Running Into My Old Friends, the Hilltop Cows

When the Hilltop Steak House closed ten years ago, the famous Hilltop cows were put out to pasture. Gone, but not forgotten.

I grew up in Greenwood, the "backwoods" area of Wakefield. At least that's what it was like back in the '80s and '90s. In those days, in that neck of the woods, going out to eat meant going to Rt. 1 in Saugus. My dad's side of the family always seemed to gravitate toward The Kowloon. My mom's side of the family always seemed to prefer the Hilltop Steak House. I ate plenty of meals at both.

The Hilltop was like no other North Shore dining experience. The dining rooms had names like Sioux City, Kansas City, and Carson City. You'd show up, get a number, stand in line, and wait for a woman with the most insanely charming Boston accent you'd ever heard call it out: "Numbah two-fohty-five fuh Cahsuhn City...two-fohty-five fuh Cahsuhn City." Then you'd eat steaks as big as your hand and a salad that my Great Auntie Helen used to say was "a meal in iteslf."

I have so many fond memories of birthdays spent at the Hilltop with my family as a kid growing up. And we were even able to celebrate a few of my kid's birthdays there before the Hilltop closed for good in 2013. By the time we were taking my kids there, things had changed. The restaurant wasn't as busy as during it's heyday. But you could still take pictures with the giant cows out front. We did that a few times with the kids; that's my oldest seated on the cow you saw up at the top of the piece, on his first birthday.

All those memories came flooding back recently when I went to Market Street in Lynnfield to pick up that kid (who is now 18) from a dinner with friends. There were three of the Hilltop cows, rehomed to this giant outdoor mall when the restaurant closed a decade ago. My kid wasn't up for recreating his first birthday photo, but I felt the need to say thanks for all the good memories.

"Robby Roadsteamer Returns" sounds like a blockbuster summer movie sequel from the '80s. But it's not. It's much better.

Last spring, Hardy wrote about how Robby Roadsteamer wants to bring back the Boston music scene. Since then, the local character has been all over Boston, proclaiming in his gravely voice all the things he wants to "make shitty again." Boston sports, the Boston Garden, Harvard Square...you name it. And you've probably seen it, as the clips have been all over TikTok and Instagram.

Again, if you’re you’re not familiar with this Robby Roadsteamer character, here’s a primer to wise you up. Created by Peabody native Rob Potylo, Robby broke in as the lead singer of the Boston band The Sweatpant Boners in back in 2001. The Boners featured another pair of North Shore legends, too: Ken Susi of Unearth and Adam Dutkiewicz of Killswitch Engage.

In 2004, Robby Roadsteamer the band debuted with the album Okay Computer., following up a year later with 2005’s The Heart of a Rhino. Robby and the band made it all the way to the Rock & Roll Rumble Finals in 2005, where he lost in a heartbreaker. I actually wrote about it in my "Great Moments in Rock & Roll Rumble History" piece that you can read here.

After leaving the Boston music scene for California, Robby has returned to Boston. And it doesn't look like he's going anywhere. He keeps pestering me to put him back on the radio, and I just might have to one of these days. In the meantime, I'm keeping tabs on his antics, and you can, too. He's on Instagram and pretty much every other social platform. I've pulled a few of his more choice clips as of late and shared those below. Oh...ah, ah, ah, ah!

Yes, Robby covered Boston Calling. Even though they didn't let him in.

"Make Boston sports shitty again?" My guy, they already are!

He does make a good point: C's & B's early playoff exits don't mean jack.

I'm not even joking: Robby and his dad need to be in the upcoming Kowloon doc.

Harvard Square is better when it's shittier.