Best Food that Tastes Just Like Mom's

Once American flags start waving all over town, it's easy to forget all the hipster restaurants and their haute-couture cuisine. Patriotism means dinners that start with a relish tray! At Stephenson's, autographed photos of Ginger Rogers, Ruth Warrick, Frank Gifford and Paul Harvey are framed in the lobby, just an apple's toss from the vat where patrons can help themselves to a tiny sample of cider. In Disney-esque "theme" rooms ("The Parlor Room," "The Larder," "The Back Porch") diners relive American childhoods sweetened by frozen fruit salad or a frothy concoction of marshmallows, whipped cream and canned pineapple. Fried fritters come dusted in powdered sugar; freshly baked Parker House rolls are sided by a puddle of apple butter. After polishing off a plate of chicken baked in cream and butter or hickory-smoked brisket, you'll be ready to sing the national anthem.