If you like coffee, then you will be happy to know that lots of Vermont cities and even towns have their own coffee houses with great locally roasted beans.  In my home town of Montpelier, the place to go to is Capitol Grounds. This great little coffee house on State street is always lively with lots of regular customers.  The staff is friendly and the coffee is great.  To go along with your coffee they serve a nice assortment of sandwiches and pastries.  If you’re heading up to Burlington you have even more options on Church Street, the city’s open air marketplace. The Burlington Free Press just had a great article describing all of the local java joints.  But the secret I am going to share is about our biggest coffee seller in Vermont (and the whole North East),  Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Waterbury.  I drive past Waterbury every day, and it you go by at the right time you can smell the coffee roasting.  If you drive down Coffee Lane off of Main Street in Waterbury you will find a little company retail outlet.  They often have sales on coffee.   Worth stopping by to stock up  if you are anywhere near on a weekday or Saturday morning!

It’s time to get some sugar on snow. This is a special Vermont treat that is only available this time of year.  I’m talking about maple syrup that is boiled until it is almost at the candy state, then poured on snow until it hardens. There are two classic side dishes to sugar on snow:  a home made cake donut and a pickle.  They say the donut is there to soak up the sweetness of the syrup and the pickle is there to “cleanse” the pallet.  I think it is there because eating a bunch of syrup can give you a pretty big sugar rush!  If you are in Vermont during March, there a number of sugar houses you can visit.  If you’d like to make your own sugar on snow (With real Vermont maple syrup, of course.) you can try this recipe.

I visited the Bragg Farm Sugar House in East Montpelier last week.  Listen to the podcast “Sugar Time” to hear how gallons of sap are turned into maple syrup!

When you buy  Vermont maple syrup, you are guaranteed to get the real article.  Doug and Barbara Bragg told me last week, when I interviewed them for my podcast, that their syrup conformed to state law and specifications.  Syrup needs to have the correct density and be labeled with a uniform grade for color and flavor.  There was an article  in the Burlington Free Press this week about Henry Marckres, a maple syrup inspector.  His job is to inspect sugar houses to make sure their product is up to snuff.  He also keeps an eye out on products that claim to have real Vermont maple syrup in them just to make sure they’re telling the truth.  So…there are other things you can put on your pancakes, but there is only one kind of real  maple syrup from Vermont.

If you’ve been thinking about visiting Vermont to see a sugar house you still have time!  Our winter is still hanging on with snow in the fields and cold weather all through the month of March.  This bad news for us is good news for you as it extends the sugaring season.  If you can visit between April 25-27, you should check out the Vermont Maple Festival in Saint Albans, Vermont (A few exits north of Burlington on the interstate).   Of course, any time is a good time for maple syrup!

Is there something you would like to see on My Secret Vermont or to hear on my podcast?  Post a comment or send me an e-mail – I’d like to hear from you!

My last podcast is about one of my favorite restaurants in Central Vermont- the Wayside.  The Wayside is the real deal.  It is the kind of restaurant where both farmers and business folks come for a good meal.  Set up like a large diner with a definite country home feel, the Wayside has a lunch counter and a large selection of booths to sit at.  All of the dinner selections cost between $6 and $8 and many come with a choice of soup or juice and side dishes.  Comfort food like meatloaf, chicken pot pie, and roast pork fill the menu along side some peculiar Vermont specialties like pickled tripe and salt pork with milk gravy.  You will want to stick around for dessert at the Wayside so you can sample their home made pies like maple cream and my favorite, the peanut butter ice cream pie.  If you are in the Barre/Montpelier area, you should visit the Wayside on Rt. 302.  Listen to my podcast to hear more about this secret Vermont place.

Welcome 2 Cents Readers!
Hi folks,

Thanks for checking out my site.  Here is the funky pizza place that David was talking about -Flatbread American Flatbread in Burlington.  This site – My Secret Vermont is a place where you can learn about my home state of Vermont.  Take a listen to my podcast or click around my site to learn about this great state.  Send me an e-mail if you would like your own questions answered!  Your question might be part of my next podcast!  mysecretvermont@gmail.com

This week I had the chance to visit with Patty Meade of Green Mountain Coffee Roasters at the visitor’s center they have created in Waterbury’s renovated 19th century train station.  If you like coffee, you will love visiting this center.  Once you have learned the story of Green Mountain Coffee Roaster’s farmers and Vermont roasting facitlity, you can stay a while in their cafe to enjoy some coffee, buy some beans to take home, and browse their coffee inspired gifts.

Lake Champlain Chocolate  Whether it’s Christmas, Valentines Day, or any day you would like a treat, Lake Champlain Chocolates will do the trick.  Jim Lampman started Lake Champlain Chocolates on a dare in 1983.  At that time, Jim was the chef and owner of Burlington’s Ice House restaurant.  When Jim’s pastry chef suggested that he could make better chocolates than the ones Jim had been buying for gifts, Lake Champlain Chocolates was born.  Lake Champlain Chocolates has grown into three locations, two in Burlington and one in Waterbury, and a booming website where you can order their fine chocolates.  I had a chance to interview Jim a little while back.  Listen to hear Jim describe Lake Champlain Chocolates and the quality that goes into everything they do.