Ian "me drive car" W.'s Profile

The Trackside Cafe is a full service breakfast and lunch place  located inside the back of Gerry's Variety, right next to the Exeter Amtrak station. The menu offerings include eggs, omelettes, pancakes, sandwiches, salads, soups, and grilled items. Coke products (by the can) and Donahue Bros Coffee are offered here. Daily specials are offered and the prices here are pretty reasonable. Tollhouse (choc chips & walnut pancakes) and chili cheese dogs were some specials offered. See the menu at http://thetracksidecaf.../

I stopped here for Saturday breakfast and the place was fairly busy with the long lunch counter filled with regulars and most of the few tables nearby occupied with families. The atmosphere is a bit noisy due to many conversations going on and echoing. Amtrak trains can be seen rolling in and out of the station through the window.

It took a few moments to be waited on, but I was offered coffee ($1.25) and I ordered immediately. I had the special Sausage, Pepper, Onion & Provolone Omelette ($5.75) served with home fries & toast (I had raisin). The folded omelette was pretty good, stuffed with tasty fillings (cut sausage patties) and the provolone cheese in the omelette was a plus! However, the homefries were okay, which were deep fried potatoes. The buttered raisin toast went well with the omelette.

The service was very attentive and efficient. I was offered refills and topoffs on the hot coffee even after I received my check (note: the board indicates a 2 refill limit on coffee, but the staff kept the mugs full anyways).

FOOD: 3 (above average)
ATMOSPHERE: 2.5 (a bit noisy)
SERVICE: 4
VALUE: 3.5

NOTE: Breakfast only on Sundays

HOURS: Mon-Fri: 6AM-2PM; Sat: 6AM-1PM; Sun: 7AM-1PM

The Allenstown Pizza Market is located next door to Bi-Wise and next to the Dunkin Donuts drive thru lane. I drive past here on a daily basis, but I have never stopped at this Pizza Market since I usually go to Kaylen's Pizza Market in Concord with my coworkers.

I stopped here after work since I skipped lunch and was hungry. The Pizza Market is the right place to satisfy the hunger. They offer oversized pizzas (by the pie or slices (all day)), calzones, salads, subs, gyros, spaghetti, and bottled Coke products. There's not much seating here though and there's a pinball machine near the front door.

I ordered the 2 cheese slice special with a 20 oz Canada Dry ($4.25 plus tax) for eat-in and a Baked Spaghetti  ($6.50 plus tax) served with cheese garlic brea for takeout.

The 2 thin crust NY style cheese slices were HUGE and tasty with a good sauce & the right amount of cheese. I needed to fold the slices to eat since the crust was soft. The slices were enough food for early dinner. I tried the Spaghetti & Meatballs later on, which was okay. The spaghetti noodles were slightly overcooked topped with a hearty tomato sauce, melted mozzarella, and small meatballs. The cheese garlic bread was fantastic, really buttery with a thick layer of cheese.

Overall, I enjoyed the pizza served here, very similar to Kaylen's Pizza Market. I do still have a preference of going to Kaylen's since they offer self serve fountain drinks, larger menu, and their specials are slightly cheaper. However, this Pizza Market is more convenient for me to have a quick "on the way home" dinner.

DELIVERY after 4PM

I haven't been back to Pizzarelli's in almost a year, so I stopped here for takeout recently. I remember having some good pizza slices, but I did not Yelp this place yet. This little pizza place is located on Depot St between Main St and Storrs St. The atmosphere inside is pretty relaxed, order at the counter, and table seating, jukebox, and Dean Martin pictures on the wall.

The menu here is pretty simple offering pizza (by the slice or pie), French bread pizza, calzones, salads, hot & cold subs/pockets, and cold drinks. They offer meal specials such as French bread pizza & can of soda for $3.75 and a small meatball sub & can of soda for $5 plus tax. The prices for pizza (by the pie) is on the pricier side, a small cheese pizza starts at $6.50 plus tax and a large pizza with 6 meats is $22 plus tax.

I had a small cheese pizza and the small meatball sub special with a can of Barqs Root Beer. The service was efficient and the food was ready in under 15 minutes. The pizza was really good, with a soft thick crust and firm on the bottom, tasty sauce and cheese, very similar to eating a Pizza Hut pan pizza, except a lot less grease here. The small meatball sub was oven baked with 4 meatballs (cut in halves), topped with a tasty marinara sauce & melted provolone cheese on a soft sub roll, very good!

NOTE: No credit/debit cards accepted.

The Grafton Country Store is located along the desolate stretch of Route 4, where there is very spotty to no cell service in the area.

This local general store has quite a bit to offer including Citgo gasoline, propane, basic grocery items, snacks, cold drinks, cigarettes, lottery tickets, DVD rentals, newspapers, baked goods, and a full service deli counter and kitchen serving pizza, subs, burgers, fried foods, and baked goods. The 20 oz Coke bottled products from the cooler are 99 cents. In the DVD rental area, there's seating with checkers and Chinese checkers tables. There's also seating out on the front porch.

