Sept. 26 Burger Tour Stop: Halvorsen's Upstreet Cafe

Halvorsen's is one of those places I often forget about. But the fact is there is no place that is more reliable for tasty food and drink. I think you'll like the burgers at this top-of-Church-Street pub that's been operated by the Halvorsen family for more than 30 years.

They feature several burgers including, one of the best, The Bailey Patty Melt.

Halvorsen's Upstreet Cafe

16 Church Street
Burlington, Vermont
Monday, September 26
6:30 pm


There is an awesome selection of beer on tap (usually two or three that are unusual and not available anywhere else) and a good selection of wines by the glass. The Halvorsen's really know their wine. Little known fact, current proprietor Tim Halvorsen and his wife opened up a wine shop just downstairs from the Top of the Block sandwich shop. It's open a few hours a day close to the weekend and by appointment. I highly recommend it!!

The other thing I'd like to recommend is today's Savorvore Section all about my favorite topic: BURGERS...and bargains. It's a day-by-day guide to the town's best burgers, featuring daily specials. Of course The Daily Planet owns Monday Night and the Bluebird Tavern is there on Tuesday...but how about Burger for Brunch at The Chubby Muffin? Read it and you'll find a few suprises.

It's last minute I know, but I hope to see you Monday Night!

Your faithful tour guide,

Miss Kathy

Burger Tour FLASH MOB

Goodnight, Irene.

Provided we all get through the storm, we're going to assemble a Burger Tour on Monday, August 29, FLASH MOB style.

6:30 pm
Kountry Kart Deli
155 Main Street, Burlington
Take Out to City Hall Park
Bring blankets to sit on, festival chairs and guitars.

Kountry Kart Deli...good times.

Kountry Kart has two burgers on the menu.
The American and Flatlander. You can get them naked, or with bacon and/or cheese. They're both served on toasted buns, really, really good.

I really wanted to do a take-out burger before Summer gets away from us. While I've been dying to the Shopping Bag on North St., the logistics are just too difficult for our large crew. There's nowhere  nearby to picnic.

The new future Mrs. Joe (aka Zumba Lily) and Rick Norcross

The Kountry Kart is a personal favorite. I assure you the food is awesome and  it will give your wallet a break after the tasty but pricey Farmhouse. (Thirsty folks can mosey over to VPB for a beer afterwards.)

If it's raining, check your e-mail and look for texts. The alternative location will likely be RiRa or a revisit to the Planet.


**The other thing to know about the Kountry Kart is they have the most amazing breakfast sandwich in Burlington, called the Shiner. It's a fried egg, your choice of bacon or sausage, plus hash browns on a toasted roll. The large is served on a large sub roll. Mountain Man would approve. And you can get it 19.5 hours a day. They're open late and are pretty used to serving the late night crowd, so our 16 to 20 burgers should be a snap.

Show up and order, or call ahead at 802-864-4408. They are expecting us.

Your faithful tour guide,

Miss Kathy

Windjammer Review, Next Tour Stop: The Farmhouse, July 25

Anise and Charlotte with their Windjammer burgers and sweet potato fries.

It was the best of times, but it was the worst of burgers.

A record number of 17 Burger Tourists arrived to sample the Windjammer’s offerings but sadly the kitchen could not produce enough medium rare burgers to satisfy our typically bloodthirsty crew. Mountain Man got one…of course…but several folks, including yours truly, were left holding burgers that were lacking any pink.

For a medium well burger, it was a really good. But I didn’t enjoy it enough to skip the ‘dis in my lead paragraph. Sorry Windjammer. Normally, I love you. But not tonight.

On with some of our social milestones:

*We had 17 people! A record for the tour. Draker employees continue to post strong numbers with Jennifer, Bryan, Joe and Anise. New to the tour were MNC’ers Rambler Rick and Alison and Jobey. Please join us again!

A crew of 17 including a few newbies.

 **It was Dan the Man’s Birthday! His brother Joe and Zumba Lily gave incredibly thoughtful gifts.

Dan the Man and Dirt Diva.

Thoughtful gifts...

***Brother-of-Another-Mother Dan was the first BTV Burger Tourist to have a…chicken sandwich.

Brother-of-another-mother, Dan

This month, the Burger Tour swings back downtown to the much-anticipated Farmhouse Tap & Grill. The burgers here are the epitome of Vermont’s “Localvore” movement. The pork burger was raised at the Winding Brook Farm, the beef burger grazed at Jericho Settler’s Farm…you get the idea. There’s also a Misty Knoll Free Range Turkey Burger and TWO veggies burgers. Download the menu here.

Our friend Chad at the Farmhouse is very focused on providing a good experience for us and has asked that we be seated at 5:30 pm. Please make a note of it…this tour begins ONE HOUR BEFORE THE NORMAL TIME. Please RSVP.

The Farmhouse Tap & Grill
160 Bank Street
Burlington, Vermont
www.farmhousetg.com

Monday, July 25
5:30 pm
PLEASE RSVP to misskathy.vt@gmail.com.
See you soon, your faithful tour guide,
Miss Kathy

Burger Tour sails into the Windjammer Monday Night, June 27

Hello Beloved Burger Faithful:

The Planet Burger - Yum

It's been so long since I've blogged I barely remember the password. But I do remember the tasty burgers and the fine company we enjoyed last month in the atrium at The Daily Planet, the May burger tour stop.

