Top 10 List of Favorite Things To Do In New England

Article and photo (of Nubble Lighthouse, York Beach, Maine) by Eric H.

Top 10 lists are popular from what David Letterman has to say to the greatest music of all time. How about a top 10 list of favorite things to do in New England?

We'd love to hear your feedback. I'll start off with my top 10 list (subject to change depending on mood and season), and look forward to yours.

1. Spending a day at friendly, scenic Short Sands Beach in York Beach, Maine, and then walking to Nubble Lighthouse for a taste of coastal rocky Maine, some salt-sea air and views of perhaps New England's most scenic lighthouse.

2. Enjoying a Pawtucket Red Sox game at the nicely restored, fan-friendly McCoy Stadium in Pawtucket, RI.

3. Taking a drive through the small towns along scenic Route 169 in the beautiful "Quiet Corner" of northeastern Connecticut.

4. Eating the best Italian pizza in the world at the landmark Santarpio's in East Boston, MA.

5. Reveling in the ultimate New England village atmosphere of Weston, VT -- home of the Vermont Country Store and a place where the entire village is listed on the National Register of Historic Places!

6. Traveling to Acadia National Park in Maine where the ocean magically meets the mountains.

7. Trying out different flavors of ice cream at Bubbling Brook in Westwood, MA -- a great way to relax with family and friends on a hot summer night at a classic ice cream stand.

8. Walking the historic, personality-filled streets of coastal Portsmouth, NH, and enjoying the colorful local shops and restaurants.

9. Having a nice, traditional New England dinner at the historic, charming Salem Cross Inn restaurant in West Brookfield, MA.

10. Walking the scenic three-mile Cliff Walk rising above the Atlantic Ocean in Newport, RI.

The Friendly Commons Cafe and Eatery, Foxborough, MA

Article by Eric H.
If you're looking for a restaurant that brings you back to a time when friendliness and good manners mattered, then the Commons Cafe and Eatery fits the bill without having to pay a big bill.

Located in quaint, downtown Foxborough, MA, with its classic New England look of tall white steeple churches, a scenic town common, public school, old homes, and little shops, the Commons Cafe and Eatery specializes in hearty, well-prepared breakfasts, lunches and dinners (they are open Thursday and Friday night) at budget-friendly prices. Small in size and big in heart, the cozy Commons Cafe and Eatery does have that yesteryear look with plain carpeting, booths, tables and a diner-like counter where the locals strike up good conversation over cups of coffee with the staff. The food ranks up there with the best of the "townie" restaurants, but what's most prominent about the Commons Cafe and Eatery is the good feeling you get while dining there. The wait staff goes well beyond the stock "Hello, how are you?" greeting by building friendships with the local crowd, creating new ones with the first-time customers, and maintaining their graciousness with all people throughout the whole meal. How many times can we remember, at other restaurants, initially being treated well and then being completely ignored -- sometimes waiting 15 minutes for the check? At the Commons Cafe and Eatery, it's almost liked you've arrived at a favorite relative's home. This is a place to, say, take the family after church on a Sunday morning or relatives from out-of-town, have a business lunch or for an out-of-town trucker looking for a down-to-earth dining spot along the way. It's the ultimate diner without technically being a diner.

As mentioned, the food is very good -- you can't go wrong with the chocolate chip pancakes, omelets, muffins, club sandwiches, wraps, turkey dinner, baked haddock, Greek salad loaded with feta cheese or apple pie with maple syrup and vanilla ice cream, as examples. Admittedly, you could find this type of food at other places, but the nice people at the Commons bring this popular Foxborough restaurant to another level. We don't personally know the staff, but felt like we did -- and will, no doubt, get to know better at ensuing meals. It just goes to show that friendliness and good manners never go out of style. Isn't this small- town America goodwill to customers ultimately what brings them back?

