The Boston Globe
COMFORT AND CUISINE WARM A NEW HAMPSHIRE INN
October 15, 2006
By Sacha Pfeiffer, Globe Staff
EATON, N.H. - I knew I was going to like this place as soon as we arrived late
on a Friday night, ragged after a rainy two-hour drive from Boston, and found a
plate of homemade oatmeal-raisin cookies in our room.
There wasn't a crumb left by morning.
The cookies were the handiwork of Bobby Barker, who's also behind the Inn at
Crystal Lake's sensational sugar-dusted blueberry muffins, custardy cheddar
quiche, and pancakes so naturally sweet they're delicious even without maple
syrup. Barker, a Winthrop native, owns this White Mountains inn with his
partner, Tim Ostendorf, who doubles as bartender and breakfast server, among
myriad other roles.
The duo are savvy marketers, luring guests with cookie tours in December and
opera dinners from September through May, where Ostendorf, a Boston University
music school graduate, serenades visitors with music from "Don Giovanni", "Madama
Butterfly", and "La Bohème". They've also teamed up with the nearby
Stone Mountain Arts Center, offering package deals that include tickets to
shows.
One June weekend, we were enticed by the inn's "wildlife and bird-watching mud
season special", a two-night, $295 package. The price included the room, two
breakfasts, one dinner, one lunch, and an adorable gift bag of Audubon Society
trail maps, a guide to wildlife refuges, insect-repelling body lotion, lavender
goat milk soap (to scrub away mud after frolicking up mountains) and, in a cute
final touch, birdseed. If the goal was to charm us, mission accomplished.
The package's outdoorsy theme was the perfect opportunity for our first White
Mountains hike of the year. The inn is a 45-minute drive from Pinkham Notch, a
trailhead for several great climbs, and five miles from bustling North Conway,
home to hordes of gift shops, restaurants, hotels, and outlet stores.
Barker and Ostendorf bought the inn -- a handsome, four-story, yellow-clapboard
house built in 1884 -- five years ago, and opened an on-site restaurant in 2003.
Townspeople often stop by to dine, making the inn a central part of the tiny
town of Eaton, which consists of little more than a church, a cemetery, and a
general store. It's an excellent restaurant with a real chef, lovely dining
room, and snug bar, the Palmer House Pub, packed with eye-grabbing knickknacks.
In previous lives, the inn was variously a private home, a library, a post
office, and a boarding school; our third-floor bedroom, in fact, was once part
of a boys' dormitory. Comfortable and carpeted, it had a double bed, bureau,
rocking chair, side table, TV, and VCR. We especially liked the modern window
air conditioner that we could set to a precise temperature.
The Inn at Crystal Lake isn't a destination for
luxury pampering; it's a place of simple comforts, no-pressure hospitality, easy
access to some of the state's most beautiful outdoor spots, and great cooking.
It also offers plenty of thoughtful amenities, like beach towels and beach
chairs for guests to use at Crystal Lake, right across the street. There's also
a cozy den with comfy couches, low- light lamps, a TV, stereo, DVDs, videos, and
a large CD collection.
When it came time to hike, we skipped the nature walks and headed straight for
the granddaddy of the Whites -- Mount Washington -- and climbed to the summit.
That meant we were wild with hunger when we returned to the inn for dinner, and
our meal was fantastic. The Thai chicken soup, boneless jerk chicken skewers,
salads with maple balsamic vinaigrette, and pesto salmon were excellent. Roasted
chicken came with fabulous cornbread stuffing and expertly
steamed broccoli. Warm peach cobbler was
scrumptious.
Lunch came in the form of a meal voucher good at the Eaton Store, an
old-fashioned general store with an antique milkshake machine and pretty good
chow. Seated at counter stools, we happily ate chef salads, corn muffins, and
chocolate chip cookies while enjoying the nonstop banter of the old-timer
manning the grill. He seemed to know nearly every customer by name and, like the
inn itself, oozed winning charm.
Copyright (c) 2006 Globe Newspaper Company
The Boston Globe
TRAVELER'S TASTE
December 24, 2003
TINY PUB OFFERS A WORLD OF FLAVORS
By Marty Basch, Globe Correspondent
EATON CENTER, N.H. - Call it a new twist at the bend in the road. With a beaded
deer head on the wall and classic divas piped through the speakers, the Palmer
House Pub at the Inn at Crystal Lake opened recently in the bed-and-breakfast
run by partners Bobby Barker and Tim Ostendorf.
The tiny 20-seat pub is crammed wall to ceiling with life's memorabilia. My girlfriend and I sipped a martini and a manhattan, taking turns swiping at the creamy, caper-spotted white bean dip
appetizer. Patrons sat at the walnut bar that once graced Boston's Ritz-Carlton.
The pub was our first stop. Here, the global tastes on the small menu, change weekly. Three nights
after opening, the pub was offering chili, a gutsy sausage-and-kale-laced
Portuguese soup, a veggie wrap, and thick grilled burgers.
Barker and Ostendorf have been running the 12-room B&B, built in 1884 by
Nathaniel G. Palmer (for whom the pub is named), for two years. Barker grew up
in Winthrop and cooked at the Wharf in Revere in the late 1980s and still
prepares the baked goods and breakfasts - local chickens ensure fresh
eggs. Ostendorf is a Boston University voice-major alumnus who entered the
software world and then opted for the mountains.
After drinks and appetizers in the pub, it was time for the 24-seat dining room
and entrees of beef, chicken, or pork. On the way, there's the eclectic living
room with an elephant-figurine collection, glowing stove, and an alcove devoted
to Dame Joan Sutherland, the retired coloratura soprano, complete with a
classical-, opera-, and jazz-based disc and tape library open to inn guests.
Once we were seated in the dining room, the warm bread appeared, followed by a
salad of mesclun greens with homemade croutons. On this night, we enjoyed tastes
of Ireland and Tobago. The Guinness-braised corned beef was plentiful and the
country-sliced carrots were like grandma used to make. The Caribbean country chicken had a spicy aftertaste
while the channa - curried chick peas - was smooth.
For dessert, it was back to the pub to split a moist apple pie, a sweet finish
to an evening spent along a winding country road.
The Palmer House Pub at the Inn at Crystal Lake, Route 153, Eaton, 800-343-7336,
www.innatcrystallake.com. Entrees $15.95.
Marty Basch is a New Hampshire-based freelance writer.
Copyright (c) 2003 Globe Newspaper Company
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