Polka Dot (White River Junction, VT)

Polka Dot

(Update: Polka Dot shuttered in 2016, but it’s now a second location for Phnom Penh)

It’s a White River Junction institution. We all drive by it. I’ve eaten there several times. I even have a t-shirt of it (from the Main Street Museum). But, somehow, I hadn’t yet reviewed it.

I’m talking about the Polka Dot, which has been located on Main Street by the railroad tracks for a long time (I’m not sure when the Polka Dot name showed up, but the location has been an eatery of one sort or another since the 19th century). Sure, WRJ doesn’t have the train traffic it used to, and several other businesses have come and gone, but the Polka Dot has stayed on (even through the fire that demolished the rest of the block a few years ago). And it’s got some great items on the menu: on this visit, I enjoyed a variation of a hamburger: a cheeseburger served up on a toasted English muffin.

Polka Dot Lunch

Overall, I like the Polka Dot. While it’s a bit tired and worn, the staff is friendly, the food decent and affordable, and it’s a nice part of White River Junction history.

Pros:
1. They still have tripe on the menu. Sure, I don’t really like tripe, but you have to respect tradition.
2. It’s affordable.
3. Like any good diner, it attracts a wide variety of customers

Cons:
1. They have to like you for you to get free coffee refills. So be nice.
2. The unfortunate breakfast cutoff at 11am. I like my pancakes at noon…