Long Trail Brewing Company

Last Sunday, Z and I had some time to kill before his cousin's wedding. Since we were in Vermont, we immediately looked up what breweries were in the area. We soon discovered that Long Trail Brewing Co. was only 25 minutes away, so we hopped in the car and drove there for lunch. 

The design of Long Trail's Visitor Center was inspired by the Hofbrau House in Munich, Germany. The atmosphere boasts a unique blend of industrial design with casual comfort. Long Trail offers self-guided brewery tours along with their bar/restaurant.

Since we were a bit strapped for time, we decided to skip the tour. Instead, we sat outside at one of Long Trail's many picnic tables on their large deck, which overlooks a river. It was the perfect setting to enjoy a beer and some food on a 70 degree, sunny day.

I started my meal with the Maple Maibock.

The Maple Maibock was wonderfully light for lunchtime on a warm day, but I wished it had possessed more of a maple flavor. The flavor as a whole fell pretty flat. (I'm usually a fan of Long Trail's beers - this one just wasn't for me).

My entree - the Roasted Red Pepper Hummus Wrap ($8.50) - was much more delicious.

Chocked full of flavorful hummus and mixed raw veggies, this was one satiating sandwich - that somehow did not fall apart after one or two bites. The fries on the side were standard bar fries that were very well-salted. The warm, salty fries paired with the cool wrap was a delightful combination.

We were really happy we got to visit Long Trail while we were in Vermont, and we already have plans to go back and do their self-guided brewery tour!

Do you like visiting breweries? If so, what's one of the best ones you've been to?

P.S. Don't forget: I'm hosting this month's Mystery Meet Dinner on Tuesday, May 14th! I hope you all can join me - ticket information can be found here.

Easter Candy Giveaway from Lake Champlain Chocolates

Oooooh, do I have something fun for you guys today!

Although I was just talking about St. Patrick's Day yesterday, Easter is not too far in the future. Easter rarely occurs in March, but this year, it is. I love when Easter rolls around, mainly because my all-time favorite candy is Easter candy. I'm not really sure why - perhaps it's the pretty colors, the cute bunny shapes, the cream-filled eggs? Regardless, it's good. And locally made Easter candy is better than anything I can buy at CVS, in my opinion. Knowing you guys appreciate local businesses (and candy) too, I reached out to Lake Champlain Chocolates (LCC) a few weeks ago to see if they were interested in doing a giveaway on The EE. LCC has been making specialty chocolates in Burlington, Vermont for 25 years...and their chocolates are really, really good.

Truffle from LCC's Spring Chocolate Assortment.

Lucky for us, LCC happily obliged to doing a giveaway. They're giving one lucky EE reader their Milk Chocolate Easter Basket ($49.50 value) - just in time for the holiday!

Inside the basket: 6.5" Classic Milk Chocolate Easter Bunny; 6.5 oz. Milk Chocolate Caramel Eggs Gift Bag; 2 oz. Milk Chocolate Carrot; 4 oz. All-Natural Jelly Beans (available only in gift basket); 1 Organic Milk Chocolate Bar (available only in gift basket).

LCC sent me a sample of the Easter basket to try for myself (as well as a box of their Spring Chocolate Assortment - something you all must buy), and trust me when I say this is not your ordinary Easter basket. Every item is clearly made with only high quality ingredients, and those caramel eggs? Incredibly good.

To enter to win this Easter basket, simply comment on this post saying what your favorite Easter candy is. For an extra entry, tweet: "I entered to #win #Easter candy from @MichellePC and @LCChocolates!" Please leave a second comment with your tweet.

I'll pick a winner Friday (3/15) morning. Good luck! 

This giveaway is now closed. 

I received the Milk Chocolate Easter Basket and Spring Chocolate Assortment in return for doing this giveaway. As always, the opinions expressed in this post are honest and 100 percent my own.

Trout River Brewing Company

I hope my fellow Boston peeps made it through the storm OK! We escaped it and drove up to East Burke, Vermont for a weekend of snowboarding and relaxing. It was a really wonderful few days away, despite the lovely little cold I picked up Thursday night. Although I couldn't taste much of anything the entire weekend, I did still manage to thoroughly enjoy our dinner at Trout River Brewing Company in Lyndonville Saturday night (only a short drive from East Burke). Delicious pizza, freshly brewed beer, and great friends made for one delightful evening.

Mr. Mushroom 

Greek Special

The beers in my sampler were the Knight Slayer, B.A.D., Trippel, Boneyard Barley Wine, Northern Brown, and Nitro Stout, all picked by Dan, the owner - and brewer - himself. In terms of atmosphere, we went on an unusually quiet night (as I was told by my fellow diners, who had been there before), but that gave us more of an opportunity to chat with Dan. Dan is quite the character - a really down-to-earth guy who clearly loves his beer, and will chat with anyone who shares in his passion. I love how he keeps his restaurant menu simple, too, serving only pizzas made with quality, sometimes innovative ingredients (I hear the Trout Pizza is a must-try). I mean, how can you go wrong with beer and pizza, especially after a day on the slopes?

If you ever find yourself in Lyndonville, Vermont, I highly recommend paying Trout River Brewing Company a visit. (And, in East Burke, The Northeast Kingdom Country Store is a must for breakfast sandwiches...and antiques).

What did you do over the weekend? Did Nemo hit your area?