

Amazing diner

Please try the Agawam Diner on Rte. 1 in Rowley, Mass. - it's where all of the locals eat. Fried clams as good as you've ever had, and home-style favorites such as beef stew - just amazing!!

Sincerely,
Joseph B.

Letters to the editor -- Sept. 2005

Favorite Ice Cream Stand

Johnson's Dairy Bar in Northwood, N.H., along scenic Route 4 - between Concord and Portsmouth NH has been a family favorite for too many years to count.  As young children, my siblings and I would thrill at a weekly trip during our summer visits to Northwood Lake to Johnson's to have rich, smooth ice cream.  As we have grown into adults with our own children, highlights of our visits to the lake have included trips to Johnson's.
 
Be forewarned, their portions are huge but their prices are small.  Unless you are a teenage boy who is a bottomless pit to feed, do not attempt the large serving.  Even a medium is too much at times for always hungry teenagers.  Stick to a kiddie or small size serving and you'll be glad you did.  They're dog friendly and will give your leashed pet a small bowl to enjoy also.

Jodie R., Portland, Maine


Remembering the White House Restaurant in Worcester, Mass.

This classic opened in 1947 and closed in October 1989 while still one of the most popular places in town. Naugahyde booths, cozy fireplace, a basic, varied menu, (I still have one or two), family friendly, a nice horseshoe bar in the back, good service with middle aged waitresses; we were all amazed that Ricky (son) wouldn't keep it up when dad was all done. It turned into a Weathervane for two years, was demolished, and is  now an Applebees. What a waste of something unique.

Anonymous

Gone but not forgotten bakery

Hello, I miss Korbs Bakery, in Rhode Island! I would love their old recipes. I can still taste the Russian Tea cakes, giant chocolate chip cookies, cream puffs, and the bread!!! Unbelievable bread!!  Nancy M.

Missing the boat on Cambridge restaurant

I came across your website and happened through your reviews of Chinese food restaurants and experiences and have to say that you totally missed the boat on Mary Chungs in Cambridge.  This place is legendary and amongst the finest Chinese food outside of Chinatown.  If you were to walk along the Harvard and MIT communities and asked the typical passerby if they knew about Mary Chungs they could tell you the last time they ate there and if you haven't been there are two staple items that one must try, these being their Dun Dun Noodles with Shredded Chicken and the Suan La Chow Show.
 
Me personally I could eat the Suan La Chow Show every day for lunch until I died.  It is a wonton lovers fantasy.  Nestled on a bed of fresh crisp bean sprouts are a pile of steamed wontons over which a spicy, yet somewhat sweet soy sauce concoction is ladled.  As you can see I am a HUGE FAN and encourage you to give it a second shot if you are in the area.  I would normally not have given your comments a second thought, but this place is an icon in the Boston Chinese Food community.  let me know how you like it.
 
Regards,
 
Joshua

Letters to the editor -- August 2005

Red Sox update

Great website, lots of great ideas. Only one suggestion.  The Fenway Park description under Massachusetts highlights says " Plus, the team will always break your heart." Change this to " Home of  Baseball's World Champions".  Thank you from a lifetime Red Sox fan.

Bill B.

Remembering the Hartwell Barn

Say there, you MUST include a historic restaurant, which, tragically burned to the ground in 1968 on route 2A, between Lexington and Concord....built in the 1600s, Hartwell Farm.  Here was a restaurant, where one could walk into the kitchen, and purchase massive pecan rolls to take home.  Service was friendly and prompt.  The atmosphere was magnificent; the menu extensive; the view from the very large main dining room looked toward the east over  acres of field.  The attached barn had its own intimate, rustic atmosphere.  Hartwell Farm was a gem!!!

Richard E.

Please check out rich's ice cream stand in oxford ct.

Anonymous

Letters to the editor -- July 2005

Best Soft Serve Ice Cream
 
"Creamies" in Bernadston, MA, on Route 63. About 5 miles north of Route 2.
 
