Stopping Time in Sturbridge Massachusetts

The reason most people visit Sturbridge is Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) a recreated New England village circa 1830.

It offers year-round activities of interest to all age groups. In the spring, the residents till the fields and plant the crops. In the fall, you can watch these same crops being harvested. To check what activities are currently being offered, you can visit their website

Plan a romantic dinner or lunch at the Publick House. The atmosphere is perfect and will continue the feeling of being in a time warp.

If you can afford it, I recommend staying here as well; they offer an exciting array of activities at all times of the year.

Quick Tips:

Shopping is my other favorite occupation in Sturbridge. There are some excellent antiques stores

(two years ago, I spotted Joan Rivers shopping in one of my favorites), a small outlet mall, Basketville, where you are bound to find a favorite basket, and Country Curtain,

where all your design needs can be met. I enjoyed browsing in a new-age herb shop called Earth Spirits and the Crabtree and Evelyn Outlet.

In the spring, you can combine a visit with the antiques fair in neighboring Brimfield, MA. This is a nationally renowned extravaganza which requires reservations months in advance. For five days, every conceivable piece of real estate in Brimfield is covered by tents with vendors selling antiques; it is something that everyone should visit at least once. The later in the week you arrive, the better your chance of working a deal; however, if you prefer first crack, you can pay an additional fee to preview early. For more information, visit their website .

Best Way To Get Around:

Public transportation doesn’t exist in this area; you will need to have a car. Parking is available free, everywhere. Traffic on Route 20 can be terrible in the summer and on weekends.

Within OSV, you will be doing a lot of walking. The rest of Sturbridge is too spread out to do much walking.

When you see a price that is too good to be true, it usually isn’t true. Well, in this case, the price was only $61 for a room that usually goes for over $100. I was a little suspicious, but what the heck, I have stayed here before, so I didn’t expect any surprises. I was wrong -- I didn’t take into account the fact that the hotel was hosting a craft fair on this weekend after Thanksgiving. At first, I wasn’t even sure how we were going to get close enough to check-in, but the traffic police were letting people who were staying at the hotel through. The desk was understaffed and overly busy, and the lobby was full of vendors and customers. It was a zoo. Once we were checked in, we had to find parking, which we finally did with a hefty walk back.

Before you get the impression that this was a bad stay, let me say again, au contraire! It was great. We had a large room with a balcony overlooking the lake.

We had two double beds, two chairs, a desk, a little table to hold our luggage, a coffee maker, and a nice, well-stocked bathroom. The beds each had a reading light, there was an alarm clock, and the TV had an excellent selection of channels. The walls are textured, and the rooms are spotless. They even have a pillow menu, which features feather pillows and a body pillow. <<p>

If you have children, this is a fabulous hotel to stay at. They have a tropical pool area with a gazebo and a hot tub.

There are lots of rooms on two floors that open right onto the pool area. In the warm weather you can swim in the lake or use their paddleboats. There are tables for eating along the edge of the lake. The hotel also has two restaurants, a bar, and a small convenience store. There is a fireplace in the lobby,

and if there isn’t a craft fair going on, it’s even an attractive lobby. Now, if you are into crafts, they offer these fairs several times a year, and for $6, you can enter as often as you like over a three-day weekend.

When I want atmosphere, this is where I go to eat; The Publick House has been serving meals to a hungry public since Ebenezer Craft opened it in 1771. Time has only improved that service.

A costumed waitress will seat you in one of the candle-lit dining rooms.

There are fireplaces blazing, at least in the spring, fall, and winter. You will be enveloped in wonderful smells. You can easily imagine yourself back in the Colonial period. It is warm and noisy. And there's not just a menu for the Publick House; here, you get a bill of fare. On this cold November day, the specials included corn chowder and autumn squash bisque, open-faced turkey sandwich (it was the day after Thanksgiving), fish-and-chips, and the omelet of the day was sausage, bacon, and three-cheese.

I ordered the autumn squash bisque and hearts of lettuce salad. Al had the English cut prime rib and French onion soup. As we waited for our soup to be delivered, we snacked on our relish tray and breadbasket. This is no regular breadbasket:

it includes sticky buns to die for, molded corn bread, melba toast, cranberry nut bread, and crispy rolls. We threw caution to the wind and sampled every single one. Oh baby, they were fabulous. Even the butter was pretty -- molded with a crown on the top.

I loved the autumn squash soup.

It was so rich and creamy. The color was a golden yellow, and it was lightly spiced. Al’s onion soup was almost thick enough to hold up my spoon as I grabbed a taste -- yum.

