Weekend Cooking: Great Restaurants in Manchester, Vermont

Book By Book

If you’ve been reading my blog this week, you know I am just back from a lovely week spent in Vermont with my husband. You can check out my recap of three VT bookstores we visited and my photos of the natural beauty in Vermont. So, here, on Weekend Cooking, hosted by Beth Fish Reads, I am starting a series on all the great restaurants we visited in Vermont! Vermont is known for its focus on local, independent, and hand-crafted. There are very few chain stores or restaurants in the state outside of larger cities and almost no fast food. Instead, everywhere you go, you find craft beers, super-fresh local ingredients, and even craft coffee! Even restaurants that serve fairly traditional food often list on their menu the local farms where they get their ingredients. The result? Amazing, fresh, creative food everywhere you go! Here are some favorites from Manchester, VT, which I have visited twice for Booktopia, in addition to this recent trip with my husband.

Up for Breakfast
Any visit to Manchester, VT, must start at this unique and creative breakfast place on Main Street. Its name is literal, as you have to climb a flight of stairs to get to the tiny second-floor restaurant. Once there, you are surrounded by bright, cheerful decor in a cozy but not overcrowded place filled with both locals and visitors (you may have a short wait for a table on a busy weekend). Each day, they offer a different flavored coffee, in addition to regular coffee and decaf. My husband thoroughly enjoyed his chocolate hazelnut coffee!

The real star here is the creative menu which is filled with unique and tasty breakfasts. They have delicious (and huge) pancake varieties plus French toast, often made from non-standard breads. And those who think that eggs are boring will be amazed by the variety of unique kinds of omelets, frittatas, hashes, and Eggs Benedict. In addition to the varied selections on the regular menu, each day brings a new batch of daily specials that will blow your mind.  On our recent visit, my husband and I both chose one of the specials, a Cuban version of Eggs Benedict, with flavorful roast pork, sauteed leeks and purple cabbage, eggs and adobo hollandaise sauce, all served on top of cheesy polenta discs. It was full of flavor and sooo good! When I was there for Booktopia in May, I ate at Up for Breakfast three times and enjoyed three very different breakfasts, all full of flavor, including their own version of corned beef hash, with a stone ground mustard hollandaise. Wild turkey hash is one of their specialties, as well.

Spiral Press Cafe
You can walk off that big meal from Up for Breakfast at the Northshire Bookstore, a large and fabulous independent bookstore where Booktopia is held each year in May. Or, if a small breakfast is more your style, pick up a coffee and delicious baked good or breakfast sandwich at Spiral Press Cafe, which is attached to the bookstore. Enjoy your light breakfast at a table in the large WiFi-equipped area before going up or down a few stairs to browse in the bookstore. I like to eat lunch at Spiral Press Cafe in between Booktopia events. Their lunch menu features soups, salads, sandwiches, and paninis, all made with fresh ingredients. My favorite is their Curried Chicken Salad, served on top of the House Salad. Indulge in a delicious homemade dessert before continuing your bookstore explorations!