International House of Pancakes - visiting a legend

The 411

On the way back from a trip to Cali a long plane ride and a lack of medical sedatives made for me being in need of sleep and food. When I don’t eat I get painfully cranky so in order to avoid an incident at the border I decided that I need to eat right away and I really wanted breakfast food. So having landed in Burlington we asked around for information on where to get breakfast. I asked at the airport, the parking lot and even in a grocery store with no luck. Most people didn’t know of any place to eat breakfast on a weekday early in the morning and when one person suggested McDonalds I almost cried but I think the emotion was masked by disgust, which I think she saw on my face (sorry I’m cranky when I’m hungry). Then, as if a sign from above, someone suggested Ihop’s and pointed us in the right direction.

Green Through and Through

The 411

A short distance outside of the touristy area of Stowe you will find the Green Goddess. It’s a small place in a mini complex and you are likely to miss the sign, so drive slowly. Once you find it, however, you will be amazed by the great food with vegan options at low prices.

At 1st glance

Once inside you will notice that they have a different way of doing things. There is a piano on the back wall, colouring paper and crayons for kids, a changing table and full wheelchair access in the washroom and an emphasis on using local produce, healthy food and quality ingredients. There is an overall peaceful air about the place.

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Luck of the Irish

The 411

On a trip to Stowe we went looking for a place other than our hotel to have some brunch and thanks to some super sleuthing (not on my part) we came across McCarthy’s.

At 1st glance

At first sight one would think nothing special of it, just another greasy spoon, although when you sit down and take that first bite you will be pleasantly surprised.

Food

The menu is of decent size and portions of it are also offered for the lunch sitting. You will find some good options here and the quality of the food is fresh and healthy. I had a French toast made of nut/oat bread ($6.99); it came with a side of sausage, 2 eggs and maple syrup on the side. There was also a poached egg and toast ($3.99) with the option of nut/oat bread toast. The special bread they make there was quite tasty and well worth a try, I strongly suggest it. The raspberry peach fruit drink ($3.50) was really really thirst quenching; it was thick, but I have had thicker, and I don’t recall if it passed the straw test, but it’s worth trying. The fruit bowl was ok and costs about $3.00, although it consisted of pretty standard fruit, none of which stood out. One thing to note was that coffee is not included with any of the plates so you have to pay once, but the refills are free. (more…)