Traditional New England Dining at the Salem Cross Inn

Article and photos by Eric H.

If you're looking for a traditional New England restaurant with wonderful Yankee-style food and Colonial ambiance, you'd be hard-pressed to find a better place than the Salem Cross Inn in West Brookfield, MA.

This charming central Massachusetts landmark, with its original building dating back to 1816, features some delicious, classic New England fare, including Yankee pot roast, chicken pot pie, apple raspberry roasted duck, Indian pudding, butternut squash, pumpkins muffins, homemade breads, New England clam chowder and homemade pecan and apple pies. With the post-and-beam ceilings, dimly-lit Colonial atmosphere featuring a roaring fireplace and polite and personable waitresses dressed in Colonial apparel, the Salem Cross Inn looks like the kind of place George Washington would have frequented for a hearty meal and beer.

To add to the trip-back-in-time ambiance, the Salem Cross Inn features a brick beehive oven, restored from 1639, that turns out some wonderful baked goods. The nation's only-known roasting jack, from 1700, employs an intricate system of weights, cogs, and pulleys for turning a spit -- a good thing for those who love beef, game and fowl from the hearth. Seasonal events create a community meeting place, not only for the West Brookfield residents, but also New Englanders who know the Salem Cross Inn as a revered regional dining gem. The Fireplace Feast is one such event offering a 1700s style feast, with prime rib prepared on the roasting jack over the open hearth of a spectacular field stone fireplace. The Feast also features pie making, mulling and chowder demonstrations and a sleigh or hay ride across the beautiful countryside!

Out of all the great restaurants in New England, the Salem Cross Inn is at the top of our favorites, each and every time. It's a special destination that will make you feel good all over, courtesy of that wonderful, traditional New England ambiance and some of the best food, of any genre, that you'll ever taste. After happily leaving the Salem Cross Inn after a more-than-satisfying meal and overall "New England" experience, we can hardly wait to return again to one of our most beloved dining spots in New England.

We highly recommend you exploring the Salem Cross Inn Web Site for seasonal hours, events, menus and detailed historical information.

The Salem Cross Inn | Route 9 | 260 West Main Street, West Brookfield, MA 01585 | Tel: 508-867-2345

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