Creamies is located in the small town of Bernadston, MA, right in the center of town off the main drag which is Route 63.
 
Very tasty creamy basic soft serve. The Best.
 
Rich M. Berlin, MA

Flavor of the century at Kimball's, Carlisle, Mass.

Chocolate raspberry swirl  to die for!

Anonymous

Letters to the editor -- June 2005

Belfast Soup and Sandwich is phenomenal

There is no other sandwich shop like the Belfast Soup and Sandwich in downtown Belfast, Maine.The most delicious bread I have ever tasted, much tastier than any other crusty bread or flat bread in the area.The soups and sandwiches are delectable.This is a great place to take family and friends to eat and enjoy the atmosphere.

Wayne Drinkwater

Belfast Soup 'n Sandwich. 1 Beaver Street. Belfast, Maine 04915. Tel. 207-338-6541

Remembering the White Turkey Inn

The White Turkey Inn was a wonderful New England restaurant in the heart of New York City that I still remember from my boyhood days in the late 1940's and early 1950's.  It was my first experience with an assortment of relishes and a dollop of cottage cheese, and interesting breads and rolls, instead of the usual white bread and butter fare most restaurants offered as starters when you first sat down.  I remember there being an impeccably clean atmosphere, and excellent service, with what I now know to be an unimaginative menu but which, at the time, felt as though I was dining among kings.  Was it the restaurant itself, or a nostalgic longing for youth, that brings a smile to my face when I recall my family's visits to this restaurant, which I believe was part of a chain, that I thought would be there forever.

Thank you for providing the opportunity to reminisce.

Robert Shorin

Editor's note: For more reminiscing, we recommend reading our "Remembering New England restaurants that are no longer with us."

Ice Cream favorite

If your counting the best how can you forget Doc Davis Ice Cream in Pepperell, Mass.  It's a small mom and pop type store with the best ice cream around.  Always worth the trip there!

Rick C.

Route 1 article

I just finished reading the article, "Route One in Saugus and Lynnfield is a strange but irresistible slice of Americana", and my eyes are still watering.  That was hysterical.
 
As a native New Englander who grew up in West Peabody and Middleton Mass., I am very familiar with Route 1.  Your description of the restaurants and their "surroundings" was right on!! 
 
There were some other great "landmarks" that are now just distant memories but are forever etched in my former teenage mind.  For instance, where that infamous miniature golf course and dinosaur stand, there was a rotary with a Car Hop in which great looking young babes would bring your food out to your car.  Only years later did I figure out why my father loved to go there with us kids and why my mother always scowled at the thought. 
 
I also remember on Rt 1 North a large, fancy ice cream parlor (the name escapes me), where you could be assured there was never more than 2 cars in the lot; and one belonged to the old lady inside who was serving the ice cream. 
 
I can remember the days before the Holiday Inn existed at the Rt 1/128 split; the "tunnel" right down the street had yet to be constructed and just beyond that was a sleazy looking lounge called the Copa...not to be confused by the one opposite it called the Green Apple. 
 
There were no strip malls; Kelly's restaurant was still only at the beach;  Rt 128 was called RT 128..not Rt 128/95 and every Christmas time the Lynn Fells Parkway was loaded with cars looking at the houses all decked out in the most amazing assortment of Christmas lights you could imagine. 
 
But I am drawing a complete blank on the name of the business near the Peabody exit that sells those tacky looking cement figurines for your lawn.  I think some of those wishing wells are the same ones sitting there back from when I was a kid...driving up and down Rt 1 with my father who was teaching me how to drive. 
 
 
Those were the days... and thank you for the great memories.  I have to go now.  I just heard my number being called at the Hilltop for Sioux City..
 
Later.
Ken

Rota Spring Farm has the best ice cream

You need to check out Rota Spring Farm in Sterling, Mass.  The ice cream is the best.  I have been to three of the top ten places and they were very good but Rota Spring is better.  The ice cream is homemade from his own livestock.