My heart-of-lettuce salad was just that -- one large piece of lettuce with crumbled bleu cheese and tomato. After the richness of the soup, it was a nice, crispy addition. Al’s prime rib was melt-in-your-mouth tender. He is a real critic of beef, and he gave it definite thumbs-up.

We had just coffee for dessert, and it was served in a little pewter pot that gives you three small cups. Turning down dessert was a real show of willpower. They had deep-dish apple pie, pumpkin mousse, Bourbon St. fudge cake, apricot cranberry bread pudding, pumpkin ice cream, and baked apple. If nothing tempts you on the menu, you can stop by Ye Olde Bakery as you leave the inn.

As you look around the dining room, you are totally charmed by the wood beams, paneled walls, and wide beamed floors that seemed to roll. All this atmosphere doesn’t come cheap. You can expect to pay $30-40 for lunch, especially if you have dessert. As far as I am concerned, the bread basket alone is worth the price.

We hadn’t initially intended to eat here, but the half-hour wait promised at the Picadilly Pub sent us across the parking lot. Both of these restaurants are an easy walk from the Sturbridge Host Hotel. We were lucky enough to arrive just as they were clearing the table right in front of the fireplace.

It was the perfect beginning.

The tavern is a very friendly, family-oriented colonial restaurant. They have an extensive children’s menu, which was a nice surprise in such an attractive restaurant. The ceiling has wooden beams every couple of feet, and the floors are hardwood. The lighting is provided by lanterns hung on the wall. There was soft background music playing. It was very atmospheric. Service was excellent; when I ordered black coffee, she came back to tell me there would be just a little wait as they made a fresh pot for me. This endeared her to me immediately. She kept my cup filled throughout the meal, as well as our water glasses.

The menu offers seafood choices (fried clams, baked scrod, and baked scallop casserole) and meat choices (turkey dinner, chicken cordon bleu, and bourbon-glazed sirloin tips). We began our meal with an appetizer of batter-dipped fried portabello mushrooms. They were very interesting, and the dip was delicious, but I had a little trouble with the texture -- a mushroom just doesn’t crisp up like a potato. I guess I should have anticipated that.

I ordered the bourbon-glazed sirloin tips

and Al ordered the scrod. We began with a salad, which was very ordinary, but the dressing was good and the vegetables were fresh and crispy. Fresh ground pepper is offered which is a nice touch. The breadbasket had warm, yeasty rolls, but nothing exceptional. Al’s scrod was tasty, the crumbs were great, and the butternut squash was wonderful. The glaze on my tips was finger-licking good; unfortunately, the tips didn’t deserve it -- they were large and tough. It was too bad really because the sauce deserved better. We didn’t eat potato so we got extra squash.

Even the strictest carb resister loses the battle sometimes, and this was our Waterloo. We shared a dessert of apple crisp with a scoop of vanilla ice cream.

It was perfect, warm, and nicely spiced, but not too sweet -- well worth cheating for. The apples melted in your mouth.

Would I return here? Yes, the atmosphere and service are exceptional. I will assume on only one visit that my tips were an aberration. This is an especially good choice for families and the prices are reasonable for a very touristy area.

What an adorable restaurant this is. We were looking for somewhere a little off the beaten track where we could have a good breakfast. I narrowed it down to two choices and then asked a local which was better. Annie’s was her choice, and since I had previously tried the other restaurant, we decided to try it. I am so glad we did.

Just reading the specials board floored me. Apple-walnut-bread French toast, mandarin-orange-and-pecan pancakes, three eggs, and rib-eye steak, country omelet of ham, cheese mushrooms, onion, peppers, and tomatoes. This is only a sample of what was on the board, and this is beyond what is on the regular menu. This has to be one of the best-smelling breakfast joints I’ve ever been in.

I ordered raspberry pancakes and bacon.

I had a choice of two or three pancakes; I asked how big they were, and when she showed me, I ordered two. Al had a three-cheese omelet of Swiss, American, and cheddar.

The prices were so low that I can’t imagine how they stay in business. It must be sheer volume. The place was packed the entire time we were there.

You have your choice of seating here; there are tables, booths, and even a counter. Every single space in this little building has a seat in it. This was a very happy place, all the customers were smiling or laughing and the waitresses were too. There was Christmas music playing in the background, and the light green walls and country wallpaper charmed us. We particularly liked the sign on the wall, "Beware of the Attack Waitress"; she must have been off this morning.

