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 and lunches 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...