Radio Deli – Chili over rice and Brownie

Radio Deli - Burlington Vermont

Radio Deli is a lunch spot I like to hit up on Pearl Street when going to the post office or the mall. The proprietors are very funny conservationists and seem to be serious about providing good, inexpensive food for their customers.

Chili over rice with cheddar

I saw Cabot cheddar mac and cheese on Radio Deli’s blog but it was sold out by the time I got there. Instead I got one of my standbys “chili over rice” which comes with optional cheddar. It’s got a little celery, onions, green pepper, as well as lots of beans, meat and stewed tomatoes. The rice is white, and not over cooked (kudos).

Chili over rice with cheddar and Sriracha

I’ve found that the chili is much happier as pictured with the addition of Sriracha. The chili over rice is a great value @ $4.75 pre-tax.

Radio Deli - Brownie

Radio Deli takes their brownies seriously, and this is easily the best brownie for the money in town @ $.99 pre-tax.  There is the key micro crispy top layer, as well as small chocolate chunks to break up the texture; Well done Radio Deli.

Doughboy’s – Meatloaf Sandwich

Doughboy's Restaurant - Burlington Vermont

Walking into Doughboys is like walking into an alternate strange albeit delicious universe. Doughboys is located on the edge of the Old North End (ONE) on Pearl Street in Burlington Vermont. Next door to the restaurant / diner is a bakery where they have doughnuts, I’ll have to review them in the future. The decor looks like it hasn’t been changed since the place opened in 1979, but coinciding with that the prices are extremely reasonable. The service at this family affair is very friendly.

Doughboys - Meatloaf sandwich

I didn’t eat a lot of meatloaf growing up, so this comfort food is still novel to me. I like meatloaf in sandwiches with cheddar, lettuce, fresh tomato on toasted rye, ketchup completes the the sandwich. The meatloaf is griddled, super moist and has great onion flavor from the onions in the loaf. The sandwich comes with chips and pickles slices for an amazing $4.25 (before tax). I think the danger of going to Doughboys is that you feel like you can eat like a monarch and order too much food. The onion rings were OK, kinda bland I’ll probably try the fries next time as I wonder if they’re hand-cut? Admittedly I’m VERY picky about onion rings.

Doughboy's - Pumkin Pie

In true diner style there was pie available. The pumpkin filling had nice subtle spice to it, and the crust was good, however a little low on the flakeyness scale. I enjoyed the REAL whipped cream. I believe the pie was $2.50? Doughboys is fun to eat at, and the food is inexpensive, I’ll be back. I recommend exploring the Doughboys bakery as I don’t know any other place that makes doughnuts in Burlington (besides the poaching Dunkin Donuts across the street).

Where to NOT go for Lunch

This past Tuesday I tried a few different places for lunch the first three were unsuccessful. My 1st call was to Smokejacks on Church street in Burlington Vermont to see if they were still offering their half priced burgers on Tuesdays; Smokejacks does have that offer, they’re just not open for lunch.

My next call to Blue Star Cafe in Winooski Vermont was ring no answer. No sweat I thought, I’ll just drive over there. Blue Star Cafe has in fact closed, which is too bad I liked this cafe. Fresh Coffee Now, which was formerly in the basement has moved to Flynn Ave in Burlington Vermont.

Blue Star Cafe – Winooski Vermont

Driving aimlessly around I stopped by Dave’s Grill in Burlington Vermont as the sign was hawking hand-cut fries and philly cheeses.

Dave’s Grill – Burlington Vermont

Dave’s Grill apparently is no longer there despite the sign, the Old North End Variety store IS still there but I didn’t see anything that I wanted for lunch. I continued my sojourn a little dejected and bemused.

Dino’s – “Spinach and Cheese Roll”

Dino’s has two locations in Burlington Vermont, one in the Burlington Town Center AKA Square Mall AKA Burlington Mall and the other in a new spot (formerly Monaco’s) in the ONE (Old North End). Normally I wouldn’t go to Dino’s unless I had business in the mall, so I was glad to see they had a more convenient second location. Their pesto pizza and sandwiches are pretty good, but my favorite thing to order is there spinach and cheese roll.

Dino’s – Burlington Vermont

Dino’s – Spinach and Cheese Roll

Dino’s friendly cook informed my that this was going to be the best “Pizza Roll” ever. I was psyched to find out that he made the roll fresh (unbaked dough), likely due to volume concerns the mall location has the Pizza rolls standing by ready to be re-heated. So I would recommend calling in your order to this location, as it took a few minutes for the roll to bake.

