Local Dining

If you’re staying when the dining room is open, the best place to eat is a short walk from your cottage.  But if the dining room is closed when you’re here, there are also some good places within a 30-minute drive.

Turn Left on Rte. 114 coming out of Forest Lake Road

Chez Pidgeon, Rt. 114, in Norton, VT, is a bar and grill frequented by locals and road workers year-round and snowmobilers and lumberjacks in winter. Basic diner food like burgers and fried fish.  Phone: (802) 822-5258.

Essex House & Tavern, Island Pond, VT, is in a newly refurbished historic hotel. Dating from 1866, it’s even older than Quimby Country. Menu features homemade soups, pasta with two kinds of sauce, and chicken, pork, and steak dinners.  Full bar. Phone: 802-723-9888.

Turn Right on Rte. 114 coming out of Forest Lake Road

Northland Restaurant and Lounge, Canaan, VT, serves comfort food ranging from platters of fried finger food slathered in barbecue sauce (the Northland Platter) to a 22-ounce charbroiled T-bone steak. Salads and lighter fare too. Full bar.  Phone: (802) 266-3988.

Black Bear Tavern, Colebrook, NH, is a sports bar that serves what you would expect to eat at a sports bar – burgers, potato skins, and such. But in the evening, they crank up the kitchen a bit and turn out charbroiled steaks, grilled salmon, broiled fish, and a selection of pasta and chicken dishes.  Phone: (603) 237-5521.

Rainbow Grille and Tavern, Pittsburg, NH. Winner of several dining awards, it is probably the best restaurant in the area, outside the Eastern Townships of Canada. It boasts of serving “comfort food with a twist,” including Certified Angus Beef™, seafood from the coast of Maine, and game such as Bison, Elk, and Venison. About 45 minutes from Quimby Country. Phone:  603-538-9556.

If you’ve tried the local fare and are willing to go over the border into Canada, look into our Food Tour of the Eastern Townships.