Offbeat Eats

(Closed) Today’s review is Wasp’s Snack Bar and Diner in Woodstock, Vt, which several UVScene readers requested that I review (and one person requested that I didn’t, more on that below). It’s been several years (and multiple owners, if I’m not mistaken) since my last trip to Wasp’s Diner, since Wasp’s isn’t open for business on weekends (which is my normal reviewing time), so it’s primary clientele is Woodstock locals. That, and the decidely low-key storefront really keep this place from showing up on too many tourists’ radars as well.

(Closed) Carol and I dropped by the new Farmers Diner location to see how things were going. Back in 2003, when Farmers Diner was in their former Barre, VT location, we had a fairly pleasant meal there, but not longer after that, they closed the Barre location. We’ve been looking forward to their return to the local restaurant scene. For those that aren’t aware of Farmers Diner, in addition to just serving food, they have a particular mission, to spend 65 cents of ever dollar on food that originated within 70 miles of the Diner at local farms and small scale producers. So, a substantial fraction of the menu is made from locally produced meat, cheese, and produce (and, with the current menu, they even highlight in red the items that were produced locally). The goal is to create a larger market for local suppliers, and not have to be bringing in our meat and produce from distant locations when we have good products already here.

(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) 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.

(Closed) Since I live in Grantham, if I feel the need to duck out for a quick bite, it’s often easier to drive down to Newport, NH than the Upper Valley proper, since (a) it’s closer (9 miles vs 16 miles), and (b) there are actually some interesting places to eat in Newport. Indeed, among other places, it sports a good (and reasonably authentic) Mexican place (the oddly-named Lil’ Red Baron, which for some items I prefer it to Gusanoz), a pretty good tavern (Eagle Tavern), and a drive-in complete with carhops. I’ll focus on the last one for this review (since I ate there today).

(Closed) Saturday, I got up too late to do one of my diner reviews. But, lunch time was rolling around, so after 30 minutes of checking out the latest at the Cooler Gallery, Carol and I headed over to the Tip Top Cafe to check out the third cafe to inhabit this nice little spot for lunch (since it was lunchtime, and they don’t do breakfast). We ended up having quite the good lunch at the Tip Top…

(Closed) Since I’ve basically exhausted the list of Diners in the Upper Valley, I figured I should review some of the other breakfast joints. I’ll start with one of my favorites: Dana’s by the Gorge in Quechee, VT (umm, by the gorge…). Anyone who regularly dines with me knows that my favorite breakfast items are, roughly in order, biscuits and gravy, pancakes, and waffles. So usually when I’m visiting a place for the first time I’ll have one of these three items. However, Dana’s was different, since one menu item jumped out at me: the Vermont Rarebit (pictured at right). It’s basically an eggs Benedict dish, with the hollandaise sauce replaced with a Welsh-rarebit style cheddar sauce. Very delicious, and I seem to order this 90% of the time I’m there. And, in season, I visit there often enough that they are starting to recognize me.