I stopped here for a quick lunch. I got a large Turkey Mushroom Melt Sub, which had deli sliced turkey breast, mushrooms, melted cheese, (I also added lettuce & tomato & mayo n/c)  on a soft sub roll. Though not ginormous, it was pretty good tasting sub!

WEBSITE: http://www.thegraftons.../

After a long morning of work, I decided to stop off for lunch at EHOP. EHOP is a casual order at the counter place with booth and table seating in the bright clean dining room. EHOP offers pizza slices from 11AM to 2PM. Specialty pizzas (by the pie) are offered including the Latino (roni, hot sauce, onions, peppers), Australian (A1 sauce, cheese, steak, mushrooms, onions, black pepper), Chicken Teriyaki, Southwestern, Greek, and Hawaiian. The menu also offers calzones, subs, pasta, seafood salads, sides, Coke products, and rippers (fried hot dogs).

I arrived at EHOP around 11AM when the place opened the doors. I decided to order 2 cheese slices ($2.25 plus tax each), which took about 12 minutes to be ready since the pizza was still baking in the oven. The "hot out of the oven" pizza slices (half a pizza) were pretty good and tasty with a good soft/firm crust, right amount of sauce and cheese. Worth the wait!

I finished up the slices quickly and continued on my merry way along Route 4.

Overall 3.8 stars

Mickey's Roadside Cafe (formerly Janet's Roadside Cafe) is a good local family restaurant in Enfield. The place is open for breakfast, lunch, and dinner serving mostly American fare plus pizza, pasta, and ice cream. Daily specials are offered including "create your own pasta dish" for $9.99, served with salad and bread (Sun-Thurs after 4PM). See the menus and prices at http://www.mickeyscafe...

The atmosphere inside is pretty casual and cozy with two dining areas (the back section is nice & bright) on the main level and a small bar counter (alcohol) with seating. There's Happy Hour 4PM-5PM daily with drink specials. There's also a special function room available. There's also a takeout window and drive-up window (call in your order) to pick up your food. Coffee is 49 cents in the drive-thru.

I stopped here for breakfast on my way through the area. I sat up at the bar counter and I was offered coffee ($1.69) immediately. The coffee was good, not too strong. I ordered the Breakfast Burrito Special ($6.99) served with home fries (or taters). The food was served in under 10 minutes. The grilled burrito (flour tortilla) was big and stuffed with scrambled eggs, sausage, and cheese and served with mild salsa and sour cream. The home fries were small diced grilled potatoes with onions, which was pretty good. I could not finish the burrito and had some of it boxed to go. Very full!

Overall, the breakfast was enjoyable (check just under $10 before tip) and the service was very attentive and quick. I had 3 refills on the coffee, which I definitely needed for the long day ahead.

New York Bagels & Cafe is located in the Upper Valley Plaza (Kohl's) along Route 12A. They offer fresh NY style bagels, sandwiches, wraps, salads, soups, grilled burgers, chicken tenders, bakery items, big donuts, cream cheese, cold drinks, smoothies, tea, and coffee. Specials are offered including a Fried Egg on a Bagel for only 99 cents (more than half off the regular price $2.29). See the menu at http://www.newyorkbage...

The atmosphere here is pretty relaxed. It's order at the counter with self serve seating. The staff will bring your food out to your table (you're given a number). If taking out, they will call your name. Free wi-fi access is available.

I stopped in here for a quick breakfast on a cold rainy  morning. The place was pretty busy including the dining area (most of the tables were occupied). The line at the counter moved quickly. I got takeout and ordered a Fried Egg on a toasted Raisin Bagel (99 cents plus tax). I also picked up a half dozen assorted (day old) bagels for $1.49 (no tax), a great deal and cheap breakfast for the next few days!

The very basic fried egg bagel sandwich was pretty good & filling and the cinnamon raisin bagel had a soft and chewy texture. I enjoyed the assortment of bagels over the next few days at work including cinnamon raisin, poppyseed, asiago. chocolate chip, onion, and multi grain. The bagels were still good after a few days!

I stopped for lunch at the Bristol Diner (formerly Riverside Diner) recently. This classic breakfast & lunch diner was built by the Pollard Co in the 1920s. The front lunch car portion houses a long lunch counter with stool seating plus attached kitchen and dining room (with booth seating) sections.

