Field Trip: The Old Tavern at the Grafton Inn, Vermont

If you're even moderately fond of eating and fine scenery, Vermont is a great destination for a weekend away.  There's shopping, a cheese trail, cideries (cider slushies and donuts!), a tour of Ben and Jerry's complete with samples...if I haven't gotten you yet, you are not of woman born.  There are charming villages a plenty, with massive country stores selling everything from the delicious to the hilariously ridiculous.  We checked out Coolidge Homestead, where Calvin Coolidge lived from 1876 to 1887 (not recommended) and tried his favorite beverage, Moxie (also not recommended):

It tasted like a vile combination of ginger ale and black licorice, with accents of soap.  Dave, who is a huge fan of the word moxie, and works it into varied situations whether appropriate or not ("That girl has moxie!  Those hot air balloons are a sign of good moxie!") said, sadly, "I thought moxie would taste better".

Most charming of all was the historic village of Grafton, Vermont, which boasts a covered bridge and The Grafton Inn, which opened in 1801 and is one of the oldest operating inns in America.

Dave, Brandon Mir and I had dinner in their restaurant, which was very elegant but cozy:

Brandon:  It's like dining with the founding fathers!

All of their ingredients are locally sourced, from sustainable purveyors.  Dave had the fettuccine with roasted vegetables:

Dave: These vegetables are fresh and kissed by the Vermont sun.

Brandon:  Even the root vegetables.

Dave:  The plate is colourful, like the Vermont autumn foliage.  It's full of moxie, but not the bad beverage moxie.

Brandon had the lobster pie:

He pronounced it soupy and creamy, with a generous internal serving of lobster.

Mir had the rack of lamb with cheddar mash:

It was as expected, though there was a distinct lack of cheddar in the cheddar mash, more a hint o' cheddar.

All in all the food was solid, nothing earth shaking, but combined with the period atmosphere it still made for a great night.  Definitely recommended.