Guidebook for Burlington

Jamie
Guidebook for Burlington

Food Scene

When you're looking for a really nice dinner spot, A Single Pebble hits the mark. Dishes are served family-style: while everything they have is great, the best thing on their menu is the Mock Eel appetizer. In addition, their Sunday dim sum is amazing.
59 locals recommend
A Single Pebble
133 Bank St
59 locals recommend
When you're looking for a really nice dinner spot, A Single Pebble hits the mark. Dishes are served family-style: while everything they have is great, the best thing on their menu is the Mock Eel appetizer. In addition, their Sunday dim sum is amazing.
This is our go-to budget-friendly date night spot. PB always gets the bahn mi, saying it's peasant food perfection: simple, perfectly fresh ingredients. J almost invariably gets the coconut flour Crispy Crêpe.
M-Saigon
370 Shelburne Rd
This is our go-to budget-friendly date night spot. PB always gets the bahn mi, saying it's peasant food perfection: simple, perfectly fresh ingredients. J almost invariably gets the coconut flour Crispy Crêpe.
Stone Soup is a Burlington lunchtime institution. It has been around for nearly twenty years, and has a rotating collection of locally-produced, made-from-scratch meals. They're great at offering a wide variety of meat, non-meat, dairy, non-dairy, gluten-containing, and gluten-free dishes.
33 locals recommend
Zabby & Elf's Stone Soup
211 College St
33 locals recommend
Stone Soup is a Burlington lunchtime institution. It has been around for nearly twenty years, and has a rotating collection of locally-produced, made-from-scratch meals. They're great at offering a wide variety of meat, non-meat, dairy, non-dairy, gluten-containing, and gluten-free dishes.
The BEST gelato and sorbet to be found anywhere. Fresh batches are made daily, so the flavors change up every day. Though most of their offerings have dairy, they consistently have a couple of sorbets and dairy-free gelatos that have spoiled us completely.
11 locals recommend
Shy Guy Gelato
198 St Paul St
11 locals recommend
The BEST gelato and sorbet to be found anywhere. Fresh batches are made daily, so the flavors change up every day. Though most of their offerings have dairy, they consistently have a couple of sorbets and dairy-free gelatos that have spoiled us completely.
This is where we get the coffee we provide for you! Uncommon Grounds roasts all of their beans in-house. They're so good, that the only thing PB's mom ever wants us to bring from Vermont is another pound of light roast.
14 locals recommend
Uncommon Grounds Coffee & Tea
42 Church St
14 locals recommend
This is where we get the coffee we provide for you! Uncommon Grounds roasts all of their beans in-house. They're so good, that the only thing PB's mom ever wants us to bring from Vermont is another pound of light roast.
We're hard-pressed to choose the best bakery in Burlington, but Great Harvest edges out in the lead. This is where we get the bread we provide for our guests: their sandwiches are also terrific, so we'd recommend them as a good place to grab a packed lunch before heading out on your adventures!
16 locals recommend
Great Harvest Bakery + Café
382 Pine St
16 locals recommend
We're hard-pressed to choose the best bakery in Burlington, but Great Harvest edges out in the lead. This is where we get the bread we provide for our guests: their sandwiches are also terrific, so we'd recommend them as a good place to grab a packed lunch before heading out on your adventures!
During warmer months, folks line up forever for their Friday night Food Truck event. Burlington is home to a LOT of amazing trucks: J's favorite foods so far are The Hindquarter's pork bahn mi and the homemade mint ice cream sandwiches sold from a cart she can't for the life of her remember the name of. The event opens at 4:30 or 5:00: if you get there early, you'll miss the worst of the rush.
87 locals recommend
ArtsRiot
400 Pine St
87 locals recommend
During warmer months, folks line up forever for their Friday night Food Truck event. Burlington is home to a LOT of amazing trucks: J's favorite foods so far are The Hindquarter's pork bahn mi and the homemade mint ice cream sandwiches sold from a cart she can't for the life of her remember the name of. The event opens at 4:30 or 5:00: if you get there early, you'll miss the worst of the rush.

