Hanover: A College Town, a Long Queue and One Memorable Breakfast
Some family outings need little persuasion.
A promise of a good breakfast will do nicely!
One Sunday morning, the kids suggested a drive from Boston to Hanover, New Hampshire.
We were happy to go along, leaving the choice of destination to them.
Hanover is home to Dartmouth College, the famous Ivy League university that gives this small New England town much of its character.
Red-brick buildings, inviting shopfronts, leafy streets and autumn colours make the town a pleasure to explore.
Students, professors, college staff, and visiting families bring life to its cafes, shops, and restaurants.
A street clock bearing the words “Class of 1958” hints at the generations of students who have passed through the college.
But our first destination was Lou’s Restaurant.
And there, our morning took an unexpected turn.
The restaurant was packed, with a long queue of hungry customers waiting.
We waited at least half an hour for a table for four.
Clearly, we were not the only ones who thought breakfast was worth going out of the way for.
A board near the entrance counter offered a clue.
Lou’s has won the Upper Valley’s Best Breakfast Place award for 31 consecutive years, Best Bakery for 19 years, and Best Waitstaff for seven.
That was quite a record!
The breakfast lived up to the reputation.
We each ordered our preferred breakfast, then added French toast to share.
That turned out to be the star of the table.
Its wonderful flavour made such an impression that the long wait was soon forgotten.
After breakfast, Hanover’s brick-fronted buildings, leafy streets, and autumn colours gave us more reasons to linger.
It was a town with a distinct identity, shaped by its college yet welcoming to visitors like us.
Hanover had given us a charming college town, autumn colours, and an enjoyable family outing.
But the breakfast added something extra to the experience.
There is something about discovering a place and then sitting down to a truly delicious meal there.
The streets seem more inviting, the outing feels more complete, and the memory stays with you a little longer.
Perhaps that is why, when we remember our travels, we often remember not just where we went, but what we ate and whom we shared it with.
That Sunday, Hanover gave us all three.
