Scenic Fall Dining at The 1761 Old Mill Restaurant, Westminster, Mass.

Article and photo by Eric H.
It's always an added bonus that when embarking on a scenic fall New England drive, you find a restaurant with surrounding scenery that ends up as the most visually pleasing part of the trip.

That's the case with the 1761 Old Mill restaurant in Westminster, Mass. It's hard to find a nicer restaurant scene than the Old Mill's beautiful waterfall, a covered bridge, duck pond and surrounding forest. Inside the former saw mill's several well-maintained dining rooms, you'll be comforted by trip-back-in-time accents like old wooden floors, a roaring fireplace (welcoming you at the lobby), and post and beam ceilings. The menu selections at lunch and dinner are as appealing as the scenery with some fabulous New England staples like chicken vegetable pie, Atlantic sea scallops, prime rib, roast country duck, and for dessert, apple crisp.

Here's a restaurant that's beautiful to look at -- and with excellent food -- to create an overall most pleasant fall dining experience. It's also pretty darn good, any other time of the year, too!

For a full review on The Old Mill, click on the link above.

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A New Hampshire Restaurant Perfect for a Fall Day

Article and photo by Eric H.

Some restaurants shine most prominently in the fall. Parker's Maple Barn, in Mason, N.H., fits that autumn dining concept nearly perfectly.

Located in the middle of nowhere -- and with several winding country road leading there -- Parker's Maple Barn requires a nice country drive before landing at the dirt parking lot in front of the old rustic 1800s maple barn and silo. Although we equate maple sugar with the spring, Parker's Maple Barn feels best in the fall. Maybe it's the scenic journey along the way -- is there a better time for New England scenery than in the fall?. Perhaps it's the isolated location with vibrant fall foliage colors surrounding the restaurant. It could be the fall chill in the fresh New Hampshire air. Or the walking foot bridge leading to the quaint Corn Crib country store located on the premises. Here, the scented candle aromas set a pleasing foundation for all the merchandise you love to see during a trip to a country store in the fall: Maple products, jams, gourmet coffee, toys, herbal teas, a folksy book collection, and natural log furniture. They even feature a great Native American section downstairs with arts, clothing and jewelry!

All of this outdoor atmospheric fall splendor, coupled with country store nirvana, would do no good if Parker's food quality disgraced the back roads of southern New Hampshire region. Fortunately, Parker's delivers on its appealing premise with some wonderful breakfast and lunch selections. Inside the cozy dining rooms with antique cow stanchions integrated into handmade wooden tables and antique farm items hanging on the walls, Parker's specializes, predominantly, in maple-oriented selections and "specials" in huge portions.

"Parker's Special" reigns as the most popular dish with two eggs, two pancakes (or one french toast), two bacon strips, two sausages and ham or ham hash in place of all meats, home fries and toast. If you're in the fall spirit, we recommend opting for the pumpkin pancakes (call ahead before driving to Parker's at 603-878-2308 to make sure this tasty pancake is available).

Our favorite lunch item (it's actually a dinner portion) is the sumptuous maple ribs, a half-rack with a unique but fabulous maple taste. Other great lunch choices include the maple baked beans with ham, a maple Swiss burger with maple caramelized onions, and a fresh roast turkey dinner. We also love the flavorful french onion -- it's a meal by itself.

Parker's is sort of like one-stop shopping for the fall: a restaurant with fantastic comfort food, a place that cozily fits into the fall surroundings, and a long journey-to-destination process that allows for some extended views of the beautiful New Hampshire countryside and the fall foliage colors.

Parker's Maple Barn,
1316 Brookline Road,
Mason, N.H.
Tel. (603) 878-2308

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Getting Into the Fall Spirit at Parker's Maple Barn, Mason, NH

Article and Photo by Eric H., at VisitingNewEngland.com

The journey to Parker's Maple Barn in Mason, NH, is almost as fun as the final destination. Coming from Boston, MA, we eventually leave the Masachusetts to southern New Hampshire urban and suburban madness, once west of Nashua, NH. The roads in quaint towns like Hollis and Brookline feature roll-down-the-car-window fresh air, farm stands with apple picking, serene lakes and ponds, and winding country roads with some of the best fall foliage color in New England. All of this splendid New England scenery just might be the best appetizer to any impending meal.

There's no letdown when arriving at the dirt parking lot at Parker's Maple Barn. The look is classic rustic New Hampshire with a slightly-worn 1800s reconstructed dairy barn and silo housing the restaurant, and a small footbridge leading to the equally rustic Corn Crib Gift Shop specializing in maple products and a great variety of gifts.

Inside the restaurant is equally special with antique cow stantions -- once used when milking cows -- integrated into handmade tables, and "tons of old tools and "doo-dads" (that) adorn our walls and beams," as stated best by the Parker's Web Site.

Parker's features hearty New England breakfasts and lunches with my favorite being the Parker's Special featuring two pancakes, two eggs, bacon, ham and sausage, or all ham, hash, home fries and homemade toast served with Parker's own maple syrup. For lunch, the maple ribs is a fabulous concept that results in a truly memorable, unique taste that requires repeated visits. The roast turkey with stuffing, mashed, potato, gravy and vegetable of the day is also a splendid choice - fresh, tender and possibly the next best thing to a homecooked Thanksgiving meal. The maple baked beans with ham and the chicken pot pie also rank right up there as truly wonderful choices.

Parker's also features great homemade desserts including pies, apple crisp and a terrific Indian pudding. Service is usually quick and rough-around-the-edges personable -- sort of like some diner service.

There's also a sugar house -- open from March until mid-April -- where Parker's makes maple syrup the old-fashioned way, with a wood fire.

Overall, a visit to Parker's Maple Barn is a great way to get into the New England fall spirit. The rural location is beautiful and the regional and traditional food plentiful and the service straight out of your salt--of-the-earth New Hampshire neighbor's dining room. As always, we can hardly wait to return.

Parker's Maple Barn is open from Valentines Day till the weekend before Christmas at 1316 Brookline Rd., Mason, NH. Tel. (603) 832-2308

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