(Published in 7 Nights 2005-06)

Everybody wants a seat on the front porch at the North Hero House Inn and Restaurant — and it's not just for the winning waterfront view. The cheery, flower-filled dining room is a window on Champlain Islands history that has been perfectly preserved here, on a scenic stretch of Route 7. Along with the post office, courthouse, library and general store, the North Hero House is part of the town's "old and improved" 19th-century strip.

(Published in 7 Nights 2006-07)

A nine-foot wooden canoe suspended over the bar captures the spirit of South Hero's Blue Paddle Bistro: local flavor with a sense of fun. In an historic white house that has been a parsonage, a post office and, most recently, a chocolate factory, co-owners Mandy Hotchkiss and Phoebe Bright have created a cozy, unpretentious spot where upscale dining pulls up a chair alongside down-home comfort food.

(Published in 7 Nights 2007-08)

There’s only one problem with Winooski’s favorite Asian place. Getting a parking place and a table. Luckily, there’s a second Tiny Thai, in the Essex Shoppes & Cinema complex, just a short drive away.

(Published in 7 Nights 2009-10)

The bacon cheeseburger isn’t exactly kosher — and neither is the owner, Glenn Walter — but for Jews in the Burlington area, Sadie Katz Delicatessen is a godsend. With specialty items shipped in regularly from New York City, the diner-turned-deli supplies the Queen City with whitefish salad and lox, H&H bagels and Dr. Brown’s sodas. 

(Published in 7 Nights 2007-08)

In the tradition of Emeril Lagasse and Wolfgang Puck, Michel Mahe likes to keep multiple irons in the fire. A Cornell grad, the French-accented chef left Ferrisburgh's Starry Night Café to open Black Sheep Bistro in Vergennes. He also designed the initial menu at Montpelier's Black Door Bistro and recently opened The Bearded Frog in Shelburne.

(Published in 7 Nights 2009-10)

If you’re headed for the slopes — to ski ’em or climb ’em — get a smart start. McCarthy’s Restaurant in Stowe has been dishing up hearty breakfasts for more than 30 years in a small shopping center just minutes from Stowe Mountain Resort and Smugglers’ Notch.

(Published in 7 Nights 2008-07)

Talk about chemistry. Two couples co-own Elements in St. Johnsbury, and five years after they joined forces to open the eatery, it's thriving. Elements occupies an old mill building in a gritty section of town, where funky copper light fixtures lend a modern vibe to the two dining rooms and sizable bar. A rustic wood-fired bread oven exhales smoke that gives the space a homey feel; in summer, there's an outdoor patio.

If you're in the Mad River Valley, don't miss American Flatbread on the Lareau Farm in Waitsfield. It’s the original restaurant — two other versions are in Middlebury and Burlington — and would definitely be a stop on a “localvore” tour of Vermont, if such a thing existed. The Bread-and-Puppet décor is topped only by fabulous flatbread pizza festooned with fresh, local ingredients.

(Published in 7 Nights 2008-2009)

Anyone who thinks of White River Junction as a place to hop off the highway for a bathroom break and a quick burger hasn't been there lately. Over the past decade, the old railroad town at the intersection of interstates 89 and 91 has experienced a renaissance. A theater company, a cartoon-art school and a tapas bar have all taken up residence in this burg that's seeing better days.