Burlington Food Tours

Vermont prides itself with food, especially when it comes to food produced in Vermont. This is one of reasons why I love the food scene there: Restaurants want to support local farmers and producers.

This summer I was invited to attend the Burlington Food Tours, which is one of two food tour companies that I know of that are fairly new to Vermont. Burlington Food Tours started giving tours in 2012 and has continued into this year.  I was excited to go on the tour and decided to attend it while in Vermont last month.

The tour started at the East Shore Vineyard Tasting Room on Church Street on a warm Saturday afternoon. We met with our tour guide and two other women who were visiting the area.

We each picked out three wines to try and with the tasting came some amazing Jan's Farmhouse Crisps (crackers) and Vermont Goat Cheese. To this day I am still craving those crackers and cheese.

My favorite wine was the 2012 LaCrescent, made right in Vermont. Tom chose a blueberry mead. I had never tried mead but it had a unique taste with definite floral flavors.

Our tour then led us to the Burlington Farmer's market where we sampled treats from various vendors. The first sample hit the spot after our walk from the Tasting Room, as we sipped a small refreshing sample of maple syrup sweetened lemonade. I might be able to live off that for the rest of my life if I could get it down to DC....

On the list of sites and sampling there was.....

...delicious pesto focaccia from Slowfire that we dipped into pistachio hummus from Anatolian. The bread was hearty and full of flavor and the hummus was unlike any hummus I had ever had before. I would never have thought of pistachios in a hummus, but I will definitely want to stop for some next summer when we go back up to Burlington.

My mouth just started salivating remembering that combo.... yum...

Next was a raspberry muffin from Stumble Ipon Bakery.

Then there was my first experience with bitters at Urban Moonshine. We were told that they help to stimulate digestion and also are great to have after fatty foods. I sampled a maple bitter (quite Vermonty - don't you say?) that was definitely bitter going down, but really cleansed my palate, especially after the bakery muffin.

Our tour of the farmer's market finished with samples of three varieties of heirloom tomatoes from Half Pint Farm. Each tomato had their own distinct flavor, but the giant white tomato was easily my favorite of the three.

Finally, our tour brought us to a newer restaurant in Burlington, Pistou. We had the whole place to ourselves as they are only open for dinner and it was only 2:00 in the afternoon. It was dimly lit and the walls had the wine offerings of the restaurant written in chalk - making for a neat effect when you walk in. After speaking with our server we learned that many of the products are local. It is not uncommon for them to snatch an unexpected product from a farmer and whip up a special meal with the new find for that day.

On that particular Saturday we were offered a delicious potato salad with anchovies and peanuts in a cream sauce. I would have never eaten the anchovies had they been on their own, but they were quite delicious in this meal.

We finished our meal by opening up a milk chocolate and toffee vegan chocolate bar from Chocolate Hollow that we had purchased at the Farmer's Market. It was probably one of the best tasting chocolates I have ever had.

Yes, a vegan chocolate can be absolutely delicious.

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To be honest, I did not love the tour. We did sample a lot of food, but I definitely didn't leave full, nor feel like we sampled enough. I did, however, really enjoy all of the food we tried. Yes, even the anchovy.

As a native Vermonter that lived in Burlington for a few years, I felt that there could have been more focus on the details about the food of the city. I wanted to hear more history and see more restaurants. I love tours because they usually give a lot of information, and I did not feel that I got enough on this one.

We also reached the farmer's market on the tail end of their day, so we did not catch all of the vendors that we should have. I have been to the market on my own and I have sampled more variety for free than what we did that day. I also expected to visit more local restaurants, to get a real taste of the permanent Burlington food scene, rather than just the Saturday Farmer's Market scene.

Would I recommend this tour to others? Not quite yet. If more information is added and a chance to see and taste the samplings from other restaurants, then yes! Would I recommend you try the Tasting Room, the vendors at the market, or Pistou? Absolutely. Everything we had that day was great.

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I want to thank Burlington Food Tours for inviting me on the tour. I love the idea of food tours in Burlington and hope that it can take off next year.

