Skinny Pancake – Crêpe Cake, Smoothie

Skinny Pancake – Burlington Vermont

Skinny pancake is on the corner of Lake St and College St in Burlington Vermont. Skinny Pancake is a funny euphemism for Crêpes. Crêpes make me think of the handful of times I’ve had them growing up with mixed results. Mostly they’ve been sweet (too sweet for my taste), so with my personal prejudice in mind I stepped up to the (crêpe) plate.

Skinny Pancake – Crepe Pie

This crepe pie is wild mushroom and chicken in herbs, in six crêpe layers with Mornay sauce(a light cheese / cream sauce). It is accompanied by a nice mescun side salad with phenomenal pesto vinaigrette. The cake was delicious and maybe a tad steep at $9, but the ingredients are good AND local.

Skinny Pankcake – “Red, White and Blue Smoothie”

Blueberries, cherries and a few other ingredients make this tasty healthful treat. Not since Liquid Energy Cafe (I miss you!) have I had such a good smoothie. This fruit smoothie makes me want to go buy a blender, especially since this frozen fruit ice bath is $4.50. This smoothie has the correct ratio of frozen content, there is one thickness, not a pool of liquid like some poorly made smoothies. Just be careful of brainfreeze.

This crêperie’s only problem is that it very busy during the lunch time, I would recommend calling your order in or going off hours. I would strongly recommend against the “starch bomb” “Coconut Curried Potato” on the menu, I ordered this not thinking and as Suzanne suspected, its too much starch in one place. Also of note is the whimsical interior and wrought iron 3-prong forks, they’re also a fondue bar during the evenings (I need to find a cheese-lover to go with).

American Flatbread, Burlington Hearth – Tri Tip Steak, Pablano Pepper Special

American Flatbread, Burlington Hearth – Burlington Vermont

This past Friday I went to American Flatbread: “Burlington Hearth”. This Burlington Vermont location of American Flatbread is apparently a licensed franchise. In addition of awesome flatbread, they have GREAT microbrew, and an extensive beer list (they also have wine).

Flatbread is an alternate to traditional pizza, it’s in the same universe but not the same. I haven’t yet made it to the “O.G.” location in Waitsfield Vermont. The flatbread cooked in a wood-fired oven, in the winter it’s a treat to sit near it.

Oddly American Flatbread only serves lunch on Friday’s so this is your only day to score some “bread”.

I don’t think I’ve ever been disappointed with the food (or brew) at Flatbread, they’ve very consistent, also of note their garden salad is very good / fresh tasting.

I order a “small” version of their Tri Tip Steak Pablano Special. The description from their website:

“Woodcreek Farm Chili Rubbed Tri Tip Steak, Pico de Gallo, Chive Creme Fraiche, And Sliced Pablano Peppers. $18.95”

American Flatbread Burlington Hearth – Tri Tip Steak and Palano Special (small)

I wasn’t aware of what tri tip steak was, so I did a little research. The steak was seasoned nicely and had nice beef flavor, it was a little chewy as well-done steak is which slowed down my inhaling of this pie. However the flatbread is chewy (and crispy!) so steak actually worked well. The pico de gallo and chive creme fraiche were not very noticeable. Some bites had a little kick creaminess which were likely the creme fraiche. The Pablano peppers were delicious but I wish there were more of them on the bread.

The small pie was $11.45 with tax, the normal menu small pies are in the $9-$10 pre-tax. I’ll be thinking about going back next Friday.

City Market – “Pesto Chicken Sandwich” & “Dried Apricots”

Ah City Market one of the Burlington Vermont epicenters of hippie, hipster, loca/localvore, foodie food. I like City Market, there is a great selection of local foodstuffs, and produce. This results in a spendy, but tasty grocery haul. I recently gleaned from some of my friends that they’re big fans of the pesto chicken sandwich, I was immediately reminded of my own favorite pesto infused sandwich from Sugarsnap. I was suprised I hadn’t tried City Market’s sandwich counter, as I shop there and sometimes will even get a breakfast sandwich from their morning buffet.

City Market – Burlington Vermont

Pesto Chicken Sandwich – City Market

Choice of Klingers bread (I chose wheat), mesclun greens, fresh tomatoes, pesto (both sides of bread), grilled chicken (cold), fresh mozzarella. The pesto chicken sandwich is like an insalata caprese, with added chicken in a sandwich form. Everything is very fresh, there is a  nice balance of texture, the chicken breast has nice diamond grill marks, and has been run through a deli slicer? as it’s nice and thin.

I personally find insalata caprese to be a little bland, and just like the salad I found this sandwich a little lacking in flavor. Maybe some acid would help (balsamic dressing, dried cranberries?). On the positive side, this sandwich is massive, you could easily split it with a friend, and nosh on some of the plethora of baked goods from area bakers or some of the bulk goods as I did.

City Market – Dried Turkish Apricot Bulk Bin

I chose dried Turkish apricots, one of my favorite natural snacks; I think apricots are much better dried than fresh.

The sandwich was $7.50 before tax, a good deal, I’ll be back to try City Market’s other sandwiches (their sandwich counter is in the baked goods end of the store).

The dried apricots are $3.99 a pound.

Zabby and Elf’s Stone Soup – “Turkey Reuben”

So where we left off from the last post, I was still looking for some lunch after some miss-cues and I decided on Zabby and Elf’s Stone Soup on College St in Burlington Vermont. They are next door to Bueno Y Sano.

Zabby and Elf’s Stone Soup – Burlington Vermont

Zabby and Elf’s Stone Soup – Burlington Vermont

The detail on the sign helps clue you in into the whimsical nature of this business if you missed the titular reference to the classic fable of “Stone Soup“. I had pictured this place to be a clicky crunchy hangout, but was elated to find delicious food and healthy-hip ambiance.

Zabby and Elf’s Stone Soup – Turkey Reuben

Similar to the fable of Stone Soup, Zabby and Elf’s feature local ingredients from the local “villagers”. In addition the bread is freshly baked  and the turkey roasted in the restaurant. The sandwich is toasted in the oven, which give the bread nice crunchy outside, there is also cheese included in the sandwich resulting in some nice melt. The turkey is phenomenal: slight seasoning and pepper on the roasted turkey breast makes this sandwich sing. I haven’t had turkey this good since I went to a Winn Dixie grocery store in Florida.

The kraut is fresh and is a little less pickled than I like, but it serves to not over power the juicy turkey. The thousand island / Russian dressing contained sweet pickle relish, which again I didn’t care for, but was an interesting twist and not a deal breaker. The sandwich appears to be aimed to the slightly sweet side, as well as keeping the flavor of the turkey in mind.

Zabby and Elf’s Stone Soup – Caper Berries

As a garnish instead of a pickle, Stone Soup users caper berries, which are the mature fruit of capers. I found these pleasantly pickle like, with a nice texture.

The turkey rueben includes a hand full of wonderful Mad House Munchies to round out the “localness” of this sandwich. The sandwich was just over $8 with tax. Stone Soup is CASH ONLY.