by Eric H., lifelong New England native 

READING, MA (New England USA) -- When I was a hungry, little boy growing up in Burlington and Arlington, MA, the thought of eating a Harrows chicken pie was enough, on its own, to support a happy childhood.

We actually didn't eat too many Harrows chicken pot pies growing up since Reading, MA, wasn't a place we frequented often. However, when we traveled to Harrows to eat-in or take-out, we knew this had to be the best chicken pie in the whole, wide world. Even the old-fashioned box that housed the chicken pot pie looked good enough to eat.

Some things never change. Harrows still makes the best chicken pot pie we've sampled, with succulent farm-fresh chicken, an out-of-this world tasty sauce and straight-out-of-the-oven vegetables (you can also order the chicken pie without the vegetables). Additionally, those old-fashioned boxes lend further validation of a kinder, gentler era when all we needed to be happy was the love from our Mom and Dad, a Boston Red Sox game on the radio, and a nice, homemade-tasting meal.

Harrows chicken pie is indeed homemade and "fresh out of the oven" as the Harrows employees sometimes say to the customer. It's like someone hired a group of Aunt Bees to make this culinary gem that can't even be duplicated at home. Add a wonderful homemade Harrow's blueberry or apple pie to the mix and you have a true, timeless All-American meal.

Harrows no longer has a dining room, so it's strictly take-out for us 21st century people. That's OK, however. There's something special about a slow, relaxing Sunday, a football or baseball game on the television, and a special homemade-tasting meal in one's own dining room. A Harrows chicken pie, I suspect, will be part of that special day probably more so now than in the past. After all, Reading doesn't seem all that far away, now that I'm driving!

Harrows Chicken Pies, 126 Main St., Reading, MA. Tel. (781) 944-0410