A friend and I were trying to choose a place for lunch recently. I was in Manchester and she was on the Seacoast, so we wanted to meet somewhere more or less in the middle.
She suggested Telly’s Restaurant and Pizzeria in Epping. My response? Of course!
Telly’s was the place to stop at when I was driving back and forth to UNH in Durham (way) back in the day, but it had been many years since I’d been back. The place had a significant makeover after a bad fire in 2005.
The grilled chicken sandwich I ordered at that lunch was so delicious that a few weeks later, The Dining Companion and I headed back to Telly’s for dinner. TDC also hadn’t eaten there in several years and was curious to see the place after hearing my preliminary review.
(We arrived at Telly’s not knowing that another Our Gourmet team was, at that very moment, dining just down the street at the Railpenny Tavern. Epping isn’t just the geographical middle, it’s becoming the center.)
When I walked in I noticed it was a tale of two Telly’s — a large bar area to the left with enthusiastic patrons watching football, and a quieter dining area with booths and tables to the right. Occasionally we would hear a few cheers, but the place is separated well enough that you can easily carry on a conversation.
The appetizer menu is full of familiar favorites like wings and fries and potato skins, but we latched on to the Blistered Shishito Peppers ($10.95), described as flash-fried fresh shishito peppers tossed in Maldon sea salt and served with a side of soy sauce. These Japanese peppers are small, mild and brightly flavored, so if you aren’t a fan of spicy, not to worry.
While the peppers were fresh and tasty, they lacked the charring promised in the menu description. TDC commented that the soy sauce did little to elevate the peppers other than add more salt. A different dipping sauce — and the char — would have added the punch they needed.
Telly’s menu is quite extensive. The website describes it as a “classic Italian food menu, including steaks, seafood plates, burgers, sandwiches, hot and cold subs, and the brick-oven pizzas we are most famous for.”
There’s a LOT to choose from. I’m glad I spent time with the online menu at home.
Having committed recently to eating more veggies, I chose the grilled portabella mushroom ciabatta sandwich ($13.95), a portabella mushroom with spinach, roasted red peppers and mozzarella cheese, drizzled with balsamic glaze and served on a toasted ciabatta.
Grilled Portabella Mushroom Ciabatta sandwich with mozzarella, roasted red peppers and spinach.
The menu said the mushroom was char-grilled, but again we were missing the char. I think if it had been cooked longer, the mushroom wouldn’t have been so wet. It made the sandwich a bit soggy, but the hearty ciabatta bread did its best to hold it all together.
Overall it was a tasty combination of flavors that seemed decadent, but you didn’t feel guilty after eating it. The fresh cheese and balsamic were key to the sandwich. The french fries (potato IS a vegetable) were crispy and well seasoned.
TDC chose the baked haddock ($21.95), topped with buttered Ritz cracker crumbs, served with Jasmine rice and green beans. (TDC asked to substitute fries for the green beans — obviously a starch lover).
Baked Haddock with jasmine rice and fries instead of green beans.
The rice was mundane but fluffy and the fries were slightly above the norm, TDC said. He raved about the moist fish, which was perfectly cooked. The cracker crumbs had a subtle sweet flavor, which was surprising but appreciated, almost like a sweet bread. The portion was more than adequate.
When we drove into the parking lot the sign boasted of the homemade dessert offerings. At TDC’s insistence, we ordered a dessert to share. Feeling fall-ish despite the unseasonably warm weather, we opted for a slice of homemade pumpkin spice cake ($10.95) with genuine buttercream frosting.
Telly’s pumpkin cake with buttercream frosting.
It was a real treat. The frosting reminded me of the kind mom would make when I was a kid. You can’t beat that. And the slice easily could have fed a small family. We ate more than we should.
There wasn’t much to complain about, although service was a bit slow. TDC ordered an adult beverage, which they served in a can. He would have liked a glass, but he got tired of waiting to ask for one. When our server left, we were never quite sure where she went.
We wouldn’t hesitate to return, especially to try the “famous” brick-oven pizza. And maybe next time we’ll sit in the bar with the other football fans.
