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New
England dining >>> Favorite New England restaurants
All
time VisitingNewEngland.com dining favorites
Looking for the
best New England restaurants? Our New England born and raised
staff centers on places they go for the mouthwatering meals!
Posted on
9/22/06. Next update: 10/18/06
The
best:
Fine Dining
Clay Hill Farm
220 Clay Hill Road, Cape Neddick (York), Maine |
Tel.: 207-361-2272
Web Site: www.clayhillfarm.com
Who would have
ever thought in a region full of seaside seafood restaurants
that a rambling farmhouse secluded in the woods would turn out
to be the best restaurant in the southern Maine seacoast area?
Elegant and old-fashioned, Clay Hill Farm specializes in the
kind of food even your best dining dreams couldn't even approach.
Herb broiled organic Norwegian salmon, Maine Twin lobster tails,
roast half duckling (with a delicious blueberry molasses sauce)
and clay hill chicken flavored with spinach, caramelized onions
and havarti cheese wrapped in a puff pastry highlight the great
menu. Clay Hill Farm also goes against the "let's charge
them a fortune" upscale restaurant attitude by offering
a four-course dinner for an additional $12.00. A savory lobster
bisque, wonderful mixed greens salad and white chocolate Creme
Brulee complement the main course with culinary brilliance --
there's a great chef in the Clay Hill kitchen. While many other
restaurants attempt to make fancy dishes -- and let you know
about their greatness -- Clay Hill Farm follows through on its
promise and never conducts itself in a snobby, elitist way. Clay
Hill Farm is a must when visiting the Southern Maine area, a
classic country dining experience.
The best: Chicken
Wright's Farm
Restaurant
84 Inman Road, Nasonville,
R.I. , Tel. (401) 769-2856
Web Site: www.
wrightsfarm.com
The math seems overwhelming at
Wright's Chicken Farm: this rural Northern Rhode Island restaurant
seats up to 1,200 hungry people in six family-style dining rooms,
makes incredibly tasty chicken in 75 ovens, and serves hundreds
of thousands of chickens a year. In a case where quantity does
not compromise quality, Wright's turns out the best chicken we've
sampled in New England -- broiled moist, flavorful, with a subtle
barbecue sauce, and of the "all-you can-eat" variety.
Included with the chicken are crisp salads with a delicious Italian
salad dressing, homemade rolls, freshly made french fries and
tender shell macaroni. Steak is the other option here -- it's
good, but the chicken is the real reason to visit Wright's. There
is also a terrific gift shop on the premises with old-fashioned
candy, collectibles and a substantial toy shop. Wright's is sort
of like the Disney version of a chicken restaurant, but it's
no Mickey Mouse operation and never goofy in its preparation
of mouthwatering chicken.
The best: Dessert
Joan and Ed's Deli
Sherwood Plaza (Route 9 East),
Natick, Mass. Tel. (508) 653-4442
Joan and Ed's is one of the better
delis in an otherwise dismal Boston area deli scene. Its dessert
display is a significant showcase of fine culinary artistry,
including rich chocolate cakes, unparalleled pies, danishes,
whoopee pies, cookies and just about anything else within the
sugar family. In preparation for the caloric assault, we recommend
taking half of your meal home, planning to work out the next
several weeks, and savoring your meteoric rise in blood sugar
moment.
The best: Diners
Vernon Diner
Vernon Diner, 453 Hartford
Tpke, Vernon, Conn. Tel. (860) 875-8812
The Vernon Diner used to be a
Howard Johnson's in a previous life, but don't think for a moment
that the ghost of the orange roof lingers in this suburban Hartford
favorite. With hundreds of menu items, thousands of calories,
and seemingly millions of smiling faces admiring the home-cooked
food, the Vernon Diner represents the best qualities in a diner-type
restaurant. Family friendly 24-hour service 365 days a year,
a convenient location right off the highway and an incredible
array of food selections including triple decker club sandwiches,
roast meats, steak and chops, seafood, Italian and Greek specialties,
sandwiches, wraps and a huge breakfast section. The Vernon Diner
celebrates all cooking styles -- all done expertly -- with the
end result being a satisfied customer base. Isn't that the mission
of a diner, after all?
The best: traditional
New England
Salem
Cross Inn
Route 9, West Brookfield,
MA 01585 Tel.:
508 867-8337
Web Site: www.salemcrossinn.com
The feeling of "Colonial"
New England doesn't get much better than the Salem Cross Inn.
A remarkable example of Colonial restoration (the original building
was constructed in the early 1700s) situated on 600 acres of
rolling hills and woodlands in central Massachusetts, the Salem
Cross Inn offers hearty Colonial/traditional cooking that will
make you feel good all over. Dining on apple raspberry roasted
duck, maple jack chicken, slow roasted prime rib, fresh Atlantic
salmon, hearty New England chowders and homemade desserts (yummy
carrot cake) to name a few, only makes the hardwood floor, post
and beam, candle lit atmosphere that much better. Perfect for
a special night out, a family gathering, wedding or vacation
dining spot, the Salem Cross Inn -- in the best tradition of
Village Green life -- brings together a diverse community to
enjoy New England country dining, scenery and conversation at
its best.
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