Meals on Wheels...

Beansies

Yellow Bus

Battery Park

Burlington Vermont

Food: Burgers, Fries, and Dogs

Today's lesson: Don't judge a book by its cover. Period.

Their are a few constants in life. Things that just don't change. Regardless of time.

Cowboys fans are obnoxious.

Liberals want to take your hard earned money.

Liquor before beer you're in the clear.

And if its served in wax paper -- or the establishment "rolls" -- the food is bound to be good.

While visiting the land of Bernie "Crazy Hair" Sanders, I was informed by locals of a few eateries that were considered "musts," but the oddest sounding one was a joint called "Beansies."


Now the name was enough to peak my curiosities, but when i was told it was an old school bus parked on the edge of Lake Champlain, I had to check it out.

I arrived at Battery Park around 2pm or so and much to my surprise there it was.


A seemingly disheveled bright yellow bus parked conveniently near a playground, a lake view and the Burlington PD, the snack-mobile has been keeping marathon attendees, families and dating couples in reasonably priced fast food since 1944

I can tell you, with as much time as SuitOchoCinco spends on the road the best places I have come across are the ones that are holes in the wall.


And this place is definitely one.

I strolled up to the window and was greeted by two enthusiastic young men who asked me what they could get me.

I had to order their staples, a cheeseburger, a Michiganer hot dog, and Beansies famous fresh hand cut fries augmented with a spray of vinegar.

The food came up under five minutes later and, for under $7, things were looking good.

I strolled to the edge of the park, and sat on the wall

overlooking lake Champlain.


My box of food resting in my lap I was taken back by the beautiful view.


Oh, and the Lake was pretty too.

I jumped in with both feet.


Starting with the burger I carefully folded back the wax paper (great sign) and took my first bite.


Heaven. The burger was perfectly cooked and the cheese was melted to perfection.


Moving on I dug into the Beansies signature item. Their Michiganer Hot Dog comes drenched in meat sauce.


Oh my... my taste buds stood attention and finished it in what seemed to be a second.


Nearing full I hesitated at the pile of golden brown french fries, but I had to, they looked so good. I was not disappointed. Each fry was perfectly cooked and every bite was to be savored

There was no doubt. This place delivered on its promise. The entire meal was fantastic from beginning to end. If you find yourself in the land of Liberal, Burlington Vermont, Beansies bus is a MUST.

RATING: Would have bought the shirt, but they didn't sell 'em.

OH Henry(s)!

Henrys Diner

155 Bank Street

Burlington, Vermont 05401

Back in 1987, GrandfatherOchoCinco told T-shirt-and-Amp-JeansOchoCinco (before he was SuitOchoCinco): "They don't make em like they used to"

Of course, as all of us grow up, we find out that our parents and grandparents were right more often than not (much to our dismay).

Take power tools for example. My Dads drill lasted 30 years, mine lasted 2

Or furniture -- note that particle board has replaced this novelty called "wood"

Cars. Do I have to even go there?

Well in this case, as always, I'm talking FOOD...

Nowadays, the streets of any city I am dispatched to by my fearless leaders are all peppered in "diners."

And each one of these diners promises the ambiance, service and "home cookin" we all crave.

But yet again, "They don't make them like they used to"

Usually the eggs are from a carton, the potatoes are frozen.

The OJ is from concentrate and the coffee is as weak as the Obama administration.

And if you have read anything I have posted in the past you know my affinity for pig products is second to no one else

But too many of the so-called "Diners" of today serve pink saran wrap flavored with turkey grease in my not so humble opinion.

But NOT HENRYS in Burlington Vermont.

This is quite literally as old school as they come. Henrys is a small disheveled diner located in the heart of Burlington that has been around since1925 and is the quintessential DINER.

I woke up on a sunny day in August after a night filled with local micro brews such as Long Trail and Magic hat.

FACT: Vermont Ranks NUMBER ONE in the nation for having the most "Craft Breweries" per capita.

Yes on top of the abundance of gay married couples, cows and organic food, Vermonters love their beer and they were happy to share with me.

And prices??? Lemme tell you, you can't get better.

I cannot confirm or deny that I went to four different bars with five people over the course of the evening prior to Henrys and my total bill for all of us was a whopping $125.

Yes four bars. Five people. $125.

Make no mistake, all of us reached the proverbial "promised land" in our consumption way before Cinderella was forced to go home.

But I digress.

After said night of drinking I needed grease, and a lot of it. Isn't that what we all need when we can't have the "hair of the dog?"

Certainly. And trust me, Henrys was more than happy to oblige.

We walked into this near One Hundred old treasure and were sat in a booth immediately.

This beautiful young lady in her classic diner garb approached the table and handed us the menus.

I asked her if she had "REAL" Vermont maple syrup and she cocked her head like a confused cocker spaniel and answered "YES" (clearly the YES was code for "yes bonehead -- that's the only way we roll")

My equally hungover companions and I proceeded to scan the menu and it was promising.

I ordered the Vermonster Skillet, which promised me finely chopped bacon, eggs over easy, melted cheese, sporadically dispersed chopped sausage and real hash browns all mixed together in a 400 degree skillet served with butter soaked thick wheat bread.

In short, I ordered heaven in cast iron.

My companion ordered French Toast with ham.

Now this was the challenge.

French Toast in Vermont are like a a golden calf. Are they gonna be thin and dry with 2 cold cut slices of ham or are they going to be tasty Thick Cut pillows cooked to perfection with a slab of ham and soaked

in churned butter and real Vermont Maple syrup?

When the food arrived we were more than

pleasantly surprised.

In fact I proclaimed "Holy Crap!"

It was all we wanted and more.

No less then an entire ass cheek of ham rested proudly on top of his French Toast that were larger than the pillows we used at the crappy Rodeway Inn (this place was a "pig sty") we stayed at the night before.

My Vermonter Skillet most definitely lived up to its name and was a pile of greasy pork soaked goodness piled atop a piping hot cast iron skillet.

It was on like Donkey Kong.

I surrounded the skillet with my huge cup of coffee large glass of fresh Orange Juice and 2 glasses of water no ice (lest we not forget the level of hungoverness).

There was so much damn food my companions and I wearily gazed upon them wondering if we

were going to be sacrificing the rest of our day by ingesting such a feast.

Finally, we decided to come down on the side of gluttony and dug in with unrivaled zeal.

This was probably the best breakfast I have had in over 20 years.

Every bite was better than the last and the silence of my companions proved they were in equal ecstasy.

The server kept every drink overflowing without the hint of a request or even a glance from us and showered us in hospitality the entire time.

The only problem with such an amazing meal is that the rest of the day's meals would almost assuredly pale in comparison . . .

. . . OR WILL THEY?

I had 2 more stops on my trip that the locals deemed "worth it." Only time would tell.

RATING: Would have bought the shirt... (but they didn't have my size)