Recently, I drove up to Burlington, Vermont to visit a friend who goes to school there. Lucky for me, my host is just as food obsessed as I am, so we were able to have a food-and-fun packed three days, just so I could be prepared to write this article for you. Ok, maybe it wasn't just for you, but you're still getting all the ~juicy~ details, so prepare yourselves!
Day 1:
We kicked off our mini vacay with dinner at Our House Bistro, a restaurant that's technically in Winooski known for its *insane* mac n cheese combos. I'd heard a ton about this place, especially about the mac that comes out sizzling in personal skillets, and it lived up to every expectation. First, we split their poutine (a staple of the great white north: fries that are smothered in gravy and cheese curds), and here it has a fun twist! You can mix in sweet potato fries with your regular fries, a truly incredible salty sweet combination that left me drooling for more. When the main event came out, I already knew that I wouldn't even come close to finishing it, and I was right. But even so, my Mediterranean mac (with tomatoes, kalamata olives, spinach, artichoke hearts, and more), and Robyn's Southwestern mac (grilled corn, black beans, chipotle cream sauce, etc) leave my mouth watering even now.
Day 2:
We started early, with brunch at Sneakers, a cute little bistro in the same area as dinner the night before. In true Vermont style, a BUNCH of the menu items included maple. We decided to go with two items off of the specials menu to split-- stromboli eggs benedict with roasted red pepper hollandaise on a bed of greens, and blueberry waffles with strawberry sauce and whipped cream, maple sausage, and LOTS of maple syrup. A delicious, though maybe not quite so nutritious, way to start the day.
Next, we drove off (listening only to summer bops, of course) to a local farm to pick our own blueberries and black raspberries. This is a super fun activity on its own--just think, you can eat as many berries as you want out in the field-- and the blueberry crisp that we made from it was even better. Nothing beats fresh fruit baked into a sugary crust, and Vermont is a great place to find some of the freshest.
After picking buckets of bluebs, we headed down to the waterfront so that I could try another Vermont staple: Maple Creemees. A Creemee is what the rest of the world would consider soft serve ice cream, but apparently the abundance of dairy farms in Vermont led to a slightly different invention: it has a higher content of milk fat (cream) hence the name: creemee. While I'm not sure I could tell a definitive difference between this and a regular soft serve ice cream, even I can't deny that eating delicious ice cream on a bench in front of a stunning lake view is hard to beat.
Day 3:
The moment we've all been waiting for *drumroll please* the Ben and Jerry's Factory tour! This popular location runs tours that are 30 minutes long, and a ticket is only $4! It may not be the most extensive tour, but you do get free ice cream samples at the end (ours was Milk and Cookies) and it's something that you can't skip in Vermont. Besides, the scoop shop next door has a ton of limited edition flavors, and the flavor graveyard is a fun place to meander through to check out all the ghosts of Ben and Jerry's flavor past. If nothing else, you'll hear some great cow puns and you'll be extremely amoosed. And right down the street, there just so happens to be the Cabot Farmer's Store, loaded with free samples.
For our last dinner together, we had plans to eat at The Spot, a popular waterfront restaurant with some really funky food combos. But since we forgot to make reservations (#vacationbrain, am I right?) we instead opted to eat at nearby The Skinny Pancake, a chain crepe place that's incredibly popular with the local college students. My (very Vermont-y) Deja Vu crepe was was full of local sausage, apples, cheese, and of course, maple syrup. Maybe that was more of a breakfast, but you know what? I don't care! I'm here to have an authentic Vermont experience and if that means maple syrup at every meal, then so be it!
My trip to Burlington was a scrumptious success, full of food, fun, and a very good friend. And in just three days, I only managed to visit a fraction of the super cool places that dream up awesome food combos in beautiful venues. So if you ever get the chance to visit Vermont, make sure to check out some of these places (along with some of the incredible hikes, views, beaches, and other fun activities)! I know I'm already planning my next trip.