Pub Crawl: BTV

Last weekend I visited my girlfriends in Burlington, VT and due to the upcoming Saint Patrick's Day holiday we decided to visit a number of local establishments roughly accumulating into what I would consider a pub crawl. We started the day with a hearty breakfast of green bagels and smoothies so that our bellies were full.

And we bothered Mack with a green mustache.

Then we hit the first stop on Church Street, RiRa. Normally this is a spot I would recommend for after dark but there was a rugby match on and a solid crowd of people wearing jerseys and drinking Guinness. In preparation for the St.Patty's Day holiday it also felt appropriate to stop at an Irish pub, albeit one that is a chain. I had the greenest mixed drink on the menu, The Emerald, which basically tasted like Koolaide and is therefore very dangerous.

Next we went down and across the street (hardly) to The Scuffer for round two and waited for a few more bodies. I enjoyed a Fiddlehead IPA which is brewed in South Burlington, VT.

For round three we went up Church Street to Halverson's and took over the bar area with our growing number of rowdy young women. At this point I was ready for a Lost Nation Pitch Black Ale from Morrisville, VT.

We killed time until the Farmhouse opened their downstairs parlor and then we romped down that way for more local brews. I had a Trapp Vienna lager followed by my favorite thing to drink when I come back to Burlington, a Hill Farmstead Edward.

As our numbers started to dwindle for afternoon naps and other obligations, one of my friends and I had about an hour until a dinner reservation so we bounced along to Hen of the Wood which is attached to the chic and local Hotel Vermont. We each had another round, the Zero Gravity that was on tap for me, and shared some local cheese while we sat at the oyster bar and admired the gorgeous interior and warm, comfortable atmosphere.

Hen of the Wood.

Dinner was not to be forgotten and we met a large gathering of my extended family at Pizzeria Verita on St. Paul Street in BTV. The pizza was out of this world. My favorite was the Mais Pizze with sweet kernels of corn and creme fraiche, mmmm. We shared tiramisu and nutella pizza for dessert. I loved that it was family style so everything came on huge platters from the salads to the desserts and it was our responsibility to share and dish it out.

Family at dinner.

I said my farewells and headed home for the evening pretty satisfied with the amount of local spots we were able to hit in one afternoon.