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    Howards Drive In

    3.4 (116 reviews)
    InexpensiveAmerican
    Closed • 11:00 am - 9:00 pm

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    Kids chicken tenders, they're ok.

    Beware under new ownership. That is what shouldve been on the back of their "Open April 26th" instead of "under new Ownership, celebrating 75th year" (wording best to my memory). I was looking foward to howards since they closed season last year, but be careful what you wish for. I couldve excused the silly and clumsy service ( that another customer at the ice cream window was disbelief at as well), if the food was good or even passable. It was not. I ordered my food to go and when I got home I was sad. So sad. The food i was anticipating was the biggest let down ever. Each food item requires a 3 dollar upcharge for fries to a meal or "plate" and paltry doesn't even begin to describe the amount or quality of fries. You can get better at wendy's or mcdonalds. How can you mess up fries this badly. They look burnt but soggy and oily. Chili dogs with regular hot dogs and old stale hot dog buns, yum. Add in a moldy or i dont even really know what that is on one of them and you get the picture. Grilled cheese with bacon. Again soggy with a singular american cheese and mediocre bacon. Kids tender plate looked better than all the rest. Tenders were average. Hot lobster roll was...ok. The lobster meat didnt taste frozen or as frozen as some other rolls i had. But it lacked hot butter on it or the side and/or a buttered roll. All in all for $70 bucks i was very disappointed. Until I see photos and reviews that they've massively improved I will be using their competitor down the street. For shame.

    SUPER DUPER

    We used to come here a lot prior to COVID, maybe once a month. Mother's Day was the first time back since then. We always ordered the SUPER DUPER Sundae. It is (or should I say WAS) basically an overflowing bowl of ice cream, with a banana, 5 toppings, whip cream, and a cherry. Just as others have said, there have been some changes since COVID, apparently in the ownership. The reason for the 3 stars has to do with the SUPER DUPER we got today, was NOT like the one back in the day. And, before I start on details....I would have godly paid for what I USED to get back in the day. Todays, while looking to be a lot of ice cream, it was considerably less than prior. Also, sans . Don't get me wrong....we TOTALLY inhaled the ice cream and there wasn't anything at all wrong with it, but, it just wasn't the "old Howard's" I used to go to. Also, it would have been great if there was some board or place where there were descriptions of the ice cream. We had to ask about 4 different flavors on their menu. Dirty Water Fools Gold Boston Boackout Monster Mash.

    Lobster roll delicious!
    Deb G.

    Good food decent prices, one of the few places that offers malt vinegar for the fries!

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    1 year ago

    The perfect place to get seafood and ice cream. The portions are always ample and both are absolutely deli!

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    1 year ago

    Orders are often wrong even though I ordered on the app. Also, the workers are rude!!! Not ever going back!

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    1 year ago

    undercooked food and was super disgusting never come back Ice cream was ok though it was the only good thing

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    Good food sometimes crowded pricy but seafood is vey fresh and well prepared there other restaurant the clam box is also just as good

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    Page 1 of 3

    Ask the Community - Howards Drive In

    Review Highlights - Howards Drive In

    “The ice cream is outstanding and the sizing of a baby ice cream is HUGE!!!!!!!”

    Mentioned in 2 reviews

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    Elizabeths Farmhouse - Lemon pesto chicken sandwich

    Elizabeths Farmhouse

    4.3(330 reviews)
    24.7 mi
    •$$

    The food, service and ambience is amazing!! I've been here about 5 times and every thing is always…read moregreat

    This place is adorable. It's small but it is decorated beautifully and has a great esthetic…read more Service was ok. She was pleasant but seems tired. The clam chowder was very tasty. It didn't have very much in it as far as clams and potatoes but it was delicious. Not your typical NE chowder but good all the same. The little crackers they serve with it are good too. The onion soup on the other hand was just too much. The onions on top get soaked into the soup and it just becomes a bowl of mush. Not appetizing at all. For apps we got the quahogs and fries. The quahogs although tasty were tiny. Clam size. I'm not sure if it's because it's off season or what but I've never had one so small and at $6 per you'd think you'd get a little more. The fries came to the table and we asked if they were always so dark...they were burnt and hard and the waitress said "sometimes they are darker sometimes lighter" well friend these are charcoal. She got us a new order which came out quickly and they were cooked correctly. They had Parmesan and garlic and still felt like they lacked flavor. We added salt it helped a bit but the shining star was the homemade ketchup. It was delicious. We finished our meal with the carrot cake. The photos do it no justice. It is huge and so amazing. Best we've ever had. I was told it's made in house I'm not sure if that's true or not. Overall a big disappointment. I don't think the best thing you've eaten at a place should be dessert or condiment but that's the case. I would say go for the cake and cocktails.

    Photos
    Elizabeths Farmhouse - Dining Room

    Dining Room

    Elizabeths Farmhouse - Farmhouse burger and fries. The bun is branded, cool touch.

    Farmhouse burger and fries. The bun is branded, cool touch.

    Elizabeths Farmhouse - Cute plates for apps!

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    Cute plates for apps!

