• 1. Where to Stay
• 2. Where to Eat
• 3. What to Do
• 4. Insider’s Tip
• 5. An Oddball Day

Simon Pearce   (Photo: Courtesy of Simon Pearce)

Keep the made-in-Vermont theme going at the flagship restaurant of renowned glassblower Simon Pearce, in Quechee. The restaurant not only bakes Irish brown bread daily—it also generates its own hydroelectric power (via a waterfall tumbling right beside the glassed-in porch) and uses it to fire plates, bowls, and glasses on-site.

Sure, you can buy American Flatbread frozen pizzas at Whole Foods—but the real thing, slid fresh from a stone oven in northern Vermont, is far better. On weekends at the original flatbread plant in Waitsfield, the company sets tables on the factory floor and serves pizzas like the “Punctuated Equilibrium,” topped with a mix of vegetables and herbs, mozzarella, and fresh, local goat cheese.

Join an army of motorcyclists and other Route 5 travelers at Curtis’ All American Barbecue in Putney, which operates out of a pair of old-school buses during daylight hours from April to October. Order the combo platter of ribs and chicken, add a side of sweet yams or baked beans, and grab a picnic table—you can get your beer or wine at the gourmet shop across the street.

Published on August 22, 2007 as a web exclusive.