Restaurants

Everything that makes Vermont good and wholesome is distilled in its restaurants. Many of them belong to the Vermont Fresh Network (www.vermontfresh.net), a partnership that encourages chefs to create menus emphasizing Vermont's wonderful bounty; especially in summer and early fall, the produce and meats are impeccable.

Great chefs come to Vermont for the quality of life, and the Montpelier-based New England Culinary Institute is a recruiting ground for new talent. Seasonal menus use local fresh herbs and vegetables along with native game. Look for imaginative approaches to New England foods like maple syrup (Vermont is the largest U.S. producer); dairy products (cheese in particular); native fruits and berries; heritage apples (explore the ever-growing cider scene); and regional game like venison, quail, and pheasant. Small-batch goods, from salsa to caramels, are made with Vermont ingredients. Beer has become yet another claim to fame in Vermont, thanks to more breweries per capita than any other state and recognition far and wide. Indeed, craft brewers as far away as Poland are now producing "Vermont-style" IPAs, and Hill Farmstead in Greensboro has been dubbed the best brewery in the world seven times by RateBeer, a brew-review website, since opening doors in 2010.

Your chances of finding a table for dinner vary with the season: lengthy waits are common in tourist centers at peak times—a reservation is always advisable.