We are going to a dear friend’s (Darol Anger) concert at Groton Hill tonight. We need to eat beforehand! Gibbet Hill is already full (at least their reservations are). Is Forge and Vine decent? But will it be an ess-show pre-concert? Are there any other interesting places on our route from Arlington to Groton (keep in mind that Spring Onion will be with us).
Thanks in advance for any crumbs of advice!
Kara Baskin liked Forge and Vine pre-pandemic. I thought I had remembered reading a scathing review somewhere but a quick Google search does not reveal any such.
Filho’s Cucina is a small informal spot in Groton, with BYO possible from the liquor store next-door. Very popular with folks in Groton especially because dining options town are extremely limited. Note that we have not been in years though.
Gibbet Hill is very popular as well—both their bar area and dining room. I would not attempt trying a walk-in there if aiming to make it to a concert on time.
Have yet to try Forge & Vine.
I’m kinda thinking that especially if timing is tight, it might work out better to grab a bite before you arrive in Groton. Lovely town though few places to eat.
This is what we decided to do. And sadly, we decided on Tavern in the Square in Littleton, which was packed at 6 pm. We barely made it to our seats by 8 pm. At least they didn’t mess up my Impossible burger and they have salmon on the kids’ menu, which was a welcome break from burgers for Spring Onion (at least for me and B).
Thanks to @GretchenS and @tomatotomato for responding to my APB.
PS The show was great—the venue was spectacular (as Darol and Mike said from the stage, they felt like they were playing from inside a guitar). We want to catch more shows there and will keep Forge and Vine in mind for next time.
Hey, making sure that everybody has dinner before the show is a still a win! It’s no small feat to manage timing with few dining options nearby. And on a Friday night when tables are full of folks wanting to be out and about.
I will read with interest if you do try Forge & Vine before a future concert.
P.S. Soon we are trying the in-house dining at Groton Hill before an upcoming show. But I didn’t mention as it requires reserving and preorder/prepay ahead of the performance date. Will report back.
Darol Anger fan as well!. Thrilled to read concert was spectacular. Gotta get on the Groton Hill mailing list. Looking forward to Forge and Vine, Groton Hill posts for before performances.
He’s also a wonderful human being to boot. We weren’t familiar with his music until he moved in next door. We became fast friends and remain so although he lives in Nashville now. He performs often in New England so keep an eye out for his next swing through MA. He and his musical partner loved the room at Groton Hill so I can imagine them returning there.
In case anyone ever needs lunch in Groton, I just heard that Gibbet Hill will offer lunch for the first time, starting on March 19. That’s all the info I have.
Lovely spot if you’re out that way.
We went to Gibbet Hill Grill in Groton today to meet friends for lunch. It is perfectly cromulent if you happen to already be in the area.
We both had non alcoholic cocktails to start. I had the Amalfi Spritz (non alcoholic limoncello, a non alcoholic elderflower modifier, and non alcoholic prosecco) and he had the rum Old Fashioned (with a NA spiced rum). I liked my drink a bit more as the ice melted into it. It started off a bit more sweet than is my thing, but it grew on me. His Old Fashioned was fine, but I didn’t detect any spice in the “rum” (some vanilla notes, though).
There was fresh bread (sourdough and a cornbread) brought to the table at the top of service, with a house made maple butter. Very nice! Then we split a cheese and charcuterie board, which had a nice selection of things, although I don’t know that you need a brie and a truffled goat brie (also, I don’t like truffled anything) on the same board. Candied walnuts were nice though and BF really enjoyed the horseradish condiment.
Three of us at the table got the steak frites, although only one of us actually got the frites. BF and I both subbed mushrooms, which were fine. The frites come truffled by default, if that is your thing. You can get them without. I liked the bread, so was sticking to that as my carb at that point. The salad that came with it also was topped with the same pickled onions from the charcuterie board. They were fine. My steak looked promisingly rosy, but turned out to be medium well instead of medium rare, and a touch overseared (which probably contributed to the doneness issue). It tasted fine, especially with the bone marrow butter (that tasted mostly of butter), so I just ate it. The non steak person got the organic salmon and enjoyed it.
From various points in the room, you can kind of see into the open kitchen, which is nice.
