Surprising as it may sound, there is more to local dining than Harold burgers.
To explore Upper Valley cuisine, I ventured far from the familiar offerings of Thayer Dining Hall and nearby Hanover to sample the fare available in Dartmouth's backyard.
Although our rural environs don't quite offer the taste or variety of a city, if you look hard enough, the northcountry comes close.
Wasps Snack Bar and Diner
Twenty minutes from Hanover, there is a building that looks like it belongs in a trailer park, and not the middle of a thriving village. It is long as a tractor-trailer, but narrower than some hallways.
Wasps Snack Bar and Diner has been cooking some of the area's best, albeit greasiest, food for more than 34 years from a former sugar house.
Even if Woodstock, Vt. were not a great place to visit, it would still be worth making a special trip just to dine at Wasps.
The greasy burgers, greasy chicken, greasy ham and greasy eggs are wonderful, and the greasy home fries are a delicacy. There is no salad bar, and the servers look like they might be hostile to vegetarians.
There is even a picture of a pig on the wall.
The decor is as simple as the food. There are no tables, only a long row of stools along a lunch counter, which gives the restaurant the same ambiance as a caboose. It is a lot of fun.
Prices are very reasonable, and the staff has mastered the jocular sass that is the official language of America's finest diners.
The clientele is a blend of tourists and locals, but mostly the latter. They are a friendly, clean-cut group ranging from old farmers to young carpenters and business people.
Simply put, Wasps provides the total dining experience. To eat at Wasps is to want for nothing.
La Poule a Dents
If you are looking to impress a date or impress yourself with the finest (and most expensive) cuisine in the region, La Poule a Dents is the restaurant for you.
Just two minutes away from Dartmouth by car and 20 minutes by foot, La Poule a Dents in Norwich, Vt. is a treasure.
This tiny family-run French restaurant has a muted setting, but exudes an intimate and romantic feeling enhanced by candlelit parlors in a beautifully restored 1820s setting.
Wooden tables and a large and beautifully burnished bar dominate the restaurant's main room. Carefully arranged tables fill the other two, more cozy, dining areas.
Dining on the outside porch seems an attractive option, especially if you would like to enjoy one of the restaurant's fine after-dinner cigars.
Dress is casual, though a more "dressy" casual wear is highly recommended. Shorts, while permitted, might make you feel uncomfortable, compared with the restaurants well-dressed clientele.
Upon entering, expect to be greeted by Maitre D'Hotel Robert Walsh, who will escort you to your seating promptly, provided you have a reservation.
Diners can choose from a wide selection of appetizers, main courses and desserts. The price for all three courses is fixed, but varies depending on the menu.
The menu at La Poule a Dents is constantly evolving, and varies depending on the day of the week and special occasions, according to chef and owner Barry Snyder.
My three-course meal was rich and delightful. The portions are a little on the small side, but each bite is a wonderful adventure in taste and texture. If you are over 21, there is an excellent selection of fine wines and spirits.
La Poule a Dents has won The Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence since 1991.
"In the old days, the chef was in the back of the restaurant," Snyder said. "We own it, we work it, we live it. All our food is handmade. That is the difference between us and other more industrially owned places."
An average meal for two, including wine, service and tax, can be $150, Snyder said.
Reservations are highly recommended. Weekends are always busy and holidays fill up weeks in advance.
La Poule a Dents, which the owner translates as "as scarce as hen's teeth" from the French, has been open since 1990. It serves dinner Monday through Saturday from 6 p.m. until closing.
Shorty's Mexican Roadhouse
Next time you are in West Lebanon, stop by Shorty's Mexican Roadhouse for a delightful assortment of Mexican, southwestern and Caribbean cooking.
Shorty's is a cheerful restaurant with a large room, a bar with two large television screens, and bright neon signs.
Since Shorty's accepts no reservations on weekends, the wait may be long. If the restaurant is crowded, you may have to wait for up to an hour.
The menu is among the most varied of any restaurant out there. There are five types of nachos to chose from, many appetizers, dinner dishes, enchiladas, tortillas and more.
Shorty's dishes out huge portions, and unless you are careful, the appetizers can fill you up.
For those who like it hot, Shorty's will not disappoint. You are likely to go through several glasses of water throughout the course of the evening. I recommend planning ahead: ask your waitress for a pitcher of water.
However, those who shun jalapeno peppers and the like can chose from less spicy dishes.
Shorty's has an extensive dessert menu, though only the most voracious will have room after the main course.
"Shorty's is a good family restaurant," manager Dean Beliveau said. "It has a fun atmosphere and it is upbeat. You should try it at least once."
Its close proximity to K-Mart and location in Shaw's Powerhouse Plaza makes Shorty's a convenient location for Dartmouth students looking for something in the area.
Shorty's opened in 1993 and is open seven days a week beginning at 11:30 a.m. The bar closes at 11 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and at 1 a.m. on Friday and Saturday. Dinner ends at 10 p.m. nightly.
Simon Pearce
When you dine at Simon Pearce, your attention will be divided between the scenery and your food. Both are beyond beautiful.
