The Loop
Places We Like: Midfield Cafe in Nashua, NH
By Matthew Rudy
The long national nightmare that was winter is finally cracking in the Northeast, and grass is finally growing -- even if it is a full month behind according to the greenskeepers. A trip to New Hampshire can now officially include something more than circling the parking lot at the outlet mall until somebody leaves a parking space close enough to the store that you won't freeze to death on the run inside.
Nashua, NH is only 45 miles from Boston, but it feels like a small town, right down to the little municipal airport tucked away near a subdivision in the northwestern part of town. The hangars there hold equal parts private Cessnas and muscle car collections, but the most traffic is generated by the old-school diner on the second floor of the control tower.
For less than $10, you can sit with your Midfield combo -- two eggs, thick cut bacon, french toast, hash browns and a tall coffee -- and watch the planes take off and land through the plate glass windows.
After adding breakfast ballast, make the short 25-mile drive to Crotched Mountain Golf Club in Francestown, NH for 18 holes and a beer at the Toll Booth Tavern. You won't find many other places that can offer a four-star course, panoramic mountain views and a $49 green fee--cart included. Be sure to pick up a logo hat before you leave. Your friends will think you made the name up without any tangible proof.