New England Travel and Vacation Gazette and Other Wicked Good Content

Mt. Washington Auto Road, Pinkham Notch, N.H. (photo by Joe Gill, Boston Sports Then and Now) If you're looking to bring your New Hampshire Memorial Day to Labor Day Weekend summer vacation to new heights, we suggest taking a road trip to the Mt Washington Auto Road. Wildly popular with families looking for commanding scenic views -- and often ignored by acrophobics, poor drivers and people that want to stay at or near sea level -- the eight-mile long Mt. Washington Auto Road features a winding road that brings you and your car to the peak of Mt. Washington at 6,288 ft.  That's the highest point in New Hampshire, as well as the New England six-state region.  Along the way, you'll see spectacular mountains view everywhere you look, but it's getting to the top that's the real crowning glory for this road trip. The views are simply amazing everywhere and on a clear day, you can see hundreds of miles. There's an observation deck for added viewing benefit,  se...

Editor's note: this is the second in a series of articles, at The Weekly New England Travel and Vacation Gazette, focusing on Massachusetts seafood restaurants and sellers that say that they are committed to accurate labeling of their seafood. Seafood mislabeling has been a hot topic in the news lately as the Boston Globe recently wrote about many seafood restaurants and markets in the area not labeling their seafood correctly). I recently had a chance to talk with Marty Hagerty, owner of Fresh Pond Seafood in Arlington, Mass., about the recent seafood mislabeling controversy,  covered by the Boston Globe. He emphasized that they would never mislabel any of their seafood: "I can tell what I'm buying." Those words have a lot of weight, given Fresh Pond Seafood in Cambridge gained a household name reputation in the area. Marty's father opened that store about 35 years ago until its closure in 2006. Marty, 48, and in the seafood business for more than 25 years...

Woods Seafood, Plymouth, Mass. (photo by Eric) A Boston Globe series entitled "Fishy Business" recently revealed alleged seafood mislabeling amongst many fish restaurants and sellers in the area. A Globe crew collected 134 seafood samples and sent them to a lab in Canada, which found 48 per cent of the seafood mislabeled.  For a quick "101," I recommend you check out a Boston Globe video here on seafood mislabeling , which explains the "who, what, when, where, why and how" of this troubling news. You can also find links to related articles on this page. After reading about this reported seafood fraud, I thought it would be a good idea to contact local seafood restaurants and markets in hopes of finding some businesses not involved with seafood mislabeling. I think locating these type of establishments is important, as I know people that have read the articles are now suspicious of all local seafood restaurants and markets. Can't blame them -- how ...

The Meat House, a national butcher shop chain specializing in meats and gourmet grocery items, will bring a sit-down dining area to its Walpole, Mass., location in the next few weeks. I spoke last night with Jeff, the general manager at the Walpole Meat House, who told me that the dining area will feature chairs and tables, a couch, wide screen televisions and free WiFi. Customers will be able to order from the deli sandwich menu at the counter. Additionally, an extensive salad bar will also be part of the new cafe. A partition will separate the cafe from the butcher shop, thus helping create more ambiance and definition to this elongated storefront. The Meat House is a local success story, opening its first store in Portsmouth, N.H., in 2003 and eventually expanding to 30 stores in nine states (and with more on the way). The Walpole Meat House is located at 655 Main St., and is open daily 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. Tel. (508) 668-2250.

Brookfield Orchards, North Brookfield, Mass. (photo by Eric) Apple picking season is over at Brookfield Orchards in North Brookfield, Mass., but you can still "pick your own" fun activity at this fourth generation Central Massachusetts family-run business. A great variety of apples is still available in the main indoor store. We bought a peck for $10 last week, and they are all gone -- the taste of the Cortland, Macs and Red Delicious we bought were absolutely fresh with that "just picked" taste! You can "mix and match" apples from the bins. The snack area offers one of the most amazing apple dumplings, with the option to add some deliciously dense and creamy vanilla ice cream as well as Vermont-like cheddar cheese. Do not fret about adding the cheese to the dumpling, it is a surprisingly good combination. Apple dumpling (photo by Eric) What makes Brookfield Orchards a "must visit" destination beyond apple picking season, however, is ...

A pleasing scene at Prospect Terrace Park, College Hill, Providence, R.I. (photo by Eric) Congratulations to the College Hill neighborhood of Providence, R.I., for making USA Today's "America's Best Neighborhoods" , as designated by the American Planning Association (APA). The APA chose "10 neighborhoods, streets and public spaces" in our nation that met its high standards of community excellence criteria, and they clearly thought very highly of College Hill. In the article, you'll see marvelous photos of historic Angell and Benefit Sts. No argument here on College Hill receiving this accolade!  To me, College Hill resonates as the jewel of Providence -- an already great city, overall. The brownstone architectural elegance, stately Colonial and Victorian homes, beautiful Prospect Terrace Park , the presence of  Ivy League Brown University, as well as the Rhode Island School of Design, make for a fabulous neighborhood. And what a fantastic place t...

The Ninety Nine Restaurants chain set a Guinness Book of World Records achievement for building the world's largest nachos with a weight of 3,999 lbs. (notice the "99" in the total weight?) at its Billerica, Mass., restaurant. What a great idea to kick off Boys and Girls Club Fundraising month by raising $2,000 with this event. The Boston Channel reports that four teams of five people created the larger than life nachos plate with 1,105 lbs. of nachos, 825 lbs. of Monterey jack and cheddar cheeses (melted using oversized torch guns!), 439 lbs. of cheese sauce, 451 lbs. of salsa, 459 lbs. of chili, 199 lbs. of jalapeño peppers, 90 lbs. of diced red onion, 421 lbs. of sour cream, and 8 lbs. of chopped cilantro. Holy molecular gastronomy! Kudos to the Ninety Nine Restaurants Executive Chef George Tagareli and staff for creating this plate that benefits the Boys and Girls Club in their fundraising efforts.