Vermont...I love Vermont.  The mountains, the people, the lifestyle.  Too bad we visited during slushy weather.  I would love to come back during the summer or especially fall.  The food in Vermont was much different that I've had.  The Vermont "freshness" is different from California "freshness", something that I can not put into words.


The Alchemist (Waterbury, VT)
This was a pretty cool place...kind of a cool, groovy but casual bar that would be found in NYC with a dark setting.  The bar was half of the place with about 10 small tables to seat people.  There was a pool table to mess around with until your table became available.

Service was good.  Our server was attentive and nice.

I had the "Light Weight" beer (I am the Sierra Nevada Pale Ale drinker).  For appetizers, we had the handcut french fries with homeade spicy ketchup and garlic mayonaise.  The condiments and fries were to die for.  The fries are made from hand cut Yukon gold potatoes.  The fries were presented in a spiral French fries holder.  I had the Brewburger, which is a blackened burger topped with Cabot cheddar cheese and carmelized onion...major yummy!  My daughter had the Barbeque Chicken "flatbread" pizza.  The food was very fresh.

Overall, we came here for great bar food; however, this was not bar food.  It was much more.  Good experience here.

Food:  BD92
Service:  BD91
Ambiance:  BD92




Green Mountain Inn, the Whip Bar and Grill (Stowe, VT)
On behalf of the grill, I want to preface this by saying that I was trying to eat healthy during our lunchtime meal there.

The Whip Bar and Grill is located in the historic Green Mountain Inn in Stowe, VT.  It was a comfy setting for lunch.

Service...they brought our food and didn't really come back when we needed some ranch.

I had the New England corn chowder and the Inn Salad.  The corn chowder had chunks of potatoes in it and served with oyster crackers   This little Southern girl was use to crackers...what in the world were these oyster crackers doing?...The Inn salad was mixed greens, walnuts, raisins, carrots, and maple vinaigrette.  This salad just wasn't my thing.  My daughter had the grilled flatbread pizza which was very "fresh."  (And why do people in Vermont call their pizza "flatbread?" )

Overall, I wished I had eaten dinner here and had thrown out the idea of eating healthy.

Food:  BD92
Service:  BD85
Ambiance:  BD90




Main Street Grill (Montepelier, VT)
We stopped in for lunch at the Main Street Grill which is run by the New England Culinary Institute after visiting Morse Farm up the street.

Nice place...it was a casual but more of a formal setting, if that makes sense.  Some tables had white tablecloths.  Our booth was just bare wood.

I had the beer battered fish and chips (which was one of their signature dishes).  I will let my Southern ignorance of New England fresh seafood come out when I say this:  I could hardly take a few bites of the fried battered fish.  I almost questioned the freshness of the fish.  However, I just assumed that the fish was a different freshness that I was use to.  My daughter had the penne pasta with marinara which was very good...and fresh.

Our main server was friendly.  Service was a little slow on behalf of her supporting staff.

Overall, I'm glad we stopped in and had lunch, although there were many other items on the menu I wanted to try.

Food:  BD91
Service:  BD88
Ambiance:  BD90

I am not sure what to make of that statement.  Are you suggesting that seafood in Central Texas is fresher than in New England?  I can assure you that if you go to the docks in Boston on any given day at 4:00-5:00 a.m., you will see plenty of refrigeration trucks packed and loaded, headed toward Vermont, not to mention the rest of New England, (all of which is coastal except for VT.)  I cannot vouch for the piece of fish that you ate, but rest assured, seafood in New England is as fresh as it gets, as long as you are buying something local.  Cod, scallops, flounder, lobster, halibut, swordfish, clams, oysters among others. If you want grouper, red snapper, shrimp, or Alaskan salmon, then New England is no better (and no worse) than anywhere else.

Support your local fisherman!

OK. But you can see how the use of the word "questioned" would cause confusion.  Thanks for the write-up by the way.  A buddy of mine keeps trying to get me over to one of the Culinary academy places. They have at least two.  I will give it a try next time I am up at his place.

Good to see the GMI is still going strong. Used to go there constantly from late 60's to early 80's when we skied at Stowe, and hiked the Green Mountain trail in the summer.

If you go in the fall make reservations!! That area is booked months in advance, as al the city dwellers come to see the fall foliage.

Ayuh, the fish is fresh in NE!!!!

If anyone wants $20 gift cards for FREE to any of the New England Culinary Institute restaurants in Montpelier, send me a PM.  The manager from Main Street Grill sent them to me and I will not be using them.

I will be in Vermont by weeks end. At the Equinox resort, I have no clue where that really is or is proximity to any of these places.

Unfortuneatly your a ways away from these spots.  Your closer to Saratoga for the horse races than the Alchemist for a beer.  I'm in Fairlee VT the end of this week for a conference which seems close but there is no easy way to get from point at to point B in VT unless your directly on RT91 or 89.  Have a great trip I've heard great things about the Equinox.

Good to hear, I am going for a wine thing that work is paying for, so if nothing else its a free, paid mini vacation.

That is a long way to go for a wine event!  Have fun, you'll be in VT for the beginning of mud season......lucky you.