The breakfast menu offerings include eggs, omelets, French toast, pancakes, and breakfast sides. The lunch menu offers grilled & cold sandwiches, burgers, deep fried steak & cheese wrap, quesadillas, hot dogs, chili, salads, chicken tenders, chopped sirloin fried seafood, liver & onions, homemade fries & onion rings, and desserts (pies, cakes). Fresh brewed coffee is from Donahue Bros and Pepsi fountain drinks served. Beer is available including Budweiser, Bud Light, Miller, Miller Lite, Coors Light, Michelob, Guinness, Corona, and St. Paul NA. The prices here are fair, all items under $10.

I sat up at the lunch counter for quick service. I got an ice water and I decided on the BBQ Pulled Pork Sandwich ($5.95) served with chips & dill pickle chips, but I upgraded the chips to homemade fresh cut shoestring fries (add $1.50). The food was ready in 10 minutes. The big sandwich had tender pulled pork (some fat) with a sweet BBQ sauce and melted cheese on a large soft toasted bulkie roll, pretty decent overall. The hot homemade fries were okay, a bit of a soft texture and not too greasy. The service was attentive and quick.

CASH ONLY

HOURS: Mon: 7AM-2PM; Tue-Wed: 5AM-2PM; Thurs: 5AM-7PM; Fri: 5AM-8PM; Sat-Sun: 5AM-2PM

The Route 104 Diner (formerly Bobby's Girl Diner) is a 1950s style diner which opened about 7 weeks ago and is now a venture of The Common Man family of restaurants and Plain Jane's Diner of Rumney. This diner is located approximately 2 miles east of I-93 Exit 23 along Route 104 towards Meredith.

The front of the diner is an old Worcester style diner with booth and lunch counter seating and main back portion is an attached dining room and kitchen area. The place is decked out in 1950s decor and music playing over the speakers. Old Life Magazine & Saturday Evening Post prints, candy, and Route 104 Diner tees are for sale near the entrance.

The menu offers the typical diner fare for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. See the trial menu with prices at http://www.thecman.com The menu offerings are very similar to The Common Man's other diners: Tilt N Diner (Tilton) and Airport Diner (Manchester). The desserts are identical to other diners including the toll house pie and grasshopper pie.

I stopped in here for dessert only since I already had dinner down the road. I walked in on a rainy fall evening and the place was very busy. I walked around to the old portion of the diner and sat at the lunch counter.

I ordered the Toll House Pie ($3.99), which was warm up real good and topped with warm chocolate sauce and whipped cream. No vanilla ice cream???

The pie was supposed to come with ice cream as I recalled from having this same treat at the Airport Diner. I informed the waitress and point out the description and yes, vanilla ice cream is served with the pie. The manager dropped off a separate bowl of vanilla ice cream (1 scoop) two minutes later. After that, the toll house pie was pretty good, very rich and dense with lots of chocolate chips in a flaky crust.

The Route 104 Diner is now on two of my Yelp lists for convenience. I will definitely return whenever I'm in the area for work or a leisure drive to the Lakes.

(Overall 3.5 stars)

Please note the diner is closed on Tuesdays during the winter.

MAP LOCATION: The location is incorrect on Yelp and should be located approximately 2 miles east of I-93 Exit 23 along Route 104 (north side of road).

Rossi's Ristorante Italiano is located right off I-93 Exit 23 in New Hampton. This casual family restaurant and lounge is open for dinner beginning at 4:30PM (Wed-Sun Only-Winter Hrs). The dining area has dim lighting (candlelight at each table), brick tile floors, finished wood walls, and framed pictures fairly old school.

The menu is straight forward and offers Italian American fare (not extensive as the other Italian places further south) at moderate prices. Offerings include pasta dishes, parmigianas, seafood, pizza, salads, and desserts. Beer and wine list available. Specials are offered including $4.99 Spaghetti & Meatballs on Wednesdays. See the menu at http://www.rossisnh.com

Okay onto the review! I decided to stop at Rossi's for dinner on the way back south. I arrived here at 4:30PM on the nose. After I was seated, I could hear the waitress going over some specials (comes with choice of pasta or potato and a side salad-regular dinners do not include salad) with the next table including Sausage & Broccoli Ravioli, Baked Sole, and Chicken Francesca. The latter was $17.99 plus tax and sounded pretty good and I ordered it immediately.

I was brought out some warm crusty rolls and the basic side salad (iceberg mix) with house Italian dressing. My entree was brought out by the owner. The Chicken Francesca was a good sized breaded chicken breast in a lemon & mushroom sauce, which was pretty good. Unfortunately, the very small side of spaghetti and green beans were way overcooked and mushy. The side of homemade meat sauce was lukewarm, but tasty.

As I was finishing up dinner, the dining room began to smell like smoke and I had trouble breathing normally without coughing. The vent fan accidently blew smoke into the restaurant instead of outside. I knew it was about time to end the meal and I passed on dessert. The service was good and timely on this visit. Other than the good Chicken Francesca itself, the rest of the food was not great and decent at best.  

I made it outside quickly and I COULD BREATHE again! Literally smoked out of dinner.