For most of us, in any city or state that we visit often enough, there are always must see and must eats. During our annual pilgrimage to Vermont to visit my husband’s side of the fam (we’ve been going 8 years or so since this week marks our eight anniversary!) , we always visit Simon Pearce, the stunning glass and ceramic studio with a serious following. Headquartered in Quchee, Vermont for the past 28 years, we had to detour this year to get there: the covered bridge we pass under each year was destroyed last year due to massive flooding. You can see it being rebuilt in the pics below. At Simon Pearce, you can visit the shop (tip: look for the sign for “seconds” for slightly lower priced items; they’re pieces with slight imperfections), enjoy lunch overlooking the Gorge and then head downstairs to see the glass blowers in action creating one piece of glass at a time. It’s really a painstaking, magnificent process that makes you understand why the costs are what they are. Seems like one glass takes more than an hour to make!
Even though I’m capable of tossing feta, arugula and some other ingredients together (recipe), I couldn’t pass up having it here. Oh, and our mini-break from work of course called for cocktails at lunch.
Entree consisted of more artichokes, this time rounded out by chèvre cheese, olives, tomatoes, crispy capers and cappelini pasta.
Glass blowers in action. It’s at least two years of on-the-job training before they’re allowed to make a glass. Talk about dedication!
If you go: check in for lunch (or dinner) immediately because there’s always a short wait. Children are welcome (and staff and the kitchen are quite accommodating). Bring a camera. Don’t be shy about chatting it up with the glass blowers. And, what else is nearby? There’s the Queechee Gorge, which is an amazing photo opp (breathtaking, and plenty of parking), plus an adjacent antique mall. We also often head to Woodstock to browse the shops and soak in another small town.
Simon Pearce || simonpearce.com || 800.774.5277
