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"Quiet Corner" Provides

Some "Chili" Memories

By BUD WILKINSON

     Every ride creates memories for a motorcyclist, and an eight-hour, 177-mile day trip to the Quiet Corner in mid-April was no exception. The purpose of the solo cruise on this chilly Saturday was to explore new territory, to test the rural roads in northeastern Connecticut and to pinpoint some places for refreshment worth passing along.

     What lingers most of all, though, are the mental snapshots recorded along the way. The two most vivid images provided reminders of the freedom one feels while riding and of the enthusiasm for motorcycles that most riders possess.

     I’d taken I-84 through Hartford, split off to the northeast on I-384 and then headed up Route 44 toward Windham County. I’d just gone through Mansfield Depot when a sprawling, fenced-in compound on the left caught my eye. Inside the barrier, a line of khaki-clad men were slowly walking single file between the buildings at the minimum security Bergin Correctional Institution.

     The grass inside the state prison was still dormant and the trees hadn’t yet started to show leaves, which made a bright green knit hat on the head of one of the men stand out; an optimistic display that caused me to instantly reflect on our respective destinations and situations. The inmate’s journey would cover at most 100 yards, ending inside another sterile building, while mine was limited only by the constraints of time and Mother Nature, although time was already applying pressure.

     In planning the trip, I’d located another V-Rod owner – Jeff Adams of Putnam – through the web site 1130cc.com and he’d agreed to share his knowledge of the area. We planned to meet for coffee at the Vanilla Bean Café (www.thevanillabeancafe.com) in Pomfret, but I was behind schedule due to highway repair work in Hartford that had brought traffic to a standstill. I throttled away from the prison feeling fortunate to be on the outside.

      A left on Route 198 and a right on Route 244 eventually brought me to the converted 19^th Century barn that houses the Vanilla Bean, a spacious yet cozy restaurant that caters to riders and serves comfort food, including buffalo burgers. Jeff was waiting in the parking lot alongside his customized 2004 V-Rod when I rolled to a halt.

     Given that the temperature was in the low 40s, a cup of coffee and a mug of thick, tangy beef chili for brunch seemed to be a wise order. Adams settled for a coffee. “I’m here pretty much every Sunday morning,” he said after we settled into our chairs in the adjoining dining room. “It’s great because you don’t know what you’re going to see.”

     Adams was referring to the motorcycles that inevitably roll in, and that was indeed the case as the parking lot slowly began to fill with BMWs, Hondas, Harley-Davidsons and a Triumph.

     Joining us at the table was Brian Jessurun, the West Cornwall native who owns the Vanilla Bean with his brother Barry. They opened it in 1989 as a small eatery with a simple food menu and ice cream, and have been expanding it and the menu ever since. The chili, topped with tortilla chips, grated cheddar cheese and chopped scallions, is a tasty house specialty.

     “We sell eight tons of it a year. There are people who come here and that’s all they have,” Jessurun said.

     I’d also ordered a seven-layer bar as an energy-booster and wondered about the ingredients in the dessert that I was about to consume. “Fat and sugar mostly,” replied Jessurun, exhibiting the kind of candor found in the café’s quarterly newsletter, “Bean Soup,” which notes that menu prices aren’t listed in the “insulting” manner of most establishments that shave a nickel to make an item seem less expensive at, say, $7.95 instead of  $8.

     Indeed, the Vanilla Bean avoids the use of pennies, nickels and dimes altogether. It charges $8.50 for a sandwich and $10 for a grilled shrimp Caesar salad, with the state sales tax included in the price. The seven-layer bar cost an even $2 and, for the record, was a delicious mixture of chocolate, crumbled graham crackers and walnuts.

     Besides being a restaurateur, Jessurun is also an avid spear fisherman in places like Panama and Mexico, and, yes, he’s a rider. As Adams and I finished our coffee, Jessurun pulled his 1973 BMW R75/5 in front of the Vanilla Bean. He’s owned it for 30 years and has ridden it some 250,000 miles.

     While Jessurun welcomes riders, he does have a strong opinion about riders who insist on loud exhaust pipes, believing them to be cool.

