Quote: Sweetwaters is what it is—an American-style bistro with mostly standard menu items, a solid selection of beers and wine, and a sprawling sports bar inside. In other words, we knew what to expect when we grabbed a table in their outdoors patio… but were pleasantly surprised by the service, the food, and the beers. Nothing spectacular, but as far as restaurants on Burlington’s popular pedestrian mall go, this place has to be one of the best bets.

With the small trees lining Church Street all lit up as the sun went down, the scene was set for a relaxing dinner amidst a mix of tourists and "dreadies" milling about in the area. The restaurant was fairly busy for a Thursday night, but had died down considerably by the time 9pm rolled around. Our server was a smiling girl from the University of Vermont, who recommended the Blackberry Wheat at $4/pint. We happily obliged… a few times.

You can probably guess what’s on the menu: steaks, seafood, salads, sandwiches, pasta, and your garden variety list of appetizers, which, if you’re in the mood for it, isn’t necessarily a bad thing. We snacked on sweet potato fries with honey-mustard dipping sauce ($3.95) for an appetizer; they actually went rather well with the brews. For the main course, I was all about the Harvest Tortellini ($12.95), a big bowl of cheese-filled tortellini with toasted pine nuts, mushrooms, dried cranberries, sweet peppers, spinach, and a garlic-basil sauce.

Listen, I ate every single little pine nut and cranberry in that bowl—it was that good. The tab was reasonable for two people, the service was great, and the atmosphere was comfortable. What else could you possibly need from a place like this? All in all, Sweetwaters beats the shit out of those Americana bistro chains popping up across the country.
From journals Vermont Road Trip! From Burlington to Bennington