local help, please
 

driving from Manchester airport to Franconia, NH around noon on Oct 1.Never been there before. Can anyone recommend a place for lunch ? Fodor's tour book is not much help, nor is Trip Advisor.

I've stopped a couple of times at the Tilt'n Diner in Tilton, just off I93 North of Concord. Fun atmosphere, good food. http://www.thecman.com/restaurants-a...t-n-diner.aspx

anyone been to the Common Man in Concord ? Comments. Anything good for lunch around Waterville ?

Not a fan of Common Man. If stopping in Concord, which is a short drive from Manchester, I would go to The Barley House or Sunny's Table.

Damn, forgot Sunny's is dinner only...

That's a tough one since Manchester has some wonderful restaurants. What kind of food are you looking for? Quick sandwich or sit down meal? What kind of cuisine?

Barley House is good but parking might be difficult since it's on Main Street across from State House in Concord. The Common Man is convenient to I93/exit 13 but we tend to go up the hill/Manchester Street from that exit to Beefside, a local place that has very rare roast beef sandwiches with bbq sauce and decent fried clams/onion rings. If you go in the opposite direction (under the bridge going west toward Common Man and then left on Hall Street, the Sandwich Depot is also a local sandwich place, very casual, specializing in subs. Or if you want sandwich, salad and/or soup, you can continue west and take a left at the next set of lights onto South Main Street. In A Pinch Café has a second location in one of the office buildings, first floor on the parking lot side. Again, very casual with counter service only but they have some really good soups.

If you go up to exit 14, there's an Uno's, Panera, Boloco, Einstein Brothers bagel place (drive straight across from the exit).

In Concord there are also choices for Chinese, Thai, and Mexican as well as more chains. Once you get north of Concord you don't have a lot of choices.

Is there any good place to eat lunch in the Waterville area ? We don't expect a great lunch, but rather a decent sandwich and a beer or glass of wine, in a nice setting. If there is anything near or just north of the Manchester airport, this would be great. Thanks again for local advice.

Waterville is a ski resort, and the road in from I 93 was lined with restaurants and bars last time I was there.

I assume the restaurants in the resort are also open. Have you googled?

Ackislander- Yes I have searched Google. I prefer personal endorsements, but the Google search turned up several restaurants. The couple that appealed to me were surprisingly closed for lunch. This seemed strange during Oct.; prime leaf peeping time. We decided to follow the recommendation of dfrostnh, and detour to Merdith area. We appreciate all help. We have visited all over the world, and always use this site. Thanks

While in the notch area, have breakfast/lunch (breakfast type food only)at Polly's Pancake Parlor in Sugar Hill just north of the notch so won't work for lunch on the day of your trip. Reservations would be a good idea. It is very popular. Great atmosphere, lovely views, excellent food.