 INTERMEZZO 6 School St., Peterborough 924-5000; intermezzonh.com Serving: 11 a.m-2:30 p.m. Wednesday through Saturday.
Cuisine: Contemporary American Entrees: $9-23 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. |
Appetizer 12.5/20
OG:: I started with the romaine lettuce hearts with Caesar dressing, yellow pear tomatoes, garlic crostinis, Spanish anchovies and Parmesan cheese ($8.75). First I was told they were out of anchovies, then, when the plate arrived I found red cherry tomatoes rather than the yellow pear tomatoes as advertised and the “crostinis” were, well, one small crostini. TDC and I firmly believe that if you put something on your menu, you darn well better have the ingredients on hand at all times. The lettuce was fresh and crunchy and the dressing tart and tasty, but this was not as advertised. 6.
The Dining Companion: I went with their soup of the day, a baked potato soup ($5). I like a hearty soup and when potato is involved, it usually is. You usually will see bacon and onions in a soup like this, but what I got was a lot of potato and none of the others. It was nice, but nothing special. 6.5
Entrée: 9.5/20
OG:: I just wanted something simple and hearty, so I ordered the Cali burger, a grilled half-pounder on a ciabatta roll with avocado, lettuce and tomato ($11.75). I skipped the red onion and added cheddar cheese and a side of sweet potato fries; both cost extra. The ciabatta roll was fresh — as was the burger, which was thick tasty and cooked medium rare as ordered. The cheddar and avocado were a nice addition. While the sweet potato fries were nothing special (I preferred TDC’s hand-cut chips), overall, this was a fine burger and a satisfying meal. 8.5
TDC:: I ordered another special — Intermezzo’s version of fish & chips made with tilapia and served with hand-cut chips ($18). What a bad choice on my part. When it arrived, the fish looked grayish and oily. The plate itself had a pool of oil from the fish, which soaked the crispy chips. Any good cook could see that the problem was that the oil the fish was fried in wasn’t hot enough. We were seated at 5:30 p.m., and when asked about it, our waitress told us that they changed the oil at 5 p.m. and it probably was not hot enough yet.
Was I offered something else for this inedible meal, or even offered a free dessert? Nope, I was offered bupkas, nada, nothing, not even an apology. This was one of their specials — why have a special you can’t prepare correctly? At $18, any fish and chips you offer had better be perfect. 1
Dessert: 18.5/20
OG:: At this point TDC was a bit testy, and things were getting ugly, so I did what I had to do: I ordered another drink. And dessert. With dessert, Intermezzo — which has its own pastry chef — did a fine job. I had the mocha latte creme brûlèe ($6), a sweet creamy crème brûlèe that had a nice coffee flavor. A nice end to an uneven meal. 9
TDC: OK, I needed something good after the disastrous entrée, so I ordered the Black Forest Marquis ($7), a chocolate mousse cake with brandied cherries and chocolate ganache. Thank goodness for this dessert. It was moist, sweet, and simply delicious. Thank you pastry chef Heather Crocker. 9.5
Everything else: 11/20
OG:: We now combine service, ambiance and all the other little other things that make or break a dining experience into one category worth 10 points. Taking it all into account — and TDC explains it below — I’d say Intermezzo has some work to do. 7
TDC: I would call this place family casual dining at a price. We were seated at a booth where the salt and pepper shakers were almost empty, there was a nail sticking out of the wall where a picture probably was hanging at some point, the wall had grease spots and the kitchen staff was having a loud conversation we couldn’t help but overhear about credit card rates. I think someone needs to deal with some front of the house and kitchen issues, but all should be easy to fix. 4
Value: 10/20
OG:: Intermezzo is in a nice town in a good location and could be so much more. We did have a pleasant brunch there at an outside table this summer, so I know there is hope. At this point however, I can’t say the experience was worth the price. 5
TDC: I can’t say that this place is a great bargain for a family at these prices, but if they get their act together it might be a place you could relax and have a nice night out. Now, however, that’s not the case — or at least it wasn’t last week. 5
TOTAL: 61.5/100
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