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Serving: Daily - Breakfast starting at 5 a.m.; lunch and dinner items from 11 a.m. - 9 p.m.; lighter menu from 9 - 11 p.m. Cuisine: American Entrees: $3.50-$13.50. Scoring: Our Gourmet and The Dining Companion each grade a restaurant in six categories, for a combined total score of up to 100 points. Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
The Dining Companion: We’ve been asked by some people to do reviews of places that serve “comfort food” at a reasonable price. What better place for that than a diner?
Ambiance: 8/10
OG:: I’m a sucker for retro, so the Airport Diner, with its red plastic booths, ’50s aviation theme and oldies music, is right up my alley. There’s also a long lunch counter where you can go if you want to avoid a waiting line; we wanted a booth, so on this particular night we ended up waiting 35 minutes for a table. Still, I find the Airport Diner to be a fun place. Score: 4
By the way, for those of you who have asked that we mention in our reviews whether alcohol is available, there is alcohol at the Airport Diner. In fact, I had a glass of Cabernet Sauvignon – not a very good one – but one nevertheless. But what do you expect? It’s a diner.
TDC: Even though I enjoy the occasional Frankie & Annette movie, I can only take diner chic in small doses (unlike OG, who would love to move into a diner) and dinner is just long enough to get my fill. The Airport Diner seems to always have a line of people waiting for a table, so that’s a sign that the masses love diners — who am I to argue? Score: 4
Appetizers: 17/20
OG:: I chose the award-winning Uncommon Crab Cake ($6.99), which, while maybe not so uncommon, was certainly good. It was full of crab mixed with a tasty breading. The appetizer portion (it’s also available for dinner) consisted of one cake with a side of tartar sauce — different than the spicy sauce that I’m used to, but nevertheless, very good. Score: 8
TDC: I decided to try the mozzarella sticks ($5.99) to see how well the diner does with a standard appetizer. I have to admit, they did it well. The cheese was hot and well melted with a nice stringiness. The marinara dipping sauce was light and tasty. Score: 9
Entrées: 15/20
OG:: Breakfast is served all day and there is a good variety of offerings including soups, salads, sandwiches and full dinners. The specials on the night we were there included a lobster roll, which looked good and was very tempting, but I chose the classic chicken pot pie ($8.99), which was huge and rich with its buttery flaky topping that has to be a diet-spoiler. The inside was a bit more watery than I expected, although it had an adequate amount of chicken chunks and vegetables. Not the best I’ve had, and not the worst, but it was plenty filling. Score: 7
TDC: I ordered shepherd’s pie ($7.99), one of my favorite comfort foods. Their version consists of ground beef, creamed corn and rough mashed red bliss potatoes. The potatoes were piled high and were chunky, but a bit bland, as was the beef and the corn. But everything was well cooked and substantial. Score: 8
Desserts: 14/20
OG:: As a good diner should, the Airport diner offers a long list of desserts, mostly a variety of pies, sure to please almost anyone. I had the Toll House pie ($3.99) served with both whipped cream AND ice cream. Gooey, sweet and pretty much perfect – not to mention a bargain. Score: 10
TDC: Dessert is definitely not an afterthought at this diner as it is at most diners I’ve been to. I tried the bread pudding ($2.59). It was a standard raisin bread pudding with a dollop of whipped cream on top. I love a good bread pudding, but this one definitely disappointed as it had no flavor. How can you mess up an easy-to-make dessert like this one? This should be a no-brainer; instead it was a never-order-again. Score: 4
Service: 8/10
OG:: Our server was very young, but she was very friendly and delivered everything in short order and correctly. Score: 4
TDC: Our server at first seemed a bit frazzled with a lot of active tables. Once things settled down, she was a lot more attentive and checked back a number of times. Score: 4
Value: 17/20
OG:: I have to say, the Airport Diner is a great value if you want to dine out in these budget-conscious times. It’s not gourmet by any means, but the diner offers good, solid hot meals in large portions and at reasonable prices. Score: 8
TDC: You can’t beat the Airport Diner for value; judging by the lines out the door, plenty of people will agree with that. Score: 9
Total: 79/100
Have any comments for Our Gourmet or a suggestion for a restaurant you’d like to see reviewed? E-mail gourmet@unionleader.com
