Some friends and I had dinner here last week. Burlington Hearth is a licensed location of American Flatbread, based in Waitsfield, VT. They also have a Middlebury, VT location. They make the tastiest flatbread pizzas using brick ovens in an open kitchen area, where you can watch them work from your table in the main dining room. Or you can sit by the large front windows and watch people and traffic in this busy area of town. Housed where the gone-but-not-forgotten restaurant Carbur’s used to be at 115 St. Paul Street across from City Hall Park, the restaurant is cozy, with brick walls and lots of wood details, including a long wooden bar area that seemed ideal for solos.

I’ve loved this restaurant since it first opened, but hadn’t been there for awhile so I worked up a good hunger before I even arrived, only to find an hour wait at 5:30pm on a Friday night. Turns out this place has gotten so popular since I last ate there that there is usually an hour wait for dinner on weekends now. (We were kicking ourselves for not making reservations, but as I later learned at their website, they don’t take reservations for parties under 12.) The entire bar area was packed solid with people standing, so we even had to wait outside for awhile, which wasn’t a lot of fun on a raw Vermont evening. But the food is oh so worth any inconvenience.

We all had the Evolution Salad, which was fantastic, as were the two flatbreads we shared, the Cheese & Herb (simple, yet so flavorful) and the Sundried Tomato & Mushroom (again, really packed with flavor). I’m convinced the flavors pop so much because they use organic and locally-grown ingredients. They have a plentiful listing of beers (including at least one non-alcoholic) and you can order wine by the glass. The tables for four are a little small for four people, especially when the pizza takes up a good third of the table space, but for a solo diner, it would be fine.

If you’re in Burlington, definitely give this place a try. Just be sure to show up right when they open the doors at 5pm for a cozy table in the dining room or to plant yourself at the bar for a couple of hours of people-watching, socializing, and chowing down on some great flatbread. Note that while the restaurant is open for dinner nightly, it is only open for lunch Friday, Saturday and Sunday.