Good food and great beer at the Vermont Pub and Brewery.

On our recent trip to Vermont we stayed in the cute university town of Burlington, which is right on Lake Champlain. It was a gorgeous spring evening, so we ventured into town looking for a place to eat.

Church Street, several blocks of which are pedestrian only, was packed with college kids, many of whom graduated the next day. Because the weather was fine, restaurant and bar seating spilled out onto the sidewalks and the celebratory mood was infectious.

We did a quick tour of the town, checking out various menus along the way. A block down College Street, The Vermont Pub & Brewery caught our eye. The line for seats on the patio was long, but the wait for inside tables wasn't too bad. So we put our name on the list, got a beeper, and sidled up to the bar.

The extensive selection of microbrews varies by season. We started with a pour of Ambergris, which is served in a 12-ounce snifter. With notes of sage and sandalwood, this was an excellent beer and turned out to be our favorite. Based on the quality of that pour, we popped for a $4 four-glass flight with Burly Irish Ale, Bombay IPA, Dogbite ESP, and something called Absinthe, which has a subtle licorice finish.

Suitably hopped up, we turned to tackling their large menu, which has lots of tempting choices -- from traditional pub grub like the Ploughman's Lunch to comfort food like Vermont Country Meatloaf to more exotic fare like Chicken Satay. We settled on the Pulled Pork Pie, a twist on Shepherd's Pie with Southern-Style BBQ topped with sweet corn and mashed potatoes. A little Tabasco made it jump off the plate.

Our second entrée was the Vermont Cheese Sampler, which features six artisinal cheeses - three cheddars, a bleu, a goat, and a triple-crème.

In the name of research, we ordered the beer-battered fries. And Apple Crisp with a big scoop of Ben and Jerry's vanilla ice cream. Delicious.

Everything was fresh, well-prepared, and reasonably priced. In fact, it was so good that we returned a few days later for a burger and a chicken sandwich.

To learn more or check out their menu, visit www.vermontbrewery.com