Food

Dining options run as high and low (casual to quite spiffy) as the landscape around Quechee [1]. Built in 1846, the Worcester “semi-streamline” diner car that houses The Farmers Diner (5573 Woodstock Rd., on Rte. 4, Quechee, 802/295-4600, www.farmersdiner.com [2], 7 a.m.–3 p.m. daily, $6–11) doesn’t serve up your average train fare: The much-lauded restaurant has taken the use of completely local ingredients and products as its mission. Using produce from the closest farms and purveyors possible, the diner serves reasonably priced, traditional, and mostly organic specials ranging from crispy hush puppies to a melt-in-your-mouth bacon cheeseburger.

Truly memorable meals can be found at Simon Pearce Restaurant (1760 Main St., 802/295-1470, www.simonpearce.com [3], 11:30 a.m.–2:45 p.m. and 6–9 p.m. daily, $10–24). Settle into the elegant and sunny room overlooking the rushing Ottauquechee River and its dam, and dig into plates of horseradish-crusted cod, crisp confit duck with orange sauce, and beef and Guinness stew with paprika potatoes. As part of the Simon Pearce [4] building, the kitchen serves everything on pottery and glassware literally made downstairs.

Fans of Firestone’s (Rte. 4 and Waterman Hill Rd., 802/295-1600, www.firestonesrestaurant.net [5], 11:30 a.m.–9 p.m. daily, $9–22) drive all the way from Boston [6] to enjoy the kitchen’s flatbread pizzas (cooked in a Canadian-style stone oven), unusually friendly atmosphere, and affable staff.