In the upper Connecticut River Valley, everyone goes to Whippi Dip. Located in Fairlee village, the longtime snack bar is favored by groups from nearby summer camps, where counselors use it as a bribe (Be good campers,  and maybe we'll go to Whippi Dip later). Locals use it for a quick, cheap lunch or dinner (almost everything is priced $3 to $10) or evening ice cream.

And, while the service varies from speedy to deathly slow, the food is fresh, thoughtfully crafted and, by snack-bar standards, relatively healthy.  Sure, there are the usual  burgers — made with local beef, turkey or black beans — fried seafood and ice cream. But Whippi Dip's menu also offers tacos ( pork, beef, fish or veggie), breakfast burritos, salads (Mexican, Asian or garden) and sandwiches stuffed with house-smoked brisket or pulled pork. 

Last night, I went for a puffy croissant from the specials board. It cradled crisp lettuce and cool cubed chicken breast tossed with red grapes (these added a sweet pop of moisture), sage and just enough mayo to marry the flavors but not make things heavy.



That rang in at $7.62 — including a $2 up-charge to swap crispy sweet-potato fries for chips. That felt like a decent deal since eating just half of it filled me up. But, since the evening was unbearably hot and sticky, I finished with a creamsicle float. That's a serious scoop of Kingdom Creamery vanilla ice cream doused in Maine Root mandarin orange soda, for $2.98. I left happy, cool and stuffed. 

And by morning, I already craved another ice-cream soda.

Dining on a Dime is a weekly series featuring well-made, filling bites (something substantial enough to qualify as a small meal or better) for $12 or less. Know of a tasty dish we should feature? Drop us a line: [email protected].