The Friendly Toast

Anne and I visited the Friendly Toast diner in lovely Portsmouth, NH on Sunday Sept 2. Hilary and Bill Clinton were also in Portsmouth that evening, but it was just a coincidence. They didn't know we were going to be there.

This road trip started because Wendy told us how great the Friendly Toast is and we take diner recommendations from Wendy very seriously. So we started out from Boston and somehow missed the exit from 93 to 95. Whoops. Those exits really fly by when there isn’t any traffic. We decided it would be prudent to take a little hike before we pigged out at the diner, so we went to Odiorne State Park. I promised Anne we would take a walk on a rocky beach even though I wasn’t sure if I could find one. I was really sweating it out because the first part of the hike not very pretty, we got a little lost and the bugs were biting, After a mile we came to a clearing and there was a beautiful rocky beach and jetty out into the ocean. There was also an informational sign that explained everything we needed to know about clam worms. Apparently, they are 3 feet in length, they come out of the sand and break into the clams and eat them. We didn't see any, but we were scared the whole time that we would.

After we worked up an appetite on the hike, we went to the Friendly Toast. At first, it seems to be an uber-hip hangout for art students. The wait staff all had 5 visible tattoos, asymmetric, messy haircuts and ironic clothes. Some of the patrons were also hip, but there were also families with young kids too. Kitschy, weird art like paintings of clowns and monkeys covered the walls. My favorite and Anne's favorite decoration was a golden, glittering, rotating, Schlitz globe. It was hypnotic. It would be great for a baby's room. I ordered an almond joy pancake (chocolate chips and coconut) and sweet potato fries. I know that's weird, but I couldn't decide. The pancake was enormous. When the waitress brought it to the table, I thought “wait a minute, we didn't order a pizza.” It was very good, but I got filled up too fast. I only could eat about a third of it. The sweet potato fries were good, but not excellent. (Sorry Wendy) Anne ordered a vegetable omelet with breakfast sausage. She said the eggs were a little bland, but all the veggies were very fresh and the sausage was excellent. The bread is all-homemade so her toast was excellent too. I think the greatest thing about the Friendly Toast was that Anne suddenly became a math whiz. She figured out how to split our bill in 1.37 seconds. It happened so fast I assumed she was wrong, but no, she was right. Then at the register, the waiter gave Anne $15 back in change, but she handed it right back to him and said we only get a nickel for change. Again, it happened so fast, the waiter was stunned and the other patrons in line just gazed at Anne in amazement.

After the lunch we did a little shopping. Anne tried to get me to buy a meat thermometer, but I’m just not ready yet. I need to do more research. We went into an art gallery with the usual stuff - jewelry, crafts, and paintings. Nice stuff, but nothing noteworthy. Then we went up the stairs to the second floor and they had an old huge wooden TV set that was transformed into an aquarium. The inside of the aquarium was set up like a little living room for the fish. I couldn't stop looking at. I just stared and stared. It was such an obvious but genius idea. I wanted to buy it, but it cost about $1800. So no TV aquarium for me. We then went into a book store and Anne told me what her next pick for book club is going to be. It’s a secret so I can’t tell anyone what it is, but I will tell you it’s an unusual pick, I would even go so far to say it’s a shocker. But you will all have to wait and see.

We are planning another outing to the Friendly Toast soon so everyone can experience it. I want to have like five or six of us the next time so it’s more of a challenge for Anne to figure out the bill.


Beth