The Daily Planet: An Old Friend on Center Street
The Daily Planet is the kind of place that’s been around Burlington for such a long time that you sometime forget to stop and appreciate it. It's been on Center Street for decades, and maybe because it's always been there, it doesn't always get the credit it deserves. We went recently on a whim and were reminded pretty quickly that a place doesn't stay open that long by accident.
The room was alive on a Tuesday night. The bar was full of people in their twenties and thirties, and the dining room was full with everyone else. Our server, a lovely young woman we knew from Waterworks, was as warm and attentive as always, with the kind of presence that makes you feel well taken care of.
Tuesday also happens to be half-price on signature cocktails, which we didn’t know going in and were happy to discover. Mine was called "Annie, Are You OK?"…house rosemary-infused vodka, elderflower liqueur, lemon, simple syrup, rhubarb bitters. The description promised it was “refreshing, tart, and floral,” and that’s exactly what was delivered. Mike had the Casanova (Maker's Mark, limoncello, lemon, Vermont maple syrup) and pronounced it excellent.
Although not necessarily our wheelhouse, the menu takes vegan and gluten-free diners seriously…not as an afterthought, but as a real part of what they have to offer. There are strong options across the menu, including five or six on the “Small Plates” section alone. Local sourcing also runs throughout — Pitchfork Farm, Maplebrook, LedgEnd, Vermont Bean Crafters — which you notice when you slow down and actually read the menu. More on that in a moment.
We decided to forgo a salad and started with the grilled zucchini small plate. It turned out to be a great decision and the best thing we ordered all night…whipped lemon ricotta, fried capers, toasted breadcrumbs, California olive oil. Light and bright and completely satisfying.
Mike's Hot Honey Andouille Shrimp sounded like it pointed in a New Orleans direction, and I don’t think he’s ever passed up a dish with that profile. The shrimp and andouille sausage combo is not something you see on local menus every day. The guadillo honey brought heat and sweetness, the andouille brought smoke, and the creamy polenta underneath held it all together. He was happy.
I ordered Rosie's Nachos, which I chose enthusiastically and slightly carelessly. They are beautiful…Vermont Bean Crafters black beans, spicy pickled corn, roasted poblano chimichurri, house pickled jalapeños, guacamole…and they are fully vegan, a fact that was right there in the menu description if I had read it all the way through. I spent half the plate wondering what was missing before I figured it out. Cheese.
Entirely my fault. If, like me, you're a “can’t have too much cheese-on-nachos” person, go for Neil's Nachos…local chorizo, cheddar sauce, the works. Know before you go.
The daily specials are all week long and worth planning around: half-price wine bottles on Mondays, dollar Fiddlehead on Fridays, and so forth. There's real local sourcing happening here, and a kitchen that's clearly still engaged. The Daily Planet has been around long enough to be a given. It's worth treating it like a discovery instead.
