Everywhere you walk in Burlington, Vermont's largest city, you can find dozens of knick-knack, clothes, or art shops, restaurants of every ethnicity, and attractions such as the Vermont Teddy Bear Factory and the Magic Hat Brewery.

One of the most popular tourist areas is Church Street, the brick-paved road near the shore of Lake Champlain.

Church Street is less than one mile long and is closed to traffic. It has become a fashionable spot in the last 20 years, especially in dining circles.

In the space of five or six blocks, Church Street offers nearly every kind of popular world cuisine, including: Chinese, Greek, Irish, Italian, Indian, Japanese, and of course, American.

On top of this diversity, most of these restaurants are indepedent, meaning that they are exclusive to Burlington alone.

The Coyote Tex-Mex café, a Mexican restaurant on the street, just celebrated its 10th anniversary in August, says its Manager Michelle Sheehan.

"I think Burlington is a big college town," she says. "So any diversity we get is probably through the colleges."

There are some community colleges around Burlington, and a few bigger schools like the State University of Vermont and the State University of Plattsburgh, across the lake. Many of these students spend their weekends in Burlington, enjoying the diverse variety of its shops, cafes, and restaurants.

Five Spice Café-The Beginning of Diversity?

Another popular Church Street restaurant is the Five Spice Café: Great Asian Feasts. The Five Spice Café is a 17-year-old restaurant that offers every kind of Asian food on its expansive menu.

Part-owner, Ginger Hobbs, believes that the restaurant is one of the building blocks of Church Street's diversity. "The town has changed enormously in the past 20 years," she says.

Hobbs asserts that, with the exception of a Chinese and a small Indian take-out restaurant, Burlington did not have the culinary diversity that it touts today.

"The Thai restaurant down the street--Loong Chat--is pretty recent, but they've all come since we opened," Hobbs says.

Hobbs says there was always an interest for foreign foods in Burlington, but nobody had ever acted on it. "I like to think that we kind of helped it change, because we brought in some exciting food that was different for people," she says. "Once other places saw that there was interest, they started bringing in more restaurants."

Delectable Cuisine

Some other well-liked restaurants are the Ri-Ra Irish Pub, the Sakura Japanese Restaurant, Loong Chat's Kitchen, and Akes Place.

Loong Chat's and Sakura both serve Asian dishes including peanut noodles, sushi, and hibachi steaks.

Ri-Ra and Akes Place have bars that are popular with the visiting college students, and also serve some unique Irish and American dishes.

No matter where you dine on Church Street, you won't be disappointed. Every restaurant perfects the type of food they represent, and the effort shows.

Any questions? Email us.

Another Hippie Movement? It's not just the food that's diverse For Carmen Schulz, a tourist from Texas, Burlington was more than just fun and relaxation—it was also a major culture shock. She recalled the first thing she noticed when she stepped onto Church Street was flowery dresses, beaded shirts, and tie-dyed clothing. She said that it reminded her of the s60s. "I noticed that a lot of these people dress in a very different way," she commented. "It kind of made me think of the hippie movement, like I'd gone back in time. There's not a lot of that in Texas." Nevertheless, this was comforting for Schulz. "I could see that there were many different types of people," she said with a smile. "It made me feel better about being an outsider." Popular Restaurants Addresses Akes Place 134 Church Street Marketplace Burlington, Vermont 05401 Phone: 802-864-8111 Five Spice Café 175 Church St Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: 802-864-4045 Ri-Ra Irish Pub 123 Church St. Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: 802-860-9401 Sakura Japanese Restaurant 2 Church Street Burlington, VT 05401 Phone: 802-863-1988