By Megan Robinson
On a beautiful crisp fall Saturday morning, my parents took me out to breakfast in Burlington at the restau- rant of my choice.
Easy. One of my all-time favorites- The Skinny Pancake where soft dim lighting creates an intimate feeling so relaxed I want to wrap myself in a blanket and drink warm coffee until I fall asleep.
Menu choices cater to all types: omnivores, herbivores, breakfast all day, lunch and dinner options. The line moves quickly which forces you to think fast and order at the counter..
I ordered my usual – the Lovemaker ($9) one of the sweet crêpes. My dad settled on the Noah’s Ark ($11) a savory crêpe and my mom ordered the Johnny Crepe ($13) under lunch and dinner options. My iced coffee is by far the best coffee I have ever tasted. The fresh roasted coffee beans were chilled just under freezing. No need to add cream or sugar. Simply black.
We debated whether or not to stay outside in the brisk weather and lasted only 20 minutes until the yellow jackets swarmed us in circles. We moved inside to a wooden table that had thesmallest flower poking its petals out ofthe glass vase in the center of the table. The food runner politely brought our meals outside and placed the food in front of us.
This being our first meal of the dayeach bite tasted ten times better than we anticipated.
The Lovemaker, filled with fresh delicate strawberries and creamy choc- olate, a beautiful balance, arrives perfectly placed on the square white plate right beside a pile of melted whipped cream. Powdered sugar sprinkled on top gave it a hint of sweetness. I don’t want to dig my fork and knife in be- cause I don’t want to ruin perfection. Twenty minutes later, I slithered my fork across my plate to get the last bit of chocolate and whipped cream. The rest of the meals are going to have to work just as hard to be able to compete with this one.
My dad liked his crêpe filled witheggs, crispy bacon, two cinnamon sug- ar sweet crepes, and a side of VT maple syrup so much he licked the plate clean and eventually moved onto helpingmy mom finish her meal: VT pulledpork, caramelized onions, Cabot ched- dar cheese, and sweet maple barbeque sauce.
I returned a week later to have lunch with my sister to unwind our minds and take a break from school work and all the other demands life throws at us. I absolutely love breakfast food, so the fact that breakfast is served all day is a big deal for me. But, lunchtime called for something more on the salty side: the Early Riser ($7). Unlike the last meal, I’m paying for this meal out of my pocket, so it NEEDS to be afford- able. My sister ordered the Heady Burger ($13). There’s nothing unique about ordering a burger from a restau- rant known for its crêpes!
It was pretty busy for a Wednesday afternoon. Most of the tables in the restaurant had been taken. My sister and I caught up with each other’s lives, focusing on topics other than school. We wanted to enjoy being off campus for a short period of time and escape everyday demands. Our food came out about 15 minutes later, which felt quicker than it had really been.
My first bite was as smooth asfrosting a vanilla buttercream home- made cake. Two fresh cage-free eggs and Cabot cheddar were wrapped like a blanket in a buttery French crêpe. Surprisingly, I enjoyed the small side of mixed greens, drizzled with light vin- aigrette dressing, adding a hint of lime and the maple brown sugar sausagesmore than the egg filled crêpe. I lovedthe fact that the sausage links haddefined grill marks which means theywere cooked for a longer period time on the grill. Time was ticking which meant it was time to get back to reality.
I slurped the last bit of coffee down making that annoying noise and clank- ing my straw against the ice cubes. With a few bites left on my plate, I left the unfinished crêpe and cut up sausages on the table. Not being able tofinish that meal is about the same as meleaving a $5 bill on the table… and let me tell you, $5 can go a long way. I will return soon to enjoy my Lovemaker yet again.