The Commons Cafe and Eatery
20 Central St
Foxborough, MA 02035
Tel. 508-543-4432

Planning a Hotel Vacation in New England

Article and photo (Concord's Colonial Inn, Concord, MA) by Eric H.

Over the past few months, we have worked hard to bring you an improved, easy-to-read and use New England Lodging Guide. With thousands of hotel listings, we're confident that you'll find the ideal place to stay in the six state region at the lowest available rate -- in Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island and Vermont. Very importantly, we are affiliated with IHS, a highly ethical company that provides us with the hotel listings and wonderful customer support, so we are grateful for this nexus as we, at VisitingNewEngland.com, place values and ethics at the forefront of our "local" business vision and mission.

While we feel you'll find the hotel pages quite valuable to your New England trip planning, we also felt a strong desire to "give back" to our those in need. We will be donating 5 per cent of our hotel commission earnings to Brookview House, a homeless shelter for families located in Dorchester, MA. The Brookview House mission is to assist homeless families in the development of skills necessary to break the cycle of poverty.

If you're comfortable booking online, please consider VisitingNewEngland.com's Hotel Guide. Not only will you find it easy to book online at the lowest available rate but you are also supporting a local, independently-run New England travel business that, in turn, will be supporting an organization helping homeless people through our hotel commission earnings. Whether single, a family, or non-profit, corporate or small business, we encourage you to use our lodging guide. We'd also appreciate you helping spread the word about our locally-created hotel guide. Thanks, and if you ever have any questions, please feel free to contact me.

Local New England Tea Company Introduces Organic Tea Line

Article by Eric H.

You might not be aware that one of America's great tea companies is located right here in New England.

Bigelow Tea, of Fairfield, CT, is perhaps best known for its Constant Comment tea, a delicious traditional black tea flavored with orange rinds and sweet spice. Some other well-known Bigelow teas include Cinnamon Stick, Lemon Lift and Raspberry Royale. We are delighted that Bigelow has taken its quality tea product line to the next level with some fantastic-tasting organic teas. Particularly tasty is the full-bodied green tea, as well as the white tea with a nice touch of raspberry and chrysanthemum. Other organic flavors we look forward to trying are the green tea with pomegranate and acai (two recently popular antioxidant-rich fruits), and Earl Grey tea.

It's nice to see the USDA Organic label from a major tea tea company, thus eliminating any concerns about potential toxic carriers like pesticides and artificial flavors and colors. We always appreciate local New England businesses turning out quality products; Bigelow certainly meets that personal criteria.

Read more about Bigelow's organic tea line...

We Will Miss Tom's Tavern in Wrentham, MA

Article by Eric H.

Tom's Tavern, a long-time favorite local restaurant in Wrentham, MA, for the past three decades, closed its doors last Saturday, according to the Attleboro Sun Chronicle.

A classic roadside restaurant/bar, Tom's Tavern looked slightly menacing from the outside -- with its dive-like, rather drab look and motorcycles out front -- but once inside, everyone from the drinking crowd to families coexisted peacefully with the very friendly staff. Fresh seafood and a good variety of beer were signatures at Tom's Tavern, along with the knack of making a fantastic burger. It appears that the closing had more to do with management and debt conflicts rather than a poor economy, according to the Sun Chronicle. Tom's still drew a great crowd despite the recession.

We will miss this great local restaurant and bar -- and the air hockey game, too! Thanks for all the years of dining excellence, Tom's Tavern.

Unusual, Offbeat Looking Restaurants in New England

Article and Photos by Eric H.

If you're tired of dining at those box-shaped restaurants that all look the same (and often offer the same tasting things), then we suggest taking a look at some of the photos below. Every once in a while, there's a restaurant that stands out from the others -- unique in appearance and usually with an endearing gimmick. Before briefly describing each restaurant, we present to you the photos:

Prince Pizzeria, Saugus, MA


Beef Barn, North Smithfield, RI


Tex Barry's Coney Island Hot Dogs, Attleboro, MA


Milk Bottle Restaurant, Raynham, MA


The Traveler Restaurant, Union, CT (look at all the books!)


