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Blast from the past: The Mug 'n Muffin in Norwood
By adamg on Sun, 01/06/2008 - 6:06pm
Whoa: The last time I was in a Mug 'N Muffin, I could still watch Bobby Orr advertising BayBanks on the TV I'd picked up at Lechmere. But time moves more slowly in Norwood Center, apparently - they still have a Mug 'N Muffin (at 716 Washington St.).
Walk in and it's exactly as you remember them - a smallish, darkish place with wooden-beam ceilings (in this case, faux beams, in the sense that you can see how they aren't actually holding up the ceiling). In other words, sort of like you'd expect your grandma's kitchen to be if she lived in Vermont, right down to the decorations on the walls:
As for the food, it's basic breakfast fare, done right - assuming you like everything doused in butter, and who doesn't? Also inexpensive, even if you don't get there in time for the early-morning specials.
Oh yeah, and they serve their hot drinks in mugs:
UPDATE: We try the Town Square Diner.
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Comments
Dedham had one right in the
Dedham had one right in the center of town. Replaced by the la-di-dah restaurant that I'll never go into.
By the way - I worked at Lechmere - I miss that place.
and a coffee shop
I was just a kid when we lost Mug N Muffin in Dedham, but if I remember correctly it was bigger than Isabella, the la di da restaurant to which you refer. It also encompassed Mocha Java, the coffee shop next door. For me, I will always remember it as the place where my father explained the rules of football to me one Saturday morning over breakfast.
myDedham.org - a community since 1636 and online since 2007!
Pewter Pot, anyone?
The only thing better would be breakfast at a Pewter Pot restaurant. Hello, 1970s!
Or if you wanted something a bit more upscale
The Magic Pan.
Or, next door, ...
the Proud Popover.
But hey, if crepes are what you're after, come to Mr. Crepe in Davis Square.
But that would violate the space-time continuum
Since I'm pretty sure Mr. Crepe wasn't in Somerville in 1977 (but Steve's was, ah, standing in line for an ice-cream cone in the middle of winter!).
And the SSP used to feature
And the SSP used to feature both a PP and a MP.
what's an SSP?
I remember these two restaurants being side-by-side on the first block of Newbury Street, across from the Ritz.
SSP
It's where, on our last visit, my wife went around asking people "Do you live in Braintree? You do? Is Braintree on the coast?"
It now features two Brigham's.
Newton Pewter Pot?
My Dad used to take me for a blueberry muffin every Sunday after church.I think it was a Pewter Pot but it may have been called th Blue Bell.Anyone remember? It was on the corner of Washington st and Walnut st.I think it became a belly dancing joint!
I waitressed at the
I waitressed at the Newtonville Pewter Pot for a few months during college. It's now an Asian restaurant. Karoun, which IS on the corner of Washington and Walnut, is an Armenian restaurant which has belly dancing on the weekends.
no offense to the Mug n' Muffin
...which is well and good, but for breakfast in Norwood, the gold standard is the Town Diner. It's like a Norman Rockwell painting, only it tastes way better. No one makes a better (or bigger) omelet.
Where in Norwood is it?
Where in Norwood is it?
Town Square Diner
Town Square Diner
Nanhattan Street
If you take Washington Street into the center of town, turn left onto Nanhattan Street. Its the intersection with Town Hall and St. Catherine's. Then its not even a block down on the right.
myDedham.org - a community since 1636 and online since 2007!
Thanks, guys
I sense another field trip coming on, oh, say, this coming Saturday.
My memory is foggy, but I'm
My memory is foggy, but I'm pretty sure that's on Nahatan street. Take Rt 1 south, go right on Nahatan, and it's on the left as you approach Norwood center. You might also want to go to Lewis's - a bar - around the block to get a burger and fries. I hope Lewis's is still there.
Lewis' is still there.
Lewis' is still there. They've even started advertising on TV.
Cool. I may go out there for
Cool. I may go out there for old time sake. My favorite bar-room story of all time came from Lewis's. A guy told me he hadn't been in there for about five years, and he went in one night. After a couple of minutes, an old-time regular came back from the Men's room, sat beside him, looked over, and said "So like I was sayin'." It was like he was in a time warp and the old guy had just been talking to him and missed the five years. Now THAT is a regular.