     “The volume of noise (from some bikes) is unconscionable. It’s a question of respect (for others). I got over that when I was a sophomore in high school,” he said, noting that his bike sounds more like a sewing machine. “My motorcycle is part of the environment. I’m not insulting it as I go by.”

     During a quick photo shoot with Jessurun, Adams and their bikes, other motorcyclists rode in and walked over, prompting a non-denominational group chat on the merits of different models that created another mental snapshot, this one of the camaraderie that exists among riders. The conversation could have lasted for hours, but it was time to get back on the road.

     Citing a lingering bug, Adams begged off on joining me, but he had previously suggested a loop to take to get a good feel for the Quiet Corner. “It’s very rural, limited stops, nice

twisties, good scenery,” he promised.

     With Willimantic to the southwest as the next stop, I headed due north on Route 169, passing Roseland Cottage in Woodstock. Roseland Cottage is a Gothic Revival house built in 1846 that now replicates the summer life of a well-to-do mid-19^th Century family. A National Historic Landmark, it is open for visitors from June through mid-October, and looked intriguing as I sped by.

     Nearing the Massachusetts border, I turned west on Route 197 in North Woodstock and proceeded along Routes 197 and 171 through Bigelow Hollow State Park and transitioned on to Route 190. As advertised by Adams, the route was a fun roller coaster.

     A left turn on Route 89 had me finally heading south along the smoothest road of the day until I connected with Route 195, which took me to Willimantic and the Willimantic Brewing Co./Main Street Café, a brewpub housed in the city’s former post office at 967 Main Street (www.willibrew.com). The limestone and granite structure was built in 1909 and abandoned by the post in 1967. It sat vacant for nearly 30 years before being converted.

     What makes the Willimantic Brewing Co./Main Street Café so striking are the 60-foot mahogany bar and the 21-foot coffered ceiling. Displayed on a shelf above the bar are 100 or so colorful tap handles, as beer is the lifeblood of the establishment. In addition to its own brews, there are more than two-dozen guest brews on draft. “We try to carry products from all the breweries in Connecticut that we can get and New England,” said general manager Phillip B. Smith.

     Eschewing beer as I was riding, I instead settled for a mid-afternoon lunch of, well, more chili. This time it was a three-bean vegetarian chili that hit the spot.  

     “We’ve always had sort of a local core,” said Smith of the brewpub’s customer base, “but we’ve definitely seen an a increase in the

groups of bikers that come.”

     Putting Willimantic downwind after the second helping of chili, I backtracked along Main Street and headed up Route 6 and then Route 198 to another spot that Adams recommended – the Bach Dor in Chaplin. It’s a hardcore bar that sizzles on hot summer Sundays. It may have been mid-spring, cool and overcast, but the lot at the Bach Dor still had a dozen or so bikes.

     Ed Delaney of Scotland was outside with his heavily modified 2000 Harley-Davidson Springer Softail. He summed up the lure of the Bach Dor as simply being “a place to hang out.”

     Backtracking again to Route 6 and taking Route 32 north, I completed the satisfying loop by reconnecting to Route 44 and headed for home having only gotten a small sample of what the Quiet Corner offers riders.

     “On an average Sunday, I can put 300 miles on and never leave Windham County,” Adams had said earlier, and it was easy to see that he was right. It’s an area of splendid scenery, marred only by what appears to be a spate of

new home construction.

     Arriving at home around 5 p.m., it was time to ponder dinner options. I knew what I wouldn't be having. Chili.

(Originally published May 24, 2007)

Brian Jessurun, left, owner of the Vanilla Bean Cafe in Pomfret, poses with his 1973 BMW R75/5 along with Jeff Adams and his 2004 Harley-Davidson V-Rod.

A 60-foot Mahogany bar anda 21-foot coffered celing make the Willimantic Brewing Company and Main Street Cafe an eye-cathcing place to eat.

The former U.S. Post Office in Willimantic, which opened in 1909 and closed in 1967, now houses the Willimantic Brewing Co. and Main Street Cafe. 

The Bach Dor Cafe in Chaplin sizzles on Sundays when bikers gather.

(Photos by Bud Wilkinson)