I also love that I am now craving these foods and I have been opened up to new businesses that I had never heard of.

If you are interested in a Burlington Foods Tour for yourself, check out their website and purchase tickets here. Tours are offered every Saturday until October 13th from 12:00 pm to 2:30 pm.

DC Eats: 2 Amy's

Remember on Monday when I said that I didn't have speed workouts for a few more weeks? I found out Tuesday morning that I was quite mistaken. I had a track workout scheduled for Tuesday.

400s.

Easy enough - right? Well, not when you were expecting to do easy mileage. The good thing is that they're done and I have a little speed in me. There's no such thing as an easy week when it comes to marathon training.

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Brace yourself - I'm about to discuss pizza - yes, again!

We have been talking about going to 2 Amy's for some time now with a friend of ours. We've heard great things about the place and I have run past it quite often. It actually took me a few months to figure out what it was, but even without knowing, I had a feeling that it was good: There always seemed to be people waiting outside of it if I run by in the evening.

On the outside it looks like a small little restaurant, but once inside you discover that there are two downstairs rooms, an outdoor seating area, and an upstairs! We sat upstairs which was quieter and cool - good for a warm DC day.

The restaurant has gone through a certification process to sell some of their pizza's with the "pizza D.O.C" name. This means that the Italian govern recognizes their pizzas as authentic: the pizzas contain authentic ingredients and are baked in a wood oven - the traditional Neapolitan way. We ordered the special for the evening and the margherita pizza, and were encouraged to get an appetizer by the waitress. Apparently two pizzas are not enough to share between three people, so Tom and I opted to split the potato and prosciutto croquettes.

The croquettes were crispy and tasted different than the Spanish versions I'm used to. They had some herbs in them, giving them more flavor. I enjoyed them but prefer the creaminess of Spanish croquettes.

The pizza's, however, were great.

The special had summer squash, tomatoes, pine nuts, and a smoked buffalo mozzarella cheese that was definitely smoked. The pizza was the opposite of District of Pi, and had a much thinner crust. Their margherita pizza was really great and I could have eaten a whole one myself.

We opted out of dessert because we had blueberry peach pie at home, but it looked sounded tasty. On our way home we passed by the National Cathedral. I have yet to actually visit the place, but it looked stunning at dusk.

Again - as with my last pizza post -  I am sorry for the crappy cell phone quality photos. I still feel weird about taking photos in a restaurant and try to make it as quick as possible.

District of Pi and Bruno Mars

We had quite a pizza-filled and music-filled weekend down here. Tom and I had dinner twice, yes, twice, at District of Pi. The first time was with a friend, the second time was because I couldn't stop craving the deep dish pizza. District of Pi makes by far the best pizza that I've had down here. Only - if you go, be sure to bring a sweater because it was mighty chilly in there!

*I apologize for the cell-phone quality shots. I've been leaving the good camera at home*

On Friday I discovered my new most favorite pizza: The Western Addition - with mozzarella, spinach, ricotta, feta, mushrooms, onions, and garlic. Only we added bacon. Bacon makes everything better, doesn't it? I was hooked on deep dish with this one. The flavors were amazing and I loved the texture of the crust.

The  South Side Classico

Saturday we ordered their South Side Classico with mozzarella, sausage, mushrooms, green bell peppers, and onions. The tomato sauce piled on top of all of the ingredients made my day.

We also tried their 'pi bites' which are basically breaded and baked mozzarella sticks with prosciutto and rosemary. Problem was there was WAY too much rosemary and hardly any prosciutto. I literally tore one open looking for the prosciutto and found only one small chunk :( Overall, the food was great, but the service was super slow.

I forgot about the service though as soon as we got to the Verizon Center for the Bruno Mars concert. Tom got me the tickets for my birthday so I've been patiently waiting for months. I was surprised to find out that Saturday was the FIRST night of his Moonshine Jungle tour!

