Returning to Burlington - Restaurant/Brewery Advice

Four Quarters is a brewery stop I would make.

The new Worthy Burger location near Lawson's Finest is also worth a stop.

A stop off at Frost on your way to or from Lawson's also would be a nice option.

I sometimes like to stop and eat at Lost Nation in between Hill Farmstead and Alchemist. Good food and good beer.

Ten Bends is also a brewery stop you could make in between Burlington and Hill Farmstead.

A Single Pebble is a food option in Burlington that never disappoints. Excellent Asian food and a nice beer list.

 

Honey Road is a must. The food there is always good, great cocktails, and the desserts are probably the best in the Burlington area. I think that Misery Loves Company in Winooski is also a must. Get the pastas, seasonal vegetables, and fried chicken there. Misery also does the best brunch in the area on Saturday and Sunday. The third place that I think is a must right now is Pizzeria Ida in Burlington. They're doing great Neapolitan pizza, square pies, and small plates. Get any of the square pies there. It's a small BYOB place and there can be a bit of a wait depending on when you go, but it's worth it. A back-up pizza place is Pizzeria Verita.

For breakfast I recommend Myer's Bagels down on Pine Street. They do Montreal style wood fired bagels. Get there on the early side, as the fresher bagels are better.

 

Swinging Pinwheel for breakfast in Burlington.
Must stop

 

Nobody ever says what days of the week they're traveling!

But if you're coming up Thursday onward, and you're coming up 91 or 89 through White River Junction between something like 5 and 6 you might consider stopping for River Roost and a quick meal at Big Fatty's BBQ. There are other good options in WRJ, too, but you specified easy/quick and, being BBQ, and being in the same parking lot as River Roost, Big Fatty's is both.

(Usually @jhavs is responsible for recommending River Roost and Big Fatty's but somehow he missed it this time).

An hour further south down 91, Whetstone Station in Brattleboro has an occasionally excellent taplist and, if the weather's nice, a beautiful restaurant/biergarten hanging out over the Connecticut River. It's just a few minutes off the highway and, if you're getting there before 6, the wait time should be minimal. Just check their online taplist before you go - if that matters to you - because it can be pretty hit or miss.

As for Burlington, you're doing everything I would have done so I have nothing to add to that.

 

For some reason I was thinking they would drive up the NY side, but if I91 on the right days, River Roost is a great stop off!

 

Point. I'm totally New England-centric.

 

As every worthwhile person should be

 

I never skip A Single Pebble and Hen of the Wood. Also never skip Blackback (maybe dinner Day 3?). I like Folino’s a lot - my style of pizza, byob, 2 locations one in Burlington and the original next to Fiddlehead if you head there.

 

Good man, hitting Hen of the Wood. My wife and I went there for happy hour, where they were only serving Parker House rolls and $1 oysters and it was religious. I've never felt that way about bread before.

When you're out by Hill, Parker Pie is a great stop. Fantastic pizza, great taplist, and also a surprising amount of 3F bottles for sale to go last time I was there.

 

If you make it to Foley Brothers, stop in Middlebury at Fire and ice for super food and a decent tap/bottle list.

It's a cool place.

 

Random tip here, may or may not be interesting. Not sure if you’re into or have explored natural wine at all but a great friend of mine owns a natural wine bar/restaurant in Stowe called Cork. They usually have a pretty good list of beers as well but the natural wine selection is top notch and the food is great. I’m not a wine guy at all but the natural wines are super interesting to me. If you like funky mixed fermentation beer they have a bunch of wines made in a similar manner. Super educated staff and a cool spot. I was there in June and they poured me some of the most interesting and eye opening wines I’d ever had. Also had a couple Wunderkammer bottles that had sold out at HF the day before.

corkvt.com

 

+1 for Four Quarters on beer and Single Pebble for food (Alchemist cans available here, too).

 

Loved the Waterbury location when it was at the corner of Stowe and Main. A good change of pace with the option to not change pace. Great place to sip wine and people watch. Didn't know they had a location in Stowe. Thanks for the heads up.

 

No prob

They closed the Waterbury spot and just have Stowe now. It’s downtown but a bit off the beaten path.

 

Thanks to everyone in this thread. Your posts really helped as I was researching where to go in Burlington this past weekend. The wife and I had a great time there for our anniversary. We hit up a lot of the spots mentioned (bonus points for the 4-5 pm dollar oysters at Hen of the Wood; we did that both days plus they had Hill Farmstead on tap). Really enjoyed Fiddlehead and the adjoining pizza place on our way in for lunch. The 30 minute ferry ride from Essex was a nice way to experience the lake right before getting to Fiddlehead too. After stopping by Four Quarters we stayed in the city and didn’t get in the car again, so missed out on some of the other Vermont breweries. Next time. On Saturday we had lunch at American Flatbread/Zero Gravity - didn’t see it mentioned here but the food and beer selection were great and the space was really nice too. Foam’s space and location is hard to beat. Fun little city!

 

I'd do Penny Cluse Café over Skinny Pancake.

 

If we are talking breakfast it’s sneakers or Penny cluse

 

Going to try to piggyback this thread rather than create a new one.

Headed to Burlington area from central MA for the night in a few weeks with the wife.

Really looking for food suggestions or a thumbs up on what I am planning.

I’m not worried about searching out ALL the beer, but plan on hitting River Roost on the way up, then Lawson’s Taproom to check it out. Thinking about lunch at Worthy Burger Too after a quick look at Lawson’s.

Then on to Burlington, check in to hotel and grab a beer and a growler fill at Foam. Thinking about Hen of the Wood for oyster happy hour. Then something casual for a dinner option. We are both fans of flatbreads/pizza. Thinking either Folino’s or Flatbread. Been to Flatbread but have not tried Folino’s, any opinions on them? Or better options for a low key place for a casual dinner?

Breakfast we will play by ear then hop on the ferry to NY in route to Lake Placid, will drinking a beer for the crossing.