Burlington Vermont VT: Best Pub Grub

[goody1720]

I'm heading up to Burlington VT for a long weekend of skiing, drinking and eating. I'll be staying right off of Church Street which I am beginning to realize is LOADED with pubs. Be it that I have limited time I was hoping to just hit the best of the best for both food and local brews. I would really appreciate your suggestions!

[leekalee]

my ideal pub crawl through downtown Burlington:
Flatbread for pizza and beer
Vermont Pub and Brewery is right up the street from Flatbread- never had their food, but the beer is good!
Three Needs at the end of the night (dive bar charm with -again- beer brewed right there)
the Other Place (more dive bar charm, this time with beer from around Vermont)

If you're into the whole pub crawl thing, just walk down Church St. There are a lot of bars.

If you want something a little nicer, try the Daily Planet. It's a classy joint.

[contessa1]

We've just returned from Burlington and had lunch at the Vt.Pub & Brewery the other day. It was great! Hubby had a turkey/swiss/coleslaw w/Russian dressing on Pumpernickil grilled which was great!! The sweet fries only added to the dish. I had a Buffalo Chix Roly Poly which was very good. I watched many dishes going by which were ample and everyone appeared to enjoy. We don't drink beer but it appears that's a favorite. Very reasonable prices, too. I also had a cup of seafood chowder which was mighty tasty!
We had dinner @ Luneig's which was also great! A short wait but well worth it.
We shared some fried calamari for an appetizer which were young and delicious! I had the Sea Bass which was ok but the melange underneath it was fabulous. A melange of onions, fennel, artichokes, spinach and who knows what else, all in a light tomato sauce. Oooolala!! Hubby had the roasted pork w/figs in a gorgonzola sauce which he really enjoyed. My grandson had onion soup which he enjoyed and Steak, frites w/a port wine reduction also delicious! We will return.
Also, had breakfast at the Skinny Pancake on Battery St. All crepes......really, really delicious!
Burlington is a wonderfully cosmopolitan for a college town. Lots of excellent restaurants and shops. Can't wait to spend more time there.
Contessa

[bakersma]

Not exactly "pub grub" (actually I think they do serve liquor) but a stop at Bove's Restaurant for Italian food is a Burlington tradition for many folks. Just a couple of minutes walk from Church St. down towards the lake. Surprised no one mentioned it. Excellent lasagna ......

[TonyO]

No disrespect to Bove's, but the biggest appeal of their restaurant is the prices not the food. Cottage cheese in lasagna is just plain weird ! I remember my firts visit there (about 12 years ago) and ordering a meatball parm sandwich and they looked at me like I was from another planet. After explaining that it was simply a meatball sandwich with melted mozzarella or provolone, it was like the clouds had parted !

[bakersma]

American Flatbread, for sure.

Be prepared for a bit of a possible wait depending when you get there.....they do a thriving business......but definitely worth it.

[TonyO]

If you see Switchback on draft, make sure you try a pint (or two, or three,....). It seems to appeal to almost all tastes.

[catnip]

I've never had a bad meal at the Vermont Brewpub in downtown Burlington..
Them make their own beer and I found the food to be just wonderful.
I think this is an excellent food/breww combination.
Have a good time!
Ski-bum-Catnip

[bm_vt]

I'm assuming you mean the Vermont Pub & Brewery? It gets mixed reviews by folks who post here, but I like it. It's got good, basic pub food (nothing awesome, but not awful) and I like their beer too. It's on the corner of College Street & St. Paul Street, one block toward the lake from Church Street.
I second American Flatbread. Good pizza's and beer.
You'll be able to get local microbrews at just about every bar in town. I second Switchback.
Have fun!

[catnip]

Thanks for the correction bm!
I did mean Vt. Pub and Brewery.
I've been calling the place the Vt. Brewpub for so long that I think that is the actual name of the place;sorry for the error.'like you said it's good and basic.
I enjoy sitting at the bar and sampling their wares along with a good burger and brew and watching the world go around in downtown Burlington.
Will have to try Switchback's the next time up there.

[goody1720]

I have heard a lot of people talk about Flatbreads so I will definitly be there at some point. You 3 seem to know a lot about the area...if you were to put together a quasi-pub crawl from like 5 bars on or near Church Street for Saturday night what would it consist of???

[TonyO]

American Flatbread, VT Pub and Brewery, Ri-Ra, Halvorsons, Nectars. If you don't like a place, move on, if you do, stay longer. Ri-Ra and Nectars are liekly to have live music. All are within a few minutes of each other.

[leekalee]

It's far from undiscovered, but after a day of skiing and being cold, nothing sounds better to me than pizza at Flatbread and some of their beer (brewed on-site). Yum. It's not quite on Church St., but is an easy walk. It'll be crowded, but it's worth the wait. Pizza is made in a big wood-fired oven and beer brewed in the back.

Other good local beer? The 3 Needs bar has great beer, but not any food. It's a little college-y, but I don't mind.

Also, I don't know where you'll be skiing, but the Alchemist in Waterbury (a little outside Burlington) has the best beer and food! The sweet potato fries make me weak....