Looking for Real New England Food?

Eateries that offer old-fashioned New England foods can be as modest as a roadside diner or as fancy as a historic inn. The following are tried-and-true consumer-pleasing spots, whether the main attraction is boiled lobster, a thick bowl of fish chowder, a lobster pot pie, a blueberry pie, or Indian pudding. Connecticut The Silvermine Tavern 194 Perry Ave. Norwalk 888-693-9967, 203-847-4558 silverminetavern.com Eating deep-dish chicken pot pie in a 200-year-old building next to a waterfall is almost heaven. Add Silvermine’s signature honey-pecan buns, and it’s downright celestial. Maine Trenton Bridge Lobster Pound 1237 Bar Harbor Rd. (Route 3) Trenton 207-667-2977 trentonbridgelobster.com Most Mainiacs swear by the summer tradition of lobster boiled in pots of seawater on outdoor wood-fire pits. Is it the super-freshness of the seafood or the minerals in the water? You be the judge. Massachusetts Longfellow’s Wayside Inn 72 Wayside Inn Rd. (off Rte. 20 West) Sudbury 800-339-1776; 978-443-1776 wayside.org You can almost smell the history of this 18th-century inn, along with the aromas of pot roast and Indian pudding. Wayside is the first recipient of an NEA/Poetry Foundation grant to celebrate the country’s historic poetry sites, and its grounds include other historic buildings to explore as well. New Hampshire Geno’s Chowder & Sandwich Shop 177 Mechanic St. Portsmouth 603-427-2070 Plenty of seafood in the chowders, plenty of homemade taste in the pies and puddings, and lots of politicos on the walls. Chat with owner Evelyn Marconi about her days on the City Council. Rhode Island Shelter Harbor Inn 10 Wagner Rd. (off Rte. 1 North) Westerly 800-468-8883; 401-322-8883 shelterharborinn.com With a history as an early 19th-century farmhouse and an early 20th-century “music colony,” this inn is all about broad fireplaces, wide floorboards, and gentle candlelight. Not to mention chowder, jonnycakes, seafood pot pie, finnan haddie, and Indian pudding. Vermont Putney Diner 82 Main St. Putney 802-387-5433 facebook.com/putney.diner From buckwheat pancakes (breakfast all day) to meatloaf with mashed spuds, this friendly diner is nostalgia personified. The mac-and-cheese uses local cheddar, and the homemade pies (including Vermont maple walnut) can’t be beat.