Article and photos by Eric H.

Historic New England restaurant owners love to brag about George Washington using their properties as stagecoach stops back in the Colonial days.

Based on these many claims, the former president and "Father of our Country" must have made a lot of New England stagecoach stops. Maybe that was his hobby, stopping at New England homes -- sort of like the latter day version of presidents taking a lot of time off to play golf. Or maybe these frequent stops suggested a colonial case of benign prostatic hyperplasia. With Super Beta Prostate about 220 years away and  Dunkin' Donuts seemingly every 100 yards apart from each other in New England today, perhaps this was Washington's 10 minute stay rather than an overnight.

Truth be told and upon further inspection, Washington had to stop at a few places in New England, given his military and political involvement, and it would be no surprise to me if the Lafayette House in Foxborough, Mass., was one of those places. Established in 1784, the historic template of the quaint pub, the meandering nooks and crannies of the restaurant, the ubiquitous creaking, and "well maintained" sections (as opposed to completely updated) suggest authenticity. Plus -- here's the validation -- the Lafayette House was once a stagecoach house called the Everett Inn on the Lower Post route that connected to the more famous Boston Post Road. Word has it that George Washington and General The Marquis de La Fayette  (now you know where the restaurant name comes from) stayed there en route to setting the cornerstone to the Bunker Hill Monument.

Today, the Lafayette House stands quite proudly as a charming historic New England restaurant that, at the same time, seems somewhat detached from the nearby Gillette Stadium/New England Patriots sports, shopping, modern dining and entertainment culture that dominates Route 1. Step inside and the "We are the Champions" and "Rock and Roll Part 1" stadium bombast gives way to classical music, and a warm, soft welcoming glow, courtesy of candlelight and dim period lighting, post and beam ceilings, and vintage wood flourishes.

A great place for a brew, burger, chicken pie, Yankee Pot Roast, New England clam chowder, Boston schrod or prime rib, the Lafayette House might look like an anomoly on busy Route 1, but is a wonderfully familiar face when it comes to an authentic slice of traditional New England. What a fantastic place for a meal or function.

The Lafayette House is located at 109 Washington St. (hey, how about that!), otherwise known as Route 1 in Foxborough MA. Tel.(508) 543-5344

Yankee pot roast with real mashed potato and green beans

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