VT Trip - Dining

 When on vacation, everyone knows that there are no calories to be counted. 

I drove to Vermont in two days, stayed with my brother Tom in Middlebury just short of two weeks, and then returned to Florida in 2 days. I did do some eating at new places during that period, and of course some of the old establishments I love (or like a lot). Here are some of the places I went.

On Sunday, August 6, I spent the early afternoon at Neshobe Golf Club and late afternoon at the home of my friends Roger Paquette and Anne Runyon, who live in Brandon. Roger said we should go to The River Pub & Grill for dinner. It's located in the center of the small town and I took this bad photo of the outside as the sun was setting in the West.

We (Roger, Anne & I) sat at the bar which was nicely lit. The television was playing women's rugby. I don't think I have ever seen that sport before.

Sorry about the bad picture of the menu, but it was dark and I did not want to make my flash go off since others were dining. They had both inside and outside tables.

The beer I ordered was a Rutland IPA, known as New England IPA which is served cloudy. It was at the far right of the taps in the photo above.

They also had a drink menu...

I ordered a Reuben sandwich with squash as the side. The squash was a mixture of summer and zucchini, and it was cooked excellently. I was a little upset that the meat was Pastrami and not corn beef, but my fault for not reading the menu closely. It was okay but a little dry, they needed more sauerkraut and thousand island dressing.

I did take a picture of Anne's dish which was cod. The ambience was nice and the food was good but I wish I had ordered something different. Anne said the cod was excellent...

On Monday, August 7, I drove over the mountains to meet my nephew Izzy and his two boys for breakfast. The place was new to me and named the Creek House Diner located in Bethel Vermont. Although I took no photos because it was slightly raining, I did get a phone picture of Harrison on the left, and Theron on the right.

Israel treated us all to a large breakfast. I ordered the Homemade Hash with two eggs over easy with wheat toast and some great diner coffee. The boys split a burrito and ate most of Izzy's pancake. Afterward, we went to see Kayla, but that's another story.

On August 8, I went down south on Route 7 and tried a new place Tom had mentioned. The place is called 7 South Sandwich Co. It appears they only do breakfast and lunch, closing at 3 pm. The menu was displayed on a large chalkboard.

I ordered a sandwich to go. Of course, it was a Reuben and it was made with corn beef. It was done really well and I would rate it high on my Reuben list. You might see the trend that I like to try Reubens. Here is a pic I took when I got back to Tom's. 

One of my regular stops every trip is located in Middlebury...

Mister Up's has been in Middlebury a long time. The reception for my brother John's wedding was held here. My understanding is that Middlebury College Hockey players may have celebrated here after games when Vermont still had a drinking age of 18. I usually run into people like Roger Paquette, Frankie Nisun and maybe his brother Satch, the Kelton brothers Kyle & Kelly, and many others through the years. 

On Tuesday, August 8, I was invited out for drinks by my friends Laura and Rob Fenn; Jessica's was closed so they had the time. We had a wonderful discussion of world politics. Well, at least Middlebury politics. It was great seeing the both of them and I am sorry I did not make it to Jessica's this year.

On August 9 I went back to Mister Up's because that was the day the gang usually showed up but the bartender told me that stopped during the pandemic. Frankie let me know he was out of town. But to my surprise, sitting next to me at the bar were Judy & Gary Bushey. It was funny since they live in Cocoa Beach, about 30 minutes from me. I told Judy that we had to drive 1500 miles to have a beer together. They told me of their new hangout in Florida so I plan to meet up with them there.

I usually make an effort to have breakfast at Rosie's. The picture was out of focus because I was in too much of a hurry to eat my #2 1/3. Two eggs over easy, sausage patties, home fries and wheat toast.

Another regular spot is Two Brothers on the Main Street traffic circle in Middlebury. They have a lot of great local beers on tap (including that Switchback that is almost gone) and some good food. I did the French onion soup and a summer salad. Both were great. A few days later I went back and got me another bowl of the soup...YUM!

I let my nephew Jared and his wife Sara and daughter Paislee decide where we would meet to have lunch. They decided upon a new place for me called the Pour House located on Williston Road in South Burlington VT. I drove up on August 12. I was early so I went in for a beer, surprisingly, they had Switchback on tap,  Here is the outside of the place.

It was a quaint little place, I would call it a sport's bar and pub. They had a Facebook page where they post the specials for the day.  I ended up ordering the special of two chili dogs with cheese. It was served with kettle chips and was very good. Again, I wished I had ordered something different. I did catch this photo of Mom & daughter. Paislee said the fries were real good.

Since they have been here for 30 years, I probably have visited this establishment, the Otter Creek Bakery. It is located in the same building that housed the Esso gas station that my Uncle Moose owned when I was a kid, and it was previously run by my grandparents Albia & Lois. There have been many changes through the years but they have established themselves as a great bakery and deli.

Inside a otter greets you.

The menu is on chalkboards and lots of the baked goods are presented and very tempting to order.

I ordered the breakfast panini and added ham. I got it to go but ended up eating in the park off College Street, the site of the old Middlebury High School. It was very good; the bread was grilled, the cheese was melted, the eggs were hot and plentiful, and the surroundings to dine were spectacular.

Tom took me on a drive to Gunnison Orchards in Crown Point New York. Tom bought us a strawberry rhubarb pie and some cake donuts. I bought a single sugared donut that was almost gone before I paid for it. They also had a little gift shop. Very nice place!

I did get back to Mister Up's one last time for dinner with Jared, Sarah & Paislee. Guess what I ordered? Yup, a Reuben sandwich with corned beef. It was delicious.

At dinner, I did see Carolyn & Ken Perine again, and Courtney Provoncha and husband George and kids were at the table next to us. That is what growing up in a small town is about, always running into someone you know.

Overall, I had a great dining experience on my Vermont trip, and happily, I lost three pounds on the trip. You would never believe that eating all those Rueben sandwiches, but calories don't count on vacation.