The cook was right, the aroma of freshly baked rolls filled up my car as I was driving back to work to eat my lunch. The in-house made tomato sauce to dip the roll in had a nice balance of sweet and  acid . One caveat, I couldn’t figure out why one half of the roll had %90 of the spinach of cheese, I realized that the pizza roll was stored vertically and the molten contents had obeyed gravity. So if you’re traveling with your coveted pizza roll, make sure it’s lodged horizontally. I like eating these rolls, because it tastes good, is fun to eat, and is definitely healthy.

These rolls are steal at $5.50 with tax.

Shopping Bag Inc’s, “Sczibek Sizzler”

I was going to get a cheese steak from V.T. Famous Philly Cheese Steak in Burlington Vermont’s ONE, but they were closed today. So instead I went up the  (north) street to Shopping Bag Inc a grocery/ convenience store, that also sports a grill. 

Shopping Bag Inc’s Grill

You need to see the cashier after deciding what to order, after paying you give the scrap of paper with your order to the grill cook. I decided to go with the “Sczikek Sizzler” and small fry.

Shopping Bag Inc’s – Sczibek Sizzler – half pound burger (fresh), toasted sesame bun, dill pickles, bacon, red onion, lettuce, tomato, Montreal seasoning, American cheese, mustard, ketchup and mayo. (and small fry).

Yes it does look like the burger might eat the small fry… this is a massive burger. The cook (who may be Sczibek’s name sake) asked me “if I had the rest of the day off?” I started asking him why (fearing that preparation of the burger would exceed my lunch break). He then informed me that “I would need to take a nap after eating this”, you too now have been fore-warned.  This burger is a guilty-pleasure, nice alternative to fast food. The Montreal steak seasoning was a good choice, however the burger was a little over salted for my taste but the mix of flavors and the freshness of the ingredients kept me interested until the end of the huge burger.

The fries were not so good, over salted and the oil tasted like it hadn’t been changed recently, which CAN be a good thing, but wasn’t in this case.  The burger was a very reasonable ~$5 with tax and the small fries ~$1.65

Global Markets, “Falafel”

Global Markets, Cafe, Grill and Grocery in the Old North End (ONE) in Burlington Vermont, as the name implies, serves up some diverse food and groceries. Global Markets is a cool place to go for lunch, for example you can get a Bosnian specialty for lunch, and then grab some Russian candy for desert off the shelf.

 
Global Markets – Moving December 16th from its current location, down the street.

Falafel – deep-fried chickpea or fava bean balls, served with house salad in pita.

Falafel is a classic middle eastern snack, and what better place to get a falafel than at a place that specializes in middle-eastern and world food? I think that despite the deep-fried factor, this lunch is a fairly healthy vegertarian meal.

World Markets – Falafel, a little more detailed shot, showing the salad. I think it consists of cucumber, onion and tahini as the primary ingredients.

The falafel and salad is made fresh before your eyes, and the owner / proprietor is very personable. The falafel is nice and crispy (fresh!), and the salad has nice tanginess, acid and texture to contrast with the falafel. The falafel pita is not quite enough food for lunch, so I ordered two. But I found that two is little too much, I would recommend ordering one falafel pita, and one other small item off the menu, or maybe an interesting snack from the store shelves.

The falafel is awful cheap at ~$3.60, bring cash as Global Markets is cash-only! I will be back to try some other world foods, and what is proclaimed as a great Philly cheesesteak in their new location.

V.T. Famous Philly Cheese Steak (@ Larow’s Market) “Philly Cheese Steak”

I love reading about food. In this Monday’s Burlington Freepress, there is an article about V.T. Famous Philly Cheese Steak Inc. According to the article, V.T. Famous Philly Cheese Steak Inc used to be operated out of a cart in downtown Burlington, it is now co-located inside Larow’s Market.

Larow’s Market’s Iconic Like Cola Sign, Home to V.T. Famous Philly Cheese Steak Inc. Larow’s is an easy landmark on North St, in the O.N.E. (Old North End) of Burlington Vermont.

Marinated fresh beef makes this sandwich distinctive. Worcestershire sauce is the most obvious component of the marinade, and shredded beef is super tender. You can pick from American, Swiss, cheddar, or provolone cheese. Onions and green peppers come with the sandwich by default, I added mushrooms (button) at no charge.

V.T. Famous Philly Cheese Steak, flipped to show cornmeal on roll. The role of the roll, is an important one with Philly’s and V.T. (a play on words with his initials and Vermont) made a good selection with an “authentic” type roll. The deli paper wrap disintegrated a little bit compared to foil, but it’s not a huge issue.

There was a little less cheese on my sandwich that I would have liked, I think next time I may opt for American cheese instead of Swiss to try to balance out the savory marinade. This is a different take on the Philly, and I will definitely be back to try it again. The large was reasonably priced at ~$7.50, and V.T. the owner is super friendly.