Exit Interviews: Finding the Best Restaurants Right Off the Highway

If you're tired of the mediorce generic, anytown restaurant selections near the highway, then these local New England roadside restaurants should provide a delicious remedy. Exclusive interviews!

Harry's Restaurant and Dairy Bar, Westboro, MA

by Eric H.

WESTBORO, MA --  Harry's Restaurant and Dairy Bar looks out of place on commercial Route 9, but that's a good thing. On a road where you can purchase everything from microfiber sofas to cell phones that do everything except recite the Declaration of Independence, Harry's Restaurant and Dairy Bar bucks every trend by sporting an old-fashioned "Drive-in....Ice Cream...Fried Clams" sign out in front of a small, worn out looking diner-type building.

The minute we saw that old-fashioned "Drive-in....Ice Cream...Fried Clams" sign out front on fast-paced, modern Route 9, we knew there was something special going on inside this vinyl roadside palace that serves breakfast early in the morning and dinners past midnight.

What we found was something beyond the hearty eggs and substantial club sandwiches expected of this genre -- in the kitchen resided a culinary genius with sophisticated leanings. We found it fascinating that someone who could turn out delicious New England diner standards like full-bodied fried clams, pancakes and tuna melts could also create delicious pesto-stuffed salmon, crab-stuffed haddock, steak house-quality baby back ribs and Boston North End-caliber pastas -- chicken and broccoli alfredo, and chicken marinara to name a few.

The reason for Harry's high quality has deep roots. Harry Cohen opened Harry's in nearby Shrewsbury in 1946 and moved his restaurant to its current Westboro location in 1968. He created a legion of satisfied customers by offering high quality meals at low prices. His son, John eventually assumed business operations. That second generation has maintained the high standards created by the father.

'We specialize in good old-fashioned food, great comfort food," said Harry's General Manager Sue Ryan, who has worked at the restaurant for 30 years. "We make everything fresh -- the sauces, the gravy, we do it all. It's good downhome food."

Ryan added, "John is very particular about what we buy and how the chefs prepare the food. He works with the chefs constantly."

While locals create the main clientele at Harry's, many come from Massachusetts' South Shore and even as far away as southern New Hampshire to sample Harry's hearty meals. Ryan said the fried clams are the signature meal, although one could argue that anything on the menu fits that category.

The clam industry has recently seen a big price surge, but Harry's has maintained their reasonable costs.

"Prices went up drastically, but we didn't raise ours," said Ryan. "We don't make money on the clams, but we are happy to continue to service them to our customers."

Harry's high quality meals are accompanied with drinks ranging from wine and beer to incredibly tangy lime rickeys. Desserts aren't for the faint hearted, with mammouth and tasty versions of strawberry shortcake, ice cream sundaes, ice cream stand-like homemade ice cream, and delicious pies. With most full meals under $12 and a waitstaff equally kind to families, senior citizens and truckers alike, Harry's is one stop roadside dining at its finest -- good enough for the urban fussbudget to the blue-collar clientele knowing it's no accident that a restaurant has successfully stayed in business since 1946.

"Here, you'll see a limo or Jaguar parked alongside a motorcycle," said Ryan. "All walks of life come to Harry's." 

Harry's Restaurant and Dairy Bar, 149 Turnpike Road (Route 9), Westboro, MA (508) 366-8302.

Vernon Diner, Vernon CT

by Eric H.

VERNON, CONN. (New England USA) Just the mention of Exit 65 off Interstate 84 in Vernon, Conn., significantly elevates taste buds levels. The Vernon Diner is, no doubt, a major player, in this salivary revelation.

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.

We discovered the Vernon Diner by accident. Nearby Rein's Deli -- another marvelous restaurant with its New

York City -caliber deli meats and to-die-for deserts --had a line going out the doors on a recent trip back from Virginia Beach, Va. Disappointed and simultaneously starving, we spotted the Vernon Diner a few hundred yards down the road.

Located in a former Howard Johnson's building (there's no mistaking that roof structure) and open since 2000, the Vernon Diner is large with a counter/stool area and a cavernous dining room. An impressive fish tank livens up the big dining room, but the real life comes from the food. Vernon may not be a seaside town, but you'd never know it by sampling the fresh and very tasty baked stuff filet of sole florentine. As we all know, sole can be rather bland if not prepared well, but the Vernon Diner surpassed all expectations with a tender version with accompanying fresh spinach. The Greek mousaka we sampled was a huge portion and defined the word "flavorful." -- not too heavy and seasoned perfectly. It came with a Greek salad, which had a wonderful salad dressing, a touch of oregano, olive oil and balsamic vinegar and plenty of feta cheese.

Janice, a waitress who has worked at the Vernon Diner for two-and-one-half years, said that the corn beef and cabbage and fish dishes are quite popular at the Vernon Diner, and that the deserts are made fresh weekly.

"It is one of the nicest places to be," said Janice. "It is like family. People love to come here."

The Vernon Diner satisfies every taste, as evidenced by some truly delicious-looking and beyond abundant selections we saw the waitresses bringing to the patrons. It is a feast with a touch of sophistication and low prices -- the perfect place for the blue collar truck drivers to the most finnicky New Yorkers.

Vernon Diner, 453 Hartford Turnpike (Route 30), Exit 65 (I-84), Vernon, CT