The Lyndon Freighthouse, Lyndonville, VT


The Western Hotel, Harrisville, RI


Coffee Sensations Luncheonette, Medfield, MA


The Prince Restaurant, in Saugus, MA (517 Broadway, Route 1 South, Tel., 781-233-9950) with its "Leaning Tower of Pizza" structure, features some wonderful Italian-style pizza and pasta with homemade sauce. The Beef Barn, in North Smithfield, RI (1 Greenville Rd., Tel. 401-762-9880), showcases a huge silo just minutes from the City of Woonsocket, brings back dining prices from 20 years ago and specializes in delicious roast beef. Tex Barry's Coney Island Hot Dogs, in Attleboro, MA (31 County St., Phone: 508-222-9787), is quite noticeable with its giant hot dog sign (seemingly larger than the tiny restaurant) and some amazing, low-priced hot dogs. The Milk Bottle In Raynham, MA (785 Broadway, 508-822-6833), is famous for its towering milk bottle structure, some very friendly service and excellent lunches and breakfasts. The Traveler Restaurant in Union, CT (Rt. 84, exit 74, Union, CT. Tel. 860-684-4920), looks rather generic from the outside, but inside, the booths and tables are surrounded by a virtual library of books. Each customer is allowed to take home a book after dining at the Traveler! The Lyndon Freighthouse, in Lyndonville, VT, (1000 Broad St., Tel. 802-626-1400) is a full-service restaurant (excellent organic breakfast, lunch and dinner selections), gift shop, railroad museum, coffee shop, ice cream parlor and information center, all set within a historic, former freight house! The Western Hotel, in Harrisville, RI (610 Douglas Ave., Tel. 401) 568-6253), is a former 1700s stagecoach stop and looks like something out of the wild west -- they happen to serve great Rhode Island clam chowder, steaks and bar pizza. Coffee Sensations, in Medfield, MA (446 Main St., Tel. 508-359-2361), might have a rather bland, stock 21st century name, but it's actually a beautifully restored luncheonette located in the old-fashioned Lords Department Store in Medfield Center. Open for lunch and breakfast, you'll feel like you're back in the 1940s. Oh yes, the omelets and specialty sandwiches (especially the chopped chicken with "hots" and cheddar cheese) help make Coffee Sensations far more than a gimmick.

The Wealth of the Newport, RI, Sea at Ocean Drive

Article and Photo by Eric H.

Newport, RI, is best known for its spectacular mansions and, to an ever-so-slightly lesser degree, shopping, waterfront dining and lodging, the Newport Jazz and Folk Festivals, and the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

I'll take the Newport sea any day, however, especially where the Narragansett Bay meets the Atlantic Ocean on Ocean Drive.

Driving the several miles of winding roads on Ocean Drive, affording spectacular views of the Atlantic Ocean, reminded me of the innate purity of Newport -- the reason so many wealthy New Yorkers flocked here in the 1800s to connect and relax by the magnificent ocean.

Rhode Island is the country's smallest state, but more significant is its nickname, the "Ocean State." Here on Ocean Drive, the enormity of the sea elevates this tiny state to an incredible, although familiar discovery: big things come in small packages!

Whether a spectacular sunset, a breezy spring or summer day, or a clear, crisp chilly fall day (and let's also add a stark, gray New England winter day to the mix), Ocean Drive represents the best of New England coastal travel. Additionally, don't forget to visit Brenton Point State Park on Ocean Drive with more spectacular Atlantic Ocean views and the chance to fish, hike, picnic. It's a beautiful place. Gooseberry Beach is also another ideal Ocean Drive travel destination with its family-oriented swimming beach open to the public during the summer.

Of course, just driving this stunning stretch is enough to fall in love with the Rhode Island sea, with many eagerly-awaited happy returns in the near future.