If you ever find yourself in Burlington, Vermont and in need of a great little restaurant for interesting, locally-grown food and an interesting (and impressively long) by-the-glass wine list, Smokejacks on Church Street is for you.
We loved it so much, we we ate there last Saturday for lunch and again on Sunday for brunch.
On
our first visit, we had just landed and gotten into town, plus we knew we had a big meal coming at dinner, so we chose went with a lighter meal. We started with three Vermont-made
cheeses from their impressive list of artisanal cheeses. I wish I had written down their names...but they were all delicious.
We also
enjoyed a simple salad of super-fresh greens, goat cheese and a light
dressing. Absolutely delicious.
As for wine, I was in the mood for a spicy Gewurzt, so I had a glass of 2002 A. Scherer Gewurztraminer (Alsace) while Nena sipped on a flight of Rieslings. Her favorite was the Wynns...mine was the Ostertag. I wouldn't classify any of the wines as mind blowing, but they were all good and not overly chilled like you often see.
When we went back on Sunday, it was just before heading to the airport to fly home...and we were hungry this time.
To
start, Nena had a bowl of spicy sweet potato soup. Was it spicy? Not
really, but it was very tasty. A dollop of chipotle cream would have
been perfect, but neither of us had any complaints at all.
I opted for a mini-portion of their macaroni and cheese with caramelized
onions, herbs, parsely, bacon and scallions. You can prety much serve
me anything with bacon and scallions. The only bad thing about it was that I should have ordered the full-size portion...it was so good.
Next,
Nena enjoyed the spring salad we had the day before...but I wanted
something more substantial, ordering a grilled smoked turkey sandwich
with gouda, avocado, locally smoked bacon. It was a top-10 sandwich of
my life.
The next time Nena and I go to
Burlington (and we'll definitely be back) I want to go to Smokejacks
for dinner...the menu looks great.
This was my first time in Burlington, and no matter where we went, I was impressed with how dedicated everyone seems to be to using locally made products. Everything has a farm name or a city or a location associated with it. And even if something wasn't "local" the locale was still mentioned...because it's still important. You can taste the difference.
Sorry for the off topic post, but I'm wondering how your sense of taste has been since your tonsillectomy. I had my tonsils out the day before you, I believe. March 31. Tomorrow is four weeks exactly and my sense of taste is still really off. Nothing tastes right at all. Wonder if you've had any problems in that regard. I sincerely hope not. But if you have, I wonder if you have any insight for me. My ENT just says "give it time." Found your blog via a google search for more info on this issue.
Posted by: Tasteless in NJ | April 27, 2005 at 05:41 PM
Hi there,
Just wandered onto your blog while doing some dining research. I live on LI at the moment, but am originally from Burlington, VT. Smokejacks is certainly a widely-respected establishment in a town of many highly regarded eateries.
If you ever find yourself back in Burlington and are itching to try some of the other establishments, here is a short list of my favorites.
In Burlington:
A Single Pebble, truly an amazing experience. Chinese cuisine like you've never seen it, as nothing on the menu is familiar to the American sense of Chinese food. Two short blocks from the heart of Church St. http://www.asinglepebble.com/
Leunig's Bistro, a very popular lunch and dinner eatery on Church St.
In Shelburne (15 minutes south of downtown):
Cafe Shelburne: A fine, if-tiny French restaurant, with stellar service, a great wine list, and a delightful menu.
In Vergennes (30 minutes south of downtown):
The Black Sheep Bistro: Very tiny contemporary restaurant that has mind-bogglingly great food, cozy atmosphere, and wonderful service. The best quality-price ratio in the state, bar none. Many Burlingtonians make the trip down to here regularly. It's that good.
There are many more to love, depending on mood (Thai, Vietnamese, Japanese, Italian, etc.) But these are the establishments I always visit when I come back home. Cheers and Bon Appetit!
Posted by: Bill | February 14, 2006 at 12:48 PM