Bruno is about to come out

No pictures or video would ever give you the full effect of his concert, but I will say that I enjoyed it quite a bit. We weren't as close as we were when we saw him at the Champlain Valley Fair, and there was definitely a more theatrical-vibe to this concert compared to the last. There was fire, there was confetti, there were deafening screams from the thousands of women/girls there, and it was awesome. I was very relieved to see that we were NOT the only non-preteens at this show (unlike two years ago) and the audience seemed to be more mixed and around our age.

And I go on day three now of having 'Treasure' and 'Natalie' constantly playing my head.

Good Eats: Palena and Ice Cream Sandwiches

After a long, lonely day of unpacking boxes with Wilson, I was very excited to hear that Tom wanted to go out to dinner when he got home. We live near a bunch of restaurants and had to decide between Thai, Indian, Mediterranean, American, Mexican, or Italian. I'm sure there are more choices but I am still not that familiar with the restaurants near us.

We did a quick scope out of the row of restaurants before settling at Palena, an Italian restaurant.

I ordered the gnocchi with peas, bacon (only fancier - I just can't remember what it was) and goat cheese. This was my second time having gnocchi ever, and I am very happy I gave it another try. It was delicious! It had a hint of lemon which made it the perfect summer dish. I was in love with it and was sad to take my last bite. 

Tom had their grilled Salmon which was even more delicious than the gnocchi. And you certainly did not need ketchup with these fries. A dip into the salmon's sauce was more than enough.

Since it was about 93 degrees when we got out of dinner, we decided to hit up Sugar Magnolia on our way back to the apartment. It's a cute little cookie bakery that has unique ice cream flavors as well as homemade ice cream sandwiches. 

We both grabbed the salted caramel ice cream sandwich with chocolate cookies. I really enjoyed the sandwich if I "forgot" that it was supposed to be salted caramel. Otherwise, I couldn't really tell that it was caramel or salted. It was a nice little treat to cool us off for the rest of our trip home.

Deliciousness: The Prohibition Pig

Tom and I paid a visit to Waterbury last evening to have dinner with a good friend of ours, Matt. Matt was in VT for the week and we were fortunate to have the chance to meet up with him before we left. We needed someplace between Milton and Montpelier, so Tom decided that we would check out the new restaurant, The Prohibition Pig.

He made a good choice.

This new restaurant takes the place of the Alchemist, which was flooded last August during Tropical Storm Irene. It looks quite classy inside, with a darker interior and jars of pickled vegetables along the walls. Their wine and beer list is quite extensive, providing many options for diners. I opted for a Vermont brew, the Hill Farmstead Florence, and was very pleased with the choice.

Barbecue is not always my thing, but it was last night. I ordered their house burger, served with pimiento cheese, a fried green tomato, and house smoked bacon. The burger was sandwiched between a sweet potato bun and was accompanied by a house pickle. It was the most delicious burger that I have ever eaten. Although I wanted more after taking my last bite, it was the perfect amount that left me satisfied after the meal.

The boys ordered apple cider donut holes and a bowl of maple, bourbon, and bacon ice cream. I nabbed one of the donut holes, but cannot tell you why I decided not to try the ice cream. Again, very tasty.

Question for you: What is the most unique burger combination you have ever had?

Sweet Surprise

I got home from school today and found an awesome surprise waiting for me. No, it wasn't the Praxis study book in the Amazon box. It was what was inside the bag.

Talk about cupcake deliciousness! Tom was in Fairfax this morning and stopped at Eastman's Bakery after hearing about this bakery a few nights ago. He brought home a Cookies n' Cream cupcake that included a chocolate center, crushed Oreo buttercream and topped with an Oreo. Yum!

I tried really hard to wait until Tom got home so we could share the cupcake, but I only lasted a half hour! I am SO weak when it comes to chocolate.

You will be happy to hear that I managed to only eat half of it. And I will force myself to stay away from the remaining half so he can have it when he comes home from work. But he better hurry.....

my little cupcake Grand Opening!

My new favorite place in Vermont is the my little cupcake shop in Burlington. This is the second shop that owners Michelle and Stephanie have opened (the first being in Essex) and yesterday was the grand opening!

