Posted by Michael Stern on March 01, 2008
Outside, you smell diesel fumes, but the first thing you notice when you enter the P&H Truck Stop is the smell of bread. P&H bakes its own, and there are shelves of the good homemade loaves ready to be sold whole or sliced and toasted to accompany breakfast (served round the clock). Even if you aren't a hungry trucker, the view inside is mighty appetizing. Beyond the bread, dozens of home made pies are displayed on their own shelves in the spacious dining room.
The menu is a roster of excellent diner fare, its listings written in both English and French (for Canadian drivers). The French translations give the most pedestrian meals a curiously epicurean twist, i.e. “Sandwich de Hamburgeoise Chaud” (a hot hamburger), “Fillet de Palourde avec Petit Pain” (a clam roll), and “Saucisse de Fracfort” (a hot dog). Much of the food has an accent that is truly regional, including New England pot roast, and a chowder listed almost every day on the blackboard menu. Our favorite is corn chowder: with a couple slabs of good toast, it is stalwart enough to be a meal unto itself. You can also get a nice hot meat loaf sandwich with potatoes on the side. Sandwiches are available on supermarket bread or on thick slices of the good P&H stuff. Top it off with such Downeast desserts as pudding made with Grape-Nuts and gloriously robust pies loaded with blueberries or piled high with sweet maple custard. And speaking of maple, breakfast pancakes and French toast are served with Vermont maple syrup (“sirop d’erable pur”). The menu patriotically guarantees that pure maple is “the only kind we’ll serve.”
P&H is a true truck stop, featuring bunkhouse rooms upstairs and a bulletin board next to the cash register where dispatchers and gear-jammers thumbtack messages to each other regarding loads that need hauling.
Overall: Worth planning a day around
16 out of 19 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?
Reviewers "Must Eats" List
Pie
($3.00)
Dinner Roll
(N/A)
Donut
($1.00)
Hot Turkey Sandwich
($8.00)
Yankee Pot Roast
($9.00)
Bread
(N/A)
"Pie made with 'sirop d'erable du Vermont' (maple syrup) is not to be missed at the P&H. It is a mighty wedge of intense maple flavor."
Michael Stern
"Now, where is that gravy for mopping? This is one terrific, utterly fresh dinner roll, delicious even without gravy or butter."
Michael Stern
"Zowie, what a serious donut. It heavy cake, a genuine sinker weighing more than a half-dozen wimpy air-puff-style donuts. It demands several cups of coffee alongside, whether or not you dunk."
Michael Stern
"'Sandwich de dinde chaud,' hot turkey, is made from good-tasting oven-roasted bird and served, of course, on thick slices of P&H-made bread. I'd recommend getting French fries rather than the mashed potatoes."
Michael Stern
"Call me a pot roast snob, but I prefer mine in big, fallapart hunks rather than thin slices. This roast is impeccably tender, but wasn't succulent enough to make me smile. "
Michael Stern
"The front dining room is all clean and modern; and while it no longer has the funky truck-motif wallpaper, the attitude of the waitresses and the menu remain true to the traditions of 18-wheel cuisine."
Michael Stern
"When we griped about the missing wallpaper in front, we were taken into the back room and shown this wonderful mural, painted by the staff, that shows the changing seasons in Vermont. The same artistic style can be seen on the cover of the new menus."
Michael Stern
"For truck drivers and all travelers in search of hearty meals and bread 'fait a la maison'; (homemade bread), the P&H is a rare gem."
Michael Stern
