Posted by Michael Stern on September 26, 2009
Year after year Dot's takes the People's Choice First Prize in the New England chili cook-off; and while Southwest chiliheads wouldn't even recognize it as their beloved bowl of red, this true Yankee chili is terrific. It is listed on the menu as "Jailhouse Chili," but it's most respectable. Beefy, thick with beans, spicy but not ferocious, it comes as a cup or bowl under a mantle of melted cheese.
Dot's is a blue-plate lunch room (actually open for three meals every day), where the hot plates include turkey, roast beef, meat loaf, and pork roast. They are all served on bread with gravy and French fries or – when available – real mashed potatoes. At dinner (from 4pm to 8pm), the big platters include good fish & chips, fried chicken, broccoli cordon bleu (!), and baked stuffed scrod. All come with soup, vegetables, potatoes, and homemade bread.
Breakfast is the great meal of the day, with a vast menu of choices from downhome sausage gravy and biscuits with home fries and eggs to a wide choice of muffins. There are omelets, French toast made from Dot's bread, waffles, and McDot breakfast sandwiches. But it's the pancakes we adore. You can get them plain, studded with blueberries, apples, or bananas, or – best of all – loaded with berries. The batter of "Berry-berry" pancakes contains an impossible number of blueberries, raspberries, blackberries, and strawberries. Each one retains its individual flavor, and the bunch of them together, packed into Dot's fluffy cakes, are a flapjack epiphany. For 75 cents extra, they are served with real maple syrup. A must!
Overall: Worth driving from anyplace
27 out of 27 people found the review helpful. Was it helpful to you?
Reviewers "Must Eats" List
Bacon Cheeseburger
($7.00)
Hot Turkey Sandwich
($8.00)
Layer Cake
($2.00)
Chili
($4.00)
Berry-Berry Pancakes
($5.00)
"A close-up of Dot's Berry-Berry pancakes shows just how much fruit they contain. That maple syrup, by the way, is made in Jacksonville by proprietor John Reagan's in-laws."
Michael Stern
"A diner classic!"
Tony Bad
"Why we love Dot's is evident on this hot turkey plate: thick slices of full-flavored turkey, genuine mashed potatoes, good gravy, even hand-cut carrots. No shortcuts in this restaurant!"
Michael Stern
"Simple and perfect, this yellow layer cake with chocolate frosting was the ideal end to a classic diner meal."
Michael Stern
"Here is a stack of Berry-Berry pancakes before the syrup is poured."
Michael Stern
"Here's a cup of Dot's award-winning chili, blanketed with cheese. Talk about stick-to-the-ribs!"
Michael Stern
"Not visible in this photo is the inside of this beauteous bacon cheeseburger: bright pink, velvet-soft, and dripping savory beef juices. A great, great burger. You get your choice of cheeses on top, but I had no choice: Vermont cheddar was essential."
Michael Stern
"Not overly sweet, but dizzyingly delicious, this warm cherry apple crisp benefits tremendously from that big, cool globe of vanilla ice cream that tops it."
Michael Stern
"Dot's is a counter-and-table town cafe favored by visiting skiers as well as locals."
Michael Stern
"The waitress told us that this picture on the wall shows Dot's when it was remodeled after the flood of 1938."
Michael Stern
"Anyone with an appetite on the way to or from Mt. Snow needs to know about this fine restaurant."
Michael Stern
