The Tuckerbox
After leaving Saint-Guadens, we sought out a light lunch. The GTG gang was having an early dinner, so we didn't want much, but it had still been a long time since breakfast. Ultimately we drove into White River Junction, VT trying to spot something. A friend spotted the Tuckerbox and said let's try that!
The Tuckerbox has Turkish and Mediterranean style dishes. All brick exposed walls and big windows, it has a coffee house vibe as well. I had a very good Doner Kebab. I saw lots on the menu that intrigued me, so if you are headed to VT, maybe to a function at Dartmouth which is just 8 miles away, consider The Tuckerbox for lunch.
http://www.tuckerboxvermont.com
Dan and Whits
Back at the Inn, all of us had some different things we needed to do. I needed some cash (assuming that I would need cash for splitting the bill at dinner that night) and wanted to pop into Dan and Whits next door to the Inn..
I walked down to the only bank I had seen on the Main Street and walked up to the drive through ATM to get my cash, then back to Dan and Whits, billed as a Vermont General Store. It's quite a place, and I'm not sure I can tell you something that hasn't been said before.
Gas pumps out front, on that Saturday a knife grinder set up shop out front, a wildly decorated piano out front where a young man (12-13) played a little earlier that morning with all his friends around. There were community boards with flyers everywhere, and this was all before you even stepped in the front door.
I browsed around the jumble of goods, and spotted a Bodum. This gave me an idea. I am missing a nut on the plunger of a large Bodum coffee press. Dan and Whits has everything, including a hardware section. Maybe they could help me! So I walked back to the hardware section and checked out the nuts and bolts, and pretty soon a Dan and Whits staffer asked if she could help.
I explained what I was looking for, but not very well, and said they had some Bodum coffee presses up front. Pretty soon she was off at a trot for the corner where I had found them. I did my best to keep up, and when I arrived, slightly out of breath, she already was opening a box to examine how the plunger went together.
After some examination she grabbed the plunger and headed back to the hardware section with me in her wake. She found a nut that would fit the plunger, then put two in a sack explaining how they would "lock" if I put two. All this for a total sale of something like 27 cents!
(Please note, I put them on the plunger at home, and it worked beautifully! Yay Dan and Whits)
My little brown bag in hand, I explored the rest of the store but only ended up with additional purchases of rolled Lifesavers. You can hardly find them anymore, they are all in bags, individually wrapped, and I hate that!
My pricy purchase gripped firmly in my little fists, it was back to the Inn for me, where I decided I needed a nap before the night's main event at Carpenter and Main for dinner with the GTG gang. The untouched Whoopie Pies with a note for Steve indicated that he had not yet appeared, so I had the room all to myself and took a little snooze.
http://www.danandwhits.com
Carpenter and Main
Directly across the street from the Norwich Inn is Carpenter and Main. It was so nice to just walk across the street! When I arrived, there were already a few people at the bar, and after a short discussion with the bartender I ended up with a Carpenter Cup, their play on a Pimms Cup. It was the perfect refreshing summer drink.
Soon we all congregated in a small dining room where a table had been set up for our group. There were a few other small tables there, but few diners, and this was probably lucky for them. Much hilarity ensued. What a blast we had.
C&M specializes in small plates, but also has entrees. Some ordered all small plates, which is fun so you can try different things. Some ordered small plates AND an entree (me for instance). Several of us shared our small plates. For myself, I ordered avocado fries (really good) ; Thai style cod cakes with Nuoc Cham (so good I had to order more); Moroccan Lamb Meatballs with Tomato Glaze. I shared with others, they shared with me. Another small plate I had a bite of that was particularly delicious was
~Roasted Eggplant, Red Pepper And Onion with Sherry and Piment d’Esplette.
For entree I had Mussels in a Thai Curry sauce. A fresh, intense raspberry sorbet finished it off.
The meal was great, the service outstanding, the company even better.
http://www.carpenterandmain.com/index.html
Some of us chatted a bit longer in the parlor over at the Inn, but at last it was time to say our good-byes.
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