Parker Maple Barn was one of those places I really should have known about but for some reason I just didn’t. This may be because it resides in Mason New Hampshire which is the town I think feels the most like driving back into time a hundred or so years. Boy was I shocked to find this busy hive of a tourist attraction/beloved local gem.

Honestly, we were just looking for a good place to eat breakfast when the suggestion came up and when I drove there I was expecting some quaint little place in the woods with not much going on. It was in the woods, quite far into the woods down a long dirt road as is tradition in Mason, but it was hopping. There were so many cars there that although they had a relatively enormous parking lot there wasn’t any spaces available. I had to park in a secondary overflow parking lot across the street which was also almost at capacity. People were EVERYWHERE.

What is this place?! Is the food really that good?! What are all these people here for?? We went inside and requested a table. We were told it’d take an hour and a half. Normally this is when I would have just wandered off and tried again some sleepy Tuesday morning buuuut curiosity got the better of me and my companion was up in my neck of the woods for only the day so… we went outside to wait after the concierge told us we could while away the time in their giftshop or we could even get some apple cider doughnuts and cider at the little doughnut shack outside.

So first we hit the gift shop. Maybe it was because it was a weekend but this place was just full of people even though the gift shop was relatively huge having two whole floors of cutesy country trappings. There was the expected local maple syrup, I’m guessing from the sugar shack on the property, there were spice packets, local jams, and flavored coffees mixed in with the usual folksy bric-a-bracs and Old Timey toys and candies. Though it also had a whole section devoted to Bigfoot, a little corner of local books, and of course mushrooms galore. In fact my toadstool covered bellbottoms got quite an excited reaction, “You’ll love our mushroom section!” I did. I really did. There was even adorable mushroom knit hats. How cute is that?? I bought myself a good pair of knitted gloves. I’m going to need them when the cold hits.

Despite the gift store being of generous size an hour and a half is a long time to linger in one so we went back outside. There was all kinds of touristy things out there. A sign in the parking lot sectioning off a pretty significant space for motorcycles, benches everywhere to sit and wait, a pole with “welcome” signs in every conceivable language nailed to it, and even a tiny adorable covered bridge. I was loving the atmosphere but I was getting a little annoyed waiting and ended up buying a hot apple cider to sip on as I wasted more time. I would have indulged in a doughnut too but I didn’t want to spoil my apatite.

I still have no idea if this is a normal amount of people or if it was because we showed up in peak cider season or maybe this is a weekend crowd? Hard to say. But the cider was good and the trees were flaunting their fall foliage. We waited past the time we were told we would have to and by now the place was emptying out. When we finally were called in we entered to one of the most charismatic restaurants I have ever been to. It was like walking into an old barn. Some of the tables were even old goat milking tables. We were given a menu after this and then…. forgotten again.

I was very happy to see buckwheat pancakes as an option. They’re traditional in some European countries but I’d never seen them served in the states, probably mostly due to the fact they’re usually an unsettling grey color. I wanted to try them here but my attention was distracted by a croque monsieur, er “Monte Cristo.” It sounded insane because it was made not with regular bread but instead French toast, and served with real maple syrup as dipping sauce. In fact real maple syrup was such a point of pride here it was in or on just about everything. Even the coffee! My companion ordered a really stuffed omelet of some sort.

We waited for quite a while before our waiter realized his mistake and apologized profusely for just leaving us there with the menu for I don’t know how long. He seemed desperate for reassurance that I wasn’t going to raise hell, trying to make jokes, recommendations, and eye contact. Thing is, I wasn’t avoiding eye contact because I was mad or annoyed, I was just TIRED and hungry and my autistic ass was like, “No more eye contact until you fucking eat.” Dude was a lot less nervous about my companion so that was good at least. He also told us this place used to close down during the winter but this year was the first time it was going to go year round with just a break for the holidays. Hooray! We can try those pancakes when this place is less bustling!

It was another wait for the food. It was the end of the day for this place and I am sure everyone was dead on their feet after dealing with such a crowd. Again, I waited patiently, only once muttering, “God, it feels like we’ve been here for hours.” This, I am told, was a sure sign I was hangry. I don’t know though… this seems like a very mild hangry. I didn’t say anything mean or that I’d regret. It was just a flat statement of how I was feeling in that moment. And it wasn’t said to staff or anyone whose feelings I could hurt in saying as much.

I was excited to try my weird new sandwich option, but to be fair this was 100% me being exploratory. I wasn’t expecting it to be amazing but WOW, it really was! It was sweet and savory at the same time, absolutely loaded, and the maple syrup dipping sauce was kind of the best thing ever. My companion was just as happy with his omelet which I had him lift up so I could take a photo of it’s delectable cheese dripping insides. It was A LOT and the price was cheap, cheaper than anywhere else in the area. Not sure why, maybe to offset the wait?

In any event I definitely think this place was worth checking out if you happen to be around Mason. I do recommend going on a day it’s less slammed though!