Vermont in September

I'll be driving at a liesurely pace from Albany, NY to Burlington, VT area and back again from Sept. 16 to Sept. 20th. Any recommendations for food or sights would be much appreciated!

(I saw the post about the Farmer's Diner and Barre, VT, and that's definitely on the list. Thanks Dicksond!)

Just south of Burlington in Shelburne is a place called Shelburne Farms. It is a 1400 acre farm located right on Lake Champlain. The Inn is a beautiful house with 24 guest rooms that was built by Lila Vanderbilt and her husband. Most of the furniture in the guest rooms and throughout the house are original pieces. The Farm (a huge Normandy style barn) was set up by them to be a model farm. Cheese is still made on the property and much of the produce grown there is served in the restaurant.

http://www.shelburnefarms.org/about/index.shtm

Kim

I just got back from Burlington last week and narrowly missed an opportunity to visit American Flatbread, which is rumored to serve transcendentally good pizza. My so-called friends, who went before I got there, raved about it the rest of the trip. The Burlington location is new and doesn't appear to be listed on their website, but it sounds like it's worth checking out:

http://americanflatbread.com/

Have fun!

This place is one of the better culinary school restaurants I've been to:

http://www.necidining.com/NECICommonsMain.htm

If your trip should happen to take you near Queechee (worth a visit anyway) I recommend the restaurant at Simon Pearce glassworks.

We've ate at both the NECI Commons in downtown Burlington and Butlers at the Inn at Essex. Both were very good meals and especially for the price!

While you're in the Burlington area, make sure you go to the Magic Hat Brewery and get some #9 (my favorite beer ever). Also, some gravy fries at Nectars is a must!

A trip to the Blue Benn Diner in Bennington Vermont is WELL worth a stop. The breakfast burrito is fantastic. In North Bennington Pangea is an excellent dinner spot.

Wow, thanks for all the fantastic recommendations! I'm really looking forward to the trip, and now I have even more reason. My stomach is already grumbling (for yankee chop suey).

Now, any suggestions on keeping away the rain?

a few other things:

There also is a NECI restaurant in Montpelier, if that is on the way.

I find the best route to be up the New York side of the lake to a ferry which ends just south of Shelburne on the Vermont side. It is on the map, and is by far the quickest. One time I wandered up the New York side, exploring the lake shore. Another time, I went a little west and climbed a mountain of sorts on the southern edge of the Adirondacks, and then headed to I87 and north. Another time, I stopped in Saratoga and had a soak and a massage in a spa (the Crystal Spa, I believe, be sure to reserve early). I have not driven down the Vermont side, but from discussions, I think that it takes longer and offers less of interest en route, though the scenery is probably a little more lovely as it is less developed.

And the Shelburne Museum is one of the most amazing places I have ever visited. It is an outdoor museum, separate from Shelburne Farms. One of the daughters was a collector, and this place is where she put her collection. It is vast in its scope and variety, and impeccable in its quality. It includes buildings, bridges, a boat, and a train, as well as decoys, hat boxes, impressionist paintings, antique medical equipment, quilts, wagons, canoes, folk art, old signs, and more and more.

I just stopped to stretch and eat on my way one time because the Smithsonian guide, in an amazingly breathless statement for that publication, said something like "an impressive collecton of Americana" and I was curious. I spent six hours there. You start with these beautiful, restored old buildings, and then fill them with these collections, and every inch offers something worth spending time looking at.

Enjoy. And don't forget to hit the cheese places. And be sure to take a camera to the cemetary in Barre.