So, after flying to Boston to meet up with friends Kaitlynn and Josh, we began the trek north to Quebec City to spend New Year's at the Grand Allee.

Our travels took us up through Vermont, so, of course, I scouted out what was along our route so we could stop for some deliciousness. And what did I find? None other than King Arthur Flour Bakery + Cafe.

King Arthur Flour is the authority on flour and baking. The flour business also sells baking equipment, ingredients, baking mixes and catalogs. Their flagship store - along with bakery, cafe and school - is located in Norwich, Vermont.


We got off the highway and pulled up to the shop. We spent some time looking around at all the mixes, equipment and tools they had available for sale. I ended up purchasing a dough cutter/scraper because 1) I could fit it in my carry-on to fly back home and 2) I remember seeing these big heavy-duty ones every time I visited a bakery for my pepperoni roll book. I just got a small plastic one since I don't really do much baking, but now I'll have it in case I do!

There are a ton of other items in this beautiful, open, bright store space. I really loved looking around here. But you know what I love more? Eating.

Walking right from the store space to the large cafe space was seamless. It's this sort of circular space with a variety of counters for different options.

They have a made-to-order counter where you can get soups, salads and sandwiches. Further down, there are pastries, cakes, pizza, bread, and more. There are even premade items for grab & go - and lots of health-conscious items like juices and whole grains.

I ordered the artichoke & feta baguette, which came with marinated artichokes, roasted red peppers, feta, arugula, Vermont fresh basil pesto on their signature baguette, along with a side of tomato-artichoke soup. Apparently I'm super into artichokes.

This was a really nice combo. The bread was nicely toasted, the inside was creamy, briney, sweet and salty. Plus, the soup was creamy and rich. I dipped my sandwich into my soup and devoured it pretty quickly.

Good shopping plus a really good lunch made for a nice mid-trip stop. The only thing I wasn't a fan of was all the snow - something that hadn't quite made its way to West Virginia yet (but now it has).

If you find yourself traveling north, I highly suggest making a stop here. It was just a lovely, refreshing place - and a great stop to see this sort of iconic business in practice.

As we were leaving, we could see the bakers making the fresh bread, which is pretty cool. It doesn't get much more fresh than that.

Grade: A