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).

Martone’s Market and Cafe – “Billy” Sandwich

Martone’s is a little deli, “market and cafe” at the 5 corners in Essex Vermont.

Martone’s Market and Cafe – Essex Vermont

Besides subs, Martone’s also has a nice selection of steaks; I think I’ll be picking some up once the snow melts to throw on the grill.

Martone’s – Billy Sandwich – (half, front)

I like egg salad, something that I don’t bother to make for myself for some reason. Anyway, someone named “Billy” has similar taste to me, I ordered his namesake sandwich Egg salad and bacon, it kind of like being indecisive if you want breakfast or lunch, so you settle for a sandwich with breakfast elements. The egg salad yummy, green onions, and chunks of egg. The bacon is SO crispy, a nice contrast to the smooth egg salad. Finally I added sprouts and tomato to the freshly baked wheat bread. 

Take note:  If this is your first time at Martone’s I would recommend ordering a small sandwich, unless you would like some leftovers. Martone’s is notorious for their piled-high sandwiches. Here is the back side of my half sandwich:

Martone’s – Billy Sandwich – (half, back)

The half Billy was $7.25 with tax, I’ll be back to when I need my egg-salad fix.

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.

Vermont Sandwich Company – Patriot Sandwich

Vermont Sandwich Company is a local (as the name implies) sandwich shop. All of their sandwiches have high quality ingredients and breads. I tend to shy away from sandwiches that I can make myself, but there is on in particular at the Vermont Sandwich Company I’m fond of.

Vermont Sandwich Company – South Burlington Vermont

I went to the South Burlington Vermont location on Dorset Street in the Blue Mall (also home to Wings Over Burlington).

Vermont Sandwich Company – Patriot Sandwich

I chose to get my Patriot with wheat bread (comes on white), it is turkey breast, mayo, cranberry sauce, and stuffing. Of course this sandwich reminds me of eating left overs from Thanksgiving Day, which is pretty cool. The combination of flavors is classic, all of the ingredients are good, although I whish there was more cranberry sauce. I also wish the sandwich was a little bigger, so next time I may order mine on a wheat sub roll instead of bread.

This taste of Thanksgiving is $6.98 with tax

Jazzman’s Cafe @ Champlain College – “Ham and Brie Sandwich”, “Potato and Bacon Soup”, “Peanut Butter and Chocolate Chip Cookie”

I was on Champlain College‘s beautiful campus today, so I decided to get some lunch there.

William R. Hauke Family Campus Center – Champlain College

From Maple Street in Burlington Vermont, Jazzman’s Cafe is  just through the pictured door. Jazzman’s cafe is actually a chain, and is only one of Champlain’s dining options. Previously in the same location there was a student run cafe, which I actually prefer, but Jazzman’s has surprisingly decent food for a chain.

Jazzman’s Cafe – Ham and Brie Sandwich

The counter person popped the sandwich in a panini press with good results. The brie was warm and gooey, the ham was good quality, and the Dijon mustard was an excellent choice. This is a ham and cheese with a french accent.

Jazzman’s Cafe – Potato Bacon Soup (cup)

I was waffling on getting this soup, as I already had pork in my sandwich, but the cook up-sold me into a cup of this soup. The soup was nice and thick, there were chunks of potatoes, carrots, celery, and small bits of bacon. The soup appropriately hearty on this chilly day, but could have used a little more bacon.

Jazzman’s Cafe – Peanut Butter Chocolate Chip Cookie

A few great things about this cookie:

1. Tons of peanut butter flavor – A good peanut butter cookie will likely be crispy on at least the outside. This is probably due to the peanut oil in the peanut butter, this cookie managed to stay soft in the middle.
2. Peanuts!– I actually prefer some chopped peanuts inside the dough, but the result was fine.
3. Dark chocolate in the icing – milk chocolate would have pushed this cookie into the “too sweet” range, just like “peanut butter” cookies, that don’t have enough peanut butter in them. The chocolate chips were also dark, or maybe semi-sweet.

I think the soup was $2.50, the cookie $1.50, and the sandwich $5 (everything was under $10 with tax), Jazzman’s Cafe is an inexpensive lunch option.