Where to Go for Easter Brunch

I think going to a Vermont restaurant for an Easter brunch buffet is one of the best ways to spend Easter Sunday. Of course, it's nicer when Easter is in April and the Sunday drive can actually include seeing a few buds popping out of the Earth, but regardless, the glorious arrays of Easter brunch displays around Vermont are worth an excursion in their own right. And who cares if you don't celebrate Easter or not - to me it's a feast to encourage spring and the delight that comes with the rebirth of the Earth.

I don't think it's a buffet, but Mary's Restaurant at the Inn at Baldwin Creek in the sweet village of Bristol, offers an Easter Brunch with all the classic delicious dishes that make Easter Brunch so decadent - Crab Cakes and Eggs, Maple Glazed Ham, Stuffed French Toast - mmmm. Brunch is from 11:00 am - 2:00 pm and ranges from $16-$30.

If you really want to step it up a notch and don your best Easter attire (which in Vermont doesn't mean a floral dress and sandles), head over to Stoweflake for a whopping $45 brunch buffet in the glamor capital of Vermont - Stowe. But, seriously, when the display includes Smoked Fish Display with Appropriate Garniture and Fresh Sliced Fruit Presentation with Fruit Salad Watermelon Ship, can you really complain about the price? I think not, especially when the display also includes Grilled Chicken Tournedo with Sweet Pea Puree and Caramelized Vidalia Onions and Crab-Stuffed Sole with a Fire-Roasted Red Pepper Sauce. If there was ever a time to eat like a tourist, Easter is it! The Stoweflake Brunch is served from 11:30 am - 2:30 pm.

In the unspoiled village of Brandon, Cafe Provence is calling my name to switch Easter brunch traditions this year - and I just might. The menu selection for the brunch buffet is uberly extensive and has all the items I love for my Easter pallet - there's a Cold Salad Buffet (with pate!!), a Carving Station, an Omelet Station, a Hot Buffet, and a Dessert Station. The price is $26.95 and there are three sittings - at 10:00 am, 12:00 noon, and 2:00 pm.

For those looking to head into the historic town of Middlebury, the Waybury Inn offers perhaps the most traditional brunch buffet of the bunch. For $26.75, the Waybury Inn's Easter Brunch Buffet features various Tea Sandwiches, Oysters in a Half Shell, Atlantic Salmon, and one of the desserts is even a Chocolate Peanut Butter Cup with Cadbury Eggs! Easter Brunch is served from 11:00 am - 3:00 pm.

Of course, the brunch I would really like to go to is the farthest away. The Arlington Inn, down in Southeastern Vermont near Bennington and Manchester, offers a vast display for Easter Brunch featuring pate and smoked meat plates, rainbow trout, crepes. While the brunch certainly seems as delicious as the others, it is the stately Greek Revival mansion that is home to the Arlington Inn on historic Route 7A that really calls my name. Brunch at the Arlington Inn is $23.95 and is served from 10:30 am - 2:30 pm.

Enjoy the brunch you choose and don't forget to check other other cool Vermont Vibes in the area - a great way to search can be found at www.vermontvacation.com.