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Best Food in New England
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In addition to its famous Boston scrod and Parker House rolls, this hotel's kitchen is said to have invented this custard-filled, chocolate-glazed sponge cake (see the recipe, right). Sometimes nothing but the original (in these elegant surroundings) will do. Massachusetts' legislators agreed, making Boston cream pie the state dessert in 1996.
RECIPE
8. Doughnuts
Butler's Colonial Donut House
459 Sanford Rd.
Westport, MA
508-672-4600
Doughnuts are to New Englanders what bagels are to New Yorkers: a daily necessity. At Butler's, they've taken this yeasty pastry to a new level by filling round and rectangular doughnuts with real whipped cream. The latter are called "Long Johns," and under the cream is a delicious stripe of black raspberry jelly.
9. Whoopie Pies
Just Like Mom's Pastries
353 Riverdale Rd.
Weare, NH
603-529-6667; justlikemomspastries.com
Although Maine lays claim to this confection (as do other regions of the country), Just Like Mom's whoopie pie is true to its name: a large cakelike cookie, dense with chocolate flavor; slightly crispy on the edges; cut in half and slathered with a marshmallow creme filling, not white frosting. A melt-in-your-mouth "pie," worthy of the whoop.
10. Apple Cider
Appleland Orchard
135 Smith Ave. (Rte. 116)
Greenville, RI
401-949-3690
Since unpasteurized cider can legally be sold only at the orchard that presses it (a handful in New England still do this), it's a 40-year-old tradition to trek to Appleland in the fall. The cider is an unbeatable blend of Macs, Empires, and Delicious apples, whose nectarlike taste will make you swoon.
RECIPE
11. Maple Creemies
Morse Farm Maple Sugarworks
1168 County Rd.
Montpelier, VT
800-242-2740; morsefarm.com
Local lore has it that the more e's in the word creemie (or creemee), the better the soft-serve ice cream is. Many places offer maple-flavored ice cream, but Morse has a lock on true maple flavor: a gallon of syrup per container of creemie mix. Heavenly. And very Vermont.
12. Jonnycakes
Jigger's Diner
145 Main St.
East Greenwich, RI
401-884-5388; quahog.org/cuisine
The jonnycake wars between East Bay and West Bay/South County are all about style: thin and made with cold milk, or thick and made with hot water. Jigger's (in West Bay) are dense and chewy, made by pouring boiling water over stone-ground white-flint cornmeal. Savory with fried eggs or sweet with maple syrup, these cakes stick to your ribs.
13. Fish Chowder
The West Deck
1 Waites Wharf
Newport, RI
401-847-3610
The "Bermuda" in The West Deck's fish chowder is Gosling's rum and a sherry-pepper sauce. But the clam-stock base and chunks of salmon, swordfish, and sometimes striped bass or sole, depending on what's available, are what make it hearty and no longer a "best-kept secret."
14. Clear Quahog Chowder
The Commons Lunch
48 Commons Way
Little Compton, RI
401-635-4388; quahog.org/cuisine
Reader Comments
Comment from Denise Chamie on March 4, 2009
12, #14 and #21 are three of my favorites, Jonnycakes (made with Kenyons stoned ground meal of course), and Clear Quahog Chowder, and who could live through a summer in RI without going to Haven Bros. in Providence to have a Lobster Roll.......I miss it all.
Thanks for the memories.
Denise
Comment from Brooke Burton on March 4, 2009
A great list. I think there should be a best seafood pasta category for all of us Italian food lovers!
I suggest Daily Catch in the North End.
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