A Once in a Lifetime Adventure at Simon Pearce in Quechee, Vermont

 

I have always wanted to eat at the Simon Pearce restaurant in Quechee, Vermont, having seen photographs  of their terrace room, right next to  the falls near the covered bridge,  with the idyllic hills in the background.    After leaving our adventure at King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont,  my friend Donna and I drove over to Quechee to have lunch.

We noticed the newly paved road into Quechee.  We knew that the entire area had suffered last summer when Hurricane Irene dumped torrential rains on Vermont and caused devastating flooding.   The Quechee covered bridge was one of the tragic victims of that disaster.  We hoped  that we could get a table in the restaurant for lunch,  but never dreamed that we would actually  be seated with a perfect view of the bridge and unfolding drama.

We were surprised to discover that on the very day of our visit,  the roof of the damaged covered bridge would be taken apart to begin the bridge’s  restoration.  A huge crane was in place  and the roof had been cut into four sections.  We were excited to be there on the day it would happen!  How many times does a person see a vintage covered bridge dismantled?!

We were fascinated to see how they lifted the first section of the roof and moved it over to be placed on the ground.   While that section was taken apart, the next section of the bridge was  prepared for the move.

The Vermont Cheddar soup was so delicious!  We were happy that we had decided not to share!  Our food was served in the beautiful glassware and pottery produced by Simon Pearce, making our meal even more delightful.

We shared the spinach salad with roasted beets, blue cheese, walnuts and maple vinegrette dressing.

We also shared the Lamb Burger, which came with a different spinach salad.  Sadly, we couldn’t even think about ordering dessert!  We decided to go to the glass – blowing area, where we could step outside onto a deck next to the magnificent waterfalls.

 

We stepped back inside to watch the glass blowers at work.   They were happy to talk as they worked,  answering questions and allowing us to share in the process of creating their works of art.

The craftsman would heat the glass in the furnace at 2600 degrees,  then work the glass into shape.

Soon we could tell that a martini glass was taking shape!

The retail store upstairs was filled with beautiful crystal, pottery, textiles…

The  pottery design below is called “Barre”…the name of our hometown!

We can’t wait to go back to Simon Pearce again!  We never did see them move the second section of the bridge.   It will be fun to come when the bridge has been completely restored…and we’ll always remember the day we saw them take the roof off thatl covered bridge!  A step toward restoration after Hurricane Irene!

If you are in Vermont,  be sure to go to Quechee and have lunch at Simon Pearce.  It’s an adventure in delicious food,  beautiful art and spectacular scenery!