Paula Routly: Explore Vermont With the Seven Daysies Guide

I know how hard it is to keep a good thing going. So, respect for all those Vermont businesses that win our Daysie designation year after year — the Seven Days readers’ choice award. Like most varieties of the flower, the love of our readers is perennial. Nothing makes me happier than seeing a field of prize plaques on the wall of a local establishment. A testament to staying power, the Daysie says: This is not some flash in the pan.

It’s a different kind of thrill, though, when a new name appears and snags a top prize — or even turns up among the finalists. Who needs influencers? When thousands of your neighbors have endorsed someone or something, chances are it’s worth checking out. In strange cities, I use the “best-of” collections of other alt-weeklies to guide me to good stuff. Ours helps me explore Vermont, whether it’s a destination restaurant or a municipality I don’t often visit.

Cut to St. Albans, about half an hour north of Burlington, just 15 miles from the U.S.-Canada border. Railroad industrialists put it on the map and bestowed the downtown with some of the most beautiful public buildings in the state, until that train left the station. Other sectors have come and gone. This month the biggest dairy-processing plant in St. Albans — and Vermont — is closing.

On the positive side, it seems economic adversity has taught St. Albans a thing or two. The boom-and-bust burg appears to be resilient, creative, determined. Starting in 2012, the city started using tax-increment financing to invest in public infrastructure and upgrades to its downtown. Today the former Energizer battery factory is occupied by electric-aircraft manufacturer Beta Technologies.

And, perhaps the most convincing of all measures of livability: St. Albans snagged multiple Daysies this year, in categories ranging from best menswear store to best family-friendly festival to best barista. Upwards of 20 other local businesses placed as finalists — for superlative restaurant, bakery, vintage clothing, mocktails, kitchen store, burgers, sandwiches and more.

When thousands of your neighbors have endorsed someone or something, chances are it’s worth checking out.

I had to see, taste and try it on for myself, so my friend Lauren-Glenn and I hit I-89 north. Last Friday in the Rail City, we found free parking, great coffee, lighter-than-air croissants, friendly workers and very few empty storefronts. We strolled block after block of local restaurants and roomy retail establishments — not just on Main Street but also on the side roads.

Frankly, it was the healthiest Vermont downtown I’ve seen in ages, with flyers on shop windows and bulletin boards highlighting community events. A movie theater, great bookstore, two hardware stores and the local newspaper office are right there, too.

I bought winter boots at Danform Shoes, a new frying pan at As the Crow Flies, two cakes at Red House Sweets and a Hollywood-themed party dress for $25 at Spotlight Vintage — all establishments represented in our Daysies guide.

We got lunch at Mother Hubbard’s Bakery, Deli & Country Store, a short drive from downtown but worth it for sandwiches nominated as the best outside Chittenden County. Like so many shops in St. Albans, it seemed to have everything — except tacos. Those were back on Main Street, at Los Jefes. Surprisingly authentic, the Mexican place is not a Daysie winner … yet.

Our only regret was missing Café Monette, a Daysies nominee for both best new restaurant and best restaurant outside Chittenden County. Very impressive. There wasn’t a free seat all week at the elegant eatery, which serves dinner from Wednesday to Saturday. We peeked in the window, though, and saw one chef stationed before a pile of fresh green and yellow string beans.

Seven Days food writer Jordan Barry first sang Café Monette’s praises last year. “I won’t say I’m surprised that northern Vermont’s latest must-try restaurant is in St. Albans,” she wrote in a review published on October 21. “As housing has become unaffordable in Chittenden County, I’ve watched friends and coworkers move 30 minutes north to the city of 7,000.”

Curious? Follow the Daysies. You’ll find this year’s bouquet lovingly arranged in the 68-page All the Best magazine in the middle of this issue. It took multiple writers, editors, designers, photographers, account executives and circulation drivers to bring it to you — not to mention the nearly 14,000 voters who chose the content. Unlike the flowers, this book will last all year long.