Breakfast in the Queen City Area

Fit for a King

BY LIN STONE

Adelle Davis, noted "first lady of nutrition" said, "Eat breakfast like a king, lunch like a prince, and dinner like a pauper." Now there is no need to take the pauper suggestion literally, but if you do like to start your day sunny-side-up, an abundance of restaurants in the greater Burlington area can please both royal and peasant palates.

For breakfast like a king, book in advance to dine on farm fresh organic gourmet food served in turn-of-the-20th century elegance at Shelburne Farms; for brunch like a prince, locals line up around the block for Vermont farm fresh food at Sneakers, Penny Cluse Cafe, and Magnolia Bistro. Finally, for a nostalgic foray and breakfast served all day, take a mid-century spin on shiny chrome stools and put your elbows up on Formica countertops at the area's cheeky comfort food diners.

PENNY CLUSE CAFE

Penny Cluse Café in downtown Burlington just scarfed up the Food Network Magazine's award for best breakfast in the state. Noted for Sleepy Nate's buttermilk biscuits and herb cream gravy (served with eggs any style and home fries), Penny Cluse can certainly satisfy those who wake up as hungry as a bear, and all in Vermont's healthy farm fresh food style. Cluse also doffs a sombrero to serve flavorful southwestern fare with its homemade Mexican style chorizo sausage, corn muffins, and scrambled eggs in soft tortillas with jack cheese, black beans, and avocado salsa. Fresh seasonal fruit, homemade granola, and gingerbread griddlecakes gratify diners who may crave something just a little bit sweeter to start their day.

SNEAKERS

Sneakers is just a mile or two outside of downtown Burlington in Winooski, and is legendary for its breakfast and weekend brunches; it won accolades from Esquire Magazine and was named one of "The 59 Best Breakfast Places in America." Its variations on the usual eggs Benedict with hollandaise sauce have won it a bastion of die-hard and living-well fans. There are mouth-watering variations on this classic: poached eggs and hollandaise with a homemade English muffin, Canadian bacon, and artichoke pesto; another Benedict is served with crab cakes; a third option is offered with a vegetarian sausage patty, portabellos, spinach, and avocado on a croissant. If eggs are not your "cup of tea" (or cappuccino), a sweet option is Kahlua batter-dipped French toast with Vermont maple syrup.

MAGNOLIA BISTRO 

Magnolia bistro is tucked away down a brick path off the corner of College and St. Paul Streets in downtown Burlington at One Lawson Lane, (on the lakeside corner of City Hall Park and behind Bennington Potters); it is oh-so-worth the wander and discovery. Its charming atmosphere offers indoor and al fresco dining. It too has garnished its name with well-earned recognition: it was the first certified green restaurant in Vermont and a cornerstone of the Vermont Fresh Network of local food supporters. It offers breakfast and lunch fare with surprising twists on old traditions, such as Belgian lime waffles and the best oatmeal in town-crispy steel-cut cooked oats topped with vanilla cream sauce and cranberry compote. On the other hand, for something savory, try its house-cured citrus salt salmon served with dill creme fraiche. Local food is truly local here: Magnolia Bistro works closely with Vermont farmers to procure the finest fresh organic food from local sources, including many of the Intervale farmers whose plots are located less than five miles away. Magnolia Bistro even offers a vegetarian organic bloody Mary, made with Green Mountain Sunshine Vodka.

Shelburne Farms

When locals want to feel as though they can get away from it all and take a two-hour mini-vacation, or when they wish to celebrate a special occasion, this is the place they go. First, there is the meandering drive through the Frederick Law Olmstead landscape. Designed to delight and surprise with astonishing natural beauty appearing over every rise and around every corner it succeeds-the lake, the meadows, the forests, the fields, the flocks of grazing sheep, the herds of contented Swiss Brown cows, the historic gabled and garroted barns and "big houses." Built in 1886 by the Vanderbilt Webb family as a summer home, model farm, and the future of agriculture, it is all that the Webb family may have wished for, and more. Three-quarters of the food at the Inn was grown or raised on Shelburne Farms. Chef David Hugo and market gardener Josh Carter collaborate to produce fruits, herbs, and vegetables that go well beyond the world of carrots, peas, and iceberg lettuce to produce a mouth-watering gourmet menu. For example, Ratatouille Sunny Eggs, with fresh eggs, fennel, eggplant, tomatoes, onion, Pernod, and home fries; or Cinnamon Carrot Pancakes with golden raisin compote, ginger crème anglaise, and fresh vanilla whipped cream; or a Frittata with mushrooms, cipollini onions, spinach, lemon thyme chevre, home fries, and O Bread toast. And after that fit-for-a-king feast, you can walk it all off: amble and meander the grounds and gardens, or sit by the lake and skip stones. Shelburne Farms has been lauded as "one of the thousand places to see before you die," and if you indeed do come to dine, you might just think that you have gone to heaven after all.