 Paugus Diner |
 Paugus Diner, Interior |
 Another Paugus Diner, Interior |
 Chelsea Royal Diner, Exterior |
 Chelsea Royal Diner, Interior |
Here's where we ate, day by day:
Saturday
We had lunch at the Tilt'n Diner, which was right there as you get off I-93 in Tilton. Judi had meatloaf. The texture was moist and squishy, like stuffing cooked in the bird, but it had the most wonderful flavor of any meatloaf we'd ever tried. The seafood chowder was really great, too. The building itself was old, but not a classic dining car.
I commited a major faux pax right here, in our very first diner, on our very first day in New Hampshire, by asking the waitress if the mashed potatoes were real or instant. In Florida you must ask that question, even in better restaurants, and it had just become a reflex. But to even suggest that a diner in New England might serve instant potatoes... well, Judi was mortified. Simply mortified.
Sunday
We tried to work in two diners in a single day (mistake). We went to the Paugus Diner in Laconia for beakfast. This was an authentic, old-fashioned dining car, right down to the window frames and fixtures -- a real classic -- but for some inexplicable reason they'd constructed a wooden building around it, so didn't look like a dining car from the outside. It was small. The corned beef hash was very good and the eggs were scrambled to perfection. (Judi is very particualr about her scrambled eggs: They have to be cooked until firm, but not browned.) The rye bread that they used for toast was excellent. The only downer was that they didn't have brewed iced tea.
There's a little story behind how we came to chose the Paugus Diner: Some years ago I bought a cookbook of diner recipes. One of the diners mentioned was the "Paugus Diner" in "Laconia." Laconia, my birthplace! Woo-hoo! But when I looked online, and couldn't find a phone number or address, so I assumed it had gone out of business. But after we arrived at the resort, I looked in the phone book on a whim, and there it was. So of course we had to try it. And we were glad we did.
Then for lunch we dropped in at George's Diner in Meredith. The problem was that we weren't hungry, after that breakfast. But we made do. The mashed potatoes were very excellent. The green beans, the chicken, and the rolls were all homemade and all excellent. They usually have brewed iced tea, but they were out.
I'm sorry to say that I repeated my faux pax of the day before and blurted out, "Are the mashed potatoes real or instant?" Judi gave me a look of pure contempt and, after the waitress had departed, hissed, "If you ask that one more time while we're on this trip, I won't eat out with you again!"
Monday
We had driven to Vermont to meet my Brother, and he took us down to the Chelsea Royal Diner in Brattleboro. I bit my tongue just as I was about to ask about the mashed potatoes. (Judi knew it, too.) Phew!
Whenever we eat out, Judi always makes a better choice from the menu than I do. Always. I'm not exaggerating. And this was no exception: She had mac and cheese that was out of this world, and a foot long hot dog in a wonderfully toasted bun. I strongly recommend the mac and cheese at the Chelsea Royal. It must have something to do with Vermont and cheese.
Remembering Judi's choice earlier at the Tilt'n Diner, I had the meatloaf. I recommend avoiding the meatloaf at the Chelsea Royal at all costs. Starve first.
Tuesday
Tuesday was our day "at the shore." We ate lunch at Lobster Cove at York Long Beach. We both had the fried haddock. But before I tell you about that, I want to tell you a story:
When I was growing up, there was a seafood restaurant (I thought of it as a "fish place") in Laconia called Denau's (maybe it was spelled Denaw's). We would often get take-out fried haddock and fries from Denau's. The fish would come in a greasy paper wrap, and the fries in a cardboard boat. And that fish was wonderful -- flaky and flavorful. I loved it. Denau's is long-gone now, but that fish lives in my memory as one of the high points in my life (I'm not going to mention some of the others <g>).
So what does that have to do with Lobster Cove? Just this: The haddock at Lobster Cove was as good as my memory of Denau's (which may even have exaggerated the reality). It was that great. It came with fries, a baked potato, lobster bisque, and tarter sauce -- they were all great. But they were nothing compared to the clam chowder which was, to use Judi's word, "heavenly."
When we left we got clam chowder to go. We heated it up back at the resort a couple days later, and savored every spoonful, peering into the pot mournfully when it was gone. :(
Wednesday
On Wednesday we had lunch at Hector's, which was a formal restaurant, not a diner, in downtown Laconia. It was a recommendation of my brother Glenn. Judi had the fried scrod, which was great. The fish had lots of flavor, and the tartar sauce was exceptional -- lots of pickle flavor. But, on the whole, I'd recommend the other places on this page over Hector's.
Thursday
Thursday we ate at the Water Street Cafe in Laconia. Again, this was not a diner, although it was more casual than Hector's. Judi had the pot roast (special of the day) which was simply out of this world. Though the mashed potatos were cold. I had fried haddock, which wasn't bad, but it wasn't Lobster Cove. The cole slaw was wonderful. I tell ya, people in New Hampshire really know how to put celery seed in their cole slaw. Yum yum. And for once the iced tea was brewed. Hooray! Also, the corned beef hash, which we tried as a side, was very good.
My brother came to stay with us on Thursday, and that evening he and I had dinner at Nothin' Fancy, a tex-mex place. I know it seems weird to eat tex-mex in New Hampshire, especially when here in Florida we have many good tex-mex and authentic mex restaurants (as well as many authentic Mexicans). But it was recommended to us.
The service slow. As in glaciarly. The chips had no flavor. The salsa was just a can of Hunts chopped tomatoes with a few pieces of chopped onion stirred in. And it was served cold. Refrigerator cold. So we were off to a really bad start. But then our meals finally arrived, and the food was pretty good. The refried beans, in fact, were among best I've ever had, and I've had some refried beans in my time. And the meat and cheese were flavorful. I don't know why the service was so bad.
Friday
On Friday we went back to the Tilt'n Diner. Judi got the rib prime sandwich - not your typical diner food, I know, but it was great. I, remembering the great mac and cheese at the Chelsea Royal, ordered mac and cheese. I recommend avoiding the mac and cheese at the Tilt'n Diner at all costs. Starve first.
Have I mentioned that Judi always makes the better choice when we eat out?
Saturday
Our last day. Boo hoo. We ate at the Paugus Diner again. Judi had the Diner Feast brekfast. She could only eat about half. That was seriously a lot of food. The bacon and sausage were truly wonderful -- perfectly cooked and rich in flavors. The pancakes were a disappointment.
We had some great chow on this trip. If you're in the Vermont border region, try the mac and cheese at the Chelsea Royal in Brat. If you're in the Lakes Region, give the Paugus Diner a whirl. And if you're on the Maine Coast, don't skip the fried haddock at Lobster Cove.
If you're not in one of these three places, change course.