You bet I was there bright and early. I had been looking forward to this day for months. It was beautiful inside. If you're in the Burlington area you have got to check it out. Not only do they have 12 flavors of their mini cupcakes, but they have regular-sized cupcakes for sale as well!

Tom and I were both excited to see our favorite flavors. His is dirt (chocolate cupcake, chocolate frosting, with Oreo crumbs and a gummy worm) and mine is birthday cake (vanilla cake with chocolate frosting and sprinkles).

These little minis were chocolate cupcakes with a cookie dough surprise inside, topped with vanilla frosting and a mini chocolate chip cookie on top. They may have made it into my top 3 favorite flavors.

We loved the atmosphere inside. There were Halloween decorations around the cupcake cases and even REAL tulips! The wood floors, exposed brick, and beautiful ceiling only add to its character. And the pink chairs add a touch of playfulness that's expected in a cupcake shop. 

A toast to my little cupcake's grand opening!

Cupcake Tour: Washington DC

When I go on vacation there's one thing I can look forward to no matter where I go: new baked goodies to try! A few weekends ago Tom and I went to Washington DC for a wedding. We visited with friends, went for runs around the Mall and Embassy Row, and of course, had a cupcake tour through Georgetown.

First stop: Baked and Wired. It's not easy to spot, especially with the construction going on, but well worth the detour! Their cupcakes our HUGE and unique. They don't have the typical "I'm a cupcake" wrapper. There were so many flavors to choose from. Did I want the Chocolate Satin, the Chocolate Cupcake of Doom, or to step out of my comfort zone and try the Strawberry Cupcake? I finally decided on Theresa's Birthday Cake which their website describes as  "The family recipe for moist tangy chocolate cake with a maple buttercream." I had to pay homage to my Vermont roots and give it a go. 

It was amazing!!!! I loved the frosting. Some of the others didn't like how sweet the frostings were, but I liked the texture and for me, the sweetness balanced out my chocolate cupcake. Tom tried the Caramel Apple - which was too sweet for me! It was an apple cake topped with caramel and frosting. 

Clockwise starting from the left: Carrot Cake, Chai Cupcake, Teresa's Birthday Cake, and Caramel Apple

Stop #2: Georgetown Cupcakes. The main purpose of the cupcake tour was to check out the TLC-famous cupcake shop. I knew to expect a line but I wasn't ready to wait in it. It took at least 20 minutes to get inside their doors (I refused to look at my watch). For some reason, it was more difficult for me to choose what I wanted when I saw the cupcakes. Their famous frosting wasn't visually doing it for me. We picked up 6 cupcakes and were on our way to dinner.

When I think of red velvet I think of a cocoa cake and cream cheese frosting. I didn't taste that with their version, which was quite a disappointment. We had their chocolate cupcake with peanut butter frosting, but again, I didn't like it. Their strawberry cupcake for some reason screamed fake strawberries, so that was a no go for me as well. Their chocolate ganache is what saved me with each cupcake. I apologize for not having a photo of their cupcakes but after our plane ride back to VT they no longer looked worthy of a photo.

Which one wins? Baked and Wired. It'll definitely be a stop on my next visit to Georgetown. My mouth is watering just thinking of it.....

Best Éclair ever?

It's not rare to find my chocolate addiction interfering with my day. There are some mornings that I crave chocolate as soon as I'm done breakfast. If I don't do anything about it, chocolate consumes my thoughts until I finally get some. Many times I've been in meetings where all I can think of is "I hope this ends soon so I can go find a cookie". 

Last Friday I decided to put an early end to that craving by stopping at La Brioche on my way to work. I never know what to expect to find when I go in (I don't go in that often), but something caught my eye immediately. 

An éclair. 

I knew it wouldn't last once I got to work so I took a photo of it while waiting at a stop light.

Oh and this just wasn't any éclair. It was filled with chocolate. 

It took all I could to keep it in one piece until I got to work. I refuse to eat something as beautiful as that while driving. 

