Stone’s Public House
I love to spend all day and all night at a great Irish pub, but when it also serves delicious food, then I really never want to leave. And it's like that at John Stone's public house in Ashland.
A man named John Stone, found out they were going to build the train from Boston to Worcester. He saw opportunity, and he had the brains and the stones to build a hotel right on the line. “Stone’s Public House is a restaurant in Ashland..We're here for dinner…we're here date night, we're here families. We're here for grabbing a pint and socializing with friends.” Gregg Bergeron is the GM here, and even though that's a French sounding name, he knows Irish food and service “Stone’s is an eclectic mix of hearty, classic comfort food with a New England flare and a twist of the Irish flare as well.” This place was built in about 1832 as a hotel, and I love the wooden beams, wooden floors, wooden bar and that amazing fireplace. If you come here when it's warm, they have a beautiful outdoor patio. “Stone’s is warm, comforting, post and beam, kind of like stepping back in time.”
Ordering appetizers is mandatory at an Irish Pub. I mean, after all, the whole thing is about hanging out with your friends and stretching out the meal. A good choice to get started are these lamb lollipops. There's three of them with a sweet potato hash and a rosemary reduction. “They are served on the bone over a side of our house sweet potato hash, which is sweet potatoes, bacon, red onions and red peppers, cooked crispy. It's sweet, it's salty, and that's all finished with a rosemary, veal and lamb reduction. Perfect appetizer.”
You know it’s getting almost impossible to get a great corned beef sandwich at a Jewish deli anymore. You really have to go to an Irish pub. If you want to get this delicacy. They add gruyere cheese, mustard and cabbage, put it on a toasted rye bread. That is a great corned beef sandwich. “Our corned beef sandwich on rye is a really hearty and delicious sandwich. We make the corned beef here in house, where it's brined for 48 hours. We slice it up, and it is on toasted rye bread with mustard, sauteed cabbage and gruyere cheese, an absolutely delicious toasted, wonderful sandwich. “
At this Irish Pub, you may want to get the pub burger. It's nine ounces of meat with your choice of cheese on a brioche bun. But these French fries are not to be missed. It is a long time consuming labor of love. But I'm telling you they do not get any better than this. “Our burger is one of the biggest and most delicious burgers you're going to find anywhere. Super juicy. Super flavorful. Served with our hand cut fries. It's absolutely awesome.”
When I'm eating, I like to think about geography. Ireland is near the sea. They're good with seafood. So I'm thinking, seafood stew. This has scallops, mussels, clams, shrimp and a big piece of cod over a tomato based broth, not too heavy, so you can really taste that fresh New England seafood. “The flavors of coastal New England in a warm, somewhat spicy red broth, served with grilled bread for dipping. Absolutely delicious.”
This is what I call an adult mac and cheese. It comes with four kinds of very flavorful cheeses, and I always pair mine with a glass of red wine. “Our mac and cheese is the best mac and cheese. It is cheesy. It is gooey, It's just like mom would make. It's your absolute quintessential New England mac and cheese with a crispy bread crumb topping and a slight drizzle of truffle oil and it just all comes together, the perfect pub food.”
If there's anything I love more than shepherd's pie, it's shepherd's pie served right in the skillet. “Our shepherd's pie is made with fresh lamb stew meat, parsnips, carrots, red onions, garlic, red wine..all topped with mashed potatoes and crisped up until it's perfectly crispy in the oven. It is a perfect, warm and comforting bite.”
For dessert, don't miss the Guinness brownie sundae. They bake this brownie with Guinness inside. They put hot chocolate sauce on it, vanilla ice cream, then they crumble up some heath bar crunch… It's got everything you could possibly want in one dessert. “It's warm, it's fudgy. It's absolutely wonderful sensation with the cold and the hot mix.”
When you've got great drinks, great food and tons of history you have. Holy Trinity of an Irish pub, so come to Ashland to John Stones Public House. Just take the train from Boston to Worcester or Worcester, Boston, you'll find it. “Come to Stone’s and have a pint with us. You're gonna love it here.”
