A playground for winter fun, the Queen City captivates the taste buds too
BURLINGTON, Vermont — Burlington, Vermont, had so much of what I had always wanted in a vacation that I often forgot I was on assignment.
Perched on Lake Champlain, just south of Canada, Burlington is the rare destination without a tourism office. A serene playground for those who enjoy cycling, hiking, water sports and winter fun (Smugglers’ Notch, Stowe and Sugarbush are close), it’s Boulder of the East, where the dress is more Prana than Prada, the international airport has a yoga room, bike paths are plowed in the winter for hardcore cyclists, and an annual performing arts center fundraiser involves 100 climbers rappelling nine stories down the side of a hotel. But 802’ers are hardly surviving on gorp. There’s a sophisticated and diverse food scene: Locals pick up their CSA shares, shop for CBD confections and buy baguettes from a peddler on a bicycle.
A college town with no major professional sports and few museums, Burlington is crunchy and counterculture — unsurprising in a state that started off as an independent, slave-outlawing republic in 1777. The Queen City is the birthplace of Ben & Jerry’s and Phish, the community that called Bernie Sanders mayor for eight years and a socially conscious city, first in the nation to source all its power from renewable generation.
When I visited earlier this year, I unexpectedly extended my stay; clearly, I was falling for Burlington. After a week of paddling, biking and breaking bread with locals, I packed my bags. As I looked across the shimmering lake, I felt an unfamiliar tug in my heart — the sentiment that belongs to people (who aren’t travel writers) when vacation is over. I savored it. Then I bought some bagels for the road, and I headed home. opened in 2013 and has been a major force in the revival of the South End, which — as one local put it — was an “industrial wasteland” not long ago.
The recently expanded venue hosts 130 nights of live music a year; other nights, you might catch the Moth Radio Hour, an Ethiopian food pop-up, trivia night, a drag show, a magic show or a poetry reading from the local elementary school. Every summer Friday, ArtsRiot hosts a popular free block party called Truck Stop. Also in the neighborhood: Lake Champlain Chocolates’ factory for sweets, Speeder & Earl’s for coffee, Citizen Cider or Dedalus for drinks and the Great Northern for dinner. The city’s biggest event is South End Art Hop, a September weekend festival that stretches from Pine Street to downtown. Pick up the alternative weekly Seven Days to find out what’s on for the week.
The best $10 you can spend in Burlington is for a baker’s dozen at Myer’s Bagels, and I’d understand if you didn’t share them. Located in a barely identifiable warehouse building down a gravel road in the South End, Myer’s makes Montreal-style bagels, which owner Lloyd
Squires explained are rolled by hand, boiled in honey water, then cooked on a wood fire for a crispier exterior. (Try the Montreal spice flavor for a little kick.) Squires is the real deal. He learned the craft as a Montreal teenager from a Holocaust survivor, then opened his Burlington shop in 1996, driving daily from Montreal until he got his green card. Now he opens the shop at 4:30 a.m. and makes 3,000 to 5,000 bagels a day. He’s also hiring and paying enough to give a freelance writer pause.
At Misery Loves Co., high-end comfort food means beautifully plated, clever combinations of some unusual ingredients, served, at times, on an outdoor picnic table. Much about this popular spot, which is small and kidfriendly, is relaxed. But the innovative kitchen takes its food and cocktails seriously, starting with the MLC Margarita with smoked agave and sea salt. When I visited, I ordered the vegetable lasagna from a summer menu, and it arrived covered in edible flowers — from In the Weeds, the owners’ small farm. The fried chicken is a perennial favorite, as is grilled cheese for kids. The fall menu also features grilled plums, pot-roasted sunchokes, a whole lubina for the table and cheddar bread pudding for dessert. Sunday is disco brunch, a DJ’s alternative to church, and the award-winning Bloody Marys are served with pickled mustard seeds and fresh horseradish. Walk off your meal along the river and falls. Nearby and less expensive: Tiny Thai.
Scrambled egg tacos, where have you been all my life? Penny Cluse Cafe, a Burlington institution for decades, is a favorite for its all-day breakfast and extensive and creative menu — including gingerbread pancakes, polenta and eggs, Sleepy Nate’s biscuits and gravy, tofu scram, housemade granola, Bucket-o-Spuds, avocado salsa, smoothies, and, of course, the tacos. The cheery diner has specials on a chalkboard and a long counter, where I sat with a couple of students and a gentleman wearing a suit — the only such attire I saw during a full week in town. The sound of clinking plates and mugs was nearly as comforting as the food. The restaurant opens for us early birds at 6:45 weekdays and fills up quickly.
Honey Road is all the buzz. The lively two-yearold restaurant on Church Street serves Eastern Mediterranean small plates and has already earned James Beard recognition: semifinalist for Best New Restaurant and Best Chef: Northeast for Cara Chigazola Tobin, who owns the restaurant with Allison Gibson. I sat at the copper bar and ordered the kale salad with tahini, feta and crunchy quinoa (the quinoa, seriously, was nearly as much fun as Pop Rocks); hummus with roasted cherry tomatoes as sweet as candy; and an amazing za’atar-garlic knot, which I peeled apart like a pecan swirl. Other plates are grilled broccoli with pickled raisins, muhammara with toasted walnuts, sweet harissa chicken wings and spiced fried chickpeas. “Honey time,” from 4 to 5 p.m., includes drink specials and $1 wings; that’s a good time to grab a table before the crowds. Save room for housemade walnut baklava and the chocolate tahini ice cream bar.