With the rains giving way to, well, more rain...and June giving way to July...it's time for us to sail into The Windjammer Upper Deck and Pub. They have one burger on the dinner menu downstairs (and it's awesome) and several choices on the upstairs, Upper Deck menu.

We're going to the Upper Deck...a favorite local watering hole with lots of character. They don't take reservations so I'm looking for volunteers who can join me a little early (say 6pm) to push some tables together to accommodate our hungry, social group.

Hope to see you all next Monday.

Monday, June 27
6:30 pm
The Upper Deck Pub at the Windjammer
1076 Williston Road
South Burlington, VT 05403 Phone: (802) 862-6585

Can't wait to see everyone.

Your faithful tour guide,

Miss Kathy

Pub Quiz to win a Burger at the Daily Planet

Great attendance at Rozzi’s Lakeshore Tavern last month.  Here we enjoyed a variety of burgers with really fun names. If you were paying attention, I might buy your burger at the Daily Planet.

Just a word about the recent flooding. Hope the folks in Rozzi’s neighborhood are safe…and I hope that you and yours are safe and dry, too.

Thanks to those who sent photos.

So here’s the pub quiz:

1.    (A two-parter.) Who showed up with a big, giant scar and ate this burger? What was the burger called?

Who ate this burger and what's it called?

2.    Sophia got a good start but never finished this burger. What  burger did Sophia order?

What is this burger called?

Jen and John Winsor ate this burger.

3.    What burger did Jen and John Winsor order?


The first person to e-mail their answer to misskathy.vt@gmail.com will enjoy a burger and a beer free at the Planet, courtesy of your faithful tour guide.

Mark you calendar! This is next Monday!

The Daily Planet
Monday, May 9
Burger and Beer for Under $10
15 Center Street, Burlington
6:30 pm

Hope to see you Monday. As usual, please RSVP so I can have enough seats at the table.

Love on ya,
Miss Kathy

Next Stop: Burger Heaven at Rozzi's Tavern

Can Rozzi’s Green Mountain Burger featuring apples, bacon and maple syrup steal Shan’s heart away from the Frog Burger?

Will Jennifer give up her beloved Scuffer burger for Waggy’s Southern Burger topped with pulled pork and cole slaw?

Will everyone stop asking the Mountain Man if he’s gonna face plant on the “Dozer,” Rozzi’s famous two pounds of beef, 8 slices of bacon, four slices of cheese, etc. on a cornbread roll?

Tune in next Monday for the adventures of the Monday Night Club as they hit Rozzi’s Lakeshore Tavern, Colchester.

Monday, April 18

Rozzi’s Lakeshore Tavern

1072 W Lakeshore Dr.

 Colchester, VT 05446

(802) 863-2342

6:30 pm

156 BISTRO REVIEW

Zumba Lily and Joe at 156 Bistro. Photo by Jamie.

As you can see, 156 Bistro was a good place to cuddle up and catch up.

When we showed up, it was like they had never heard of us. No table waiting. No fanfare. Thank goodness Catherine, our Dirt Diva, arrived early and was able to right the situation. We were prominently and appropriately seated near the front door--no one puts the MNC in a corner! In the end, we were treated to great service and some juicy, tasty burgers.

Dirt Diva: “This is the messiest burger. I have food all over my face and I don’t care!"

Zumba Lily: “The fries are delish. The burger…not so much.”

Mountain Man: (measured silence, thoughtful pause) “Good burger. Maybe better than the Frog.”

Here’s the MNC BTV Burger Tour News Feed:

Lily in now a Zumba instructor, and may eat as many burgers as she likes.

Bryan, Jennifer and Joe are moved into their new space in the South End’s Maltex Building, just steps away from Dan and Karl’s new workshop. For safety reasons, five should be the limit of MNC’ers allowed in one building.

Mountain Man visited Texas for work, however I can’t tell you much about it or say word like "chips" or "fail" in the blog. I’ve vowed to protect his identity from online exposure. Suffice to say, MM had a sunny, paid vacation while the snow melted on his mountain.

Jamie is in love with his little dog Linnie, Dirt Diva is pondering her garden, and Miss Kathy is “purpled out” pitching her company’s new partnership with Yahoo!

Everyone bring your stories and your appetites for another rousing rendition of the Monday Night Club BTV Burger Tour, Rozzi’s style.

Please RSVP to misskathy.vt@gmail.com or call me, text me, send a smoke signal.

Bits and Bites, BTV Burger Tour's Tonight!

Just a reminder that we'll hit 156 Bistro, 156 St. Paul Street, downtown Burlington, for "$10 burger and a beer night" at 6:30 pm, tonight, Monday Mar. 28.

A few juicy tidbits for the good of the order. Chef Michel Mahe of the Bearded Frog is planning to open up a burger theme restaurant, Le Burger Joint. I think we can take credit for this, right? This piece was a sidebar in Friday's Savorvore (Free Press) to a nice story about his chef Andrea Cousineau. It might be tough to get in there for a little while...

Also, I'll want to give you a heads up about the April tour: April 18 at Rozzi's Lakeshore Tavern, home of the "Dozer." 

Hopefully, the Winsors can join us this time.

(And you folks know that all those highlighted words are links, right?)

See you tonight,

Miss Kathy