For the Foodie: Brimfield is a gourmet restaurant hub.
Our property is right on the Sturbridge line, so our haunts tend to be in Sturbridge, and
it seems that every year a new restaurant is opening (and filled!). This year there were three. You can find just about anything: seafood, tapas, small plates, Chinese hot pot, Thai, traditional American, steak, Italian, barbeque, sushi. We have two favorites: BT’s Smokehouse (voted one of the top 10 barbecue joints in New England by the Boston Globe) and Sturbridge Seafood (an award winning restaurant with it’s own spin on recipes and the best shrimp paella we have ever had). Which is not to say we don’t also enjoy dining at the historic Publick House, a gathering, lodging and dining place for travelers since 1771, or at the nearby and equally historic, Salem Cross Inn, famous for its Drover’s roast, a prime rib roasted over a huge fire pit.
For the Beer and Wine enthusiast: Tree House Brewery, Yankee Spirits, and more.
Yankee Spirits, in Sturbridge, has long been a draw for people seeking great selection and discount prices on liquors, wines and beers. With over 7,000 wines, 3,500 spirits and 2,600 beers to choose from, it is a destination in itself. But with the rise in popularity of craft beer, the area has increasingly become a draw for the beer enthusiast. Tree House Brewery, originally in Monson (with its initial founding in Brimfield!) just opened a state-of-the-art, expanded facility and taproom in neighboring Charlton. Four of their beers rate in the Beer Advocate’s top 10, eight in the top 20. Even closer to home, there are three (and counting) breweries just in Sturbridge. Our favorite is Rapscallion Brewery. The beer is great, but so is the disc golf, live music, seasonal events and food trucks.
For the History buff: Old Sturbridge Village
Nearly every school child in New England has likely taken a field trip to Old Sturbridge Village, a living history museum (recently expanded to include a Charter School for K-8) that recreates a rural New England village of the 1830s. Visit the water-powered sawmill and gristmill and stop by Asa Knight’s general store. See costumed interpreters make pottery bowls, spin wool into yarn, and perform early 19th century farm chores. Participate in the spring sheep shearing. Take a class in historical crafts. And be sure to check out their seasonal weekly specials. Coming up: Redcoats and Rebels weekend transforms the Village into a military camp reenactment during the War for Independence. It’s fun. It’s engaging. It’s educational.
And for Everyone else: Something for Everyone.
Let’s not forget the farmers markets, concerts on the common, water skiing exhibitions, apple and pumpkin picking, harvest festivals, annual scarecrow contest, hayrides, and much more. Truly there is something for everyone.