What To Eat in Vermont
It is rare to find a diner or town café in Vermont that does not serve genuine maple syrup with pancakes or French toast. Breakfast is the go-to meal hereabouts, but that good syrup also is the flavor foundation for creemees, the Green Mountain State’s version of custard, as well as for maple cream pie, maple donuts, and maple ice cream. In fact, Vermont just may be the nation’s #1 ice cream state, with small-batch farms and parlors producing pints of the creamiest anywhere. It is a place where traditional hidebound Yankee fare continues to thrive in the form of red flannel hash, Indian pudding, and American chop suey.
-
While corned beef hash is common all across the USA, it is at its best in New England, Vermont in particular. Its goodness in the Green Mountain State has to do with the vibrancy of diner culture, the prominence of breakfast, and the old Yankee tradition of thrift.
Absolutely Best At -
Restaurants throughout Vermont offer maple syrup at breakfast. Some maximize the syrup's goodness by baking maple cream pie. Cool, smooth, with a caramel-earthy flavor unlike any other kind of pie, a wedge of this stuff is fuel for a 100 miles down the road.
Absolutely Best At -
Cake donuts are not frivolous. Made with baking powder, not yeast, they retain enough oomph to be good dunkers and for just two to be a serving (unlike yeast-raised donuts, which can be eaten by the half-dozen). In addition to being ideal coffee companions, they serve beautifully as the bite one wants when drinking hot or cold apple cider. It's especially fun when the fruity zip of the cider is reflected in the dough of the donut itself.
Absolutely Best At
Showing Results:
White Cottage
White Cottage's breezy tables are right for made-to-order hamburgers and foot-long hot dogs longs served Yankee-style in grilled rolls. A summer-in-Vermont treat.
Wayside Restaurant & Bakery
The Wayside Restaurant serves Vermont food, including salt pork & milk gravy, old-time boiled dinner & red flannel hash. The great dessert: maple cream pie.
Parkway Diner
Vermont's Worcester Lunch Car Company #839 (The Parkway Diner) serves four-star diner fare, including the best hot turkey sandwich and extraordinary hamburgers.
Papa Pete’s Snack Bar
Papa Pete's is a tiny summertime snack shack known for hand-fashioned burgers, weekend BBQ, and the unique local chili dog known as a Michigan.
Dot’s
Dot's is a best-of-Vermont town cafe serving from-scratch square meals, great burgers, and memorably fruity berry pancakes at breakfast.
Cold Hollow Cider Mill
Cold Hollow is known for fresh-pressed cider and cider donuts. It also sells Vermont cheeses, breads, and, of course, maple syrup.
Onyx Tonics
Coffee is brewed with expertise in this friendly, hip Burlington cafe where the mission is to "explore coffee through flavor, origin & roaster."
Mrs. Murphy’s Donuts
Manchester, Vermont. Mrs. Murphy's donuts are the simplest pastries imaginable: sturdy circles with a good crunch to their skin and creamy-soft insides.
Depot 62
Sharing space with a furniture store, Depot 62 is a Turkish-accented, wood-oven restaurant specializing in handsome pizzas using organic, local ingredients.