J. Bell

Editor's note: Please check out the "top 10 New England ice cream stands," at Visiting New England.com

Letters to the editor -- March 2005

The Inn at Woodstock Hill makes for an intimate, relaxing getaway

 It was love at first sight for both of us.  After pursuing what suddenly became our second love (fickle as we are) - browsing antique shops in small quaint towns we stumbled upon the very charming, The Inn at Woodstock Hill, while looking for a place to dine.  We had a sumptuous dinner that evening and vowed to come back to stay at the Inn the following year.

We did just that this past winter and enjoyed our three-day stay beyond belief.  To rediscover the romance, grace and charm lacking in large hotels, you only have to spend some time at The Inn.  Since we were one of six couples staying at The Inn, we enjoyed a more intimate, romantic setting.  Cocktails were served to the two us in front of the parlor fireplace and a sumptuous dinner for two at a table in the parlor by the window.  Kevin and I were in a private dining room being properly fawned over by their very capable staff.  The intimacy allowed us to talk and laugh as we would in our own home.
     

Chef owner, Richard Naumann, prepares delicious gourmet meals for the enjoyment of Inn guests and local residents.  Naumann, born into a hotel/restaurant family, was educated in Frankfurt Germany, and then spread his culinary wings in Switzerland and finally the United States.  One of our dinners was a feast of French Onion Soup made with a rich beef broth with caramelized onions, topped with a Swiss cheese crouton; a wonderful field green salad with apple mint dressing, a heavenly mix of sour cream, mayo, seasonings and dried locally grown apple mint; half of a baked lobster, stuffed with scallops, shrimp and langoustines.  We chose a Black Opal wine from the Inn?s extensive wine list. For desert may I suggest the Crème Brulee?  It is rich creamy custard that satisfied the craving for a bit of sweet at the end of a wonderful meal.  If your preference does not lie with Crème Brulee all of the deserts looked equally enticing.

Your comfort is the staff's concern.  You need only ask for what you are seeking.  Being lovers of old country inns we were interested in finding out more about the history of The Inn at Woodstock and how the renovation was progressing.  A staff member, Susan, enthusiastically introduced us to the creative room renovations going on behind closed doors.  Some of the newly renovated rooms will be higher end with gas log fireplaces and central air conditioning.  Bob Reager, a partner out of New York, collected most of the antiques that are found throughout The Inn.   
     

Each of the twenty-one guest rooms is beautifully appointed in the tradition of old New England with modern day conveniences and accents.  We love the warmth and ambience of a fireplace and used our freely.  After all, we were there to relax and enjoy The Inn as much as the antique shops and the countryside.  The Library Room and the parlor, both with fireplaces, were great rooms to browse the many books that adorned the bookshelves, read and contemplate the universe, so to speak.
     

It was the most relaxing and enjoyable getaway experience that we have enjoyed in quite some time. 
 
Marie P. and Kevin M.

Mendham, N.J.

The Inn at Woodstock Hill, 94 Plaine Hill Road
Woodstock, CT 06281-2912
Phone: (860) 928-0528

Read VisitingNewEngland.com review on The Inn at Woodstock Hill

Letters to the editor -- February 2005

Thumbs up for Newcomb Farms Family Restaurant, Milton, Mass.

We took my 95 year old mother to Newcomb Farm Restaurant in Milton Mass., today and it was such a great place. The owner was more than helpful. Despite the fact that the restaurant was busy she was willing to stop by and chat with my mom to make her feel special.!!! The food and service were excellent and it was such a pleasant country style dining room. There were all ages eating there and the atmosphere was what you would look for whether visiting New England or going out for a special breakfast or lunch.

M.M., Wakefield, Mass.

Newcomb Farms Family Restaurant, 1139 Randolph Ave.(Route 28), Milton, Mass. Tel. (617) 698-9547

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