Issues → March/April 2008 → Food →
Eating New Englandy
25 New England foods and the best places to find them
by Johnette Rodriguez
Video: See Yankee food editor Annie B. Copps discuss some of these best food places on NECN's "TV Diner".
Since New England is the birthplace of this young nation of ours, it makes sense that it's also the origin of some of our favorite foods, from turkey dinners to blueberry pancakes. Some of the dishes that are most strongly associated with the region -- Grape-Nut pudding, clam cakes, and whoopie pies, for example -- are actually hard to find elsewhere. Still others, such as quahog chowder and stuffed lobsters, are linked to their New England-harvested ingredients.
Coastal communities are of course the best places to seek out seafood meals, while inland regions, including the Berkshire Hills, the Green Mountains, and the White Mountains, offer dependably good apple and pumpkin desserts, fresh-pressed ciders, and homestead cheeses. And even though you'd expect to find the best wild blueberry and red raspberry pies in berry-carpeted Maine, you might prefer the batter that enfolds those fruits, as in muffins and pancakes, in a non-Maine locale.
It's a given that New Englanders -- lured by memories of family gatherings or by the whole seasonal gestalt (an outside deck in summertime, a crackling fireplace in winter) more than the quality of the food itself -- are loath to budge from their local preferences. Although we did track down many of the suggestions made by Yankee readers during our search for traditional favorites, we relied less on sentiment and more on the palate-pleasing sensation of true homemade dishes and the bright taste of fresh ingredients. In keeping with the latter, we looked for Maine shrimp in early spring, steamed fiddlehead ferns in early summer, blueberry pie in late summer, apple and pumpkin pies in late fall, and lobsters and clams pretty much all year long.
We sought out down-home diners, family-owned restaurants, long-established orchards, colorful farm stands, summer food festivals, county fairs, farmer's markets, small-town bakeries, old-fashioned country stores, and historic New England inns, clam shacks, and lobster pounds. We ate in "old faithful" institutions and in newer, but just as faithfully frequented, eateries. In Rhode Island, we ate jonnycakes and baked beans at diner brunches and fruit pies at May breakfasts, and we dosed our French fries with vinegar.
Certainly a list of 25 foods at 25 places doesn't do justice to the scores of fabulous eateries all over New England that still serve old-timey foods. What follows is intended to jump-start your own expeditions -- to give New England's newcomers an idea of what to look for and to prod longtime residents into appreciating the great dishes right under their noses.
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READERS: Click on a link below to see where we think the best blueberry pie or clam cakes or apple cider, etc., is. To tell us where YOU go for the best of these New England treats, click on the COMMENT button in each entry and write to us. We can't wait to hear from you!
BONUS: Some of the our "bests" shared their recipes. Check out Boston Cream Pie and Yankee Pot Roast, for example!
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Reader Comments
Comment from Carla Keene on February 29, 2008
When visiting family in Vermont we always seem to end up going to the wayside resturant in Berlin. When we go to Maine for a few day our favorite resturant there is Billys Chowder house on mile road, in Wells.
Comment from Stafford-Ames Morse on March 3, 2008
What happen to breadpudding????
Comment from Joel Brown on March 3, 2008
I really think rhubarb pie should have made the list!
Comment from joan orrall on March 3, 2008
How about Tapioca or Rice Pudding to name a couple....
Comment from on March 3, 2008
New England=birthplace of the county? Hello-o! Hear of Jamestown? 1607? By the time Plymouth Rock happened the English in Jamestown had settled, farmed, exported back to England, did a PR tour to England to talk up the area, and formed the House of Burgesses, the seeds of democracy. Sort of makes New England the kindergarden of the country, right?
I know New England has a very positive self-image, and it is a lovely part of the country, but as someone who has lived most of her life outside of this wonderful region I hate to see the advances that were made in other parts of this country appropriated by New England as its own.
Comment from BARBARA MULLAN on March 3, 2008
I would love to try some of these, but it seems like most of them forgot to put the recipes on the site. Were are the recipes? So far the only one I could find is the Boston Creme Pie!! I guess they really don't want people to try their recipes after all.
Comment from Jenifer Lewis on March 7, 2008
For anyone who doubts that New England is the birthplace of our country, I suggest they refresh their memories of what they learned about the American Revolution. It is not about which area was settled by white Europeans first, but where the journey for nationhood began: Boston.
Comment from Sherry Sauerwine on April 21, 2008
I recommend the Paperback Cafe in Old Saybrook CT for their fantastic Fenwick French Toast. The rest of their menu items are very good too but this is the one that is a "must have" whenever I am in Old Saybrook.
Comment from SUSAN FOSDICK on April 26, 2008
As a former Onset resident and seafood lover, my family and I have enjoyed Lindsey's forever! Not only are the Codfish Cakes great, but the entire menu is full of delicious seafood and down-home dinners to delight the tastebuds! Further, the service is excellent; the entire staff is always eager to please each and every customer! Smiling faces, a warm atmosphere, delicious food and great prices are awaiting everyone who visits Lindsey's! We highly recommend Lindsey's to everyone who visits Cape Cod! Congratulations to Cheri Lindsey and the entire staff on 60 years of Excellence! When you're at the Gateway to Cape Cod, make sure you stop at Lindsey's for the BEST DOWN-HOME SEAFOOD you'll ever enjoy!
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