Rainbow Sweets

Drive to Marshfield, Vermont and visit this establishment:Marshfield is a small Vermont town (not much bigger than Jericho Center) which, to my knowledge, is known for nothing more than being one more town to travel through when crossing the state on Route 2. Get off the Interstate in Montpelier, roll through East Montpelier, slow down into Plainfield, slow again for Marshfield, head for Danville and St.J - just check marks on the map as we head to points East.

Passing through Marshfield, we'd notice the bright pink sign outside of this dive-looking place: RAINBOW SWEETS CAFE AND BAKERY. It looked cheesy, and we had no intention of stopping there when it was only a few more minutes to a convenience store or Dunkin Donuts to get some 'real' food. (Just like passing the House of Tang in Montpelier - every time, I have to poke fun at a restaurant named that. No chance of me eating there!)

A while ago, there were some magazine articles about this Rainbow Sweets place. Articles and reviews that positively glowed about the gastronomic delights created in this joint. Articles and reviews that were so well written that even NorthernDaddy took note. It was official: the funky place with the blazing pink sign was on our radar.

Still, it took two years and many trips along Route 2 for NorthernMommy to finally coerce NorthernDaddy to pull off the road. (You see, she'd tried to take Grammy there for Mother's Day, but they were closed. I felt bad for her, so I agreed to stop.)

The reviews were right.

The instant you step inside, you are transported to an earlier era - one where the shopkeeper engages each client in conversation and dramatically details the offerings for the day. Constant patter as more customers enter - everyone is welcomed and immersed into the show. A show it is, too! We picked up on the theatrics immediately (yeah, we're jaded and cynical), but chose to relax, engage, and enjoy the experience.

And enjoy it we did. The atmosphere is contagiously fun. Almost all of the people that came in while we were there took the same approach as we did - slow down and enjoy the show. Some people came in the door and couldn't shake their "I've been stuck behind a slow-moving RV for too long - I need coffee and a quick donut - let's get going" attitudes. They totally missed this gem of a place - and I'd credit that as their loss.

Should I mention the food? Maybe - since that's why we went? The food is quite good. NorthernDaddy considers himself a connoisseur of pastries and sweets - and has the physique to show for his years of exploration in bakeries. Most of what has come to be defined as 'good' in our modern society is overly sweet and processed. The items that I sampled were more of a fairly bland (but not 'bad' bland) base of pastry under an exquisite (yes, I just used the word exquisite. If you've got a problem with that, we can step out back and settle things...) topping. The first item I had was - well I don't remember what it was called - a sort of biscuit (think pie crust taste and texture) topped with strawberries and a sort of caramel syrup or something. I don't know! I stopped taking notes after the first bite. The second item was the specialty - "the thing we're known for" - again, a type of biscuit pastry under creme-filled balls of pastry. (Look, it's late; it's been a long day; and my description isn't doing this thing justice. Do yourself a favor: open a new tab in your browser and Google 'St. Honore' pastry.) The only real disturbing thing about this dish is that the owner/chef kept referring to it as 'Johnny Depp's balls on a plate' or 'Johnny Depp on a plate' - neither of which was encouraging to my appetite..... There was a ------------ (we'll just pretend that I remember what he called it....you'd think I'd remember after eating FOUR of them, but...) that was a dough made of cottage cheese, sugar, and a small bit of flour - and filled with apricot preserves. Off-the-charts-good! NorthernToddler loved that item!

As we made our way out the door (fleeing obesity and death-by-pastry), we carried a bag full of the apricot thingies and a fresh loaf of Italian bread.

We would absolutely recommend this place to everyone! It's not as novel as the gas station-turned-surfer dude restaurant that we recently ate at (fun place, wasn't it Grandma and Poppa?! Where in the **** is our food?!), but the food is wonderful and the entertainment value is off the charts.

Our real reason for driving clear across the state was a cook-out that Grandpa Frank was having. NorthernToddler will travel far for free food! Bonus for little man was a slide. Not just any slide, but a slide in a made-for-me toddler size. NorthernToddler spent a solid forty-five minutes climbing up the ladder, sliding down, and repeating as soon as he saw this thing! I guess he likes his slide!