Parker's Maple Barn — Restaurant in Mason

My Wife told me about this place and said that we were going to visit on the first day of Maple Syrup Season so we had to get there before opening to avoid the line. We arrived 20 minutes after opening (8am) and the parking was not nightmarish yet but the line went from the front out into the parking lot. Even so we had some time to explore so we walked out to a little coffee and maple donut shack and sat in front of the gift shop waiting to be called into breakfast which we were before we finish our donuts. We were seated on the left side of the building in an otherwise crowded hall that was a log cabin and had a good view of the parking area where our car was and the real show took place. The parking over there is on a dead end drive and we watched as car after car drove to the end of the full parking area and had to do a three point turnaround and drive back out. One lady actually parked in the turnaround area which started a number of other people doing the same rather than take advantage of the overflow parking across the street, what a mess! Luckily no one parked behind our vehicle which was at the entrance to the driveway. Regardless, we each had eggs, bacon and hash brown potatoes while I included a big blueberry pancake to try out the fresh maple syrup that they bring in separate little bottles. It was my one of my little complaints that I should have asked for a second bottle of syrup because the pancake soaked up all of the first bottle and was still dry. Regardless, breakfast was good and we were shocked to discover they didn’t take credit card! Also- NO ATM! We were able to provide our CC info though since there WI-FI was down and they seemed fine with that. After breakfast we went out and took the free tour which showed the process of making the syrup. My one complaint there was I couldn’t hear a single thing the guide said. They should invest in a sound system so the guide could wear a microphone and be heard. After the tour we returned to the gift shop and now another little complaint: some sort of heated waiting area should be provided because the gift shop was crammed with groups of people and rowdy children who were doing nothing but waiting to get into eat. Yet another clustering of unreasonable people taking up space. We made our way through both floors of the shop however and made our purchases. It was interesting and fun but I don’t think it would have been if we hadn’t gotten there as...

We called before coming to make sure that they were not going to have an issue with my Service Dog. We were told Service Animals were fine. We walked in and the girl on the right inside the door said hold on a minute and whispered to the hostess. She then asks me if my vested Service Dog is a Service Dog, I said yes, she is wearing her vest. She said that doesn't matter, people put vests on dogs all the time 🙄 She then said that she needed to be on the floor during the meal, I said that was fine. She said is that a yes? I am not sure where all of this is coming from. We were told Service dogs were welcome but I certainly didn't feel like this was true. It felt like I was being judged for something. So after more back and forth they finally seated us. I was having an issue from the stress at the door so I had my Service Dog on me. I had asked for the manager. She approached and the first thing she said was that my dog had to be on the floor, I told her that she needed to stop because my dog was doing her job, she said that if she didn't get down we had to leave. She started asking me questions and pushing papers in my face but she has no clue what to look for in the answers. Because I gave her the answer but it didn't satisfy her. But she isn't entitled to my diagnosis. She told me that if my dog needed to Service me that I needed to go to the hospital 🙄🙄 People in management need training!¡! Her demanding information that she isn't entitled to is reportable. Sh3e tried to make me feel bad because the hostess was crying. She said that if I was stressed out then my dog was an emotional support dog not a Service Dog. I pulled out Tia's information from the State of NC. The manager said that she couldn't look at it, she is wrong, she can't ask for it but if I offer it she can look at it. But she said the if I didn't put Tia down instead of letting her work for me that I had to go, I finally just got up and left because she wouldn't get out of my face. She had sat down beside me and kept pushing papers at me demanding information about my medical issues. Should have known that it was a lie when we saw the signs posted all over the doors before you go in. Please warn any Servicemen and women that have Service Animals that this is not the place to support. .This is discrimination of the disabled community. I will be contacting the ADA and the New Hampshire Governor's Commission...

A solid 4 for me. Parker's is about a 30 minute drive for us, but the wife and kid and I made the trip in the middle of summer for some brunch. We called ahead to ask about the wait (it can be up to 2 hours during Fall Frenzy) but we're told the wait was between 10 and 15 minutes. Definitely call ahead and see.

We got there and were seated immediately, which was nice. Ordered a sampler, the chicken and waffles, and the turkey dinner with some pancakes and sausage for the kids.

Sampler was pretty good. The blue berry bites were great, pancake bites and cinnamon rolls also good. Seemed like a good whole table app.

Chicken and Waffles: Specifically asked for syrup on the size and mentioned I didn't want it on everything - syrup comes in little bottles so that wasn't a problem, but they did drizzle sweet syrup gravy over everything which is a little annoying after having that conversation with the waitress. Next time mention that it comes with gravy drizzled all over maybe? Chicken was really pretty good, a great taste to it and breading not too heavy. Waffles were also decent. I'd rather have a little more regular gravy than sweet gravy with maple syrup on the side, but that's a nit pick.

The turkey meal looked like processed turkey to me but the preggo wife who ate it said it tasted fresh to her. Turkey gravy was a little watery/missing some salt. Came with fries which were very good - fluffy and light, not dense and potato-y, but again missing salt. Wife liked it but thought everything needed a little salt. Wars were fought over salt in the past, now it is cheap, be liberal with it.

The pancakes and sausage were OK. Sausage was really good, great flavoring and texture, one of the best things on the table. The pancakes had a little bit of a hard crust, which was weird, and tasted faintly of cornbread for some reason. Kid liked it, but I would have hoped for a little better. Sausage was $4 for two parties which seemed steep.

Service was fine, nothing extrodinary but we never felt neglected. Watching the manager catch and release a massive prehistoric wasp was entertaining. Overall good value for the money, but just a tad short of 5 stars. Will update if...