Sadly, it was gone in about 4 bites. But those 4 bites were the highlight of the week for my mouth. The chocolate filling was absolutely delicious. I savored each piece until there was no more left.

It was a great way to start the last workday of the week. 

Goodbyes Over Frog Legs

One of my really great friends is going off to law school tomorrow. Tom and I got the chance to see him one last time on Friday. We went putt-putting at Essex Mini Golf and I lost. My score was almost double the winning score. What can I say?

After our grueling game, we headed across the way to Tiny Thai in the Essex Outlets. Their appetizer special was 3 fried frog legs. For some reason I was very excited to try them! When I was younger my mom would surprise my dad by bringing frog legs home for dinner. She worked in the Seafood department at Hannaford and every once in a while would order frog legs for my dad. He'd hang out of his mouth and we'd laugh at him, but we were too grossed out to try them ourselves.

I have to say, they weren't bad. They had their own distinct flavor. The sauce served with the dish was absolutely delicious, especially when combined with the crispiness of the batter. Once the legs were gone, it doubled as a salad dressing! Our waitress, who was around 17, basically told us that she thought we were crazy for trying the legs. She had never tried them, and had no plans to do so.

The rest of the meal was amazing as usual. I ordered the Pong Garee, which was chicken stir-friend with yellow Indian curry powder, egg, onion, mushroom, bell peppers, and scallion. There were too many peppers for my liking, only because I'm not a huge fan of peppers to begin with. I thought that the chicken was cooked very well, and it went amazing with the curry, egg, and rice. I've eaten at Tiny Thai three times and have ordered this dish twice. It easily surpasses anything that I've had at Montpelier's Thai restaurant, The Royal Orchid.

The Red Onion

I went out to lunch today with Sara and her boyfriend. I always like seeing her. We usually go out for lunch or dinner and decided to try someplace new. I asked Tom's roommates for some names of good places in Burlington to go out for lunch. It always seems like the out-a-staters know the good places to eat better than me, a native Vermonter who has always lived within 25 minutes of Burlington

Doug told me about the Red Onion. Apparently they're very well known for their Red Onion sandwich. It's right on Church Street across from Town Hall and definitely worth a stop. It's a nice little deli with amazing looking sandwiches. I probably would have been very satisfied with whatever sandwich I chose, but I decided to go with their Red Onion on Honey Oat bread.

I'm not usually a fan of sandwiches, but I was a huge fan of this one. So many different flavors and textures were going on in my mouth (in a good way!). They make their own bread! How cool is that. The two pieces of bread were loaded with shredded turkey, crispy bacon, sweet apples to compliment the red onions, smoke gruyere cheese and a dried tomato mayonnaise - all toasted, all delicious. It was a bit messy since they fill up that sandwich to give you what you pay for, but I could deal with a messy face since it meant pleased taste buds and a full tummy.


We stopped by Lake Champlain Chocolates after (my favorite store on Church Street). I can't tell you the emotions I feel when I walk into a store with counters lined with chocolate just waiting for me to try, and fresh fudge being worked in the window. I am a chocoholic and there's no denying it. I love how they give out free samples in the shop. I tried their Hazelnut Praline chocolate and that was so good! My taste buds have finally graduated from Hershey's and know how to taste the chocolate for the flavors of chocolate and added surprises, and not the sugar that Hershey is made of (that's a huge step for me!)

I really enjoyed my time with Sara and our roaming around. It's warming up now. Earlier this week it was around zero. Actually some mornings it was below. Today it was around 40, but cloudy and super windy. I like the warmth though. I could smell smells in the air that I couldn't smell before because they were frozen in place. But I'm wondering if I'm just more sensitive to them because I might be coming down with a cold (thank you to half of the UVM student body for being sick this week....)

I am now officially on my last ever undergrad spring break. Unlike last year when I had a freaking amazing time traveling countries, running in Rome, and enjoying Chocolate in Belgium, I will be in Vermont, hopefully running still (to keep training for the marathon) and working at Hannies.

And I plan on working on my cross stitch. America's Next Top model started and I forgot all about it so I have some shows to catch up on!!!