We had desserts. Our companions got the honey lavender creme brulee with shortbread and the seasonal fruit crumble (strawberry rhubarb - it was immense and, according to her, tasty). I got the pot de chocolat creme and BF got a nice square of carrot cake (very powdered ginger and molasses forward for those that like that flavor profile. Like gingerbread, but cake.). My pot de creme also had a bit of caramel sauce and whipped cream. I liked it. It was, possibly because of the caramel sauce, a little richer than I expected. I had some black tea to finish. Much needed caffeine after so much food!
We’d meet friends if they wanted to go back here again. The grounds are lovely and the service was very attentive without being overbearing. I’m not sure I would risk ordering steak again though.
We are attending another Darol Anger show tonight with friends. The friends can’t join us for dinner so it’ll be just the 2 of us (hoping we can secure bar seats somewhere). How is Great Road Kitchen? Another place we’re considering is Dirigible Brewing which has a food truck, which is not our favorite format but if it’s a fun atmosphere, we would consider it.
Thanks for any leads!
Haven’t been to either, alas. Confessing that we have started eating at home before performances at Groton Hill because the parking situation there is easy, and there’s not much except beautiful countryside out that way. Enjoy the show!
Just to close the loop…we got a little bit of a late start last night and got as far as our local pub, Heights Pub! lol. Disappointing but at least we got to sit at the bar with Spring Onion at home with a sitter. We worried about trying to get into a new-to-us place on a Friday evening with time constraints. Dirigible looks fun to us, so at least we have a place to check out next time we’re out west.
The show was wonderful and we got to catch up with Darol afterwards. Touring is tough but it’s been a lucrative tour.
We went tubing at Nashoba today (which is now $48/person—zoiks!). Spring Onion needed a break during our tubing session and rated the chicken fingers and fries at the snack bar very highly. 
We headed to Dirigible afterwards we really liked the place. It’s in an industrial park and the space was small and packed—it’s board game day Sunday so most tables were taken up by geeks like us playing board games (I mean that in a “we love this vibe” kind of way). We grabbed “Ticket to Ride: Europe Edition” and got down to work. B ordered an IPA flight, which he enjoyed, though they were out of the West Coast IPA. I had a Cloud Hopper IPA—good, but I like hoppier IPAs. The food truck was Twizted Pickle. B had helped SO with his chicken at Nashoba so snacked on the really good (heaping order) of fries that appeared hand-cut and tasted of…,potato. My hummus falafel pita wrap was delicious and the dill pickle we ordered, I brought home but I had a spear with my wrap and it tasty. Really down-to-earth kind of place, nothing fancy, small patio for the warmer months (although a view of just the parking lot and other buildings). We’d go back next time we’re out west.
PS Someone chatted with us about our Ohio State gear who, after he left, I thought might be @StriperGuy (I met him years ago at a Chowhound gathering, I think). He was part of a group out back so I didn’t want to crash his party. Was that you?!
As if you really need to see a photo of French fries… 
I should add this to the taproom thread jump-started by @tomatotomato but I don’t think I have permissions to do that? Or am I missing something?
Nice report about Dirigible, @digga! Now I am motivated to check out that place.
Yes, please do add your report, or a link to it, to the taproom thread I started. That thread belongs to all of us. I am merely the instigator. 
Never mind…the link gets generated automatically. I thought I had to split out the post yada yada yada.
Edited my post to reflect that. 
I really miss striperguy, and I hope he shows up!
Headed to Groton next Thursday night for “Pure, Dead, Brilliant Fiddle Concert”. Noticed the venue offers dinner reservations beforehand. Any Onions tried this option ? TIA
We did try in-house dining at Groton Hill a year ago, @sciaccagirl. Though they make a good effort, the experience and food were underwhelming. All in all it was like eating at a function hall for someone’s wedding: we had to pre-order and the service was earnest but more like catering (where as a server you do your best to get to your tables, yet can’t quite be there when needed). Also I found the beverages to be overpriced for the available selection. On the other hand, I can see it being handy if I needed to prioritize convenience above all. Say, if I were taking my older neighbor to a show.
Since then, we’ve either eaten at home beforehand or had dinner on the way. There are a couple of nicer places like Gibbet Hill Grill and Forge & Vine in Groton, but you’d certainly want to have reservations on a show night or weekend.
Groton Hill is an amazing music venue though!
Thank you tomatotomato (Denise)! Exactly the feedback I need. Now to visit Gibbet Hill and Forge&Vine websites for their offerings, make a reservation and pray for good weather !
