Here’s the thing about Middlebury: there are very few chains restaurants.  Subway and McDonalds.  And Dunkin Donuts, if you want to count that.  Other than those, there are not any chain restaurants for miles. There are always rumors that there are restaurants on the way, like a Chipotle for instance (on the subject of rumors, remember the rumors that Hermione was coming to Middlebury?  I was so excited.  Maybe I’ll be friends with Hermione!  However, as it turned out, the only Harry Potter thing associated with Middlebury is Quidditch.  Whenever anyone asked where I was going to school, and I said Middlebury, they would say oh the Quidditch school? Umm, yea).  However, there is are stipulations in place to keep these chains out.  Of course it would be nice to grab a burrito every once in a while, but I think these stipulations are for the best.  Restaurants like Rosie’s, which I have not profiled yet, might struggle if chain restaurants entered into the picture.  Chain restaurants can usually charge a lesser price for their items which can push local restaurants out of business because they cannot compete with their prices.  Also, a town filled with all chains (and not just restaurants but food stores and other stores of the like) ruins the integrity of the town.  Having little mom and pop stores around preserves the feel of Middlebury.

Now that I’m at it, I want to talk about Rosie’s.  Rosie’s is a little ways down route 7 south past McDonalds.  The menu is superb.  Breakfast is Rosie’s specialty, and the 4X4 is the best.  If my memory serves me right, it is 2 pancakes, 2 eggs, 2 pieces of bacon, and 2 sausage links.  It only costs around 7 dollars, and is very high quality, maybe the best breakfast in town for the price.  And the monkey bread for breakfast is amazing, I highly recommend it.  It is difficult to explain, but there is a card on each table that will do it more justice than I could encouraging you to get it, a message to which you should adhere to.  Rosie’s does not stop at breakfast.  They have a tremendous lunch and dinner menu, with the turkey dinner and pulled pork dinners both heaping portions costing under 10 dollars.  Sometimes, it is annoying there are no Burger Kings or Dairy Queens or Papa Ginos near campus, but that would ruin some of the feel of the town of Middlebury.  I’ll take my pulled pork dinner, after which I can’t eat for 2 days, and for me that’s saying something, over a Whopper any day of the week, and twice on Sunday (shout out to el pres).

http://www.rosiesrestaurantvt.com/