Parks & Nature

Red Rocks has a nice couple of miles of trails that ends in a beautiful view across Lake Champlain. They're open from dawn 'til dusk, and while they do charge for parking, it's better to just keep your car at the AirBnB and enjoy the easy ten-minute walk over.
7 locals recommend
Red Rocks Park Road
Red Rocks Park Road
7 locals recommend
Red Rocks has a nice couple of miles of trails that ends in a beautiful view across Lake Champlain. They're open from dawn 'til dusk, and while they do charge for parking, it's better to just keep your car at the AirBnB and enjoy the easy ten-minute walk over.
Great swimming and access point for kayaking, canoeing, and paddleboarding. The bike path skirts the edge of the lake, connecting Red Rocks all the way through Burlington and up into the New North End. You can take the ten minutes to walk there from our place, park for free outside the entrance, or pay a small entrance fee to keep your car in one of the park's lots.
40 locals recommend
Oakledge Park
11 Flynn Ave
40 locals recommend
Great swimming and access point for kayaking, canoeing, and paddleboarding. The bike path skirts the edge of the lake, connecting Red Rocks all the way through Burlington and up into the New North End. You can take the ten minutes to walk there from our place, park for free outside the entrance, or pay a small entrance fee to keep your car in one of the park's lots.

Essentials

This is our go-to grocery store. It has a lot of local foods and produce, prepared meals and a buffet, and a great local wine/beer/cider collection.
145 locals recommend
City Market/Onion River Co-op
82 S Winooski Ave
145 locals recommend
This is our go-to grocery store. It has a lot of local foods and produce, prepared meals and a buffet, and a great local wine/beer/cider collection.
Nothing fancy, but worth knowing the closest grocery store to us.
13 locals recommend
Market 32 by Price Chopper
595 Shelburne Rd
13 locals recommend
Nothing fancy, but worth knowing the closest grocery store to us.

Drinks & Nightlife

J has tried to like beer for most of her adult life. She's traveled to some of the most venerable beer-producing countries in the world, lived with beer snobs, and dated hops sommeliers (which isn't actually a thing, but you know what I mean). So imagine her surprise when she tried Four Quarters' Chrysalis and *liked* it. And then, her shock when she tried their Fleur de Lis and *loved* it! So neither PB nor I can recommend breweries with the worldly knowledge of a been enthusiast. (Check out reviews on Yelp for those.) I can, however, speak to the excellent quality of their brewing, that is so terrific that it's let me peek over into that world. Definitely go visit Four Quarters!
50 locals recommend
Four Quarters Brewing
70 Main St
50 locals recommend
J has tried to like beer for most of her adult life. She's traveled to some of the most venerable beer-producing countries in the world, lived with beer snobs, and dated hops sommeliers (which isn't actually a thing, but you know what I mean). So imagine her surprise when she tried Four Quarters' Chrysalis and *liked* it. And then, her shock when she tried their Fleur de Lis and *loved* it! So neither PB nor I can recommend breweries with the worldly knowledge of a been enthusiast. (Check out reviews on Yelp for those.) I can, however, speak to the excellent quality of their brewing, that is so terrific that it's let me peek over into that world. Definitely go visit Four Quarters!
Delicious locally-made hard cider. They mostly do dry ciders. If you love ginger, be sure to check out the Dirty Mayor!
104 locals recommend
Citizen Cider
316 Pine St
104 locals recommend
Delicious locally-made hard cider. They mostly do dry ciders. If you love ginger, be sure to check out the Dirty Mayor!
Just a half-mile walk from PB&J's!
61 locals recommend
Queen City Brewery
703 Pine St
61 locals recommend
Just a half-mile walk from PB&J's!
Zero Gravity is about a half-mile from our place, and they're taking over the neighboring kitchen space to start making food, as well.
128 locals recommend
Zero Gravity Brewery
716 Birchcliff Pkwy
128 locals recommend
Zero Gravity is about a half-mile from our place, and they're taking over the neighboring kitchen space to start making food, as well.
A brewery less than a half-mile from our place, on the way down to Oak Ledge Park. Great outdoor seating in summer!
81 locals recommend
Switchback Brewing Co.
160 Flynn Ave
81 locals recommend
A brewery less than a half-mile from our place, on the way down to Oak Ledge Park. Great outdoor seating in summer!
Traditional Nordic fare and delicious mead brewed on site, Colchester's Mead Hall is my new favorite place to get something delicious to drink. My current favorites are Winter Warmer for cold nights, and Valkyrie's Choice for a delicious straightforward mead. You get four free samples whenever you go, so I definitely recommend getting something to eat while you're there! They have a great community-minded ethic for sourcing their foods and ingredients, and have frequent fun and low-key events.
Colchester's Mead Hall
856 Hercules Dr
Traditional Nordic fare and delicious mead brewed on site, Colchester's Mead Hall is my new favorite place to get something delicious to drink. My current favorites are Winter Warmer for cold nights, and Valkyrie's Choice for a delicious straightforward mead. You get four free samples whenever you go, so I definitely recommend getting something to eat while you're there! They have a great community-minded ethic for sourcing their foods and ingredients, and have frequent fun and low-key events.