Offbeat Eats

(Closed) This weekend, Carol and I were craving another round of pancakes, so we decided to try out Blanche and Bill’s Pancake House in Bridgewater Corners, VT, stopping off to pick up Graham for a third opinion. After a fairly long drive out to Bridgewater Corners that reminded me that Bridgewater is actually a bit of a haul from the Upper Valley proper, we arrived at Blance and Bill’s, which at 9am was still fairly quiet (but by the time we left, the place had a pretty long line starting to form).

(Closed) Coming back from a hike in the White Mountains, Carol and I were both craving a hearty dinner, so we decided to swing back home via the Lakes Region (note that travel between the White Mountains and Grantham is a classic case of “can’t get there from here”, since the roads all go perpendicular to that route). From my few previous trips out there, I recalled that the New Hampton and Meredith area had a few decent-looking restaurants, so we decided to swing down that way. Sure enough, we happened upon Bobby’s Girl Diner, a classic Worcester Diner Car (with a large dining room added on to the back), and decided to stop there (later we came across Hart’s Turkey Farm, which is what I had been thinking of, so we’ll try that place next time). We both had the open face turkey sandwich with cole slaw, which was quite generous, with nice, chunky skin-on mashed potatoes, the turkey of reasonable quality, sliced from a whole breast, and the bread was nicely toasted. Overall, a nice way to round out a day of hiking in the mountains.

Anyone that has had breakfast with me knows that I’m a pancake aficionado. I’m very particular about my pancakes (they must have the right flavor, texture, crust, and toppings), and if I find a proper pancake I’ll go way out of my way for them. Which brings us to Polly’s Pancake Parlor, where we went on Saturday. We make it a point to go at least once a year, usually combining it with hiking in the White Mountains. Located in Sugar Hill, New Hampshire (about 20 minutes from Franconia Notch), Polly’s is a modestly-sized pancake dining room attached to an old sugarhouse (in which they make their own maple products). Sure, New Hampshire and Vermont, especially during mapling season, are chock full of sugarhouses and pancake joints. But, in my not-so-humble opinion, Polly’s is the queen of New England pancake joints, and forever tied for first place on my list with Al’s Breakfast of Minneapolis for Best Pancake Ever and Best Breakfast Ever.

First of all, I’ll admit, I’m a pizza snob. There are only a handful of pizza places in existence that I consider great (and most of these are in or around New Haven, CT), a few more that I consider good (American Flatbread, for one example in these parts), and the other 99.9% are just plain mediocre. Northern New England, in particular, is mostly filled with mediocre “Village Pizzas” and “Houses of Pizza” serving bland pizza with questionable cheese on soggy crusts, or places with elaborate brick ovens that, despite having good equipment, manage to turn perfectly good raw ingredients into leathery pucks. Pie-casso in Stowe, VT, however, is one of the notable exceptions to this rule….

(Closed) Since Brooksie’s in Sharon, VT burnt down a few years back, I haven’t really been back to eat in town. However, several times driving between Sharon and Royalton I noticed Dixie’s and an ice cream stand, and figured that at some point I’d try them out. Well, this weekend, Carol and I had to go up to Burlington, so this was a handy opportunity for us to check out Dixie’s. Myself, I had to do my regular order of Biscuits and Gravy, while Carol had a stack of pancakes.