Last year Dan and I took a trip out to Burlington, Vermont in early November. Burlington is one of my favorite places, and Dan had only passed through the city once before, so I was eager to show him around. On our drive up we listened to Michael Kiwanuka’s BBC Radio 1 artist takeover, which set the tone for a great weekend (side note: BBC Radio has a great app – iPlayer Radio – that I highly recommend!). We stayed in a cozy Airbnb that was a quick walk to Church Street and was perfect for two people.
Friday
When we arrived in Burlington, we stopped at Zabby and Elf’s Stone Soup, a warm and inviting spot with lots of gluten free (gf) and vegetarian options, for a quick lunch, before walking around the downtown area. We ventured into a cute shop, Common Deer, where I picked up some trinkets and a Skida headband that I ended up wearing all weekend. Then we headed to City Market , a co-op grocery store that resembles a Whole Foods, to stock up on wine and provisions! Finally it was time to check in to our cozy Airbnb.
After hanging out for a bit, we ventured to Citizen Cider. I was very excited to visit because I love all of their ciders, particularly Dirty Mayor. We got there at a perfect time, because we were able to snag two great seats at one of the long communal tables before it got busy. We tried many of their delicious ciders and got some (very tasty) appetizers, to hold us over until dinner. Citizen Cider is extremely gf friendly, as the ciders are all gf and gf options are clearly labeled on their food menu.
Later, we went to ¡Duino! (Duende), a place I had never been before, for a late dinner. Duino, and its two sister spaces, radiobean and Light Club Lamp Shop, are all connected and are located on a street near the downtown Church Street area. I would recommend visiting these spaces if you are interested in eclectic decor, because our visit was surely an experience. The food at Duino was delicious, and almost everything on the menu can be made gf and vegan, which meant I was able to eat POUTINE with a delicious butternut squash gravy. So good. We then hung out at radiobean and saw a few different bands perform, one of which was from the Boston area, and we just happened to see perform a few weeks later at a bar in Somerville.
Saturday
We planed to go to Mount Philo State Park for a hike in the morning, but we had to stop at Myer’s Bagel Bakery for sustenance beforehand. Myer’s is a no-frills bagel place that specializes in Montreal-style thin bagels, including GLUTEN FREE BAGELS. It’s a dream come true for me. A tip is to make sure you arrive early, because they often sell out.
If you have time, make sure you visit the antique/vintage market in the building next door, Barge Canal Market.
After devouring our bagels, we headed to Mount Philo, where we enjoyed a relatively low-key hike up to the top, and saw some amazing views of Lake Champlain.
We also saw one of my favorite Mary Oliver poems inscribed on the side of a building. It was pure magic.
We had planned to visit the Shelburne Museum on our way back, but realized we had forgotten our wallets (UGH), and ended up driving back to our place to regroup before heading back to Shelburne to visit Shelburne Vineyard. Shelburne Vineyard is a wonderful place to taste some delicious wine in a picturesque setting. It was rather busy when we arrived, but we finally got a spot at the tasting bar and enjoyed tasting some wine and chatting. One of our favorites was the Celestial Louise bubbly white wine.
After the Vineyard, we went to Magic Hat Brewing Company, where Dan got to try some beer and pick up a few gifts for a friend. We opted out of going on a guided tour, but we did explore the brewery, which was a cool experience. We were hungry after all of our beer and wine tasting, so we drove out to Winooski and got some lunch at Tiny Thai, another place that is also very gf friendly because they have gf items marked on their menu. We were exhausted, so we headed back to the Airbnb to get some rest and to decide what we wanted to do that night.
I am rather indecisive, so I was looking at Yelp reviews when I saw that we could add ourselves to a wait list for a super popular restaurant, The Farmhouse Tap & Grill, through the app. It was really convenient, and we were able to leisurely get ready without having to wait at the restaurant. Unfortunately, the restaurant was SO busy when we arrived that we ended up waiting and being seated almost two hours later. Luckily, we were able to hang out in their “subterranean speak easy,” Parlor. Despite the hours we were there, the food and service were both good, and there were plenty of GF options for me.
Sunday
We had planned to go to Penny Cluse Cafe for brunch, but there was a long wait, so we headed to Magnolia Bistro. The wait was much shorter, but we ended up waiting for almost an hour before we got seated. The food was good and there were lots of gf and vegetarian options, which was awesome. Before heading back to our Airbnb to pack up, we stopped at Outdoor Gear Exchange and picked up some more Skida apparel, and Dan got some chocolates at Lake Champlain Chocolates.
It was such an amazing weekend, and I cannot wait to visit again!
Do/Visit:
Mount Philo State Park ($5 entrance fee)
Eat:
Pho Hong (Vietnamese takeout, didn’t visit this time)
Drink
Shelburne Vineyard ($8 per person to taste all wines, includes a wine glass)
Magic Hat Brewing Company (free to
Shop:
