Burlington Hearth – Vermont

After an interesting but lengthy journey across western Maine, the top portion of New Hampshire and almost all of Vermont, we arrived in Burlington, the largest city in the state.

It was time for dinner, so after checking in to our hotel, we wandered on downtown to see what we could find…

After we parked our car, we headed toward our restaurant of choice for the evening.  We were greeted by this delightful mural of a 28 foot tall ruby-throated hummingbird.  Just across the street from city hall, it was completed by muralist Mary Lacy in 2015.  The ruddy brick wall really helps set off the painting. 

Coincidentally, it turns out that the partners who own the restaurant we’d chosen, had secured permission from the building owner for the mural.  The artist was pleased…her goal being to artistically bring nature back into city spaces.  To learn more about Mary Lacy and her art, you can go to http://www.marylacyart.com/.

This is Burlington Hearth in downtown Burlington… This is one of 3 locations operated by American Flatbread.  Other locations are in Middlebury Vermont with a restaurant and Inn in Waitsfield Vermont.  The company does work with investors who want to set up a franchise.

Sorry for the blurry picture, but this place was bustling…with someone in motion somewhere all of the time.  We had to wait for a table.

Here’s another crowd photo, this time by the bar.  It was a good place to wait for a table and indulge in a local brew…

This is the primary dining area and we ended up with a table along the far wall.  Note the pizza chef working by the big oven.  The oven is definitely the key to quality pizza given equally well sourced ingredients.  We were seated so that we could actually watch the pizza chef and his assistants build and produce pizzas.

Burlington Hearth also offers outdoor dining when the weather permits.  We preferred the indoor hustle and bustle…lots of folks to watch, but I will admit that it was equally crowded outdoors.

Here's a closer photo of the pizza master at work.  It’s all about flatbread at this restaurant!  Any flatbread is a bread made with flour, water and salt.  It’s rolled into flattened dough before cooking… Many flatbreads are unleavened although not all of them.

Burlington Hearth’s menu simply states “All Natural Pizza Baked in a Primitive Wood-fired Earthen Oven”.  That oven is an amazing structure!

To view an extensive listing of the many countries and cultures around the world that make flatbread in one form or another, just go to https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Flatbread.

This was our flatbread/pizza!  Using the design your own pizza option, we ordered one of our usual choices…pepperoni and cheese. ($18.50) It not only looks great, it was great! 

The menu at Burlington Hearth is pretty straightforward.  There are soups and salads…or pizza/flatbread offerings!  That’s it!  There is a list of standard pizzas on the menu, a special or two are offered and, as I noted above, you can design your own.

Burlington Hearth is located at 115 St. Paul Street in Burlington Vermont.  They are open 7 days a week.  Phone: 802-861-2999.  Their website is at http://americanflatbread.com/restaurants/burlington-vt/.

Just click on that pizza photo to further engage your taste buds…

Thanks for stopping by for a visit!

Take Care, Big Daddy Dave