Simon Pearce overlooks a spectacular waterfall.
Of all the restaurants in the area, Simon Pearce is the most reminiscent of a big city restaurant. Despite its exotic location in rural Vermont, it had all the atmosphere of an uptown restaurant in New York or Chicago.
Simon Pearce has an extensive wine list. The waitress gave me a gargantuan tome that listed more wines than I knew existed. Like La Poule a Dents, Simon Pearce has won The Wine Spectator's Award of Excellence five consecutive years.
The cuisine is superb. The food was fresh and well prepared. Simon Pearce is one of the few restaurants in the Upper Valley offering various types of seafood.
The service was courteous and professional.
"We have very high stands for quality," assistant manager Kelly Pike said. "Our food is very fresh and prepared daily using as many native and fresh products as possible."
"It is hard to find a place that does things by the standards that we do and using the ingredients we do," she said.
Simon Pearce is located in a historic mill and is adjacent to a glass shop which makes the restaurant's hand-crafted glassware.
On display in the entryway are exquisite pieces of hand-blown glass including plates, vases, and glasses.
Reservations at Simon Pearce are a necessity weekends or holidays. During the week a reservation may be unnecessary and you may even nab a good window seat to watch the river.
Simon Pearce is open seven days a week. Lunch is served from 11:30 a.m. until 2:45 p.m. with no reservations. Make a reservation for dinner, which is 6 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Dana's By The Gorge Restaurant
One statue mile and one million cultural miles from Simon Pearce is Dana's By The Gorge, which is not really by the gorge.
The restaurant is about 50 yards from Quechee Gorge, and has no view (unless you enjoy parking lots). But the food is tasty, and the breakfasts are rumored to be among the Upper Valley's best (try the pancakes).
If the weather is pleasant, you can sit on the patio and order your meal outside.
If you go to Dana's for lunch, get a hamburger. Service is pleasant and reasonably fast.
The ambiance outside is nice, unless you are bothered by noise of traffic and a certain rusty air conditioner.
Manager and co-owner Nancy Iott said Dana's is a pseudo-acronym for the names of the restaurant's owners: David, Nancy and their sons.
Dana's is a pleasant place to rest while hiking the gorge or exploring the Quechee area. It is open for breakfast and lunch seven days a week during spring, summer and fall.
De N Ro Restaurant
De N Ro Restaurant is also close to a massive gash in the earth, except this one is manmade. The place is located beside a rock quarry.
But the food is humble and wonderful, and it is within walking distance from campus, located on the banks of the Connecticut River in Norwich, Vt.
I enjoyed a dandy breakfast there after a scenic walk along the river. Starved from the trip, I enjoyed an excellent steak and eggs breakfast.
The service is pleasant and the restaurant is a popular stop for truckers and contractors driving along Route 5.
Some of the more eclectic lunch and dinner selections on the menu include grilled calves liver and honeycomb tripe.
The restaurant serves wonderful meals, but half the fun is getting there.
There are three ways to get to De N Ro's: walking, driving or biking (the train tracks beside the restaurant are no longer used).
Driving to the restaurant is simple but will cut short a beautiful view.
If you want a scenic walk, follow the railroad tracks that run alongside the river. The tracks weave through forest before cutting back into the road almost in front of De N Ro's.
Colatina Exit
The Colatina Exit has established a loyal crowd of local fans, who are attracted to its warm, friendly atmosphere and sensible prices.
Located 20 minutes from Hanover in the Grover's Corner-like town of Bradford, Vt., Colatina offers Americanized Italian food at its best.
Although the wine list could be better and the waitpeople seem inattentive, the food, prices and atmosphere make the trip worthwhile.
With its wooden walls and checkered tablecloths, Colatina feels like a Yukon saloon. The single room is illuminated almost entirely by candlelight, and a panoply of intriguing aromas pervade the place.
The garlic bread is beyond anything served in Hanover restaurants. With cheese, it is even better.
The pizza is great, and the pasta dishes are better. The all-American deserts are heavenly, and the menu includes Tiramisu, a concession to the restaurant's Italian heritage.
Seven Barrel Brewery
For those who enjoy a hearty pub meal and reasonable prices, The Seven Barrel Brewery, located in the Colonial Plaza in West Lebanon, is the ideal place for lunch or dinner.
First and foremost a pub, Seven Barrels offers a wide selection of excellent specialty beers.
While some of the beers are permanent fixtures of the menu, others change seasonally. An example is the excellent "groot beer," a brew heavily laden with ginger and other spices.
As well, the pleasant ambiance of the restaurant is that of an old English pub, replete with suits of armor, dim lighting and tipsy patrons spontaneously breaking into song.
The beers are divine, but for those still not of age (and the owners recently started cracking down) the meals offered are great as well. Seven Barrels offers generally "British" old-fashioned pub fare, ranging in price from about $4 to $12 at most.
Vegetarians may balk at the idea of a pub serving food, but the menu includes several meatless dishes, including the tasty mulligatawny stew, which is a curry-like stew served on rice.
The service is generally good, but the waitpeople tend to condescend to patrons who appear underage.
