Squid Perks: Happy Place Cafe

In the evening, Vermont Comedy Club is Burlington's premier stand-up comedy venue, providing a full bar and plenty of pub food for its patrons.  During the day (8-3, Wed-Sun), the "bar" transforms into Happy Place Cafe, an ideal spot for a quick refreshment before our last afternoon of movies at this year's Vermont International Film Festival.  

I went low-octane this visit, ordering herbal tea.  My wife got a London Fog, having been denied the pleasure at lunch (Jericho Cafe and Tavern - formerly Village Cup - got rid of their espresso machine. What gives?).  She also ordered a doughnut twist and I got a nibble.  All was satisfying.

Burlington hardly needs another coffeehouse but Happy Place Cafe is worth remembering simply because there was hardly anyone there.  No waiting in line.  We sat right at the bar.  Quick service.  Perfect.

Squid Perks: Café Yamabiko

Another of our favorite spots in Sutton, Quebec (see last week's post) is Café Yamabiko.  I got a fine cappuccino.  Ever since our Spain trip, my wife has been in search of the perfect cortado.  While nothing has quite lived up to the memory, Yamabiko's offering was her North American favorite so far.

We are also both charmed by the café's Japanese decorative touches.  The mountain scenery photos adorning the walls could just as easily be Japan or Quebec.  My guess would be Quebecois mountains with Japanese aesthetic framing.  Or perhaps the other way around.  Or maybe a combination of both.  Whatever, it's lovely.  As one with a deep love for both places, it soothes my soul either way.

Squid Perks: Uncommon Coffee

Uncommon Coffee opened their Essex Junction location in September 2020, a brave move mid-pandemic.  It's been one of our family favorites ever since.  In fact, when the kid is home, it's one of their preferred hangout spots, with friends or on their own.  As it's located in The Essex Experience, it's an ideal spot for a quick caffeine fix while we're out running errands on the weekend.

It's a nice open space with loads of dark wood and old furniture.  Staff is both friendly and professional.  Most importantly, the coffee's good.

We shared a piece of lemon olive oil cake, already partly eaten before I thought to take a photo.  I got a cappuccino, my standard café order.  My wife got a chai latte.

Squid Perks: Tunnel City Coffee

Tunnel City Coffee has two locations, both in northwestern Massachusetts: North Adams and Williamstown.  We went to the one in North Adams during a recent weekend getaway.  We all ordered the iced hibiscus herbal tea but in different sizes: small for me, medium for my wife and a large for our kid.  We didn't plan it that way.  Just happened.  And interestingly, we all finished at about the same time.

via Wikipedia

The name of the cafe got me curious.  I wasn't aware that North Adams is known as the Tunnel City.  The nearby Hoosac Tunnel is a 4.75-mile railroad tunnel built between 1851 to 1875, costing $21 million - that's quite a lot in 19th century dollars.  Evidently, it was a transformative development for the local economy and the tunnel is still in use today.

Yes, the tea was good - pretty, too.

Squid Perks: The North Branch Cafe

The North Branch Cafe has been operating in Montpelier since 2013.  Central Vermont in general and Montpelier in particular have been through a lot in the past few years.  Obviously, COVID took a big bite out of local businesses just as it did for many others worldwide.  Then last summer, our state capital was hit with severe flooding that caused damage to everyone at ground level.  On top of that, Vermont's recent mild winters (climate change is real) have hurt the ski industry, robbing everyone of tourism dollars.  Plus, there are the ongoing workforce shortages currently plaguing many cafes and restaurants.  So North Branch is not in the strongest financial position these days.  If you're in a position to help, check out their gofundme page here.  

North Branch is seemingly never open when we're in town, though learning more about their struggles offers clues as to why.  As luck would have it, they were open this past rainy Saturday afternoon so my wife and I stopped in.  We ordered a pot of Assam and a piece of gluten-free Scottish shortbread to share.  You will likely notice in the photo above that we were served in to-go cups rather than a pot.  Understaffed, management elected to close an hour early at 4.  And yet, they continued to take orders right up to closing time.  I suppose it's understandable given their cash crunch but it didn't make for the most relaxing experience.  

On the positive side, the tea was perfectly nice as was the shortbread - a little dry for my taste but flavorful.  I'm all in favor of bringing North Branch more business the next time we visit Montpelier... assuming they're open.

Squid Perks: Nest Coffee & Bakery

Nest Coffee & Bakery is but a short walk from the Amtrak station in Essex Junction, Vermont - a perfect spot while waiting for your train.  Vermont got quite a lot of snow this past Saturday so, despite our being close to the beginning of the route, our child's train back to college was significantly delayed on Sunday.  Coffee and pastries were very much in order.

I got a cappuccino and a chocolate croissant and also tried my wife's strawberry and cream croissant.  All were lovely.  Service is friendly and expedient.  Unfortunately, the space is a bit cramped.  My guess is that most of the service is to go, though there are a few tables to encourage people to stick around, including one relatively cozy area with a couch.  The three of us grabbed one end of a long table, the other end eventually taken by a pair of young women debating the relative merits of Star Wars and Star Trek - right up our alley!

We'll be back.  I don't usually give much thought to the area around the train station as it's right by a preferably avoided intersection.  But if we're already down there, Nest is definitely worth a stop.  As it was later in the morning, they'd already run out of some of their pastry offerings.  Ham and cheese croissant is always one of my favorites and I'd love to try theirs another time.

Squid Perks: Vivid Coffee

Farm-to-table is a big deal in Vermont.  Independent farms still make up a sizable portion of the industry here and the state's population is eager to support them.  Vivid Coffee seeks to tap into that mentality.  It's admittedly trickier with a tropical crop like coffee beans.  The company develops relationships with individual farms in places like Santa Barbara, Honduras (see blog post here).  Vivid sells its coffee through local retail stores and coffee shops as well as online.  They have their own cafe in Burlington, about half-a-block off of Church Street, the city's pedestrian mall.  We visited this past weekend.

Vivid owns a pretty big space, including a large seating area in a backroom.  The front room, though, is still pleasantly intimate.  The coffee's nice, too.  I got a cappuccino, my standard coffeehouse order.