Ask a Native: Howard Dean: Vermont

ON THE PLACE HE CALLS HOME
Burlington is cosmopolitan in terms of arts and politics, and you have the mountains 45 minutes away and Lake Champlain right there. It has great sports, great schools, and it’s just the right size so that everyone knows each other and treats each other nicely.

ON VERMONT IN THE WINTER
You can’t beat Vermont skiing, especially at places like Mad River Glen. It’s an old-style, old-fashioned resort, with a very narrow and steep trail, and they don’t make snow.

ON VERMONT IN THE SUMMER
In the Burlington area, the bike path is separate from the roadways. The most spectacular part of it is actually in Colchester, where it goes out into the lake on an old railroad trestle that’s been converted into a bike path.

ON WHERE TO EAT
There’s a fantastic pancake house on Route 4 in Mendon, Sugar & Spice. If you go up in March, you can watch them boil the maple syrup that you’re going to have in about five or six hours on your pancakes.

ON THE BEST CUP OF JOE
Go to Green Mountain Coffee Roasters in Waterbury and ask for the Double Black Diamond coffee; it’s a full-bodied dark roast and the best coffee in the United States. I drink it black.