Shaggy’s Snack Bar (Swanton, VT)

On our way back from our recent trip to Montreal, we were fairly hungry as we passed through Southern Quebec and Northern Vermont, which don’t have a lot of options (although Chez Ti Polo in Henryville, QC looks quite promising, I think I will have to check them out next time). One of the first towns encountered crossing back in Vermont is Swanton, so we decided to check out the area.

Swanton isn’t a particularly large town. In fact, it’s quite a small town. But it has two prominent places to eat coming into town off of the Interstate: McDonalds, and Shaggy’s Snack Bar. Obviously, we opted for the latter.

Shaggy’s is the exact sort of place you find in a lot of rural New England towns: the modest “Snack Bar” that offers a variety of burgers, dogs, and fries… as well as the ever-important ice cream. It’s not a large place: 90% of the building is the kitchen, with only two small tables inside, with the rest of the seating being the picnic tables outside, and the ever-present takeout. But when we walked into Shaggy’s, we noted that they also had a second menu: the pizza menu, and looking through the ordering window we could see that the kitchen staff was rolling out fresh balls of pizza dough… a lot of pizza dough. So it was obvious that Shaggy’s sells a lot of pizza, so we opted for a small mushroom and pepperoni pizza, and sat down to wait for our pizza.

However, while we were waiting the kitchen finished a fresh batch of fries, and one of the guys walked out to us to give us a free small fry while we were waiting. And I was pleasantly surprised by these fries, since they were very good: a nice crisp exterior, a fluffy interior, and not very greasy. I’d be happy if most places I went had fries this good, I’ll definitely think of stopping by Shaggy’s again for some fries and a burger.

The pizza arrived a few minutes later, and it was also a good little treat. Served up in the “Greek pizza” style with a crispy, oiled crust, this wasn’t the thin crust pizza I usually prefer, but it was pleasantly done nonetheless: a nice, fresh crust, a rich sauce that didn’t taste too sweet or salty, good toppings, and a nice cheese layer just starting to crisp up. This was a good pizza, and I can see why Shaggy’s sells a lot of these.

So, Shaggy’s was a pleasant snack stop on our way home, and between the good food and the pleasant staff, I’ll definitely keep it on my list for road trips up to Northern VT and Southern Quebec.

10 Responses

  1. Shannon 27 Jun 2013 at 10:13 #

    This place has always had the best french fries even back when it was called Roots years ago. I haven’t been in town for a number of years but still wish I could find a place that sells fries this good around where I live. LOL

  2. Llinda Bell 27 Jun 2013 at 11:07 #

    This is an awesome place to eat, Everything is freshly made.

  3. Jamie Perretta 27 Jun 2013 at 12:16 #

    This is an awesome place to eat. We try to go there everytime we go home.

  4. Debi 27 Jun 2013 at 13:13 #

    Shaggy’s is the best around and he is a generous man too…<3

  5. April Merrill 27 Jun 2013 at 22:49 #

    Shaggy’s has the Best food, the Friendliest Staff as well as the GREATEST OWNER in Town! Joe and his Family Run an Awesome snack Bar and Pizza shop. ๐Ÿ™‚ They have the Best Service and with A SMILE!

  6. kaszeta 28 Jun 2013 at 00:02 #

    I like all the comments. Obviously Shaggy’s has quite the following that likes the fries and pizza as much as I did. ๐Ÿ™‚

  7. Casey Raine Scofield 28 Jun 2013 at 10:28 #

    Joe has built an amazing business and by far the best place to eat in Swanton.

  8. Lynne 28 Jun 2013 at 11:54 #

    Shaggy’s has the best meat lover’s pizza ever! It’s a must-stop every Friday on my way home from work ๐Ÿ™‚

  9. B W 24 Jul 2014 at 09:03 #

    When our daughter attended McGill we would try to time the trip (6 hours each way) to pass Shaggys at lunch or dinner. Please please support the local owners/employees
    All the best
    BW

    • kaszeta 24 Jul 2014 at 09:34 #

      Indeed, Shaggy’s is now one of our preferred stopping points on the way to Montreal. ๐Ÿ™‚

Leave a Reply