Restaurants in Burlington, VT

The best thing to eat in Burlington, Vermont, is ice cream, in particular ginger-flavor Strafford ice cream from Rock Bottom Farm. We buy it by the pint at the City Market Co-op and spoon it up in the car, because there is no place to eat at Rock Bottom Farm; it’s a dairy, not an eatery. Beyond this dreamy ice cream, Burlington is a treasure trove of Roadfood restaurants with great food and good vibes. How about very early breakfast at Myer’s Bagels, which opens at 4am? These are Montreal-style bagels boiled in honey-tinged water then baked in a wood-fired oven, available by the bag or as the exoskeleton for sandwiches: lox and cream cheese is perfect; smoked brisket on an everything bagel is a religious experience. There’s no mellower way to wile away morning hours than leisurely pastries and coffee at the Chubby Muffin, where all provisions are local. Seekers of diner-style hot turkey sandwiches (or stupendously good burgers) will swoon with joy at the vintage Parkway Diner. And speaking of vintage, no culinary visit to Vermont’s biggest city would be complete without a burger and fries at Al’s French Frys, where they’ve been spelled wrong but cooked right since the 1940s