I'm in Vermont this weekend visiting Aaron and Mary--a trip that is probably one of my last, if not my last, of this pregnancy. Vermont is a beautiful state, and Montpelier is ridiculously cute. It's like what all the cute neighborhoods in other cities--Hillsboro Village or Little Five Points in Nashville, Five Points in Atlanta--are trying to be. Except the whole town is that way--walkable, with locally-owned stores crowded together, bookstores, diners that serve all locally-grown organic foods, bakeries and restaurants run by the culinary institute where Mary is a student, independent art movie theaters.
We've been eating outstanding food since I got here. Last night Aaron and I had dinner at one of the aforementioned culinary school restaurants. Today we had brunch at the organic local-food diner, then went to the Farmer's Market where I couldn't resist trying all the free samples of things like farmer's cheese from a dairy down the road. Mary gave me a bite of a nasturtium, which was surprisingly tasty (she bought a few to grow for salads). Even though we were all so full we thought we'd throw up, we split a dopyaza--a delicious Pakistani hot pocket filled with crispy, fresh, hot veggies, that are for sale there every weekend.
Later, after we dropped Mary off at work, we went to a cider press where we got fresh doughnuts, then we did the Ben & Jerry's factory tour! Sadly, I can't post pictures right now, but I'll try to do it later. I had the world's largest ice cream cone of a new flavor called "seven layer coconut bar," or something. I don't know what we're going to eat tonight, but I'm sure it'll be fantastic, and organic, and good to the environment, and locally-grown, and everything associated with it will be recycled, and all the employees will be paid a living wage.
It's a good thing that Biffle didn't come with me this weekend, because I'm not sure I'd be able to convince him to go back to Charleston.
10 years ago
9 comments:
I need a way more detailed description of the new ben and jerry's flavor. A tour of the factory!! Nirvana. This description certainly convinces me that we should all move to Montpelier.
Vanilla ice cream, coconut, some sort of graham-crackery something, and a butterscotch swirl (although not quite as much butterscotch as I would have liked). I'm not sure what it was riffing on--what's a seven layer coconut bar?
Mmmm Vermont. It's a wonderful place, for all the reasons you mention and more. I'm jealous, but glad you are getting to relish it. Another yummy place in VT (Burlington area): Magic Hat Microbrewery. Probably not high on your list right now ;), but good for the future. And then there's the fresh maple syrup, the leaves in fall, the snow over the mountains....
Okay, I'm getting too involved. Time to get back to reality. Have fun and enjoy!
Those dessert bars -- with coconut, choclate chips, butterscotch chips -- and I guess 4 other kinds of ingredients -- it seems as though it needed some crunch to it -- I have always thought that a job at ben and jerry's might just be the perfect life's work.
claire,
if you work at ben & jerry's you get 3 free pints of ice cream a week! mmmmm.
Is that a pregnancy stereotype? Eating massive amounts of ice cream?
:o)
3 free pints a week!! Do you think they have a job for an in house political theorist? I am going to have to take a look at their employment opportunities.
Correction... 3 pints per DAY!
But, Claire...Alison is counting on your staying in Charleston! :-)
Kelly (Alison's mom)
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