Harvard Square's Mug 'n Muffin
was on Mass. Ave., between the T station and the Au Bon Pain. When it closed, a small Bank of Boston branch replaced it, but that only lasted a few years since Bank of Boston soon merged with the much larger BayBank. I can't remember exactly what's in this location now.
Mug 'n' Muffin Harvard Square
Hey, I was doing some research on Harvard Square trying to reconstruct some partial memories of the place in the late 60's. Not sure how far back you go, but your mention of Mug and Muffin caught my eye. I'm trying to remember a popular muffin place at Harvard Square that was a real popular hangout, a bottomless cup of coffee sort of place; but I remember it as being on what I think was Brattle Street, just 1/2 a block or so down from Harvard Square, down toward the place that opened later called ZumZum. Was that the Mug 'n Muffin? Or was it a Pewter Pot? Or something else? Any clarification would be appreciated, if your memory serves you better than mine... I live on the west coast now and haven't been in Harvard Square for years. I'm looking for the Harvard Square scene as of 1969.
Warburton's, maybe?
Sounds maybe like Warburton's bakery, which was later taken over by Au Bon Pain as a second Harvard Square location (a block from the first).
I think the Mug 'n Muffin, after its short stint as a Bank of Boston branch, became part of what's now Alpha Omega Jewelry (and will soon become something else once Alpha Omega finishes liquidating).
Funny you mention this. I
Funny you mention this. I was recently driving through the center of Norwood and saw this place. If I wasn’t in a rush I would’ve stopped in for a coffee just for old times sake. I’m gonna head back and drag my kids with me.
The Mug n Muffin brings back so many memories. I’m 39 and grew up in Walpole and I can’t even tell you how many hours of my youth was spent in the center of Walpole at that restaurant. That was a real meeting spot. In the late 70’s early 80’s anyone who was anyone in Walpole would go there. And speaking of Pewter Pot, Walpole was blessed to have one of those too (at the Walpole Mall). Sometimes after a Sunday mass we’d get really crazy and go there for breakfast instead. Good times.
Mug 'n Muffin in Harvard Square
Photo. Part of a collection of now-gone Harvard and Central Square businesses.
Harvard Square Mug 'n' Muffin
Hey Adam, your photo of Mug 'n' Muffin in Harvard Square was great! Just what i was looking for... writing a memoir of some bumming around I did in the Boston area in 1969. Your photo/memories are a bit later, I think, but I am specifically trying to recall the muffin place in Harvard Square that was such a popular hangout in 1968-1969; yet I recall it being on Brattle Street, or going down toward Brattle from the square, on the west side of the street. The one you describe sounds like it's down Mass Ave toward Au Bon Pain (which wasn't there in 1969). Can you shed any light on this? Was there another muffin place at the location I am describing, as far as you recall?
Loved your pictures of the blizzard of 78 in Needham, too. I posted a comment there as well.
Muffin place in Harvard Square
I know the spot you're thinking of - where the Greenhouse was for a long time. (Greenhouse has closed and there's something else coming in.) I *thought* that was a Mug 'n' Muffin - maybe it was a Pewter Pot.
I think the Warburton's was back on Brattle Square, not far from the florist. There's a new, independently owned cafe coming in there now.
Same era, different problem
Chess King in the Dedham Mall. Think
fitted polyester shirts and velour pants
suits....
Wasn't there a Pewter Pot in the Mall back then?
Of course, we used to call them "Puke in the Pot".
When you were wearing a polyester shirt and velour
pants suit from Chess King, everything you said
was wicked witty.
And then?
Would you go down to the Tahiti for a pu-pu platter?
Or was that last night? Some things never change.
ugh....
Tahiti, with the faux flaming torches in front...
Listen, even Chess King refugees had standards.
Not very high, but standards. Plus,
word was that those pu-pu platter remains
went back to the kitchen, for a short visit
before returning to another diner's table.
The Pleasant Cafe in Roslindale, however, had
fine cuisine. Plus, fifty cent drafts...