 Tilt’n Diner 61 Laconia Road, (Exit 20 off of I-93) Tilton 286-2204 thecman.com Price guide: $ Inexpensive - up to $15/person; $$ Moderate - $16 to $30; $$$ Expensive - $31 and up Ratings guide: * acceptable * * good * * * worth a detour * * * * worth a journey Visit the Dining section of NewHampshire.com to read previous Our Gourmet reviews listed by town. |
This spot is no exception — it’s back to the ‘50s in a big way.
First, the place is partially an actual silver 1953 O’Mahoney Diner, complete with Formica counter tops, booths and vinyl-covered stools at the counter. The diner originally was in Waltham, Mass., then Salisbury, and opened here in 1992 with the original silver diner. It now sports a huge stucco addition out the back.
Inside, the diner is all ‘50s charm, with LPs hanging from the ceilings, stand-up cardboard Elvises, old magazines for sale in front and lively ‘50s and ‘60s music, to which almost all the waitresses sing along as they pick up orders barked out very loudly from the kitchen.
It seems as if the staff has been working together for decades and with the exception of a few very young women, they might have been. They’re chummy with each other and with just about every customer who comes in, even when it’s very busy. It’s comfortable, as is the food, because what else would you expect in a diner but comfort food?
There’s a bit of the old fashioned here, with ice cream sodas, frappes and milkshakes. I tried a chocolate frappe ($2.99), which was incredibly thick and topped with whipped cream and colored jimmies on top. They give you the extra, in the freezingly frosty silver shaker, on the side.
I also tried an order of an appetizer special, the fried wings, which I ordered hot. They were dripping with orange hot sauce – a little too much – but had a good flavor ($5.99). My companion ordered the seafood chowder from the menu ($3.49/cup), which was very thick and filled with a whitefish, bits of scallop and small shrimp. It was very rich and creamy.
They have breakfast all day, including sausage gravy with biscuits, which is a big temptation, but we went on with lunch. Fish and chips and fried shrimp platters are on the menu but I opted for a hamburger club with fries. The burger part of the club was fine and fairly juicy but the bacon they use is very smoky, even too smoky, as it overwhelms the rest ($5.99 plus $1.79 for fries instead of chips). The fries are plentiful and crispy.
We also tried the chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and the vegetable of the day, an orange squash ($7.99). The fried steak was a huge portion of two steaks battered and deep fried to hot and crisp. The mashed potatoes were the skin-on variety and very good and the squash was a nice, pureed mound of sweetness. I would have preferred a white milk gravy, as is more traditional than the brown gravy on the steak, but it was nice to have a dish we don’t usually see on a menu in New England.
A turkey dinner with all the fixin's, including stuffing, cranberry sauce and mashed potatoes ($8.99), came with thick slices of turkey breast and a nice, spicy stuffing.
Despite my frappe indulgence, we tried a slice of pie – it’s a diner after all – this one a blueberry that they heated up. Pie doesn’t microwave well – the crust gets soggy – so that order was a disappointment, but the filling was very good ($2.99). A carrot cake was good and moist and the icing sweet, with a little spice to it ($3.59).
The Tilt’n Diner is a great place for families. The kids will love the fun atmosphere and all the things that kids like are on the menu, but it’s also a good place to get some inexpensive comfort food and a blast from the past in a friendly and upbeat atmosphere.
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