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Howard Johnson's in Concord MA was the Best Boston Area HoJo!

The Massachusetts Turnpike Howard Johnson's restaurants were sub-par, Wellington Circle location too congested with traffic and the Lexington one on Route 128 an accident waiting to happen with the poorly constructed entrance. Most other HoJos in the Boston area were just okay. Howard Johnson's restaurants in other states -- especially the ones in Lake Placid and Old Forge, N.Y. -- often seemed superior to the local versions with their nice designs and truer hometown feel.

The Howard Johnson's in Concord, however, stood out from the others in the Boston area. Aside from the place where I often ate boysenberry jam until it came out of my ears, this HoJo consistently turned out good meals and service and featured dining areas that seemed more clean and pleasant-looking than the other Howard Johnson's restaurants experienced in the Boston area.  Plus, it was in a nice part of the state with Walden Pond nearby and all those great Concord historical attractions.

Today, that Howard's Johnson's is a Papa Razzi restaurant -- certainly not a bad thing, but we sure do miss the HoJo there!

Which Howard Johnson's restaurant in the Boston area did you like best? What did you think of the Concord HoJo?


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3 comments:

  1. AnonymousJuly 24, 2016 at 7:07 PM

    Use to eat there when I would take my future wife vack to UMass on Friday nights. It was the all you could eat fish fry...lol

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    Replies
    1. Eric, the New England travel writerJuly 7, 2017 at 5:20 PM

      Oh yes, that all you can eat fish fry was a "10" on a "scale" on 1 to 10! Sorry for the bad fish pun(scale).

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  2. KateinCTFebruary 13, 2018 at 10:17 AM

    Growing up, we lived in Acton about 10 minutes from this HoJo's. Every once in a while, my parents would spring for a "fancy" dinner for us here, which was always super special to us. (Fancy as opposed to New England Pizza or Burger King take-out.) I remember the chowder, the hot dogs, the clam strips. I remember ordering Shirley Temples. Most of all, I remember getting to stir the sugar and creamer into my parents' coffees at the end of the meal. Once my brother was fidgety and broke one of the lattice pieces that divided our booth from the entry way. And, nine times out of ten you could count on us to get in trouble on the way home, because all that food and soda and ice cream would make us super silly and obnoxious in the back seat. Wonderful memories.

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