BURLINGTON'S FOOD & WINE SCENE

Brewers and beer lovers from around the world travel to Vermont for our beer. Breweries like the Vermont Pub & Brewery and Magic Hat helped define American craft beer starting in the late 1980s, and also helped foster the state’s current generation of talented brewers. 

According to the National Brewers Association, Vermont leads the country in number of craft breweries per capita with fourteen breweries per 100,000 people. Here in Greater Burlington, we have the highest concentration and some of the most sought-after craft beers in the country can be found in convenience stores and fine dining establishments and almost everywhere in between. Pine Street in Burlington is at the center of it all, with 4 breweries just half a mile apart. But don’t hesitate to get off the beaten path. There are great breweries to discover all over the region. While it’s not a brewery, special mention must go to the Beverage Warehouse in Winooski, where you’ll find the best selection of cult following four-packs anywhere. There’s world class beer almost everywhere you look in this town.

Wine making in a cold climate seems like a frigid, uphill battle, but with some extra TLC, and a bit of yankee ingenuity, our small-batch winemakers have had great success with cold-hardy grape varieties like Marechal Foch, Frontenac, and La Crescent. Spend an afternoon sampling a glass of Shelburne Vineyard's sustainably produced wines or head north to the islands to visit Snow Farm Vineyard on South Hero Island, where they are best known for producing Vidal Blanc Ice Wine, or Ellison Estate Vineyard, a newer winery on Grand Isle.

With the enormous growth and popularity of the craft cocktail culture in recent years, Vermont's stake in the spirits industry has also risen. Distilleries like Mad River Distillers and Smugglers’ Notch Distillery produce an assortment of small-batch Vermont-made spirits, infused with local products. You can sample a glass of their vodkas, gins, and other single-barrel and limited edition spirits in their downtown tasting rooms. 

Our state's crisp apples and skilled cider-makers have combined to create a delicious and diverse selection of hard ciders. From dry to sweet, traditional to experimental, there's a cider for every palate. Stop by nationally known Citizen Cider's Pub, located in the heart of the bustling south end of Burlington, or Shacksbury further south in Vergennes, to toast our state's agricultural heritage and pick up some limited edition ciders that can only be found in their cellar. 

Burlington is known for its diverse food scene, with a great mix of locally-owned restaurants and eateries where eating local is a way of life. A classic 1940s diner sits around the corner from a juice shop pressing organic Vermont produce. James Beard award-nominated restaurants with daily-changing menus, wood-fired pizza joints, tasty noodle shops and kebab houses are all sprinkled across the landscape.

Our rural nature and the proximity of farms to cities and town centers make farm-to-table dining the rule, not the exception. Not only that, but you’ll find cuisine from all over the world made with Vermont ingredients to Vermont’s high standards. Thankfully you can find all this deliciousness throughout the region. Discovering the local is a treasure hunt and an easy one at that.

In a state with relatively low foot traffic, stunning landscapes and an attention to local ingredients that often brings the table straight to the farm itself, it makes sense that Vermont naturally takes to meals that meet you where you are.

Friday Night Truck Stop started small back in 2013 in a Pine Street parking lot. Today, South End Get Down brings dozens of vendors and often thousands of hungry people together in the belly of the South End to kick off the weekend in tasty style. You’ll still find it on Pine Street and can get everything from stacked pulled pork sandwiches to fat burritos, a traveling broccoli bar (who knew there are myriad ways to enjoy a paper boat of broccoli?) to shao mai and cha shao buns. It’s a stomach-friendly, kid-friendly, and dog-friendly good time!

In Vermont terms, we’re a big city, but in reality, we’re very much a part of Vermont. And that means that agriculture plays a big part in the Burlington experience. Towns across the region host their own farmer’s markets in the warm months and some host indoor markets in the winter months as well. You’ll find organic produce, pasture-raised local meats, artisanal baked goods and more at all of them.