It has been more than a decade (if not longer) since we last visited New England in the fall. The last time we visited Vermont, it was early in October and the autumn foliage in the south west region was about to peak. This time, we’re going up further north to the Warren and Waterbury area, home of the famous ski resorts like Sugarbush, Killington and Stowe. We’re driving up Route 100 starting from Brattleboro, VT. Route 100 is famous scenic byway for foliage watching, running up the spine of the Green Mountain range.

Unfortunately, it looks like the weather forecast for the next few days aren’t going to be too great. It calls for rain and showers throughout. We are still hoping for some dry weather to get some hiking in. If the weather God does not cooperate, the back up plan is to visit country stores and sample Vermont fine culinary goods.

Top of the Hill Grill in Brattleboro Vermont

We arrive at Brattleboro, VT around noon. It’s drizzling outside. There’s a highly rated BBQ place called Top of the Hill Grill right off route 5. It’s away from downtown Brattleboro and serves some fine BBQ pork. We have the pulled pork platter. It’s pretty good, not spectacular, but it’s certainly mighty fine for a quick bite on the road. The restaurant is on a small hill and the view on the back side is quite nice. Two stars.

Rustic Newfane Country Store in Newfane

Newfane is a small village on route 30 that reminds you of the Vermont country of the yesteryears. We drop by the Newfane Country Store out of curiosity but are surprised by the many unique hand craft country style gifts the store has to offer. Their quilt collection is quite nice, and so are the many stuff animals scattering around looking for a new home. This store reminds us how different shopping can be outside of the chained department stores, everything here is so unique and worth exploring.

Quilt and Stuffedd Animal Collections at Newfane Country Store

Many Unique Gifts Worth Discovering at Newfane Country Store

Our next stop is Weston, Vermont. Home of the Vermont Country Store. Compared to the Newfane store, the Vermont Country Store is a major operation. They have a huge parking lot capable of accommodating tour buses. One can spend a couple of hours here roaming through the place.

Cheese Corner at the Vermont Country Store

Vermont is famous for its dairy products. The store has a very large selection of Vermont cheeses, especially cheddars, with lots of free samples. Some of their cheeses are really top quality, smooth and flavorful. We have found their Wasabi cheddar exceptional and purchase some for the road.

Cheese Samples at the Vermont Country Store

The Vermont Country Store has unique interesting displays aside from the large variety of merchandise. For example, there is a weight scale museum showing all kinds of antique scales. In another corner, there is an old style washing machine used as a display prop.

Antique Scale Museum at Vermont Country Store

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Old Style Laundry Machine Used for Merchandise Display

The foliage along route 100 has not peaked yet, it looks like our timing is quite good this year because we are going further north and higher up in elevation.

Foliage Color Along Route 100

We are staying at the  Sugarbush ski resort outside Warren, Vermont.  There is a restaurant called the Common Man Restaurant at the resort. It has a country barn setting and the inside reminds us of the Scott N’ Sirloin restaurant we went to in Rochester New York just a couple of months back. The Common Man features Vermont’s country cooking using fresh locally produced ingredients. The food preparation here is excellent. Four Stars.

Common Man Restaurant at Sugarbush

The vegetable kale has been getting all the lime light lately as one of the healthy/nutritious vegetables one should eat. It’s really difficult to come across delicious kale, but we try out  red baby kale the first time tonight. It’s not bitter at all and actually tastes pretty good.

Red Baby Kale Salad

Kampachi (Yellowtail) Crudo tossed with Edamame, Greens & Fish Roes

Halibut

The grilled skirt steak with a red wine steak sauce is truly exceptional. The taste of the fresh ingredients comes through in a delicate manner, the steak sauce is light but yet very meaty, but not in an over handed way. This is definitely the best dish for the night.

Grilled Skirt Steak with oyster mushrooms, spinach, sautéed onions, red wine steak sauce

Panna cotta with Short Bread