The Fork and The Road, LLC

Boston’s Parker House Rolls

Bedford County / Boston / Uncategorized - 3 years ago - Mary

It was a dreary and windy day on the streets of  Boston when I walked past a grand old hotel, the Omni Parker House.  A little ding went off in my head, as with Thanksgiving coming up, Parker House rolls always seem to somehow make it  on to the menu. Not sure why. Maybe it’s their ability to go with anything on the table or their knack for sopping up that last bit of gravy. So imagine my excitement (yes, really) when,  to get out of the rain, I ducked into a bookstore, bought a few magazines,  sat down for a cup of coffee and opened the November issue of Saveur magazine right to a recipe for Parker House Rolls. As I read, I found out that they originated at that very Parker House Hotel down the street! Who knew? (Probably lots of people, but not me.)  So of course, I quickly downed my coffee and  scurried up the street and into the lobby of the hotel to see if they still made the world  famous rolls and if I could buy a few.  Yes and yes.  Within minutes, a half dozen warm Parker House rolls were delivered to my lap. I carefully protected them from the icy weather until I got back to my room. Tender and fluffy, with a distinct New England attitude, the rolls were an early Turkey Day treat.  Now, for sure, the homemade version had to be a  part of my menu for the 25th. The Saveur article stressed that barley malt syrup was an essential ingredient for the best possible rolls but I wasn’t sure where to find it. While driving home ( this is The Fork and The Road, not the Fork and the Airways),  I spied a jar of the requisite sweetener during a detour to Fisher’s Country Store in Bedford, Pennsylvania, I spied a jar of the malt syrup.   Now that I’ve been to the birthplace of the Parker House roll, I can’t wait to give them a special place on my Thanksgiving table.