Sugar and Spice in Mendon, Vermont was nominated by the Wall Street Journal
in its list of “destination restaurants” off-the-beaten-path. Others
on their list include a barbecue joint in Texas, a crawfish shack in
Louisiana, a fried chicken spot in Tennessee, and a grill in remote
Utah. The very real prospects of chowing down in May at the last place
prompted me to see whether I might find my way to the Vermont breakfast
spot.
Aside from a freak Halloween snowstorm that knocked out power for most of Connecticut, this has been an incredibly mild winter. When weather forecasters began bouncing in their seats about a looming winter event, we scoffed. And as it turned out, rightly so. When we reached our inn last Thursday night, even though the snow swirled about (since we were at 2000 feet!) it was not the least bit hazardous. Also, since it was early March the ski resorts had long ago abandoned hope. By Friday morning, the roads were not only cleared but damp as things melted.
Aside from a freak Halloween snowstorm that knocked out power for most of Connecticut, this has been an incredibly mild winter. When weather forecasters began bouncing in their seats about a looming winter event, we scoffed. And as it turned out, rightly so. When we reached our inn last Thursday night, even though the snow swirled about (since we were at 2000 feet!) it was not the least bit hazardous. Also, since it was early March the ski resorts had long ago abandoned hope. By Friday morning, the roads were not only cleared but damp as things melted.
We are pleased to report
that our 3 hour drive for pancakes and waffles was not a wasted effort.
Because we beat whatever weekend flood of visitors, the place was not
packed and the servers were mildly polite. The food was quite good: tiny
Maine blueberries on Sue’s stack of pancakes, nicely crumbled walnuts
on my waffle, and plenty of syrup. Perhaps we didn’t realize during the
meal just how much we were enjoying the syrup until we realized that the
once full container had been mostly emptied.
Just as important though was the trip out of town and the reminder that it is still winter and that spring has yet to arrive. On the way up, I stopped for a fuel stop. As I waited, I noticed the perfectly formed snowflakes collecting on the outside of my fleece. There was still a little snow in the air on Friday morning. There was none at home so to look back on the surface frostings is a delight. Evidence of spring’s approach in Vermont? Check the sap bucket on the tree to the far right.
