Burlington, VT question
 

I am flying into Burlington for a long weekend next Friday night on a JetBlue flight that lands at 11:45pm. I called the car rental companies in the airport, and they all close at midnight. I am afraid this is cutting it too close.

So I thought I might take a cab from the airport to the Sheraton hotel/conference center, where I am staying, and then pick up a rental car in the morning. Does this make sense? I have never been to Burlington before, and I am not sure if a cab ride to this Sheraton will be very expensive. For that matter, is there a 24-hour taxi rank at the Burlington airport, or should I call a cab company ahead of time to reserve a cab at midnight?

Thank you for your assistance.

Not sure about 24 hour cab stands at the airport, but the Sheraton is only about 2 miles away, a straight shot west on Williston Road.

Contact the Sheraton and see if they do airport pickups at that hour. If they don't, see if they can arrange transportation for you.

Thanks for the help--the cab will be a no brainer then.

One other question: Would anyone be able to recommend a favorite New Englandy restaurant in Burlington for the Saturday night of our stay? Thanks again.

If you're going to have a car, drive down to New Haven (just north of Middlebury-approx 40 minute drive) and have dinner at the Dog Team Tavern. Be sure you make reservations though. www.dogteamtavern.com

mattydale,

I'm not sure what you mean by New Englandy, but...

In downtown Burlington, in the Church Street marketplace, are a number of very good restaurants. Two that come to mind are RiRa, a very good Irish pub, and the New England Culinary Institute.

I think there are NE Culinary Institute restaurants in the pedestrian mall in the city. Other posters will know. There are several excellent restaurants in the city so there is no need to drive outside. Sorry I am not more help but know other posters will be if we can keep this question near the top.

I strongly recommend the New England Culinary INstitute restaurant on the pedestrian mall (there's also one at an inn, but I don't remember the name of the inn). Reservations would be a must for a saturday night.

The NECI is on Church St,
Butler At the Inn at Essex is in Essex Junction.
There's a less expensive tavern there also.
There bakery, La Brioche is in Montpelier.

sorry, their bakery

Thanks for the replies, I will check out the NECI and the other suggestions here. We will, in fact, have a car (we're up there to see the foliage too!), just not that first night. But by Saturday we will, so driving is not a problem.

Oh, and by New Englandy, I meant the type of restaurant you'd expect in Autumn in Vermont... maybe a country inn, maybe a restaurant that specializes in local produce. I guess we're not looking for ethnic food (which we can easily get at home). Thanks for any further suggestions!

Matt

You've gotten some excellent recommendations here.

Church Street in downtown Burlington would be a great place to visit on a nice night. Just stroll around and then have dinner at the NECI or some other restaurant that strikes your fancy.

Dog Team is a good recommendation.

I'd add Fire and Ice in Middlebury, which is a bit further down the road.

A short and beautiful drive would be to Stowe. I had a fun and delicious meal at Swisspot on Main in Stowe. Fondue for two. I guess you could consider it ethnic, but a good fondue is hard to find!

There's a cornucopia of cuisine in Stowe. If you want a really special dinner in a beautiful inn, try the Pitcher Inn in Warren, about 45-50 minutes out of Burlington in the Mad River Valley.

Our current thought is that maybe we'll have dinner at the NECI on Saturday night (since Saturday is our "Burlington day") and then check out the cuisine in the Stowe area for lunch on Sunday.

To revert to my car-related question though, is Burlington a walkable city? I ask because we thought that if we didn't need the car on Saturday, we could save money by just renting it for our two countryside/foliage days (Sunday and Monday). We're coming from NYC, where having a car in the City is almost a liability. But is Burlington a spread-out sort of city where a car is essential? Thanks much, and sorry that I didn't post all of these questions initially!

I guess it depends on what you are going to do in Burlington. For example, Burlington center where the NECI restaurant is located, is walkable like many downtowns. Of course you would need a car to get there from your hotel which is in South Burlington.

Well, for one thing we thought about going to the Magic Hat brewery tour, and I'm not sure how far outside of the city center that is. I guess it's just a economic question of whether it makes more sense to pay the extra $60 for the car that day or to take cabs everywhere we might want to go.

I think I should probably just not be such a cheapskate and rent the car the additional day.

Rent the car for that day. You'll be glad you did.
Magic Hat is located approx 3ish miles south of downtown in Burlington in the City of South Burlington, just off Shelburne Road (US 7). Be aware that there is a major road construction project going on there (although I don't think they work on weekends) so you may have delays. Look for Bartlett Bay Road on your right (heading south) just after the IDX office campus. Magic Hat will right there on your right.

edit to my above post. For Magic Hat, take a right onto Bartlett Bay Road. Then you'll see Magic Hat on the right.

Just a thank you to people who responded to my questions. Car will be rented first thing Saturday morning.

Now all I ask you Vermonters to do is to make sure the weather in Burlington is as beautiful as it is here in New York this week.

Matt