My pancakes were perfect, chock full of delicious raspberries. They were huge pancakes; really, I could have gotten by with one. As it was, I ate one and then picked the berries out of the second. Al’s omelet was cooked just right, not all brown and crispy. We got our first cup of coffee right away; I did have to flag down our busy waitress for a second cup, but that was a small price to pay for those delicious pancakes and crispy bacon. Come here with a big appetite, but do come, because you won’t be disappointed.

Roms is an institution in Sturbridge. Their Wednesday night buffet is legendary, even as far away as Connecticut. Unless you know about it, however, you probably wouldn’t find it. It is away from the hustle and bustle of Route 30 on Route 131.

In the summertime, you can do take out without having to do sit down. On the day we were there in November, the dining room was already decorated for Christmas, and again, the Christmas music was playing. There are fresh flowers on all the tables. I had hoped for a window seat, but we were not that lucky this time. There is something very comforting about Rom’s; it reminds me of the kind of restaurant my parents would have taken us to back in the 1950s. They never took us to Rom’s, but they could have; Rom’s has been around that long.

Rom’s is an Italian restaurant -- not that they don’t offer an excellent selection of fish, fowl, and beef, but when a restaurant makes fresh pasta, why would you want to order fried clams? You can choose from ravioli, gnocchi di patate, hand-cut macaroni, baked manicotti, or beef tortellini, and that is just for starters. I decided to have a Rom's combination plate, which includes veal, sausages, meatballs, mushrooms, and peppers, with a side of spaghetti. Since I don’t eat pasta, I got green beans Italian-style and butternut squash instead. The meals are served with salad and garlic bread. Al got the sausage and peppers done parmigiana.

The garlic bread here should be declared illegal. It is tantalizing, hot, crispy, and redolent with garlic. I was unable to resist. The salad is a regular green salad with a house dressing; you have no choice, at least none was offered, but I imagine that oil and vinegar was possible.

I had enough for two good meals from my plate. It was huge. Everything was great, the veal was falling apart tender, the meatballs were more meat than breading and the sausage was just spicy enough. I even loved the sauce. Al’s was equally good.

This is a really big restaurant. The dining room is truly cavernous. Service is efficient but not particularly friendly. That’s okay; the food more than makes up for any lack of warmth. This is excellent value and a very good meal to boot. This is not a place to go for a romantic dinner, and the atmosphere is not charming, but we return here time and again and we have lots of company. Needless to say, we didn’t have even a tiny bit of room for any dessert.

Bring your imagination and your most comfortable shoes; you are going to be taking a walk back into the world of 1830. Old Sturbridge Village (OSV) is a non-profit living museum founded in 1946. The buildings were brought to this site from all over the country. This is not a real village but rather a recreation of a village of 1830.

Your first stop should be the Friends Meeting House. Here you can sit and view an orientation video. This will help you to understand what to expect from your visit. There are 40 structures on over 200 acres of property. This is not a stagnant place, there is always something changing. They are in the process of constructing a small house using the tools of the 1830’s. Every step of the process is being documented.

This is a great place to visit with children. There are plenty of farm animals and, in warm weather, there is a boat ride on the little lake. They are in the process of setting up a skating rink on the green.

I love visiting the church. Families purchased their box seats in the church; they are all decorated a little differently with carpet, cushions, and small stools. You needed small comforts to survive an hours-long religious service.

The village has several exceptional shops. There is a great bookstore and they have a catalogue for their regular shop, which includes items made by the characters in the village. There is wrought iron made by the smithy, pottery from the potter, barrels from the cooper etc. Everything made from authentic material in an authentic fashion.

This is truly a living history museum. You will be tantalized by the smells of cooking in many of the homes. We watched as a seed cake was cooked in the fireplace and in another kitchen, they were using the leftovers from the Thanksgiving feast to make a pie. If you want more modern baked goods, there is a bakery that makes one particular cookie each day, our day was chocolate chip. You can also get a cup of hot coffee as you walk around.

You needed a whole day to appreciate OSV and if you have your ticket validated when you leave, you can return free within 10 days. Walking around the village involves a great deal of exercise. We did see someone in a wheel chair but it will not be easy to cover the whole grounds. Depending on which season you visit you may see the fields being plowed, the seeds being sown, vegetables being planted or picked. Every season has its own interesting work going on, just as it would have over 170 years ago.

Children will particularly enjoy the schoolhouse. Here the teacher will discuss the curriculum as well as the timing of school. Many children in 1830 only attended during the very dead of winter when they were not needed on the farm to help.