Top of The Block Sandwich Shoppe – Southwest Chicken wrap

Top of The Block Sandwich Shoppe - Burlington Vermont

In honor of my iPhone 3G no longer being broken,  I thought I would update the blog. I like Top of the Block Sandwich Shoppe for two reasons:

1) Excellent chicken wraps

2) part of a weird internal mall.

It’s located ironically at the top block of Church Street in Burlington Vermont.

Top of The Block Sandwich Shoppe - Southwest chicken wrap

This was a special of the day: spiced chicken, black beans, caramelized onions, roasted red peppers, corn, cheddar, all on a toasted/grilled wrap. $7.43 with tax and it’s yours.

I didn’t take any pictures of the internal mall, but the “Shoppe” and seating area opened up to a basement and second level containing various “shops”, very interesting.

Roque’s “Pollo Suiza Enchiladas”

With the cold weather encompassing Vermont, it’s nice to eat something reminiscent of warmer climes. There is something about the juxtaposition of hot food, and cold weather that is transportational. So on a particularly cold Thursday I made my first trip to Roque’s Restauranta and Mexican Cantina on the on the bottom of Main St in Burlington Vermont.

I heart enchiladas, so I decided to try one of Roque’s offering:

Roque’s “Pollo Suiza Enchilada” – Shredded chicken enchilada in tomatillo “verde” salsa, Mexican rice, black beans, side of fresh tortilla chips and fresh salsa.

Good choice on the shredded chicken, the texture added this entree. The corn tortilla in the enchilada appears to be homemade and is excellent. The tomatillo sauce is decently spiced, and the cilantro is not over done. The rice was a little bland, but dumping some of the side of salsa on the rice, made a huge improvement. The salsa also improved the beans, which were nicely salted, and slightly “cheesed”.

The tortilla chips came in a brown paper bag, usually when I gets tortilla chips with my meal I think the restaurant is trying to bribe me with quantities of cheap low-quality food. However these tortilla chips were a surprise, fresh, made from scratch on site, light, not greasy, and lightly salted… awesome! The paper bag serves to absorb what little grease there is, and not keep steam in the bag to they stay crisp; you can tell Roque’s cares about their tortilla chips.

Another interesting item of note was the salsa. I don’t know if it is the spices or peppers, but it had a very interesting layered flavor that made me keep trying the salsa again to try to figure out the ingredients.

Penny Cluse Cafe, “Baja Fish Tacos, Small Fruit Plate, Coffee”

Penny Cluse Cafe has a reputation of the best breakfast in town, when you go, be prepared to possibly wait up to 45mins. Area businesses are also open on Sunday so you can browse some stores during your wait. This past Sunday there actually wasn’t a wait, we were seated right away. Penny Cluse Cafe is located on the corner of Cherry St and South Winooski Ave in Burlington Vermont. First let’s talk about the coffee:

Penny Cluse Coffee – Arguably the best coffee in town.

I believe that Penny Cluse serves New England Coffee Company’s Coffee. Perhaps more important than the coffee beans, is how it’s prepared and served. The beans are freshly ground at Penny Cluse, then immediately brewed, then promptly transferred to thermal carafes. The end result is a steaming, fresh, bottomless cup, that is refilled promptly by the waitstaff; I also love the classic green-stripe cups. The coffee is strong, but never bitter.

Penny Cluse Cafe – “Small Fruit Plate” -apple, mango, watermelon, papaya, banana, pineapple, pomegranate, grapefruit

The small fruit plate is perfect to share with someone,  as noted above, the fruit plate always contains an interesting mix of fruits. This is one of my favorite things to order Penny Cluse.

Penny Cluse Cafe – “Baja Fish Tacos” Beer Battered Tilapia, flour tortillas, avocado salsa, mango, radish juliennes, pico de gallo, sour cream, black beans, lime

These are the best tacos around, and this is something that I love about Penny Cluse, random menu items from southern or southwestern US. The tilapia is perfectly crisp, the cilantro-lime combination plays off the chunks of mango. In flavor mix of this dish, the mango’s sweetness compliments the sweetness of the Tilapia, and the pine taste of fresh mango is not present. The Baja fish tacos come with a side of black beans, which I think typically are underseasoned, but they were perfect this time around.

The tacos are $10.50, coffee $1.50 and small fruit plate $2.75. I don’t know how well the tacos would do as take out, but they are a must try.