    Sunrise Cafe at the Exchange - BLT

    Sunrise Cafe at the Exchange

    4.8(8 reviews)
    48.3 mi

    This place is inside at the back of The Exchange building # 2. Minimal signage. Walk up to the…read morecounter to place your order. There is minimal staff so you may have to wait a bit. They call out to you when your order is ready. There are quite a few tables inside and if you make your order "to go" you can bring it outside to other tables and a picnic area. We had a "special" of beef stroganoff and also a chef's salad. The strognaoff was good not great. The chef's salad was very nice. Prices are favorable in comparison to other nearby establishments. Open until 3pm each day for breakfast and lunch. 4 stars may be a little generous but it is worth a try and we will go back to try some other menu items.

    "How could I be happy Without her by my side…read moreWithout her smiling face At the sunrise?" (Chicago) Located in the Farmington Exchange building, Sunrise took over the space previously occupied by the Hans and Fritz Deli. They've only been open a few months. Their hours are limited to 8-3 during the five weekdays, and they have a pretty deep and decidedly reasonably priced breakfast and lunch menu with eggs, omelets, French toast, pancakes, crepes, breakfast sandwiches, burgers, dogs, and deli sandwiches. But there's an unexpected twist to their menu - Polish foods like pierogi, golabki (stuffed cabbage), potato pancakes, kielbasa, and hunter's stew. Everything is made from scratch at the time of your order, so don't expect a cafeteria line of pre-wrapped BEC sandwiches, a mound of home fries getting hard and crusty on the flat top, or a "Grab and Go" experience, because your food will take an appropriate time to cook. It's a family-owned brother and sister business, and the young lady that waited on us and cooked our food was wonderful -very engaging and sociable with great customer experience skills and a skilled touch in the kitchen. We ordered a vegetable omelet, a side of kielbasa, a Ham, Egg and Cheese sandwich, and two coffees. We ate at one of the many small tables in the center courtyard. We also bought an order of potato pancakes to go. You order and pay at the counter and pick up your food at the same counter after it gets cooked. My omelet was very good -three eggs with onions, peppers, mushrooms, and tomatoes served with home fries and toast. What impressed me was the large amount of sauteed veggies in there. The side of kielbasa was split down the middle and then cross-hatched, so it had plenty of grilled edges. We expected the potato pancakes to take a while, and we were right, they were finished cooking while we were halfway through our breakfast. As I said, they were cooked from scratch, so the potatoes and onions first had to be shredded to start our order. We'll have them for dinner tonight, and frankly I can't wait. The order was three humongous patties fried to a golden brown served with containers of applesauce and sour cream. I'm begging anyone in the area to get out to Farmington before 3:00 on Monday to Friday and support these hard-working folks. Your food and your overall experience will be five stars too.

    Photos
    Sunrise Cafe at the Exchange
    Sunrise Cafe at the Exchange - Bacon egg and cheese on a toasted everything bagel.

    Bacon egg and cheese on a toasted everything bagel.

    Sunrise Cafe at the Exchange

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    Steaming Tender - Red Jacket Filets  (with Brussel sprouts and a side salad) and Switchman Scampi

    Steaming Tender

    4.0(376 reviews)
    11.3 mi
    •$$

    We've never been 'steady customers' of the Steaming Tender, but we go there three or four times a…read moreyear. We've always had good experiences and have told others about it. We had an unfortunate experience this past weekend. I had scheduled a birthday party for about 45 guests at a local venue with a private room. About one hour before the guests were to arrive I received a call from the venue saying there was a catastrophic electrical failure and the facility had to close- including the kitchen, bar, and restrooms. I was now faced with 45 people milling around a closed facility waiting for a decision on how to continue the celebration. My stress level was the highest on record. I was considering a few places to move the event to, but being 6PM on a Saturday night I knew the chances were slim. It was then I thought of Steaming Tender and gave them a call. The hostess who answered was incredibly compassionate and spent a tremendous amount of time with me on the phone. She assured me that they would be able to accommodate us and started to reserve several tables. The entire group arrived about 25 minutes later and we were all greeted like old friends. We had to wait less than five minutes for the tables to be arranged and menus distributed. The evening couldn't have gone better. The food was as excellent as it's always been and the waitstaff was incredibly attentive. The guests were amazed at how quickly we were taken care of, and the quality of the food and service. The drinks were made perfectly and the food was served hot. About two thirds of the guests had never been to the Steaming Tender and were saying they would be returning. Kudos to the entire staff and management of the Steaming Tender at their professionalism and compassion at saving us from a total disaster of an important event. We will always be grateful and will continue to extend our recommendations. THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU!!!

    Fun atmosphere. Servers in engineer overalls Excellent food and service…read moreGreat family place for those who love to watch trains.

    Photos
    Steaming Tender - Inside of the Pullman car

    Inside of the Pullman car

    Steaming Tender - Whiskey bread pudding

    Whiskey bread pudding

    Steaming Tender - Dining Room view

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    Dining Room view

    Howards Drive In - tradamerican - Updated September 2026

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